NEW YORK (AP) — Special U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump to allow the U.S. and European allies to offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the 3 1/2-year war. Witkoff told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that “the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO.” Witkoff said was the first time he had heard Putin agree to that.… Continue Reading

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi has named the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration as Washington’s “emergency police commissioner,” saying she is granting him the powers of the police chief amid President Donald Trump’s takeover. Bondi said in an directive issued Thursday evening that DEA boss Terry Cole will assume “powers and duties vested in the District of Columbia Chief of Police.” But the capital’s attorney general responded that Bondi’s order was “unlawful” and said local officers must continue to follow Police Chief Pamela Smith’s orders. Mayor Muriel Bowser says “there is no statute that conveys the District’s personnel authority to a federal official.”… Continue Reading

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s placing the Washington, D.C., police department under federal control and deploying the National Guard to make the nation’s capital safer. Trump has promised to address homelessness and crime. Trump posted online Monday the nation’s capital would be “LIBERATED” and he’d end the “days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people.” Last week, Trump directed an increased federal law enforcement presence in the city for seven days “with the option to extend as needed.” The Republican president’s claims are leading the city’s Democratic mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets.… Continue Reading