Supreme Court Clears Way for Gay Marriage in 5 States  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday denied review in all five pending same-sex marriage cases, clearing the way for such marriages to proceed in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.  —  The move was a major surprise …

Democrats start to point fingers  —  Democrats are starting to play the blame game as they face the possibility of losing the Senate in November.  —  Tempers are running high a month out from Election Day, with polls showing Democratic candidates trailing in the crucial battleground states …

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.

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 …

The insane conspiracy theories of Naomi Wolf  —  Author and former Democratic political consultant Naomi Wolf published a series of Facebook posts on Saturday in which she questioned the veracity of the ISIS videos showing the murders and beheadings of two Americans and two Britons …

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 …

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 …

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 …

In Arkansas, Tom Cotton and the Clinton factor  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL BILL CLINTON 2014 ELECTIONS TOM COTTON MARK PRYOR  —  RISON, Ark. — Bill Clinton is coming to Arkansas to appear at four rallies for the campaign of endangered Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor.

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 …

Rogue donors not ready for Hillary?  —  Hillary Clinton is facing the beginnings of a backlash from rich liberals unhappy with her positions on litmus test issues and her team's efforts to lock up the Democratic presidential nomination before the contest starts.

Sam Wang Factchecks Nate Silver  —  Last week, Nate Silver wrote a lengthy critique of Sam Wang's midterm election forecast for Political Wire.  —  Wang responds below.  —  Co-founder, Princeton Election Consortium.  —  I began what is now the Princeton Election Consortium (PEC) …

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.

US midterm elections offer limited prospect for economic change  —  Investment in real economy must come from private sector  —  It is only a matter of time until financial markets turn their attention to next month's midterm Congressional elections in the US.

Is Another Obama Administration Scandal About to Explode?  —  While strong cases can be made for both Benghazi and Fast and Furious, most voters consider Barack Obama's misuse of the IRS to be his administration's worst scandal so far.  But, as we wrote last year, targeting of conservative non-profits …