Three questions Benghazi Republicans should ask — and why they probably won't  —  South Carolina Congressman Trey Gowdy's Special Committee on Benghazi has been now thoroughly outed — not by Democrats but by his fellow Republicans.  —  First House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) …

‘Supermajority’ of House Freedom Caucus to back Paul Ryan's speaker bid  —  Hard-line conservatives cleared a path late Wednesday for Rep. Paul Ryan to become House speaker, heralding a possible end to weeks of Republican leadership turmoil.  —  The decision to support Ryan …

Carson surges past Trump in Iowa poll  —  <p>Ben Carson has surged past Donald Trump in Iowa, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of likely Republican caucus participants out Thursday. </p><p>The retired neurosurgeon leads the Republican field with 28 percent, while Trump has fallen behind with 20 percent.

U.S. and Kurdish Commandos Said to Raid ISIS Prison in North Iraq  —  BAGHDAD — American and Kurdish commandos raided an Islamic State outpost near the northern Iraqi town of Hawija, freeing prisoners there and capturing some of the militants themselves, Iraqi officials said on Thursday.

Jeb Bush: Supergirl is ‘pretty hot’  —  North Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN)After nearly an hourlong discussion on serious policy, Jeb Bush was thrown a softball Wednesday night while speaking at an event in Las Vegas:  —  Who is your favorite Marvel superhero?  —  25 photos: Badass women of sci-fi

Subordinate seduced me — then got me fired: executive  —  A lawsuit claims that Tila Azeem (main) set Citi's Head of Global Prime Finance, David James Murphy (inset) by telling her bosses that he sexually harassed her.  —  A former Citigroup executive says a young female underling set …

Police say suspect confesses to road rage shooting that killed New Mexico 4-year-old  —  Albuquerque police said late Wednesday that a suspect had confessed to a road rage shooting that killed a four-year-old girl on Interstate 40.  —  Authorities said Tony Torrez, 32, had been charged with murder …

How Texas Teaches History  —  A TEXAS high school student and his mother recently called attention to a curious line in a geography textbook: a description of the Atlantic slave trade as bringing “millions of workers” to plantations in the American South.  McGraw-Hill Education …

Why Trump Is So Different From Carson and Fiorina  —  Three candidates who have never held political office — Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina — have combined to amass a majority of support in G.O.P. primary polls.  Not coincidentally, a majority of Republican voters say they would prefer …

Poll: More Americans oppose stricter gun control  —  The religious case for gun control in America  — About seven in 10 Americans believe it is important for most Americans to support proposed changes to gun laws before those changes are implemented  —  Washington (CNN) …

MoveOn to Host Democratic Presidential Candidate Forum in November  —  Chafee, Clinton, Lessig, O'Malley, and Sanders have been invited to engage with the 8-million-member strong MoveOn community on key progressive issues.  —  MoveOn.org Political Action announced today that it will host …