Midday Roundup: Cruz bests Trump in Iowa

GOP shakeup. Recent polls show Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, surging to second place among Republicans nationally and surpassing Donald Trump for first place in Iowa. A Fox News poll gives Cruz a two-point edge in the Hawkeye State, which will hold the first caucuses in the presidential race in February, but the latest Des Moines Register poll shows him with a 10-point lead. Responding quickly to the polls, Trump went on the attack Sunday, calling Cruz a maniac and suggesting he didn’t have the temperament to be president. Republican candidates will hold their next debate tomorrow evening on CNN and the Salem Radio Network. This time around, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will be back on the main stage after missing the last prime-time debate because of low poll numbers. CNN looked at how candidates were performing nationally and in the states of Iowa and New Hampshire to choose the nine debate participants.

Designation delay. It took about two days for the FBI to announce it was investigating the Dec. 2 attack that killed 14 in San Bernardino, Calif., as an act of terror. But five months after a Kuwaiti-born gunman shot and killed five military personnel in Chattanooga, Tenn., authorities still haven’t labeled that incident as terrorism. President Barack Obama listed the Chattanooga attack as an instance of extremist violence in an address to the nation after the shootings in San Bernardino, but the FBI hasn’t officially designated it as such. Joyce McCants, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Knoxville, Tenn., said Thursday the bureau is likely to provide an updated statement this week about the July 16 killings by Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. If the FBI did designate the Chattanooga attack as an act of terror, the victims would be eligible for the Purple Heart and their survivors could receive additional benefits.

Long-awaited verdict. Jurors are hearing closing arguments today in the first trial of a Baltimore police officer in the death of Freddie Gray. Officer William Porter is charged with manslaughter, assault, misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment. In eight days of testimony, the defense presented Porter as a reasonable officer who did nothing wrong the day of Gray’s arrest. Prosecutors painted him as an indifferent cop who denied Gray medical care in the police wagon where he suffered a spinal injury that killed him. The city of Baltimore is preparing for possible demonstrations after the verdict is announced. Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis canceled leave for officers through Friday. “The community has an expectation for us to be prepared for a variety of scenarios,” he said.

Heisman winner. University of Alabama running back Derrick Henry was awarded college football’s highest honor over the weekend. An emotional Henry thanked his family, coaches, and teammates for the Heisman Trophy. And he had a message for any young fans who may look up to him: “God is everything and always keep God first. Always pray. Don’t be afraid to pray. He always hears your cry.” Derrick Henry won the award with 378 first-place votes, compared to 290 for the runner up, Stanford University’s Christian McCaffrey.

Making a statement. Deputies paid a visit to a southern Maine home after a Christmas light display was misconstrued as support for the Islamic State group. The homeowner used lights to spell out the word “ISIS” below the deck of the home in Limerick. York County Sheriff William King said that was all a concerned resident saw when he notified the office of a potential “ISIS sympathizer.” But he didn’t see the plastic Santa Claus placed atop the deck that appeared to be urinating on the word ISIS via a strand of white lights. King said no laws were broken and the homeowner will rearrange the lights to “clear up any doubts about his message.”

WORLD Radio’s Kent Covington and The Associated Press contributed to this report.