As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Soar, G.O.P. Leaders' Exasperation Grows  —  DES MOINES — Republican leaders are growing alarmed by the ferocious ways the party's mainstream candidates for president are attacking one another, and they fear that time is running out for any of them to emerge …

We checked if 2,000 voters recognized the 2016 candidates' faces.  Here's what we found.  —  Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are by far the most recognizable faces in the 2016 race, a poll conducted by Morning Consult and Vox has found.  —  Ninety-six percent of respondents to the online poll …

2 Abortion Foes Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Are Indicted  —  HOUSTON — A grand jury here that was investigating allegations of misconduct against Planned Parenthood has instead indicted two anti-abortion activists who made videos of the organization.  —  In a statement …

Rome spares Iranian president's blushes by covering nude statues  —  Sculptures in Capitoline Museum obscured by large white panels for Hassan Rouhani's meeting with Italian PM  —  Italian officials keen to spare the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, any possible offence on his visit …

Trump: ‘Obviously’ I Was Joking About Shooting People And Not Losing Votes  —  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Tuesday that he was just joking when he said he could shoot somebody and still not lose votes in the 2016 race.  —  Trump told a crowd Saturday at a campaign rally …

Watch: Oregon militant challenges Chris Christie to sumo wrestling to end standoff  —  An armed protester at the Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge says the militants will end their standoff if Chris Christie can beat him in one round of sumo wrestling.  (YouTube)

Why D.C. Hates Ted Cruz … In the three years since he arrived in the U.S. Senate, Ted Cruz has become easily the most hated man in Washington—a fact he's now using to his advantage as a presidential candidate.  But why?  —  Is it true, as Cruz would have it, that the dreaded GOP …

Why we must rethink solitary confinement  —  Barack Obama is president of the United States.  —  In 2010, a 16-year-old named Kalief Browder from the Bronx was accused of stealing a backpack.  He was sent to Rikers Island to await trial, where he reportedly endured unspeakable violence …

Bernie Sanders has the most realistic plan to boost wages and job creation  —  Here's one more reason to take Bernie Sanders's candidacy seriously: He has put forward statements and arguments on what is by far the most powerful lever a president has on the American economy — the chronically neglected subject of monetary policy.

Human Emulation Module Upgraded In Animatronic ‘Hillarity!’  —  The NY Times reports from the world of AI, or might have:  —  Hillary Clinton, Battling in Iowa, Turns Warm Under Pressure  —  By AMY CHOZICK JAN. 25, 2016  —  “Turns warm”?  Apparently the upgraded module requires additional power.

Sarah Palin, Rage Whisperer  —  DONALD J. TRUMP has made a shrewd bet.  For the first time since he descended an escalator in Trump Tower last June to announce that this time, he really was running for president, he ceded control of his campaign message.  He handed the Trump-bedecked podium over to Sarah Palin.

The Silent Death  —  A couple months ago I wrote about a controversial study which reported the rising mortality rates among middle aged whites - a trend which broke the model of ever-decreasing mortality rates across racial groups in the United States and all wealthy industrialized countries worldwide.

Republicans should vote for John Kasich in New Hampshire  —  NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICANS can do their party a critical service on Feb. 9 by voting for an experienced political figure with a record of results, and thus dealing a blow to the divisive, demagogic candidates running on nativism and other political simplicities.

Hillary Clinton Goes Back to the Dunning School  —  Last night Hillary Clinton was asked what president inspired her the most.  She offered up Abraham Lincoln, gave a boilerplate reason why, and then said this: … Clinton, whether she knows it or not, is retelling a racist—though popular …