Justice Department officials are forging ahead with plans to ban rapid-fire bump stocks, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday — a move that would likely set the stage for long legal battles with gun manufacturers while the devices remain on the market.   Sessions said top officials within the department believe gun accessories like the ones used in last year’s Las Vegas massacre can be banned through the regulatory process. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives previously said it was powerless to restrict the devices without action from Congress.   The devices allow semi-automatic rifles to resemble a fully automatic weapon. The ATF approved them in 2010, finding they don’t amount to machine guns, which are prohibited under federal firearms law. “We’ve had to deal with previous ATF legal opinions, but our top people in the Department of Justice have believed for some time that we can, …

The head of the World Trade Organization diplomatically took issue with U.S. President Donald Trump’s description of the WTO as a catastrophe on Tuesday, pointing out that the United States actually had a better deal than other countries in the club. “World Trade Organization — a catastrophe,” Trump said on Monday at a meeting with U.S. governors, according to a White House transcript. “The World Trade Organization makes it almost impossible for us to do good business. We lose the cases, we don’t have the judges. We have a minority of judges. It’s almost as bad as the 9th Circuit,” Trump said. Asked about Trump’s remarks, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo, a former Brazilian trade negotiator, told reporters in Sofia that it was not news that the United States had concerns about the work of the WTO.  “Just one clarification,” he said. “No member has more than one judge at …

In 1993 terrorists detonated more than 500 kilograms of explosives beneath the World Trade Center in New York, killing six and injuring more than 1,000. In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the attack, families paid solemn tribute to their loved ones lost that day — one that would forever change their lives and the world around them. Ramon Taylor has more. …

President Donald Trump is reportedly pushing for his longtime personal pilot to lead the nation’s top aviation agency. Multiple media outlets reported that Trump’s personal pilot, John Dunkin, who flew Trump around the country during his presidential campaign, is under consideration to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. Other candidates to head the agency that oversees U.S. airspace and handles more than 15 million flights a year are acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican, and an unnamed aviation industry official.  Axios reported Dunkin told people that when he and Trump were flying during the campaign, they would often be stuck on the ground with delays, which he told the president would not happen if a pilot ran the FAA. The FAA administrator oversees an agency in charge of all civil aviation in the U.S. with a budget of $16 billion and 47,000 employees.  “My pilot, …

The U.S. Justice Department and Microsoft will face off against each other Tuesday when the Supreme Court hears arguments on whether tech companies’ desire to protect user data is at odds with the government’s interest in pursuing criminals who use the internet. The case, known as United States v. Microsoft Corp., has global implications and could potentially trigger an international backlash, subjecting Americans’ data to seizure by foreign governments, legal and digital rights experts warn. “The case is important for privacy, it’s important for security, it’s important for the future of the internet,” said Jennifer Daskal, a professor at American University Washington College of Law. At issue is whether a U.S.-based email provider can be forced, under the 1986 Stored Communications Act, to turn over communications stored outside the United States. Email records Federal prosecutors believed it could when they went to Microsoft in 2013 with a court warrant, demanding …

None of the United States’ 50 states has achieved quality education, clean energy or any of the ambitious goals similar to the global agenda enacted by the United Nations, a watchdog group said Monday. States in the northeast have made the most progress while those in the south placed last, according to a report by Future Now, a nonprofit advocacy group, and its affiliate SDG USA. The goals are a way for states to improve quality of life and address sustainable development at a time when the national government is not doing so, the founders of Future Now said. “America’s goals” are a tailored version of seven of the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global “to-do” list approved in 2015 unanimously by U.N. member nations. “Individual states can improve the lives of their citizens, regardless of the current national policies and political gridlock,” the founders of Future Now …

It promised ample snow and sunny weather on a normally bare, rocky peak easily accessible by “super highway,” thousands more hotel rooms than existed, and a cross-country ski course that looked good on paper but would have cut through some people’s backyards. The airbrushed pitch worked, but after Denver won a bid to host the 1976 Winter Olympics, its plan unraveled amid questions about the environmental impact, ballooning costs and logistics of hosting such a big event in a quickly growing state. Now, over four decades after Denver became the only city to withdraw as an Olympic host after winning a bid, it is exploring whether to try again after many cities have decided it’s just not worth it. The city is again growing, with low unemployment and a booming economy, and this time has a bigger airport, light rail, more hotels, seven professional sports teams and multiple stadiums. But …

Looking for common ground with your neighbor these days? Try switching subjects from the weather to Congress. Chances are, you both agree it’s terrible.   In red, blue or purple states, in middle America or on the coasts, most Americans loathe the nation’s legislature. One big reason: Most think lawmakers are listening to all the wrong people, suggests a new study by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California-Santa Barbara with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.   “We have the best Congress you can buy and pay for,” said Chester Trahan, 78, of Palm Coast, Florida. “Congress, they’re subject to the special interest groups and that’s really who’s running the show.”   Hating Congress has become a lasting feature of American politics, regardless of which party is in power or whether the 435 House members and 100 senators pass lots of legislation — or don’t …

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Trump administration for separating a 7-year-old migrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo from her mother. The girl, called S.S., is in detention in Chicago, while her mother, Ms. L, remains in custody 3,200 kilometers away in San Diego. They have spoken by telephone only a handful of times. The ACLU called the separation a “flagrant disregard of the Constitution and common sense” and is suing for their release from custody or their reunification in a family detention center. “The government has no legitimate interest in separating Ms. L from her daughter since there’s been no evidence or even accusation of abuse or neglect,” the group said Monday. It said the mother and daughter arrived in San Diego seeking asylum from violence in the DRC, fearing for their lives if forced to go back. The ACLU contends they were separated five days …

The Trump Organization said Monday it has made good on the president’s promise to donate profits from foreign government spending at its hotels to the U.S. Treasury, but neither the company nor the government disclosed the amount or how it was calculated.   Watchdog groups seized on the lack of detail as another example of the secrecy surrounding President Donald Trump’s pledges to separate his administration from his business empire.   “There is no independent oversight or accountability. We’re being asked to take their word for it,” said Noah Bookbinder, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “Most importantly, even if they had given every dime they made from foreign governments to the Treasury, the taking of those payments would still be a problem under the Constitution.”   Trump Organization Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Counsel George Sorial said in a statement to The Associated Press …

The first openly transgender recruit has passed both the physical and medical exams and signed a contract to join the U.S. military, the Pentagon confirmed. “[The Pentagon] confirms that as of Feb. 23, 2018, there is one transgender individual under contract for service in the U.S. military,” said Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman. The recruit was not immediately identified by gender or service. Such a contract was made possible after a federal judge ruled in January that the military must accept transgender recruits. The ruling came after President Donald Trump announced in a tweet his desire to prevent transgender people from serving. In July 2017, Trump surprised military leaders by tweeting, “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military,” Trump said. “Our military must be …

The United States has issued a new round of sanctions targeting oil smugglers in Libya aimed at blocking exploitation of natural resources that is driving instability, the U.S. Treasury Department said Monday. In a statement, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it was sanctioning six people, 24 companies and seven vessels in a move that prohibits Americans from engaging with those targeted and freezes any related property under U.S. jurisdictions. The sanctions target people from Libya, Malta and Egypt, according to the statement. Issued under the authority of a 2016 executive order by then U.S. President Barack Obama, companies based in Italy, Libya and Malta are also targets, the statement said. The United Nations Security Council has condemned illicit exploitation of oil from Libya, which has been mired in conflict since an uprising in 2011 that overthrew Moammar Gadhafi, who led the country for more than 40 years. …

Steve Emt was rolling himself up a hill to a pie shop in Falmouth, Massachusetts, when the coach of a wheelchair curling team noticed the former UConn basketball player. The shop’s name was Pie in the Sky. An interesting coincidence, Emt thought, when Tony Colacchio approached him and suggested that within a year he could turn Emt into a Paralympic athlete in a sport he’d never heard of. It took a few years, but next month, Emt will compete in the Paralympic Games in South Korea as the vice skip of the United States curling team. “The sport just bit me,” he said. “With everything that has happened to me in life, I’ve learned to stop asking why. Everything happens for a reason.” He was a student at the U.S. Military Academy in when he lost his father, a man he says was his best friend, mentor and coach. His …

After a 10-day break, members of Congress are returning to work under hefty pressure to respond to the outcry over gun violence. But no plan appears ready to take off despite a long list of proposals, including many from President Donald Trump. Republican leaders have kept quiet for days as Trump tossed out ideas, including raising the minimum age to purchase assault-style weapons and arming teachers, though on Saturday the president tweeted that the latter was “Up to states.” Their silence has left little indication whether they are ready to rally their ranks behind any one of the president’s ideas, dust off another proposal or do nothing. The most likely legislative option is bolstering the federal background check system for gun purchases, but it’s bogged down after being linked with a less popular measure to expand gun rights. The halting start reflects firm GOP opposition to any bill that would …

The White House says President Donald Trump will attend Friday’s funeral for the Rev. Billy Graham. The evangelist and spiritual adviser to numerous presidents died last week at his North Carolina home. Graham was 99. Before the funeral, Graham will be afforded the rare tribute of lying in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Wednesday and Thursday. He is to be buried Friday on the grounds of his namesake library in Charlotte, North Carolina. Trump said last week that Graham was a “great man” who had a “great family” and was “for us” — meaning Trump’s campaign — from the beginning. …

In 2005, U.S. Marine Travis Williams and his squad were on a rescue mission in Iraq. Their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Williams alone survived. He talked to StoryCorps about the hours and days after the explosion, as well as his life now, and pays tribute to the men he left behind. …