Republican Senate Nominee: Victims Of ‘Legitimate Rape’ Don't Get Pregnant  —  This post has been updated.  —  Rep. Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for Senate in Missouri who is running against Sen. Claire McCaskill, justified his opposition to abortion rights even in case of rape …

Exclusive: GOP scolded after drinking, nudity in Israel  —  The FBI probed a late-night swim in the Sea of Galilee that involved drinking, numerous GOP freshmen lawmakers, top leadership staff - and one nude member of Congress, according to more than a dozen sources, including eyewitnesses.

Niall Ferguson: Hit the Road, Barack  —  The president has broken his promises, and Romney-Ryan's path to prosperity is our only hope.  —  I was a good loser four years ago.  “In the grand scheme of history,” I wrote the day after Barack Obama's election as president, “four decades is not an especially long time.

Ohio Republican Stands By Jab At Black Turnout “Machine”  —  “I said I believe that there's a line of how far that taxpayers should have to go to match a specific political operation, and that's what I mean,” Preisse tells BuzzFeed.  Democrats cry suppression.  —  Source: @dougpreisse

Obama Opens Up to ‘Moneyball’ Writer for Vanity Fair  —  The White House has granted Michael Lewis, the best-selling author of “Moneyball” and “The Big Short,” extensive access to President Obama for an article in the October issue of Vanity Fair.  —  The magazine confirmed that Mr. Lewis …

The Spinal Tap Presidency  —  Large and enthusiastic crowds greet Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan wherever they go.  You can get a better sense of this if you check out local media sources rather than the constantly-spun national news.  To take just one example, The Villages Daily Sun in Florida:

Rep. Paul Ryan fought to bail out GM plant in Wisconsin district  —  Conservatives view Mitt Romney's running mate as a symbol of fiscal austerity and Democrats see him as a radical ideologue.  Neither characterization fits his effort to save the GM plant.  —  The shuttered General Motors plant …

Dem.  Senator: Obama Led SEALs Mission to Kill Bin Laden  —  Yesterday, when introducing President Obama at a campaign event in New Hampshire, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, said that the president “led the mission that brought Osama bin Laden to justice”:

VIDEO: Paul Ryan defended stimulus in 2002, when George W. Bush wanted it  —  Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy  —  Long before he became one of the right's most vocal critics of the idea that government spending could help boost the flagging economy …

Giuliani questions whether Biden has the ‘balance’ to be president  —  Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Sunday questioned whether Vice President Joe Biden has the “balance” to be president.  —  “Oh, no, I don't think he's nuts.  I'm just saying I wonder if he's got the kind of balance …

Truth and Lies About Medicare  —  Republican attacks on President Obama's plans for Medicare are growing more heated and inaccurate by the day.  Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan made statements last week implying that the Affordable Care Act would eviscerate Medicare when in fact the law should shore up the program's finances.