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Military response to Harvey could soon expand Rescue and recovery efforts have been limited due to weather, flooding By Robert Burns A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON— The military’s role in Harvey rescue and recovery efforts have been limited by weather and flooding but could soon expand by
tenfold or more, a senior National Guard officer said Tuesday. Air Force Maj. Gen. James Witham told reporters there currently are about 3,500 National Guard troops involved, including about 3,000 from the
Texas National Guard. He estimated that the Texas guard number could rise to 8,000 to 10,000 in coming days, possibly joined by 20,000 to 30,000 from other states. Witham is the director of domestic operations for the
National Guard Bureau. He said the military is providing everything that has been requested by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, although the response is constrained by the stormy weather and by floodMilitary continues on A10 Drew Perine / AP
TROPICAL STORM HARVEY
TRUMP OFFERS TEXANS IN-PERSON SUPPORT
This 2015 file photo shows Capt. Jennifer Peace, a transgender soldier, holding a flag as she stands for a photo near her home in Spanaway, Washington.
Lawsuits filed over transgender soldier ban White House receives suits from Baltimore and Seattle By Erik Larson BL OOMBERG
Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump holds the state flag of Texas outside of the Annaville Fire House after attending a briefing on Hurricane Harvey in Corpus Christi, Texas on Tuesday.
President gives optimistic reassurances after briefing in Corpus Christi By Ken Thomas A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Eager to show he’s on the job and taking action, President Donald Trump offered upbeat reassurances Tuesday to Texans who felt the wrath of Harvey, promising local residents, “We are going to get you back and operating immedi-
ately.” Starting his visit to Texas in wind-whipped but sunny Corpus Christi, Trump’s motorcade passed broken trees, knocked-down signs and fences askew as it made its way to a firehouse for a briefing with local officials. “This was of epic proportion,” the president declared as he pledged to provide model
recovery assistance. “We want to do it better than ever before. We want to be looked at in five years, in 10 years from now as, ‘This is the way to do it.”’ Afterward, Trump stood on a ladder between two fire trucks and spoke to a crowd of hundreds of people gathered outside. “What a crowd. What a turnout,” Trump said, thank-
ing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. “This is historic. It’s epic what happened, but you know what, it happened in Texas, and Texas can handle anything.” Trump’s optimistic reassurances stood in contrast to the more measured assessments coming from emergency manSupport continues on A10
President Donald Trump was sued twice on Monday over his plan to ban transgender soldiers from the U.S. military, setting the stage for more bruising court battles about a directive from the White House. The suits by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Human Rights Campaign, filed in federal courts in Baltimore and Seattle, claim Trump’s plan violates the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution. The groups seek court orders barring enforcement of the ban and preventing transgender service members from being discharged, blocked from promotion or denied medical care. The ban is “purely political,” the ACLU said, “reflecting a desire to placate legislators and advisers who bear animus and moral disapproval toward men and women who are transgender.” An Aug. 25 White House memo gave Defense Secretary James Mattis six months to return to the military’s previous policy barring transgender soldiers. Trump ordered the military to immediately stop paying for transition-related Lawsuits continues on A10
WHITE HOUSE
President responds to NKorea missile launch By Darlene Superville and Matthew Pennington A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sought Tuesday to reassert an American military threat against North Korea, saying that “all options are on the table” in response to its launch of a missile over close U.S. ally Japan. In a terse, written statement, Trump said that North Korea’s missile launch “signaled its
contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior.” “Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime’s isolation in the region and among all nations of the world,” Trump said. “All options are on the table.” Trump later told reporters, “We’ll see, we’ll see” when asked what he would do. Trump, accompanied by first
lady Melania Trump, was departing the White House to survey storm damage in southeast Texas. North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload. It flew over Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said, as Washington and South Korea were conducting war games nearby. While the tone of Trump’s statement was tough, it was far less bombastic than his tweets
and threats earlier this month. Three weeks ago, he warned of “fire and fury” if North Korea persisted in threatening the United States. A military solution, he added days later, was “locked and loaded.” But last week, the Trump administration suddenly adopted a more conciliatory tone. It praised the North for not launching any missiles for nearly a month and suggested its newfound restraint could point the way toward new negotiations. The hiatus ended when
the North tested three shortrange missiles off its eastern coast last Friday. The president has repeatedly declined to discuss in any detail the potential for a pre-emptive strike on the North, telling reporters that any such deliberations must be kept private to avoid ceding any leverage to Pyongyang. Still, Tuesday’s statement implied that U.S. military action remains an option for resolving the standoff over North Korea’s Missile continues on A10