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.

Pelosi-Nadler alliance strained by impeachment divide  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, two longtime allies, are clashing over whether to begin an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump — a sign of how toxic the split over Trump has become for House Democrats.

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 …

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.

‘He needs some victories’: Trump lashes out over his Mexico deal  —  At 8:31 p.m. on Friday night, a triumphant President Donald Trump declared that the latest crisis of his own making would be averted, promising to hold off on stiff tariffs because Mexico agreed to “greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration.”

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 …

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.

No Secret Immigration Deal Exists With U.S., Mexico's Foreign Minister Says  —  WASHINGTON — The Mexican foreign minister said Monday that no secret immigration deal existed between his country and the United States, directly contradicting President Trump's claim on Twitter that a …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

Jared Kushner's Company Curiously Raked in $90 Million Since He Joined the White House  —  Jared Kushner has been a White House adviser to his father-in-law, Donald Trump, for more than two years now.  In that time, he's become BFF with the Saudi crown prince accused of ordering the murder …

Seattle yoga teacher's ‘Undoing Whiteness’ class: Founded on deep purpose, it's triggered outrage  —  Laura Humpf braced herself for fresh salvos of death threats, rage-soaked slurs and indictments of “reverse racism” from media provocateurs.  —  The Seattle yoga instructor had endured it before …