Ted Cruz: The Distinguished Wacko Bird from Texas  —  In less than a year, Texas Republican Ted Cruz has become the most despised man in the U.S. Senate.  He's been likened to Joe McCarthy, accused of behaving like a schoolyard bully, and smeared by senior members of his own party.

Most Americans against defunding Obamacare: Survey  —  A solid majority of Americans oppose defunding the new health care law if it means shutting down the government and defaulting on debt.  —  The CNBC All-America Economic Survey of 800 people across the country conducted by Hart-McInturff …

Scandal at Clinton Inc.  —  How Doug Band drove a wedge through a political dynasty  —  One Thursday evening last September, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Tony Blair met in New York to conduct what was supposed to be a high-minded discourse on terrorism, geopolitics, and the global economy.

Egypt court bans all Muslim Brotherhood activities  —  (Reuters) - An Egyptian court on Monday banned the Muslim Brotherhood from carrying out any activities in the country and ordered the seizure of the group's funds, widening a campaign to debilitate the Islamist movement of deposed President Mohamed Mursi.

Al-Shabaab: Three Americans Among Gunmen in Kenya Mall  —  Al-Shabaab is claiming that there are American gunmen among those still holed up in the Westgate mall in a standoff with Kenyan and Israeli special forces.  —  The Somali al-Qaeda affiliate tweeted a series of names on its latest account …

Lower Health Insurance Premiums to Come at Cost of Fewer Choices  —  WASHINGTON — Federal officials often say that health insurance will cost consumers less than expected under President Obama's health care law.  But they rarely mention one big reason: many insurers are significantly limiting …

Why Barack Obama looks so exhausted  —  Barack Obama looks exhausted these days.  He looks about as tired, in other words, as the nation feels.  —  He knows this.  At a speech Saturday, he said that people are always telling him to “hang in there.”  —  “Don't worry about me!”  Obama said.

Free to Be Hungry  —  The word “freedom” looms large in modern conservative rhetoric.  Lobbying groups are given names like FreedomWorks; health reform is denounced not just for its cost but as an assault on, yes, freedom.  Oh, and remember when we were supposed to refer to pommes frites as “freedom fries”?

Atheism starts its megachurch: Is it a religion now?  —  The non-religious Assembly is perhaps the fastest growing church in the world — and it's coming to a mall near you  —  Organized Atheism is now a franchise.  —  Yesterday, The Sunday Assembly—the London-based “Atheist Church” …

For Obama, mass shooting overshadowed by other crises  —  President Obama, deluged by crises, is forced to play consoler-in-chief once again.  —  CONNECT  —  WASHINGTON — With a series of domestic and international crises coming to a head at once, President Obama made clear on Sunday …

Man's Penis Amputated After “Enthusiastic” Viagra Overdose  —  A 66-year-old farmer and “self-proclaimed politician” from the town of Gigante, Huila in Colombia apparently—and “enthusiastically”—took too much Viagra in an attempt to “please his new girlfriend.”

‘He Will Be a Great Mayor’: Barack Obama Endorses Bill de Blasio  —  Barack Obama.  (Photo: Getty)  —  Bill de Blasio's mayoral campaign just landed the most high-profile endorsement of all: President Barack Obama.  —  With the end of the primary and the Democratic nominee clear …

Chaos Computer Club breaks Apple TouchID  —  The biometrics hacking team of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) has successfully bypassed the biometric security of Apple's TouchID using easy everyday means.  A fingerprint of the phone user, photographed from a glass surface, was enough to create …

SHUTDOWN COUNTDOWN: 10 days — ALAN GREENSPAN WARNS: ‘no viable long-term solution to our badly warped economy’ without fixing political system — WHITE HOUSE SIGNALS Janet Yellen nomination coming  —  FIRST LOOK - ALAN GREENSPAN, Fed chairman from 1987 to 2006, in a book out Oct. 22 from The Penguin Press …