Exclusive: US extracted top spy from inside Russia in 2017  —  Washington (CNN)In a previously undisclosed secret mission in 2017, the United States successfully extracted from Russia one of its highest-level covert sources inside the Russian government, multiple Trump administration officials with direct knowledge told CNN.

Air Force leaders order probe of Trump resort stays  —  The U.S. Air Force has ordered a world-wide review of how it chooses overnight accommodations on long flights following revelations that air crews had occasionally stayed at President Donald Trump's Scotland resort while refueling at a small commercial airport nearby.

NOAA's chief scientist will investigate why agency backed Trump over its experts on Dorian, email shows  —  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration acting chief scientist said in an email to colleagues Sunday that he is investigating whether the agency's response …

'Someone's Gotta Tell the Freakin' Truth': Jerry Falwell's Aides Break Their Silence  —  At Liberty University, all anyone can talk about is Jerry Falwell Jr. Just not in public.  —  “When he does stupid stuff, people will mention it to others they consider confidants and not keep it totally secret …

Mark Halperin ‘Threatened’ MSNBC Chief Phil Griffin for Nixing His Comeback  —  Sources said the disgraced political reporter became hostile in a phone chat with his ex-boss after reports emerged that MSNBC brass axed plans for Halperin to return to punditry.

How Trump's Plan to Secretly Meet With the Taliban Came Together, and Fell Apart  —  WASHINGTON — On the Friday before Labor Day, President Trump gathered top advisers in the Situation Room to consider what could be among the profound decisions of his presidency — a peace plan with the Taliban …

'It's a deceptive lead': Why Biden's rivals are planning around his big collapse  —  He continues to outdistance the rest of the Democratic primary field in most polls.  And his head-to-head lead over President Donald Trump are stronger than anyone else's.  —  No one should be surprised next year if Joe Biden becomes the nominee.

Trump Is Not Well  —  During the 2016 campaign, I received a phone call from an influential political journalist and author, who was soliciting my thoughts on Donald Trump.  Trump's rise in the Republican Party was still something of a shock, and he wanted to know the things I felt he should keep …

Elizabeth Warren endorses Texas U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar's Democratic primary challenger  —  The Democratic presidential candidate backed Jessica Cisneros, the immigration lawyer running to unseat Cuellar. … Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren is wading into one of Texas …

The Heir  —  The empire begins with a brothel.  It stands, sturdy and square, at the heart of a gold-rush boomtown in northwest British Columbia, a monument to careful branding.  The windows of the Arctic Restaurant have no signs offering access to prostitutes—even in a lawless Yukon outpost in 1899 …

Congress returns to McConnell's legislative ‘graveyard’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing criticism that the Senate has become little more than what one member calls an “expensive lunch club,” Congress returns for the fall session Monday with pressure mounting on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell …

Trump heads to N.C. for House special election — and 2020 test run  —  WEDDINGTON, N.C. — The last, lingering piece of the 2018 election is about to preview the fundamental dynamic shaping the fight for the White House in 2020.  —  Tuesday's do-over election for a congressional seat marred …

How Elizabeth Warren Raised Big Money Before She Denounced Big Money  —  Ms. Warren wooed wealthy donors for years, stockpiling money from fund-raisers, and has used $10.4 million from her 2018 Senate race to underwrite her 2020 bid.  —  On the highest floor of the tallest building in Boston …

The push to impeach Trump just got more serious.  But there's a problem.  —  House Democrats are dramatically expanding their inquiry into whether to bring articles of impeachment against President Trump.  That inquiry, which is being run out of the Judiciary Committee …

The One Thing No Israeli Wants to Discuss  —  The decisive factor in next week's election — and the reason for Benjamin Netanyahu's durability — is a repressed memory.  —  Mr. Friedman is a contributing opinion writer and the author of “Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel.”

Why Is Tulsi Gabbard Paying This Obscure Consultant Big Bucks?  —  Kris Robinson grew up in the same controversial religious sect as Gabbard.  Now, he's one of the top-paid vendors on her 2020 presidential campaign.  —  STEHEKIN, Wash. — Deep in the Washington state wilderness …

Michigan has a smart idea for fixing gerrymandering.  Conservatives want to crush it.  —  Michigan state Rep. Dan Kildee speaks outside the Supreme Court against partisan gerrymandering on Oct. 3, 2017.  Olivier Douliery/Getty Images  —  The legal threat against independent redistricting commissions, explained.

Trump-Russia and Clinton-Libya: A Story of 2 Probes and the FBI  —  Records recently posted online by the FBI indicate that it did little to investigate allegations from private sources connected to Republicans about a scheme in which associates of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tried …

Staff Changes in Washington  —  Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Thom Shanker and Justine Makieli are taking on new roles in the Washington bureau.  Read more in this note from Elisabeth Bumiller and Bill Hamilton.  —  Julie Hirschfeld Davis, who has been one of our spectacular congressional correspondents …

Democrats, Stop Helping Trump  —  The 2020 election is too important.  —  How important do Democrats think it is to beat President Trump in 2020?  —  Obviously, most Democrats would say it's vitally important.  Four more years of the Trump presidency could allow him to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

Biden's claim that he opposed the Iraq War the ‘moment it started’  —  “I did make a bad judgment, trusting the president saying he was only doing this to get inspectors in and get the U.N. to agree to put inspectors in.  From the moment ‘shock and awe’ started, from that moment …

Adam Schiff lashes Michael Flynn for refusing to cooperate  —  Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has refused to cooperate with the House Intelligence Committee's demand for testimony and documents, Chairman Adam Schiff wrote in a letter released Monday.

Mnuchin says administration will consider new round of tax cuts in 2020  —  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that the Trump administration would consider proposing a package of tax cuts in 2020, trumpeting the strength of the U.S. economy despite the ominous financial indicators of recent weeks.

Trump hopes his made-up approval rating will scare potential primary challengers  —  A poll conducted last week by YouGov for the Economist finds something fairly unremarkable: President Trump's job approval rating stands at 43 percent.  Since he took office, that's generally the higher end …

Internal Kamala Harris document acknowledges ‘Summer Slump’  —  MANCHESTER, N.H. — A briefing memo accidentally left behind at a restaurant here showed Kamala Harris' staff expected her to be grilled on her lack of presence in the state as well as her campaign's “summer slump.”