NATIONAL

“But as more details emerged, the more an ominous pattern began to emerge. Some have begun to determine that they are again being lied to in service to the ignoble mission of defining terrorism down.” – Hot Air

“The former imam of the Oklahoma City mosque attended by beheading suspect Alton Nolen apologized this week to ISIS for previously criticizing the group.” – Daily Caller

“The aircraft may have mistaken the mills and grain storage areas in the northern Syrian town of Manbij for an Islamic State base, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. There was no immediate comment from Washington.” – Reuters

“Ted Cruz has sent every signal that he’s preparing to run for president in 2016 — but on Monday denied that he’s made a decision to seek the White House.” – POLITICO

“Democrats think conservatives in general, and Tea Partiers in particular, are stupid. Here’s how to reinforce that belief: Sit out the 2014 congressional elections because your favorite candidate lost his primary bid to an establishment Republican.” – David Catron/The American Spectator

“The suspect in the abduction of a University of Virginia student has been linked to another area college student who was killed nearly five years ago, Virginia State Police said.” – Fox News

“If you would like to be filled with despair for the prospects of democracy, spend a few minutes attempting to decipher the psephological musings of Lena Dunham, the distinctly unappealing actress commissioned by Planned Parenthood to share with her presumably illiterate following ‘5 Reasons Why I Vote (and You Should, Too).’ That’s 21st-centuryU.S. politics in miniature: a half-assed listicle penned by a half-bright celebrity and published by a gang of abortion profiteers.” – Kevin Williamson/National Review

“President Obama wasn’t passing the buck by saying intelligence officials underestimated the threat from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the White House said Monday.” – The Hill

“Eric Holder’s left many baleful legacies: being censured by the House of Representatives; withholding subpoenaed documents, proving untruthful about a failed gun-walking caper in Mexico; failing to enforce laws on the books, from immigration to the elements of the Affordable Care Act; illegally billing the government for his own private use of a government Gulfstream jet; snooping on Associated Press reporters; giving de facto exemptions to renegade IRS politicos; and trying to create civilian trials for terrorist killers like KSM, one of the architects of the 9/11 attacks. But he will be known mostly for re-teaching Americans to think of race as essential, not incidental, to our characters.” – Victor Davis Hanson/PJ Media

“Just looking at the new TV shows — Madame Secretary, How to Get Away With Murder, Forever, etc. — it seems almost of all of them are pitched chiefly to appeal to women.” – Ace of Spades

LOUISIANA

“Freshman quarterback Brandon Harris will get the start at No. 5 Auburn on Saturday, LSU coach Les Miles said during his Monday press conference.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Gov. Bobby Jindal initially got high marks for his speech at the conservative Values Voter Summit Friday afternoon, but that didn’t seem to earn him much support in the event’s mock election, according to The Washington Post.” – NOLA.com

“Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said Tea Party-backed Louisiana Senate candidate Rob Maness is the only candidate in the race who can defeat Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).” – The Hill

“KTVE/KARD has learned that a patient is being treated at St. Francis Medical Center for the Enterovirus D68. The 3-month old boy is said to be recovering from the virus.” – MyArkLaMiss.com

“The Louisiana Association of Educators has sued the state of Louisiana to block it from using its main school budget to fund certain types of charter schools, saying such funding is unconstitutional. A decision in the association’s favor could pull $60 million from about 25 schools, including Belle Chasse Academy, the International School of New Orleans and Jefferson Chamber Foundation–East, requiring the state to find another way to fund them.” – NOLA.com

“A former CATS board member is facing state ethics charges related to his alleged use of bus system funds to pay personal bills. Montrell Jovan Henderson McCaleb is accused of violating state law when he used $1,484.48 in Capital Area Transit System funds ‘to which he was not duly entitled.'” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“After failing to nominate one of their own in a Mississippi Senate race, groups aligned with the Tea Party and other conservatives are weighing whether to commit the same resources to another Senate race next door in Louisiana.” – WWL-TV

“A New Orleans area levee board’s lawsuit against the oil industry apparently will remain alive after a coastal researcher who supports the suit was re-nominated Friday to the authority.” – Lake Charles American Press

“As Louisiana lawmakers continue to look for ways to raise new transportation dollars in an anti-tax environment to chip away at a $12 billion backlog of road and bridge repair and improvement work, a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts says average U.S. state spending on transportation dropped by 20% between 2002 and 2011.” – Baton Rouge Business Report

“New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson remains the richest man in Louisiana, with a net worth of $1.6 billion that puts him at No. 386 on Forbes’ list of the 400 richest people in the United States.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Gov. Bobby Jindal has been viewed as a health care policy wonk, and he’s tried to build on that image ahead of a likely 2016 presidential campaign, positioning himself as the candidate with substantive ideas. But his administration’s handling of health care matters at home could undermine his bonafides in the subject area and threaten his efforts to sell himself as a health care expert.” – Shreveport Times