Donald Trump's Strongest Supporters: A Certain Kind of Democrat  —  Donald Trump holds a dominant position in national polls in no small part because he is extremely strong among people on the periphery of the Republican coalition.  —  He is strongest among Republicans who are less affluent …

Ben Carson's Top Two Aides Resign  —  Two top aides to Ben Carson announced today that they are resigning from the Republican presidential candidate's campaign.  —  Campaign manager Barry Bennett and Communications Director Doug Watts “have resigned from the Carson campaign effective immediately.”

Holding public officials accountable with Twitter and Politwoops  —  At our Flight conference in October, our CEO Jack Dorsey spoke about Twitter's responsibilities to developers and users in the areas of government transparency: … Today we're pleased to announce that we have come …

The Consequences of California's Top-Two Primary  —  In 2009, Abel Maldonado, then a state senator, brought the top-two open primary to California.  The change allowed the two leading finishers in a primary to proceed to the general election regardless of party affiliation.

Jeb Bush on Tamir Rice: ‘The process worked’  —  Lexington, South Carolina (CNN)GOP presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, weighing in on the decision not to indict police officers in last year's shooting of Tamir Rice, said a grand jury has made a decision and that “the process worked.”

How Rubio helped his ex-con brother-in-law acquire a real estate license  —  When Marco Rubio was majority whip of the Florida House of Representatives, he used his official position to urge state regulators to grant a real estate license to his brother-in-law, a convicted cocaine trafficker …

Additional steps to help keep your personal information secure  —  We're committed to helping our users keep their personal information secure and private.  A key part of our work is identifying and preventing unauthorized access to your Microsoft Account (including Outlook.com email and OneDrive) by anyone other than you.

Mexican marijuana farmers see profits tumble as U.S. loosens laws  —  This farmer in western Mexico says he began growing marijuana when he was a teenager.  He says this will be his last crop.  (Deborah Bonello / For The Times)  —  He started growing marijuana as a teenager …

Fight breaks out at Newark anti-violence rally (PHOTOS)  —  NEWARK — A skirmish broke out between rival activists on the steps of City Hall Wednesday during what had been intended as a demonstration against violence in Newark.  —  Police were called to the scene after a small crowd began arguing …

New Obama vacation costs uncovered; They now exceed $70 million  —  As Barack, Michelle, Malia and Sasha Obama, family, friends, pets and staff enjoy their half-month-long Hawaiian vacation, the Secret Service finally complied with a court order to release some Obama vacation expenses from two years ago.

Obama Administration Preparing Fresh Iran Sanctions  —  Nearly a dozen companies and individuals targeted over ballistic-missile program  —  The Obama administration is preparing to impose its first financial sanctions on Iran since it forged a landmark nuclear agreement in July …

State Dept. to miss target in Clinton email release  —  The State Department said on Thursday that it will fall short of its court-ordered goal to release by the end of the year 43,000 pages of Hillary Clinton's emails, blaming holiday-related difficulties and the volume of documents staffers had to review.

Benghazi Soldier: ‘God And The Service Go Hand-in-Hand’  —  “Faith teaches you how to live with courage, how to live with honor, gives you something to strive for,” said.  U.S. Army Ranger Kris “Tanto” Paronto.  “To me, that's the American spirit.”  —  On September 11, 2012, terrorists attacked the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, Libya.

Crowdfunded ‘Star Trek’ Movie Draws Lawsuit from Paramount, CBS  —  ‘Axanar’ aims to be a professional-quality prequel and has raised more than $1 million.  —  For decades, Paramount and CBS have tolerated and even encouraged fans of the Star Trek franchise to use their imagination at will …

DENVER AND THE WEST  —  MUSLIM WORKERS IN FORT MORGAN FIRED OVER PRAYER DISPUTE WALKOUT  —  A Somali worker cuts and moves on the line as he trims beef in the manufacturing department at Cargill Meat Solutions in Fort Morgan, Colo. (Joe Amon, Denver Post file)

Back from the dead: Russian man wakes up in morgue after too much drinking, goes back to party  —  A man in Russia's Far East woke up in the morgue after having been declared dead, local media report.  Before the incident, he had been doing vodka rounds with friends - and after the “miraculous awakening,” he went back to the party

Fairfield grandmother drowns 4-year-old boy and leaves his body in hallway, police say  —  None of Dawn Raines-Hewes' neighbors in Fairfield knew what to think when the woman ran out of her house screaming Tuesday morning.  —  Police say neighbors peered out their windows …

When Restorative Justice in Schools Works  —  PITTSFIELD, N.H.—When the freshman Hope Parent left her cellphone unattended at Pittsfield Middle High School, last year, her classmate Brandon Bojarsky saw his chance for a little fun.  —  Grabbing the device off a windowsill in their Spanish class …

Web attack knocks BBC websites offline  —  All the BBC's websites were unavailable early on Thursday morning because of a large web attack.  —  The problems began about 0700 GMT and meant visitors to the site saw an error message rather than webpages.  —  Sources within the BBC said the sites …