Democrat Manchin Breaks Ranks to Back Mandate Delay  —  U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia broke ranks with fellow Democrats and said he'd support a stopgap spending plan that delays the individual mandate in President Barack Obama's health-care law.  —  “There's no way I could not vote for it …

Tea Party Support Dwindles to Near-Record Low  —  Republicans ambivalent about movement, while most Democrats oppose it  —  PRINCETON, NJ — As Washington braces for another budget showdown, this time with the threat of defunding the new healthcare law in the mix, the key political force pushing …

Allen West Out At PJ Media  —  Sources say he had an anti-Semitic exchange with a staffer, calling her a “Jewish American princess.”  —  Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images  —  Former Congressman Allen West is leaving his job at Pajamas Media after an altercation with a female staffer …

Italian pasta baron's anti-gay comment prompts boycott call  —  * Gay, lesbian groups call for consumer boycott  —  * Barilla apologises, emphasises women's “central role”  —  Guido Barilla, chairman of the world's leading pasta manufacturer, prompted calls for a consumer boycott on Thursday …

The Disconnect  —  There is a real and genuine disconnect between grassroots conservatives and many in Washington.  Let's first concede that, like with many politicians, a cult of personality has started developing around Ted Cruz, though from my vantage point it is not nearly as virulent as among some.

Wendy Davis tells Democrats she's in  —  Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis and her advisers have begun informing influential Democrats that she intends to run for governor in 2014, according to multiple sources familiar with Davis's conversations.  —  The Fort Worth legislator made a national name …

This Year's SAT Scores Are Out, and They're Grim  —  Fewer than half of the 2013 graduating seniors who took the test got “college-ready” scores.  —  Of the 1.66 million high school students in the class of 2013 who took the SAT, only 43 percent were academically prepared for college-level work …

Looting the Pension Funds  —  All across America, Wall Street is grabbing money meant for public workers  —  In the final months of 2011, almost two years before the city of Detroit would shock America by declaring bankruptcy in the face of what it claimed were insurmountable pension costs …

Marissa Alexander will get a new trial  —  Marissa Alexander, the African-American woman who was sentenced to 20 years for discharging a firearm in Florida despite pleading Stand Your Ground against her husband, will get a new trial.  Alexander, 32, said she fired a bullet at the ceiling because she was afraid of her husband.

2006 dispute led to temporary restraining order against Jackson  —  E.W. Jackson, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Virginia, was accused in 2006 of threatening the life of his daughter's roommate, according to a Belmont, Mass., police report and a separate temporary restraining order filed in Middlesex County Court.

What's in a name?  Lots when it comes to Obamacare/ACA  —  What's in a name?  When it comes to the debate over health care, apparently a lot.  —  In CNBC's third-quarter All-America Economic Survey, we asked half of the 812 poll respondents if they support Obamacare and the other half if they support the Affordable Care Act.

Bill Gates: Control-Alt-Delete a mistake  —  Bill Gates' Microsoft moments  —  (CNN) — If you pressed Control-Alt-Delete to log on before reading this, Bill Gates says he's sorry.  —  The Microsoft founder says the triple-key login should have been made easier, à la Apple's Macs …

A BRIEF INTERLUDE WITH EXPERT OPINION  —  I thought it seemed like a good day to check in with Jonathan Gruber, the MIT economist who was central to the adoption here in the Commonwealth (God save it!) of what we still like to call Romneycare which, of course, was the template …

Abbott warns arms treaty could spur Texas to sue  —  Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, no stranger to suing the federal government since President Barack Obama took office, repeated his warning Wednesday that U.S. ratification of a United Nations arms treaty would bring “swift legal action” from Texas.

Another Obamacare delay  —  The Obama administration is delaying another piece of Obamacare - this time postponing online enrollment in some of the small-business exchanges scheduled to open Oct. 1, sources tell POLITICO.  —  Small businesses looking to enroll in coverage on so-called SHOP exchanges run …