Justin Amash leaves the conservative Freedom Caucus  —  (CNN)Rep. Justin Amash on Monday stepped down from the conservative House Freedom Caucus less than a month after becoming the first Republican member of Congress to say President Donald Trump has committed impeachable offenses.

Trump made get-well call to Jerry Nadler in hospital  —  WASHINGTON — Putting aside his sharp political differences with one of his primary congressional tormentors, President Trump made a surprising get-well call to Rep. Jerry Nadler, who was briefly hospitalized in Manhattan in May, Yahoo News has learned.

Trump Needs a Target to Stay Interested in His Campaign.  For Now, It's Biden.  —  WASHINGTON — Late at night, using his old personal cellphone number, President Trump has been calling former advisers who have not heard from him in years, eager to discuss his standing in the polls …

North Korean Leader's Slain Half Brother Was Said to Have Been a CIA Informant  —  Kim Jong Nam, killed in 2017 attack in Malaysia, met with agency operatives, a person knowledgeable about the matter says  —  WASHINGTON—Kim Jong Nam, the slain half brother of North Korea's leader …

Biden: Trump is an “existential threat” to the U.S.  —  Joe Biden plans to call out President Trump as an “existential threat” to the United States, according to prepared remarks shared with CBS News.  The bashing by the front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination …

GOP's Matt Gaetz attempts to corner John Dean — but his failed interrogation results in nothing but laughter  —  Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) used his time in the House Judiciary hearing Monday to go on a bizarre rant that ultimately got him laughed at by the hearing room.

Trump's Impeachment Trial Just Started, Even Though It's Not “Official” (News Analysis)  —  Scott presents a news analysis of House Democrats efforts to hold President Trump accountable for attempting to influence the Mueller probe.  Today's agreement by the Department of Justice …

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg reached out to Speaker Pelosi.  She hasn't called him back.  —  Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg reached out to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in recent weeks to discuss how his company handles viral misinformation, but she has not called …

Judge says Missouri's lone abortion clinic must remain open for now  —  Missouri's only abortion clinic will remain open for now after a judge on Monday blocked state officials from closing it because of an ongoing licensing dispute.  —  The state judge's ruling kept Missouri from becoming …

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs ‘chemical castration’ bill into law  —  Gov. Kay Ivey this afternoon signed into law a bill to require sex offenders whose victims are younger than 13 to undergo “chemical castration treatment” as a condition of parole.  —  The treatment consists of taking …

‘A rare position’: Va. Gov. Ralph Northam could wind up with great power, months after almost resigning  —  RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam (D) is wielding renewed power as Virginia's chief executive four months after nearly resigning over a racism scandal that his own party said left him unable to lead.

Google Just Got Roped Into U.S. Government's Case Against Roger Stone  —  Google is about to become embroiled in one of the most high-profile criminal cases in recent American history.  The Department of Justice has demanded the tech giant hand over data to help it piece together its investigation …

The end of political cartoons at The New York Times  —  All my professional life, I have been driven by the conviction that the unique freedom of political cartooning entails a great sense of responsibility.  —  In 20-plus years of delivering a twice-weekly cartoon for the International Herald Tribune …

Former Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus joins the Navy  —  Reince Priebus, President Trump's former chief of staff, has officially joined the Navy.  —  At a commissioning ceremony Monday morning, Vice President Pence swore in Priebus as an ensign, an entry-level officer.

Ken Cuccinelli Wanted to End Birthright Citizenship & Militarize Border—Now He's Trump's Immigration Chief  —  The former Virginia attorney general officially started on Monday at DHS.  —  Former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli's long-rumored role as a top coordinator of the Department …

Her Evangelical Megachurch Was Her World.  Then Her Daughter Said She Was Molested by a Minister.  —  Evangelical churches have long distanced themselves from the sexual abuse crisis that has consumed the Catholic Church.  But a reckoning has arrived.  —  HURST, Tex. — Christi Bragg listened in disbelief.

America's Growing Support for Transgender Rights  —  HOW AMERICANS VIEW TRANSGENDER ISSUES  —  How Americans View Transgender Issues  —  Increasing Support for Transgender Rights  —  More than six in ten (62%) Americans say they have become more supportive toward transgender rights compared to their views five years ago.

Da Vinci's $450 Million Masterpiece Is Kept on Saudi Prince's Yacht: Artnet  —  A Leonardo Da Vinci masterpiece, whose whereabouts has been a mystery since it sold in 2017 for a record $450 million, has turned up in an unlikely place, according to Artnet.com.

Ex-Red Sox slugger David Ortiz has gallbladder removed after ambush shooting  —  Former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz suffered serious internal injuries after he was shot in the back while at a bar in his native Dominican Republic, according to authorities.  —  Ortiz, 43, was at the Dial Bar …

Trump's war on the media may endanger free press, leading the US down an uncertain path  —  Acosta: I wanted to send a message defending the press  —  Adapted from “The Enemy of the People: A Dangerous Time to Tell the Truth in America” set for release Tuesday

Dems to yank bill to raise congressional pay after backlash  —  House Democratic leaders are postponing consideration of a bill that would include a pay raise for members of Congress, after facing a major backlash from the party's most vulnerable members.  —  Top Democrats agreed …

Iran Bars Times Correspondent From Reporting  —  The authorities in Iran have barred the Tehran-based correspondent for The New York Times from working for the past four months, the newspaper said Monday.  —  The correspondent, Thomas Erdbrink, a Netherlands citizen, has reported for The Times from Iran since 2012.

Abortion supporters have made Trump's reelection more likely  —  One of the largest obstacles to the defeat of President Trump in the 2020 election is the radicalism of the Democratic Party on the issue of abortion.  By forcing Joe Biden to abandon his support for the Hyde Amendment …