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.

Rand Paul Says He Won't Participate In Undercard Debate  —  “I'm not gonna let any network or anybody tell me we're not a first-tier campaign.”  —  w.soundcloud.com  —  Rand Paul said on Wednesday that he will refuse to participate in a “second-tier” debate if he is relegated to the undercard stage by the Fox Business Network.

Facebook page linked to Taliban and Al Qaeda was registered to same address as British Muslim father whose Disneyland trip was blocked by Homeland Security  —  A British Muslim father whose planned Disneyland trip was ruined when he and his family were barred from boarding a flight to the U.S …

Kentucky's New Governor Strips Voting Rights For Felons And Lowers Minimum Wage In Sweeping Reforms  —  Kentucky's newly sworn-in Gov. Matt Bevin has issued a series of executive orders undoing much of his Democratic predecessor's work in one fell swoop.  —  Not only did Bevin strip …

Clinton says Trump's vulgarity doesn't shock her  —  FAIRFIELD, Ia.  — Hillary Clinton said she wasn't surprised to hear that Donald Trump had used a vulgarity to refer to her this week, but she doesn't plan to rise to his bait by responding directly to his insults.

Brian Beutler  —  Hillary Clinton has an amazing plan to close every public school in America.  —  But she might want to sit in on a better-than-average math class before stating goals like this: “I wouldn't keep any school open that wasn't doing better than average.”

Bush: Problem With Confederate Flag Is ‘What It Began To Represent Later’  —  GOP 2016er Jeb Bush defended his decision as Florida governor to take down the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol by arguing the controversy around Confederate monuments “isn't the 19th century issue, it's the 20th century issue.”

Sorry, Conservatives, Obamacare Is Still Working  —  We will stop correcting you when you stop being wrong.  —  1.7k  —  1.3k  —  Two years ago this time, conservatives were giddily predicting that Obamacare would collapse, “a failure of the administrative state on a level unimagined …

The Typical American Lives Only 18 Miles From Mom  —  Families traveling from far-flung places and returning home for the holidays.  That image of an American Christmas, retold in song and movies, fits the perception of Americans as rootless, constantly on the move to seek opportunity even if it means leaving family behind.

Cafeteria worker fired over free lunch  —  Lunch lady offered to pay district the $1.70 cost of the meal she gave to a student without money  —  She plans to seek legal counsel.  “This is just breaking my heart” … For the Idaho State Journal  —  POCATELLO

N.B.A. Lends Its Name and Its Stars to Campaign Against Gun Violence  —  The National Basketball Association, alarmed by the death toll from shootings across the country, is stepping directly into the polarizing debate over guns, regulation and the Second Amendment with an unusual advertising campaign …

Police sgt. says governor was ‘inebriated’  —  SANTA FE - A Santa Fe police officer's recording shows the officer and a Santa Fe hotel security guard discussing whether Gov. Susana Martinez was intoxicated in the moments after she talked to them about a report of loud noise and bottles …

NH reporter: Marco Rubio is like “a computer algorithm designed to cover talking points”  —  Marco Rubio's relative lack of campaigning in early states like New Hampshire has been getting increasing attention in the national press — a Washington Post article this week asked whether he'd “work hard enough to become president.”