GOP braces for a post-Iowa collision  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — The bruised and battered Republican Party establishment is bracing for a collision — with the candidates running under its banner.  —  With the GOP political class growing increasingly worried that insurgents Donald Trump …

Hillary Clinton May Win Iowa After All  —  It would be entirely reasonable to presume that Bernie Sanders has momentum in Iowa.  He's gained on Hillary Clinton in national polls.  He keeps pulling further ahead of Clinton in New Hampshire.  And he's made substantial gains in Iowa relative to his position late last year.

Iowa poll reveals a line of attack that could sink Trump  —  DES MOINES — The final poll ahead of Monday's caucuses showed Donald Trump rallying to a five-point lead over Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, with two days to go before voting, but it also revealed a line of attack that could sink Trump.

Wind, Sun and Fire  —  So what's really at stake in this year's election?  Well, among other things, the fate of the planet.  —  Last year was the hottest on record, by a wide margin, which should — but won't — put an end to climate deniers' claims that global warming has stopped.

How Clinton is plotting to go after Trump  —  DES MOINES, Iowa — It's tunnel-vision time for Hillary Clinton as she battles Bernie Sanders here — but she's casting some serious side-eye in Donald Trump's direction.  —  After months of laughing off Trump — and assuming his ascent would propel …

Benoît Violier, Top French-Swiss Chef, Dies at 44  —  LONDON — The French-Swiss chef Benoît Violier, who scaled the heights of gastronomy to preside over a small Swiss restaurant that was named the best in the world in December, has died in what seems to have been suicide, according to the police.

How Trump Did It  —  What they heard as they ate deli sandwiches around Donald Trump's hulking, wooden conference table sounded like the businessman's typical bravado.  These 25 New York political operatives had come to ask him to run for governor.  But Trump had another plan—a very specific plan—to run for president.

Trump, king of free media, finally bankrolls campaign  —  Donald Trump finally put his money where his mouth is loaning his presidential campaign $10.8 million in the last three months of last year, accounting for 80 percent of all the cash he brought in, according to a report filed Sunday night with the Federal Election Commission.

BofA: The Oil Crash Is Kicking Off One of the Largest Wealth Transfers In Human History  —  A $3 trillion shift.  —  Economists are still hotly debating whether the oil crash has been a net positive for advanced economies.  —  Optimists argue that cheap oil is a good thing for consumers …

Turning Texas blue?:  3 trends could undo the 20 years of Republican rule Texas has endured since the days of Ann Richards  —  It will take some doing, but if Democrats can capitalize on the GOP's weaknesses, there might be hope for Texas  —  Today Texas is the reddest of the red-hot states …

Ted Cruz's Iowa Mailers Are More Fraudulent Than Everyone Thinks  —  Ted Cruz's Presidential campaign prides itself on being data-centric and on integrating insights from political science into its tactics.  In 2008, academics at Yale published an influential paper showing …

Serfs up with California's new feudalism  —  Is California the most conservative state?  —  Now that I have your attention, just how would California qualify as a beacon of conservatism?  It depends how you define the term.  —  Since the rise of Ronald Reagan, most conservatives …