Elder Bush Says His Son Was Served Badly by Aides  —  WASHINGTON — After years of holding back, former President George Bush has finally broken his public silence about some of the key figures in his son's administration, issuing scathing critiques of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Ben Carson's unusual theory about pyramids  —  NAPLES, Florida — Ben Carson stood by his long-held belief about ancient pyramids in Egypt, that they were used to store grain, rather than to inter pharaohs.  —  Asked about this Wednesday, Carson told CBS News, “It's still my belief, yes.”

Bernie Sanders Takes Gloves Off Against Hillary Clinton in Interview  —  Democratic presidential candidate draws sharper distinctions with front-runner, casting her policy reversals as a character issue  —  Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is drawing sharper distinctions …

Text of mega trade deal finally released  —  The Obama administration released the long-awaited text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement on Thursday, setting the stage for a divisive fight in Congress next year that will once again pit Barack Obama against most of his fellow Democrats.

Tonight, going through all of your questions, I wanted to touch on a few issues that seem to be asked by many people.  —  I would like to deal with one question tonight in some detail.  The issue is experience.  Several people ask what they should tell their friends when people say “I like Carson but he has no political experience”.

U.S. Detects Flurry of Iranian Hacking  —  American officials say they believe cyberattacks tied to arrest in Tehran of Iranian-American businessman  —  Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard military force hacked email and social-media accounts of Obama administration officials in recent weeks …

In Houston, Hate Trumped Fairness  —  Sometime in the near future, a transgender teenager in Texas will attempt suicide — and maybe succeed — because vilifying people for their gender identity remains politically acceptable in America.  —  The hateful rhetoric of leaders like Gov. Greg Abbott …

Right-wing media aims at Rubio  —  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has a conservative media problem.  —  Rubio's past support for immigration reform infuriated some of the big-name conservative media personalities who backed his upstart Tea Party bid in 2010, and they're taking retribution now that he's rising in the presidential polls.

Latino group offers $5K for calling Trump a racist on ‘SNL’  —  A Hispanic advocacy group is offering $5,000 to any audience member who calls GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump a “racist” on-air when he hosts the upcoming episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

How Richard Nixon Created Hillary Clinton  —  Hillary Clinton's Benghazi testimony, in all its layered meaning, overpowers cogent analysis and even neutral description.  It was unsettling, strange, riveting—and without any true precedent: A front-runner for her party's presidential nomination …

Reid suggests Dems will block defense spending bill  —  Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) warned on Wednesday that Democrats will block a defense spending bill this week for a third time.  —  Reid said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was “wasting the Senate's time” …

Analysis: Bevin Win in Kentucky Underscores Decimated Democratic Party Under Obama  —  Last night's off-year elections produced a number of noteworthy outcomes, none larger than Republican Matt Bevin's upset victory in Kentucky's gubernatorial race.  Bevin ran as a hard-charging outsider conservative, warts and all.