Walsh drops out of U.S. Senate race  —  HELENA — Sen. John Walsh said Thursday he is pulling out of the Senate race because his campaign was distracted by the controversy over allegations that he plagiarized a U.S. Army War College research paper.  —  Walsh, a Democrat, said he decided to drop out of the race.

Obama Weighs Airstrikes or Aid to Help Trapped Iraqis, Officials Say  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is considering airstrikes or airdrops of food and medicine to address a humanitarian crisis among as many as 40,000 religious minorities in Iraq who have been dying of heat and thirst …

Americans' views of Obama, Congress, political parties: Gloomy  —  Shares -  —  Americans' views of both political parties are negative and nearly match historic lows, a new CBS News poll reveals.  —  Just 29 percent of Americans have a favorable view of the Republican Party …

Has the ‘Libertarian Moment’ Finally Arrived?  —  “Let's say Ron Paul is Nirvana,” said Kennedy, the television personality and former MTV host, by way of explaining the sort of politician who excites libertarians like herself.  “Like, the coolest, most amazing thing to come along in years …

The woman who could beat Scott Walker  —  Part of an occasional series on the hottest races of the 2014 midterm election.  —  VIROQUA, Wis. — Mary Burke might be the last candidate you'd expect to potentially topple one of the Republican Party's leading governors and upend the 2016 presidential field.

Murkowski sends ‘cease and desist’ letter to Begich over ad  —  Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) isn't happy about Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) using her in his latest campaign ad — and has called in her lawyers to try to force Begich to stop airing it.  —  Murkowski's campaign lawyers sent a …

Stillwater cafe faces heat for adding ‘minimum wage fee’ to tab  —  Each tab at Stillwater's Oasis Cafe now includes 35 cents to offset minimum wage increase.  —  A small cafe in Stillwater has thrown itself into the big battle over Minnesota's minimum wage increases, inundating the cafe …

Local Kansas GOP official: ‘Offending Muslims is the duty of any civilized person.  Especially with a .45.’  —  Gavin Ellzey, the vice chairman of the Kansas Republican 3rd Congressional District Committee, advised on Twitter in early July that “offending Muslims is the duty of any civilized person.”

IRS notches legal win over lost tea party emails  —  The IRS won what might be Round One in a series of contests pitting tea party groups against the agency, with a federal judge rejecting a conservative group's bid for a court-appointed forensics expert to hunt for ex-official Lois Lerner's lost emails.

Ann Coulter blames doctor for catching Ebola  —  Conservative commentator Ann Coulter criticized the American doctor who contracted Ebola in Africa, arguing that his missionary efforts had caused more harm than good.  —  “Whatever good Dr. Kent Brantly did in Liberia has now been overwhelmed …

‘Porch Shooter’ Theodore Wafer Found Guilty of Murder … A Detroit jury ruled today that Theodore Wafer was guilty of murder in the shooting death of unarmed teenager Renisha McBride on his porch.  —  The jury, which consisted of seven men and five women, began its deliberations on Wednesday after nine days of testimony.

U-Minn. seeks to bar Redskins' name at school's stadium on Vikings game day  —  The University of Minnesota is working with the Minnesota Vikings in an effort to keep the Washington Redskins' name from being used in “promotional and game date materials” during the NFL teams' Nov. 2 game …

Rep's ‘shagging’ tweet gets attention  —  Eyebrows were raised after a message on Rep. Stephen Fincher's Twitter account declared the Tennessee Republican's love of “shagging.”  —  But a spokeswoman for the congressman's office says the since-deleted tweet “had nothing to do” with Fincher — nor the British slang term for sex.

GOP Guv On Lackluster Primary Performance: Blame Obama  —  Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) had a theory for why a chunk of voters were backing Jennifer Winn, his challenger, in the Republican gubernatorial primary: blame President Barack Obama.  —  “I think a big part of it is Barack Obama,” Brownback told Kansas's 41 Action News.

For a President Today, Talkin' Down Is Speaking American  —  Peggy Noonan doesn't think Obama should be dropping his g's.  But in our swaggery age, even a president has to be able to get down.  —  Peggy Noonan has joined the chorus of people who think that when President Obama hips …