Eric Holder To Step Down As Attorney General  —  Eric Holder Jr., the nation's first black U.S. attorney general, is preparing to announce his resignation Thursday after a tumultuous tenure marked by civil rights advances, national security threats, reforms to the criminal justice system …

Conservatives Launch ‘Unprecedented’ Campaign Against Pro-Marriage Equality Republicans  —  National Organization for Marriage, Family Research Council, and CitizenLink lash out against candidates “working to actively alienate the Republican base.”  —  Olaf Faeskorn/Tisei for Congress

Ferguson police chief tells CNN: I will not step down  —  Watch the full interview with Police Chief Tom Jackson on “Anderson Cooper 360°” tonight at 9 p.m. ET.  —  (CNN) — Ferguson, Missouri, Police Chief Thomas Jackson — under fire for his department's handling of the Michael Brown shooting …

SD Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Somehow Plagiarized Biographical Sentence  —  Mary Burke had her own policies plagiarized.  —  Susan Wismer For South Dakota / Via Facebook: SusanForSD  —  Democratic gubernatorial South Dakota nominee appears to have plagiarized parts of her issues page …

How Sen. Kay Hagan's husband won stimulus cash  —  When Kay Hagan voted for President Barack Obama's 2009 economic stimulus package, the Democratic senator hailed it as “the best way forward for working families across North Carolina.”  —  One of the families that later benefited is her own.

Beating Brownback Would Redeem 2014  —  After reading Patrick Caldwell's very thorough explanation of why Gov. Sam Brownback's in danger of losing in November, I'm more convinced than ever that whether or not Republicans are kept from taking control of the Senate, it would be an important …

Senate Races: What September Polling Trends Tell Us  —  About a month ago, I wrote a pair of articles about the 2014 elections, one regarding the Senate, and another focused on the House.  The goal of the articles was to try to reconcile two disparate sets of data tied to this election.

Zoo in coverup after groundhog dropped by de Blasio dies  —  Mayor Bill de Blasio couldn't hold onto the Staten Island Zoo's squirming groundhog.  —  Mayor Bill de Blasio has groundhog blood on his hands!  —  A week after Hizzoner dropped Staten Island Chuck in front of a crowd of spectators on Feb. 2 …

Gabby Giffords's Gun-Control Ads Are Being Criticized Because They're Working  —  Strange but true: getting shot in the head will make a person want to defeat political candidates who oppose gun control laws.  Actually, getting shot in the head is usually fatal.

FBI says it has identified ‘Jihadi John’ seen in ISIS execution videos but will not reveal his identity or nationality  — Comey said he was ‘not confident at all’ the threat from Khorasan militant group was thwarted by this week's airstrikes  —  The FBI has identified the ISIS executioner …

US: Immigrant Families Fail To Report To Agents  —  3 photos  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Tens of thousands of young families caught crossing the border illegally earlier this year subsequently failed to meet with federal immigration agents, as they were instructed, the Homeland Security Department has acknowledged privately.

The Anti-Vaccination Epidemic  —  Whooping cough, mumps and measles are making an alarming comeback, thanks to seriously misguided parents.  —  Almost 8,000 cases of pertussis, better known as whooping cough, have been reported to California's Public Health Department so far this year.

Video Shows South Carolina Cop Shooting Black Man Without Any Apparent Provocation  —  South Carolina state trooper Sean Groubert was arrested on Wednesday and charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature after a video emerged of him shooting a driver named Levar Jones that he pulled over for a seat belt violation.