CNN/ORC Poll: Donald Trump dominates GOP field at 41%  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump has hit a new high in the race for the Republican nomination, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll, with more than 4-in-10 Republican voters nationwide now saying they back the billionaire.

Evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr. endorses Trump  —  Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., the son of the late televangelist, endorsed Donald Trump on Tuesday, giving Republican front-runner the blessing of one of the evangelical community's biggest names just days before the Iowa caucuses.

2 Abortion Foes Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Are Indicted  —  HOUSTON — A grand jury here that was investigating allegations of misconduct against Planned Parenthood has instead indicted two anti-abortion activists who made videos of the organization.  —  In a statement …

Rome spares Iranian president's blushes by covering nude statues  —  Sculptures in Capitoline Museum obscured by large white panels for Hassan Rouhani's meeting with Italian PM  —  Italian officials keen to spare the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, any possible offence on his visit …

Republicans should vote for John Kasich in New Hampshire  —  NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICANS can do their party a critical service on Feb. 9 by voting for an experienced political figure with a record of results, and thus dealing a blow to the divisive, demagogic candidates running on nativism and other political simplicities.

Watch: Oregon militant challenges Chris Christie to sumo wrestling to end standoff  —  An armed protester at the Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge says the militants will end their standoff if Chris Christie can beat him in one round of sumo wrestling.  (YouTube)

Why we must rethink solitary confinement  —  Barack Obama is president of the United States.  —  In 2010, a 16-year-old named Kalief Browder from the Bronx was accused of stealing a backpack.  He was sent to Rikers Island to await trial, where he reportedly endured unspeakable violence …

Why D.C. Hates Ted Cruz … In the three years since he arrived in the U.S. Senate, Ted Cruz has become easily the most hated man in Washington—a fact he's now using to his advantage as a presidential candidate.  But why?  —  Is it true, as Cruz would have it, that the dreaded GOP …

Bernie Sanders has the most realistic plan to boost wages and job creation  —  Here's one more reason to take Bernie Sanders's candidacy seriously: He has put forward statements and arguments on what is by far the most powerful lever a president has on the American economy — the chronically neglected subject of monetary policy.

Sarah Palin, Rage Whisperer  —  DONALD J. TRUMP has made a shrewd bet.  For the first time since he descended an escalator in Trump Tower last June to announce that this time, he really was running for president, he ceded control of his campaign message.  He handed the Trump-bedecked podium over to Sarah Palin.

The Silent Death  —  A couple months ago I wrote about a controversial study which reported the rising mortality rates among middle aged whites - a trend which broke the model of ever-decreasing mortality rates across racial groups in the United States and all wealthy industrialized countries worldwide.