Wednesday, August 23, 2017
State Department issues travel warning for Mexico
The U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning Tuesday for Americans traveling to certain parts of Mexico.
The advisory cautions citizens to avoid traveling to certain locations due to increased criminal activity.
Areas such as Baja California Sur, where the popular
tourist destination Cabo San Lucas is, and Quintana Roo, where Cancun
and Riviera Maya are located, have seen a spike in homicide rates this
year.“U.S. citizens have been the victims of violent crimes, including homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery in various Mexican states,” the travel advisory states. The advisory notes that resort areas and tourist destinations in the country don’t typically have the same level of drug-related violence and crime seen in other parts of the country.
NAACP ISSUES OFFICIAL STATEWIDE TRAVEL WARNING FOR 'RACIST' MISSOURI
The notice adds that “gun battles between rival criminal organizations or with Mexican authorities have taken place on streets and in public places during broad daylight,” but that there’s no evidence to show criminal groups in Mexico have targeted Americans based on their nationality.
U.S. citizens traveling may come across government checkpoints, operated by military personnel or law enforcement officials, but in some areas, criminal organizations have created their own “unauthorized checkpoints” and have killed or abducted those who haven’t stopped at them. The warning states that Americans “should cooperate at all checkpoints.”
The advisory follows a March warning that cautioned U.S. college students from traveling to Mexico during spring break.
Trump goes on rampage against the media, sitting Arizona senators at Phoenix rally
A defiant President Trump rallied with his base for
more than an hour Tuesday in Arizona, trashing the media over its
coverage of his response to the recent violence in Charlottesville, Va.,
while criticizing the state’s Republican senators for not getting
behind him.
The president also signaled during
the Phoenix rally that he could soon pardon Joe Arpaio, the former
sheriff in Maricopa County famous for his tough stance against illegal
immigration.
But Trump was most animated when defending himself
against accusations he wasn’t forceful enough in condemning the white
supremacists and racists who were protesting in Charlottesville earlier
this month. He blamed the media for distorting his comments.At one point, the president pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket and re-read his initial statements condemning the racists involved the protests.
“Did they report that I said that racism is evil?” Trump asked of the media. The crowd yelled, “No!”
“You know why?” Trump asked. “Because they are very dishonest people.”
A 32-year-old counter-protester was killed in Charlottesville after police said a Nazi sympathizer rammed his car into a crowd. After the violence, the president faced criticism for blaming “both sides” for the unrest instead of just white nationalists.
As Trump continued to rail against the media’s coverage of him, the crowd began chanting: “CNN sucks!”
“These are sick people," Trump said of the media. "You know the thing I don’t understand? You would think … they’d want to make our country great again. And I honestly believe they don’t.”
The events in Charlottesville cast a shadow over the rally, with Phoenix’s Democratic mayor, Greg Stanton, asking Trump last week to delay his rally in wake of the violence.
The Charlottesville violence led cities across the country to consider removing Confederate statues, something Trump railed against Tuesday.
“They’re trying to take away our culture, they’re trying to take away our history,” he said.
A crowd of protesters formed outside the convention center Tuesday, but the president bragged that there were far more Trump supporters in attendance.
“All week, they’re talking about the massive crowds that are going to be outside,” Trump said. “Where are they?”
He then mocked liberal protesters who had been demonstrating.
“You know, they show up in the helmets and the black masks and they’ve got clubs and they’ve got everything,” Trump said.
Referring to the far-left militant protest group, Trump exclaimed: “Antifa!”
Leading up to the rally, it was believed Trump could announce a pardon at the rally for Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff convicted of a misdemeanor charge for not obeying a 2011 order from a judge to stop his anti-immigrant traffic patrols. Earlier Tuesday, the White House said the president would not be announcing a pardon at the rally.
But Trump suggested a pardon – which would be his first as president – could be forthcoming.
“I’ll make a prediction. I think he’s going to be just fine,” Trump said. “But I won’t do it tonight because I don’t want to cause any controversy. Is that OK?”
Without specifically naming them, Trump dinged the state’s two Republican senators, Jeff Flake and John McCain, with whom he has sparred recently.
McCain, a frequent Trump critic who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, irked the president by voting against the Senate’s recent plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.
“One vote away – I will not mention any names,” Trump said of McCain.
Flake, who has battled with Trump on immigration, has been promoting a book that argues the GOP is in “denial” about the president.
Speaking of Flake, Trump said: “And nobody wants me to talk about your other senator, who's weak on borders, weak on crime. So I won’t talk about him.”
During his speech, Trump vowed to follow through on his promise to crack down on illegal immigration. He also said he isn’t giving up on repealing ObamaCare and expressed optimism about reforming the country’s tax codes.
Speaking of the failed attempt to pass health care reform legislation, Trump said: “It would’ve been great health care for Arizona. It would have been great.”
Tuesday's rally came a day after Trump announced plans to send more troops to Afghanistan – an announcement he highlighted during his speech. “Did anybody watch last night?"
“Last night, as you know, I laid out my vision for an honorable and enduring outcome in a very tough place, a place where our country has failed, Afghanistan,” Trump said.
The president also addressed the recent escalation of rhetoric with North Korea. Trump referenced the country’s leader and said he believes Kim Jong Un is “starting to respect us.” Trump expressed hope that “maybe something positive can come about.”
High-ranking administration officials and other recognizable conservatives warmed up the crowd before the president spoke, including Vice President Mike Pence and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
Several of them painted a picture of a divided country.
"Our lives are too short to let our differences divide us," Carson said. "Our differences are nothing compared to our shared humanity and the values that unite us."
Alveda King, a niece of Martin Luther King Jr., and evangelist Franklin Graham both delivered prayers before Trump’s speech.
"We come tonight as a troubled nation,” Graham said. “We're broken spiritually, we're divided politically, we're divided racially."
Trump Visits Arizona Ahead of Border Wall Funding Battle
Washington, DC – Trey Yingst, OAN Political Correspondent
President Trump visited Southern Arizona Tuesday ahead of what some are calling the September showdown for border wall funding.
The President’s trip to a US Customs and Border protection facility sent a clear message to Trump supporters he is still very serious about completing a Southern border wall, but he faces an uphill battle with lawmakers.
In order to have funding for the border wall, President Trump will need to lobby Congress to include appropriate funds in the government spending bill that is set to be passed this fall.
If Congress is unable to come to a consensus on spending for the border wall, the President will have to explain to his supporters how he plans to move forward on this campaign promise.
During a background briefing Tuesday, senior administration officials discussed the President’s plans for a Southern border wall.
“There will be places where a wall, as most people commonly think of it, makes most sense from an operations perspective. And other areas, where something like what exists today makes more sense,” one senior official said.
The White House is expected to continue lobbying support for funding from lawmakers when they return from their August recess.
President Trump will also address the issue of border wall funding when he speaks Tuesday night in Arizona.
President Trump Doubles Down on His Message of Unity, Calls Out Fake Media
President Trump says “we are going to make America great again for all of the people of the United States,” as he doubles down on his message of unity following the violence in Charlottesville.
He made the comments Tuesday, during a campaign-style rally in Phoenix, calling out the fake news media for their dishonest coverage of the events in Virginia.
The president also hinted that he may pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio saying he wouldn’t do it tonight, because he didn’t want to cause controversy.
Earlier Tuesday, the president visited the border in Yuma where he met with border patrol agents and toured their facility.
The trip comes as the president pushes for border funding as part of the 2018 budget when congress returns from recess.
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