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” …

CNN poll finds majority of Americans alarmed by ISIS  —  Washington (CNN) — Americans are increasingly concerned that ISIS represents a direct terror threat, fearful that ISIS agents are living in the United States, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll.  Most now support military action against the terrorist group.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

Watergate's most lasting sin: Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, and the pardon that made us all cynics  —  Ford let Nixon off 40 years ago today.  That launched Iran-Contra, “too big to fail” — and proved power trumps law  —  When you've published a book about Watergate, your phone rings off …

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 …

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

Congress Approval Sits at 14% Two Months Before Elections  —  Lowest approval in fall before an election since 1974  —  PRINCETON, NJ — With less than two months to go before the midterm congressional elections, 14% of Americans approve of how Congress is handling its job.

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 …

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.

WOW: NASTYGRAM FROM THE BROWN CAMPAIGN  —  I received this nastygram (PDF) by email today from Scott Brown's campaign manager — cc-ing my boss, the provost and president.  —  I take it Mr. Reed's outrage is triggered by the Senate's regulations of what constitutes being a “lobbyist” for purposes of the Senate rules.