Excessive Speed Probed in Amtrak Train Crash in Philadelphia  —  At least 7 people dead after train heading from Washington to New York derails  —  PHILADELPHIA—An Amtrak train involved in a fatal crash here appears to have been traveling at more than 100 miles an hour as it entered …

Jeb Bush: Iraq Questioning Is Disservice to Slain Soldiers  —  Likely Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said Wednesday that questioning about how he would have handled Iraq War authorization “does a disservice” to military service members killed in action.

Walker Still Leads Nationally, Clinton Over 60%  —  PPP's national Republican poll for May continues to find Scott Walker leading the field, but it's tightly clustered and his support has actually dropped two consecutive surveys now.  —  Walker's at 18% to 13% for Marco Rubio …

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 …

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.

Martin O'Malley to top progressives: Warren's not running, I am  —  Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has a message for progressives clamoring for Sen. Elizabeth Warren's entry into the presidential race: she's not running, but I am.  —  As part of an effort to position himself …

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.

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 …

The Rubio Doctrine  —  Strength, globalization and core values should guide American foreign policy  —  I'd like to begin my remarks today by quoting from the closing of another set of remarks—from a speech that echoes across history due to its proximity to tragedy, but that stands more importantly …

Potty-mouthed Alan Grayson and his offshore investments  —  U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, the outspoken, populist Democrat who thunders against Wall Street fat cats,and used to to joke about Mitt Romney's low tax bill, incorporated a couple hedge funds in the Cayman Islands so investors could avoid taxes.

College students told to report ‘hurtful statements’ to campus authorities  —  If someone says anything mean-spirited at the University of Colorado Boulder - campus administrators want to know about it.  Not only that - they want to know the offender's name, age, email address and more.

Google Comms and Policy Head Whetstone Takes Over That Job at Uber  —  Rachel Whetstone, the longtime head of Google's public policy and communications unit, is taking on that job at Uber as SVP of policy and communications.  —  That position has been held by David Plouffe …

House Votes to End N.S.A.'s Bulk Phone Data Collection  —  WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation to end the federal government's bulk collection of phone records, exerting enormous pressure on Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader …

WH: Abortion ban's treatment of rape victims ‘disgraceful’  —  The Obama administration on Wednesday said it was “disgraceful” for House Republicans to push a late-term abortion ban bill that also puts up barriers for rape and sexual assault victims.  —  “It's disgraceful that House Republicans …