Aides knew of possible White House link to Cartagena, Colombia, 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.

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  —  Update, from 1 a.m. media briefing:  —  St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson said the officer …

Court allows North Carolina voting limits  —  The Supreme Court, with two Justices noting dissents, on Wednesday afternoon allowed North Carolina to bar voters from registering and casting their ballots on the same day, and to refuse to count votes that were cast in the wrong polling places.

Foxhall police encounter caught on video and the interaction is fascinating  —  If the police were on your front lawn, questioning someone you know about a call they received, what would you do?  If you're Jody Westby, you defend your people.  And you do it sternly, with an air of authority …

U.S. frustration rises as Turkey withholds military help from besieged Kobane  —  Islamic State fighters were battling outgunned Kurdish fighters in the heart of Kobane on Thursday, a day after the Pentagon warned that U.S. airstrikes alone will not save the Syrian border town from being overrun by the militants.

JW Confirms: 4 ISIS Terrorists Arrested in Texas in Last 36 Hours  —  Islamic terrorists have entered the United States through the Mexican border and Homeland Security sources tell Judicial Watch that four have been apprehended in the last 36 hours by federal authorities and the Texas Department of Public Safety in McAllen and Pharr.

Obama's Dismal Performance Is His Personal Failure  —  The Fiscal Times  —  Presidents in political trouble tend to resist change, mainly because they convince themselves of their wisdom.  Ronald Reagan once declared that he would “stay the course” on his economic policies when short-term pain caused …

Sayreville football parent reveals sexual nature of alleged locker room hazing ritual (Exclusive)  —  It came without warning.  —  It would start with a howling noise from a senior football player at Sayreville War Memorial High School, and then the locker room lights were abruptly shut off.

Nephew of Ebola Patient Thomas Duncan Decries ‘Unfair’ Treatment  —  Ebola patient Thomas Duncan died in the hospital in Dallas Wednesday, after weeks of being treated for the virus, and just hours later his nephew, Joe Weeks, spoke out against the “unfair” way he believes his uncle was being treated by the hospital.

EPA tells court it may have lost text messages  —  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) told a federal court that it may have lost the text messages at the center of a lawsuit by a libertarian think tank.  —  The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) sued the EPA last year in federal court …

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 …

The Diversity of Islam  —  A few days ago, I was on a panel on Bill Maher's television show on HBO that became a religious war.  —  Whether or not Islam itself inspires conflict, debates about it certainly do.  Our conversation degenerated into something close to a shouting match and went viral on the web.

Obama's 2008 Backers: We're Ready for Warren  —  The Massachusetts Senator says she'll sit out 2016.  But some Democratic diehards won't take no for an answer, and are already building a campaign for her.  —  She is, she insists, not interested, telling The Boston Globe, “There is no wiggle room.

More than a dozen states plan to cancel health care policies not in compliance with ObamaCare in the coming weeks, affecting thousands of people just before the midterm elections.  —  “It looks like several hundred thousand people across the country will receive notices in the coming days and weeks …

Sen. Landrieu replaces campaign manager and brings in familiar faces to help re-election effort  —  U.S. Sen Mary Landrieu qualifies to run for re-election  —  Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is shuffling up her campaign staff, bringing in some accustomed faces from previous campaigns.