CIA Director Gina Haspel and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe are meeting Thursday with the so-called "gang of eight" of top lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

By Mary Clare Jalonick, Matthew Daly, Associated Press

In our news wrap Wednesday, Seattle police cleared protesters from a so-called “occupied zone” near the city’s downtown. Violence had flared there recently, with two people killed and six others wounded in shootings. Also, lawmakers in New York City agreed…

President Donald Trump and his top national security officials are stepping up their defense of his response to intelligence assessments that suggested Russia had offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

By Mary Clare Jalonick, Matthew Lee, James Laporta, Associated Press

The NewsHour has reported that Russian military intelligence provided financial incentives to the Taliban to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- and that this intelligence was always briefed up to senior U.S. government officials. But the White House say President…