Jill Abramson regrets stance on James Risen Iran story  —  Former New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson said in an interview released Sunday that she regrets not pushing the Times to publish a story by national security reporter James Risen about a reportedly flawed CIA effort …

Davis Pollster: Controversial Wheelchair Ad Working … *Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from the Abbott campaign.  —  The pollster for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis defended her controversial TV ad Sunday, saying it's working as intended despite …

MSNBC Eyes Canceling Ronan Farrow Show Amidst Schedule Shakeup  —  A well-placed source tells me MSNBC will be announcing major programming changes sometime in the next month, including the cancellation of Ronan Farrow's afternoon program, Ronan Farrow Daily.

Bill O'Reilly Thinks It's Time For A Mercy Killing At MSNBC (VIDEO)  —  Bill O'Reilly dedicated part of his interview Sunday to two of his favorite pastimes: touting his own popularity and ridiculing MSNBC.  —  The typically brash Fox News pundit, who has a well-known obsession …

Mitt Romney Told an Obama Joke in Iowa.  Here It Is.  —  WEST DES MOINES, Iowa - Mitt Romney wanted to tell a joke.  “Now when you're running for office people tell you, you shouldn't tell jokes,” he said at a political rally here on Sunday.  “But I'm not running for office, so I can tell one.”

Louisiana attorney general tries to block ashes of Dallas Ebola victim from entering state  —  The incinerated ashes of Thomas Duncan's belongings are slated to be dumped in a hazardous waste landfill in Calcasieu Parish.  Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says there are too many unknowns …

Fat Lesbians Got All the Ebola Dollars, But Blame the GOP  —  Democrats have rushed out of the gate with an attack ad against Republicans claiming if only we had spent more money, we would be able to solve the Ebola situation.  —  It's a defensive ad that reeks of desperation.

At the Vatican, a Shift in Tone Toward Gays and Divorce  —  VATICAN CITY — In a marked shift in tone likely to be discussed in parishes around the world, an assembly of Roman Catholic bishops convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican released a preliminary document on Monday calling for the church …

Ebola Vaccine Would Likely Have Been Found By Now If Not For Budget Cuts: NIH Director  —  BETHESDA, Md. — As the federal government frantically works to combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and as it responds to a second diagnosis of the disease at home, one of the country's top health officials …

Brutal New Ad Blames GOP Spending Cuts For Ebola Deaths (VIDEO)  —  A new TV ad blames prominent Republicans for Ebola deaths, attacking them for championing spending cuts that have gone after emergency public health funding for containing disease outbreaks.

How Republicans Lost the Culture War  —  Perhaps Republicans were impatient with incremental progress.  Perhaps the party lacked a strong leadership figure who could keep fringe players in check.  But Republicans made a decision on abortion strategy that they didn't have to make.

Pentagon Signals Security Risks of Climate Change  —  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages.

The Planet Just Had Its Hottest September On Record  —  Graph of NASA temperature data via @thingsbreak.Click to enlarge.  —  Last month was the warmest September globally since records began being kept in 1880, NASA reported Sunday.  January through September data have 2014 already at the third warmest on record.

The Big Lie Behind Voter ID Laws  —  Election Day is three weeks off, and Republican officials and legislators around the country are battling down to the wire to preserve strict and discriminatory new voting laws that could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans.

MERIA Special Report: Did ISIS Use Chemical Weapons Against the Kurds in Kobani?  —  *** WARNING: This post contains images which some readers may find disturbing.  Caution is advised.  Please scroll down to view these images.  —  The fate of Kobani city now hangs in the balance …

HPU Poll: Hagan and Tillis Tied Among NC Likely Voters  —  HIGH POINT, N.C., Oct. 13, 2014 - The HPU Poll finds that in North Carolina's pivotal senate race, Sen. Kay Hagan and Speaker of the House Thom Tillis are tied at 40 percent each when N.C. likely voters were asked who they would vote for if the election were held today.

The FBI's bogus report on mass shootings  —  It's disheartening to see the FBI used to promote a political agenda, but that's what we got with the bureau's release last month of a study claim to show a sharp rise in mass shootings, a la Newtown, Conn.  —  The FBI counted 160 “mass” or …

To End Suicide Epidemic, Make Guns Harder to Get  —  The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report is a fascinating treasure trove of the macabre.  Recently, it published a chart depicting how Americans committed suicide by age group in 2011.  (See above.)

Ferguson Protests Take New Edge, Months After Killing  —  FERGUSON, Mo. — At the police station here, protesters stepped slowly into a line of officers in riot gear in order to be arrested.  Along a rainy avenue not far away, a small group sat down in the street until half a dozen of them were taken into custody.

Cheney: ‘Very Dangerous Period ... More Threatening Than the Period Before 9/11’  —  Vice President Dick Cheney opened up for a nearly two hour interview with Bill Kristol, as part of the latest installment of Conversations With Bill Kristol:  —  The two discussed Cheney's time as secretary of defense …

The Republican War on Women Continues, Just More Quietly  —  Republicans are still saying crazy stuff about women.  Just not quite as crazy as what Todd Akin said.  Will women—and the media—notice?  —  The GOP's inability to relate to women is apparent once again on the campaign trail.