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.

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.

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 …

Bob Dole Returns to Save Kansas for Jittery GOP … It has been a rough two-and-a-half weeks for Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, a three-term Republican facing his toughest fight for re-election since arriving in Washington in 1981.  —  Roberts, who survived a Republican primary challenge …

GOP House Candidate Open To War With Mexico ‘If We Need To’  —  A Republican congressional candidate in North Carolina suggested that he'd be open to going to war with Mexico over problems with immigration and drug cartels.  —  The candidate, Mark Walker (pictured), the Republican nominee …

Exclusive: Angry with Washington, 1 in 4 Americans open to secession  —  (Reuters) - The failed Scottish vote to pull out from the United Kingdom stirred secessionist hopes for some in the United States, where almost a quarter of people are open to their states leaving the union, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Report: Bridge scandal probe finds no tie to Christie, feds say  —  Federal officials on Thursday said they have not found information linking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) to traffic lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.  —  While the Justice Department's investigation …

Square Deal, New Deal, and Now, From Hillary Clinton, a “Fair Shot”  —  As Hillary Clinton spoke about women's economic issues at a liberal think tank, you could practically hear her campaign taking shape.  —  A hush fell over the room as some of the most powerful women in the Democratic Party took …

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 …