Cruz Soars to Front of the Pack in Iowa Poll; Trump Support Stays Flat  —  Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa survey also brings no joy to Ben Carson or Jeb Bush.  —  McCormickJohn  —  Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has surged ahead to become the latest front-runner …

196 countries approve historic climate agreement  —  BREAKING NEWS: Negotiators from 196 countries approved a landmark climate accord on Saturday that seeks to dramatically reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases blamed for a dangerous warming of the planet.

Trump: I can't wash my hair properly because of water regs  —  Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says water regulations from the are making it difficult for him to keep his famed mane clean.  —  Asked about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) “Waters of the United States” …

U.S. Visa Process Missed San Bernardino Wife's Zealotry on Social Media  —  WASHINGTON — Tashfeen Malik, who with her husband carried out the massacre in San Bernardino, Calif., passed three background checks by American immigration officials as she moved to the United States from Pakistan.

How Well Do You Know Religion?  —  Donald Trump's proposal to bar Muslims from America may be a gift to ISIS recruitment and a grotesque echo of the sentiment behind the Chinese Exclusion Act and the internment of Japanese-Americans.  But, like those earlier spasms of exclusion, the Trump proposal has plenty of supporters.

‘Debate is very important,’ Paul says  —  CONCORD, N.H. - Kentucky Senator Rand Paul is confident he will be on the primetime Republican debate stage Tuesday, but if he falls short, he will make an announcement this week about what comes next.  —  Asked Saturday by the Globe specifically …

Police shoot and kill armed man in East Stroudsburg Walmart  —  A man armed with two handguns and a machete was shot and killed inside the East Stroudsburg Walmart on Saturday night, according to state police.  —  The 20-year-old white male entered the Walmart, on Lincoln Avenue …

A top Democratic opposition research group says it won't go after Marco Rubio — but why?  —  After an early career as a conservative operative dedicated to bringing down Bill Clinton, David Brock has emerged as one of the top guys in the world of Democratic-aligned fundraising, messaging, and opposition research.

Video Appears to Show Sheriff's Deputies Fatally Shoot Man in Lynwood (Warning: Graphic Video)  —  Investigators say a man was armed and turning toward sheriff's deputies when they fatally shot him in Lynwood Saturday, as video emerged showing the man apparently walking away as a barrage …

‘Freedom of Speech Includes the Freedom to Hate’  —  A reader flags the classic video seen above: … Reason's Ronald Bailey highlighted some key excerpts from Hitch's speech in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, when his voice was also sorely missed.  From an essay on free speech Hitchens wrote in April 2011:

Despair Over Gun Deaths Is Not an Option  —  After months of grief and depression, parents who lost children in the 2012 schoolhouse gun slaughter in Newtown, Conn., turned to the courts last year for a modicum of justice and only then discovered the full power of gun manufacturers …