G.O.P. Gains Strength and Obama Gets Low Marks, Poll Finds  —  A New York Times/CBS News poll shows that President Obama's approval ratings are similar to those of President George W. Bush in 2006 when Democrats swept both houses of Congress in the midterm elections.

Jewish group brands Biden's Shylock comment ‘offensive’  —  Yahoo News 16 hrs ago  —  Vice President Joe Biden drew fire from a prominent Jewish group on Tuesday after he described unscrupulous bankers who prey on servicemen and servicewomen deployed overseas as “Shylocks” — a term frequently condemned as an anti-Semitic caricature.

NRA goes big in key Senate, governor's races  —  The National Rifle Association has reserved $11.4 million for its initial fall advertising campaign and will begin airing its first TV commercials Wednesday in three Senate races crucial to determining which party controls the chamber next year.

Benghazi Select Committee Holding 1st Open Hearing  —  The House Select Committee on Benghazi gets its public debut Wednesday, two years after militants in the eastern Libyan city killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, and four months after Republicans launched their special investigation.

A failure to communicate?  —  Washington (CNN) — It's the one tenet of President Barack Obama's ISIS strategy that's remained ironclad: No U.S. troops are headed back into Iraq for combat.  —  At least it was ironclad until Tuesday, when Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff …

Obamacare: From game-changer to background noise  —  A year ago, it looked like Obamacare was going to have a huge role in this year's elections.  And not in a good way — as a symbol of government incompetence and the Republicans' main case against President Barack Obama's record.

Another Look at Electoral Change  —  Last fall, I posted some data on the changes in Democratic and Republican support in the states in presidential elections, in part in response to observations made by a number of pundits and politicians that there is an increasing Democratic “lock” on the Electoral College.

POLL: IN BIG SHIFT, BEAUPREZ POSTS 10-POINT LEAD ON HICKENLOOPER  —  Republican Bob Beauprez holds a 10-point lead against Gov. John Hickenlooper, according to a new poll, marking a major shift in a governor's race deadlocked for months.  —  The Quinnipiac University Poll, released Wednesday …

The Disappearing “Undue Burden” Standard for Abortion Rights  —  Those words—"undue burden"—represent Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's most important triumph during her long and consequential tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Almost single-handedly, O'Connor rewrote abortion law.

Rubio: ISIS could be entering US from Mexico  —  Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said late Tuesday that ISIS militants could be crossing the Mexican border into the United States.  —  Asked by Fox News host Sean Hannity if ISIS “would use the southern border to cross,” Rubio said “Sure, potentially.”

Boehner: ‘I have a few knuckleheads in my conference’  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday said he has “a few knuckleheads” in his conference.  As a result, Boehner described his House majority as being a “paper majority.”  —  “On any given day, 16 of my members decide they're going to go this way …

Official: Rogue state could weaponize Ebola  —  A rogue state could turn Ebola into a weapon of mass destruction, a federal health official acknowledged Tuesday.  —  Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it would take a “state-type” …

Bill Clinton: Vote ‘no’ in Scotland  —  Former President Bill Clinton has issued a statement urging Scots to reject the upcoming independence referendum.  —  In a statement released through the pro-unity Better Together campaign, the 42nd president said Scots could send …

From outside voice to inside player: Rise of Steve Scalise reflects changing House GOP  —  At the center of the swirling congressional debate over funding the government and arming rebels in Syria stands the new House majority whip, Rep. Steve Scalise, whose rise to power reflects …

Minnesota Vikings Reverse Course, Suspend Adrian Peterson … The Minnesota Vikings have reversed course on the handling of running back Adrian Peterson, placing him on the exempt/commissioner's permission list — meaning he is suspended indefinitely from all team activities amid the running back's child-abuse case.