Benghazi bust  —  Share Tweet Reddit Digg Mail Print SMS More  —  There's a reason Benghazi Committee chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy offered Hillary Clinton the chance to testify in a private, closed hearing.  And there's a reason Clinton wanted to appear in an open setting, with the whole world watching.

Lincoln Chafee ends quixotic presidential bid  —  <p>Democratic presidential candidate Lincoln Chafee, always a long shot, dropped out of the race for his party's nomination on Friday morning. </p><p>"As you know I have been campaigning on a platform of Prosperity Through Peace," …

Iowa Poll: Carson surges to 9-point lead; Trump slides  —  Donald Trump is the biggest loser in the new Iowa Poll.  —  The pious Ben Carson has plowed past the braggadocious New York businessman to take the front-runner crown, unseating Trump as the most popular choice for president among …

The fragile marriage of Ryan and the Freedom Caucus  —  <p>One of Rep. Paul Ryan's conditions for running for House speaker was that he wanted to reform the "motion to vacate," a rarely-invoked legislative tool that's essentially a way to boot the speaker from his job.</p><p>His pitch …

Rep. Jim Jordan vs. Hillary Clinton: Why Did You Tell Egyptians Benghazi Was a Terrorist Attack But Not The American People?  —  At a House Select Committee on Benghazi hearing Thursday, Rep. Jim Jordan introduced e-mails that show then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling the attack …

McConnell presses Paul to focus on Senate bid  —  <p>Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his allies are quietly ratcheting up pressure on Rand Paul to pay more attention to his Senate reelection next year — and less to his flagging 2016 presidential candidacy.</p><p> So far …

Watch: President Obama explains what “all lives matter” gets wrong  —  President Barack Obama on Thursday gave a strong defense of Black Lives Matter, arguing that the movement's concerns about racial disparities in the criminal justice system are legitimate.

Conservative PACs Attack Republicans, and It Pays  —  WASHINGTON — The petitions that started surfacing online over a year ago were as incendiary as they were urgent, begging recipients to sign up to “Boot Boehner,” “Dump McConnell,” “Drop a Truth-Bomb on Kevin McCarthy” and “Fire Paul Ryan.”

Pro-Trump super PAC shuts down  —  <p>The main super PAC backing Donald Trump is shutting down amidst increasing scrutiny of its ties to Trump's campaign.</p><p> Trump, who has made his independence from wealthy donors a cornerstone of his anti-establishment presidential campaign …

Texas raids several Planned Parenthood facilities, group says  —  Texas officials raided several Planned Parenthood facilities on Thursday, the group said, in a move that comes days after the state's Republicans leaders barred the women's health group from receiving state Medicaid money.

U.S. Soldier Killed by ISIS, Pentagon Won't Call It Combat  —  A U.S. service member dies in combat in Iraq—for the first time in four years.  But the military still insist this is a relatively risk-free “training” mission.  —  An American service member was fatally shot during …