Scottish referendum: Scotland votes ‘No’ to independence  —  Scotland has voted to stay in the United Kingdom after voters decisively rejected independence.  —  With 31 out of the country's 32 council areas having declared after Thursday's vote, the ‘No’ side has an unassailable lead of 1,914,187 votes to 1,539,920.

Rift widens between Obama, U.S. military over strategy to fight Islamic State  —  Flashes of disagreement over how to fight the Islamic State are mounting between President Obama and U.S. military leaders, the latest sign of strain in what often has been an awkward and uneasy relationship.

Supreme Court Blocks Kobach's Power Move In Kansas Senate Race  —  The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Democratic Senate nominee Chad Taylor's name should be removed from the ballot in November, overruling Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R).  —  The ruling shakes up one of the most-watched Senate races in 2014 once again.

Could Fighting Global Warming Be Cheap and Free?  —  This just in: Saving the planet would be cheap; it might even be free.  But will anyone believe the good news?  —  I've just been reading two new reports on the economics of fighting climate change: a big study by a blue-ribbon international group …

Wisconsin Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Blames Campaign Consultant For Large Portions Of Copied Jobs Plan  —  From three previous Democratic campaigns.  —  Facebook- Burke for Wisconsin / Via Facebook: burkeforwisconsin  —  Large portions of Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate …

Obama ratchets up fight against killer bacteria  —  President Obama moved via executive action Thursday to quell the rise of deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria blamed for tens of thousands of deaths a year in the United States.  —  Obama signed an order establishing a new interagency task force …

Why I Hope to Die at 75  —  An argument that society and families—and you—will be better off if nature takes its course swiftly and promptly  —  Photos by Jake Chessum  —  Seventy-five.  —  That's how long I want to live: 75 years.  —  This preference drives my daughters crazy.

Can a Recycled Abortion Strategy Beat Cory Gardner in Colorado?  —  It's worked year after year, but Democrats will have a harder time painting this Republican as an extremist on reproductive rights.  —  Democratic operative Guy Cecil was living in Sen. Michael Bennet's basement four years ago …

GOP congressional candidate endorses going to war with Mexico over undocumented immigrants  —  Where do Republicans find these people, and why won't they stop?  —  The latest candidate to sign up for the hard-fought America's Dumbest Congressman competition is Republican Mark Walker …

Thank God my country is still intact  —  Thank God.  Just thank God.  I don't much care at the moment whether God is Scottish, and is glowering approvingly at Great Britain from over His bands and Geneva gown, or whether He is English and is raising a glass of sherry with an absent-minded smile.

Write-In Candidate For U.S. Senate Unveils ‘With Jews We Lose’ Signs  —  A man with a history in the white supremacist movement has reportedly posted a series of anti-Semitic campaign signs throughout northern Kentucky as part of his write-in bid to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R).

Reid: Obama will decide if DWS is a liability  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid paid compliments on Thursday to Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz — but deferred to President Barack Obama on her future as the head of the party.