Democrat calls firing of FBI officials ‘deeply alarming’ as some federal websites appear to go dark – as it happened

Mark Warner criticizes the Trump administration's decision to fire top FBI officials; Census and FAA websites appear to be down Friday evening. This blog is now closed.

• FBI launches sweeping staff cuts as Trump seeks to purge career officials
• Trump orders USDA to take down websites referencing climate crisis

Secretary of state Marco Rubio will travel to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic beginning on Saturday, the state department said.

Rubio will travel to Central America to advance President Trump's America First foreign policy," the department said.

Secretary Rubio's engagements with senior officials and business leaders will promote regional cooperation on our core, shared interests: stopping illegal and large-scale migration, fighting the scourge of transnational criminal organizations and drug traffickers, countering China, and deepening economic partnerships to enhance prosperity in our hemisphere.