WH officials eager to toss Flynn overboard  —  If West Wing officials could make one person disappear, it would be Mike Flynn.  Sources from all factions of the White House seem unified in their distrust of the President's former national security adviser — and their willingness to throw him under the bus.

E.P.A. Dismisses Members of Major Scientific Review Board  —  WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency's regulatory reach …

Why Macron Won: Luck, Skill and France's Dark History  —  PARIS — The French presidential runoff transcended national politics.  It was globalization against nationalism.  It was the future versus the past.  Open versus closed.  —  But in his resounding victory on Sunday night …

Trump to Announce Slate of Conservative Federal Court Nominees  —  WASHINGTON — Having filled a Supreme Court vacancy, President Trump is turning his attention to the more than 120 openings on the lower federal courts.  On Monday, he will announce a slate of 10 nominees to those courts …

Obama urges ‘political courage’ to save Affordable Care Act  —  BOSTON — Barack Obama on Sunday night called on members of Congress to exercise the “political courage” to not repeal Obamacare — his first public comments about the law since the House voted to repeal it on Thursday …

George Will joins MSNBC  —  Washington Post columnist George Will has joined MSNBC and NBC News as a contributor.  —  Will, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, was most recently a contributor at Fox News, though he became a free agent in January when Fox declined to renew his contract.

A Hidden Hand in the Trump-Russia Drama Owns a Ramen Shop.  No, Seriously. … One of the better-connected, more knowledgeable people on the ties between the Kremlin and Trump Tower—other than the investigators currently working full-time on the topic—is a ramen shop owner named Jeff Jetton.

Coming soon: The fiscal cliff to end all fiscal cliffs  —  If President Donald Trump and the Republican Congress think they've been under pressure to produce lately, just wait a few months.  —  Over the next several months, Republicans will have to figure out how to cut deals with Democrats …

Republicans Party Like It's 1984  —  There have been many bad laws in U.S. history.  Some bills were poorly conceived; some were cruel and unjust; some were sold on false pretenses.  Some were all of the above.  —  But has there ever been anything like Trumpcare, the health legislation Republicans rammed through the House last week?

The debt-bubble landmine Obama left for Trump  —  MORE FROM: … President Trump came in for much jeering when he told reporters he had “inherited a mess” from President Barack Obama.  On the economy, though, Obama did indeed leave behind a hidden mess: a seemingly healthy jobs market dependent on cheap debt.

Why doesn't anyone know we're incredibly close to replacing the Electoral College with the popular vote?  —  The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact has passed a total of 35 state legislative chambers in 23 states  —  It's been six months since the divisive 2016 election …

Gov. Greg Abbott signs ‘sanctuary cities’ ban into law on Facebook Live  —  This is a developing story.  Check back in for updates.  —  AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott has signed the state's sanctuary city ban into law, achieving one of his major goals for the legislative session and enacting …

We Could Have Been Canada  —  Was the American Revolution such a good idea?  —  And what if it was a mistake from the start?  The Declaration of Independence, the American Revolution, the creation of the United States of America—what if all this was a terrible idea, and what if the injustices …

Why did Trump win?  More whites — and fewer blacks — actually voted.  —  Why did Trump win — and Clinton lose — the 2016 U.S. presidential election?  That's been debated widely, to understate the case.  Nominees include each campaign's ground game, messaging, FBI Director James B. Comey's …