Trump hits a new high in national poll  —  Donald Trump just got a little more vault in his ceiling.  Nationwide, the polling-obsessed Manhattan multi-billionaire and leading Republican presidential candidate broke into the 40s on Monday.  —  According to the results of the latest Monmouth …

Bowe Bergdahl to Face Court-Martial on Desertion Charges  —  A top Army commander on Monday ordered that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl face a court-martial on charges of desertion and endangering troops stemming from his decision to leave his outpost in 2009, prompting a huge manhunt in the wilds …

STATEMENT ON DONALD J. TRUMP RECORD OF HEALTH  —  I am proud to share this report, written by the highly respected Dr. Harold Bornstein of Lenox Hill Hospital, stating that I am in excellent health.  I am fortunate to have been blessed with great genes —  both of my parents had very long and productive lives.

What The Hell Happened To Mickey Kaus?  —  Mickey Kaus was sitting at Superba Food + Bread in Venice Beach, California, an expensive coffee place where an expensive-looking person was yelling at the counter staff about a housefly on a cookie.  —  Kaus was sorry about the location …

On ‘Princess Bride’ Portrayals, Mandy Patinkin Thinks Ted Cruz Doesn't Get It  —  In recent days, the actor Mandy Patinkin, who played the master swordsman Inigo Montoya in the classic 1987 film “The Princess Bride,” has received emails from friends alerting him to pictures on the Internet …

Registration Begins on December 21, 2015, First 30 Days are Free  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced a streamlined and user-friendly web-based aircraft registration process for owners of small unmanned aircraft (UAS) …

Americans Name Terrorism as No. 1 U.S. Problem  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — After the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, Americans are now more likely to name terrorism as the top issue facing the U.S. than to name any other issue — including those that have typically topped …

2015 Sportsperson of the Year: Serena Williams  —  Real life?  For Serena Williams that's the easy part now.  That's how it works when you zoom—beyond tennis, beyond $74 million in prize money, beyond one of the greatest late-career runs in sports history—into celebrity hyperspace.

The biggest Pinocchios of 2015  —  It's time for our annual round-up of the biggest Pinocchios of the year.  —  The 2016 presidential campaign has dominated our coverage of false claims.  In particular, businessman Donald Trump—who has soared to the top of the GOP field—kept us busy.

French Teacher Lied About ISIS Stabbing, Prosecutors Say  —  PARIS — The French authorities said on Monday that a teacher who claimed to have been stabbed with scissors and a box cutter at a preschool near Paris had fabricated the story.  —  A police official in Aubervilliers confirmed that the teacher …

NBA referee Bill Kennedy reveals he is gay; Rajon Rondo alleged to have made slur to him  —  Bill Kennedy, one of the NBA's top referees, has revealed he is gay.  —  “I am proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man,” Kennedy told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night.

Negotiating the Whirlwind  —  John Kerry, the sixty-eighth Secretary of State of the United States, was born to a temperament of wintry rectitude.  He is descended from the Winthrops, who helped found the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the Forbeses, a Brahmin clan that made its money in railways …

Sen. Bob Corker Failed to Properly Disclose Millions of Dollars in Income  —  Tennessee Republican files amendments to reports going back to 2007; ‘I am extremely disappointed in the filing errors’  —  WASHINGTON—Sen. Bob Corker failed to properly disclose millions of dollars in income from real estate …

The Unbearable Lightness of Being John Kerry  —  NBC's Chuck Todd asked our sainted secretary of state, the French-looking John Kerry (who served in Vietnam, as James Taranto reminds us) how we're going to enforce a global climate “agreement” that has no legally binding provisions beyond a schedule for more meetings to party on.

Anti-ISIS holiday display in Maine raises some eyebrows  —  Sheriff's deputies visited the Limerick homeowner after someone expressed concerns about the creative use of holiday lights and a Santa Claus.  —  A Limerick homeowner's use of holiday lights to make a statement against terrorism caught …

A Professor Took Care Of A Single Mom's Kids During An Exam After Her Babysitter Canceled  —  A college professor in Kentucky is getting a ton of online praise after a photo of him babysitting a student's kids so she could take her final exam went viral.  —  Victoria Henry

Republican Billionaires Just Can't Seem to Buy This Election  —  Money has poured into the political system.  And yet spending the cash haul effectively has never been more difficult. … You'd think buying an election would be easy.  This is, after all, the rough pitch …

Pete Rose to Remain Barred by Baseball  —  Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, has decided not to lift the permanent ban imposed on Pete Rose more than a quarter-century ago, meaning the player with more hits than anyone else in the sport's history will continue to be kept out of the Hall of Fame.

MSNBC's Harris-Perry Gripes Over ‘Totally Black Guy’ Darth Vader As Evil Character  —  Share it Tweet it  —  On her eponymously named Sunday morning show, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry went into a mini-rant about racism in Star Wars as she complained about villain Darth Vader being …

The Mystery of Missing Inflation Weighs on Fed Rate Move  —  U.S. near full employment, but inflation hasn't risen as predicted; Fed officials can't figure out why  —  Federal Reserve officials this week are expected to raise interest rates for the first time in nine years on the expectation …