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 Term ‘Neocon’ has Run its Course  —  In interviews and on the stump, Sen. Ted Cruz likes to attack President Obama, Hillary Clinton and “some of the more aggressive Washington neocons” for their support of regime change in the Middle East.  —  Every time we topple a dictator, Cruz argues …

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 …

Trump disrupts Sanders' stronghold  —  Burlington, Vt. — Donald Trump's Thursday night rally has created the biggest political fracas here since 1981, when in the midst of the Cold War the city elected a socialist mayor named Bernard Sanders.  —  Ahead of Trump's visit …

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.

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 …

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.

Huckabee: Evangelical Leaders Won't Endorse Me Because I'll “Slay The Dragon”  —  Mike Huckabee said in an interview on Wednesday that evangelical groups won't support his presidential campaign out of fear they would no longer be able to fundraise if Christian policies were to actually be put in place.

Exclusive: House Republicans recruited Carson for Speaker  —  House Republicans reached out to GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson in 2014 about replacing John Boehner as Speaker of the House, Carson told The Hill on Thursday.  —  “They were looking for an alternative …

Snowy owl spotted soaring by Montreal traffic camera  —  White and black-spotted bird spreads its wings against snowy backdrop  —  Spectacular images of a snowy owl in flight have been captured by Transport Quebec's traffic camera along Montreal's Highway 40.

Donald Trump On Rubio's Boots: “Those Heels Were Really Up There”  —  “It helps to be tall.”  —  Donald Trump said Thursday that Marco Rubio might have been better off not rocking the shiny black boots with a heel that has had his opponents cracking jokes all week.

Planned Parenthood to give Clinton its first-ever primary endorsement  —  Planned Parenthood is throwing its support behind Hillary Clinton, delivering what will be the organization's first-ever endorsement in a presidential primary.  —  “Let's be clear — reproductive rights and health …

U.S. Marshals Raid Hoverboard Booth at CES  —  The maker of the Onewheel electric skateboard called in federal marshals to shut down the booth of a company making a similar product.  —  On Thursday afternoon, two U.S. federal marshals showed up at the Consumer Electronics Show to conduct a raid.

Do you know the gun owners in your circle? … It's inevitable when my husband and I visit family these days that the subject of violence in Baltimore comes up.  Often, I'm the one who raises it.  But when it came up last week on a trip to see my parents in Georgia, I got my back up.

Missing U.S. Missile Shows Up in Cuba  —  Inert Hellfire missile sent to Europe for a training exercise makes mysterious trip, sparking concerns over loss of military technology  —  An inert U.S. Hellfire missile sent to Europe for training purposes was wrongly shipped from there to Cuba in 2014 …

The Candidate We Love to Hate and Hate to Love  —  Hillary Clinton has changed greatly over the past twenty-five years of public service, as First Lady, then Senator, then Secretary of State, and now presidential front-runner.  No one has tracked that evolution more closely …

Madaya: residents of besieged Syrian town say they are being starved to death  —  Activists in the mountain town, where 30,000 people have been trapped since July, speak of families eating leaves to survive  —  Residents of a Syrian town a few dozen miles from the capital, Damascus …

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 …