Presbyterian workers wore no hazmat suits for two days while treating Ebola patient  —  Health care workers treating Thomas Eric Duncan in a hospital isolation unit didn't wear protective hazardous-material suits for two days until tests confirmed the Liberian man had Ebola …

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.

Skunk Works Reveals Compact Fusion Reactor Details  —  Lockheed Martin aims to develop compact reactor prototype in five years, production unit in 10  —  Hidden away in the secret depths of the Skunk Works, a Lockheed Martin research team has been working quietly on a nuclear energy concept …

Poll shows Obama approval low, GOP enthusiasm higher than Democrats'  —  Americans look to November and beyond with dissatisfaction about the state of the country and the political leadership in Washington.  Two in three say the country is seriously off-track, and more than 6 in 10 …

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.

Ben Carson's Longshot Presidential Bid Suddenly Looks a Lot More Realistic  —  Rand Paul?  Ted Cruz?  Jeb Bush?  Chris Christie?  More Iowa Republicans are backing Ben Carson than all of them.  —  “I tend to be an honest and frank and open person,” says Ben Carson, his voice not much more than a whisper.

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 …

Ebola Racism Reaches a New Low in Texas  —  A community college rejects students from countries with ‘confirmed Ebola cases,’ even if that means cutting students with little to no risk of contracting the disease.  —  “Navarro College is not accepting international students from countries with confirmed Ebola cases.”

Where did it go wrong for Obama?  —  Fewer than two years ago, President Obama was elected handily to his second term, becoming the first Democrat since FDR to twice win an outright majority of the popular vote.  —  Now, Democrats in competitive Senate races hope he stays as far away as possible …

It Is a Beauty Contest  —  Having dismissed Chris Christie's presidential ambitions because of his girth, the author must now apologize.  But while the New Jersey governor's dramatic recent weight loss—as much as 100 pounds—is admirable, in a physical matchup with other 2016 hopefuls he'll need to avoid losing much more.

Senate Candidate Claims People With Pre-Existing Conditions Were Better Off Before Obamacare  —  Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) thanks the moderators after one of two debates in the tight Arkansas Senate race.  —  CREDIT: Alice Ollstein  —  FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS—Tom Cotton …

Court blocks abortion limits in Texas  —  Over the dissents of three Justices, the Supreme Court on Tuesday evening barred Texas from enforcing two parts of its new abortion-restriction law — one part as it applied throughout the state, the other as it applied to two clinics in the southwest part of the state.

Bachmann: ‘No plan to run for president’  —  Conservative firebrand Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said Wednesday that she has “no plan” to launch another presidential campaign in 2016.  —  Bachmann, who is retiring from Congress at the end of this year, told The Hill in an interview that running for president in 2012 was enough.

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 …