Transcript: Read the Speech Pope Francis Gave to Congress  —  Pope Francis addressed a joint meeting of Congress in a historic speech Thursday morning.  —  Here's a full transcript of his remarks.

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 …

Critics pounce after Obama talks Crusades, slavery at prayer breakfast … President Obama has never been one to go easy on America.  —  As a new president, he dismissed the idea of American exceptionalism, noting that Greeks think their country is special, too.

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.

Hillary Clinton trails Sanders in New Hampshire, even without Joe Biden in the race  —  Sanders drawing sharper contrasts with Clinton  — In a new CNN/ORC/WMUR poll out Thursday, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has 46% of the New Hampshire Democratic primary vote

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

We're doomed: EU chief fears union will COLLAPSE over migrant crisis  —  THE European Union has lost control of its borders and risks total collapse if they are not sealed, a senior Brussels diplomat has warned.  —  GETTY  —  Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, spoke out last night

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.