NATIONAL

“In an Oval Office interview for POLITICO’s Off Message podcast, the president offers his most expansive comments yet on the race to succeed him in the White House.” – Politico

“A new video released by the ISIS terror group late Sunday shows nine of the extremists who carried out the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris beheading and shooting captives, as well as training with weapons while plotting the carnage that left 130 dead in the French capital.” – Fox News

“Last week and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad looked on, Donald Trump declared himself a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ethanol Lobby. By all descriptions, Trump carefully mouthed the words he had presented to him on a note card declaring ethanol to be the greatest thing since bankruptcy protection and eminent domain abuse.” – Red State

“A group of nightlife spots in the German city of Freiburg have banded together to bar refugees following a string of reported crimes. The city sells itself as being all inclusive.” – DW.com

“The Texan had the right’s most influential voices wired, but it’s the New Yorker who is now driving their ratings. ” – Politico

“There are a number of polls out that have Donald Trump surging in Iowa at the last minute. I do believe Trump is probably ahead, but I am aware of several of the campaigns’ internal polls and none of them have anything but Cruz and Trump clustered together very closely.” – TheResurgent.com

“GOP front-runner Donald Trump says establishment Republicans are warming up to his presidential bid because they’re terrified of Ted Cruz being the party’s nominee.” – TheHill.com

“Ed touched on this in his post about the new Fox News poll of Iowa but I thought people would want to see what the trend lines look like. Here’s RCP’s average of various polls of Iowa since New Year’s. The blue line is Trump, the black line is Cruz.” – Hot Air

“A new unearthed video from 1988, which quickly spread like wildfire over the weekend, depicts the 18-year-old version of Cruz cracking jokes and talking about taking over the world.” – The Blaze

“‘The election is not about ideology, not about issues, it’s about insurgency,‘ noted Democrat pollster Pat Caddell told Breitbart News Network editor-in-chief Alexander Marlow.” – Breitbart

LOUISIANA

“Gov. John Bel Edwards’ menu of possible solutions to Louisiana’s fiscal mess contained no big surprises. His options were few and widely analyzed before he unveiled his proposals (which include some $480 million in cuts) last week.” – BestofNewOrleans.com

“Louisiana may be facing a $750 million midyear budget deficit, but state employees in at least four departments will have fatter paychecks after former Gov. Bobby Jindal and his agency heads granted millions in raises just before leaving office.” – WWLTV.com

“The number of U.S. children victimized by abuse and neglect increased by nearly 3 percent in the latest annual reporting period, according to new federal data.” – MSNewsNow.com

“In a message about the upcoming work on the Hale Boggs Bridge, St. Charles Parish Sheriff Greg Champagne addressed his frustration with state leaders about the project slated to begin next month.” – WDSU.com

“Two hundred one years ago this month, Louisiana was the center of a major turning point in both American and world history.” – Hammondstar.com

 

“Besides finding a time machine and sending yourself back to 1984, this is the next best way to take a look into the past in Lafayette. This isn’t an homage to George Orwell, but a trip down memory lane. YouTube user discohelicoptre compiled some memories from nearly 30 years ago, including ads for Lafayette Utilities System, Party on the Green concert featuring Alabama and Reba McEntire at Cajun field and of course, the mall.” – KPEL965.com

“Barely 350,000 people live in northeast Louisiana. But drive the lonesome 30-mile stretch of highway from Monroe to Grambling and you will pass three public universities, all offering degrees in everything from kinesiology to music to world languages.” – The Baton Rouge Advocate

“The ‘Snowzilla’ storm that raged into Washington Friday night (Jan. 22) has prompted the House of Representatives to close up shop for the week. That means the vote to attempt to override the veto of the first repeal of Obamacare to reach the president’s desk — originally scheduled for Tuesday — may have to wait a bit longer.” – NOLA.com

“When Gov. Bobby Jindal took office eight years ago, state taxpayers provided 60 percent of the funding for Louisiana’s public universities.” – The Baton Rouge Advocate

“THE ADVOCATE GOT IT WRONG, TED HICKS, BATON ROUGE’S BLUE COLLAR MILLIONAIRE ISN’T DEAD.” – TheRougeCollection.net