The Latest: Trump thanks police and troops as DC crackdown on crime and immigration intensifies

President Donald Trump took a field trip Thursday to the U.S. Park Police operations facility in Washington, where he addressed about 300 National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officials and praised his military crackdown on crime and immigration in the city.

The White House said there have been 630 arrests, including 251 people who are in the country illegally, since Aug. 7, when Trump began ordering federal agents into the city. Trump has been ratcheting up the intensity since then, seizing control of the D.C. police department on Aug. 11 and deploying more National Guard troops, mostly from Republican-led states.

Trump suggested that operations in Washington could be drawn out and serve as a model for others around the country.

“We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while,” he said.

The Latest:

Hundreds protest peacefully in DC streets

What began as a group of just 200 protesters grew steadily throughout Thursday evening, eventually spilling into the streets as police and National Guard troops lined the perimeter. At times, officers shut down roads and parked their vehicles across intersections but largely refrained from engaging directly with the crowd.

Protesters chanted and voiced opposition to the increased law enforcement presence in D.C., but the atmosphere remained positive and upbeat for the most part. As the rally drew to a close, many stayed and danced while a musician performed.

California Gov. Newsom signs legislation calling special election on redrawn congressional map

California voters will decide in a November special election whether to approve a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more U.S. House seats next year.

Lawmakers voted mostly along party lines Thursday to approve legislation calling for the special election in response to Texas Republicans’ push to redraw their state’s congressional map. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom then signed it.

FBI has reached settlements with 10 current and former agents who had faced discipline, director says

FBI Director Kash Patel did not identify the 10 in a social media post announcing the agreements but said the resolutions included a combination of reinstatement, back pay compensation and the restoration of security clearances. The 10 current and former agents had faced discipline before Patel took over as director.

The move follows urgings in March by Empower Oversight, a group founded and led by former staffers of Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, to reverse disciplinary action taken against 10 current and former agents, including four whose names were redacted.

That group included an agent who was suspended after he says he objected to participating in a SWAT team operation to arrest a suspect in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, and another who was accused of leaking sensitive information.

Trump returns to White House after field trip

The president went back to the Executive Mansion despite saying in an interview earlier Thursday that he would join anti-crime patrols with the National Guard and federal law enforcement officers.

He spent about 35 minutes at the U.S. Park Police office.

California Legislature approves special election on new congressional map favoring Democrats

California lawmakers have passed legislation advancing a partisan redistricting plan that could help Democrats win five more U.S. House seats in 2026 in response to Texas Republicans’ push to redraw their state’s congressional map at Trump’s urging.

Lawmakers voted mostly along party lines after hours of debate. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the legislation later Thursday.

Republicans, who have filed a lawsuit and called for a federal investigation into the plan, promised to keep fighting to stop it.

The state currently relies on an independent commission that is supposed to be nonpartisan to draw maps. Voters’ permission is needed to implement the new one. The legislation calls for a November special election on the matter.

▶ Read more about California’s response to Texas’ redistricting push

Trump says he’ll ask Congress for money to support his DC federal intervention and plans to beautify Washington

“We’re going back to Congress for some money and we’re going to redo a lot of the pavement, the medians,” he said at the U.S. Park Service facility. “The graffiti is going to come down real fast.”

He didn’t say when he’d send the request to Congress or how much money he’ll be asking for.

Trump said he’ll be redoing parks in the city with new grass and new sprinkler systems, and replacing signage throughout the capital.

He said he knows a lot about grass because he owns a lot of golf courses.

“We have a life and grass has a life, and the grass here died about 40 years ago,” Trump said. “Let’s say, at the end of a year, this place will be maxed out in terms of beauty.”

Trump says he’s there to thank National Guard forces

Standing outside the U.S. Park Police facility as Trump arrived were approximately 300 men and women with various agencies, including DEA, ATF, US Marshals, National Guard and the FBI. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum were also on hand.

Trump said he came to thank National Guard troops, and he talked about efforts to quickly reduce crime as well as removing graffiti, fixing medians and repairing roads.

“We’re going to have the best capital ever,” he said. “It’s going to look better than it ever did.”

Trump heads out for firsthand look at military efforts in DC

Trump has left the White House to visit with law enforcement personnel and National Guard troops deployed in Washington as part of what his administration says is an effort to reduce crime.

The president climbed into his limo with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles shortly after 5 p.m.

“I’m going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police and with the military, of course,” Trump told radio host Todd Starnes earlier Thursday.

It is unclear why Trump is planning to join law enforcement later in the day.

Supreme Court lets Trump administration cut $783 million of research funding in anti-DEI push

The Trump administration can slash hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of research funding in its push to cut federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the Supreme Court decided Thursday.

The high court majority lifted a judge’s order blocking $783 million worth of cuts made by the National Institutes of Health to align with Trump’s priorities.

The order marks the latest Supreme Court win for Trump and allows the administration to forge ahead with canceling hundreds of grants while the lawsuit continues to unfold. The plaintiffs, including states and public-health advocacy groups, have argued that the cuts will inflict “incalculable losses in public health and human life.”

▶ Read more about NIH funding

Pentagon emphasizes small US role in Ukraine security guarantee

The Pentagon’s policy chief has attended meetings with European military leaders this week to personally deliver a message that the U.S. military will have a small part in any possible security guarantee for Ukraine.

Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby attended a meeting Tuesday “to relay President Trump’s and Secretary Hegseth’s guidance related to security guarantees for Ukraine,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement.

He “focused on ensuring the discussion reflected President Trump’s statements on the matter,” Wilson said.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump gave his assurance that U.S. troops would not be deployed to Ukraine.

Politico first reported on Colby’s message. He was reported to be driving force behind a decision earlier this summer to halt some promised, high-demand weapons to Ukraine that included Patriot missiles.

Trump signs order creating national chief design officer

The president is creating a new role as chief design officer, tasked with improving digital and physical spaces where Americans interact with their government, which Trump says have “lagged behind in usability and aesthetics.”

An executive order signed Thursday and titled “IMPROVING OUR NATION THROUGH BETTER DESIGN” says the new officer will “consult with” the director of the Office of Management and Budget to make improvements.

Trump said he was directing a national program called “America by Design,” which was meant to “improve experiences for Americans, starting by breathing new life into the design of sites where people interface with their Government.”

“It is time to update the Government’s design language to be both usable and beautiful,” the order says.

Judge says former Trump lawyer Alina Habba has been unlawfully serving as US attorney in New Jersey

A federal judge ruled Thursday that Trump’s former lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.

The court, saying the administration used “a novel series of legal and personnel moves,” held that Habba’s term as the interim U.S. attorney ended in July, and the Trump administration’s maneuvers to keep her in the role without getting confirmation from the U.S. Senate didn’t follow procedures required by federal law.

“Faced with the question of whether Ms. Habba is lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I conclude that she is not,” Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann wrote.

Brann said he’s putting his order on hold pending an appeal.

▶ Read more about Alina Habba

Trump blames wind and solar for electricity price hikes, but experts disagree

With electricity prices rising at more than twice the rate of inflation, Trump has lashed out at renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, blaming them for skyrocketing energy costs.

Trump called wind and solar power “THE SCAM OF THE CENTURY!” in a social media post and vowed not to approve wind or “farmer destroying Solar” projects.

Energy analysts say renewable sources have little to do with recent price hikes, which are based on increased demand, aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events such as wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change.

Trump promised during the 2024 campaign to lower Americans’ electric bills by 50%. Democrats have been quick to blame him for the price hikes, citing actions to hamstring clean energy in the sprawling tax-and-spending cut bill approved last month, as well as regulations since then to further restrict wind and solar power.

US reviewing more than 55 million visa holders for potentially deportable violations

The State Department says it’s reviewing the records of more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid U.S. visas for potential revocation or deportable violations of immigration rules.

In a written answer to a question posed by The Associated Press, the department said Thursday that it all U.S. visa holders are subject to “continuous vetting” with an eye toward any indication that they could be ineligible for the document. Should such information found, the visa will be revoked and, if the visa holder is in the United States he or she would be subject to deportation.

The department said it was looking for indicators of ineligibility including visa overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization.

“We review all available information as part of our vetting, including law enforcement or immigration records or any other information that comes to light after visa issuance indicating a potential ineligibility,” the department said.

▶ Read more about Trump deportations

No orders yet for Guard to be armed

Troops aren’t carrying weapons on the streets of Washington because neither Trump nor any of the law enforcement agencies that the troops are supporting have ordered them to do so, a defense official said Thursday.

If troops do get that order, they will be issued weapons that they are qualified and trained for, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more candidly describe the ongoing operations.

The city has been informed about the intent for the National Guard to be armed, though it has not received details about when that could happen, a person familiar with the conversations said earlier this week. The person was not authorized to disclose the plans and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Nearly 2,000 National Guard troops are in Washington

All troops arriving from out of state are going through an integration process that takes about a week, but some, like military police, can shorten that time because of their existing training, a defense official says.

That’s why South Carolina troops are already on the city’s streets to support Trump’s law enforcement crackdown, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more candidly describe the ongoing operations.

Guard members in the nation’s capital now number 1,997, according to Joint Task Force District of Columbia, the military unit overseeing all the Guard members in Washington.

Besides those from South Carolina, troops from Ohio, West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee also have arrived.

South Carolina governor gets promise troops can come back if hurricane threatens

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said Thursday he didn’t change his mind earlier this month when he said he didn’t think National Guard troops from the state would head to Washington, D.C. Instead, he said he hadn’t been asked yet.

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called on Aug, 12 requesting the soldiers and McMaster said he agreed to send 200 troops and about 50 officers to the nation’s capital for a month with an option to stay longer, if needed.

The governor said they aren’t troops designated to help out if a hurricane hits the state but he still got a promise from Driscoll to send them back if a disaster strikes and they are needed in South Carolina.

McMaster said he was happy to help his old friend, Trump.

“I’m worried about people in Washington, in the District of Columbia — those living there and visiting who are in fear of being hurt. There’s no doubt it has gotten out of hand up there,” McMaster said.

California kicks off redistricting payback

The Democratic-controlled Legislature on Thursday started debate on a package of bills that would put a new, pro-Democratic congressional map on the November ballot.

The move is an explicit response to Texas Republicans’ push to redraw their own map to add up to five winnable House seats before the 2026 midterms.

Voters will have to approve the California action because, unlike Texas, the state has a nonpartisan commission that normally draws lines.

“We don’t want this fight and we didn’t choose this fight, but with our democracy on the line we will not run away from this fight,” Assemblyman Marc Berman said.

The president himself now plans to patrol the streets of DC

“I’m going to be going out tonight,” Trump told a conservative commentator as his crackdown in the nation’s capital continues.

Trump said on The Todd Starnes show that he would go out with law enforcement and the military.

Bowser: ‘Why do they need masks?’

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser continues to question why so many of the federal officers flooding the capital city’s streets are covering their faces.

Earlier this week, she asked police chief Pamela Smith to address the issue with the Trump administration, but said Thursday that there has been no response.

“Why do they need masks?” Bowser asked. “They are federal officials, they’re paid by the taxpayers. They should be doing their jobs in a way that’s lawful and constitutional. That’s part of the job.”

Could Louisiana be the next GOP state to consider redrawing its congressional map?

Louisiana lawmakers are being told to keep their calendars open in the weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments over the state’s embattled congressional map.

Legislators say they have received texts and emails from House Speaker Phillip DeVillier telling them to keep their schedules flexible between Oct. 23 and Nov. 13. While the communications did not specify the reasoning, multiple lawmakers have told The Associated Press that it is assumed to be for a possible special legislative session for congressional redistricting.

DeVillier could not immediately be reached for comment.

Rep. Edmond Jordan, a Democrat and chair of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, stressed that it was never specified to lawmakers that a special redistricting session was being considered – but if that is the reality, he believes the legislative gathering would be “premature”

“I think we need to wait until the Supreme Court decides until we take any moves,” Jordan told the AP.

Arguments over Louisiana’s contested map are scheduled to take place before the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 15. It’s possible that the court won’t rule on the congressional boundaries until months later, and it is unclear what type of actions lawmakers may have to take as a result.

Ruling upholds leadership bans on Trump and his eldest sons

Thursday’s ruling spares Trump from a potential half-billion-dollar fine while upholding other punishments, such as banning him and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadership for a few years. The panel was sharply divided, issuing a total of 323 pages of concurring and dissenting opinions with no majority.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has said the businessman-turned-politician engaged in “lying, cheating, and staggering fraud,” had no immediate comment.

Trump and his co-defendants have denied wrongdoing. In a six-minute summation of sorts after his trial, Trump proclaimed in January 2024 that he was “an innocent man” and the case was a “fraud on me.”

Split ruling leaves a pathway for more appeals

The appellate ruling split on the lawsuit’s merits and the lower court’s fraud finding, but dismissed the penalty Judge Arthur Engoron imposed in its entirety while also leaving a pathway for further appeals to the state’s highest court.

“While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of several opinions shaping the appeals court’s ruling.

Appeals court throws out massive Trump civil fraud penalty

A panel of five judges in New York’s mid-level Appellate Division issued said the trial judge’s penalty against Trump for exaggerating his wealth was ‘excessive.’

After finding that Trump engaged in fraud by flagrantly padding financial statements that went to lenders and insurers, Engoron ordered him last year to pay $355 million in penalties. With interest, the sum has topped $515 million. Combined with penalties on other Trump Organization executives including sons Eric and Donald Jr., the total now exceeds $527 million.

Trump suggests Ukraine should attack inside Russia

Candidate Trump frequently criticized Joe Biden’s administration for spending too much U.S. taxpayer money to assist Ukraine’s efforts to repel Russia’s invasion. But after Russia launched massive aerial attacks on Ukraine overnight, Trump said Biden didn’t give Kyiv the weaponry it needed to “fight back.”

“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country,” Trump posted on social media. “It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offensive. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia.”

The Kremlin has yet to confirm that Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the face-to-face negotiations Trump has sought to arrange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy condemns latest Russian attacks as peace efforts drag on

Russia launched 574 drones and 40 ballistic and cruise missiles overnight, in one of its biggest aerial attacks on Ukraine of the year, the Ukrainian Air Force said Thursday, while a recent diplomatic push to stop the three-year war is trying to gain momentum.

The attack mostly targeted western regions of the country, the air force said, where much of the military aid provided by Ukraine’s Western allies is believed to be delivered and stored. The strikes intensified even after Trump’s talks with Russia’s Putin in Alaska and Ukraine’s Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House.

Zelenskyy said Russia carried out the attack “as if nothing were changing at all.”

Marco Rubio to host Ukraine security talks with Europe

The U.S. secretary of state will host a conference call Thursday with the national security advisers of European countries expected to play a role in future security guarantees for Ukraine, a senior U.S. official said.

One of Kyiv’s conditions for signing any peace deal is getting Western-backed military assurances to deter Russia from mounting another invasion in the coming years. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that making security arrangements for Ukraine without Moscow’s involvement is pointless.

It was not immediately clear which countries would be represented on the call with Rubio. The U.S. official spoke on condition of anonymity to outline a discussion that had not been publicly announced.

Trump warns ‘harsh measures’ for Colorado if convicted clerk isn’t freed

Mesa Country clerk Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race. But Trump is calling her “a brave and innocent Patriot who has been tortured by Crooked Colorado politicians.”

“Let Tina Peters out of jail, RIGHT NOW. She did nothing wrong, except catching the Democrats cheat in the Election,” Trump posted Thursday on his Truth Social platform. “She is an old woman, and very sick. If she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures!!!”

Is empathy a sin? Some conservative Christians argue it can be

Empathy is usually regarded as a virtue key to human decency. Voices on the Christian right are preaching that it’s become a vice, a cudgel for the left that can manipulate caring people into accepting opposing views of abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, illegal immigration and opposing views of social and racial justice.

Pastor Joe Rigney, whose denomination includes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, describes empathy as a sin. The idea is gaining traction as Trump issues executive orders denounced for lacking empathy. As foreign aid stopped and more deportations began, Trump’s then-adviser Elon Musk told podcaster Joe Rogan: “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.”

And Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert, framed it as his concept of ordo amoris, or order of love, putting immediate family first and the wider world last — an interpretation Pope Francis rejected.

▶ Read more about how Trump’s Christian base is being counseled against empathy

US-EU negotiators issue trade deal framework

Trump administration and European Union negotiators released on Thursday a bare-bones account of their trade deal imposing a stiff 15% import tax on 70% of European goods exported to the U.S. It leaves key areas blank, including wine and spirits and steel.

They called it just “a first step in a process” as they deal with a vast range of goods in the world’s largest bilateral trading relationship, involving $2 trillion in annual trans-Atlantic business.

EU officials said Thursday the agreement brings stability and avoids a trade war with even higher tariffs, or import taxes.

▶ Read more about the US-EU trade deal framework

Trump escalates threats against California over transgender policies

“Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded,” Trump said in a Thursday morning social media posting.

The Trump administration sued the California Department of Education last month for allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams, alleging the policy violates federal law.

The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department says California’s transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex.

California has sued the Trump administration, alleging it has unlawfully intimidated health care providers into stopping gender-affirming care for young transgender people. The lawsuit was filed with attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia, plus the governor of Pennsylvania.

Texas governor says new maps will ‘better reflect the actual votes of Texans’

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott says he’ll sign into the law the redrawn U.S. House districts that give his party five more winnable seats. He had put escalating pressure on Democrats to come home during their two-week walkout that had delayed the vote.

“While Democrats shirked their duty, in futility, and ran away to other states, Republicans stayed the course, stayed at work and stayed true to Texas,” he said.

Abbott spoke after the Texas Republicans used their majority in the House to approve the new congressional voting maps on Wednesday.