Jeb leaves a vacuum.  Who fills it?  —  If you were in Washington watching the Republican debate last night, you might have felt a small tilt in the floor, or heard the plates rattling gently in their cupboards.  —  That was the sound of the Republican establishment shifting …

McCarthy, Ryan call for end to Boehner drama  —  <p>The only two viable potential replacements for John Boehner as speaker of the House say they back the Ohio Republican and will oppose any effort to remove him from power.  But other high-ranking Republicans are testing the waters …

Dems block amendment linking Iran deal to Israel  —  Democrats on Thursday blocked a last-ditch effort from Republicans to stop the Iran nuclear deal by linking the agreement to Israel and American prisoners.  —  Senators voted 53-45 on an amendment from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Valerie Jarrett Meets With Black Lives Matter Leaders At The White House  —  President Obama's senior adviser Valerie Jarrett met with Black Lives Matter activists yesterday at the White House, the latest sign that the Obama administration is involved with the controversial protest group.

Transcript: Read the Full Text of the Second Republican Debate  —  Eleven Republican presidential candidates met at the Reagan Library for a primetime debate on CNN.  —  At the debate were real estate mogul Donald Trump, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker …

Biden-Warren in 2016?  —  Until now, my position regarding the 2016 campaign has been to support Hillary Clinton for president and to be extravagantly friendly toward Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his supporters, who embody the heart, soul and idealism of the Democratic Party at its best.

GOP debate ratings appear to set new CNN record  —  Wednesday's GOP debate appears to be the highest-rated event in CNN's history, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings.  —  The prime time debate averaged a 14.7 household rating, indicating that 1 in 7 American homes with TVs tuned in.

Have Evangelicals Who Support Trump Lost Their Values?  —  IN 2006, the television comedy “The Office” aired an episode in which one of the characters, Dwight Schrute, nervously faces the prospect of delivering a speech after winning the title of top salesman of the year for his company, Dunder Mifflin.

More Wisconsin Emails  —  How investigators targeted conservative Supreme Court justices  —  Our liberal friends in Wisconsin are unhappy.  They think someone is leaking emails that make the state's partisan campaign regulators look bad.  We'll plead guilty to having sources, but the emails are news and they sure are revealing.

FAA: Widespread ground stop for American Airlines flights  —  CNBC's Sue Herera reports on a ground stop in place until 2:30pm EST for American Airlines.  —  The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday American Airlines flights experienced widespread ground stops amid computer issues.