Armed contractor with criminal record was on elevator with Obama in Atlanta  —  A security contractor with a gun and three prior convictions for assault and battery was allowed on an elevator with President Obama during a Sept. 16 trip to Atlanta, violating Secret Service protocols, according to three people familiar with the incident.

CDC Confirms Patient In Dallas Has The Ebola Virus  —  DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Officials with the Centers for Disease Control have confirmed that a person in Dallas definitely has the Ebola virus.  Tuesday's official determination makes the patient, at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas …

BREAKING: Republican Judge Orders Obamacare Defunded  —  Much of the Affordable Care Act must be defunded and millions of Americans must lose their health insurance, according to an opinion issued Tuesday by Judge Ronald A. White, an Oklahoma federal judge appointed to the bench by George W. Bush.

Mitt Isn't Ready to Call It Quits  —  “Hey, Ann, can you come here a sec?”  Mitt Romney called out, sinking into the cushions of a walnut-colored easy chair, his legs outstretched on a matching ottoman.  Romney's blue work shirt was tucked into faded jeans; sockless ankles peeked out from his New Balance sneakers.

Referees flag Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah for celebration penalty after slide and prayer in endzone  —  Husain Abdullah is a devout Muslim.  He's also a safety for the Chiefs, and he made a promise to himself if he ever did find himself in the end zone.  —  “If I get a pick …

White House exempts Syria airstrikes from tight standards on civilian deaths  —  The White House has acknowledged for the first time that strict standards President Obama imposed last year to prevent civilian deaths from U.S. drone strikes will not apply to U.S. military operations in Syria and Iraq.

A ‘Tetris’ Movie Is in the Works (Exclusive)  —  A film adaptation of the classic '80s video game “Tetris” will be falling into theaters sometime in the near future.  —  Threshold Entertainment has teamed up with the Tetris Company to develop a live-action film based on the game.

How Americans' Lives Have Turned Into All Work And No Play, In 3 Charts  —  American workers are putting in more and more hours each week, as the supposedly 40-hour workweek has stretched to 47 hours.  At the same time, they're getting very little paid time off of work to recharge.

Mayor of Bell Gardens Dead After Being Shot in Domestic Dispute; Wife Detained  —  The mayor of Bell Gardens was fatally shot Tuesday afternoon in a dispute with his wife, who was in custody, authorities said.  —  Police work at the scene of a shooting in Bell Gardens …

FCC sacks NFL blackout rule  —  The FCC dumped the sports blackout rule Tuesday, dealing a blow to the NFL at a time of growing scrutiny for the league in Washington.  —  In a unanimous 5- vote, the commission eliminated the decades-old regulation, which prevents cable and satellite TV …

Government Debt Management at the Zero Lower Bound  —  Abstract  —  This paper re-examines government debt management policy in light of the U.S. experience with extraordinary fiscal and monetary policies since 2008.  —  We first document that the Treasury's decision to lengthen …

Large Oil Company Bolts From ALEC  —  Occidental Petroleum is cutting ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council amid backlash against the organization's stance on climate change.  —  A large oil and natural-gas company is parting ways with the American Legislative Exchange Council.

This Is What's the Matter With Kansas  —  Sam Brownback tried to create a conservative utopia.  He created a conservative hell instead.  —  The midterm elections of 2010 were good for Republicans nearly everywhere, but amid the national Tea Party insurgency, it was easy to overlook the revolution that was brewing in Kansas.

Why it might be time to sell that Rand Paul stock  —  Sen. Rand Paul's best window for winning the 2016 Republican presidential nomination increasingly looks like it has passed.  —  A lot can happen over the next 18 months, but the renewed focus on foreign policy — and more specifically …