Allowing Lower Court Rulings on Same-Sex Marriage to Stand is ‘Tragic and Indefensible,’ and ‘Judicial Activism at its Worst’  —  SEN. CRUZ RELEASES STATEMENT ABOUT SUPREME COURT ACTIONS TODAY  —  WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, today issued the following statement regarding …

Political Scientists: November Is Still A Slam-Dunk For The GOP  —  Amid the quibbling between Nate Silver and Sam Wang, academic political scientists have stepped in to release their own election forecast for November — and it doesn't look great for Democrats.

Why Would Obama Try to Make the Election About Himself?  —  The president made headlines last week during a speech on the economy, where he implored voters not to make any errors: “Now, I am not on the ballot this fall .... But make no mistake: These policies are on the ballot—every single one of them.”

Who is Saul Alinsky, and why does the right hate him so much?  —  “The Hillary Letters”, trumpets the Fox News headline.  “Clinton, Saul Alinsky correspondence revealed.”  —  Here's the story: In 1971, Yale law student Hillary Rodham sent a letter to famed community organizer Saul Alinsky.

Republicans brace for 2016 free-for-all  —  The message from Republican officials has been crystal clear for two years: The 2016 Republican primary cannot be another prolonged pummeling of the eventual nominee.  Only one person ultimately benefited from that last time — Barack Obama …

American student, 19, ‘trying to join ISIS’ arrested at Chicago's O'Hare airport after leaving note for his parents signed ‘PLEASE MAKE SURE NOT TO TELL THE AUTHORITIES’  — Federal authorities claimed in court that they have handwritten documents that prove he supported ISIS

‘Moment of Truth’ on Emissions  —  In March, the Obama administration issued a white paper as part of its Climate Action Plan entitled “Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions.”  A big part of the strategy was built around cutting down on the methane emissions that result from oil and gas production …

Rush Limbaugh: Obama Wants Americans To Get Ebola As Payback For Slavery  —  Radio host Rush Limbaugh suggested on Monday that President Barack Obama is refusing to divert flights from Ebola-infected countries and close down America's borders because he believes that the nation “deserves” …

Scott Walker Could Win Thanks to Wisconsin's Voter ID Law  —  On September 12, Wisconsin voting-rights groups began to scramble when the Seventh Circuit Court upheld the state's voter ID law, one of the strictest in the country.  By the end of September, the same court had narrowly declined …

State Dept. inspector general: More evidence of rampant mismanagement under Hillary Clinton  —  BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL HILLARY CLINTON STATE DEPARTMENT INSPECTORS GENERAL  —  The State Department's Office of Inspector General has released another “management alert” detailing rampant mismanagement within …

A heartbreaking act of staggering cowardice  —  See this picture?  This is what raw cowardice and utter contempt for democracy looks like. … The picture was taken this morning and posted on Twitter by Kevin McCorry of WHYY's Newsworks just before 9:30 a.m., at the Philadelphia School …

Ebola outbreak: Nurse infected in Spain  —  The Spanish health minister has confirmed that a nurse who treated a victim of Ebola in Madrid has tested positive for the disease.  —  The nurse is said to be the first person in the current outbreak known to have contracted Ebola outside Africa.

Glencore Said to Lay Groundwork for Potential Rio Merger  —  Glencore Plc is laying the groundwork for a potential merger with Rio Tinto Group in the next year that would create the world's largest mining company, worth about $160 billion, according to people familiar with the situation.

Risen: Journalists must fight or become irrelevant  —  Colby College's Lovejoy winner, a New York Times reporter, faces the possibility of being imprisoned for refusing to reveal his sources.  —  207-861-9247  —  New York Times investigative reporter James Risen speaks with journalism students …

The Plot Against Public Education  —  How millionaires and billionaires are ruining our schools.  —  Bill Gates had an idea.  He was passionate about it, absolutely sure he had a winner.  His idea?  America's high schools were too big.  —  MOST POPULAR  —  Top Stories, Videos & Photos

Mitt Romney on 2016: ‘I Am Not Running, I Am Not Planning on Running’  —  While Mitt Romney has repeatedly said that he won't run in 2016, everyone else around him seems to think he should: Paul Ryan, all of the media, everyone in this poll, his own wife, and even Mitt Romney himself.

Jeff Bezos's New Plan for News: The Washington Post Becomes an Amazon Product  —  Jeff Bezos wants to turn the Washington Post into a national publication, and he's going to use his other company—Amazon.com (AMZN)—to help achieve that goal.  —  For the past few months …

Pollsters Predict Greater Polling Error In Midterm Elections  —  At FiveThirtyEight, we write about polls regularly, especially ahead of big elections like next month's.  We rate pollsters for their accuracy and whether they lean Republican or Democratic.  And we use their work to inform our election model and Senate forecast.