Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina Cut From Next Republican Mainstage Debate  —  Republican presidential candidates Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina have been cut from the next mainstage debate on Thursday.  —  According to a newly-announced lineup by debate host Fox Business Network …

Dem ‘nail-biter’ in early states  —  The Democratic presidential race is tightening just weeks before the Iowa caucuses, renewing the sense among some Democrats that Bernie Sanders could sweep the first two voting states and challenge Hillary Clinton over the long haul.

War over gay marriage to play out at SOTU  —  Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More  —  President Obama's effort to stack the audience with those who support his causes at his last State of the Union Address is being rebuffed by conservatives inviting guests that challenged Obamacare and gay marriage.

Journalists: Stop Complaining About Sean Penn  —  Awakened from its holiday hibernation, the journalistic orthodoxy massed yesterday to attack Sean Penn and Rolling Stone for their 11,000-word story/interview with Joaquin Archivaldo Guzman Loera—aka El Chapo.

Supreme Court conservatives appear ready to overturn mandatory union fees  —  People participate in a Jan. 11 rally at the Supreme Court in Washington as the justices heard arguments in Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Assn.  —  Reporting from Washington

Father of Koch Brothers Helped Build Nazi Oil Refinery, Book Says  —  The father of the billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch helped construct a major oil refinery in Nazi Germany that was personally approved by Adolf Hitler, according to a new history of the Kochs and other wealthy families.

RISE IN MIGRANTS LEAVING GERMANY FOLLOWING COLOGNE SEX ATTACKS  —  Germany has started sending a growing number of migrants back to Austria since the New Year's Eve sex attacks in Cologne shocked the country.  —  Some of the departing migrants said they did not want asylum in Germany …

Was David Bowie saying goodbye on Blackstar?  —  From Lazarus to Dollar Days, the songs on Bowie's inspired new album speak of illness, death and heaven - and offer intriguing insights about the man who sang, 'I'm not a pop star, I'm a blackstar'  —  One thing that struck reviewers …

Is This The End of ‘The New Republic’?  —  After spending ‘over $20 million’ on the political and cultural journal, Chris Hughes' decision to sell ‘TNR’ could mark its death knell.  —  In what some knowledgeable observers characterized as the death knell for a nearly 102-year-old American institution …

Clinton Considered Secret Plan to Spark Palestinian Protests  —  Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton considered a secret plan created by her then-advisers to foment unrest among Palestinian citizens and spark protests in order to push the Israeli government back to the negotiating table …

Cologne aftermath: Pakistanis, Syrian attacked in wake of New Year's assaults  —  Backlash in Germany after gang sex assaults  —  (CNN)Gangs of men have attacked and injured two Pakistanis and a Syrian man in Cologne, Germany, in the aftermath of an unprecedented wave of mob sex assaults on women in the city on New Year's Eve.

Another View — John H. Sununu: Don't drink the Trump Kool-Aid  —  Most of us know “Drinking the Kool-Aid” refers to a commitment to an idea without comprehending the implications of that commitment.  We remember that this phrase derives from the horrible tragedy of 1978 where 900 followers …

Teen behind deadly crash didn't have legal license  —  PORTAGE, Mich. (WOOD) — A 17-year-old accused of causing a deadly crash while trying to outrun officers didn't have a legal license, records show.  —  David Michael Mills will be charged with driving while his license was suspended, revoked or denied, causing death.

Biden says Obama offered financial help amid son's illness  —  Washington (CNN)As his eldest son faced the prospect of resigning as Delaware's attorney general amid health concerns, Vice President Joe Biden received an offer that floored him: financial support from his boss, President Barack Obama.

Michelle King is new superintendent for Los Angeles Unified School District  —  Michelle King served as L.A. Unified's No. 2 administrator under the two previous superintendents before applying for the top job herself.  —  The Los Angeles Board of Education on Monday named Deputy Supt.