Ted Cruz Is Nixon, Not Goldwater  —  The lazy conventional wisdom is that Ted Cruz is the new Barry Goldwater doomed to suffer an electoral landslide defeat should he win the Republican nomination.  —  Not only is this wrong about Cruz's general-election chances, it may compare Cruz to the wrong 20th-century Republican forebear.

Suspects in Cologne sex attacks ‘claimed to be Syrian refugees’  —  Leaked police report claims senior police officers feared fatalities and that one of those involved in attacks told officers: “I am Syrian.  You have to treat me kindly.  Mrs Merkel invited me”

Bill Clinton rape accuser: Hillary ‘tried to silence’ me  —  A woman who publicly accused former President Bill Clinton of raping her in 1978 is resurrecting her claims on social media.  —  “I was 35 years old when Bill Clinton, Ark. Attorney General raped me,” Juanita Broaddrick tweeted Wednesday.

The Pugnacious, Relentless Progressive Party That Wants to Remake America … At a recent private dinner in Manhattan, a small group of leftists plotted to take over America.  —  The group, a dozen community organizers and activists from all over the country, had convened at a sushi restaurant …

First on CNN: Megadonor Dick Uihlein gives $1 million to Ted Cruz's Super PAC  —  (CNN)Dick Uilhlein, one of the top Republican megadonors nationwide, has decided to back Ted Cruz's presidential campaign and has donated $1 million to his super PAC.  —  Uilhlein committed on Wednesday evening …

Watch: Donald Trump supporters tear up 'America's Already Great' sign at Lowell rally  —  An identifying theme of Donald Trump's campaign rallies has been protesters disrupting the event and subsquently being removed from the venue by security.  —  Trump's rally Monday in Lowell was no exception.

A Dejected Mike Huckabee Is Now Just Burning Bridges With The Religious Right  —  Mike Huckabee has made no secret of his disappointment in fact that Religious Right leaders have failed to rally around his presidential campaign, with many of them instead backing Ted Cruz.

After Horrific Rape Charges, Tennessee High School Cancels Basketball Season  —  Three basketball players at Ooltewah High School in Tennessee have been charged with the aggravated rape and assault of a 15-year-old freshman teammate on December 21.  —  Now, as the investigation …

Alabama Governor's Office Sues Obama Administration Over Refugee Resettlement  —  President Obama shakes hands with Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley upon arrival in Birmingham, Alabama, on March 26, 2015.  —  Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images  —  Alabama officials entered the legal fray …

Man with cleaver killed by Paris police on anniversary of Charlie Hebdo attacks  —  Deadly shooting outside Paris police station  — Police kill man with cleaver after he tried to enter a northern Paris police station, officials say  —  (CNN)Police shot and killed a man wielding …

Veepstakes cloud Senate GOP hopes of preserving majority  —  The Republican imperative to put together a strong White House ticket is butting up against the party's dream of preserving the Senate GOP majority.  —  Republican strategists say Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Kelly Ayotte …

Couple gets engaged at Walmart, steals sex toys at mall, police say  —  BAY CITY, MI — Shortly after a Bay City man proposed to his girlfriend at Walmart, the pair shoplifted jewelry and sex toys, police say, leading the newly engaged couple to spend their New Year's Eve in jail.

Rubio mocks media coverage of his boots: ‘This is craziness’  —  Marco Rubio thinks the media frenzy over his trendy high-heeled boots is a troubling example of “where we are as a country,” but that doesn't mean he's taking them off the trail for good.  —  “Let me get this right.

Email Shows CNN's Invite Only Gun Control “Town Hall” With Obama is a Total Sham  —  Following his executive actions this week, President Obama will participate in what CNN is calling a “town hall” style discussion about gun control at George Mason University tomorrow night.

NOAA: U.S. posts second-hottest year on record  —  The United States posted its second-hottest year on record in 2015, government scientists reported Thursday, extending the streak of warmer-than-average annual temperatures.  —  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration …

New charges allege religious leader, who has ties to the Duggars, sexually abused women  —  Ten women on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Bill Gothard, who for decades was a major force in the conservative Christian homeschooling movement, charging him and leaders in his ministry with sexual abuse, harassment and cover-up.

The 5300-year-old Helicobacter pylori genome of the Iceman  —  1Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano (EURAC), Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy.  —  2Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Kiel University, Schittenhelmstrasse 12, 24105 Kiel, Germany.

Convention can restore limited government  —  Our republic is under siege by the Washington establishment in both parties.  —  America was built on the revolutionary idea that our rights come from God, not from government.  To protect those rights, our founders created a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Ryan: Obama gun actions ‘a distraction’  —  Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) downplayed President Obama's executive actions on gun control on Wednesday, repeatedly dismissing them as a “distraction” from Islamic terrorism and other key issues facing the country.  —  “I think it would be nice …

George Zimmerman rips Obama's ‘crocodile tears’ on guns  —  George Zimmerman is accusing President Obama of insincerity for weeping over mass shooting victims one day ago.  —  “He made an announcement and I could think when I saw it was crocodile tears,” Zimmerman, who shot and killed a black teenager in 2012, told TMZ.

Cellphone plans are getting cheaper — thanks, Obama! (and T-Mobile)  —  Next time you go shopping for a new cellphone plan, you're likely to find that the options are a lot better than they were a couple of years ago.  Prices are lower.  You don't have to sign up for one of those annoying two-year contracts.