Biden slumps, Buttigieg soars: 6 takeaways from benchmark Iowa poll  —  Just hours before presidential candidates will pitch themselves to Iowa Democratic activists in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, a new poll of likely caucusgoers is rattling the race — and hinting that a formidable front-runner …

In Alabama — where lawmakers banned abortion for rape victims — rapists' parental rights are protected  —  When a young woman came to the Family Services of North Alabama office last year for help with trauma, saying she had been raped by her step-uncle when she was 15 …

An Iranian Activist Wrote Dozens of Articles for Right-Wing Outlets.  But Is He a Real Person?  —  In 2018, President Donald Trump was seeking to jettison the landmark nuclear deal that his predecessor had signed with Iran in 2015, and he was looking for ways to win over a skeptical press.

NRA money flowed to board members amid allegedly lavish spending by top officials and vendors  —  A former pro football player who serves on the National Rifle Association board was paid $400,000 by the group in recent years for public outreach and firearms training.

Journalists can't repeat their Watergate-hero act.  The reasons should make us grieve.  —  The question from an audience member made the three network chiefs bristle:  —  Why aren't the news media holding the White House accountable like they did during the Nixon/Watergate era?

A Drama of Trump's Own Making Ends With a Familiar Hero  —  WASHINGTON — For nine days, he had his finger on the trigger and threatened to pull.  For nine days, he put two countries, entire multinational industries, vast swaths of consumers and workers and even his own advisers and Republican allies …

A Million March in Hong Kong Over Eroding Freedoms, Organizers Say  —  HONG KONG — Hundreds of thousands of people filled the sweltering streets of Hong Kong on Sunday in an immense protest against fraying freedoms that culminated after midnight with the police firing pepper spray and striking participants with batons.

A Foreign Service couple's contentious divorce ends in deadly violence  —  They were scheduled to be in D.C. Superior Court Friday morning to work out the final details of a fiercely contested divorce.  —  But Lola Gulomova and Jason Rieff never made it.  —  Shortly before the 10 a.m. hearing …

I Helped Obama Win in 2012.  Now Trump Is Using the Same Playbook.  —  The general-election campaign is happening today.  And Donald Trump is running unopposed.  —  Presidents who have recently won reelection seeded their victories not in the final sprint before Election Day …

China adds Washington Post, Guardian to ‘Great Firewall’ blacklist  —  BEIJING — Websites of The Washington Post and the Guardian appear to now be blocked in China as the country's government further tightens its so-called “Great Firewall” censorship apparatus as it navigates a politically sensitive period.

Google Made $4.7 Billion From the News Industry in 2018, Study Says  —  $4,700,000,000.  —  It's more than the combined ticket sales of the last two “Avengers” movies.  It's more than what virtually any professional sports team is worth.  And it's the amount that Google made from the work …

Call immigrant detention centers what they really are: concentration camps  —  If you were paying close attention last week, you might have spotted a pattern in the news.  Peeking out from behind the breathless coverage of the Trump family's tuxedoed trip to London was a spate of deaths …

Saudi Teenager Faces Death Sentence for Acts When He was 10  —  A Saudi teenager held for more than four years without charge faces possible execution for acts he is accused of having committed when he was as young as 10, according to human rights groups tracking his case.

Trump Lawyer's Message Was a Clue for Mueller, Who Set It Aside  —  WASHINGTON — As the special counsel's investigators pursued the question of whether President Trump tried to impede their work, they uncovered compelling evidence — a voice mail recording and statements from a trusted witness — that might have led to him.

George Conway knocks Trump: ‘You would have been fired from any other job by now’  —  Lawyer George Conway called President Trump out for a cycle of “bizarre, irrational, self-defeating” and overall not “presidential” behavior on Sunday.  —  Conway, husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway …

Trump says there's more in Mexico deal but doesn't say what  —  There's more to the U.S.-Mexico tariff agreement than meets the eye, President Donald Trump said on Sunday, as critics continued to suggest that the deal didn't accomplish much.  —  “Importantly, some things. …

Acting U.S. Budget Chief Seeks Reprieve on Huawei Ban  —  Russell Vought, in letter to Pence and Congress, says U.S. companies need time to adjust to the restrictions  —  The White House's acting budget chief is pushing for a delay in implementing key provisions of a law …

Senators make bipartisan push to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia  —  Senators are making a new bipartisan effort to block the Trump administration's arms sales to Saudi Arabia, a sign that Congress remains unsatisfied with the United States' relationship with the kingdom amid a civil war …

Former White House Ethics Chief Proposes ‘Golf On Your Own Damn Dime Act’  —  Walter Shaub thinks Donald Trump's nearly $106 million golf tab is getting way out of hand.  —  The former White House ethics chief is sarcastically proposing a “Golf on Your Own Damn Dime Act of 2019.”

People Are Trying to Figure Out William Barr.  He's Busy Stockpiling Power.  —  Is he the operator who spun the then-secret Mueller report?  Or the straight shooter who later disclosed portions that were damaging to President Trump?  —  WASHINGTON — Not long before Attorney General William …