POLITICO Huddle: WHAT IT WOULD TAKE FOR RYAN TO RUN — Cotton wants Cheney as speaker — Ex-Im makes comeback — BENGHAZI PANEL'S LATEST DRAMA  —  PLAYING HARD TO GET: How do you get the reluctant man from Janesville to run for speaker?  Jake Sherman reports there's but one way: Get the whole House GOP on board.

Obama: Those taking religion seriously are often suspicious of others  —  President Obama lamented the rancorous, divided state of U.S. politics in a wide-ranging interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson.  —  In the unusual discussion, Obama revealed …

D.N.C. Officer Says She Was Disinvited From Debate After Calling for More of Them  —  Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, said she was disinvited from the first Democratic presidential primary debate in Nevada after she appeared on television and called for more face-offs.

South Carolina, Nevada CNN polls find Clinton far ahead  —  (CNN)With Hillary Clinton behind in New Hampshire and holding on to a narrowing margin over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in Iowa, new CNN/ORC polls in Nevada and South Carolina suggest Clinton holds strong support in the two states that could prove to be a firewall for her.

Exclusive: Ex-Benghazi investigator alleges Rep. Gowdy violated federal law  —  The legal battle between the House Benghazi Committee and its former investigator, Todd Podliska, escalated Monday afternoon, when Podliska's lawyers alleged that Chairman Trey Gowdy violated government confidentiality rules and federal law.

Donald Trump strikes sour note at No Labels  —  <p>MANCHESTER, N.H.—The event organizers called for problem-solving and civility, policy substance over sideshows.</p><p> But Donald Trump just couldn't help himself.</p><p>President Barack Obama "bombed" on a recent "60 Minutes" appearance.

The Serious Problem with Treating Donald Trump Seriously  —  Media outlets and candidates alike are pondering how to take down Donald.  Michael Kinsley writes that the answer might be quite simple.  —  The trouble with Donald Trump is not, as Jeb Bush and others would have it, that he's not a true conservative from any perspective.

Rep. Flores eyeing run for speaker  —  <p>Texas Rep. Bill Flores is moving toward running for House speaker, and has sent a letter to his colleagues laying out what he sees as his qualifications.</p><p> But Flores, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, said in the letter that he "will …

Thresholds of Violence  —  On the evening of April 29th last year, in the southern Minnesota town of Waseca, a woman was doing the dishes when she looked out her kitchen window and saw a young man walking through her back yard.  He was wearing a backpack and carrying a fast-food bag …

The one question that hawks need to answer about Syria  —  Hawks want the United States to intervene in Syria.  They have some good reasons.  But they don't have an answer to this question.  —  The hard-working staff here at Spoiler Alerts has discussed the mess in Syria a lot in recent weeks …

Carson: I won't be silenced  —  Ben Carson refuses to be muzzled.  —  Republican presidential hopeful Carson told The Hill in a Monday interview that he has no intention of reining in his rhetoric, despite having attracted weeks of sensational headlines for remarks on everything from guns to religion to the Holocaust.

A Very Revealing Conversation With Rihanna  —  The author and filmmaker Miranda July asks the pop superstar what turns her on, how she handles the pressure of public scrutiny and why she's been Googling childbirth.  (Then they become best friends.)  —  I DRESSED VERY CAREFULLY for her …

Milford schools ban Halloween  —  Milford parents and other residents are outraged by the school district's recent decision to ban the popular Halloween parades at the city's elementary schools, due to fear of excluding children who can't or won't participate in the tradition.

Cowboys-Patriots postgame brawl leaves one fan shot, another in custody  —  One man shot after the Dallas Cowboys game He was airlifted to area hospital  —  Fight apparently broke out after Cowboys game … ARLINGTON  —  A shooting victim was taken to the hospital and a suspect …

Jeb Bush Rolls out Health Plan Aiming to Make Care More Affordable  —  The outline of Bush's plan contains some similarities with the Affordable Care Act.  —  Jeb Bush, like other Republican presidential candidates, is vowing to repeal Obamacare, while making healthcare more innovative and affordable.

Truth and the New York Times  —  The paper of record shills for a movie that claims to exonerate Dan Rather—against all evidence.  —  The episode known as Rathergate represents one of the great journalistic frauds of our time.  The scandal erupted from a 60 Minutes Wednesday segment rushed …

This Fake Candidate Just Beat Jeb Bush in a Straw Poll  —  “Honest Gil” Fulbright's presidential campaign is literally a joke, but that didn't stop him from beating Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham in a New Hampshire straw poll over the weekend.  —  Played by actor Frank Ridley …