Time for GOP panic?  Establishment worried Carson or Trump might win  —  Less than three months before the kick-off Iowa caucuses, there is growing anxiety bordering on panic among Republican elites about the dominance and durability of Donald Trump and Ben Carson and widespread bewilderment over how to defeat them.

The Pundits Have It All Wrong.  Ted Cruz Is a Real Threat For the Nomination.  —  Ted Cruz gets no respect.  At least no respect in keeping with the impressiveness of the campaign he's built and his increasing odds of winning the Republican nomination.  —  The press and the political class …

Springfield Woman Goes Viral After Attending Trump's Speech  —  Donald Trump's visit to Springfield is getting a lot of attention thanks to a Springfield woman who sat right behind the GOP front runner.  —  Donald Trump spoke for more than a hour during his visit to the Prairie Capital Convention Center …

A Lost Generation of Democrats  —  As Republicans never tire of pointing out, the Democratic candidates for president are old.  —  The average age of the leaders, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders, is 71, older than Ronald Reagan was during his successful 1980 campaign.

A Six-Figure Settlement on Campus Free Speech  —  As debates roil over free speech on American college campuses and as mechanisms that critique Israeli policies continue to divide, the universe delivered a perfect enmeshing of both stories in the Land of Lincoln.

Missouri state senator aims to block student's dissertation on abortion  —  Exclusive interview: Missouri grad student defends research on how state's required abortion wait affects women  —  A University of Missouri doctoral student plans to continue research for her dissertation on the effects …

Russia reveals giant nuclear torpedo in state TV ‘leak’  —  The Kremlin says secret plans for a Russian long-range nuclear torpedo - called “Status-6” - should not have appeared on Russian TV news.  —  The leak happened during a report on state-run Channel One about President Vladimir Putin …

Secret Service Agent Charged With Sexting 14-Year-Old From White House  —  A uniformed Secret Service officer was arrested for allegedly sending nude photos to a contact he thought was a 14-year-old girl, with some texts sent while on the job at the White House, CNN reported Thursday.

In new shock poll, Sanders has landslides over both Trump and Bush  —  In a new McClatchy-Marist poll, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) leads Republican candidate Donald Trump by a landslide margin of 12 percentage points, 53 to 41.

FBI expands probe of Clinton emails, launches independent classification review  —  The FBI has expanded its probe of Hillary Clinton's emails, with agents exploring whether multiple statements violate a federal false statements statute, according to intelligence sources familiar with the ongoing case.

A Plague of Racial Hoaxes on Campus  —  The two well-publicized incidents of racism on the University of Missouri campus, consisting of offensive slurs directed at African-American students, have not been independently confirmed.  That does not indicate that these events never happened …

Utah judge removes lesbian couple's foster child, says she'll be better off with heterosexuals  —  Last year, Utah couple Beckie Peirce and April Hoagland decided to get married.  Last summer, in a decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, the Supreme Court confirmed that this was okay.

Jennifer Lawrence Is Determined, Hilarious, and—Above All—Real  —  Hollywood's blockbuster blonde comes to town this month with the final Hunger Games and David O. Russell's Joy.  So what's next for Jennifer Lawrence?  Buck the system, set up home, and try to find a date.

Hillary Clinton's claim that she tried to join the Marines  —  “He looks at me and goes, 'Um, how old are you.  And I said, ‘Well I am 26, I will be 27.’ And he goes, ‘Well, that is kind of old for us.’ And then he says to me, and this is what gets me, ‘Maybe the dogs will take you,’ meaning the Army.”

A new trigger warning for college kids: How to prepare them for the intellectual discomforts of a university  —  Though I'm as strong an advocate as you'll find of free speech and thick skins, I feel some sympathy for the Yale student whose meltdown in a university courtyard went viral …

Chris Christie: College unrest a product of ‘lawlessness’ that Obama allows  —  MUSCATAINE, Iowa — In his first campaign stops after a well-received performance in Fox Business's “undercard” GOP presidential primary debate, Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) mixed raw talk about addiction …

Nativity scene in Wadena comes down after complaint  —  WADENA, Minn. — The Wadena city council voted unanimously but hesitantly to remove a beloved nativity scene from a city park Tuesday night.  —  Mayor George Deiss says for as long as anyone in Wadena can remember the nativity scene has been displayed at Burlington Northern Park.

What You Need To Know About The Huge Student Protest Sweeping The Country Today  —  On Thursday, students across the country will walk out of their classrooms and march for the right to a free college education.  According to organizers, 110 college campuses across the country are expected to participate in the grassroots event.

Ben Carson Adviser: We Have ‘Intelligence’ About Chinese In Syria (VIDEO)  —  Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson's business manager and adviser Armstrong Williams attempted to support Carson's bizarre debate claims on Syria during a Wednesday interview with MSNBC by assuring the anchor that the Chinese are, in fact, in Syria.

Uterus Transplants May Soon Help Some Infertile Women in the U.S. Become Pregnant  —  CLEVELAND — Six doctors swarmed around the body of the deceased organ donor and quickly started to operate.  —  The kidneys came out first.  Then the team began another delicate dissection …