It’s Official: Trump Directs Pentagon to Enact Trans Military Ban

Nearly one month after announcing via Twitter he'd ban transgender people from U.S. military, President Trump made good on his promise in a memo to the Pentagon Friday enacting a ban on their service -- although the fate of transgender people currently in the armed forces remains to be seen. In a memo dated Aug. 25 to the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security, Trump asserts the Obama administration "failed to identify a sufficient basis" to end the ban on transgender military service in June 2016 and directs the U.S. military to put the prohibition back in place.

New U.S. Attorney Jay Town says office will aggressively prosecute…

Jay Town, the new U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, told WHNT News 19 Friday that his office will increase cooperation with local law enforcement and aggressively pursue prosecution of violent crimes. "So the Department has its priorities: guns, drugs, bad guys, violent crime, opioids," Town said.

New DNA Evidence Cited As Missouri Governor Stays Execution of Prisoner Marcellus Williams

In Texas, tens of thousands of residents began evacuating coastal communities Thursday, as forecasters predicted Hurricane Harvey could make landfall late Friday as a major category-three storm, delivering a life-threatening 35 inches of rain to some parts of the Gulf Coast. Texas Governor Greg Abbott called out 700 members of the National Guard as several coastal counties ordered mandatory evacuations.

Florida is scheduled to conduct its first execution in more than 18 months.

Florida has put a man to death with an anesthetic never used before in a U.S. lethal injection, carrying out its first execution in more than 18 months on an inmate convicted of two racially motivated murders. Authorities said 53-year-old Mark Asay, the first white man executed in Florida for the killing of a black man, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Starke.

Florida executes convicted double-murderer using new drug

Florida on Thursday put a man to death with an anesthetic never used before in a U.S. lethal injection, carrying out its first execution in more than 18 months on an inmate convicted of two racially motivated murders. Authorities said 53-year-old Mark Asay, the first white man executed in Florida for the killing of a black man, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Thursday at the state prison in Starke.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and US President Donald Trump. Photos: AP and Reuters

The US Justice Department has been conducting a criminal probe of 1Malaysia Development Berhad , a fund founded by Najib Razak US President Donald Trump plans to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is embroiled in a corruption scandal at home, on September 12 at the White House, officials from both countries confirmed on Thursday. The US Justice Department has been conducting a criminal probe of 1Malaysia Development Berhad , a fund founded by Najib, which is facing money-laundering probes in at least six countries, including the United States, Switzerland and Singapore.

Pardon for Arpaio would be rare but not unprecedented act

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio arrives at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 21, 2016. Arpaio was convicted in July 2017 of criminal contempt of court charges for violating an order that he refrain from detaining illegal immigrants; President Donald Trump has hinted that he will pardon Arpaio.

Trump hints at pardon for convicted Arizona Sheriff Arpaio

U.S. President Donald Trump hinted on Tuesday that he would issue a pardon for Joe Arpaio, a controversial former sheriff convicted last month of criminal contempt in a racial profiling case. Trump, who had already held out the possibility of a pardon for Arpaio, decided against announcing it at a major rally in Arizona on Tuesday night but suggested that he would step in at some point.

Hong Kong democracy leader Joshua Wong back in dock days after being jailed

Less than a week after being jailed for unlawful assembly, Hong Kong democracy leader Joshua Wong was summoned again to court on Tuesday for an ongoing contempt of court charge related to the 2014 "Occupy" pro-democracy protests. Wong, 20, was jailed on Thursday for six months by Hong Kong's second highest court for a separate incident during the protests, dealing a blow to the youth-led push for universal suffrage in Hong Kong and prompting accusations of political interference.

United front for jailed protesters

In what could be the first massive protest march against a court decision, more than 22,000 people rallied from Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal yesterday, calling for the release of the 16 jailed pro-democracy protesters.Pan-democrats and localists showed up in a united front.Led by Lester Shum Ngo-fai, a former deputy secretary general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, the march was... In what could be the first massive protest march against a court decision, more than 22,000 people rallied from Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal yesterday, calling for the release of the 16 jailed pro-democracy protesters.

A Trump pardon of Joe Arpaio would break Justice Department guidelines

President Trump could use his pardon power for the first time next week if he announces at his Phoenix campaign rally that he'll wipe away former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's criminal record. But the pardon, if Trump decides to issue it, would be highly unorthodox and break with the Justice Department's guidelines for clemency, according to legal experts.

Sessions, Emanuel Clash Over Chicago’s Sanctuary City Lawsuit

The Washington Free Beacon reports on the war between Jeff Sessions and Rahm Emanuel : "So if voters in Chicago are concerned about losing federal grant money: call your mayor," he said. In Emanuel's interview with Axelrod, also conducted Wednesday and released Friday, the Chicago mayor responded.