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U.S. officials say the Pentagon is developing plans to restructure the National Guard in Washington, D.

Veteran law enforcer Pamela Smith is taking over as police chief in the nation's capital at a precarious time.

With a flood of visitors and tourists expected, officials in the nation’s capital are mobilizing additional police officers and dozens of teams of civilian peacekeepers in an attempt to keep rising violent crime rates from marring the holiday weekend.

With weather systems expected to hardly budge, the smoky blanket billowing across the U.S. and Canada from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend.

The Senate has voted to overturn a District of Columbia law enacted last year to improve police accountability, the second time this year that Democrats have joined with Republicans to try and block the district’s crime regulations.

A growing number of developers are considering converting empty office towers into housing as part of an effort to revive struggling downtown business districts that emptied out during the pandemic.

House Republicans are accusing Washington, D.

The Senate has voted to block new District of Columbia crime laws and overrule the city government as lawmakers in both parties have expressed concern about rising violent crime rates in cities nationwide.

President Joe Biden’s support of a resolution to block new District of Columbia crime laws has split members of his own party amid rising concerns about crime in the nation’s capital and other cities.

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The expected move next week in Congress to overturn District of Columbia laws dealing with criminal justice and voting has created a political tempest in the nation’s capital, with local activists decrying it as the latest effort to undermine the city’s ability to determine its own future.

The cherry trees in the nation’s capital are confused by Earth’s changing climate, with the iconic blossoms appearing earlier than expected because of the unusually warm winter.

The Republican-held House has launched the first salvo in what could be a long-running feud with the District of Columbia over self-government in the nation’s capital.

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The fatal shooting of a middle-school student has sparked public uproar in Washington as the nation’s capital struggles with rising tensions about violent crime and racial justice.

A controversial proposal to change the pay structure for servers and other workers at Washington’s bars and restaurants was approved by voters Tuesday, four years after an identical measure was overturned by the D.

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There are few places in the U.S. with a more deeply ingrained reputation as a refuge for immigrants than New York City.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he sent the two buses of migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border who were dropped off near Vice President Kamala Harris’ home in residential Washington.

The Pentagon has once again denied a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance in dealing with thousands of migrants being bused to the city from Texas and Arizona.

Thousands of asylum seekers from across Latin America and the Caribbean are getting caught in the political battle over U.S. immigration policy after two Republican governors started sending busloads of migrants to New York City and Washington.

The Pentagon has rejected a request from the District of Columbia seeking National Guard assistance for the thousands of migrants being bused to the city from two southern states.

The District of Columbia has requested National Guard assistance to help stem a “growing humanitarian crisis” prompted by thousands of migrants that have been sent to Washington by a pair of southern states.

Two Republican border-state governors who are investing billions of dollars on immigration enforcement have found indirect support from the Democratic mayors of Washington and New York.

Donald Trump extended his losing record in Georgia on Tuesday after two Trump-backed U.S. House candidates lost in landslides.

Katie Britt has won the Republican nomination for Senate in Alabama, defeating six-term Congressman Mo Brooks in a primary runoff after former President Donald Trump endorsed and then un-endorsed him.

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The two Republican candidates in Alabama’s U.S. Senate primary runoff on Tuesday can each boast that at one point they had Donald Trump’s endorsement in the race.

Mayor Muriel Bowser cruised to reelection in the nation’s capital four years ago without serious opposition.

Thousands of people are rallying on the National Mall and across the rest of America in a renewed push for gun control measures after recent deadly mass shootings.

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The U.S. is getting a first glimpse of what it’s like to experience COVID-19 outbreaks during this new phase of living with the virus, and the roster of the newly infected is studded with stars.

Lawmakers erupted in cheers after Vice President Kamala Harris announced the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

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Prosecutors say a man suspected of shooting five homeless people in Washington and New York City and killing two of them appeared to hold up a phone and play music after he shot one of the victims.

A man suspected of stalking and shooting homeless people asleep on the streets of New York City and Washington has been arrested.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is returning with all its pageantry, hailed as Washington's unofficial re-emergence from two years of pandemic limits and closures.

The Pentagon has approved the deployment of 700 unarmed National Guard troops to Washington, D.

Vandals scrawled swastikas on the outside of Union Station, the central hub for regional train transportation in the nation’s capital.

The District of Columbia government is imposing a series of Covid-19 vaccine mandates in response to spiraling infection numbers and the march of the omicron variant.

A North Carolina man who came to Washington armed with guns and threatened to shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the day after the Jan. 6 riot was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.

The District of Columbia will lift its indoor mask requirement starting next week, as local COVID infection cases continue to trend downward.

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In the face of rising regional COVID-19 infection numbers, the nation’s capital is returning to mandatory indoor mask requirements, regardless of vaccination status.

Facing rising fears of summer violence, President Joe Biden has embarked on a precarious political high-wire act, trying to balance supporting law enforcement to curb the rise in crime while also backing the police reform movement championed by many of his supporters.

President Joe Biden will host city leaders from around the country to talk about reducing crime.

A bill that would make Washington, D.

Black Americans are rejoicing after President Joe Biden signed legislation establishing Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

President Joe Biden's Cabinet secretaries have been touring the country to marshal support for the president's infrastructure package and the larger Biden agenda.

Negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans over President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan are hitting a crucial stage ahead of talks Friday.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he'll reinstate an Obama-era pilot program that aims to aid minority and disadvantaged groups by ensuring local hiring for public works construction projects.

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Officials in the nation’s capital are questioning the results of the 2020 census, which show a large increase in the population of Washington, D.

Officials in the nation’s capital are relaxing a number of COVID-19 restrictions after more than a year of virus lockdown.

A decades-long movement to reshape the American political map took has taken a further step.

New details from the deadly riot of Jan. 6 are in a previously undisclosed document prepared by the Pentagon for internal use.

The 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the original gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the city of Tokyo to the people of Washington in 1912. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – Officials in the nation's capital are watching the crowds as cherry blossom season begins in earnest. “We’re starting to open slowly,” said Cherry Blossom Festival President Diana Mayhew. “Cherry blossom season is our Super Bowl. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declared a state of emergency on March 11, 2020, nine days before the Cherry Blossom Festival's start date.

National Guard troops were delayed in getting to the building as the rioters beat up police officers and smashed through windows and doors to get in. On Thursday, seven House committees asked 10 federal agencies for documents and communications from the government as part of a wide-ranging investigation. The Senate Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Rules Committee have already held two hearings with security officials about what went wrong. The security officials described violent attacks on overwhelmed police officers and desperate pleas for backup. As the committees investigate, Capitol officials are improving the building's physical security, including reinforcing the House doors that the rioters attempted to breach.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, testifies at the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing, on D.C. statehood, Monday, March 22, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. “We dare to believe that D.C. statehood is on the horizon,” said the District's long-serving, nonvoting delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, who wrote the bill and said it has overwhelming support in the House. AdBowser spent much of Monday's four-hour hearing by the House oversight committee in a series of sometimes pointed exchanges with Republican committee members. AdBowser at the time quickly pointed out the ironies of Washington residents risking their lives to defend a Congress where they didn’t have a vote. “There's not a single Republican in Congress, in the House or the Senate, that supports this bill.”

(Erin Scott/Pool via AP)Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, is getting settled in a new job teaching law at Georgetown University amid a high-pressure moment in U.S. history. Emhoff said his wife tends to be interested in what happens in the class, since she is a lawyer, too. AdMarried to Harris since 2014, Emhoff left the Los Angeles office of the law firm of DLA Piper after Harris was elected with President Joe Biden. Emhoff said he's grateful to be able to support his wife in her new role. Emhoff said he's talking to administration experts to learn the issues and not just visiting museums and libraries in Washington.

President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden look out at lights during a COVID-19 memorial, with lights placed around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Washington. “To heal we must remember," the incoming president told the nation at a sunset ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial. “Between sundown and dusk, let us shine the lights into the darkness ... and remember all who we lost,” Biden said. Biden at his Delaware farewell, held at the National Guard/Reserve Center named after his late son Beau Biden, paid tribute to his home state. ___This story has been corrected to show that flags on the National Mall represent people who couldn’t come, not COVID deaths.

Flags are placed on the National Mall, looking towards the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial, ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, in Washington. As Biden and Harris took breaks from their inaugural preparations to honor the civil rights hero Monday, outgoing President Donald Trump remained out of public view at the White House for the sixth straight day. Biden transition officials, including incoming Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and the deputy attorney general nominee, Lisa Monaco, held a videoconference with acting heads and career staff from national security agencies to discuss the security situation surrounding Inauguration Day. Even before the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, inauguration festivities were expected to be muted due to the virus. Mayor Muriel Bowser urged residents to stay away from the city on Inauguration Day.

The outgoing president traditionally attends the inauguration to symbolize the peaceful transfer of power. And there will be no inaugural balls for Biden, Harris and their spouses to dance the night away. But in the wake of the violent Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, all semblance of normality might be gone. Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Harris and second gentlemen Douglas Emhoff will later visit Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The inauguration comes just two weeks after the insurrection at the Capitol by Trump supporters as Congress was confirming Biden's victory.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – Supporters of President Donald Trump are among a handful of groups that have applied for permits to hold protests during Joe Biden's inauguration. But it appears unlikely their application will be approved as the National Park Service greatly curtails protests as part of a major security lockdown. Among them, was a group called "Let America Hear Us, Roar For Trump." On Friday Jeff Reinbold, NPS superintendent for the National Mall, said the two approved groups had agreed to each keep their demonstrations below 100 people. The park service on Friday closed Washington’s National Mall to the general public until after Wednesday's inauguration.

Members of the National Guard walk past the Dome of the Capitol Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – All through downtown Washington, the primary sound for several blocks was the beeping of forklifts unloading more fencing. The number of National Guard troops coming to Washington to assist with security has so far grown to about 21,000, Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told Vice President Mike Pence at a briefing Thursday. National Guard members operate under strict rules of engagement on the use of force. D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee estimated Wednesday that more than 20,000 National Guard members would be active in the city on Inauguration Day.

Member of the DC National Guard walk around the U.S. Capitol grounds, Thursday morning, Jan. 7, 2021 in Washington. The original plans called for having a small National Guard presence with a limited role. Top city, defense, Capitol and law enforcement officials had to figure out what was needed and where it was needed. They also struggled to get the required approvals and then get the Guard members instructed, equipped and on their way. About 340 members of the D.C. National Guard had been requested by Mayor Muriel Bowser.

The revelations shed new light on why Capitol Police were so quickly overrun by rioters. One disturbing video shows a bloodied Metropolitan police officer screaming for help as he’s crushed by protesters inside the Capitol building. Still, they advised lawmakers to plan to use the underground tunnels that connect House office buildings to the Capitol. Benedict was at the bomb scene when Capitol Police captains there told him their officers were being overrun. When they began entering the Capitol complex at 2:40 p.m., the hallways were packed with rioters.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, file photo, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference in Washington. Bowser is seeking increased security around President-elect Joe Bidens Jan. 20, 2021, inauguration in the wake of the mob insurrection at the Capitol. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser is seeking increased security around President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration in the wake of the mob insurrection at the Capitol. D.C. does not have jurisdiction over the Capitol and other federal property within its borders. Nearly all of the legal challenges put forth by Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges.

This undated image provided by the United States Capitol Police shows U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, of injuries sustained during the riot at the Capitol. One Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, died Thursday night from injuries suffered during the riot. Another disturbing video shows a bloodied police officer screaming for help as he’s crushed by protesters inside the Capitol building. Still, the riot — and Sicknick's death — focused renewed attention on Capitol Police, a force of more than 2,300 officers and civilian employees that protects the Capitol, lawmakers, staff and visitors. Capitol Police turned them down both times, according to senior defense officials and two people familiar with the matter.

Capitol police officers stand outside of fencing that was installed around the exterior of the Capitol grounds, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 in Washington. A woman was fatally shot, windows were bashed and the mob forced shaken lawmakers and aides to flee the building, shielded by Capitol Police. And as the mob descended on the building Wednesday, Justice Department leaders reached out to offer up FBI agents. The rioting and loss of control has raised serious questions over security at the Capitol for future events. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that as the rioting was underway, it became clear that the Capitol Police were overrun.

Capitol police officers stand outside of fencing that was installed around the exterior of the Capitol grounds, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 in Washington. A woman was fatally shot, windows were bashed and the mob forced shaken lawmakers and aides to flee the building, shielded by Capitol Police. And as the mob descended on the building Wednesday, Justice Department leaders reached out to offer up FBI agents. The rioting and loss of control has raised serious questions over security at the Capitol for future events. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that as the rioting was underway, it became clear that the Capitol Police were overrun.

Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, at the Capitol in Washington. The tragedy deepened late Thursday as a Capitol police officer injured in the melee died, the fifth death related to the riot. The U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement that Officer Brian D. Sicknick died from injuries sustained responding to the riot on Wednesday at the Capitol. The procedure allows for the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president unfit for office. Black lawmakers, in particular, noted the way the mostly white Trump supporters were treated.

And in Phoenix, the Suns and Toronto Raptors stood in a circle and linked arms for the American and Canadian anthems. “It’s an embarrassing and shameful day in our country,” New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy said. Wednesday's events came one day after the decision to not to bring charges against the officer who shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year was announced. The NBA had a rule for decades that players and coaches must stand for the national anthem. The Bucks said after the game they held the ball for 7 seconds to reflect the seven times Blake was shot.

Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON – “Where are they?” a Trump supporter demanded in a crowd of dozens roaming the halls of the Capitol, bearing Trump flags and pounding on doors. Trump told his morning crowd at the Ellipse that he would go with them to the Capitol, but he didn’t. Yet Trump, in a video posted 90 minutes after lawmakers were evacuated, told the insurrectionists “We love you. Under the very risers set up for Biden’s inauguration, Trump supporters clashed with police who blasted pepper spray in an attempt to hold them back. He said security officers urged lawmakers to put gas masks on and herded them into a corner of the massive room.

At least two local Black churches had Black Lives Matter banners torn down and set ablaze. Tarrio was accused of burning one of the Black Lives Matter banners in December and was found with two high-capacity firearm magazines, police said. A number of prominent Trump supporters were expected to attend, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, the recipient of a pardon by the president. During previous pro-Trump protests, police sealed off Black Lives Matter Plaza itself, but the confrontations spilled out to the surrounding streets. Black Lives Matter Plaza was sealed off Tuesday.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – Bracing for possible violence, the nation's capital has mobilized the National Guard ahead of planned protests by President Donald Trump's supporters in connection with the congressional vote expected Wednesday to affirm Joe Biden's election victory. Now with downtown D.C. businesses boarding up their windows, Mayor Muriel Bowser has requested a limited National Guard deployment to help bolster the Metropolitan Police Department. Because D.C. does not have a governor, the designated commander of the city’s National Guard is Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy. The D.C. Guard will provide specialized teams that will be prepared to respond to any chemical or biological incident. But the official said there will be no D.C. Guard members on the National Mall or at the U.S. Capitol.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – Bracing for possible violence, the nation's capital has mobilized the National Guard ahead of planned protests by President Donald Trump's supporters in connection with the congressional vote expected Wednesday to affirm Joe Biden's election victory. Now with downtown D.C. businesses boarding up their windows, Mayor Muriel Bowser has requested a limited National Guard deployment to help bolster the Metropolitan Police Department. Because D.C. does not have a governor, the designated commander of the city’s National Guard is Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy. The D.C. Guard will provide specialized teams that will be prepared to respond to any chemical or biological incident. But the official said there will be no D.C. Guard members on the National Mall or at the U.S. Capitol.

The tally has hovered around there with about 786 shootings for a city of more than 672,000. “I think the pandemic — COVID — has had a significant emotional impact on people across the country,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said. But when it’s happening in other cities — some smaller — what do we all have in common?” Craig said of the slayings and shootings. There were 354 killings in New York through Oct. 11 — 90 more than at the same time last year. From this January to October, non-fatal shootings topped 200 in the city, which is home to about 200,000 people.

That year there were about 750 nonfatal shootings in the city of more than 672,000. But with only a few days left in 2020, homicides already have topped 300, while non-fatal shootings are up more than 50% at more than 1,124 through the middle of December. “I think the pandemic — COVID — has had a significant emotional impact on people across the country,” Detroit Police Chief James Craig said. From this January to October, non-fatal shootings topped 200 in the city, which is home to about 200,000 people. Over the same period last year there were 131 non-fatal shootings.

All Australian states have imposed restrictions on travelers from Sydney and parts of New South Wales because the coronavirus risk. The state on Sunday reported 1,536 new COVID-19 cases and 46 more deaths. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — A FedEx executive says a higher-than-normal volume of Christmas-season package deliveries won’t interfere with the company’s effort to ship coronavirus vaccine doses. The first wave of coronavirus infections in New York “came from Europe and we did nothing,” the Democratic governor said. ___WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s surgeon general is defending Trump’s not getting a coronavirus vaccine, saying there are medical reasons for it.

But when the latest shortfall hit the local allotment of new COVID-19 vaccine doses, Washington's neighboring states pitched in to help make up the difference. In a heartening demonstration of interstate collectivism, Maryland and Virginia are each sending 8,000 vaccine doses, more than tripling the amount available for health care workers in the nation's capital. The dosage allotments were based on population, but many of Washington's health care workers live in the intertwined neighboring communities of Maryland and northern Virginia. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser had sent a letter to U.S. health officials claiming the “one-size-fits-all formula for distribution” would prove “woefully insufficient.”Govs. None of the three jurisdictions will receive anywhere close to enough doses in the first batch to cover all their health care workers.

The Washington Teachers Union had fiercely opposed previous DCPS reopening proposals on safety grounds, causing the administration to repeatedly delay and scale back their plans. “DC teachers miss our students and recognize that many have struggled to adapt to distance learning,” said WTU President Elizabeth Davis in a statement. Instead, the process will begin with all volunteers, but teachers without medical exemptions may be compelled to return if the demand exceeds the number of volunteers. But the city was forced to abandon that plan in late summer amid strong safety objections from the teacher’s union. A parallel plan to host small in-person classes taught by teachers for special education students and others who were struggling with distance learning never got off the ground.

Supporters of President Donald Trump who are wearing attire associated with the Proud Boys attend a rally at Freedom Plaza, Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)WASHINGTON – Police in the nation's capital are asking for public assistance in identifying people responsible for burning Black Lives Matter banners and damaging local churches during weekend clashes between local activists and supporters of President Donald Trump. In some cases a Black Lives Matter banner was torn down and set ablaze. The photos of the perpetrators all show different bearded white men, all wearing the distinctive black and yellow of the Proud Boys, a neo-fascist group known to incite street violence. After dark, large groups of Proud Boys roamed the downtown streets and confronted a group of local activists, including antifa, who sought to protect the space around Black Lives Matter Plaza.

A U.S. Marine Corps band performs in the Entrance Hall of the White House during the 2020 Christmas preview, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020, in Washington. The D.C. Health Department can’t do much more than track the numbers and hope its virus guidelines are being followed. But the White House and other federal properties are not required to comply with those rules. On Wednesday night, Trump hosted about 200 guests at the White House for the annual Hanukkah celebration. Bowser's government has generally avoided direct confrontations with the Trump White House over virus protocols.

WASHINGTON – The nation's capital is tightening its public COVID-19 restrictions in the face of spiraling virus numbers locally and around the country. Restaurants can continue to stay open until midnight but must suspend alcohol sales at 10 p.m. Starting Monday, Dec. 14, the indoor capacity limit for restaurants will be reduced from 50% capacity to 25%, with the delay intended to give restaurants time to adjust their operations. Bowser also continued to implore D.C. residents to skip the traditional mass family gathering for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. She encouraged families to limit their gatherings to the people who live in their home.

WASHINGTON – In response to rising COVID-19 infection numbers, the Smithsonian Institution is indefinitely shutting down operations at all its facilities, effective Monday and affecting seven museums, plus the National Zoo. The Smithsonian said in a statement that its “top priority is to protect the health and safety of its visitors and staff.” No reopening date is scheduled. The decision comes at a time of rising speculation over whether the District of Columbia will tighten virus restrictions in the face of a nationwide spike. Since then, Smithsonian officials have gradually opened up other facilities, including the National Portrait Gallery and the Museum of African-American History and Culture. "Due to the changing nature of the situation, we are not announcing a reopening date at this time," the Smithsonian said in its statement.

Scott Applewhite)After months without internal testing protocols, members of the U.S. House and their staff will now have regular access to coronavirus testing at the Capitol physician’s office when they return to Washington from their home states. The tests, which have a six- to 12-hour turnaround, represent the first regular testing program in the Capitol since the beginning of the pandemic. While Monahan’s letter is addressed to all members of Congress and staff, it says the House of Representatives will be offering the regular daily testing hours for those who have traveled back to Washington. The office has already been providing tests to members and staff from both sides of the Capitol who were directly exposed to the virus. To keep members safe, House Democrats are holding their caucus elections this week virtually.

WASHINGTON – With virus numbers rising locally and nationally and the holiday travel season looming, the nation's capital is revamping its COVID-19 travel restrictions. Starting next week, visitors coming to Washington, D.C., from a state classified as high risk will be required to take a COVID-19 test and receive a negative result within 72 hours before traveling. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged Thursday that the quarantine system, which was entirely voluntary, was probably being violated by many visitors. Washington, Maryland and Virginia have all witnessed rising infection rates in recent weeks, with Maryland and Virginia experiencing the most dramatic spikes. The main infection metrics in Washington, D.C., have doubled in recent weeks, but are still around half of the local peak in May.

One person arrested for allegedly damaging property was taken to a hospital after “experiencing a medical episode,” police said in a statement early Thursday. Officers seized multiple firearms, ammunition, a knife, fireworks, body armor and gas masks from people who were arrested, a sheriff’s office statement said. The protests came as smaller groups of Trump supporters gathered at vote tabulation sites in Phoenix, Detroit and Philadelphia, decrying counts that showed Democrat Joe Biden leading or gaining ground. In Phoenix, at least two dozen Trump supporters gathered outside city hall Thursday morning, chanting “Protect Our Vote.” The group said they planned to return to the tabulation center, where a Wednesday night rally decried a declaration by Fox News that Biden was the winner in Arizona. This is evidence of democracy, not fraud.”In Detroit, a few dozen Trump supporters gathered outside the city's convention center Thursday morning, as election workers counted absentee ballots inside.

Trump told reporters that he may stay at the White House or pick another location to hold his campaign’s party as he expressed frustration with the city's coronavirus protocol. The Trump Hotel did not respond to the Bowser administration’s notice. The hotel faced a city inspection in July and was found to be in compliance with the District's coronavirus rules at that time. Trump held his 2016 election party in his then-hometown of New York. It’s unclear how much of a presence Trump himself will be in any election night festivities this time.

Washington Metropolitan Police Department police officers push back demonstrators outside of the fourth district police station in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020. When Hylton's vehicle emerges from the alley, it slams into the passenger side door of a passing car. The protests tap into rising tensions between the department and the black community, with activists accusing police of heavy-handed tactics. The protests also come less days before Tuesday's election, with expectations of mass protests and potential street confrontations. If we see a member of the police department that doesn’t do that, they can no longer be a member of this department.”

Barrett was confirmed to be a Supreme Court justice by the Senate earlier in the evening. It's been only a month since President Donald Trump's Rose Garden event to announce he was nominating Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis — tested positive after attending the earlier White House celebration. Indiana Sen. Todd Young told reporters that he had told the White House he would attend, but was reconsidering. She said people need to be careful about gatherings as illnesses have been rising, but stopped short of calling the White House event a mistake.

Trump has his eye on hosting an election night party at his own hotel in the nations capital. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has his eye on hosting an election night party at his own hotel in the nation’s capital. It’s unclear how big Trump’s election night party will be. “Or you can die from it.”Trump held his 2016 election party in his then-hometown of New York. It’s unclear how much of a presence Trump himself will be in the election night festivities this time.

WASHINGTON – The nation’s capital has become one of the first jurisdictions in the country to employ a new COVID-19 notification system, a joint Google-Apple venture that delivers alerts to people’s phones, notifying them that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Tuesday urged all residents with Apple or Android smartphones to opt in to the new DC COVID Alert Notice system, or DC CAN. Washington, D.C., and the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia are the first to embrace the ENE notification system. The D.C. Department of Health defines exposure as being within 6 feet (1.8 meters) of an infected person for more than 15 minutes. ___For more information on how to opt in to the DC CAN system, visit the Department of Health explainer.

“We should continue to choose our activities wisely and don't succumb to COVID fatigue,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday. Health Department Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbit said contact tracing revealed a recent relaxation for some, and said colleagues around the country had reported identical trends. For the people who had attended a social event — defined as a gathering of five or more — 63% said the participants had been casual about masks and social distancing. Then last week, the Department of Health took the exceptional step of releasing an open letter publicly questioning the thoroughness of the White House contact tracing effort. On Wednesday, Nesbit would not say if any of the recent new cases were linked to the White House.

In this Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, photo fifth grade teacher Lauren Furst leads an online class at Meridien Public Charter School, in Washington. It's a process that D.C. Public Schools has watched closely as it plans its own return to the classroom. “There’s a tremendous amount of trial and error,” said Shannon Hodge of the D.C. Charter School Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for the charter system. An automatically strange educational challenge has been made even stranger at the Social Justice School, which has never actually functioned under non-pandemic conditions. The school received its approval from the D.C. Public Charter School Board over the summer and opened its doors for the first time this fall.

Bowser said earlier this week that repeated attempts to contact the White House over the outbreak had received a “very cursory” response but that she believed the necessary steps were being taken. “There are established public health protocols at the White House that are federal in nature,” Bowser said on Monday. The Trump White House has operated for months in open violation of several D.C. virus regulations, hosting multiple gatherings that exceeded the local 50-person limit and in which many participants didn’t wear masks. Washington’s local virus regulations don’t apply on federal property, but the current outbreak has blurred those distinctions. White House spokesman Judd Deere said Monday that the White House “has established a robust contact tracing program led by the White House Medical Unit with CDC integration to provide appropriate recommendations.”On Wednesday, White House deputy press secretary Brian Morgenstern detailed the in-house contact tracing regime to reporters.

WASHINGTON – Public Schools in Washington, D.C., will partially reopen their buildings to select students beginning Nov. 9 in a multi-pronged approach as the nation's capital struggles to return to normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Bowser said Monday there was “a real urgency” to get students back to school buildings safely. D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said students in sixth grade and above would continue with full-time distance learning until the next school term, which starts in early 2021. Instead of the original two-day-a-week hybrid model, students will be in school all five weekdays, with Wednesday as a half-day. About a dozen public charters, which are largely independent and educate about 46 percent of public school students, have been bringing in select groups of students using similar criteria for in-person instruction.

A member of the cleaning staff sprays The James Brady Briefing Room of the White House, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Washington. Bowser acknowledged on Monday that White House medical officials “have their hands full” at the moment. Instead it has been forced to entrust the White House medical staff to conduct its own contact tracing. Dr. LaQuandra Nesbit, head of the D.C. Health Department, said the process must begin with an official notification from a medical professional. White House spokesman Judd Deere said Monday that the White House "has established a robust contact tracing program led by the White House Medical Unit with CDC integration to provide appropriate recommendations.”He said those who com in close proximity to Trump would continue to be tested.

(AP Photo/Mike Balsamo, File)WASHINGTON – In a memo to U.S. attorneys Thursday obtained by The Associated Press, the Justice Department emphasized that federal prosecutors should aggressively go after demonstrators who cause violence — and even sedition charges could potentially apply. Neither was a man accused of shooting and killing a demonstrator in Louisville following the death of Breonna Taylor. The Justice Department, however, has initiated a number of civil rights investigations into individual cases. Carroll accused federal authorities of using the cases to try to make the protests seem more violent and disruptive than they really were. “This is the Justice Department, from the top, furthering an agenda that has nothing to do with justice,” he said.