Supreme Court Hands Gay Marriage a Tacit Victory  —  WASHINGTON — In a move that may signal the inevitability of a nationwide right to same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court on Monday let stand appeals court rulings allowing such unions in five states.  —  The development, a major surprise …

Bluegrass Poll: Grimes takes lead over McConnell  —  After two polls in his favor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell again has slipped behind Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes, according to the latest Bluegrass Poll.  —  Grimes, Kentucky's secretary of state …

Panetta: ‘30-year war’ and a leadership test for Obama  —  Former Director of the C.I.A. Leon Panetta discusses the threat posed by ISIS and offers a critical review of Obama's performance as president.  He speaks with USA Today's Susan Page in this edition of Capital Download.

Naomi Wolf Suggests ISIL Beheading Videos May Have Been Staged  —  Journalist and author Naomi Wolf suggested Saturday that videos of Islamic State militants beheading American and British hostages may have been staged.  —  The news site Vox flagged a series of Facebook posts in which Wolf questioned …

U.S.-led Airstrikes Disrupt Islamic State, But Extremists Hold Territory  —  Islamic State Fighters Taking Precautions to Evade Detection  —  U.S.-led airstrikes designed to serve notice on Islamist extremists in Iraq and Syria have also delivered a sobering message to Washington and its allies …

EXCLUSIVE: Bill Maher on Islam spat with Ben Affleck: “We're liberals!  We're not crazy tea-baggers”  —  Comedian tells Salon about his clash with Affleck, his “Flip a District” effort — and a recent meal with Rand Paul  —  If you're just catching up on the weekend's politics news …

The Truth About Jeb Bush's Presidential Ambitions  —  Some insiders say he's already running.  Others says he's definitely not.  Here's the reality, distilled from over a dozen discussions with those who know Bush really well.  —  There are currently two factions in American presidential politics …

Republicans Are Playing Dirty Tricks to Worsen Democrats' Midterm-Voter Problem  —  The Democrats' midterm drop off problem is as well understood as it is intractable.  For a number of reasons, young adults and minorities are less likely to vote in midterm elections than in general elections …

Fox News Host Gets Angry When Guests Won't Condemn Islam  —  A Fox News host became visibly angry on Monday while trying to defend comedian Bill Maher's comments about Islam.  On Friday, the “Real Time” host argued that Islam “is the only religion that acts like the mafia” …

Cuomo administration edited and delayed key fracking study  —  ALBANY—A federal water study commissioned by the Cuomo administration as it weighed a key decision on fracking was edited and delayed by state officials before it was published, a Capital review has found.

‘Deadly fire’ at Iran military explosives facility  —  A fire and explosion at a military explosives facility near the Iranian capital Tehran has left at least two people dead, reports say.  —  The semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (Isna) said the fire was in an “explosive materials production unit”.

As Ebola patient in Texas fights for his life, his family copes with stigma and isolation  —  Thomas Duncan is fighting for his life as his friends say they are isolated.  —  DALLAS — As a Liberian man diagnosed with Ebola was fighting to survive Sunday in a Texas hospital …

Feds warn of jury tampering in Detroit  —  Federal prosecutors are publicly accusing a Palestinian-American activist of an “almost certainly criminal” effort to derail the trial of a colleague accused of naturalization fraud for failing to disclose a terrorism conviction in Israel more than four decades ago.

Boehner rakes in cash for openly gay Republican candidate  —  Speaker John Boehner vowed last year that he'd back gay GOP candidates.  Now, he's making good on his word.  —  The Ohio Republican is heading to California this week, where he'll raise cash for openly gay Republican candidate Carl DeMaio …

Swastikas Painted On Jewish Fraternity House At Emory University Hours After Yom Kippur  —  Offensive graffiti — including swastikas — was found early Sunday morning on the Alpha Epsilon Pi chapter house at Emory University, the university confirmed to Business Insider Sunday.

An Obama Ally Parts With Him on War Powers  —  ORANGE, Va. — In June, after he had written a scorching opinion article seeking to constrain the president's unilateral power to make war, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, one of Barack Obama's earliest supporters, buttonholed the commander in chief …