AP

By MATTHEW BROWN and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press A Yosemite National Park ranger was fired after hanging a pride flag from El Capitan while some park visitors could face prosecution under protest restrictions that have been tightened under President Donald Trump. Shannon “SJ” Joslin, a ranger and biologist who studies bats, said they hung a

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Tuesday that the entire border wall along the southern border with Mexico is going to be painted black to make it hotter and deter illegal immigration — and she credited President Trump with the idea. Noem spoke during a visit to

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press President Donald Trump has made clear in recent weeks that he’s willing to use the vast powers of his office to prevent his party from losing control of Congress in next year’s midterm elections. Some of the steps Trump has taken to intervene in the election are typical, but controversial,

By JACQUELYN MARTIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington’s Columbia Heights, usually lively with vendors, has been abnormally quiet, reflecting the impact of President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement surge. While troop deployments and foot patrols in downtown areas and around the National Mall have gotten the most attention, life in historically diverse neighborhoods like

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Tuesday that he believes President Donald Trump is prepared to “crush” Russia’s economy with a new wave of sanctions if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming weeks. Graham, who

By CHINEDU ASADU and MELISSA GOLDIN Associated Press President Donald Trump has projected himself as a peacemaker since returning to the White House in January, touting his efforts to end global conflicts. In meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders Monday, Trump repeated that he has been instrumental in stopping multiple wars

By ERIC TUCKER, AAMER MADHANI and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it was revoking the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials in the latest act of retribution targeting public servants from the federal government’s intelligence community. A memo from Director of National Intelligence

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska man might have walked away as the biggest winner of last week’s high stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Anchorage. He rode off with a new motorcycle, courtesy of the Russian government. Putin’s delegation gifted Mark Warren,

By JOHN HANNA, SARA CLINE and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier refused to come to the Texas state Capitol for two weeks. Now she won’t leave, and fellow Democrats are joining her protest. Collier was among dozens of Democrats who left the state for the Democratic havens

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether police officials in Washington, D.C., have falsified data to make crime rates appear lower than they are, according to two people familiar with the probe who weren’t authorized to publicly discuss an open investigation.

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Washington, D.C., was the highest in the nation for the third straight month, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. D.C.’s jobless rate reached 6% in July, a reflection of the mass layoffs of federal workers,