NBC Wanted to Hire Jon Stewart As Host of Meet the Press  —  “They were ready to back the Brink's truck up,” one source said  —  2.4k  —  This Sunday marks Chuck Todd's one-month anniversary in the anchor chair at Meet the Press.  Despite an opening-week ratings spike from his exclusive sit …

Roberts rebounds in Kansas Senate race, CNN/ORC poll finds  —  Washington (CNN) — Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts has galvanized enough rank-and-file Republican voters to close the gap with independent challenger Greg Orman in one of the nation's hottest races, a new CNN/ORC poll has found.

Obama aides knew of possible White House link to Cartagena prostitution scandal  —  As nearly two dozen Secret Service agents and members of the military were punished or fired following a 2012 prostitution scandal in Colombia, Obama administration officials repeatedly denied that anyone from the White House was involved.

Frisco officials say risk is low that sheriff's deputy who visited Duncan's apartment has Ebola  —  Frisco officials say the chances are small that the sheriff's deputy who fell ill after visiting Thomas Eric Duncan's apartment last week has Ebola.  —  “The risk is minimal,” …

Exclusive: Senate Democrats Flooding South Dakota Airwaves  —  Will voters in South Dakota and Kansas save Senate Democrats?  —  The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will spend $1 million in South Dakota — mostly on television and the rest on field operations …

Mary Landrieu replaces campaign manager  —  In what appears to be a significant October campaign shakeup, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu is replacing her campaign manager and hiring her former chief of staff as a senior adviser.  —  The Democrat has pushed Adam Sullivan out of the manager role …

In Defense of Obama  —  President Obama signing the Affordable Care Act.  In our new cover story, Paul Krugman explores the president's successes.

Can Liberalism Be Saved From Itself?  —  My recent collision with Ben Affleck on Bill Maher's show, Real Time, has provoked an extraordinary amount of controversy.  It seems a postmortem is in order.  —  For those who haven't seen the show, most of what I write here won't make sense unless you watch my segment:

Anthony Kennedy Halts Gay Marriage In Idaho, Nevada  —  Justice Anthony Kennedy issued an order to halt same-sex marriage in Idaho — and apparently also Nevada — on Wednesday after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the states' bans one day earlier.

For McConnell, it's now or never  —  If Republicans fall short of expectations this fall, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) could face a leadership challenge.  —  Republican senators say there is much riding on the Nov. 4 elections for McConnell, who is gunning to become majority leader …

Police officer fatally shoots teenager in south St. Louis  —  • By Margaret Gillerman mgillerman@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8126 and Valerie Schremp Hahn vhahn@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8246  —  ST. LOUIS  • An off-duty city officer fatally shot a teenager who opened fire on him Wednesday night, police said.

School Told to Call Kids ‘Purple Penguins’ Because ‘Boys and Girls’ Is Not Inclusive to Transgender  —  A Nebraska school district has instructed its teachers to stop referring to students by “gendered expressions” such as “boys and girls,” and use “gender inclusive” ones such as “purple penguins” instead.

Leon Panetta Is What's Wrong With DC  —  Obama's former defense secretary is out with a scathing new memoir about his time in the White House.  But why should we buy anything he says?  —  When Harry Truman apocryphally said, “if you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog” he might have had someone like Leon Panetta in mind.

The hardest-working man in Democratic politics  —  Hillary Clinton's potential challengers  —  Washington (CNN) — A Democrat with White House ambitions is furiously criss-crossing the country to help the party's candidates — and it's not Hillary Clinton.

REJECTED: Kroger Managers Are Refusing To Accept Bullying Tactics of Moms Demand Action  —  The body language says it all.  A Kroger store manager in Ohio (right) refuses to be an unwilling participant in Moms Demand's latest bullying public relations stunt.

No, Islamic State Militants Have Not Been Caught by U.S. Border Patrol  —  Since the U.S. began airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State, Republicans have frequently connected the terrorist group to border security in the U.S. In August, Texas Governor Rick Perry called it a …

Ebola in Europe: What Went Wrong  —  In Spain, where a nurse came down with the extremely contagious disease, all the people concerned are trying to prove they did nothing wrong.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  —  ROME, Italy — When Teresa Romero Ramos, the Spanish nurse …

Google chief blames feds for phone locks  —  Federal officials should have expected tech companies to respond to their snooping by turning to technical measures to lock them out, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday.  —  Top officials including Attorney General Eric Holder …

Carter unhappy with Obama's policies in Middle East  —  FORT WORTH — Former President Jimmy Carter put down his hammer at a Meadowbrook Habitat for Humanity project Tuesday for a wide-ranging interview that touched on subjects such as the Obama administration's use of drones, women's rights and faith.