First Run News

WASHINGTON — President Trump signed a long-awaited directive on Friday that precludes transgender individuals from joining the military but gives Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wide discretion in determining whether those already in the armed forces can continue to serve. Mr.

Sebastian Gorka, an outspoken adviser to President Trump and lightning rod for controversy, has been forced out of his position at the White House, two administration officials said on Friday. One of the officials said that the president’s chief of staff, John F. Kelly, had telegraphed his lack of interest in keeping Mr. Gorka during internal discussions over the last week. Mr.

ALBUQUERQUE — Few of President Trump’s actions have touched a nerve among Latinos across the political spectrum in the United States quite like his pardon of Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty of criminal contempt after defying a federal judge’s order to stop targeting Latinos based solely on suspicion of their immigration status. And this from a president who has called Mexican immigrants

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday pardoned criminal contempt conviction. In a two-paragraph statement, the White House said that Mr. Arpaio gave “years of admirable service to our nation” and called him a “worthy candidate for a presidential pardon.” Mr. Trump called Mr. Arpaio “an American patriot” in a tweet later Friday. “He kept Arizona safe!” the president said. In his own tweets, Mr. Arpaio thanked Mr.

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday pardoned criminal contempt conviction. In a two-paragraph statement, the White House said that Mr. Arpaio gave “years of admirable service to our nation” and called him a “worthy candidate for a presidential pardon.” Mr. Trump called Mr. Arpaio “an American patriot” in a tweet later Friday. “He kept Arizona safe!” the president said. In his own tweets, Mr. Arpaio thanked Mr.

Texas has been through this before. As residents brace for the arrival of Hurricane Harvey and the devastating flooding it is projected to bring, here is a look back at some notable storms that have brought havoc to the state. Estimated deaths: More than 6,000, though accounts vary widely. The hurricane that struck Galveston remains by far the most deadly in United States history.

WASHINGTON — Facing what could be the most powerful storm to slam into the United States in more than a decade, President Trump and the team he has put in place at the Federal Emergency Management Agency were bracing on Friday for one of the most important tests of his presidency. The stakes could be exceedingly high.

Read more on the storm here. • Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast late Friday, with 130 m.p.h.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. — Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Central Texas coast as a Category 4 storm late Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center, which warned of catastrophic flooding from the storm surge and torrential rains. The eye of the storm swept ashore with 130-mile-per-hour winds about 9:45 p.m. between Port Aransas and Port O’Connor, just northeast of Corpus Christi.

In his newly released book, The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics, Lilla, a self-described “frustrated American liberal,” decries the implosion of the Democratic Party and liberalism itself, brought on by a growing disconnect from middle America and the inability to paint a compelling vision for the future. Lilla’s new work expands upon “The End of Identity Liberalism,” an essay he