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.

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.

North Carolina's GOP Senate Candidate Won't Commit To Supporting McConnell  —  Thom Tillis says he wants to be an “independent” senator and won't commit to supporting Mitch McConnell for Republican leader.  —  AP Photo/Gerry Broome, Pool  —  WILSON, N.C. — Thom Tillis …

Senate moves forward with amendment to the Constitution on elections  —  The Senate on Monday advanced a constitutional amendment meant to reverse two recent Supreme Court decisions on campaign spending.  —  Republicans are likely to vote against the amendment when it comes up for a final vote …

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 …

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 …

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.

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

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 …

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.

New KSN poll shows Roberts and Orman tied for U.S. Senate  —  WICHITA, Kansas — The Democratic candidate in the race for U.S. Senate, Chad Taylor, withdrawing last week from the race has created an interesting dynamic going forward, in the race to represent the state of Kansas on the Senate floor on Capitol Hill.

Scalia's utter moral failure: How he destroys any claim to a superior system of justice  —  He doesn't think executing an innocent man matters.  How on earth can such a depraved human be on our Supreme Court? … One might wonder how he can stay on the court after the revelation last week …

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.