Clinton and Sanders just had the election's most explosive exchange to date  —  The niceties are finished.  —  After a string of debates where Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders discussed (and occasionally disagreed about) the fine points of progressive policy, the two finally had a full-fledged throwdown Thursday night.

EXCLUSIVE-Voicemails: ‘Ben Carson Suspending Campaigning’; Cruz: ‘Accurate Report’  —  New audio obtained exclusively by Breitbart News indicates that as the Iowa caucuses began on Monday night, the Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) campaign called precinct captains informing them that Dr. Ben Carson …

Condoleezza Rice Aides, Colin Powell Also Got Classified Info on Personal Emails  —  The State Department's Inspector General has found classified information sent to the personal email accounts of former Secretary of State Colin Powell and the senior staff of former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, NBC News has learned.

Ted Cruz Attacks Sean Penn—and Here's Penn's Response  —  At an addiction policy forum in Hooksett, New Hampshire, on Thursday, Sen. Ted Cruz, the winner of the Republican Iowa caucuses, turned his talk about the awful consequences of addiction into a rant against...illegal immigration.

Obama to propose $10-a-barrel oil tax  —  President Barack Obama is about to unveil an ambitious plan for a “21st century clean transportation system.”  And he hopes to fund it with a tax on oil.  —  Obama aides told POLITICO that when he releases his final budget request next week …

Why Mike Bloomberg Can Win  —  Record numbers of voters are independents—who won't be satisfied with Clinton, Trump or Cruz.  —  As the results from the Iowa caucuses rolled in Monday, it became more clear than ever: If former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ran for president as an independent …

In honor of Friends Day, we've recalculated the classic ‘Six degrees of separation’ statistic for everyone who uses Facebook and determined that the number is actually 3.57.  Each person in the world (at least among the 1.55 billion people active on Facebook) is connected to every other person by an average of three and a half steps.

Lottery ‘destroyed’ his winning $63-million Lotto jackpot, man claims  —  A lottery ticket worth $63 million was sold at a 7-Eleven in Chatsworth.  The ticketholder has until 5 p.m. Thursday to claim the prize.  —  With just hours remaining before California Lottery officials declare …

Questions Surround Marco Rubio's Role at Florida College  —  Marco Rubio has received plenty of attention - and criticism - for skipping Senate hearings and votes as he campaigns for his White House bid.  —  But this isn't the first job where Rubio has taken heat for failing to go all in.

Maurice White, founder of Earth, Wind & Fire, dies at 74  —  Maurice White, center, leads Earth Wind & Fire at the Forum in Inglewood on Dec. 12, 1981.  —  Maurice White, co-founder and leader of the groundbreaking ensemble Earth, Wind & Fire, died at his Los Angeles home Thursday.  He was 74 years old.