Benghazi Panel Engages Clinton in Tense Session  —  WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers spent more than eight hours aggressively questioning Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday, seeking to build a case that the former secretary of state had been derelict in her duty to secure the American diplomatic mission …

Ryan offers concession to House Freedom Caucus  —  <p>Rep. Paul Ryan has agreed to delay a discussion about reforming the procedural motion used to remove a House speaker, a major concession to the House Freedom Caucus.</p><p>The Wisconsin Republican, now the presumptive next speaker of the House …

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 …

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 …

Carson Surges Past Trump in Latest Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll  —  Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has moved into a dominant position in Iowa, surpassing former front-runner Donald Trump as evangelical Christians begin to coalesce around him in the state that will cast the first 2016 nomination ballots.

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.

It's Getting Embarrassing  —  Listening to the questions from Republicans questioning Hillary Clinton, it's hard not to step back and ask what it is they're even trying to prove or what their point is.  The lines of questions are disjointed and they're pressing points she either freely concedes …

Albuquerque road rage: Man confesses to killing 4-year-old, police say  —  (CNN)In Lilly Garcia's short life, her big brown eyes sparkled — just like her personality, her parents say.  She swept into a room and filled it with laughter.  —  The 4-year-old died this week in a road rage shooting …