Jay Carney joins CNN  —  Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney will join CNN as a political commentator, the network announced Wednesday.  —  He will start Wednesday night as President Barack Obama makes a primetime statement about the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant , Sam Feist …

'Real Time"s Maher ‘could’ vote for Paul  —  Longtime viewers of Bill Maher on HBO's “Real Time” may be surprised to learn the liberal-leaning host, who makes a habit of skewering Republicans on a weekly basis, is “considering” casting a vote for one come 2016.  —  “Rand Paul is an interesting candidate to me.

The teacher (and English graduate) who admits: I'm illiterate - SARAH SMITH blames liberal education dogmas for creating a generation of hopelessly ill-equipped teachers  —  My hands were feeling clammy and beads of sweat broke out under my collar as I shifted nervously in my seat.  It was parents' evening.

Dick Cheney Is Still Right  —  Obama's return to Iraq reveals how wrong he has been about the world.

Goodell: No.  —  O'Donnell: No one in the NFL?  —  Goodell: No one in the NFL, to my knowledge, and I had been asked that same question and the answer to that is no. We were not granted that.  We were told that was not something we would have access to.  On multiple occasions, we asked for it.

State launches fraud investigation into voter registration group  —  ATLANTA —  Channel 2 Action News has learned Georgia's secretary of state is investigating allegations of forged voter registration applications and demanding records from a voter registration group with ties to one of the state's highest ranking Democrats.

Mass. Mayor Brandishes Gun During Late-Night Meeting With Rival  —  A Massachusetts councilman accused his town mayor of “intimidation” after he pulled out a gun during an informal, late-night meeting in an SUV between the two officials.  But the mayor disputes the claim, the Boston Herald reported.

People hate the Republican Party.  But they really don't.  —  The reclamation project that is the Republican Party has long been stunted by one pesky fact: People freaking hate the Republican Party.  —  Well, kind of.  —  Poll after poll shows President Obama is unpopular …

How Scalia's Beliefs Completely Changed the Supreme Court  —  And therefore, the country  —  Scalia: A Court of One by Bruce Allen Murphy (Simon & Schuster).  —  On October 15, 1987, as Justice Antonin Scalia settled into his second term at the Supreme Court, he emerged from conference …

No atheist should be permitted to serve in the U.S. military  —  Military service should rightly be reserved for those who believe in and are willing to die for what America stands for - and what America stands for is a belief in God as the source of our rights.  —  Tweet to @BryanJFischer

Andrew Cuomo spent almost 40 times as much for his votes as Zephyr Teachout  —  Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has been raising money for his reelection essentially since he took office in 2010.  His campaign account has been in the eight figures since 2012; he's been raising $5 million or more every six months like clockwork.

LETTER: HOLDER AIDE ACCIDENTALLY CALLS ISSA STAFF FOR HELP SPINNING IRS SCANDAL  —  A senior communications aide to Attorney General Eric Holder seemingly called House oversight committee chairman Darrell Issa's staff by accident and asked for their help spinning new revelations about the IRS scandal …

IRS chief: ‘Whenever we can, we follow the law’  —  During another grueling hearing on the ObamaCare rollout, the head of the Internal Revenue Service tried to offer lawmakers an assurance about the soon-to-open enrollment period.  —  “Whenever we can, we follow the law,” …

Lena Dunham Is Not Done Confessing  —  Credit: Benjamin Lowy/Reportage, for The New York Times  —  On a recent afternoon in Brooklyn, Lena Dunham and her sister, Grace, met up at a local hangout.  Grace was nursing a sprained ankle she sustained a few nights earlier, after, by her account …

2014 Employer Health Benefits Survey  —  This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and employer opinions.  The 2014 survey included almost three thousand interviews …

Candidates to draw straws unless lone voter brings ID  —  Unless a lone affidavit voter shows up with a valid photo ID before next Tuesday, Glenn Bolin and Stephanie Bounds will draw straws to see who becomes Poplarville alderman.  —  In a special election runoff Tuesday, Bolin and Bounds each received 177 votes.

How Stephen King Teaches Writing  —  Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft has been a fixture in my English classroom for years, but it wasn't until this summer, when I began teaching in a residential drug and alcohol rehab, that I discovered the full measure of its worth.

Ted Cruz: Amendment threatens SNL  —  Sen. Ted Cruz says the comedy of NBC's “Saturday Night Live” is at risk and creator Lorne Michaels could be thrown in jail if a proposed Constitutional amendment on campaign finance is passed.  —  “Congress would have the power to make it a criminal offense …

Is Obama Leading or Being Led?  —  One explanation for why Americans support the president's policies on ISIS but not the president.  —  Consider this paradox: Americans overwhelmingly support President Obama's actions against the Islamic State so far—airstrikes and humanitarian assistance …