Ebola Policies Made in Panic Cause More Damage  —  With good reason, Americans are deeply confused about the risks of Ebola.  It is a frightening disease, made more so by dueling theories about how best to deal with people arriving from West Africa and by wildly different messages …

GOP Senate Candidate Called ‘Uncle Tom’ at Hillary/Hagan Rally in N.C.  —  Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis was called “Uncle Tom” at a recent Senator Kay Hagan rally in North Carolina.  Hillary Clinton was also on hand to help rally Democrats in support of Hagan …

Poll: Midterm momentum belongs to GOP  —  Republicans enter the final week of the midterm campaign holding higher ground than the Democrats, aided by public dissatisfaction with President Obama's leadership, with the overall direction of the country and with the federal government's ability …

What Will the GOP Senate Be Like?  —  Republicans promise that if they seize the majority, they'll stop Obama—and stop the Washington gridlock.  Can they really do both?  —  In Kansas recently, Republican Senator Pat Roberts, who's in a tough race for reelection, made a statement that left me puzzled.

House Dems fret debilitating losses  —  The political environment continues to deteriorate for House Democrats ahead of a midterm election that's certain to diminish their ranks.  —  With President Barack Obama's unpopularity hindering their candidates and Republican cash flooding …

Latest Alaska Polls Show Surprising Shift Toward Mark Begich  —  Kansas, Georgia, South Dakota.  We have cycled through a lot of wild-card red states over the last month in surveying the landscape of competitive Senate races.  But the most likely wild card might be the one we always expected: Alaska.

Students spring into opposition after Bill Maher announced as keynote speaker  —  In response to an announcement last week that comedian Bill Maher would speak at UC Berkeley's fall commencement, an online petition started circulating Thursday that demanded that the campus rescind its invitation.

Ann Romney blasts Democrat for sexist slur  —  Washington (CNN) — Ann Romney, the wife of former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, condemned South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's Democratic challenger after he mistakenly called her a “whore” — and then chuckled.

Freedom Summer, 2015  —  The Supreme Court's year usually follows a predictable pattern.  The term, as the Justices call it, begins on the first Monday in October, and through the fall they usually hear a series of low-profile cases.  The more controversial cases tend to come up in the first days …

Ebola-free nurse Amber Vinson to leave Atlanta hospital  —  Yahoo News 1 hr ago  —  DALLAS - Amber Vinson, one of two Texas nurses to contract Ebola while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, will be released Tuesday from Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, officials said.

Report Reveals Wider Tracking of Mail in U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — In a rare public accounting of its mass surveillance program, the United States Postal Service reported that it approved nearly 50,000 requests last year from law enforcement agencies and its own internal inspection unit …

McConnell tries humor and an old hit in new ad  —  Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), fighting for re-elction in a tight contest, is up with a new humorous ad in the Louisville television market that echoes the famous “Bloodhounds” ad that helped first elect him to the Senate.

Drug case dropped when Officer Darren Wilson fails to show  —  • By Robert Patrick rpatrick@post-dispatch.com 314-621-5154  —  CLAYTON  • A judge dismissed a pending felony drug case in court Monday after Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson — the central figure …