Mitt Romney would allow waivers to children of illegal immigrants  —  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, the GOP presidential hopeful told The Denver Post Monday.

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)

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.

In debate, Scott Brown veers away from GOP  —  Republican Scott Brown has seemingly calculated the only way he will be able to serve a second Senate term in Massachusetts is if he successfully leaves his party in the dust.  —  In his second high-stakes debate with Democrat Elizabeth Warren …

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 …

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.

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 …

Cantor's rival gets harsh in sole face-off  —  House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) endured a barrage of personal attacks in his general election debate against Democratic challenger Wayne Powell Monday night.  —  Throughout the hourlong debate, hosted by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce …

Speaker Boehner uses Rove-like strategy to hold House majority  —  Speaker John Boehner has implemented a Karl Rove-like campaign strategy aimed at helping Republicans in blue and red states that are not considered competitive in the 2012 presidential contest.

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 …

Romney Losing Donors to GOP House, Senate Candidates  —  The Romney campaign is experiencing what some officials believe could be the beginning of a mass exodus of big money donors diverting their cash away from the Republican presidential hopeful and toward Republican candidates for the House …

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.

Brittany: “A face of one of the 47%”  —  Hello!  My name is Brittany and I live in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.  I am 25 years old (but I will be 26 on October 3rd!).  I am a registered Democrat and I have been voting since I was 18.  I am one of the 47% of Americans who fall under Mitt Romney's definition …

Gridlock as China begins its ‘Golden Week’ holidays  —  A decision to grant free road travel meant hundreds of thousands of Chinese drivers spent the first day of the mid-autumn festival in gridlock.  —  People stand next to their cars during a traffic jam in Shenzhen city, Guangdong province

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.")

Bain's Offshore Strategies Grew Romneys' Wealth  —  Buried deep in the tax returns released by Mitt Romney's presidential campaign are references to dozens of offshore holdings with names like Ursa Funding (Luxembourg) S.à.r.l. and Sankaty Credit Opportunities Investors (Offshore) IV, based in the Cayman Islands.

At least 40 hurt in Amtrak derailment south of Hanford  —  HANFORD — At least 40 people were hurt Monday afternoon when a big rig and an Amtrak passenger train collided south of Hanford.  —  The collision happened about 12:20 p.m. on the BNSF Railway freight tracks at Kansas Avenue, between 10th and 10 1/2 Avenue.

Paul Ryan: Cut taxes first, balance budget later  —  A number of folks are having fun with Paul Ryan's Sunday interview on Fox News, in which he declined to explain how the Romney/Ryan tax cuts will be paid for: “I don't have the time, it would take me too long to go through all the math.”

EXCLUSIVE: New information casts doubt on Romney's account of his 1981 arrest  —  A police log report, published in the Natick Sun newspaper in 1981 and obtained by Blue Mass Group, calls into question a portion of Mitt Romney's account of his arrest in 1981.

Former Pakistani legislator offers second bounty on anti-Islam film maker  —  Ikramullah Shahid, a former Pakistani legislator, has offered a $200,000 (£123,800) bounty for anyone who kills the maker of an anti-Islam film that has angered Muslims around the world.

Obama's claim that the Bush tax cuts led to the economic crisis  —  “Now Governor Romney believes that with even bigger tax cuts for the wealthy, and fewer regulations on Wall Street, all of us will prosper.  In other words, he'd double down on the same trickle-down policies that led to the crisis in the first place.”

GOP's October surprise?  —  Source reveals “Jimmy Carter Strategy” to make Obama seem weak on defense in campaign's final month  —  According to a highly reliable source, as Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama prepare for the first presidential debate Wednesday night …