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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

Rand Paul slams GOP on minorities, voting  —  Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday blasted his own party for making it tougher for minorities to vote.  —  The Kentucky Republican, a likely presidential candidate, has long argued that drug laws disproportionately affect minorities …

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 …

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.