Party bosses place midterm bets  —  It's decision time for Republicans and Democrats battling for control of the Senate.  —  Five weeks before the midterm elections, party leaders are peering into their campaign bank accounts, doing their math and trying to figure out where to put their money — and where to abandon hope.

Obama: Intel officials underestimated ISIS  —  President Obama largely blamed the United States' intelligence community in an interview broadcast Sunday for giving an incorrect assessment of the capabilities of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).  —  “Our head of the intelligence community …

Economy could tip election to Dems  —  One of the biggest surprises on the midterm campaign trail is hearing President Obama echo President Reagan's famous question by asking voters whether “you are better off than you were four years ago.”  —  The question is the hammer in Obama's toolbox …

Fired Oklahoma City nursing home worker threatened beheading, police say  —  Jacob Mugambi Muriithi, a native of Kenya, was arrested Friday in Oklahoma City on a terrorism complaint.  —  In a bizarre coincidence, a fired Oklahoma City nursing home employee was arrested Friday …

Crackdown on Protests by Hong Kong Police Draws More to the Streets  —  HONG KONG — Downtown Hong Kong turned into a battlefield of tear gas and seething crowds on Sunday after the police moved against a student democracy protest, inciting public fury that brought tens of thousands of people onto …

U.S. Troops Battling Ebola Get Off to Slow Start in Africa  —  Rare Military Effort Comes as Concerns Mount Over Epidemic's Expansion  —  The number of people infected with Ebola could hit 1.4 million by mid-January.  What is the world doing about it?  WSJ's Jason Bellini has #TheShortAnswer.

Our Invisible Rich  —  Half a century ago, a classic essay in The New Yorker titled “Our Invisible Poor” took on the then-prevalent myth that America was an affluent society with only a few “pockets of poverty.”  For many, the facts about poverty came as a revelation, and Dwight Macdonald's article arguably …

Court to Weigh Political-Contribution Ban for Government Contractors  —  Challengers Say Restriction Is Too Broad, Preventing Donations to Independent Political Committees  —  A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday will consider a fresh challenge to campaign-finance rules, this time a 74-year-old …

The Cult Deficit  —  LIKE most children of the Reagan era, I grew up with a steady diet of media warnings about the perils of religious cults — the gurus who lurked in wait for the unwary and confused, offering absolute certainty with the aftertaste of poisoned Kool-Aid.

Obama expands 'My Brother's Keeper'  —  The White House is partnering with mayors and community leaders to develop a “cradle to college and career strategy” for young men of color, President Obama is set to announce at Saturday's Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awards dinner.

We need a new constitution: Here's how we save American democracy from charlatans, loudmouths and the 1 percent  —  The most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll says that a clear-cut majority is disgusted with the present political scene and retains little hope that future generations will fare as well as we have.

Ferguson police officer shot in arm after chasing suspect  —  (KMOV.com) - Authorities responded to a call for an officer shot in north St. Louis County late Saturday night.  —  St. Louis County Police reported a male police officer from Ferguson was doing routine patrol around 9:10 p.m …