Women Give Obama An Edge Over Romney, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds Likely Voters Pick President To Win Debate 2-1  —  Watch Video: Assistant Director Tim Malloy discusses poll results  —  Clip Information and Download:  —  FLV File - For Website (1920x1080 / 66.3MB)

U.S. Consulate in Benghazi Bombed Twice in Run-Up to 9/11 Anniversary  —  Jihadists twice set off explosives at the consulate prior to the incident that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, and announced threats on Facebook about escalating attacks on Western targets in the run-up to the 9/11 anniversary …

The Flaws That Will Bring Down Obama's Health-Care Plan  —  The debate over President Barack Obama's health-care law has taken another twist.  Now conservatives and libertarians are defending it, while the administration tries to toss part of the legislation out.

Mitt Romney would honor Obama administration's illegal immigrant work permits  —  Young illegal immigrants who receive temporary work permits to stay in the United States under an executive order issued by President Barack Obama would not be deported under a Mitt Romney administration …

Judge Rules Photo ID Won't Be Required For Pennsylvania Voters This Year  —  HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court judge has ruled that the state's controversial new voter ID law will stand, but voters without a valid picture ID card will still be able to cast their vote and have it counted this November.

Scott Brown Shot Himself In The Foot During Debate With Elizabeth Warren  —  Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren covered her face as the crowd booed her challenger, Republican Scott Brown.  Brown had just hailed Justice Antonin Scalia as his “model” Supreme Court justice …

New Polls Raise Chance of Electoral College Tie  —  As of Monday's FiveThirtyEight forecast, there were 21 states that Barack Obama was projected to have at least an 85 percent chance of winning on Nov. 6.  The list includes three important states, Ohio, Wisconsin and New Hampshire …

2 US Border agents shot, 1 killed, near major drug corridor in Arizona  —  DEVELOPING: Two U.S. Border Patrol agents were shot, one fatally, Tuesday morning in an area in south Arizona known as a major drug-smuggling corridor, authorities said.  —  The identities of the agents were not immediately released …

Crossroads launches $16 million buy in Senate, presidential contests  —  American Crossroads and its affiliate Crossroads GPS are going up today with their biggest paid media push so far in the 2012 cycle, with a $16 million one-week buy on TV and radio in eight presidential battlegrounds and four Senate contests, POLITICO has learned.

Can Romney turn this contest around?  —  In baseball, a game without a clock, each player on a team that is behind by a bunch of runs is advised to “stay within yourself.”  That baseball lingo means: Do not try to do too much.  Instead, get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in.  There are no five-run home runs.

Latest poll: Mia Love pulls ahead of Jim Matheson in 4th District race  —  SALT LAKE CITY — Saratoga Springs Mayor Mia Love has overcome a double-digit deficit to overtake Rep. Jim Matheson in Utah's hotly contested 4th Congressional District, the latest Deseret News/KSL poll shows.

Are You Kidding Me?  Romney's Garbage Man Blasts Him In New Political Ad  —  A new anti-Mitt Romney ad from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees features Richard Hayes, the garbageman who deals with the Romneys' trash at their oceanfront mansion in La Jolla, California.

Why Obama Is Leading in Swing States  —  Across most of the presidential battleground states, particularly in the Midwest, President Obama's lead rests on a surprisingly strong performance among blue-collar white women who usually tilt toward the GOP.  —  A National Journal analysis …

Jon Stewart Tears Into Obama Admin's Contradictory, Uncoordinated Response To Libya Attack  —  The recent White House debacle surrounding the Libya attack spurred Jon Stewart to unveil a new segment on Monday night: “Do You Guys Ever Talk To Each Other Or...” (The apparent answer would be a decided “no.")

Leaders at Work on Plan to Avert Mandatory Cuts  —  WASHINGTON — Senate leaders are closing in on a path for dealing with the “fiscal cliff” facing the country in January, opting to try to use a postelection session of Congress to reach agreement on a comprehensive deficit reduction deal rather than a short-term solution.

U.S. Scales Back Plans for Afghan Peace  —  KABUL, Afghanistan — With the surge of American troops over and the Taliban still a potent threat, American generals and civilian officials acknowledge that they have all but written off what was once one of the cornerstones of their strategy to end the war here …

Debate Moderators Are Subject to Partisan Rancor  —  When Jim Lehrer takes the stage in Denver on Wednesday night, the tens of millions of people watching will see the same imperturbable voice of reason they have come to know in his quarter century as the country's go-to referee for the presidential debates.

Horse races  —  We wrap up our latest round of polls with Missouri and Nevada.  —  Missouri  —  NOTE: A reader just let us know that we originally misspelled Todd Akin's name.  It has been corrected, and we apologize for the error.  —  The Show Me State has shown America a fair amount of political upheaval in the last 12 months.

Scandalous: White House Tells Contractors to Break Federal Law and Not Inform Workers They Will Be Laid Off; Further Tells Them The Administration Will Pay Their Fines For Breaking the Law  —  Due to Obama's failure to lead and craft a solution to the debt crisis, the Department of Defense is slated for massive cuts.

Obama calls debate prep ‘a drag’  —  President Obama played some hookey from his intense debate preparation early this week in Las Vegas, visiting a campaign field office in nearby Henderson and chatting with volunteers for his re-election effort.  —  “It's very nice.

Eric Hobsbawm: A believer in the Red utopia to the very end  —  The grotesque facts never got in the way of Eric Hobsbawm's devotion to communism  —  Eric Hobsbawm dogmatically refused to accept that the Bolshevik Revolution had been a murderous failure  —  A few decades ago I almost …