Inside Bernie Sanders' unorthodox debate prep … Hillary Clinton has had aides lined up to run her debate prep for months.  A Washington super lawyer is mimicking Sanders and her top policy staffer is acting as Martin O'Malley.  —  Bernie Sanders started studying for next Tuesday's event not even a full week ago.

Did Barack Obama do enough for his own community?  —  There is a photo by Pete Souza, the White House's canny and peripatetic photographer, that surfaces from time to time online.  The setting is Marine One, and it features a modest cast of five.  Valerie Jarrett, dressed in a suit of blazing pink, is staring at her cell phone.

Hillary Clinton says she does not support Trans-Pacific Partnership  —  Just days after the U.S. and 11 nations released a monumental trade deal that still faces a fight in Congress, Hillary Clinton says she does not support the Trans-Pacific Partnership.  Speaking with Judy Woodruff Wednesday …

Biden: Republicans ‘beating’ on Hispanics  —  Vice President Biden accused Republican presidential candidates of “beating” on Hispanics during an address to a Hispanic group on Wednesday.  —  In a surprise appearance at a fundraiser hosted by the Latino Victory Project PAC …

Matt Barnes drove 95 miles to ‘beat the s-t’ out of Derek Fisher  —  Matt Barnes with then-wife Gloria Govan, and Knicks coach Derek Fisher.  —  Knicks coach Derek Fisher is involved in a romantic relationship with the estranged wife of his former teammate Matt Barnes …

Trump Says Bush and Rubio Suffer from Political Politeness  —  Republicans' celebrity front-runner draws 1,000 to afternoon rally in Waterloo, Iowa.  —  McCormickJohn  —  Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, during a campaign stop in Iowa, took aim at two of his party's nomination rivals …

House conservatives spurn McCarthy, flex muscle ahead of speaker vote  —  A group of hard-line conservatives threatened to upend the Republican race to succeed outgoing House Speaker John A. Boehner, announcing on Wednesday it will throw its support behind a little-known Florida lawmaker to become the next speaker.

Ben Carson stumbles on debt limit question  —  Ben Carson appeared to have some difficulty in explaining exactly whether he would support raising the debt limit in a recent interview.  —  “Let me put it this way: if I were the president, I would not sign an increased budget.  Absolutely would not do it.

Is Vladimir Putin Trying to Teach the West a Lesson in Syria?  —  SOFIA, Bulgaria — Last week, after Russian planes bombed antigovernment forces near the Syrian town of Homs, a senior American official complained to me: “What Russia is doing in Syria is not an effort to fight the Islamic State; it is not old-fashioned realpolitik.

Accused Oregon Shooter Discharged From Army After Suicide Attempt  —  Christopher Harper-Mercer left basic training after just one month in 2008  —  The gunman who allegedly killed nine people and wounded nine others at a rural community college in Oregon last Thursday had been discharged …

Shut Down the Benghazi Committee  —  House Republicans may be disinclined to disband the Select Committee on Benghazi with the presidential race heating up.  But at the very least they should rename their laughable crusade, which has cost taxpayers $4.6 million, “the Inquisition of Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

Why you shouldn't be surprised that prisoners crushed Harvard's debate team  —  Last month, a debate team of three inmates with violent criminal records defeated a team of three Harvard University undergraduates.  —  It sounds like an underdog story plucked from the pages …

Clinton ‘SNL’ Cameo Could Entitle Challengers to Free Air Time  —  Hillary Clinton's appearance on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend could trigger the so-called equal-time rule, the federal law that allows qualified opposing candidates to demand comparable air time.

Military Haircuts  —  My first post about what it's like to live, and grow as a human being: transitioning in a military prison.  —  The last few weeks have been particularly challenging for me.  For the first time in years, I felt like giving up... then, I found my “second wind” to be human.

Sen. Reid, wife sue makers of exercise band  —  U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and his wife are suing the makers of a resistance exercise band that the lawmaker has blamed for a January accident that left him blind in his right eye.  —  Reid, D-Nev., and his wife, Landra Gould, filed …

Bystander opens fire on shoplifter at Home Depot  —  A concealed-carry license holder is now cooperating with police after she opened fire on a shoplifter who was fleeing a Home Depot on Tuesday afternoon, Auburn Hills Police said.  —  The shooting happened in the store's parking lot at around 2 p.m. …

Tennessee's First Year Of Drug Testing Welfare Applicants Didn't Go Very Well  —  Tennessee's first year of drug testing welfare recipients uncovered drug use by less than 0.2 percent of all applicants for the state's public assistance system.  —  The state implemented the testing regime …