White House, GOP near two-year budget deal  —  Senior White House officials and congressional leaders are nearing a deal to raise the debt limit and set the federal budget for the next two years, say sources familiar with the talks.  —  The agreement is not yet final, as negotiators still need …

Donald Trump's TODAY town hall: Guns, ISIS — and the last time he ate McDonald's  —  Donald Trump brought his brash, unapologetic presidential campaign to New Hampshire on Monday for a “pancakes and politics” town hall meeting with voters, hosted by TODAY's Matt Lauer.

The Most Likely Next President Is Hillary Clinton  —  And Republicans are in denial about it.  —  MarkHalperin  —  A virulent strain of Clinton Derangement Syndrome, which scientists and Republicans thought had been wiped out at the end of the last century, is now inflicting millions of conservative Americans.

Video shows confrontation between Spring Valley student and school resource officer  —  Spring Valley High School officials and Richland County sheriff's deputies are investigating after a video supposedly taken at the high school shows a confrontation between a female student and the school's resource officer.

Decatur City Schools addresses teacher's controversial Halloween costume  —  DECATUR, Ala. - A representative from Decatur City Schools called a news conference Monday morning in reference to a controversial picture on social media.  During the conference, Superintendent Ed Nichols read a letter of apology from the teacher involved.

Rubio gives up on Senate: ‘He hates it’  —  Marco Rubio is a U.S. senator.  And he just can't stand it anymore.  —  “I don't know that ‘hate’ is the right word,” Rubio said in an interview.  “I'm frustrated.”  —  This year, as Rubio runs for president, he has cast the Senate …

The GOP's dysfunction all started with Sarah Palin  —  William M. Daley was White House chief of staff from 2011 to 2012.  —  When The Post's front page declares: “Republicans are on the verge of ceasing to function as a national party,” it's time to ask: How did this come to pass?

Can Carson win GOP nomination?  —  The possibility of Ben Carson becoming the Republican presidential nominee is being raised with increasing urgency after he knocked Donald Trump out of first place in two Iowa polls late last week.  —  But there are plenty of skeptics within Republican ranks …

IRS possessed Stingray cellphone surveillance gear, documents reveal  —  Exclusive: Invoices reveal tax service, 13th federal agency to use secretive dragnet, upgraded device that pretends to be cellphone tower to gather metadata  —  The Internal Revenue Service is the latest in a growing list …

In U.S., Support for Tea Party Drops to New Low  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' support for the Tea Party has dropped to its lowest level since the movement emerged on the national political scene prior to the 2010 midterm elections.

Bush family gathers to rescue Jeb  —  <p>HOUSTON — This closed-door summit for Jeb Bush's richest donors was meant to be a pep rally, a reunion for loyalists eager to celebrate the family legacy with two former presidents.</p><p> But as George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush draw supporters …

Justice Kennedy Suggests That Kim Davis Should Resign  —  Justice Anthony Kennedy, a member of the Supreme Court's conservative bloc who nevertheless has authored several important gay rights opinions, suggested during an event at Harvard Law School last Thursday that public officials …

Death to Capitalism?  Visitors to Marx's Grave Balk at Fee  —  London cemetery charges fee to see late communist's memorial  —  HIGHGATE CEMETERY, LONDON—On a summer visit to the grave of Karl Marx, Ben Gliniecki found that he would have to pay £4, or about $6 …

Why Trump isn't fading like the GOP establishment expected  —  The conventional wisdom among Donald Trump's detractors is that his current surge in the polls won't last because as we get closer to actual voting, Republicans excited by his political incorrectness will start factoring in “electability.”

After Papa Roux robbery, discount promised for handgun license holders  —  Papa Roux is the latest Indy restaurant to be robbed, following four others on the Eastside and another in Broad Ripple.  —  CONNECT  —  Art Bouvier has a message for criminals: Don't mess with Papa Roux.

Russian Ships Near Data Cables Are Too Close for U.S. Comfort  —  WASHINGTON — Russian submarines and spy ships are aggressively operating near the vital undersea cables that carry almost all global Internet communications, raising concerns among some American military and intelligence officials …

Police union calls for Tarantino boycott after anti-cop rally  —  Quentin Tarantino speaks during an organized protest against police brutality in Washington Square Park on Saturday.  —  The city's police union is calling for a boycott of Quentin Tarantino films after the “Pulp Fiction” …

Police respond to reports of gunman in Davenport, Bettendorf  —  UPDATE: 4:57 p.m. - A spokeswoman for the City of Bettendorf released the following information about a shooting that began in Davenport and ended with the gunman taking his life in Bettendorf.

Vice President Joe Biden accuses ‘people’ of very bad journalism  —  In an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday night, Vice President Joe Biden attacked one of the flashpoints of media coverage surrounding his mulling of a 2016 presidential bid.  “[P]eople have written that …