Pope Francis Met Privately With Kim Davis and Encouraged Her to “Stay Strong”  —  Washington, DC - Media is buzzing about the Pope's comments in support of conscientious objection and whether he knows about the Rowan County, Kentucky, Clerk of Court who was jailed for six days for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

Senate passes funding bill to avert government shutdown  —  The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday in favor of a funding bill that would avert a government shutdown and fund federal agencies through Dec. 11.  —  The measure, which also provides emergency funding to fight wildfires …

Whatever you think of Planned Parenthood, this is a terrible and dishonest chart  —  On Tuesday morning, Congress held a hearing on Planned Parenthood, as conservative Republicans try to build the case for defunding the organization after a pro-life group released a series of “sting” videos critical of the organization.

‘They are ready’  —  Russian airstrikes in Syria could happen at any time, a U.S. official with knowledge of the latest intelligence told CNN this week.  —  “They could start at any moment,” the official said.  “They are ready.”  —  After several days of Russian familiarization flights …

Boehner secretly urged Gowdy to run for leader  —  The previously undisclosed meeting reveals new behind-the-scenes involvement by the exiting speaker.  —  Speaker John Boehner secretly met with Rep. Trey Gowdy Tuesday to encourage him to jump into the race for House majority leader …