American Forces Said to Bomb ISIS Targets in Iraq  —  DOHUK, Iraq — American military forces bombed at least two targets in northern Iraq on Thursday night to rout Islamist insurgents who have trapped tens of thousands of religious minorities in Kurdish areas, Kurdish officials said.

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.

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 Executive Editor on the Word ‘Torture’  —  Dean Baquet is the executive editor of The Times.  —  Over the past few months, reporters and editors of The Times have debated a subject that has come up regularly ever since the world learned of the C.I.A.'s brutal questioning of terrorism suspects …

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 …

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.

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.”

Republicans Have More Reason Than Ever To Worry About Primary Challenges  —  One of the most universal lessons of sports prediction is that margins matter.  An NFL team that wins a number of games by less than a touchdown might get banner headlines for its clutch performance.

The Plagiarism Dead-Enders  —  Perhaps the strangest part of the New York Times' story on Rick Perlstein's “plagiarism” accusers was the reference to a review that had yet to be published.  Alexandra Alter had gotten a gander at Sam Tanenhaus' upcoming review of Perlstein's book, The Invisible Bridge.

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.

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.

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.