Obama's Betrayal of the Constitution  —  BERLIN — PRESIDENT OBAMA's declaration of war against the terrorist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria marks a decisive break in the American constitutional tradition.  Nothing attempted by his predecessor, George W. Bush, remotely compares in imperial hubris.

Rob Ford withdraws from mayor's race, Doug files to take his place  —  Mayor Rob Ford has ended his re-election bid but his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, wants to replace him.  —  Mayor Rob Ford chatting with brother Doug at city hall.  Rob has withdrawn from the ballot for mayor.  —  Photos View photos

Cops: Zimmerman threatened man  —  Lake Mary police say driver did not want to press charges  —  Author: Daniel Dahm, Managing Editor of ClickOrlando.com, ddahm@clickorlando.com  —  LAKE MARY, Fla. -  —  George Zimmerman threatened to kill a driver during a road rage incident in Lake Mary …

Sarah Palin's Family Allegedly in Alaska House Party Brawl  —  Sarah Palin and her family were at the center of a lively party last weekend that erupted into a fight, with daughter Bristol Palin allegedly throwing a right hook, a man who says he was a guest at the party told ABC News.

GOP'S UNDERHANDED PUSH FOR OVER-THE-COUNTER BIRTH CONTROL  —  If Republicans' newfound enthusiasm for birth control seems suspicious, it's with good reason.  Following the lead of Colorado U.S. Senate candidate Cory Gardner, a handful of Republicans in midterm races across the country …

James Clyburn Recommends ‘Sexting’ To C-SPAN Caller [VIDEO]  —  Rep. James Clyburn, the third-ranking House Democrat, recently told a C-SPAN caller that “sexting” is an important tool for organizing voters.  —  Clyburn seemed to confuse basic “texting” with “sexting” …

Government Threatened Foley Family Over Ransom Payments, Mother of Slain Journalist Says … Obama administration officials repeatedly threatened the family of murdered journalist James Foley that they might face criminal charges for supporting terrorism if they paid ransom to the ISIS killers …

Abbott: Davis book tour violates state law  —  AUSTIN — A dispute over Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis' book tour intensified Thursday as her Republican opponent, Greg Abbott, accused her in a formal complaint of violating state election laws.

Clinton tops Democrats in Iowa while Huckabee leads Republicans  —  Washington (CNN) — Hillary Clinton is heading to Iowa as the politician that most Democrats would choose as their 2016 presidential nominee.  —  According to a new CNN/ORC poll, 53% of all registered Democrats contacted …

What We're Afraid to Say About Ebola  —  MINNEAPOLIS — THE Ebola epidemic in West Africa has the potential to alter history as much as any plague has ever done.  —  There have been more than 4,300 cases and 2,300 deaths over the past six months.  Last week, the World Health Organization warned that …

Ted Cruz and the most cynical, despicable political stunt of the year  —  Aggressively supporting Israel is a political winner for conservatives.  But when it comes at the expense of persecuted Christians who fear for their lives...  Berating a persecuted religious minority for your own political gain?

Scotland and the SNP: Fooling yourselves and deceiving others  —  There are many laudable reasons to campaign for Scottish independence.  But how far should those who passionately want independence be prepared to go to achieve that goal?  Should they, for example, deceive the Scottish people about the basic economics involved?

GOP Senate's first 100 days  —  Republicans are putting together an agenda for the first 100 days of 2015 in case they win control of the Senate.  —  Authorizing the Keystone XL oil pipeline, approving “fast-track” trade authority, wiping out proposed environmental regulations and repealing the medical device tax top their list.

In Southerland-Graham race, the subject turns to lingerie  —  Florida Democrats tried to blunt the impact of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's visit by labeling him anti-women along with Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland of Panama City, who also joined Scott's tax cut bus tour across the Panhandle.

The Inflation Cult  —  Wish I'd said that!  Earlier this week, Jesse Eisinger of ProPublica, writing on The Times's DealBook blog, compared people who keep predicting runaway inflation to “true believers whose faith in a predicted apocalypse persists even after it fails to materialize.”  Indeed.