Ohio-Backyard-Coyotes
"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" Those creatures had Dorothy worried on the yellow brick road in "The Wizard of Oz" -- and now you may need to worry about seeing them and other large carnivores in your backyard, an Ohio State University researcher says.
TRAVEL-Alaska-Air-Delays
Severed telecommunications cables disrupted ticketing and airport check-in systems at Alaska Airlines on Monday, creating long delays and cancellations for thousands of passengers traveling at the end of a busy holiday weekend.
SPORT-Brees-Breaks-Unitas-Record
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw a touchdown pass in the first quarter of Sunday night's game against the San Diego Chargers. That's not exactly news, because throwing touchdown passes is what Drew Brees does -- and does and does and does. What is news is that it was the 48th consecutive game in which Brees has thrown for a TD.
POLITICS
POL-Early-Voting
Voters in California, Indiana and Oregon can take advantage of the Columbus Day holiday to cast their ballots Monday when the three states join ten other states that already have started early voting.
POL-Poll-Romney-Ahead
Two national polls released Monday suggest Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney got a bounce out of last week's first presidential debate, though they differ on how much of a bump the GOP nominee received after his performance in Denver. According to a Pew Research Center survey released Monday afternoon, 49% of likely voters say they back Romney, with 45% supporting President Barack Obama. The survey was conducted October 4-7, the four days after last Wednesday's first presidential debate in Denver, Colorado. Romney's four-point advantage is within the survey's sampling error. In Pew's previous poll, conducted in mid-September, the president had a 51%-43% lead among likely voters. Meanwhile, Gallup's latest daily tracking poll of registered voters, also released Monday afternoon, indicates the president with a 50%-45% advantage over Romney. The president's edge is within the survey's sampling error. The poll was conducted October 1-7, both before and after the debate.
POL-Obama-Ad-Foreign-Policy
Mitt Romney promised Monday to restore U.S. foreign policy to a traditional role dating back decades, based on exerting global influence through military and economic power, in a major speech two weeks before he debates President Barack Obama on international issues. In the address at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney argued that Obama is failing to provide the global leadership needed and expected by the rest of the world, especially key allies such as Israel.
POL-Fact-Check-Romney-Iran
In what his campaign billed as a "major foreign policy speech" Monday, lasting about 20 minutes, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney took on President Obama's handling of protests in Iran after disputed elections three years ago.
POL-Fact-Check-Romney-Daylight
Throughout his campaign, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has cast himself as an ardent backer of Israel -- and, either directly or indirectly, suggested that President Barack Obama hasn't been similarly supportive. The former Massachusetts governor lashed out again Monday in a speech at the Virginia Military Institute, criticizing Obama on several points. Among them was Israel, with Romney stating the relationship between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has suffered great strains" in recent years. So is Romney's characterization of Obama's remarks, and U.S. relations with Israel, fair and accurate?
POL-King-battlegrounds-Colorado
Maria Zepeda-Sanchez remembers the excitement of the "change" argument in 2008. "There was really a change then," she said with a nostalgic smile. "People were really anxious to have a new person." Working the phones for President Barack Obama again four years later, though, change has a new -- and to her troubling -- meaning. "Different. It's a little different," she said of the then and now reaction when calling Latino voters in Colorado. "It was more hype I think back in 2008, yes." And now? "Some people are still really excited," Zepeda-Sanchez said during a brief break from her phone bank work. "Others say, 'Oh, I don't know, well, I haven't made up my mind.'" Then comes the sales pitch, and the new reality of incumbency -- of 2012.
POL-Ryan-VP-Debate
Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said Monday that Mitt Romney's widely-applauded debate performance upped the ante for Ryan's own showdown this week.
POL-Biden-Debate-Prep
Vice President Joe Biden is currently in Wilmington, Delaware prepping for the vice presidential debate Thursday. However, the Obama campaign does not expect Biden, a former senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to make up for the president's showing in the first presidential debate, according to multiple Democratic sources.
POL-Ad-Targets-Education-Cuts
A new ad from Priorities USA, the super PAC supporting President Barack Obama's re-election, hits GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney for supporting cuts to education in order to pay for a large tax cut for wealthy Americans.
