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.

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.

Police: Gunman who shot cop pledged allegiance to the Islamic State  —  by , Staff Report .  —  While not classifying the shooting as a terrorist attack, police said Friday that the man arrested after shooting and wounding a police officer in an ambush in West Philadelphia Thursday night confessed he acted “in the name of Islam.”

Silently protesting Muslim woman ejected from Trump rally  —  Rock Hill, South Carolina (CNN)A Muslim woman wearing a hijab was escorted out of Donald Trump's campaign event on Friday by police after she stood up in silent protest during Trump's speech.  —  Rose Hamid, a 56-year-old flight …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Veto Message from the President — H.R. 3762  —  TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:  —  I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 3762, which provides for reconciliation pursuant to section 2002 of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2016, herein referred to as the Reconciliation Act.

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.

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 …

Teenage student, 18, is fined £90 after lying that she was punched in the face because she wore a hijab in the days after the Paris terror attacks  —  A Muslim teenager has been fined after she lied about being punched in the face because she wore a hijab in the days after the Paris terror attacks.

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 …

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 …

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 …

GOP Debates on CNN Crush Obama's Town Hall Ratings  —  Share it Tweet it  —  Compared to the two Republican presidential debates on CNN, Barack Obama's gun control town hall got crushed in the ratings.  The President's two hour-long appearance with Anderson Cooper on Thursday managed 2.4 million viewers.