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 …

How Clinton is plotting to go after Trump  —  DES MOINES, Iiowa — 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 …

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.

Trump Loaned $10 Million to His Campaign Toward End of 2015  —  Donald Trump's campaign filings show the billionaire show the Republican front-runner spent just $6.8 million in the final three months of last year.  The outlay is less than half of what Ted Cruz, his nearest rival in the polls, spent during the same period.

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 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.

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 …

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.

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 …