Heavy burden falls to McConnell  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a hard road ahead.  —  The Kentucky Republican will have to take the lead later this year on raising the debt ceiling and preventing a government shutdown due to Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) resignation, GOP strategists say.

Bush camp moves to ease donor angst  —  Assessing the state of anxiety on a scale of one to 10, one donor puts the panic level at a ‘six or seven.’ … For the past week, Jeb Bush's campaign advisers have been using a new data point to convince nervous donors that he's still the candidate to beat …

Rush Limbaugh pans evidence of water on Mars as part of ‘leftist agenda’  —  <p>Flowing water on Mars?  That's just part of the liberal agenda, Rush Limbaugh says. </p><p>The conservative radio talk show host addressed NASA's announcement on Monday that it had found evidence of flowing water …

Iran President Hassan Rouhani Blames U.S. For Spread of Mideast Terror  —  Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday blamed the United States for the spread of terrorism in the Middle East, saying America's dual post-9/11 wars — and its alliance with Israel — allowed extremist ideologies to flourish.

Hillary Clinton not sure if Bill Clinton would get West Wing office  —  Hillary Clinton isn't sure if former President Clinton would have an office in the West Wing if she is elected president.  —  “He's a pretty busy guy, I don't know anything like that,” Hillary Clinton …

Let's be honest about the dishonest attack on Planned Parenthood  —  Far-right Republicans in Congress are threatening to shut down the federal government rather than pass a budget that allows Planned Parenthood to continue receiving federal funds to provide women with healthcare.

“They Told Me It Never Happened” … TRENDING  —  Lara McLeod never wanted to report her rape.  In those first few hours, the 19-year-old was barely able to put what had happened to her into words.  Joaquin Rams, Lara's older sister's fiancé, had forced Lara to have sex with him …

Question for Hillary?  Leave it below-\-\she'll be back soon to start a live Facebook Q&A on everything from health care to college affordability.  —  ***Thanks for joining me, Facebook.  Let's do this!  -H

Schumer in talks with Ryan on major tax, infrastructure deal  —  The two, along with Sen. Rob Portman, are trying to hash out a sweeping bipartisan package. … Three years ago, Chuck Schumer called Paul Ryan's plans for deficit reduction a “fraud.”  Now the future Democratic leader wants to cut a deal with him.

Trump Plan Is Tax Cut for the Rich, Even Hedge Fund Managers  —  Donald Trump's tax plan, released Monday, does not live up to the populist language he has offered on taxes all summer.  —  When talking about taxes in this campaign, Donald Trump has often sounded like a different kind of Republican.

How Sweden's negative interest rates experiment has turned economics on its head  —  Nordic experimentation with sub-zero interest rates has changed the way central bankers think about fighting recessions  —  It has long been believed that when it comes to interest rates, zero is as low as you can go.

Donald Trump Is Not Going Anywhere … don't worry about anything," Donald J. Trump told me aboard his 757 as we were flying to the recent Republican debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. He was dividing his attention between the brick-size slice of red-velvet cake …

Megyn Kelly doesn't want to talk about Donald Trump  —  <p>Fox News anchor and show host Megyn Kelly, who has been lambasted by presidential frontrunner Donald Trump since the first Republican national debate, said she was done talking about her feud with the candidate during a one-on-one discussion …

NBC/WSJ Poll: Anger Defines 2016 Electorate  —  One word seems to define the American public's mood more than 13 months until Election Day 2016 — anger.  —  According to the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 62 percent of respondents believe the country is headed in the wrong direction …

A small town in Slovakia held a vote on accepting refugees; 97 percent said no.  —  GABCIKOVO, Slovakia — The next act of the European refugee crisis will unfold in little places like this one, where hundreds of Syrian war refugees are coming to live in a town that just voted by overwhelming numbers to oppose their stay.

Paul takes break to raise funds for Senate campaign  —  Struggling to gain traction in the Republican presidential race, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) this week will turn his attention to fundraising for his Senate reelection efforts.  —  Paul, who is running for president and reelection …