The Ted Cruz pile on: GOP senators warn of revolt should he win nomination  —  Washington (CNN)Republican Party leaders and prominent senators are sharpening their knives against Ted Cruz, expressing growing alarm over his candidacy as he continues to mount a serious threat in Iowa.

Carly Fiorina accused of ‘ambushing’ children for anti-abortion rally  —  Party of schoolchildren visiting Iowa botanical garden become part of backdrop for Republican presidential candidate's speech on abortion  —  Carly Fiorina has been accused of “ambushing” a group of children …

Trump Fear Stalks Davos as Elite Pray for Spring Reality Check  —  Concerns over protectionism and U.S. reputation bubble up  —  Ex-White House advisor still thinks Trump will be nominee  —  If Donald Trump as president of the United States is the ghost that's stalking Davos …

Bernie Sanders, and Simon and Garfunkel, Put Focus on Voters  —  With the help of the Simon and Garfunkel song “America,” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has released a powerful 60-second commercial in Iowa that seeks to remind his supporters how far he, and they, have come — and to inspire them anew to caucus for him on Feb. 1.

Pentagon releases al Qaeda bomb expert from Guantánamo  —  The Pentagon on Thursday announced the transfer of two Guantánamo detainees, including an al Qaeda explosives expert who developed bombs to target U.S. forces.  —  Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed al-Sawah, 58, was transferred to Bosnia, where he holds citizenship.

The Bush blame game begins  —  They think he wasted money on everything from an iPad-sized video mailer to direct mail for donors in states that don't yet matter.  They think his attacks on Marco Rubio are doing more harm than good.  And they worry that, at the end, all he will have accomplished …

As Water Problems Grew, Officials Belittled Complaints From Flint  —  LANSING, Mich. — A top aide to Michigan's governor referred to people raising questions about the quality of Flint's water as an “anti-everything group.”  Other critics were accused of turning complaints about water into a “political football.”

BREAKING: Oklahoma City Cop Will Serve 263 Years In Prison For Serial Rape Of Black Women  —  Former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw was sentenced to a full 263 years in prison on Thursday for a series of rapes and sexual assaults against black women living on his beat.

Putin ‘Probably Approved’ Litvinenko Poisoning, British Inquiry Says  —  LONDON — A high-profile British inquiry into the poisoning of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former K.G.B. officer and foe of the Kremlin, concluded on Thursday that his murder “was probably approved” by the head …

The ‘Obama is a Muslim’ conspiracy theory is still reverberating in the Middle East  —  When Barack Obama stepped onto the national political stage almost a decade ago, rumors swirled that he was secretly a Muslim.  These rumors have frequently been debunked — the U.S. president is a practicing Christian …

The smoking gun?  —  Special Access Programs (SAP) is a game changer.  It is now undeniably clear that the results of the FBI investigation will be the end of one of two things: Hillary's bid for the White House or the legitimacy of the FBI—at least when it comes to prosecuting cases on the mishandling of classified material.