Trump dominates GOP field heading into 2016  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump seems set to end 2015 as the dominant force in the race for next year's Republican nomination for president, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz now a clear — yet distant — second after a strong debate performance, a new CNN/ORC poll released on Wednesday has found.

What Ted Cruz said behind closed doors  —  In June, Ted Cruz promised on NPR that opposition to gay marriage would be “front and center” in his 2016 campaign.  —  In July, he said the Supreme Court's decision allowing same-sex marriage was the “very definition of tyranny” and urged states to ignore the ruling.

FOX Business Network Announces Entry Criteria for GOP Primary Debates on Jan. 14  —  FOX Business Network has announced the candidate criteria for its two Republican presidential primary debates on January 14, 2016.  —  The debates, which have been sanctioned by the Republican National Committee …

US stops British Muslim family from boarding flight to visit Disneyland  —  A British Muslim family heading for Disneyland was barred from boarding a flight to Los Angeles by US authorities at London's Gatwick airport amid concerns of an American overreaction to the perceived terrorist threat.

Texas Drops Planned Parenthood From HIV Prevention Program … Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout.  —  Amid an ongoing battle over Planned Parenthood's participation in the state Medicaid program, Texas health officials are cutting off funding to a Planned Parenthood affiliate for an HIV prevention program.

Being a woman costs more than being a man: Study  —  Women based products face higher prices than men's  —  A new study finds female based products cost more than those for men  —  Women are paying thousands of dollars more over the course of their lives than men to purchase similar products …

To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed  —  WALL STREET is still out of control.  Seven years ago, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department bailed out the largest financial institutions in this country because they were considered too big to fail.  But almost every one is bigger today than it was before the bailout.

Bush did not invent this quasi-monarchical process.  But he did embrace it. … “This is, in my opinion, nothing more than a Jim Crow law that we have unfortunately maintained to the current era.” … “Florida is a purple state...You can't help but suspect a partisan motivation.”

The Long Battle for Ramadi  —  Iraqi ground forces stormed Ramadi on Tuesday in an attempt to wrest control of the Iraqi city from the Islamic State, which has controlled it for months.  —  The troops began their offensive Monday night on the edges of the city, and by midday Tuesday …

Progressives have a sexual harassment problem  —  Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More  —  The Left loves to claim moral superiority over the Right when it comes to women, coining phrases like “the war on women” and claiming Republicans want to take America back back to the “Mad Men” era.

AZ lawmaker who believes Earth 6,000 years old leads education panel  —  An Arizona lawmaker who believes the Earth is 6,000 years old is the new chairwoman of the state Senate committee that oversees education-related legislation.  —  Republican Sen. Sylvia Allen of Snowflake has a gift …