Obama mocks GOP hopefuls for CNBC snit  —  President Obama on Monday mocked Republican presidential candidates as thin-skinned for lashing out at CNBC over the network's handling of last week's primary debate.  —  “They say, 'when I talk to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin …

Meet Your New Republican 2016 Front-Runner: Ben Carson  —  Ben Carson has surged into the lead of the Republican presidential race, getting support from 29 percent of GOP primary voters, according to a brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.  —  That's the highest percentage any GOP candidate has obtained so far in the survey.

Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans, Study Finds  —  Something startling is happening to middle-aged white Americans.  Unlike every other age group, unlike every other racial and ethnic group, unlike their counterparts in other rich countries, death rates in this group have been rising, not falling.

Satellite Shows Heat Flash When Russian Metrojet Plane Crashed, But No Missile: U.S. Officials  —  While many have speculated that a missile may have struck a Russian commercial airliner that went down over Egypt's Sinai peninsula, U.S. officials are now saying satellite imagery doesn't back up that theory.

Jeb Bush Borrowed His New Slogan From England's Most Notorious Child Abuser  —  To most American voters (especially the younger ones), Jeb Bush's new slogan will mostly just sound uninspired, and slightly reminiscent of Bob the Builder.  But for pretty much anyone even mildly aware …

TransCanada asks Obama to suspend review of Keystone XL pipeline  —  The company seeking to build the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline is asking the Obama administration to pause the process for reviewing its permit.  —  TransCanada Corp., which until recently repeatedly pressured President Obama …

Leaked DHS memo shows Obama might circumvent DAPA injunction  —  A newly leaked internal DHS memorandum produced for an off-the-record agency conclave reveals that the Obama administration is actively planning to circumvent a federal court injunction that suspended part of last November's deferral-based amnesty initiative.

Bush's Lies About the Nuclear Deal  —  Jeb Bush delivered a speech today meant to relaunch his flagging campaign.  Among other dubious foreign policy claims he made, this was the most remarkable for its dishonesty: … Bush's statement is just one falsehood after another.

Charles Koch Says He, Brother Largely Fail at Influence-Buying  —  “So far we're largely failures at it, as you can tell,” Republican mega-donor Charles Koch says in interview on MSNBC's “Morning Joe” when asked if he is buying political influence and if that is at odds with his desire to end so-called corporate welfare.

Breaking the glass ceiling is not just for liberal women  —  Last week the ladies of “The View” proved once again that they never left the “mean girl” stage of high school, even when it comes to discussing presidential politics.  —  GOP candidate Carly Fiorina “kicked off her thing saying …

Dashcam video undermines Texas prof's claim of racial profiling, says chief  —  A Texas journalism professor's explosive charge that police hassled her for “walking while black,” a claim lodged in a guest column in the state's biggest newspaper, doesn't square with the videotape, according to the police chief.

Amazon opens first brick-and-mortar bookstore — at U Village  —  Two decades after it started selling books online, Amazon opens a shopping center storefront with books for sale on actual shelves.  —  Bookstore owners often think of Amazon.com as the enemy.  —  Now it's becoming one of them.

White House rips Christie for saying Obama doesn't back police  —  The White House on Monday slammed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) for criticizing President Obama's record on criminal justice reform.  —  Press secretary Josh Earnest called Christie's claim that Obama does not support police …

Illinois District Violated Transgender Student's Rights, U.S. Says  —  CHICAGO — Federal education authorities found on Monday that an Illinois school district had violated anti-discrimination laws when it did not allow a transgender student who identifies as a girl and participates in athletics …

Franken gets serious about flipping Senate to Democrats  —  On a recent October afternoon, Democratic Sen. Al Franken mistakenly ambled toward the Mansfield Room, where the party in control — namely Republicans — meets weekly to hash out strategy.  —  “I keep thinking we're in the majority …

FINALLY: Rachel Dolezal Just Admitted That She's White  —  Rachel Dolezal, the former professor and NAACP president who pretended for years to be black, finally admitted that she is actually a white person.  —  During an appearance on the daytime television show The Real …

Hastert portrait vanishes from House  —  Something is missing from the U.S. Capitol: former Speaker Dennis Hastert's portrait.  —  All former speakers have a portrait hanging outside the House floor.  But on Monday morning, as the House gaveled into session, Hastert's portrait was replaced with Frederick Gillett's.

Ahmad Chalabi, Iraqi Politician Who Helped Persuade U.S. to Invade, Dies at 71  —  Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi politician who from exile helped persuade the United States to invade Iraq in 2003, and then unsuccessfully tried to attain power as his country was nearly torn apart by sectarian violence, died at his home in Baghdad on Tuesday.

Federal health officials approve Montana Medicaid waiver  —  HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana will become the 30th state to expand its Medicaid program after federal health officials on Monday approved provisions that include requiring beneficiaries to pay premiums that amount to 2 percent of their income.

Notre Dame academic coach fired amid claims she coerced athletes into having sex with her daughter  —  Notre Dame fired a female academic coach amid allegations she coerced young football and basketball players into having sex with her daughter, according to an internal school report obtained by the Daily News.

First on CNN: Clinton meets with Trayvon Martin's family  —  Chicago (CNN)Hillary Clinton met Monday with a collection of parents whose African-American children have died in shootings at a local Chicago cafe, discussing their loss and outlining her criminal justice reform and gun control plans.