Politics: The day before the Iowa Caucuses, the respected Des Moines Register poll says that Donald Trump is the clear leader among Republicans in the state. The poll has Trump with 28 percent of likely Republican attendees, while 23 percent are likely to back Ted Cruz. Sen. Marco Rubio is at 15 percent and Ben Carson at 10.

But The New York Times, which doesn’t have many street corner sales in Iowa, endorses the underdog John Kasich, who barely gets a mention in daily news coverage. First denouncing Trump and Cruz, the paper says Kasich, “has been capable of compromise and believes in the ability of government to improve lives. He favors a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and he speaks of government’s duty to protect the poor, the mentally ill and others ‘in the shadows.’”

The paper has also endorsed Hillary Clinton to be the Democratic nominee for president. The Times editorial says, “For the past painful year, the Republican presidential contenders have been bombarding Americans with empty propaganda slogans and competing, bizarrely, to present themselves as the least experienced person for the most important elected job in the world. Democratic primary voters, on the other hand, after a substantive debate over real issues, have the chance to nominate one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history.”

Permawar: At least 45 people have died in a triple explosion at a Shiite shrine south of Damascus. The shrine was also attacked a year ago. The incident comes as government and rebel negotiators are preparing to sit down for talks in Geneva.

The Great Migration: At least 37 migrants drowned, including 10 children, when a ship carrying them sank on the way across the Aegean sea to Greece. At least 75 people survived. With this incident, more than 250 migrants have died just so far this year.

As refugees keep pouring into Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has welcomed them, says they must return home when the situation in Syria has stabilized and the country is safe once again.

Speaking to a meeting of her own political party, the Christian Democratic Union, Merkel said, “We need … to say to people that this is a temporary residential status and we expect that, once there is peace in Syria again, once IS has been defeated in Iraq, that you go back to your home country with the knowledge that you have gained.”

The Obit Page: Kenny Sailors, a basketball player sometimes credited with inventing the jump shot, which changed the game as much as the forward pass changed football, has died at age 95. His brother Bud always said Kenny made his first jump shot when the two were playing one-on-one under the family windmill in Wyoming.

Sailors went on to lead the University of Wyoming Cowboys to their only NCAA championship, jump shooting over the objections of his coach. He ended up playing five seasons of professional basketball, ending in 1951.

That’s Entertainment: Actor Idris Elba won Best Supporting Actor at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night for his part in the Netflix movie “Beasts of No Nation.” Elba was not even nominated for an Academy Award — the Oscars are all white this year. Elba won a second SAG award for best performance in a television series. Queen Latifah and Viola Davis also won awards for television roles.

The SAG awards reflect the reality that the best work for black actors, and their best chance of winning awards, is in television.

Check: A video of Saudi Arabia’s top cleric saying the game of chess is forbidden because “it wastes time and leads to rivalry and enmity among people” has caused one of those viral Internet controversies. But at least now we know the cause of all the trouble in the Middle East.

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