Ray Rice — ELEVATOR KNOCKOUT ... Fiancee Takes Crushing Punch (Video)  —  ELEVATOR KNOCKOUT  —  Fiancee Takes Crushing Punch (Video)  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  This is what a two game suspension looks like — Ray Rice delivering a vicious punch to his fiancee's face, knocking her out cold ... and TMZ Sports has the shocking video.

Scots, What the Heck?  —  Next week Scotland will hold a referendum on whether to leave the United Kingdom.  And polling suggests that support for independence has surged over the past few months, largely because pro-independence campaigners have managed to reduce the “fear factor” …

Facing Dem attacks, could new GOP strategy end birth control wars?  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL HEALTH CARE 2014 ELECTIONS CAMPAIGNS BOBBY JINDAL CONTRACEPTION THOM TILLIS CORY GARDNER  —  Remember the 2012 Republican presidential debate in which ABC's George Stephanopoulos, seemingly out of nowhere …

The threat to American democracy  —  We are at a pivotal moment in American history.  —  Building the United States of America has been long, arduous and rife with setbacks.  But throughout the years, we have undoubtedly moved toward a more inclusive democracy.  We expanded the right to vote.

Bush gives Clinton grandpa advice  —  Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were complimentary of each other Monday, with the 43rd president even giving his Democratic predecessor some insider advice on the life of a grandfather.  —  “Get ready also to be like the lowest person …

Dick Cheney to meet with House GOP on midterms  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney will appear before House Republicans at a Tuesday meeting to discuss the midterm elections, according to two sources familiar with his plans.  —  Cheney's appearance comes as Republican leaders launch …

Rothenberg: Senate GOP Gains At Least 7 Seats  —  While the current Rothenberg Political Report ratings don't show it, I am now expecting a substantial Republican Senate wave in November, with a net gain of at least seven seats.  —  But I wouldn't be shocked by a larger gain.

Gerrymandering and the Big Sort Fallacy  —  Every so often, Nate Cohn writes something about how the political impact of gerrymandering is overrated, and I write something about how he's wrong.  The argument has gotten pointlessly heated in the past, and neither one of us has inched toward …

Bruce Levenson Isn't a Racist, He's a Businessman … From left: Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Dominique Wilkins  —  Courtesy of Iconomy, LLC

Congressman Says Everyone Should Be Free To Smoke And Fire Gay People  —  CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA—At a recent town hall in Charlotte's suburbs, North Carolina House Republican Robert Pittenger compared the right to fire LGBT workers to the right to smoke cigarettes on private property.

World-Weary  —  Even the most forgiving judge of Barack Obama, one willing to overlook his preference for chipping onto the sunlit greens of Martha's Vineyard rather than brooding in the fluorescent glare of the Situation Room, must admit that the President has sometimes been a thick-tongued steward of his own foreign policy.

With Medicaid expansion blocked, McAuliffe unveils plan to insure more Virginians  —  RICHMOND — Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) on Monday announced a plan to provide health insurance to as many as 25,000 Virginians, far short of his June vow to defy the Republican-controlled legislature and find a way to expand coverage to 400,000.

Udall: Beheaded American Journalists Would Have Wanted Cautious Approach to ISIS  —  The president has in recent days taken fire from members of his own party for taking a low-key approach to tackling the problem presented by the Islamic State, particularly as the images of two American journalists kidnapped …