Mali attack: Special forces storm hotel to free hostages  —  Malian special forces have entered the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali's capital, Bamako, to end a siege by gunmen.  The hotel says 137 people remain inside.  —  The gunmen stormed the US-owned hotel, which is popular with foreign businesses …

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.

CNN Republican presidential debate criteria announced  —  (CNN)Republicans have three ways to make the cut for the main stage of their fifth presidential primary debate, sponsor CNN announced Thursday.  —  Candidates must meet one of three criteria in polls conducted between October 29 …

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 …

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.

Woodrow Wilson was extremely racist — even by the standards of his time  —  This Wednesday, a group of Princeton students stormed the offices of president Christopher Eisgruber to demand that Woodrow Wilson's name be removed from all programs and buildings at the university.  That's a big ask.

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.

Obama administration takes immigration battle to Supreme Court  —  The Obama administration took the battle over immigration to the Supreme Court on Friday, formally asking the justices to review a federal court decision that left in place a nationwide injunction against President Barack …

Chinese police shoot dead 28 from ‘terrorist group’  —  Chinese police have killed 28 members of a “terrorist group” in the mainly Muslim Xinjiang region, authorities announced Friday, in the bloodiest such operation in months and as Beijing denounces Western “double standards” in the wake of the Paris attacks.

U.S. Pilots Confirm: Obama Admin Blocks 75 Percent of Islamic State Strikes  —  U.S. military pilots who have returned from the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq are confirming that they were blocked from dropping 75 percent of their ordnance on terror targets because they could not get clearance …

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 …

The Illiberal Demands of the Amherst Uprising  —  At Amherst, a private liberal arts college in Massachusetts, student activists began a sit-in last Thursday at the campus library, intending “to stand in solidarity with the students in Mizzou, Yale, South Africa and every other institution across …

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 …

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.

Utah school apologizes for homework assignment to make propaganda poster for terrorist group  —  SALEM, Utah — Students in 9th grade at Salem Junior High School were given a homework assignment where they were told to draw a propaganda poster for a terrorist organization.