Our withdrawn review “Blood cotton”  —  Apology: In our review of “The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism” by Edward Baptist, we said: “Mr Baptist has not written an objective history of slavery.  Almost all the blacks in his book are victims, almost all the whites villains.”

The Trouble With Harvard  —  The Ivy League is broken and only standardized tests can fix it  —  The most-read article in the history of this magazine is not about war, politics, or great works of art.  It's about the admissions policies of a handful of elite universities …

NATO Approves New Reaction Force for Eastern Europe  —  NEWPORT, Wales — NATO on Friday approved plans for a 4,000-person rapid reaction force headquartered in eastern Europe, aimed at reassuring members near Russia unnerved by its military actions in the Ukraine conflict that the principle of collective defense remains sacrosanct.

‘Meet’ the Chuck Todd advantage  —  Todd's roundtable will feature regular contributors, including Joe Scarborough, who has been promoted to NBC News senior political analyst and a regular contributor to “Meet.”  (Todd dismisses any suggestion that Scarborough doesn't fit the bill for reported analysis …

New Book Says C.I.A. Official in Benghazi Held Up Rescue  —  CAIRO — Five commandos guarding the C.I.A. base in Benghazi, Libya, in September 2012 say that the C.I.A. station chief stopped them from interceding in time to save the lives of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and an American technician during …

Fed: Under Obama, only the richest 10 percent saw incomes rise … Under President Obama, the richest 10 percent were the only income group of Americans to see their median incomes rise, according to a survey released this week by the Federal Reserve.  —  The Fed data covered the years 2010-2013 …

DEVELOPING: Estonian Counterintelligence Officer Abducted to Russia at Gunpoint, Foreign Ministry Summons Russian Ambassador  —  An official from the Internal Security Service (ISS), Estonia's national agency for counterintelligence and high-profile corruption investigations …

More Senate Democrats urge Obama to delay immigration order  —  More top Democrats are pressuring President Barack Obama to slow down on immigration reform, further diminishing the chances that he'll take sweeping administrative action before Election Day.  —  Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) wants Obama to wait until after November.

Woman beheaded ‘with machete’ in north London garden  —  Palmira Silva was decapitated at her home in Edmonton in an indiscriminate rampage before armed police subdued her ‘crazed’ attacker  —  An 82-year-old woman was beheaded in a north London suburban garden by a man with a machete.

Top CIA officer in Benghazi delayed response to terrorist attack, US security team members claim  —  A U.S. security team in Benghazi was held back from immediately responding to the attack on the American diplomatic mission on orders of the top CIA officer there, three of those involved told Fox News' Bret Baier.

Man jailed for phoning and texting ex-girlfriend 21,807 times  —  French man who harassed woman demanding compensation for work on appartment admits behaviour was ‘stupid’  —  Defendant accepted responsibility for a barrage of phone calls and text messages over a 10-month period Photograph: David Brabyn/ David Brabyn/Corbis

Congress Set to Bow to Obama on ISIS War  —  Congress says it wants to have a role in authorizing Obama's ongoing war against ISIS.  But the White House is using a series of maneuvers to make sure that never happens.  —  In recent days, leading lawmakers in both parties have been talking tough …

I'm Islamaphobic, Are You?  —  I confess, I'm “Islamaphobic,” but for very good reasons.  —  My fear is not an irrational fear based on uniformed prejudice; rather it's an historic, clear eyed, informed, rational fear.  ISSA is doing to America journalists what every true follower …

Premiums Set to Decline Slightly for Benchmark ACA Marketplace Insurance Plans in 2015  —  Analysis of 15 States and D.C. Also Finds Changes Vary Across States and Insurers  —  Results Suggest Consumers Should Shop Carefully When Open Enrollment Begins November 15

Not Everyone Can Afford the All-American On-Campus Experience  —  Living away from home gives students a chance to immerse themselves in new academic and social worlds.  But that kind of college experience is available only to an increasingly privileged few.

Texas daycare center accused of withholding water to keep diapers dry  —  A Texas child care center accused of duct-taping children to mats at nap time also withheld water from children to avoid frequent diaper changes, according to an investigation by the state's regulatory agency for child care licensing.

Syria May Have Hidden Chemical Arms, U.S. Says  —  The United States expressed concern on Thursday that Syria's government might be harboring undeclared chemical weapons, hidden from the internationally led operation to purge them over the past year, and that Islamist militant extremists …

The need for a mighty U.S. military  —  The writer is the former governor of Massachusetts.  In 2012, the Republican Party nominated him for president of the United States.  —  Russia invades, China bullies, Iran spins centrifuges, the Islamic State (a terrorist threat “beyond anything that we've seen …

Chairman Mike Rogers: We Will Have to Risk American Lives to Defeat ISIS  —  Military assessment teams and ad hoc air strikes may provide temporary gains, but they will not defeat this enemy  —  Two years ago, a prominent Middle East ally of the United States came to Washington to highlight …

Holder: Civil rights probe into Trayvon Martin shooting still active  —  Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the federal civil rights investigation into the 2012 killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin remains active, noting “recent developments” in the case.