Obama: Dem candidates avoiding me ‘have supported my agenda’  —  President Obama delivered a blow to Democratic Senate candidates looking to distance themselves from his flagging approval ratings Monday, saying lawmakers avoiding him on the campaign trail were “strong allies and supporters” who have “supported my agenda in Congress.”

Chicago man to Obama: 'Don't touch my girlfriend'  —  Washington (CNN) — Even the President of the United States has to deal with jealous boyfriends.  —  Casting his ballot in Chicago on Monday, Obama stood at a voting booth next to Aia Cooper, whose fiancé decided to crack wise with the president.

Oscar Pistorius should not be going to jail  —  Pistorius's life is ruined.  No one will be deterred by his sentence.  Imprisonment is a brutalist response that achieves nothing in such cases  —  Oscar Pistorius was guilty.  However gripped by anger, it's difficult to accept he didn't know whom he was likely to kill.

Surveillance Video Apparently Catches Guy Doing Something at the Ballot Box That Left Republican Monitor Stunned  —  An Arizona county party official said he saw a man stuffing “hundreds” of ballots into the ballot box and later told a local news outlet the entire incident was caught on surveillance video.

McConnell will pay expenses in return for ‘enthusiasm’ at events  —  The Kentucky Republican Party is offering volunteers all-expenses-paid trips to join Sen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) campaign bus tour and “contribute to an enthusiastic atmosphere” at his events.

Political Polarization & Media Habits  —  When it comes to getting news about politics and government, liberals and conservatives inhabit different worlds.  There is little overlap in the news sources they turn to and trust.  And whether discussing politics online or with friends …

White House Deletes Obama's ‘Unpaid Bills’ Admission from Transcript  —  Last night at a Democratic fundraiser in Chicago, President Obama mentioned that there are some “unpaid bills” on his desk in Chicago—which he left when moved to the White House after winning the presidential election in 2008.

Immigration as biggest problem dips to 7%  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the quarantine period ends for people exposed to the first person in the U.S. to be diagnosed with Ebola, the virus for the first time ranks among the top 10 issues Americans consider to be the most important ones facing the country.

George H.W. Bush unhappy with Michelle Nunn's new TV ad  —  A new television ad from Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn seeks to refute an attack used by her Republican opponent, David Perdue.  —  In the ad, Nunn references a photo taken of her and President Obama that Perdue …

GOPer Doubles Down On Gays: ‘These Creatures... Are So Destructive’  —  The Republican challenger to Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) has apparently decided to make the most of the attention he received for describing gays as “gremlins”.  —  In a video posted to Facebook on Monday …

How LBJ and Reagan Wrecked Our Faith in Government  —  In the mid-'60s polar opposites Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan promised America more than they could possibly deliver.  The result was decades of cynicism about government.  —  If you have been following the rolling fiftieth anniversaries …

Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard indicted on 23 felony corruption charges by Lee County Grand Jury  —  Mike Hubbard, speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and a powerful leader in the state Republican Party, has been indicted by a grand jury and charged with 23 counts …

The race in North Carolina for Senate is well on its way to being the most expensive Senate race in history, expected to top $100 million by the time it's over.  The contest between incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan and Republican challenger Thom Tillis is also turning incredibly ugly.

Monica Lewinsky Gives Tearful Speech About Falling ‘In Love’ With Bill Clinton And Being Shamed Online  —  Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky gave an emotional speech about her role in one of the world's most infamous sex scandals on Monday in Philadelphia at the Forbes Under 30 Summit.

Protection for Bachmann after ISIL threat  —  Federal law enforcement officials are taking an ISIL threat against Michele Bachmann so seriously that Capitol Police have given the Minnesota Republican her own security detail.  —  An online threat against Bachmann emerged recently …

How Edward Snowden Changed Journalism  —  “Citizenfour,” the new documentary about Edward Snowden, by Laura Poitras, is, among other things, a work of journalism about journalism.  It opens with quotations from correspondence between Poitras and a new source who identifies himself only as Citizenfour.

‘Soft on Crime’ TV Ads Affect Judges' Decisions, Not Just Elections  —  Television ads attacking candidates for state supreme courts for being “soft on crime” affect more than just elections.  A study released Tuesday by two Emory Law School professors and the American Constitution Society …

Oscar de la Renta, Who Clothed Stars and Became One, Dies at 82  —  Oscar de la Renta, the doyen of American fashion, whose career began in the 1950s in Franco's Spain, sprawled across the better living rooms of Paris and New York, and who was the last survivor of that generation of bold …

Paralysed man Darek Fidyka walks again after pioneering surgery  —  Medical team regrow cells of patient's severed spine in breakthrough that offers hope to millions with disability  —  A man who was completely paralysed from the waist down can walk again after a British-funded surgical breakthrough …

Ukraine Used Cluster Bombs, Evidence Indicates  —  DONETSK, Ukraine — The Ukrainian Army appears to have fired cluster munitions on several occasions into the heart of Donetsk, unleashing a weapon banned in much of the world into a rebel-held city with a peacetime population of more than one million …