Add this to your political fact book: The “Obama Bounce” only exists when Barack Obama is running. It disappears when he is not. The pundits who guessed Virginia would be a “blue state” post-Obama can quit their jobs now. Stick Virginia back in the swing-state category, and with tonight’s 17 …

Mike Allen of the Politico newspaper, one of the best reporters in town, quotes an unnamed senior administration official on the Massachusetts race as follows: “This is not a moment that causes the president or anyone else who works for him to express any doubt. It more reinforces the conviction …

A New Jersey gym teacher was jailed after a former student detailed their sexual relationship that spanned his high school career. Former Bridgewater-Raritan High School teacher Lydia Pinto, 38, was charged Nov. 8 with first-degree aggravated sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault. She was arrested without incident. …

A nearly 10-year-old wine bar shuttered months after the restaurant’s owner warned rising crime was scaring customers away and threatening businesses across the city. The Pursuit Wine Bar & Kitchen in Washington, D.C., announced earlier this month that it would close Sunday, marking the second restaurant on the H Street …

An Alabama couple was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison after being convicted of abusing their foster child, who suffered a skull fracture and brain bleed, a prosecutor says. Russell County District Attorney Rick Chancey said the life sentences were handed down against April and John McDowell, both 32, of …

Arms control agreements are not usually struck between friendly nations. They are either signed by defeated or frightened states, or by enemies who view them as beneficial to their national security despite ongoing enmity. South Africa gave up its secret nuclear weapons program only after its apartheid government was ousted. …

QUETTA, Pakistan – Pakistani police say gunmen opened fire on a police convoy, killing two officers and a woman passer-by in the southwestern city of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. Abdur Razzaq Cheema, the Quetta police chief, says police fired back and killed one of the attackers in Monday’s …

YAOUNDE, Cameroon – Nigeria’s president is promising deeper collaboration with its neighbors in the fight against Islamic extremism after a two-day visit to Cameroon. Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari headed home Thursday after meeting with his counterpart for two days of talks focused around the threat posed by Boko Haram. Cameroon …

The head of the promotion company behind Michael Jackson’s 50-night “This is It” concert extravaganza says he’d like the concerts to go on. In an exclusive interview with SKY News, Randy Philips said he would like the Jackson family to be on stage and take part in the show, with …

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. – Authorities say a police officer has shot and killed a man during a traffic stop in Orange County. Garden Grove police Lt. Travis Whitman says in a news release that the officer pulled over a vehicle shortly after 8 p.m. Sunday and fatally shot a male …