Civilization Is Accelerating Extinction and Altering the Natural World at a Pace ‘Unprecedented in Human History’  —  WASHINGTON — Humans are transforming Earth's natural landscapes so dramatically that as many as one million plant and animal species are now at risk of extinction …

Mulvaney aims for ‘more proactive, less reactive’ Trump message  —  One of Mick Mulvaney's first acts after he started working as President Donald Trump's acting chief of staff in December was to hit the television airwaves.  With Trump under fire for forcing a government shutdown to fund …

Trump Retweets Falwell's Call For Two Years To Be Added To His Term As ‘Reparations’  —  In a move likely to heighten the anxiety of those already dubious about President Donald Trump's respect for term limits, the President retweeted Jerry Falwell's call to add two years to his term as …

U.S. Deploys Forces to Mideast to Deter Iran  —  The U.S. is deploying a carrier strike group and a number of bombers to the Middle East to serve as a deterrent to Iran based on new intelligence that suggests allied interests and American forces could be imperiled.

Michael Cohen heads to prison in Trump hush-money scheme  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen, the former lawyer, media attack dog and all-around fixer for President Donald Trump, is scheduled to begin serving a three-year prison sentence Monday for crimes including campaign finance violations related …

Trump's Other Impeachable Offense  —  As Nixon learned, Congress will not abide a president who defies its subpoenas.  —  Mr. Reston is the author of “The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews.”  —  On July 30, 1974, nine days before President Richard Nixon resigned …

Scoop: Inside a top Trump adviser's fundraising mirage  —  A political organization run by David Bossie, President Trump's former deputy campaign manager, has raised millions of dollars by saying it's supporting Trump-aligned conservative candidates — but has spent only a tiny fraction of that money supporting candidates.

Democrats lose their enthusiasm advantage in latest NBC News/WSJ poll  —  First Read is your briefing from “Meet the Press” and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter.  —  WASHINGTON — Democrats had two advantages that fueled their midterm victories …

Trump says he will increase tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday as he complains about pace of trade talks  —  President Trump said Sunday that he will increase tariffs on Chinese imports on Friday, unexpectedly setting what appears to be a new deadline to produce a comprehensive deal or trigger …

Democrats have done Republicans a huge favor  —  After the release of the report written by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, Democrats had two options: They could either attempt to inflate the narrative of obstruction of justice that the special counsel hinted at but did not act upon …

The FBI's Trump-Russia Investigation Was Formally Opened on False Pretenses  —  The State Department and an Australian diplomat grossly exaggerated Papadopoulos's claims — which were probably false anyway.  —  Chicanery was the force behind the formal opening of the FBI's Trump-Russia investigation.

CBS News announces anchor changes at “CBS This Morning” and “CBS Evening News”  —  Gayle King will be joined by Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil as co-hosts of “CBS This Morning,” and Norah O'Donnell has been named anchor and managing editor of “CBS Evening News,” CBS News announced Monday morning.

Biden's strength fueled by perception of his electability  —  COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Twenty of his rivals have lined up to run for president, believing the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination was wide open.  But one week after launching his campaign …

Georgia mayor under fire for alleged remarks about black job candidate  —  The mayor of Hoschton, a nearly all-white community 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, allegedly withheld a job candidate from consideration for city administrator because he was black, an AJC investigation has found.

Cory Booker unveils “bold” plan to curb gun violence  —  Democratic presidential candidate and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker introduced a sweeping gun violence prevention plan.  If elected, the campaign announced Monday that on day one of his presidency, Booker will use executive action …