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

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 …

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 …

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 …

How Clinton boxed out Biden  —  <p>Scratch Joe Biden off Brooklyn's list of worries. </p><p>The announcement Wednesday afternoon that Biden would not enter the presidential race removed another hurdle for Hillary Clinton, whose string of good fortune was kicked off by a strong Oct. 13 debate performance …

Majority Say More Concealed Weapons Would Make U.S. Safer  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — A majority of Americans, 56%, believe that if more Americans carried concealed weapons after passing a criminal background check and training course, the country would be safer.

Why Aren't There More Black Scientists?  —  The evidence suggests that one reason is the perverse impact of university racial preferences.  —  Remember when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor predicted in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003) that universities would no longer need race-preferential admissions policies in 25 years?