Confirmation battles are back  —  Prepare for the return of the confirmation fight.  —  If Republicans capture the Senate majority in November, their sway over prominent judgeships and Cabinet vacancies — potentially including a new attorney general — will become one of the GOP's primary leverage points …

Vatican Paedophilia Scandal: Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski Stored Over 100,000 Child Porn Videos  —  A former Vatican archbishop accused of paedophilia stored tens of thousands of child porn videos and photos on a computer in his office at the Holy See diplomatic compound in the Dominican Republic, it has emerged.

The Cult Deficit  —  LIKE most children of the Reagan era, I grew up with a steady diet of media warnings about the perils of religious cults — the gurus who lurked in wait for the unwary and confused, offering absolute certainty with the aftertaste of poisoned Kool-Aid.

U.S. Troops Battling Ebola Get Off to Slow Start in Africa  —  Rare Military Effort Comes as Concerns Mount Over Epidemic's Expansion  —  The number of people infected with Ebola could hit 1.4 million by mid-January.  What is the world doing about it?  WSJ's Jason Bellini has #TheShortAnswer.

Fired Oklahoma City nursing home worker threatened beheading, police say  —  Jacob Mugambi Muriithi, a native of Kenya, was arrested Friday in Oklahoma City on a terrorism complaint.  —  In a bizarre coincidence, a fired Oklahoma City nursing home employee was arrested Friday …

Mostly Black Cities, Mostly White City Halls  —  CONYERS, Ga. — Since moving to this small city on the eastern flank of Atlanta's suburban sprawl, Lorna Francis, a hairdresser and a single mother, has found a handsome brick house to rent on a well-groomed cul-de-sac.

Woman is heard screaming from her coffin after being ‘buried alive’  —  Screaming could be heard coming from the coffin (not pictured) after it was buried (Picture: Getty)  —  A cemetery worker got the fright of his life when he heard a woman screaming from inside her buried coffin.

We need a new constitution: Here's how we save American democracy from charlatans, loudmouths and the 1 percent  —  The most recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll says that a clear-cut majority is disgusted with the present political scene and retains little hope that future generations will fare as well as we have.

From Pen and Phone to Bombs and Drones  —  WASHINGTON — THE president was at the United Nations on Wednesday urging young people across the Muslim world to reject benighted values, even as America clambers into bed with a bunch of Middle East potentates who espouse benighted values.

‘This Week’ Transcript: House Speaker John Boehner  —  Below is the rush transcript of “This Week” on September 28th, 2014.  It may contain errors.  —  STEPHANOPOULOS: It's an aggressive swing through deep blue territory—  BOEHNER: We've got 41 more days and we're going to get it finished.

Ferguson police officer shot in arm after interrupting alleged attempted burglary  —  (KMOV.com) - Authorities responded to a call for an officer shot in north St. Louis County late Saturday night.  —  St. Louis County Police reported a male police officer from Ferguson …