Cornfield Convocation: Amid a huge turnout, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz shocked Donald Trump last night, winning the Iowa Caucuses for the Republican presidential nomination. “Thank God for Iowa,” he said.

The New York Post headline says over a picture of Donald Trump, “CRUZ-IFIED.”

For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton declared victory even though she finished in a 50-50 tie with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose performance is a win even if he is ultimately declared the loser. This morning in New Hampshire he said, “We just got in from Iowa where we astounded the world.”

The Republicans finished with Cruz 27.7 percent, Trump 24.3, Rubio, 23.1.

Worse for Trump than coming in second could be Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s finishing a close third, moving up from marginal to actual contender. Rubio said in a speech celebrating what for him was a big win, “I will be our nominee thanks to what you have in this great state.” Rubio went on to deliver a speech that was smoothly presidential in tone.

Trump in defeat said he loves Iowa. “I think I might come here and buy a farm. I love it.”

The immediate political fatalities: After poor showings, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee pulled out of the Democratic and Republican races. Huckabee said, “The voters are sick of me and I need to acknowledge that.”

Ben Carson said he’s going home to Florida to get some fresh clothes.

Global Threat: The World Health Organization declared the Zika virus and its resulting birth defects to be a global health emergency. An outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease began in Brazil last May and has since spread to 20 Latin American countries. The declaration puts Zika in the same category as Ebola, which killed 11,000 people in West Africa last year.

Off the Rails: A federal investigation has found no probable cause of the Amtrak derailment last May that killed eight passengers and injured 200. The report leaves open the possibility of human error by the engineer Brandon Bostian, but reaches no conclusion. No drugs or alcohol were found in Bostian’s system and he was not using his cell phone.

Bostian, who suffered a head injury, says he does not have a full memory of the accident

The train’s data recorder shows that a mile and a half before the fatal curve, Bostian applied full throttle, increasing speed to 95 mph in an 80 zone, and heading toward a sharp curve rated for 50 mph. Three seconds before the crash, at 106 mph, Bostian applied the emergency brake, but four of the train’s seven cars and its locomotive derailed.

One theory is that the locomotive was “rocked” — intentionally hit by a thrown object — and that Bostian may have hit his head reacting to the shattering of the windshield.

Permawar: The Obama administration plans to ask for a 35 percent increase in the budget to fight the Islamic State next year. Defense Secy. Ash Carter is expected to ask for $7 billion for the effort today when he announces a $583 billion defense budget for fiscal 2017.

The Chinese Madoff: An online Chinese finance company Ezubao drained $7.6 billion from its investors in what authorities have described as a giant Ponzi scheme. The state news agency Xinhua reports that Ding Ning, the chairman of Ezubao’s parent company, squandered $150 million on real estate, cars, and luxury stuff.

The company claims to be a peer-to-peer lending company that matches investors with borrowers, but the government says many of the investments are fakes, offering as much as 15 percent interest.

Groundhog Day: His handlers say Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow this morning, predicting an early spring. He might actually be right.

-30-