Second Health Care Worker Tests Positive for Ebola  —  A second health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for the first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States has tested positive for the disease.  —  The health care worker reported a fever Tuesday and was immediately isolated at the hospital.

The Secret U.S. Casualties of Iraq's Abandoned Chemical Weapons  —  A controlled detonation of recovered mustard shells near Taji, Iraq, on Aug. 17, 2008.  —  The soldiers at the blast crater sensed something was wrong.  —  It was August 2008 near Taji, Iraq.

The Polls Might Be Skewed Against Democrats — Or Republicans  —  This year's Senate election is close.  Republicans have the clearer path to a majority, but it's a treacherous one.  Republicans are favored in Iowa and Colorado, for example, but not by much.

The Democratic Party just hit a 30-year low  —  The Democratic Party is held in worse regard than at any point in the past 30 years, according to a new poll.  —  The poll, from the Washington Post and ABC News, shows 39 percent of Americans now have a favorable impression of the blue team …

The Future Of The Culture Wars Is Here, And It's Gamergate  —  Over the weekend, a game developer in Boston named Brianna Wu fled her home after an online stalker vowed to rape and kill her.  She isn't the first woman who's been forced into hiding by aggrieved video game fans associated with Gamergate …

City subpoenas pastors' sermons in equal rights ordinance case … Houston's embattled equal rights ordinance took another legal turn this week when it surfaced that city attorneys, in an unusual step, subpoenaed sermons given by local pastors who oppose the law and are tied …

Supreme Court Allows Texas Abortion Clinics to Stay Open  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a federal appeals court ruling that was forcing many abortion clinics in Texas to close.  —  The Supreme Court's order, which was five sentences long, will allow the clinics to remain open while appeals proceed.

The Improbable Career of Cowboy Poetry Aficionado, Senate Candidate Larry Pressler  —  The eccentric Larry Pressler is out to prove himself once again.  —  Larry Pressler, the once-and-maybe-future senator from South Dakota, may be the single most interesting candidate of 2014.

Bloomberg/DMR Iowa Poll: Without Romney, the GOP Field Is Wide Open for 2016  —  There's an appeal to Ben Carson's life before politics, while the poll suggests a tough road for most of the GOP's biggest names.  —  To understand why the Mitt-Romney-should-run-again camp won't take its marbles and go home …

A Pump War?  —  Is it just my imagination or is there a global oil war underway pitting the United States and Saudi Arabia on one side against Russia and Iran on the other?  One can't say for sure whether the American-Saudi oil alliance is deliberate or a coincidence of interests, but …

Rethink Harvard's sexual harassment policy  —  In July, Harvard University announced a new university-wide policy aimed at preventing sexual harassment and sexual violence based on gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity.  —  The new policy, which applies to all schools within …