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 …

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 …

Obama says U.S. hitting ISIL ‘harder than ever’  —  The United States and its allies are hitting the Islamic State “harder than ever” before, President Barack Obama announced Monday, following a briefing with military officials at the Pentagon.  —  “We are hitting ISIL harder than ever.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

How one word nearly killed the climate deal  —  PARIS — The proposed accord was just hours from a final vote when the glitch was spotted.  Someone had changed a single word in the draft text — from a “should” to a “shall” — and suddenly the entire climate deal appeared at risk of faltering.

School principal bans Santa, Thanksgiving and Pledge of Allegiance  —  Santa Claus is banned.  The Pledge of Allegiance is no longer recited.  “Harvest festival” has replaced Thanksgiving, and “winter celebrations” substitute for Christmas parties.  —  New principal Eujin Jaela Kim …

Plumber's old truck spotted in ISIS video  —  A Texas plumber who was flooded with threats after his old truck — still emblazoned with his company's name — was seen driven by ISIS thugs in Syria has armed himself and is suing a Ford dealer.  —  Mark Oberholtzer of Mark-1 Plumbing …