Jeb Bush, in apparent slip, says 'I'm running for president'  —  Republican Jeb Bush appears to have unintentionally announced his candidacy for president in 2016 in a conversation with reporters on Wednesday that was caught on video.  —  Speaking in Nevada, the former Florida governor seemed …

“Democrats in Disarray,” Part II  —  I complained this morning about the permanent audience for “Democrats in Disarray” stories like Robert Draper's piece turning the Maryland Senate primary into a microcosm of a party torn apart by dissension between dirty hippies and centrist pragmatists.

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 …

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 …

Ethics office: Lawmakers took trip secretly paid for by foreign government  —  Ten members of Congress and their aides accepted gifts and airfare to Azerbaijan that were secretly paid for by that country's state-owned oil company, according to a report from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) obtained by The Washington Post.

House Approves Revised Measure Banning Most Abortions After 20 Weeks  —  WASHINGTON — The House on Wednesday voted to ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, approving a revised version of a bill that Republican leaders had abruptly pulled in January amid objections from some of their own members.

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 …

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.

O'Malley, eyeing the presidency, plans May 30 announcement  —  DURHAM, N.H. — Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley, who has been ramping up for a potential White House bid, plans to make an announcement about his political future on May 30 in Baltimore, aides said Wednesday.

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 …

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 …

U.S. Military Proposes Challenge to China Sea Claims  —  Moves would send Navy planes, ships near artificial islands built by China in contested waters  —  The U.S. military is considering using aircraft and Navy ships to directly contest Chinese territorial claims to a chain …