Ben Carson blasts RNC, threatens to leave Republican Party  —  Ben Carson on Friday blasted the Republican National Committee following a Washington Post report that nearly two-dozen establishment party figures were prepping for a potential brokered convention as Donald Trump continues to lead most polls.

Trump: I will mandate death penalty for killing police officers  —  Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Thursday vowed to issue an executive order to mandate the death penalty for anyone who kills a police officer.  —  “One of the first things I'd do in terms of executive order …

Whistleblower Says He Could Have Prevented CA Attack If Gov't Didn't Cut DHS Funding  —  A former Homeland Security employee says he likely could have helped prevent the San Bernardino terror attack if the government had not pulled the plug on a surveillance program he was developing three years ago.

WATCH: Carly Fiorina snarls at CNN host after he confronts her over Planned Parenthood smears  —  DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  Aspiring 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina went from smiling to combative in a split-second during a contentious debate …

San Bernardino shooters planned bigger attack, investigators believe  —  An FBI dive team on Thursday searches for electronic devices or other evidence possibly left in Seccombe Lake, about two miles north of the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino.  —  An examination of digital equipment recovered …

Empowering the Ugliness  —  We live in an era of political news that is, all too often, shocking but not surprising.  The rise of Donald Trump definitely falls into that category.  And so does the electoral earthquake that struck France in Sunday's regional elections, with the right-wing …

AS TRUMP RISES, CLINTON PREACHES LOVE AND KINDNESS  —  URBANDALE, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Clinton had just finished detailing the dangers of terrorism, recalling tough calls in the White House situation room as secretary of state and lashing out at her Republican rivals for threatening the safety of Americans.

McConnell poised to give Jon Stewart what he wants  —  After weeks of withering criticism from comedian Jon Stewart, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell guaranteed on Friday that a health care bill for 9/11 first responders will be included in a must-pass, year-end spending deal.

Donald Trump Really Doesn't Want Me to Tell You This, But ...  Over a long weekend on assignment for Playboy magazine, Mark Bowden found that behind the garish Trump façade lies only more ugliness.  —  I spent a long, awkward weekend with Donald Trump in November 1996 …

House: Could Trump Lead to Apocalypse for Republicans?  —  To most Republican strategists, there's no bigger nightmare than Donald Trump as the GOP's presidential nominee in 2016.  This week, just about every Democrat running for president, Senate, House, and their respective campaign committees sought …

Lindsey Graham: Trump Leading Because 40% Of GOP Voters Think Obama Is Kenyan Muslim  —  “I can promise you that Hillary Clinton will clean his clock,” Graham added.  —  Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images  —  South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said his presidential opponent Donald Trump …

Men are so lazy  —  I'm not sure exactly when my wife finished her Christmas shopping, but it seems like a long time ago.  And ever since, she's been issuing me subtle warnings disguised as questions.  —  “Well, honey, I'm all done Christmas shopping — how about you?”

Leo DiCaprio Now Officially a Joke in Canada: Confuses Chinook Wind with Climate Change  —  Leonardo DiCaprio has spoken movingly about how he witnessed at first hand the horrors of climate change during the making of his Oscar-tipped movie The Revenant.  —  Most of the wintry revenge Western …

Survey of Kentucky Residents on State Health Policy  —  Liz Hamel, Mira Norton, and Mollyann Brodie  —  Executive Summary  —  Kentucky has received national attention as the only Southern state to fully embrace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by creating its own state-based health insurance marketplace …

Charles Barkley bashes CNN, Donald Trump  —  Basketball legend, Turner Sports commentator and “NBA on TNT” co-host Charles Barkley ripped into his employer's sister channel CNN for its coverage of the 2016 election.  —  Barkley's comments came on “Inside the NBA” when host Ernie Johnson asked Barkley …

WMUR booted from next Democratic debate  —  New Hampshire's most influential television station is being pushed out of next week's Democratic debate.  —  The reason?  A labor dispute between a handful of employees at the station, WMUR, and its owner, the Hearst CorporationS.

America's Immigration Challenge  —  On Wednesday, FBI director James Comey alleged that the San Bernardino shooters were already plotting a mass-murder attack on the United States before Tafsheen Malik received the K-1 visa admitting her to the United States.  Her husband-to-be, Syed Farook, was born a U.S. citizen.

Priest paid his male ‘sex master’ from collection plate: lawsuit  —  A Catholic priest swiped collection-plate donations to pay for drug-fueled sex romps with a heavily muscled S&M “master,” a new lawsuit charges.  —  Parishioners claim the Rev. Peter Miqueli has stolen at least $1 million since 2003 …

Camille Paglia Takes on Taylor Swift, Hollywood's #GirlSquad Culture  —  Can group selfies advance women's goals?  In an essay for The Hollywood Reporter, the famed feminist urges social media packs to skip the “tittering, tongues-out mugging of Taylor Swift” — whose “twinkly persona …

Congress Passes Five-Day Bill Avoiding U.S. Government Shutdown  —  Measure funds government through Dec. 16 as talks continue  —  Appropriations chairman says negotiations at 'snail's pace'  —  The House voted for a stopgap measure on Friday that avoids a potential U.S. government shutdown this weekend …

Dear Former TV Colleagues, Give Us a Week Without Trump  —  To my former TV colleagues: Please stop.  Just for one week, don't say his name.  As many have already said, no presidential candidate in history has gotten this much free airtime.  Let's stop being complicit in promoting his hateful and harmful demagoguery.

The 13 Women Who Accused A Cop Of Sexual Assault, In Their Own Words  —  The alleged victims of former Oklahoma City Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw told their stories publicly for the first time last year in court.  Those testimonies have never been reported in full, until now.