Obama blames ‘bad apple insurers’ for canceled insurance plans  —  President Obama tried a new tack Wednesday as he fought back against criticism of his Obamacare claims.  —  Fact-checkers and journalists have ruled that Obama wasn't being truthful when he claimed that people who liked their insurance could keep it.

NBC/WSJ poll: Obama approval sinks to new low  —  President Barack Obama's approval rating has declined to an all-time low as public frustration with Washington and pessimism about the nation's direction continue to grow, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

NSA infiltrates links to Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide, Snowden documents say  —  The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, according to documents obtained from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden …

The president always had a tough time selling Obamacare.  Now his weak assurances are making Republicans look wise beyond their years.  —  During the public debate over health care in 2009 and 2010, no matter how tightly you may have shut your door, there was one piece of information …

Sanford bans guns from neighborhood watch patrol after Zimmerman case  —  SANFORD —  More than a year and a half after Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, the city of Sanford is making major changes to its neighborhood watch program, including banning volunteers …

America's new hunger crisis  —  In the 22 years that Swami Durga Das has managed New York's River Fund Food Pantry, he has never seen hunger like this.  Each Saturday, hundreds of hungry people descend on the pantry's headquarters, an unassuming house on a residential block.

Patrick Leahy: ‘Insurmountable’ Push For Filibuster Rules Change If GOP Blocks Obama Nominee  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, predicted Tuesday that things could get ugly if Republicans block a vote this week on one of President Barack …

Buckpasser  —  By Joe Klein @JoeKleinTIMEOct.  30, 2013  —  The President is responsible for the quality of his Administration.  —  I've been reading Tom Ricks' excellent book about military leadership since World War II, The Generals.  In it, Ricks argues that one of the reasons …

Anthony Weiner vs. The New York Times  —  When the former Congressman told our Marshall Sella that he'd “probably get elected mayor” of New York if the Internet didn't exist, he was actually onto something.  Now it appears Weiner has a bone to pick with the Paper of Record, too.

A brief history of blackface just in time for Halloween  —  It's Halloween again and, evidently, it's the season for people around the world to put on blackface.  —  Blackface first made the news this holiday season when a former Dancing with the Stars participant darkened her skin to …

Obama Costume at Kentucky Medical Center Event Spurs Debate, Diversity Training  —  HOPKINSVILLE, KY.—A picture of a Jennie Stuart Medical Center employee wearing a President Barack Obama mask and straitjacket at the hospital's annual costume party has stirred debate.

Brown University students shout Commissioner Kelly off the stage as he attempted lecture on policing  —  More than 100 Ivy League students protested the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy and accused the department of discrimination against blacks and Muslims.  Kelly had planned a lecture titled …

A Letter From Bill Moyers  —  Two years ago, thanks to the generosity of some unexpected funders and the loyalty of long-time funders, I came out of retirement with a new weekly series, Moyers & Company.  Since then our team has kept a steady focus on some of the vital nerve centers of democracy: Money and politics.

Here's Audio of Managers Scolding Employees for Wanting to Unionize  —  When a union attempts to organize a workplace, the management inevitably tries to talk workers out of it.  Usually, that happens out of the public eye.  But at one workplace, an audio recorder was running.

Cash for Clunkers: An Evaluation of the Car Allowance Rebate System  —  The Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) or “cash for clunkers” program, launched during the height of the recession with the intention of stimulating the economy, creating jobs, and reducing emissions …

Everything You Think You Know About Panhandlers Is Wrong  —  A new survey of panhandlers in downtown San Francisco dispels a number of myths that society propagates about homeless people.  —  Conventional wisdom is that those on the sidewalk asking for a dollar are lazy freeloaders who will use the money for alcohol or drugs.

Alabama Blogger Arrested, Jailed For Writing About Former Governor's Son  —  An Alabama blogger who continued to write about the alleged extramarital affair of a prominent lawyer despite a court order was arrested and jailed last week.  He was still being held without bond as of Tuesday, according to reports.

Dell users: Latitude 6430u laptops ‘smell of cat urine’  —  A number of Dell users have complained that their Latitude 6430u Ultrabooks “smell of cat urine”.  —  Dell engineers have ruled out biological contamination, and said the smell was not a health hazard.

Poll: Lindsey Graham's Approval Rating Tumbles In S.C.  —  His re-election campaign looming, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has seen his approval rating steadily decline in 2013, according to poll findings released Wednesday.  —  The survey from Winthrop University found 37 percent …