First Read: Where Have All the Popular Candidates Gone?  —  First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  Where have all the popular candidates gone?  —  Almost a year since …

In Her Own Words  —  On Tuesday night, I went to cover Donald Trump's press conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida.  I was looking to cover the event like I have covered many live political events for Breitbart News, including an uneventful Trump press conference in Palm Beach the week before.

The Daily 202: Four reasons Hillary Clinton lost the Democratic debate  —  THE BIG IDEA:  —  During their two-hour debate in Miami last night, Hillary Clinton attacked Bernie Sanders for siding with both the Castro brothers and the Koch brothers.  —  The Democratic front-runner attacked …

Video Shows Mid-Air Passenger Brawl Aboard LAX Bound Spirit Airlines Flight  —  Cellphone video captured a brawl that broke out between passengers aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Baltimore to Los Angeles Wednesday.  —  The video showed a group of women throwing punches and pulling each other's hair …

The Obama Doctrine  —  Friday, August 30, 2013, the day the feckless Barack Obama brought to a premature end America's reign as the world's sole indispensable superpower—or, alternatively, the day the sagacious Barack Obama peered into the Middle Eastern abyss and stepped back from the consuming void …

I was wrong about Donald Trump: Camille Paglia on the GOP front-runner's refreshing candor (and his impetuousness, too)  —  But his fearlessness and brash energy also seem necessary and rare  —  I'm dying for an update from you on Donald Trump.  Last summer you called him “not a president” and a “carnival barker.”

Trump protester sucker-punched at North Carolina rally, videos show  —  Multiple videos show a protester at a Donald Trump rally in North Carolina being sucker-punched by a Trump supporter.  —  The videos, which appeared on social media early Thursday and are shot from different perspectives …

Obama zeroes in on court pick  —  President Obama is zeroing in on a Supreme Court nominee.  —  The president has reportedly begun to interview potential replacements for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.  And in the last day, two contenders had taken their names out of consideration …

Man attempts taxi robbery with police car behind him  —  READING, Pa. — Taxi surveillance cameras recorded a masked man robbing a terrified taxi driver at gunpoint - but the robber forgot to look behind him.  —  Waiting behind the cab was Berks County Deputy Sheriff Terry Ely …

Donald Trump: ‘I think Islam hates us’  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump said Wednesday that he thinks “Islam hates us,” drawing little distinction between the religion and radical Islamic terrorism.  —  “I think Islam hates us,” Trump told CNN's Anderson Cooper, deploring the “tremendous hatred” …

Obama's Job Approval at Highest Level Since May 2013  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Barack Obama earned a 50% job approval rating for the week ending March 6, his highest weekly average since May 2013.  —  Obama's current 50% weekly average exceeds the 46% he averaged in his seventh year in office …

BREAKING: 5 dead, 3 hurt in Wilkinsburg mass shooting  —  WILKINSBURG, Pa. —  Five people are dead and three people are hurt after a mass shooting in Wilkinsburg Wednesday night, Allegheny County police said.  —  Emergency dispatchers confirmed that police and seven ambulances were called to Franklin Avenue just before 11 p.m.

‘Hot Felon’ Jeremy Meeks released from federal prison and gets job offers  —  Jeremy Meeks, right, known as the “hot felon,” was released from prison Tuesday.  —  A convicted felon whose handsome booking photo went viral was released from federal prison this week, and he is now entertaining job offers.

Union Officials Admit They Let Veterans Die Rather Than Talk To Republicans  —  'Who knows what kind of lives could've been saved'  —  Illegal Alien Released Due To Paperwork Mix-Up Allegedly Slaughters Five In Kansas City And Missouri  —  Alleged killer was in police custody in September

Sources: Mike Lee To Endorse Ted Cruz  —  MIAMI — Utah Sen. Mike Lee will endorse Ted Cruz for president on Thursday afternoon, a source with knowledge of Lee's plans told BuzzFeed News.  —  Lee was one of five senators — three of whom are running for president — not to vote on a Senate bill …