One of Scouting America's biggest gatherings has eliminated dedicated spaces for gay youth, women and scouts of color as the organization faces pressure from the Pentagon to pull back diversity efforts.

President Trump on Thursday evening announced a deal for Hamas to disarm in “carefully structured phases,” which, if carried out, would address one of the main sticking points for a broader peace deal in Gaza. “This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely...

Activists are protesting the construction pathway for President Trump’s border wall in Arizona because it would require the removal of an ancient cottonwood tree.  A demonstrator was arrested on Wednesday for trespassing after protesting plans that would include chopping down a Fremont cottonwood tree, estimated to be 200 to 250 years old. Three similar trees...

Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Healthcare Healthcare   The Big Story Trump's CDC, ASPR nominees advance out of Senate committee The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Thursday voted to send two of President Trump's health nominees to a full Senate vote. © Natasha Kaiser The committee voted 12-10 to move...

A Dane County Circuit judge ruled Wednesday that Wisconsin voters cannot request new ballots for the Democratic primary in the governor’s race following a string of candidates dropping out or reentering the race in the closing weeks. Judge David Conway’s ruling ended a lawsuit by the state’s Democratic Party against the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC)...

The State Department announced Thursday it is expanding access to the new U.S. passport featuring President Trump’s likeness. In a release, the department said it is making an additional 250,000 copies of the commemorative “Patriot Passport” available “in response to overwhelming demand” from the public. Americans had previously only been able to receive the passports...

President Trump’s pick for the next U.S. attorney general is on shaky ground as two Republican lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee demand a written guarantee that a proposed Justice Department "anti-weaponization" fund is dead. A "no" vote in committee from either Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) or Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) could block acting Attorney...

{beacon} Technology Technology   The Big Story Commerce takes new equity stakes in 7 firms The Department of Commerce quietly announced this week it will designate more than $870 million in federal incentives for semiconductor manufacturing in exchange for a minority equity stake in seven companies. © Greg Nash In a blog post Wednesday, the...

Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek (D) declined to answer whether he would support Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to lead Democrats in the next Congress as midterms come closer. In a Wednesday interview with former White House press secretary Jen Psaki on MS NOW, Turek did not answer whether he would support Schumer’s leadership...

Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security   The Big Story Sanders, Grassley reintroduce bill fining Pentagon for any audit failures Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) reintroduced their bipartisan bill on Thursday that would impose financial fines on the Pentagon if the department fails...