When Janay Rice was ready to speak, almost everybody was ready to listen.

All manner of media outlets were vying to be the first to interview Rice, the wife of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. Janay's decision to stay with Ray after he violently struck her in an Atlantic City casino elevator - and after video of the incident instigated weeks of national news coverage - drew considerable attention earlier this year.

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Half of Americans believe Republican control of both chambers of Congress will be bad for the country, and a majority say it will in fact cause more gridlock in Washington, according to a new CNN/ORC nationwide poll.

But the poll also shows the Republican Party's brand has improvedover the past year, and they now are only slightly less popular than the Democratic Party. Democratic Party approval levels, meanwhile, have remained static.

According to the survey, 50 percent of Americans believe the GOP taking control of the House and the Senate next year will be bad for America, and 52 percent expect it to lead to more gridlock. Another 37 percent, however, expect to see no difference in the levels of gridlock in Congress.

But Americans seem to believe the GOP should be the ones to budge.

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It's been one week since the streets of Ferguson boiled over after protesters learned the officer who shot teenager Michael Brown won't face criminal charges.

Since then, much has changed. And much hasn't.

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