Wrong Turn on Syria: No Convincing Plan  —  President Obama has put America at the center of a widening war by expanding into Syria airstrikes against the Islamic State, the Sunni extremist group known as ISIS and ISIL.  He has done this without allowing the public debate that needs to take place …

UPDATE |  Traficant ‘critical;’ doctors to make determination within 72 hours  —  GREENFORD — Ex-U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. is in “very critical condition” after an accident on his family farm, his wife, Tish Traficant, said today.  —  The former congressman, 73, is …

In conservative media, Obamacare is a disaster.  In the real world, it's working.  —  Before Obamacare launched, conservative outlets warned that the law would collapse as insurers shunned the overpriced, overregulated insurance exchanges.  “More Insurers Drop Out Of Exchanges,” warned Fox Business.

Reporters say White House sometimes demands changes to press-pool reports  —  White House press-pool reports are supposed to be the news media's eyes and ears on the president, an independent chronicle of his public activities.  They are written by reporters for other reporters …

Justice Dept. to investigate police shooting of Fairfield man  —  Special grand jury declines to indict officers in Walmart shooting  —  A special grand jury has declined to indict either police officer involved in the fatal shooting of a Tri-State man at a Dayton-area Walmart.

French hostage Herve Gourdel ‘beheaded in Algeria’  —  An Algerian jihadist group has released a video that appears to show the beheading of French tourist Herve Gourdel, who was seized on Sunday.  —  Jund al-Khilafa, an ally of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq …

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Why I can't resign now  —  Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is pushing back against suggestions that she should soon retire, saying President Barack Obama would be unable to get a justice like her through the Senate.  —  “Who do you think President Obama …

Barack Obama roasted over ‘Starbucks salute’  —  Many criticized the coffee-in-hand salute by Obama.  White House Instagram

Americans Continue to Say a Third Political Party Is Needed  —  Views little changed from last year  —  PRINCETON, NJ — A majority of U.S. adults, 58%, say a third U.S. political party is needed because the Republican and Democratic parties “do such a poor job” representing the American people.

New York Times Promotes Editors, in Change of Leadership Structure  —  The executive editor of The New York Times announced broad changes to the newspaper's leadership Wednesday, replacing titles that had been used for decades and promoting several senior editors.

Conservative lawmakers secretly plot to oust John Boehner  —  For months, several clusters of conservative lawmakers have been secretly huddling inside and outside the Capitol, plotting to oust John Boehner from the Speaker's office when House Republicans regroup after the November elections.

Secret G.O.P. Records Reveal Corporate Donors Paying for Access to Governors  —  WASHINGTON — In politics, it is sometimes better to be lucky than good.  Republicans and Democrats, and groups sympathetic to both, spend millions on sophisticated technology to gain an advantage.

In Colorado, a Student Counterprotest to an Anti-Protest Curriculum  —  ARVADA, Colo. — A new conservative school board majority here in the Denver suburbs recently proposed a curriculum-review committee to promote patriotism, respect for authority and free enterprise and to guard …

Virginia Candidate Who Backed Forced Ultrasound Law Tries To Win Back Women Voters  —  WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA — In a windowless Elks Lodge ballroom on Saturday, a group of about 50 white and elderly Republicans dined on barbecue and sheet cake as they listened to a brief campaign pitch from Barbara Comstock …

Arkansas poll: Senate and governor races all tied up  —  A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows just how tough Democrats have it in the fight keep control the U.S. Senate: Arkansas Sen. Mark Pryor, running for re-election in a state President Obama lost, is all tied up with GOP challenger Tom Cotton.

Facebook to cut ties with conservative policy group  —  Facebook will possibly end its relationship with a controversial conservative policy organization over its stance on climate change, The Chronicle learned Tuesday.  —  The social media giant in Menlo Park would be the second Silicon Valley giant …

State rep candidate voted in Illinois and Wisconsin  —  Republican Kathy Myalls is urging voters to elect her to a seat in the Illinois State Legislature.  —  But will she vote for herself?  —  It's a fair question, since records show Myalls has voted in both Illinois and Wisconsin in recent years.

The Emma Watson Naked Photo Countdown Was The Work Of Serial Internet Hoaxers  —  A mysterious countdown website emerged on Monday that hinted at the imminent reveal of naked photographs of the actress Emma Watson, stolen using the same iCloud vulnerability that hackers used to steal photographs …