Mali hotel attack: 3 dead after gunmen take captives at Radisson Blu in Bamako  —  (CNN)LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:  —  • [7:20 a.m. ET] Security forces have begun a counter-assault on the hotel in Mali's capital, said French President Francois Hollande, who said he'd been in touch …

Ted Cruz Creates a ‘National Prayer Team’  —  Pray for Ted Cruz.  —  That appears to be among the chief tasks to be undertaken by the Cruz campaign's “national prayer team,” a group announced on Thursday and scheduled to begin its work next month.  —  Mr. Cruz, who has aggressively courted …

CNN reporter suspended after tweet on refugees  —  CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott has been suspended for two weeks, a source at CNN confirmed to POLITICO.  —  Earlier on Thursday Labott had tweeted about the House voting on a bill that would make it harder for Syrian refugees to enter the United States.

Donald Trump's Plan for a Muslim Database Draws Comparison to Nazi Germany  —  NEWTON, Iowa — Donald Trump “would certainly implement” a database system tracking Muslims in the United States, the Republican front-runner told NBC News on Thursday night.  —  “I would certainly implement that.

Clinton Opens 25-Point Lead on Sanders in Bloomberg Politics National Poll  —  She also earns higher scores on commander-in-chief traits, including the ability to combat terrorism.  —  margarettalev  —  Hillary Clinton has solidified her lead nationally in the Democratic presidential nominating contest …

These 47 Democrats Just Voted to Send Syrian Refugees Back to their Imminent Death  —  The House just passed the Republicans' bill that would halt any acceptance of refugees from Syria and create additional layers of bureaucratic hoops for refugees to pass through, effectively making it impossible for them.

Jonathan Pollard Is Freed After 30 Years in Prison, but Not to Israel  —  WASHINGTON — Jonathan J. Pollard, the American convicted of spying on behalf of Israel, walked out of prison early on Friday after 30 years, the Israeli prime minister said, but the Obama administration had no plans …

The Farce Awakens  —  Erick Erickson, the editor in chief of the website RedState.com, is a serious power in right-wing circles.  Speechifying at RedState's annual gathering is a rite of passage for aspiring Republican politicians, and Mr. Erickson made headlines this year when he disinvited Donald Trump from the festivities.

Improving the Experience When Relationships End  —  Community Support FYI is a new series of blog posts about how we work to keep the Facebook community safe, supported and connected.  —  Facebook is a place for sharing life's important moments, which for many people include their romantic relationships.

This morning at Harvard Law School we woke up to a hate crime.  —  The hallways of Harvard Law School are lined with portraits of every tenured professor in the history of the university.  As a first-year law student, the first time that I walked down those hallways I was painfully aware …

GOP group plans most aggressive anti-Trump campaign yet  —  John Kasich has attacked Donald Trump relentlessly in debates and now his super PAC is planning to invest $2.5 million in the most aggressive takedown of the poll leader yet — on behalf of an increasingly anxious GOP establishment.

Major insurer may leave ObamaCare  —  One of the country's largest health insurers warned Thursday that it may leave the ObamaCare exchanges within two years, delivering a shock announcement that could ripple through the marketplace.  —  At a shareholder meeting Thursday …

Ex-CIA director: Snowden should be ‘hanged’ for Paris  —  A former CIA director says leaker Edward Snowden should be convicted of treason and given the death penalty in the wake of the terrorist attack on Paris.  —  “It's still a capital crime, and I would give him the death sentence …