Gowdy: Benghazi probe could run into '16  —  Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said the special committee he'll lead on Benghazi could continue into the 2016 campaign, when Hillary Clinton might be running for the White House.  —  Asked about that posibility Wednesday on MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” …

Burning the Beret  —  WASHINGTON — Monica Lewinsky says she would meet me for a drink.  —  I'm game.  —  In her new meditation in Vanity Fair, Monica mashes Hawthorne and Coleridge, proclaiming that she's ready to rip off her “scarlet-A albatross,” “reimagine” her identity and reclaim her narrative.

Putin Announces Pullback from Ukraine Border  —  MOSCOW — In an apparent attempt to halt the spiraling violence in southeastern Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin said on Wednesday that Russia was pulling troops back from the border, and he urged Ukrainian separatists to call off a referendum …

FEC chair warns that conservative media like Drudge Report and Sean Hannity face regulation —  like PACs  —  WASHINGTON SECRETS SUPREME COURT FEC MEDIA CONSERVATISM ELECTIONS CITIZENS UNITED ENDORSEMENTS DRUDGE REPORT JOHN PAUL STEVENS  —  Government officials, reacting to the growing voice …

GOP struggles to land punches at ObamaCare insurance hearing  —  Republicans struggled to land punches against ObamaCare in a hearing Wednesday as responses from insurance companies deflated several lines of questioning.  —  Democratic lawmakers were emboldened to defend the Affordable Care Act …

A GOP Senate Candidate Blows The Lid Off Conservative Racial Politics  —  Whether North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis wins the Senate GOP primary tonight, or finds himself stuck in a run-off until July, he'll be contending with this recently resurfaced video from 2011 …

A Minute With: Megyn Kelly on Fox News and foe Jon Stewart  —  (Reuters) - A decade ago Megyn Kelly was practicing law and moonlighting as a local TV reporter before Fox News Channel came calling, starting a relationship that would take her career from newbie legal correspondent to the host of her own prime-time gig.

Federal judge halts John Doe probe into Walker recall  —  By Daniel Bice and Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel  —  A federal judge ordered a halt Tuesdayto the John Doe investigation into campaign spending and fundraising by Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and conservative groups …

Nearly 80% of Americans think no one survived Flight 370, CNN poll finds  —  The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370  —  (CNN) — Most Americans believe the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 should continue, but roughly half the country thinks the arduous search …

Insurance Companies Testify: Obamacare Website Still Not Fixed  —  Six health insurance executives testified on Capitol Hill today.  And all six, each representing a different company, unanimously agreed: The Obamacare website is still not entirely fixed.  —  The witnesses included Frank Coyne …

Nine maps that show how climate change is already affecting the US  —  Climate change isn't just a problem for future generations — it's already affecting broad swaths of the United States.  —  That's the upshot of the National Climate Assessment, a massive new US government report detailing …

Russian Diplomat's Sexist Attack On Pussy Riot  —  Emails obtained by BuzzFeed show a Russian diplomat disparaging Russian dissidents, praising Stalin and talking about America's “homosexual authoritarianism.”  —  Nadya Tolokonnikova, center, and Maria Alyokhina, center left, of Pussy Riot.

Holocaust School Assignment Sheet Included Text Lifted From Holocaust Denial Website  —  A disputed essay assignment that asked students in a California school district to argue “whether or not you believe the Holocaust was an actual event in history” incorporated a source that dismissed gassings …

This Senator Saved My Love Life  —  You have to give it to some elected representatives — they really will respond to the letters you send.  Or at least, Alan Simpson did when my boyfriend Arthur sent a plea for help.  We were in love, but I was a reporter in New York and he studied wildlife in Wyoming.