Pope Francis addresses Congress: Read the full remarks  —  Pope Francis became the first pontiff to deliver an address to a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday.  Here is the text of his remarks, as prepared for delivery:  —  Mr. Vice-President,  —  Mr. Speaker,  —  Honorable Members of Congress, Dear Friends,

Marco Rubio: Trump Is A “Touchy And Insecure” Guy Who's Not Informed On The Issues  —  “He had a really bad debate performance last week.”  —  Sean Rayford / Getty Images  —  Marco Rubio struck back at Donald Trump on Thursday, labeling Trump as a “touchy and insecure guy” who's not informed on the issues.

Pope Francis Just Echoed Obama's ‘Offensive’ Prayer Breakfast Remarks  —  The pontiff said all religions are susceptible to extremism and violence, just like Obama said in February.  —  While delivering the first address from a pontiff to a joint meeting of Congress on Thursday …

Senate rejects effort to strip funding from Planned Parenthood  —  The Senate on Thursday rejected a short-term spending bill that would defund Planned Parenthood, thwarting the opening move by Republican leaders to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1.  —  Senators voted 47-52 on ending debate …

Donald Trump wants the FCC to fine a critical Fox News pundit  —  Donald Trump is still refusing to appear on the Fox News Channel — but apparently his self-imposed boycott doesn't prohibit watching the channel's shows.  —  Trump exploded on Twitter on Wednesday night after National Review …

Hillary approved special status for aide Huma Abedin  —  Hillary Clinton personally greenlighted the controversial “special government employee” position for her top aide Huma Abedin, allowing her to both advise her at State Department while collecting a paycheck from an outside consulting firm and the Clinton Foundation.

Mother says she found special needs son wearing trash bag in classroom  —  Share Update: … CHICAGO — The mother of a CPS special needs child wants answers after she found her son wearing a trash bag when she visited his kindergarten classroom.  —  5-year-old Lloyd lives with epilepsy and is non-verbal.

Who's “the Party” That “Decides?”  —  Regular readers know I enjoy expressing irreverent thoughts about The Party Decides, the 2008 tome by political scientists Marty Cohen, David Karol, Hans Noel, and John Zaller that is often quoted like Holy Writ by academicians and even some journalists …

Exclusive: Kanye West Talks Yeezy Season 2, Presidential Run, and Sweatshirts  —  Outside the Mercer hotel at 4:30 P.M. on Wednesday, September 16, the scene was chaos, with squads of paparazzi and camera-phone-wielding fans tumbling into the cobbled SoHo streets.

Hillary Clinton sits for interview with Lena Dunham  —  <p>In an effort to reach out to millennial women voters, Hillary Clinton will appear in an interview opposite <i>Girls</i> star Lena Dunham, set to post online Tuesday, POLITICO has learned.  The already-taped segment …

White Guy Who “Settled” Downtown Brooklyn Tells Us Why He Lashed Out At Stroller Couple  —  The man who was recently caught on video berating a couple after their stroller hit his leg has not yet watched the video of himself shouting about how he “settled” Downtown Brooklyn for other white people.

Hajj Stampede Near Mecca Leaves Over 700 Dead  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — At least 717 people were killed and 863 injured in a stampede near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday morning.  —  The deaths — at an intersection in Mina, about six miles east of the city — occurred around 9 a.m …

Fiorina's long-held support for mandatory health insurance  —  From 2013: Carly Fiorina agrees with parts of Obamacare  —  (CNN)Carly Fiorina, who has joined other leading Republican presidential candidates in denouncing Obamacare, once backed an individual mandate to buy health insurance …

Vitter Badly Damaged; Highly Vulnerable in Runoff Election  —  A new national Public Policy Polling survey of Louisiana voters finds that David Vitter has seen a large decline in his popularity over the last year, and that while he's still favored to make the runoff for Governor he is in a bad position …