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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

On Obamacare, Republicans get in their own way  —  When Dwight Eisenhower asked Gen. Georgy Zhukov how the Red Army cleared minefields, Zhukov replied that it marched through them.  Being profligate with lives is a perquisite of command and a luxury of those with an abundance of lives at their command.

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 …

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.

Comedian Arrested After Punching Journalist Josh Rogin at D.C.'s Funniest Celebrity Competition  —  This year's D.C.'s Funniest Celebrity contest may go down as the most memorable and not for what was going on onstage.  Comedy headliner Dan Nainan — a professional comedian who in the past …

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.

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 …

INTERPOL issues Red Notice for arrest of Samantha Lewthwaite at Kenya's request  —  Public's help in identifying and locating ‘White Widow’ fugitive crucial, says INTERPOL Chief  —  LYON, France - An INTERPOL Red Notice, or internationally wanted persons alert, has been issued …

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 …