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 …

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 …

CDC: Ebola Patient Traveled By Air With “Low-Grade” Fever  —  DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The CDC has announced that the second healthcare worker diagnosed with Ebola — now identified as Amber Joy Vinson of Dallas — traveled by air Oct. 13, with a low-grade fever, a day before she showed up at the hospital reporting symptoms.

Democrats push back on travel ban  —  House Democrats are pushing back hard against proposals to institute a travel ban in the fight against the Ebola virus.  —  A growing number of lawmakers — mostly Republicans — are urging the Obama administration to bar travel to the United States …

When Women Become Men at Wellesley  —  Hundreds of young women streamed into Wellesley College on the last Monday of August, many of them trailed by parents lugging suitcases and bins filled with folded towels, decorative pillows and Costco-size jugs of laundry detergent.

Bush: 'What's the Paycheck Fairness Act?'  —  Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) appeared completely unfamiliar with a major bill aimed at eliminating the wage gap between men and women when he was asked about the measure this week.  —  The potential 2016 presidential candidate was asked …

Pastor Mark Driscoll's Resignation  —  On Tuesday, October 14, Pastor Mark Driscoll submitted his resignation as an elder and lead pastor of Mars Hill Church.  The Board of Overseers has accepted that resignation and is moving forward with planning for pastoral transition …

The Absolute Weirdest Thing Ever To Happen At A Political Debate  —  The Florida gubernatorial debate got off to a rocky start Wednesday night when Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to come out because his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Charlie Crist, asked for and received a fan under his podium.

My Conspiracy Theories Are Being Suppressed!  —  Reacting to his corporate colleague Phil Mattingly's Wow! profile of Dr. Ben Carson, Bloomberg View's Francis Wilkinson is decidedly less jazzed by this year's right-wing “outsider.”  Indeed, he thinks the guy is performing a very familiar role or roles:

Fox Doc: Obama Won't Keep Ebola From U.S. Because ‘His Affinities’ Are With Africa (AUDIO)  —  Dr. Keith Ablow, a member of the Fox News Medical A-Team, on Tuesday said that Obama won't protect Americans from Ebola because “his affinities” are with Africa, not the U.S. “He's their leader.”

Is A Colorado Senate Candidate Lying About His Football Career?  —  UPDATE: Gardner campaign spokesman Alex Siciliano sent the following, presented in its entirety, via email: “Cory Gardner played football from Junior High through Sophomore year in high school.”

Sen. Merkley: ‘Call Me A Progressive’  —  During Tuesday night's debate with Monica Wehby, Senator Jeff Merkley proudly stood for the good that the word ‘progressive’ means.  —  Sit back and watch as Senator Merkley proudly wears the label of progressive.  —  Even more delicious?

Houston Mayor Says City's Sermon Subpoenas Came as a Surprise  —  An unusual First Amendment fight has erupted in Houston where lawyers for the city have raised alarm bells among conservative religious leaders after subpoenaing sermons delivered by several local pastors.

Who Lost Yemen?  —  Obama calls it a “model” for fighting terror.  So why didn't anyone notice last month's coup?  —  Nobody saw it coming.  On Sept. 20, Yemen's Huthi movement executed a political coup so stealthy that the world hardly noticed, and so momentous that local commentators …

Arkansas High Court Strikes Down Voter ID Law  —  Arkansas' highest court on Wednesday struck down a state law that requires voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot, ruling the requirement unconstitutional just days before early voting begins for the Nov. 4 election.

Mother faces criminal charges after son allegedly takes gun to school  —  Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer on Wednesday announced that he filed criminal charges against a woman whose 17-year-old son allegedly took a loaded semiautomatic handgun to school.  —  Feuer said the action is …

Michelle Nunn Won't Say If She Voted for Obama  —  Another Democratic Senate candidate has refused to say whether she voted for President Obama: This time it was Michelle Nunn in Georgia.  —  The same question has tripped up other red-state Democrats on the campaign trail.

Lawmaker in shootout with would-be robber near Pennsylvania Capitol  —  (Reuters) - Four Pennsylvania teenagers were arrested on Wednesday and charged with trying to mug a state legislator who exchanged gunfire with one of them in the late-night incident, police said.