Powerball jackpot, already at a record level, could reach $1 billion  —  The Powerball lottery jackpot has already jumped to $700 million.  Could it reach $1 billion?  —  By midday Thursday, lottery officials said the new high came as sales of tickets continue to skyrocket.

Cops: Suspect Says He Shot Officer In Name Of Islam  —  By Justin Finch, Rahel Solomon, Walt Hunter  —  PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Authorities say a Philadelphia police officer is recovering after he was shot several times during an ambush late Thursday night in West Philadelphia.

Whoa: Hillary e-mail instructs aide to transmit classified data without markings  —  Has the State Department released a smoking gun in the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal?  In a thread from June 2011, Hillary exchanges e-mails with Jake Sullivan, then her deputy chief of staff …

Unprecedented sex harassment in Helsinki at New Year, Finnish police report  —  Finnish police ‘tipped off’ about plans by groups of asylum seekers to sexually harass women  —  Asylum seekers who gathered in central Helsinki on New Years's Eve “had similar plans” to commit sexual assault …

Fox poll: Sanders soars in New Hampshire  —  Bernie Sanders has soared to a 13-point lead over Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire in a Fox News survey out Friday, nearly a month to the day that primary voters will make their decision at the polls on Feb. 9.  —  Sanders, who in November held …

GOP heads into 2016 fight with no clear ObamaCare plan  —  The GOP has failed to put forward a full ObamaCare replacement plan, a significant political liability in an election year that stands to permanently cement the law.  —  Republicans this week made good on a five-year-old promise …

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott calls for Convention of States to take back states' rights  —  Gov. Greg Abbott called Friday for a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution.  (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) … Gov. Greg Abbott, aiming to spark a national conversation about states' rights …

Exclusive: Birth Certificate for Ted Cruz's Mother  —  Eleanor Darragh, mother of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), was born in Delaware on Nov. 23, 1934, establishing her citizenship by birth-and, according to U.S. law, that of her son, even though he was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on Dec. 22, 1970.

Melbourne man faces stiff opposition to penis signature  —  Jared Hyams' signature started as a joke.  —  Suspecting that no one at the Australian Electoral Commission would scrutinise the application to change his address, he scribbled a caricature of a penis in the box that asked for a signature.

Militants in Oregon standoff persist with small donations, spaghetti dinners and financial sacrifice  —  Hunkering down for days, weeks or months in a building in rural Oregon is unlikely to be a lucrative occupation.  —  So how can the people that make up the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom …

Jeb Bush's Image Among Republicans Deteriorates  —  Story Highlights  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's image among Republicans has steadily worsened over the past 5 ½ months.  His current net favorable rating of -1 (44% favorable, 45% unfavorable) …

EXCLUSIVE: NYC high school teacher claims she was fired for Central Park Five lessons that administrators feared would create ‘riots’  —  A teacher at an Upper West Side high school was fired for creating a curriculum with lessons about the Central Park Five that administrators feared would …

Sharia, deportation, world government: Ted Cruz's masterful handling of conservative angst  —  On the third evening of his “Cruzin' to Caucuses” bus tour, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) told an immigrant from Mexico something other Republicans might blanche at.  Ofelia Valdez, a 30-year-old special needs worker …

Beaverton plumber fired after racist road rage rant  —  Video of Beaverton racist driver goes viral … BEAVERTON, Ore. — A Beaverton plumber was fired after he was caught on cell phone video yelling racial slurs at a driver in traffic Tuesday.  —  The video (shown above …

Charles Koch bemoans lack of influence over 2016 race  —  Charles Koch is “disappointed” with the line-up of Republican candidates in the 2016 cycle, and is surprised by the lack of influence he and his brother have wielded so far.  —  In an interview with the Financial Times …

Sheriff to Tonya Couch: 'It's jail, not a resort'  —  TARRANT COUNTY — Tonya Couch appeared in a yellow jail jumpsuit in her first court appearance Friday morning and told District Judge Wayne Salvant she understood the charges against her.  —  Couch stood amid eight deputies …

ISIS militant Ali Saqr al-Qasem publicly executes his own mother in Raqqa after accusing her of ‘apostasy’  —  LONDON: In a shocking low even by the standards of the Islamic State, a militant has publicly executed his own mother after accusing her of apostasy.

Disclosure: Another 41 Foreign-Born Individuals Snagged On Terror Charges  —  Following the discovery of a terrorist cell in Texas allegedly operated by an Iraqi who entered the United States as a refugee, the Washington Free Beacon has learned of an additional 41 individuals who have been implicated …

Who Told Ted Cruz It Was a Good Idea to Talk About Spanking Hillary Clinton?  —  Ted Cruz has been parading around Iowa this week, delivering meticulously rehearsed stump speeches and unfortunately unrehearsed “jokes.”  It's hard to tell exactly which category Cruz's latest little metaphor falls in …

The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene  —  1British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG, UK.  —  2Department of Geology, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.  —  3Scott Polar Research Institute …

Republican politicians jumped the gun on terrorism suspect's arrest: sources  —  Two Texas politicians made public details of an investigation into a terrorism suspect while it was still in progress, potentially jeopardizing the inquiry, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.