In polarized Congress, Murray and Crapo talk up bipartisanship in campaigns

In her first television advertisement this week, Washington state Democratic Sen. Patty Murray touted her work on budget issues with Republican House Leader Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. In this photo on Dec. 10, 2013, Ryan, who then served as House Budget Committee chairman, and Murray, who headed the Senate Budget Committee, announced a tentative agreement between Republican and Democratic negotiators on a government spending plan at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

UPDATE 2-TV audience of about 35 million watches U.S vice presidential debate

About 35.6 million Americans watched the U.S. vice presidential debate between Republican Mike Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine on television, according to preliminary data on Wednesday, about half the number who tuned in to Donald Trump's first matchup with Hillary Clinton last week. Cable network CNN, citing ratings data from Nielsen, said some 21 million people watched Tuesday's 90 minute encounter on the four main U.S. broadcast networks, with another 14 million watching on cable channels.

Trump campaign adds town hall to schedule in preparation for second debate

Donald Trump's campaign added a last-minute town hall to his schedule on Wednesday, allowing the Republican presidential nominee to gain additional practice days before he and Hillary Clinton face off in a similar setting for their second debate. Trump will host the "small, intimate" Q&A event in Sandown, N.H., on Thursday evening, following his back-to-back rallies on Wednesday in battleground Nevada, his campaign told WMUR .

Why the great philosopher Plato would have feared Trump’s out-of-control obnoxiousness

Donald Trump gestures as he answers questions from John Paulson at the Economic Club of New York Linguist Deborah Tannen 's research helped save my marriage - and if he could only get control of himself, it could improve Donald Trump's abysmal performance in the American presidential debates. But I doubt Trump will listen.

Robert Reich: Don’t overlook Donald Trump, and don’t give Republicans a free pass

The Clinton campaign is relentlessly focusing on the defects of Donald Trump rather than the defects of the Republican agenda. That's understandable, and it could be a winning strategy.

What’s changed-and what hasn’t-since the last teachers’ strike

More than four years have passed since Chicago's last teachers' strike, but in many ways it seems as if time has stood still, what with teachers recently voting to authorize another strike as soon as October 11. OK, some things have changed: Mayor Rahm Emanuel's chief educational appointees during the last strike, Jean-Claude Brizard and Barbara Byrd-Bennett, have left the scene .

‘Girl on the Train’ steamrolls Parker’s ‘Birth of a Nation’

Officials say two children pulled out of the San Francisco Bay in critical condition after a recreational sailboat carrying 30 people capsized are doing well and one has been released from the hospital. Officials say two children pulled out of the San Francisco Bay in critical condition after a recreational sailboat carrying 30 people capsized are doing well and one has been released from the hospital.

Mandela, Gorbachev in quirky baseball autograph collection

In this photo taken Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, Randy Kaplan stands in front of some of the autographed baseballs he has collected over the past 20 years from world leaders, including current and former U.S. presidents, prime ministers and others, in Garden City, N.Y. The baseballs and other memorabilia is on display at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island through next month's election.

a A season of recoverya : Toxins likely not to be an issue for upcoming California crab season

For the first time in a year, North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire said he had good news for the Dungeness and rock crab fishing fleet in California. “We are not expecting a repeat of the massive coastwide closures the fleet experienced in 2015-2016,” McGuire said during a state committee hearing in Bodega Bay on Tuesday.

Analysis: Pence steadied Trump ship but couldn’t defend some of his running mate’s missteps

In the first and only vice presidential matchup between Pence and Democrat Tim Kaine, Pence employed a decidedly professional tone in a bid to soften the GOP nominee's most controversial remarks. His effort to make the case for the ticket outshined his running mate and his opponent, but it came at a cost - he had to sidestep most of Trump's more damaging statements on the trail.

Chicago Council mulls revamp of police misconduct probes

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to create a new agency to better investigate police shootings and misconduct allegations is moving toward approval, even as critics say it's not strong enough to keep a close eye on a police force plagued by a reputation for brutality and experts say it doesn't match efforts of other cities facing similar challenges. After months of community hearings about the need for an agency with enough money to conduct adequate investigations, the freedom to take those investigations wherever they lead and the need for input from residents, a City Council committee on Tuesday took up an ordinance recommending the creation of Civilian Office of Police Accountability , .

VP Debate: Not-So-Lofty Expectations Ahead Of Single Debate

The sole Vice Presidential candidates debate will get underway Tuesday evening, but there's little expectation the audience will be as large as the first debate between Presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, held last week at Hofstra Unveristy in Hampstead, N.Y. Gov. Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine will spend 90 minutes on stage at Longwood University in Farmville, Va., discussing at least 10 different topics from security to economic reform. The VP candidates' debate will not include a town-hall audience, opting instead for questions from a single moderator: Elaine Quijano of CBS News.

Donald Trump is trying out a new defense for allegedly not paying his federal income taxes

Donald Trump has a new defense for the report that he could have avoided paying federal income taxes for 18 years. At a campaign rally in Arizona on Tuesday, the Republican presidential candidate blamed his opponent Hillary Clinton for not enacting stricter tax laws when she was a senator from New York.

Report: Continued delays for veterans at Phoenix VA system

Members of the Chicago City Council on Tuesday considered Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to create and fund a new agency to investigate officer-involved shootings and police misconduct allegations, a proposal that... Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to create a new agency to better investigate police shootings and misconduct allegations is moving toward approval, even as critics say it's not strong enough to keep a close eye... Legal experts say a dashboard camera recording of two California police officers discussing hitting a suspect with their police car does not make it more likely that they will face criminal charges in the fatal... A dashboard camera recording of two California police officers discussing hitting a suspect armed with a knife with their police car before appearing to try to run him down does not make it more likely that they will face... One of two former police officers ... (more)

Ex-officer charged with murder in homeless death testifies

Members of the Chicago City Council on Tuesday considered Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to create and fund a new agency to investigate officer-involved shootings and police misconduct allegations, a proposal that... Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to create a new agency to better investigate police shootings and misconduct allegations is moving toward approval, even as critics say it's not strong enough to keep a close eye... Legal experts say a dashboard camera recording of two California police officers discussing hitting a suspect with their police car does not make it more likely that they will face criminal charges in the fatal... A dashboard camera recording of two California police officers discussing hitting a suspect armed with a knife with their police car before appearing to try to run him down does not make it more likely that they will face... One of two former police officers ... (more)

Everything you need to know before tonighta s vice presidential debate

After the massive viewing numbers for the first debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, their running mates will take the stage tonight in an effort to sway undecided voters. Virginia's Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and Indiana's Republican Governor Mike Pence will meet in Virginia for their first and only debate as vice presidential candidates.