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.

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 …

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.”

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 …

U.S. CDC head criticized for blaming ‘protocol breach’ as nurse gets Ebola  —  (Reuters) - Some healthcare experts are bristling at the assertion by a top U.S. health official that a “protocol breach” caused a Dallas nurse to be infected with Ebola while caring for a dying patient …

The war on leaks  —  What happens when the demands of national security collide with the rights of a free press?  Lesley Stahl finds out  —  The following is a script of “The War on Leaks” which aired on Oct. 12, 2014.  Lesley Stahl is the correspondent.  Richard Bonin, producer.

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.

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 …

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.

Pentagon Says Global Warming Presents Immediate Security Threat  —  WASHINGTON — The Pentagon released a report Monday asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages.

Nunn tops $4M in Georgia fundraising  —  Former charity executive Michelle Nunn (D) has kept up her strong fundraising pace, pulling in $4.15 million in the last fundraising quarter for her Georgia Senate bid.  —  Nunn's campaign has now raised $13.35 million total.  It did not announce how much is left in the bank.

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.

What the Next Two Awful Years Will Look Like  —  The five things to fear about a Republican Congress  —  I. The Gutting of Dodd-Frank  —  If Republicans take control of the House and Senate, many of their members will call for the outright repeal of the Dodd-Frank financial reforms.

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 …

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 …

Accused College Rapists Have Rights, Too  —  The victims deserve justice.  The men deserve due process.  —  This August, Columbia University released a new policy for handling “gender-based” misconduct among students.  Since April, universities around the country have been rewriting …

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 …

Debate Night in Kentucky Gives Grimes Chance to Shake Things Up  —  Good Columbus Day morning from Washington, where the focus is on a prime-time Kentucky debate, four too-close-to-call governors' races, and the intensifying battle for control of the Senate, where Republicans have a 64 percent chance of taking the majority.

Perdue cut work in India from bio  —  Georgia Republican David Perdue worked for an Indian company between his time running Dollar General and his decision to run for the Senate — a period that was removed from his business website's biography shortly before he announced his campaign last spring.

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.