Trump's campaign says he'll negotiate directly with TV networks on debates  —  The format and content of upcoming Republican debates became increasingly uncertain on Monday after Donald Trump's campaign said the real estate mogul would negotiate his terms directly with television executives instead …

Meet Your New GOP 2016 Front Runner: Ben Carson  —  Ben Carson has surged into the lead of the Republican presidential race, getting support from 29 percent of GOP primary voters, according to a brand-new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.  —  That's the highest percentage any GOP candidate has obtained so far in the survey.

Death Rates Rising for Middle-Aged White Americans, Study Finds  —  Something startling is happening to middle-aged white Americans.  Unlike every other age group, unlike every other racial and ethnic group, unlike their counterparts in other rich countries, death rates in this group have been rising, not falling.

Bush's Lies About the Nuclear Deal  —  Jeb Bush delivered a speech today meant to relaunch his flagging campaign.  Among other dubious foreign policy claims he made, this was the most remarkable for its dishonesty: … Bush's statement is just one falsehood after another.

TransCanada asks Obama to suspend review of Keystone XL pipeline  —  The company seeking to build the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline is asking the Obama administration to pause the process for reviewing its permit.  —  TransCanada Corp., which until recently repeatedly pressured President Obama …

Trump: DNC Chairwoman ‘crazy,’ ‘neurotic woman’  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump on Monday knocked the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee as a “highly neurotic woman.”  —  Trump criticized the debate process of his own party speaking with Breitbart News on Siriux XM radio …

Notre Dame academic coach fired amid claims she coerced athletes into having sex with her daughter  —  Notre Dame fired a female academic coach amid allegations she coerced young football and basketball players into having sex with her daughter, according to an internal school report obtained by the Daily News.

Lessig drops out of presidential race  —  Harvard University professor Lawrence Lessig abandoned his Democratic presidential run on Monday, capping a candidacy that failed to get any real traction at all.  —  Lessig, an outspoken academic who had been a vocal proponent of campaign finance reform …

Obama bans the box  —  On Monday, President Obama is announcing a new order to reduce potential discrimination against former convicts in the hiring process for federal government employees.  —  It is a step towards what many criminal justice reformers call “ban the box” …

Cruz's silent super PACs a growing worry for campaign  —  The super PACs backing Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential run have yet to reserve any TV time in the early primary states — or anywhere else — despite a combined $38 million war chest that ranks second among presidential contenders only to Jeb Bush's $103 million operation.

The Perils of Obama's Latest Undeclared War  —  Without Congressional permission, public debate, or any attempt to rally the American public's support, President Obama has ordered U.S. ground troops to a war zone, his most flagrantly unconstitutional war-making since he unlawfully helped to overthrow Muammar al-Qaddafi.

What's Killing Poor White Women?  —  For most Americans, life expectancy continues to rise—but not for uneducated white women.  They have lost five years, and no one knows why.  —  On the night of May 23, 2012, which turned out to be the last of her life, Crystal Wilson baby-sat her infant granddaughter, Kelly.

South Park Shows How to Defeat the Social-Justice Warriors  —  South Park's PC Principal and fraternity

'He's a mess': Insiders worry Fallon's partying is getting out of hand  —  He's one of NBC's biggest success stories — keeping “The Tonight Show” at the top of the late-night ratings with bouncy show tunes and campy games.  —  Now Jimmy Fallon is also one of NBC's biggest worries.

Bill Gates says that capitalism cannot save us from climate change  —  There's no fortune to be made.  Even if you have a new energy source that costs the same as today's and emits no CO2, it will be uncertain compared with what's tried-and-true and already operating at unbelievable scale …

Ralph Nader Bizarrely Lectures Janet Yellen About Interest Rates, Says She Should Listen More to Her Husband  —  Ralph Nader is a fairly easy figure to ignore these days.  But it's worth addressing this bizarre rant addressed to Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen that the man recently wrote …

Russian plane crash: Final moments of doomed airliner revealed in flight data as it emerges crew went unpaid for two months  —  Roland Oliphant in St Petersburg and Raf Sanchez in Cairo  —  Suspicions that foul play or terrorism caused the passenger jet crash in Egypt were growing on Monday …

First on CNN: Clinton meets with Trayvon Martin's family  —  Chicago (CNN)Hillary Clinton met Monday with a collection of parents whose African-American children have died in shootings at a local Chicago cafe, discussing their loss and outlining her criminal justice reform and gun control plans.

Ben Carson touts creationism during Nashville speech  —  Republican presidential contender Ben Carson restated his views on creationism Sunday, wrapping up his weekend in Tennessee with a visit to one of Metro Nashville's largest churches.  —  Carson delivered two speeches Sunday morning at Cornerstone Church in Madison.