Secret Service Chief Pierson Resigns Amid Security Gaps  —  Embattled U.S. Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, the first woman to lead the agency in charge of protecting the president, resigned amid mounting criticism over a series of security lapses.  —  Pierson stepped down only 18 months …

EARLIER:  —  A political cartoon in Wednesday's Boston Herald is raising eyebrows and has people calling the newspaper “racist.”  —  The cartoon depicts President Barack Obama brushing his teeth in the bathroom of the White House, as the man recently accused of storming the building …

College GOP: Democrats Are Like a Bad Wedding Dress  —  The College Republican National Committee launched on Wednesday a nearly $1 million digital ad campaign across 16 states, aiming to draw young voters to the GOP with what the group's chief calls “culturally relevant” ad campaigns.

Kansas Poll Shows Independent Greg Orman Leading Incumbent Pat Roberts in U.S. Senate Race  —  Independent businessman and political enigma Greg Orman (46 percent) is leading three-term Republican incumbent Pat Roberts (41 percent) in the race for U.S. Senate in Kansas, with 11 percent undecided …

New York Times Plans Cutbacks in Newsroom Staff  —  The New York Times plans to eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs, as well as a smaller number of positions from its editorial and business operations, offering buyouts and resorting to layoffs if enough people do not leave voluntarily, the newspaper announced on Wednesday.

BREAKING: Leslie Rutledge's Voter Registration Canceled; Candidacy Now In Question  —  And you thought the DHS rumors were troubling.  —  According to multiple reports — the veracity of which I have no reason to doubt, but the confirmation of which I will have to wait until 8am tomorrow to confirm …

35,000 Walrus Converge On Alaska Beach As Sea Ice Retreats  —  In this aerial photo taken on Sept. 27, 2014, and provided by NOAA, some 35,000 walrus gather on shore near Point Lay, Alaska.  Pacific walrus looking for places to rest in the absence of sea ice are coming to shore in record numbers on Alaska's northwest coast.

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 …

Gun nuts' tragic confusion: Why “open carry” groups don't get police brutality  —  To their credit, some gun groups were upset when John Crawford was shot by cops.  The problem is their odd reasoning  —  After finally being allowed to view the video of the police shooting of a man in an Ohio Wal-Mart …

State Sen. Perry discusses morals in inaugural speech  —  Perry: ‘The biggest challenge we face is the spiritual battle for the spirit of this nation and the soul of its people’  —  After placing his hand on the Bible and taking the oath of office, state Sen. Charles Perry compared what he called the …

I want to apologize to the affected community of drag queens, drag kings, transgender, and extensive community of our friends, neighbors, and members of the LGBT community for the hardship that we've put you through in dealing with your Facebook accounts over the past few weeks.

Liberian Officials Identify Ebola Victim in Texas as Thomas Eric Duncan  —  MONROVIA, Liberia — A man who flew to Dallas and was later found to have the Ebola virus was identified by senior Liberian government officials on Wednesday as Thomas Eric Duncan, a resident of Monrovia in his mid-40s.

Officials: Second person being monitored for Ebola  —  DALLAS — Health officials are closely monitoring a possible second Ebola patient who had close contact with the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S., the director of Dallas County's health department said Wednesday.

Michael Dunn found guilty of 1st-degree murder in loud-music trial  —  Jacksonville, Florida (CNN) — Jurors found Michael Dunn guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday in the 2012 shooting death 17-year-old Jordan Davis.  —  Dunn's parents were in the courtroom for the verdict.

Officer placed on paid leave in tasing incident  —  Officer Terry Mahan has been placed on administrative leave after a Tuesday incident in which he tased a woman in the back while she walked away from him.  —  CONNECT  —  Chief Michael DeLeo announces internal investigation of officer's use …

Two years after college, too many grads are still ‘adrift’  —  The higher-education world was rocked three years ago by the publication of the landmark study of collegiate learning, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa.

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.).