Moderator Role Under Scrutiny — Before the Debate  —  In a rare example of political unity, both the Romney and Obama campaigns have expressed concern to the Commission on Presidential Debates about how the moderator of the Tuesday town hall has publicly described her role, TIME has learned.

Presidential contest tight nationally ahead of second debate  —  On the eve of their second debate, President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney remain locked in a virtual dead heat nationally, with Republicans showing increased enthusiasm for their nominee after his big win in the first debate …

Axelrod bobs and weaves over Obama's level of engagement the day of the Benghazi attack  —  Today on Fox News Sunday, Chris Wallace pressed David Axelrod on the question of how soon, and in what ways, President Obama tried to get to the bottom of the nature of the attack in Benghazi.

After the Benghazi attack: “We're going through a mission accomplished moment.”  —  Here's Bob Woodward, today on “Fox News Sunday,” talking about the what the Obama administration has said about the Benghazi attacks: … Now, look at what Senator Lindsey Graham said on “Face the Nation”:

He's one of the least principled politicians I've met.  But I believe Mitt Romney might just save America  —  Scroll down for video  —  An extraordinary political earthquake struck America this week.  Mitt Romney, widely assumed to be the ‘best of a weak bunch’ of Republican candidates …

Fear-Chucker: Fox Contributor Mark Sanford Says Obama To ‘Throw A Lot Of Spears’ At Debate  —  Former South Carolina Governor and Fox News contributor Mark Sanford wandered off the Appalachian Trail again Sunday morning when, in yet another completely isolated example of a Republican …

Wisconsin Senate Candidate's Son Says We “Have The Opportunity” To Send Obama Back To Kenya  —  Jason Thompson, the son of former Governor and Wisconson Senate candidate Tommy Thompson, speaking this morning at a brunch attended RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said that “we have the opportunity …

Koch Industries, other CEOs warn employees of layoffs if Obama is reelected  —  Koch Industries, the Wichita, Kan.-based company run by the billionaire Koch brothers, sent a voter information packet to 45,000 employees of its Georgia Pacific subsidiary earlier this month.

The 3 states that may decide the election  —  With less than a month until Election Day, the primary battlefields for the presidential campaign can be found in just three states: Ohio, Florida and Virginia.  —  In these big three, home to a combined 60 electoral votes …

Jackson Is Subject of Criminal Probe  —  Federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are in the final stages of a criminal probe into allegations that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. misused campaign money to decorate his house, according to people familiar with the matter.

EVEN MARTHA RADDATZ THINKS JOE BIDEN'S PERFORMANCE WAS ‘TOO BIG’  —  Since the vice presidential debate between Paul Ryan and Joe Biden, conservatives and liberals have been at loggerheads over several questions — questions like, “Was Biden too rude?”  Or, “Was Martha Raddatz a good moderator?”

Death By Ideology  —  Mitt Romney doesn't see dead people.  But that's only because he doesn't want to see them; if he did, he'd have to acknowledge the ugly reality of what will happen if he and Paul Ryan get their way on health care.  —  Last week, speaking to The Columbus Dispatch …

The Unraveling of Affirmative Action  —  Racial preferences spring from worthy intentions, but they have had unintended consequences—including an academic mismatch in many cases between minority students and the schools to which they are admitted.  There's a better way to help the disadvantaged.

Arlen Specter dies; he was Pennsylvania's longest-serving senator  —  View Photo Gallery — Former senator Arlen Specter dies: Specter, who represented Pennsylvania in the Senate from 1981 to 2011, died Sunday at his home in Philadelphia from complications of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.  He was 82.

Enthusiasm Rises for Romney; Obama Has a ‘Right-Track’ Retort  —  Rising enthusiasm and declining anxiety mark an energy boost among Mitt Romney's supporters since he prevailed in the first presidential debate.  But a persistent sense he'd favor the wealthy, combined with easing discontent …

Skydiver surpasses speed of sound  —  Highlights from Felix Baumgartner's leap into the record books  —  Austrian Felix Baumgartner has become the first skydiver to go faster than the speed of sound, reaching a maximum velocity of 833.9mph (1,342km/h).  —  In jumping out of a balloon 128,100ft …