Trump, Cruz on brink of epic clash  —  Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are circling each other in the race for the Republican nomination and appear to be on the brink of an epic clash.  —  While the candidates have for months observed a kind of truce, party insiders believe that's about to change …

LePage makes racially charged comment at Bridgton meeting  —  A Republican critic of the governor calls the remark during a town hall meeting with residents Wednesday ‘one of the most offensive statements yet from this Governor.’  —  Gov. Paul LePage made a racially charged comment in Bridgton …

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — DECEMBER 2015  —  Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 292,000 in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Employment gains occurred in several industries, led by professional and business services …

The GOP Establishment's Civil War  —  A free-for-all between Christie, Rubio, Cruz and others, while Trump hovers above it all.  —  What everyone's waiting for is the winnowing.  New Hampshire and Iowa will force some Republican candidates out.  When we know who's still in we'll have a surer sense of the contours of the race.

Feds arrest two Middle East refugees on terror-related charges  —  (CNN)U.S. federal authorities arrested two refugees on terror-related charges Thursday.  —  The arrests in Sacramento and Houston did not appear to be directly related, but the cases had several similarities.

Guns Are Our Shared Responsibility  —  THE epidemic of gun violence in our country is a crisis.  Gun deaths and injuries constitute one of the greatest threats to public health and to the safety of the American people.  Every year, more than 30,000 Americans have their lives cut short by guns.

Fiorina: It's ‘Odd’ Cruz Didn't Renounce Canadian Citizenship Until 2014  —  Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina weighed in on what she called the “odd” circumstances of her Canadian-born rival Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)'s citizenship on Thursday.  —  In an interview on Fox News' …

Obama Mocks ‘Conspiracy’ at Forum on Gun Control  —  President Barack Obama mocked conspiracy theorists and tore into the National Rifle Association for pushing “imaginary fiction,” as he described his plans to tighten gun control rules as modest first steps toward tackling gun violence in America.

Rahm Emanuel is a national disgrace: Why he represents every worst instinct of the Democratic Party  —  The Chicago mayor's ties to a shocking police cover-up get stronger by the day.  This should come as no surprise  —  The scandal surrounding Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel's grossly corrupt …

It's a Bad Day for the Clintons When Vox Fairly Explains the Rape Allegation Against Bill  —  I must admit, when I clicked this morning on Vox's “explainer” of Juanita Broaddrick's rape allegation against Bill Clinton, I expected a whitewash.  I was wrong.  Not only did Dylan Matthews …

At Bundy encampment, outsider says militants ‘attacked’ his group  —  BURNS — Violence broke out at the Bundy compound Wednesday night between its militant occupants and members of an outside group whose leader says he wants to get women and children out of the compound.

Watchdog: Clinton email responses ‘inaccurate and incomplete’  —  The State Department has been providing “inaccurate and incomplete” responses to requests for emails and other documents involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a watchdog says in a new report released Thursday.

Trooper prays with driver upset over his daughter's cancer diagnosis  —  BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It can be stressful enough to see a police car behind you, but imagine getting pulled over after learning your child is dying from cancer.  —  Rodney Gibson was driving on SR 37 in Monroe County Monday …

Feds eye six military bases as temporary shelters to house unaccompanied minors  —  The Obama administration is eyeing six military bases to potentially house the recent surge of undocumented children from Central America illegally crossing into the U.S. through the southern Mexico border.