Senate Update: With 4 Days Left, Here's The State Of The Races  —  The GOP's chances of winning the Senate are 68.5 percent, according to the FiveThirtyEight forecast, its highest figure of the year.  —  Among the 20 new polls released Thursday — it looks like there will be no Great Poll Shortage …

Why a GOP Senate could be short-lived  —  Senate Democrats have long awaited the 2010 tea party wave to splash back on Republicans during the 2016 election cycle.  —  That moment is almost here.  —  After two years of obsessive focus on the teetering reelection prospects of red-state Democrats …

Maine Judge Rejects Ebola Quarantine for Nurse  —  FORT KENT, Me.  — Less than a day after restricting the movements of a nurse who treated Ebola victims in West Africa, a judge in Maine has lifted the measures, rejecting arguments by the State of Maine that a quarantine was necessary to protect the public.

Sharyl Attkisson releases video of apparent computer hack  —  Sharyl Attkisson, the former CBS News correspondent who claims that her computers were hacked by the government while she was reporting on the Benghazi scandal, has released a video she took with her cellphone of one apparent hack.

Obama's Midterm Loss Record Could Make History  —  President Barack Obama is about to do what no president has done in the past 50 years: Have two horrible, terrible, awful midterm elections in a row.  —  In fact, Obama is likely to have the worst midterm numbers of any two-term president going back to Democrat Harry S. Truman.

Democrats: Vote or we'll kick your ass  —  Democrats are telling voters that they had better head to the polls — or else.  —  The New York State Democratic Committee is bullying people into voting next week with intimidating letters warning that it can easily find out which slackers fail to cast a ballot next Tuesday.

Scott Brown Tackles New Hampshire Geography In Final Debate  —  WASHINGTON — Republican Senate challenger Scott Brown's efforts to cast himself as a New Hampshire native went awry in his final debate against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) on Thursday when a question on economic problems facing Sullivan County turned into a geography lesson.

A Lesson From My Great-Aunt  —  Is Sacrificing a bit of comfort for public health such a great indignity?  —  On a bookshelf in my home in a glass-and-brass frame I keep my great-aunt's Ellis Island health card.  It's cardboard, about as big as your hand.  She wore it on her coat during her nine-day journey from Ireland.

Graphic: New details released in near-beheading murder of Stillwater teen, one in custody … STILLWATER, Okla. - A 21-year-old Stillwater man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of an area college student who, according to police, was nearly decapitated.

Mitch McConnell widens lead over Alison Lundergan Grimes in final Bluegrass Poll  —  U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has opened up a five-point lead over Democratic opponent Alison Lundergan Grimes and appears well positioned to win a sixth term, according to the final Bluegrass Poll before Tuesday's election.

Less Than Half of Americans Support Stricter Gun Laws  —  Story Highlights  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Less than half of Americans, 47%, say they favor stricter laws covering the sale of firearms, similar to views found last year.  But this percentage is significantly below the 58% recorded …

Why Republicans Keep Telling Everyone They're Not Scientists  —  WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Scott of Florida, a Republican who is fighting a Democratic challenge from former Gov. Charlie Crist, was asked by The Miami Herald if he believes climate change is significantly affecting the weather.

The Growing Halloween Depravity of Grownups  —  Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers kill kids rushing to become adults.  Is it too much to ask of the ghoulish trio to apply their talents toward adults rushing to become kids?  —  The grownups who have decimated the ranks …

Second-Hand Grocery Store To Open In Pennsylvania  —  Expiration dates are a luxury America's neediest cannot afford.  —  CREDIT: Shutterstock  —  A small town outside Pittsburgh is getting a new, unusual grocery shopping option.  Denise Marte is opening a store that will sell dented cans …

Guns Are a Greater Public Health Threat Than Ebola  —  Shepard Smith was the rare voice of reason during the most fevered hours of the Ebola madness that temporarily gripped the nation this month (October).  The Fox News anchor dedicated four minutes of a newscast to explaining what had been evident once you took a deep breath.

Apologizing to Japan  —  TOKYO — For almost two decades, Japan has been held up as a cautionary tale, an object lesson on how not to run an advanced economy.  After all, the island nation is the rising superpower that stumbled.  One day, it seemed, it was on the road to high-tech domination …