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

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 …

Iraqi PM: Plot To Attack US, Paris Subways  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Iraq's prime minister said Thursday that captured Islamic State militants have told Iraqi intelligence agents of an alleged plot to attack subways in the United States and Paris, but French and American officials said they had no such information.

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.

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 …

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.

Why We're Talking About Mitt Romney  —  I've been mostly ignoring the various “Romney 2016!” trial balloons floated by various parties over the last six months or so (including by some of my dear friends, alas), but now that someone as sober and well-informed as Byron York has weighed in with a …

Wisconsin's Dilettante  —  The daughter of Trek Bicycle founder Richard Burke, the woman gunning for Scott Walker's job, is the scion of a prominent Wisconsin family who's had the wealth to flit from one career to another.  —  In an election being litigated primarily on economic issues, Mary Burke has touted her business experience.

Dem Candidate's Film Studio Failed to Pay Taxes While Taking Subsidies to Make a Movie Criticizing Farm Subsidies  —  The Democratic House candidate for New York's 21st congressional district received three separate tax warrants on his documentary-film company for failing to pay state taxes …

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 …

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.