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 …

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.

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 …

Trump on Rubio's boots: 'I don't know, they're big heels'  —  Donald Trump joined the media circus over Marco Rubio's trendy, high-heeled boots on Thursday, telling Boston radio host Howie Carr, “you won't see me wearing them.”  —  “I don't know what to think of those boots,” he added.

Police Report Outlines ‘Chaotic and Shameful’ New Year's Eve  —  An internal police protocol has revealed the full extent of the violence in Cologne on New Year's Eve.  According to the report, which SPIEGEL has seen, officials were overwhelmed and powerless to help some people calling for help.

Greenberg's Big Donation to Bush Super-PAC Was Made ‘Months Ago’  —  In an interview, the insurance mogul said Jeb Bush was “an outstanding executive” who “had a very good chance of being the nominee.”  —  timkhiggins  —  zachmider  —  Maurice “Hank” Greenberg's insurance company donated $10 million …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Last Slide  —  Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson at a campaign rally with 500 people in Cedar Rapids shouted out to a fifth-grade class: “Who's the worst student?”  —  Carson's question, intended as a joke in an anecdote about how he felt in elementary school …

Missouri bill defines sex between lobbyists, lawmakers as a gift  —  Lobbyists would have to disclose sexual relations with a lawmaker or their staff to the Ethics Commission  —  The 2016 Legislative session began Wednesday … JEFFERSON CITY  —  Lobbyists who have sex with a Missouri lawmaker …

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.

52 Places to Go in 2016  —  A metropolis that has it all.  —  An ancient wine region gets a stunning update.  —  The Mediterranean on a dime.  —  Visit the U.S. Virgin Island's quiet corner before big development.  —  A century of protecting America's magnificence.

Trump campaign official arrives at Oregon standoff to help militants combat ‘psyops’  —  DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  Jerry DeLemus, a Trump campaign official and the husband of New Hampshire state Rep. Susan DeLemus, has arrived in Burns, Oregon — where some of his associates …