A letter from a friend: Jackie's story is not a hoax  —  My name is Emily, and I was Jackie's suitemate first year.  I am writing to you in regards to Rolling Stone's recent statement of “misplaced trust” in Jackie.  I feel this statement is backwards, as it seems it was Jackie who misplaced her trust in Rolling Stone.

Dems, It's Time to Dump Dixie  —  With Mary Landrieu's ignominious exit, the Democrats will have lost their last senator in the Deep South.  And that's a good thing.  They should write it off—because they don't need it.  —  I don't remember a much sadder sight in domestic politics …

G.O.P. Donors Seek to Narrow Field of Presidential Candidates to One  —  Dozens of the Republican Party's leading presidential donors and fund-raisers have begun privately discussing how to clear the field for a single establishment candidate to carry the party's banner in 2016 …

Why Eric Garner is the turning point Ferguson never was  —  Ferguson, Mo., has captured the nation's attention for the better part of the past four months.  But in just a few short days in the national news, Eric Garner has become the political rallying point that Ferguson never has.

Bush and C.I.A. Ex-Officials Rebut Torture Report  —  WASHINGTON — A long-awaited Senate report condemning torture by the Central Intelligence Agency has not even been made public yet, but former President George W. Bush's team has decided to link arms with former intelligence officials and challenge its conclusions.

No comments.  An experiment in elevating the conversation  —  For the next two months, we are turning off the comment function on all editorials, columns and letters in the opinion section.  —  Why?  —  Ferguson.  —  Last Sunday, we challenged our region to have the serious discussion …

McConnell Plots a Functional, Bipartisan Senate  —  Sen. Mitch McConnell wants to hit the ground running in January — and he thinks Democrats are ready to join him in crafting a more open, functional Senate.  —  In an exclusive interview in his Capitol office suite, the incoming majority …

California quake  —  Up-and-comers are already jockeying ahead of Boxer's possible retirement.  —  A parade of ambitious California public figures, who've spent years itching for a shot at the state's top political offices, are anticipating a shake-up of the state's political hierarchy …

The College Rape Overcorrection  —  Sexual assault on campus is a serious problem.  But efforts to protect women from a putative epidemic of violence have led to misguided policies that infringe on the civil rights of men.  —  An Accusation  —  Drew Sterrett couldn't know that when his friend slipped …

Massive downtown L.A. fire burns 3 towers; freeways begin to reopen  —  A massive fire in downtown Los Angeles early Monday engulfed an apartment tower under construction, damaged two other buildings and left freeways and roads closed.  —  The northbound 110 Freeway remained closed as of 5 a.m. …

The Kochs eclipse the RNC  —  Meet the guys behind the right's best data shop.  —  The Koch brothers and their allies are pumping tens of millions of dollars into a data company that's developing detailed, state-of-the-art profiles of 250 million Americans, giving the brothers' political operation all the earmarks of a national party.

Why I'm Giving Up My Passport  —  LONDON — THE mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who was born in New York and holds both American and British passports, recently said that he would not pay a tax bill from the United States on capital gains from the sale of his home in the London borough of Islington.