Trump ties with Pope Francis in U.S. poll for second most-admired man in the world  —  Americans named Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama as their most admired woman and man in the world in 2015, with Donald Trump earning the same share of admiration as Pope Francis …

The dark side: The secret world of sports doping  —  Al Jazeera investigation raises questions about whether sports heroes are linked to performance-enhancing drugs  —  Inside a hotel room in Austin, Texas, a pharmacist advises a professional athlete on taking performance-enhancing drugs.

A Texas restaurant chain posted a notice declaring itself ‘politically incorrect’  —  See Also  —  About two weeks ago, Berryhill Baja Grill, a restaurant chain that specializes in Mexican cuisine, posted notices outside each of their nine locations warning their customers that the restaurant is …

Cleric denies ties to San Bernardino killers as phone records surface  —  The cleric acting as spokesman for the San Bernardino mosque where terrorist Syed Rizwan Farook worshipped claims he barely knew Farook and didn't know his terrorist wife at all.  But phone records and other evidence uncovered …

Uncle accidentally shoots 2-year-old niece in the face while trying out new Christmas gift  —  DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  A 2-year-old girl in Oregon was rushed to the hospital after being shot in the face on Christmas morning by her uncle.

Winners and losers of the year  —  It's been a wild year in politics, both on the presidential campaign trail and in the halls of Congress.  —  But as 2015 draws to a close, it's time to take stock of who saw their fortunes rise, and who might want to put the past 12 months behind them.  —  WINNERS

Islam and Minnesota: Can we hear some straight talk for a change?  —  Don't miss Scott's article in tomorrow's Minneapolis Star Tribune, titled (by the Strib) “Islam and Minnesota: Can we hear some straight talk for a change?”  It's a great piece: … But how about those “Minnesota men” …

Republicans split on attacking climate science  —  The Republican Party is divided over whether to attack the science of climate change when opposing liberal policies.  —  Many of the most vocal Republicans say they have significant problems with the scientific consensus that the Earth …

New riot ideology: Results through coercion  —  In the summer of 1966, Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach warned that there would be riots by angry, poor minority residents in “30 or 40” American cities if Congress didn't pass President Lyndon Johnson's Model Cities antipoverty legislation.

Kentucky's Mall St. Matthews Shuts Down After Brawls Involving Up to 2,000  —  Chain-reaction brawls involving up to 2,000 people erupted in one of Kentucky's largest malls Saturday night, forcing the entire mall and businesses in the surrounding area to shut down, police said.

How Hillary Clinton Went Undercover to Examine Race in Education  —  DOTHAN, Ala. — On a humid summer day in 1972, Hillary Rodham walked into this town's new private academy, a couple of cinder-block classrooms erected hurriedly amid fields of farmland, and pretended to be someone else.

Stabbing of 9-year-old boy eyed as ISIS tryout  —  An alleged jihadist arrested in June on charges that he plotted to blow up Times Square may also be the fiend who stabbed a 9-year-old Staten Island boy in the neck five months earlier in what some investigators now believe was a botched ISIS audition.