Ethics panel opens investigation of Rep. Katie Hill

ANDREW TAYLOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee on Wednesday opened an investigation into Rep. Katie Hill after a conservative website published unsubstantiated accusations that she had an improper relationship with a staffer. The bipartisan leadership of the Ethics panel announced the probe of the freshman California Democrat, noting "public allegations" that Hill "may have engaged in a sexual relationship with an individual on her congressional staff." The panel noted that it is casting no judgment on the validity of the charges, which were based in the report on anonymous sources. Lawmakers have come under intense criticism for being slow to update Capitol Hill's rules on sexual harassment but finally passed an ethics change last year that, among othe