Right flexes muscle ahead of Speaker vote  —  The conservative House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday endorsed little-known Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) for Speaker — a bold move that raises serious doubts about whether Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy can cobble together the 218 votes on the House floor he needs to be promoted.

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.

Carson: I faced a gunman  —  GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson, under fire for advice about what to do when facing a gunman, late Wednesday recounted the time when a gun was pointed at him.  —  “I have had a gun held on me when I was in a Popeye's,” Carson told host Karen Hunter on Sirius XM Radio …

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.

Russia's Syria intervention may force choice on Obama: Act or yield  —  Russia's military moves in Syria are fundamentally changing the face of the country's civil war, putting President Bashar al-Assad back on his feet, and may complicate the Obama administration's plans to expand its air operations against the Islamic State.

Video shows judge berating, sentencing domestic violence victim to jail  —  SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —  Channel 9 has obtained video from a Seminole County courtroom where an emotional domestic violence victim was sentenced to three days in jail for failing to show up for her abuser's trial.

Paul Ryan to give nominating speech for McCarthy  —  House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan will give the nominating speech for Kevin McCarthy today in the closed party election for speaker, multiple sources said.  —  Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, is one of the most respected GOP lawmakers in Washington …

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.

Bloomberg Politics Focus Groups: What's Powering the Ben Carson Boom  —  Despite never holding elected office, or perhaps because of that fact, the retired neurosurgeon has managed to impress many Republican voters.  —  What explains the appeal Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who …

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 …

Impeach the IRS director  —  “Look,” wrote Lois Lerner, echoing Horace Greeley, “my view is that Lincoln was our worst president not our best.  He should [have] let the [S]outh go.  We really do seem to have 2 totally different mindsets.”  Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune …

Hillary Clinton on TPP then  —  HILLARY CLINTON ON TPP THEN — While at State, Hillary Clinton called TPP the “gold standard in trade agreements.”  In “Hard Choices,” which Clinton sent to all the GOP candidates, she said TPP “would link markets throughout Asia and the Americas …

Clinton e-mails were vulnerable to hackers, tech firm warned … Most Read

Svetlana Alexievich Wins Nobel Prize in Literature  —  Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarussian journalist and prose writer, won the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time,” the Swedish Academy announced.

Dell Is in Talks With EMC Over Possible Merger  —  Data-storage giant has been considering several options  —  Dell Inc. and private-equity firm Silver Lake are in advanced talks to buy EMC Corp. , according to people familiar with the matter, a deal that would rank as the biggest technology …