COLU @ CONCEPTS

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday directed the Pentagon to extend indefinitely a ban on transgender individuals joining the military, but he appeared to leave open the possibility of allowing some already in uniform to remain. Trump gave Defense Secretary Jim Mattis authority to decide the matter of openly transgender individuals already serving, and he said that until the Pentagon chief makes that decision, “no action may be taken against” them. The Obama administration in June 2016 had changed longstanding policy, declaring that troops could serve openly as transgender individuals. And it set a July 2017 deadline for determining whether transgender people could be allowed to enter the military. Mattis delayed that to Jan. 1, 2018, and Trump has now instructed Mattis to extend it indefinitely. But on the question of what will happen to those transgender individuals who already are serving openly - estimated to number in the low hundreds - Trump seemed t...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sebastian Gorka, a White House national security aide whose hardline policy views attracted controversy, is the latest official to exit President Donald Trump’s administration. Gorka told The Associated Press Friday that he had resigned from his position. A White House official, however, said Gorka did not resign but “no longer works at the White House.” That official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A former editor for the conservative Breitbart News website, Gorka joined the administration as a counterterrorism adviser. But he operated outside of the National Security Council and his exact responsibilities were not clearly outlined, though he was a prominent advocate for Trump on television news. Gorka declined to discuss the reasons he left the White House, but pointed toward excerpts from his resignation letter that were posted Friday evening by The Federalist website. Gorka wrote that “the ind...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Three North Korea short-range ballistic missiles failed on Saturday, U.S. military officials said, which, if true, would be a temporary setback to Pyongyang’s rapid nuclear and missile expansion. The U.S. Pacific Command said in a statement that two of the North’s missiles failed in flight after an unspecified distance, and another appeared to have blown up immediately. It added that the missile posed no threat to the U.S. territory of Guam, which the North had previously warned it would fire missiles toward. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the projectiles fired from the North’s eastern coast flew about 250 kilometers (155 miles), though it did not mention any failures. It said South Korea and U.S. militaries were analyzing the launch and didn’t immediately provide more details. South Korea’s presidential office said the U.S. and South Korean militaries will proceed with their ongoing war games “even more thoroughly” in response to the l...

PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump spared former Sheriff Joe Arpaio a possible jail sentence on Friday by pardoning the recent federal conviction stemming from his immigration patrols, reversing what critics saw as a long-awaited comeuppance for a lawman who escaped accountability for headline-grabbing tactics during his tenure as metropolitan Phoenix’s top law enforcer. The White House said the 85-year-old ex-sheriff was a “worthy candidate” for a presidential pardon. It was Trump’s first pardon as president. “I am pleased to inform you that I have just granted a full Pardon to 85 year old American patriot Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He kept Arizona safe!” Trump tweeted Friday. The announcement came three days after a rally in Phoenix at which the president signaled his willingness to absolve Arpaio’s misdemeanor contempt-of-court conviction. Arpaio was in a celebratory mood after the pardon, eating dinner at an Italian restaurant as someone in his party ordered champagne....

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas late Friday, lashing a wide swath of the Gulf Coast with strong winds and torrential rain from the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the Category 4 hurricane made landfall about 10 p.m. about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of Corpus Christi between Port Aransas and Port O’Connor, bringing with it 130 mph (209 kph) sustained winds and flooding rains. Harvey’s approach sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing the Gulf Coast, hoping to escape the wrath of an increasingly menacing storm set to slam an area of Texas that includes oil refineries, chemical plants and dangerously flood-prone Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned that the monster system would be “a very major disaster,” and the predictions drew fearful comparisons to Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest ever to strike the U.S. “We...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced the billionaire chief of Samsung to five years in prison for crimes that helped oust the country’s president, a stunning downfall that could freeze up decision making at a global electronics powerhouse long run like a monarchy. The Seoul Central District Court said Friday that Lee Jae-yong, 49, was guilty of offering bribes to Park Geun-hye when she was South Korea’s president, and to Park’s close friend, to get government support for efforts to cement his control over the Samsung empire. The revelations that led to Lee’s arrest in February fed public outrage which contributed to Park’s removal. A panel of three judges also found Lee guilty of embezzling Samsung funds, hiding assets overseas, concealing profit from criminal acts and perjury. Prosecutors had sought a 12-year prison term. The court said Lee and Samsung executives who advised him caused “a big negative effect” to South Korean society and its economy. ...

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s military ruler said authorities are searching for Yingluck Shinawatra, the prime minister whose government he ousted in a coup three years ago, after she failed to appear for a verdict Friday in a criminal case that could send her to prison for 10 years. Yingluck’s whereabouts were not immediately known, and her absence fueled speculation that she had left the country. An official of Yingluck’s Pheu Thai party who is close to the Shinawatra family told The Associated Press she was no longer in Thailand. The official gave no other details, and declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. Yingluck, who became Thailand’s first female prime minister when her party swept elections in 2011, is accused of negligence in overseeing a money-losing rice subsidy program. She pleaded innocent and decried the charges as politically motivated. A verdict had been expected Friday, as thousands of Yingluck supporters gathered outside the c...