'Spare the lives of the remaining hostages.  Like Jim they are innocents': Brave mother of beheaded American journalist calls on ISIS to cease killing as she pays tribute to her ‘extraordinary son’  — A masked and robed member of ISIS speaking English in what is thought to be a British accent addresses the camera as well

Missouri cop was badly beaten before shooting Michael Brown, says source  —  Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer whose fatal shooting of Michael Brown touched off more than a week of demonstrations, suffered severe facial injuries, including an orbital (eye socket) fracture …

‘SNL’ Political Secrets Revealed: Hillary's “Entitlement,” the Sketch Obama Killed and the Show's “Karl Rove”  —  In an exclusive book excerpt, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and even Sarah Palin recount the inner battle between the left and right … Lorne Michaels, executive producer …

McConnell's plan to shut down Obama  —  HENDERSON, Ky. — Mitch McConnell has a game plan to confront President Barack Obama with a stark choice next year: Accept bills reining in the administration's policies or veto them and risk a government shutdown.  —  In an extensive interview here …

Is Alaska's Senate Race Slipping Away From the GOP?  —  Thanks to a tougher-than-expected primary and a politically smart incumbent, Republicans are playing catch up in a key Senate battleground.  But will the state's GOP lean ultimately lift them to victory?

Supreme Court blocks Virginia same-sex marriages  —  The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked same-sex marriage from taking place this week in Virginia.  (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)  —  The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to a stay Wednesday on a federal appeals court's ruling …

From a vulnerable red state Democrat, a strong pro-Obamacare ad  —  One of the key questions of this cycle has been: As the potency of anti-Obamacare attacks fading as enrollment mounts and roll-out problems are forgotten, will we reach a point where vulnerable Democrats in red state territory …

Missouri Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson is not a gang member.  He's just a Kappa.  —  Today in Ferguson, Mo., news, The Washington Post takes on the assertion that Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson has been photographed flashing gang signs with members of the community.  —  He has not.

WATCH: Chris Christie spars with N.J. woman over Bruce Springsteen  —  LONG BRANCH — Gov. Chris Christie and Bruce Springsteen haven't always been on the same page.  —  But don't tell the governor he can't play his idol's music ahead of his town hall events.

Joe The Plumber: Hold A Job Fair In Ferguson, Protestors Will ‘Scatter Like Cockroaches’  —  Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as “Joe the Plumber,” took to Facebook on Wednesday to post his thoughts about the ongoing conflict in Ferguson, Mo. and compared the protestors to “cockroaches.”

In first, Hamas official takes credit for kidnap and murder of Israeli teens  —  Salah al-Aruri praises “heroic action” of Kassam Brigades; Hamas had previously denied kidnapping Fraenkel, Shaer and Yifrah.  —  A senior Hamas official admitted for the first time on Wednesday …

Who Will Stand Up for the Christians?  —  WHY is the world silent while Christians are being slaughtered in the Middle East and Africa?  In Europe and in the United States, we have witnessed demonstrations over the tragic deaths of Palestinians who have been used as human shields by Hamas, the terrorist organization that controls Gaza.

Councilman under fire for posting what some call ‘racist photos’ on Facebook … POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) -  —  A Poplar Bluff city councilman is under fire for posting what some are calling racist photos of President Obama on his Facebook page.  —  The issue was brought up at Monday night's city council meeting.

“No One Treats African-Americans Worse Than We Treat Each Other”  —  The troubling self-flagellation in Ferguson's black community  —  Last Thursday, the rapper Nelly went on the air of his hometown hip-hop radio station, St. Louis's Hot 104.1, to announce a college scholarship fund …