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.

Mayor of Bell Gardens Fatally Shot in Domestic Dispute; Wife Questioned and Released  —  The mayor of Bell Gardens was fatally shot Tuesday afternoon in a dispute with his wife, who was briefly detained, authorities said.  —  A family photograph of Daniel Crespo and his wife, Levette.

WH huddles as ISIS advances toward Turkey  —  President Obama met Tuesday evening with his national security team amid reports that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was advancing toward toward the predominantly Kurdish town of Kobani on the border between Turkey and Syria.

On Hobby Lobby, Ginsburg Was Right  —  The great Oliver Wendell Holmes once observed that important Supreme Court decisions “exercise a kind of hydraulic effect.”  Even if the authors of such decisions assert that their rulings will have limited impact, these cases invariably have a profound influence.

Democrats make risky bet against GOP Leader Mitch McConnell  —  Democrats in Washington are taking a risky bet by quadrupling their investment in Alison Lundergan Grimes, a young and largely unproven challenger, who is running against Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.).

Are Liberals Fund-Raising Hypocrites?  —  Let's imagine that Republicans swept the 2012 elections and were now in control not merely of the House but of the presidency and the Senate, too.  —  Now let's take it one step further and say that by using the filibuster the Democratic minority …

GOP sets sights on bigger House gains  —  House Republicans have been destined for modest gains in the midterms despite a favorable political environment.  Now, just five weeks until Election Day, the party is raising its ambitions, jumping into Democratic strongholds long thought to be beyond the GOP's reach.

Democrats should embrace ACA successes  —  The Affordable Care Act figured prominently in the last two election cycles.  Arguments by candidates and media outlets opposed to the law carried the day, especially in the Republican takeover of the House in 2010.