Exclusive: Trump lawyer claims the “President cannot obstruct justice”  —  John Dowd, President Trump's outside lawyer, outlined to me a new and highly controversial defense/theory in the Russia probe: A president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice.  —  The “President cannot obstruct justice …

It Is Now an Obstruction Investigation  —  Which means that it's an impeachment investigation  —  The smoke is clearing from an explosive Mueller investigation weekend of charges, chattering, and tweets.  Before the next aftershock, it might be helpful to make three points about where things stand.

TIME Announces 2017 Person of the Year Shortlist on Today Show  —  The shortlist of candidates for TIME's 2017 Person of the Year was unveiled Monday morning on NBC's Today.  Since 1927, TIME has identified the Person of the Year, recognizing the person or group of people who most influenced …

President Trump Expected to Shrink Bears Ears by as Much as 90 Percent  —  SALT LAKE CITY — President Trump is expected to announce a historic reduction to Bears Ears National Monument on Monday, a sprawling region of red rock canyons in Utah that has been at the center of a national fight …

Bill O'Reilly Is Sued by Woman Who Settled Over Harassment Accusations  —  A woman who reached a settlement with Bill O'Reilly over harassment allegations sued Mr. O'Reilly and Fox News on Monday for defamation and breach of contract, saying that public statements he and the network made violated …

After Flynn Plea, What Comes Next In Russia Investigation?  —  Steve Inskeep talks to Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney fired by President Trump, on Michael Flynn's guilty plea and the special counsel investigation into Russia's election meddling.  —  STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Roy Moore: ‘Immorality has sunken to a new low’  —  Embattled Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore said in an interview released Monday that he's learned while running for Senate that “immorality has sunken to a new low,” citing political advertisements run by his Democratic opponent, Doug Jones.

Farenthold: “I didn't do anything wrong.”  —  CORPUS CHRISTI -  —  U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold says he's going to pay back the money taxpayers spent settling a lawsuit filed against his office by a former employee.  —  The four-term Congressmen tells 6 Investigates he was not given a choice …

Exclusive: Feds issue 4,000 orders to seize guns from people who failed background checks  —  A USA TODAY review finds thousands of guns were sold to people who should have failed their background checks.  Now, federal agents have the dangerous jobs of trying to get those guns back.  —  CONNECT

Republicans Sought to Undercut an Unfavorable Analysis of the Tax Plan  —  WASHINGTON — A Republican requirement that Congress consider the full cost of major legislation threatened to derail the party's $1.5 trillion tax rewrite last week.  So lawmakers went on the offensive to discredit the agency performing the analysis.

2 people fired after ‘deplorable’ comments surface directed at Eagle Grove basketball team  —  Two identified as Orin Harris, on-air personality, and a board operator who is also a teacher at Forest City schools.  —  Forest City, Iowa - Two employees at radio station KIOW have been fired …

Trump may face a reckoning in case brought by female accuser  —  In the weeks leading up to his election, Donald Trump went on a tear against a list of women who had accused him of touching them inappropriately.  One was Summer Zervos, who had been a contestant on his reality television show.

The Senate GOP Accidentally Killed Some of Its Donors' Favorite Tax Breaks  —  On Friday, Senate Republicans rewrote the American tax code over lunch — and passed their (partially handwritten) legislation around 2 a.m. the following morning. … Mitch McConnell never subjected his blueprint …

'I've Got a Crook Running My Campaign'  —  The following is an excerpt from Let Trump Be Trump by Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, to be published on December 3.  —  We were somewhere over New Jersey, on our way to an event in Delaware, on the Trump helicopter when all hell broke loose.

Netflix Exec Tells Woman The Company Doesn't Believe Actor's Rape Accusers.  Then She Said She Was One.  —  Police are investigating four women's claims that “The Ranch” star Danny Masterson raped them in the early 2000s.  —  One of actor Danny Masterson's alleged sexual assault victims …

Economist Larry Summers predicts 10,000 will die per year due to tax reform  — Some 10,000 Americans a year will die if the Republican tax reform bill is passed as written, economist Larry Summers said.  — Summers, a top official in both the Clinton and Obama administrations …

Harassment and Bullying Allegations Rock WNYC After Departure of Celebrated Host  —  On the morning of August 11 of this year, John Hockenberry signed off for the last time as host of WNYC's The Takeaway, the show he helped to launch almost a decade earlier.

California Assemblyman accused of forcing lobbyist into bathroom and masturbating  —  Assemblyman Matt Dababneh (D-Woodland Hills) (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)  —  Sacramento lobbyist Pamela Lopez has claimed that, in 2016, Democratic Assemblyman Matt Dababneh followed her into a bathroom …

Did American Missile Defense Fail in Saudi Arabia?  —  The official story was clear: Saudi forces shot down a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebel group last month at Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh.  It was a victory for the Saudis and for the United States, which supplied the Patriot missile defense system.

Trump Has Unleashed “Unprecedented” Levels Of Polarization In How People View The Media, Says This New Survey  —  An alarming percentage of Republicans and Trump supporters see the press as “an enemy of the American people.”  Meanwhile, Democrats are seeing a surge in trust and confidence in the press.

Why I want to challenge Bob Menendez in a bid for senator  —  BY MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 12/04/17 12:00 PM EST THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL  —  My name is Michael Starr Hopkins, and I am exploring a bid to become the next U.S. senator from New Jersey.