White House

A senior Drug Enforcement Administration official told NPR efforts to target drug cartels operating inside Mexico have unraveled because of a breakdown in cooperation between law enforcement agencies and militaries in the two countries.

The White House has walked back its announcement that it will keep this year's historically low refugee ceiling of 15,000 set by the Trump administration, saying its earlier statement Friday, which was panned by fellow Democrats, was meant only to ease restrictions from countries from which refugees are currently banned.

The American troop presence will decline in Afghanistan from 4,500 to 2,500, and in Iraq from 3,000 to 2,500. Senior military leaders reportedly oppose the move.

Obama's ascent thrilled millions but also stirred a countermovement that is still on the march. His new memoir, A Promised Land, covers his rise through the second year of his presidency.

hite House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday that he and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are discussing potential stand-alone bills for aid to airlines, small businesses and Americans. He said the Trump administration was "still willing to be engaged" on piecemeal aid bills, though it was not optimistic about a comprehensive aid bill.

The positive test result followed Trump's announcement on Fox News Thursday night that White House aide Hope Hicks had tested positive for the coronavirus. Hicks is a close associate of the Trumps.

A document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force but not publicized suggests more than a dozen states, including Idaho and Washington, should revert to more stringent protective measures, limiting social gatherings to 10 people or fewer, closing bars and gyms and asking residents to wear masks at all times.

In a public break with President Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he does not support invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act and deploying troops to American streets.

"He did not pray. He did not offer a word of balm or condolence to those who are grieving," says the bishop who oversees the church. Washington's mayor was more direct: "Shameful!"

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is working with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to see how wage rates for immigrant farmworkers can be reduced. Critics say it will hurt all workers.