FIFA Officials Are Arrested on Corruption Charges; Sepp Blatter Isn't Among Them  —  ZURICH — Swiss authorities conducted an extraordinary early-morning operation here Wednesday to arrest several top soccer officials and extradite them to the United States on federal corruption charges.

Obama suffers another defeat on immigration in federal court  —  A federal appeals court dealt President Obama a defeat on Tuesday when it declined to lift a judge's order blocking the president's sweeping executive action on immigration.  —  The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided …

Chris Christie attacks Rand Paul for ‘siding with’ Edward Snowden  —  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday slammed fellow Republicans in the Senate for blocking the renewal of the PATRIOT Act, calling out Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in particular.

It's not your everyday Americans at Bernie Sanders' kickoff rally  —  The long-shot presidential contender launches campaign from the People's Republic of Burlington.  —  BURLINGTON, Vt. — These weren't your everyday Americans who came out to support Bernie Sanders on Tuesday.

Democrats hope for Hillary Clinton coattails  —  Candidates expect her presence would affect their fates as well.  —  Her campaign is still in its infancy.  The presidential election is nearly 18 months away.  But Democrats are already banking on a “Hillary effect,” an anticipated wave …

Vox Media Adds ReCode to Its Stable of Websites  —  ReCode, the news website led by the veteran journalists Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, is being acquired by Vox Media, a deal that reflects the turmoil among digital organizations focused on covering the tech industry.

The Note: Rick Santorum's Second Chance … NOTABLES  —EXCLUSIVE — GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS SITS DOWN WITH SANTORUM: Today, as former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum gets ready to make a “major announcement,” ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS will sit down for an exclusive interview with the former …

Have Democrats Pulled Too Far Left?  —  AMONG liberals, it's almost universally assumed that of the two major parties, it's the Republicans who have become more extreme over the years.  That's a self-flattering but false narrative.  —  This is not to say the Republican Party hasn't become a more conservative party.

The White Protestant Roots of American Racism  —  he Apotheosis of Washington," painted in 1865 by Constantino Brumidi, is a fresco of the first president of the United States ascending to the heavens.  The goddesses of Victory and Liberty, along with 13 maidens who represent America's original colonies …

How Obama could hijack tax reform  —  If congressional Republicans offered the president a deal that would make the tax code markedly more progressive, raise more revenue and also fund several of his second-term priorities, would he agree to such a thing?  —  The answer the White House …

GOP senators call for over-the-counter birth control  —  Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) is leading a new push to allow women to buy birth control without a prescription, hoping to deliver on one of the biggest promises of his freshman Senate campaign last year.

Give the ‘bigot’ bomb a break  —  Reducing human beings to their worst idea or comment diminishes us all.  —  A lesbian couple purchased engagement rings from a Christian jeweler.They were so pleased with the service, they referred a friend to the shop to purchase a ring for his girlfriend.

APNewsBreak: IRS Says Thieves Stole Tax Info From 100,000  —  Thieves used an online service provided by the IRS to gain access to information from more than 100,000 taxpayers, the agency said Tuesday.  —  The information included tax returns and other tax information on file with the IRS.