House panel votes to cut Amtrak budget hours after deadly crash  —  “Starving rail of funding will not enable safer train travel,” Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said.  —  House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers said the cuts are needed to stay in line with the caps imposed …

Gov. John Kasich says U.S. shouldn't have attacked Iraq  —  ' class="> Enlarge Image  —  Dealing with a question that tripped up Jeb Bush, Ohio Gov. John Kasich says that the U.S. never should have gone to Iraq, knowing what we know now.  —  “There's a lot of people who lost limbs and lives over there …

White House on Sherrod Brown: 'He'll find a way to apologize'  —  The White House responded Wednesday to Sen. Sherrod Brown's criticism of President Barack Obama's treatment of fellow Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.  —  White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Brown is “a stand-up guy.”

Student Suing Misericordia University Officials After Failing to Pass Course … DALLAS TOWNSHIP — A nursing student is suing some Misericordia University officials after she failed to pass a course twice.  —  Jennifer Burbella of Stroudsburg said school officials failed to abide by federal law.

G.O.P. Seeks Strategy for Debates Amid Expanding Candidate List  —  WASHINGTON — Republican leaders, searching for a fair-minded but strategically wise way to conduct the presidential primary debates, are grappling with how to manage White House contenders in a sprawling field …

10 members of Congress took trip secretly funded by foreign government  —  The state-owned oil company of Azerbaijan secretly funded an all-expenses-paid trip to a conference at Baku on the Caspian Sea in 2013 for 10 members of Congress and 32 staff members, according to a confidential ethics report obtained by The Washington Post.

Text images between Missouri House Speaker John Diehl and intern reveal sexually charged exchanges  —  Screenshots of text messages obtained by The Star  —  ›  —  ‹  —  Text messages obtained by The Star reveal a sexually charged relationship between House Speaker John Diehl …

Introducing Instant Articles  —  As more people get their news on mobile devices, we want to make the experience faster and richer on Facebook.  People share a lot of articles on Facebook, particularly on our mobile app.  To date, however, these stories take an average of eight seconds to load …

China Lashes Out Over U.S. Plan on South China Sea  —  Pentagon proposal to use aircraft and Navy vessels in region prompts swift response: ‘We are severely concerned’  —  Beijing condemned on Wednesday a proposed U.S. military plan to send aircraft and Navy ships near disputed South China Sea islands …

Two Former Leaders of the Free World Sitting Around Chatting  —  Bill Clinton and David Letterman go down memory lane.  —  t williamfleitch  —  When former President Bill Clinton was introduced as a guest on Late Show With David Letterman on Tuesday night, he was greeted with an extended saxophone solo …

The Great Democratic Crack-Up of 2016 … Maryland might seem a peculiar venue for a blood feud over the future of the Democratic Party.  It is the second-bluest state in the United States, after Massachusetts, according to Gallup; its registered Democrats, more than 30 percent of whom are black …

Oath Keepers Founder: Traitor McCain Should Be ‘Hung By The Neck Until Dead’  —  The founder of the Oath Keepers, a loose-knit group of current and former law enforcement officials and military who pledge to defend the Constitution, called for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to be “hung by the neck until dead” …

Marvel Courting Ava DuVernay to Direct Diverse Superhero Movie (Exclusive)  —  The “Selma” filmmaker is being eyed to join the MCU, but will she take the reins of “Black Panther” or “Captain Marvel?”  —  Marvel is courting “Selma” filmmaker Ava DuVernay to direct one of its diverse superhero movies …

Dem bill targets online ammo sales  —  House Democrats are pushing legislation requiring face-to-face ammunition sales.  —  Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) has introduced the Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2015.  The bill unveiled Thursday would require federally licensed ammunitions dealers …

Wyoming just criminalized citizen science.  —  Imagine visiting Yellowstone this summer.  You wake up before dawn to take a picture of the sunrise over the mists emanating from Yellowstone hot springs.  A thunderhead towers above the rising sun, and the picture turns out beautifully.