Unrest

The Trump administration has started talks with the Oregon governor's office and indicated that it would begin to draw down the presence of federal agents sent to quell two months of chaotic protests in Portland if the state stepped up its own enforcement, a senior White House official said.

Wall of Moms, Don't Shoot Portland and others sued several federal agencies on Monday, alleging federal officers in Portland are exceeding their legal authority and violating protesters' rights.

A night that started with a reported shooting and a bag containing loaded rifle magazines and Molotov cocktails amid a peaceful protest — morphed into an intense early morning confrontation between demonstrators and law enforcement in Oregon's largest city.

Protests took a violent turn in several U.S. cities over the weekend, with demonstrators squaring off against federal agents outside a courthouse in Portland, Oregon, forcing police in Seattle to retreat into a station house and setting fire to vehicles in California and Virginia.

Thousands of protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, into the early hours Saturday, shooting fireworks at the building as plumes of tear gas, dispensed by U.S. agents, lingered above.

The judge's order also blocks the defendants from seizing any cameras, audio and video equipment and press passes, as well as from ordering journalists to stop recording or observing a protest.

The mayor of Portland, Ore., was tear gassed by the U.S. government late Wednesday as he stood at a fence guarding a federal courthouse during another night of protest against the presence of federal agents sent by President Donald Trump to quell unrest in the city.

The meeting comes as President Donald Trump, who says he wasn't briefed on the information because it wasn't verified, is under increasing pressure to provide answers about the U.S. response to Russia or the lack of one.

Lawmakers have been demanding answers over the allegations, and Democrats have accused Trump of bowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the risk of U.S. soldiers' lives.

Top officials in the White House were aware in early 2019 of classified intelligence indicating Russia was secretly offering bounties to the Taliban for the deaths of Americans, a full year earlier than has been previously reported, according to U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the intelligence.