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Trump: Pope doesn't understand US-Mexico immigration issue

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has a message for Pope Francis: Stay in your lane.
Trump called out the pope during a recent Fox Business Network interview, saying the pontiff didn’t fully comprehend the immigration challenges between the U.S. and Mexico.
“So I think the pope is a very political person and I think that he doesn’t understand the problems our country has,” Trump said.
Trump added he didn’t think the pope “understands the danger of the open border we have with Mexico.”
He added, “And I think Mexico got him to do it because Mexico wants to keep the border just the way it is because they’re making a fortune and we’re losing.”  
Trump has vowed for months to build a wall along the border with Mexico – and make Mexico pay for it. All along, he's made combating illegal immigration a centerpiece of his presidential campaign, claiming credit for kickstarting the debate which now features heavily in the GOP primary race.
But the pope has gently, but clearly, weighed in on the immigration debate in America, and the heated rhetoric on the issue.
In his address to Congress last September, Pope Francis  urged lawmakers not to be “fearful of foreigners” and reminded them that many are “descended from immigrants.”
Pope Francis heads to Mexico Friday for a one-week trip.
Among other things, the pontiff, the child of immigrants himself, is expected to address Mexico’s immigration problem.

NC sheriff puts 'In God We Trust' decals on patrol cars thanks to local church

A North Carolina sheriff’s department began placing large “In God We Trust” decals on its patrol cars this month in a project officials are quick to say won't cost taxpayers a dime.

The phrase is being added to marked vehicles used by the Rutherford Sheriff Department and with the Fairview Baptist Church in Golden Valley picking up the $400 tab, it could head off complaints from atheists that the decals amount to illegal government support of religion.

“We’re not doing to this to thumb in the eye anyone. We’re trying to do this for unity’s sake."
- Rev. David Ledford

“We looked at it as an opportunity to show our patriotism,” Sheriff Chris Francis told Fox Carolina. “I want to make sure that my deputy sheriffs know what ‘In God We Trust' means and how blessed we are to be citizens in America, to live in western North Carolina and to be able to support our nation’s motto.”
Wisconsin-based atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation has clashed with dozens of police departments around the country over similar stickers.
"FFRF reminds the agencies that citizens trust law enforcement officers to attend to their secular duties, not spend taxpayer time placing religious messages on patrol cars to the exclusion of the 23 percent of Americans who are not religious," reads a letter the foundation sent to departments, including Rutherford.
Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor concludes the letters asking the departments to remove "In God We Trust" from their vehicles to "respect the rights of conscience of all citizens, including those who in good conscience reject belief in a god."
But Rutherford officials believe the church paying for the stickers removes any reasonable objection. The church funding will pay for decals on the department’s fleet of 50 marked vehicles and any additions or replacements.
Francis said he expects the decals to draw positive feedback fron many but acknowledged that not everyone will be happy.
Nevertheless, he said he hopes other sheriffs will follow suit.
“I wish that more localities would show their patriotism, show what they believe in,” he said. “I think our nation would be in a different place if they would.”
Fairview pastor the Rev. David Ledford told FoxNews.com he has been surprised at the reaction, including some criticism on social media.
“We’re not doing to this to thumb in the eye anyone,” the pastor said. “We’re trying to do this for unity’s sake.
“The way we look at it, if somebody is against it, well they carry money in their billfold that says ‘In God We Trust’ on it,'" he said. "Its’ contrary to say we can’t put something like that on government building  or a government vehicle.”

VA launches probe into allegations of misconduct at Cincinnati VA

The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a formal probe into allegations of “misconduct that adversely affects the care of the veterans at the Cincinnati” VA, Fox News learned late Friday.
The VA began a series of what were described to Fox News as “cryptic” phone calls to Congressional offices, advising them of a form inquiry by the VA Inspector General.
Multiple offices in the Ohio and Indiana delegations received the calls around 5 p.m. Friday, Fox News was told. The calls were scripted and the person from the VA phoning the offices would not deviate nor answer questions about the inquiry. They also didn’t ask for nor express willingness to speak to Congressional aides who handle veterans’ issues for lawmakers.
Several sources indicated that the caller from the VA became “nervous” or “elusive” when pressed about the investigation.
The script went like this:
“As the investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Medical Inspector (OIG) continues, the VA Office of Inspector General is launching an investigation at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center (VAMC). The OIG investigation was initiated at the request of the VA. To ensure no conflict of interest during the investigation, the Cincinnati VMAC will be temporarily realigned from the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 10 office in Cincinnati, OH to VISN 4 in Pittsburgh, PA.”
Dr. David Shuklin, the VA’s Under Secretary for Health, has asked the Inspector General to probe the still-vague matter.
An email obtained by Fox News says Jack Hetrick, the director of the VA Network covering Cincinnati, “has rescued himself form any and all decisions regarding the facility since his wife has a professional and personal relationship with the physician involved.”
Several Congressional offices told Fox News they are livid about when and how they were notified: Scripted, mysterious calls to Congressional receptionists moments before the close of business on a Friday before the holiday weekend.
“The VA is obviously trying to bury this given the timing of the announcement, said one Congressional source.

Sen. Harry Reid calls on Grayson to drop out of Senate race

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Friday called for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson to drop out of the race for a Senate seat in Florida, but Grayson angrily denounced the move and said he has no plans to follow Reid's suggestion.
Reid said in a statement that Grayson claims to be progressive but seems to have "no moral compass." He said Grayson used his office to unethically promote a hedge fund that until recently had been based in the Cayman Islands.
"His actions aren't just disgraceful to the Democratic Party, they disgrace the halls of Congress," Reid said.
Grayson, who is from the Orlando area, is running in the Democratic primary to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
Grayson's business activities have come under scrutiny for the past several months. The New York Times on Thursday reported that Grayson promoted his international travels, some with congressional delegations, to solicit business for a hedge fund he controlled.
Reid's decision to take sides in a Democratic primary is unusual. But the Democratic establishment has been getting behind U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, seeing him as the stronger general election candidate in a swing state.
Grayson in his own statement said Reid is relying on a "false and misleading hyped story to try to pressure me out of this race."
"I never used my Congressional office to advance any business interest or for personal gain, and to say so is utterly deceitful," he added. "I resent the attack on my `morality,' and I question the morality and judgment of any elected official, much less one in my own party, who would sink so low as to engage in such a smear."
Grayson, a liberal firebrand who has said the GOP health plan was to hope people die quickly, has contended he is the only true Democrat in the race and has taken his own flurry of shots at Murphy.
Republicans have four major candidates: U.S. Rep. Ron Desantis, a tea party favorite backed by conservative groups; U.S. Rep. David Jolly, a former Washington lobbyist and congressional aide; Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera; and businessman Todd Wilcox, who has never run for political office.
Carlos Beruff, a wealthy Manatee County homebuilder, is also likely to jump into the GOP primary.

'Deafening silence:' Obama, 2016 Dems mum on recent police deaths

A Fargo police officer fatally shot responding to a routine domestic disturbance call. A 25-year police veteran killed while trying to serve a warrant outside Atlanta. These are just the latest tragedies of cops murdered while performing their sworn duty -- "to protect and serve."
But while President Obama and the Democratic candidates vying to succeed him are putting America's police departments on trial in the court of public opinion in response to a rash of deadly police shootings, the murder of police officers on America's streets is being met with a “deafening silence.”
“I cannot recall any time in recent years when six law enforcement professionals have been murdered by gunfire in multiple incidents in a single week,” National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund CEO Craig W. Floyd said in a statement Friday. “Already this year there have been eight officers shot and killed, compared to just one during the same period last year and represents a very troubling trend."
The relative silence on officer deaths contrasts with the Democratic candidates’ often fiery language on police brutality against African Americans. When it came to the issue of law enforcement at Thursday night’s Democratic debate, the candidates focused almost exclusively on “police reform.” Vermont Sen. Sanders said he’s “sick and tired” of seeing unarmed black people shot by police, likening heavily equipped departments to “occupying armies” – a reference to Ferguson, Mo. and elsewhere. Hillary Clinton hit similar points.
This, amid a rash of violence against police across the country. Jason Moszer, the police officer in Fargo, N.D., was shot during a standoff with a domestic violence suspect Wednesday and died from his injuries the next day. Police Maj. Greg Barney, separately, was shot dead at an apartment complex outside Atlanta, Ga.
So far in 2016, eight officers have been shot to death, with most of those deaths occurring in the past week, way up from this time last year.
Violence against police peaked in 2011 with 72 officers killed as a result of felonious incidents, the highest since 1994. It dropped to 27 deaths in 2013, but nearly doubled to 51 officers killed in 2014.

Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty | FindTheData

After two Maryland sheriff’s deputies were fatally shot earlier this week, Attorney General Loretta Lynch did meet with officials from the Major County Sheriff’s Association at their winter meeting in Washington.  She said in a statement she was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy, calling it an “appalling and senseless crime, carried out against two dedicated guardians of the public.”
But on the campaign trail, anti-police violence is essentially a non-issue, even as candidates are quick to speak out on the alleged mistreatment of civilians at the hands of cops -- often before the facts of the situation are fully known.
Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County, Ariz, told FoxNews.com the recent trend can be traced to Obama’s premature comments about the 2009 arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates, who was briefly arrested after trying to break into his own house after losing his keys. Though the more complex aspects of the case were not yet known, Obama said “the police ... acted stupidly” and pointed to past discriminations against blacks and Latinos by police.
“That’s his lens on how he sees our heroes and our protectors,” Babeu, who is also a Republican congressional candidate, said. “That’s who he is and Clinton is lockstep in with him.”
“There is an absolute deafening silence from the leaders of our country [on anti-police violence], and it tells us where we are at this time in our society,” he said.
The choice of emphasis for the two 2016 presidential hopefuls can perhaps be tied to their bid to woo a more diverse electorate in Nevada and South Carolina.
Clinton has ramped up rhetoric protesting police brutality in recent weeks, and she used strong language in her speech in New Hampshire after Tuesday’s primary.
“We still have to break through the barriers of bigotry. African American parents shouldn’t have to worry about their children being harassed, humiliated and even shot for the color of their skin,” she said.
Sanders, who has been struggling to grow his appeal among black Democrats, has also jumped on the issue. Notably in August, when asked about the execution of a Texas police officer, Sanders called it “an outrage” but quickly pivoted to anti-black violence by cops.
“On the other hand, what we also have to understand, it is not acceptable in this country when unarmed black people get dragged out of cars or get shot,” Sanders said, although he did not specify an incident.
The Democratic candidates also have been careful in addressing these issues as they interact with members of the Black Lives Matter movement. In July, then-candidate Martin O’Malley was forced to apologize after telling protesters at a Netroots conference “All lives matter.” The seemingly benign statement caused booing from the audience; O’Malley apologized and went on to say “black lives matter” a number of times at Democratic debates. He never repeated the term “all lives matter.”
Sanders had a run in with BLM activists as well, when in August he had activists steal his microphone, as he was forced to stand to one side as they listed their demands and made a statement.
On the Republican side, candidates are speaking more about violence against police. Front-runner Donald Trump has called the police the “most mistreated” people in America.
“By the way, the police are the most mistreated people in this country, I’ll tell you that — the most mistreated people,” Trump said in January at the Fox Business debate in South Carolina.