Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama for president  —  PLAY CBS NEWS VIDEO  —  (CBS News) Former Secretary of State Colin Powell broke with the Republican party during the 2008 election, to endorse then-candidate Barack Obama for president, calling Obama a “transformational figure.”

In Defense of Richard Mourdock  —  It is his Democratic opponent who is engaging in Akin-style sophistry.  —  With less than two weeks to go before the election, the left is anxious to talk about abortion, and you can see why.  To be sure, Gallup found in May that Americans are considerably likelier …

AP-GFK POLL: ROMNEY ERASES OBAMA LEAD AMONG WOMEN  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — What gender gap?  —  Less than two weeks out from Election Day, Republican Mitt Romney has erased President Barack Obama's 16-point advantage among women, a new Associated Press-GfK poll shows.

How Bill Clinton May Have Hurt the Obama Campaign  —  When the histories of the 2012 campaign are written, much will be made of Bill Clinton's re-emergence.  His convention speech may well have marked the finest moment of President Obama's re-election campaign, and his ads on the president's behalf were memorable.

Dear Donald, It's Over  —  It's not us.  It's you.  You've been annoying in the past.  You've also been good copy.  But your latest pitiful attempt to keep your name in headlines is one empty bid for attention too many.  By Lloyd Grove.  —  It's been fun, Donald.

My column: Why Romney hasn't surrendered Nevada  —  Mitt Romney campaigned in Nevada today for the second consecutive day.  The question is: Why?  —  Any reasonable analysis of the early voting numbers so far shows that the Democratic machine is crushing the Republicans' Rube Goldberg contraption.

TIME Poll: Obama Leads by 5 in Ohio  —  President Barack Obama, joined by Vice President Joe Biden, speaks during a campaign event at Triangle Park in Dayton, Ohio, on Oct. 23, 2012.  —  Buoyed by early voting in his favor, Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney by five points in the pivotal state of Ohio, according to a new TIME poll.

For Clinton as Top Diplomat, Tumultuous Closing Chapter  —  Hillary Clinton's final weeks as Secretary of State were supposed to be more of a victory lap.  But that quickly changed after the disastrous events in Benghazi.  WSJ's Monica Langley and Jerry Seib discuss the end of her tenure and future prospects.

Mitt Romney for President  —  (Charles V. Tines / The Detroit News)  —  Americans will be making two choices when they cast their presidential ballots on Nov. 6.  They will be selecting the individual who will lead the nation over the next four years, a period that promises to be every bit as challenging as the past four.

The Bloomberg Way  —  The mayor of New York on his soda ban, why he doesn't worry about approval ratings, governing in the age of Twitter, and the dumbed-down media  —  You could look at Michael Bloomberg—astringent, profane, irritated by small talk, impatient with the politics of empathy …

Obama lead in Virginia up to 5 points  —  A new Public Policy Polling survey in Virginia, conducted on behalf of Health Care for America Now, finds Barack Obama expanding his lead in the aftermath of his debate victory Monday night.  He now has 51% to 46% for Mitt Romney, up from a 49/47 advantage last weekend.

Rep. Jim Moran's Son Resigns Over James O'Keefe Video  —  Patrick Moran, son of Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), resigned from his father's campaign on Wednesday after conservative activist James O'Keefe released a video that appears to show him offering advice to an undercover videographer who claimed to want to commit voter fraud.

Why Are States So Red and Blue?  —  Regardless of who wins the presidential election, we already know now how most of the electoral map will be colored, which will be close to the way it has been colored for decades.  Broadly speaking, the Southern and Western desert and mountain states …

GOP Rep Says Strike On Iran's Nuclear Facilities Would Not Be An Act Of War  —  Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN last night that neither he, nor the Iranians, would consider an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities an act of war.

The New York Times Company Reports 2012 Third-Quarter Results  —  The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today a 2012 third-quarter diluted loss per share from continuing operations of $.02 compared with diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $.04 in the same period of 2011.

Obama's Blunder Was in Ceding Political Center to Romney  —  The third and final presidential debate did little to change the race between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, who are tied with just two weeks to go.  Even so, this week's inconsequential contest provides a key of sorts to understanding the election.

Double-secret probation: Student threatened with punishment after filming Democratic congressman's abortion answer  —  Collin Peterson, the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 7th District since 1991, no doubt expected softball questions and happy glad-handing when he visited Evangelical …