Russia Promises Tough Response Over Consulate Closures

Black smoke rises from the roof of the Consulate-General of Russia Friday, Sept. 1, 2017, in San Francisco. The U.S. on Thursday ordered Russia to shut its San Francisco consulate and close offices in Washington and New York within 48 hours in response to Russia’s decision last month to cut U.S. diplomatic staff in Russia. Fireman were called to the consul, but were turned away after being told there was no problem. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

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Russia promises a tough response to a U.S. order to shutdown Russian consulates in the U.S.
This comes after the White House gave Russia 48 hours Thursday to follow through with its request.
U.S. officials describe the move as retaliation to the Kremlin’s demand for the U.S. to cut its diplomatic staff in Russia following new sanctions imposed by the White House.
Russian officials say they were surprised by the move, and claim the conflict between the two nations was started by the U.S.
The country’s foreign minister said Moscow will reply with firmness, but has not yet settled on how to retaliate.
“I’d like to mention that the closure of the consulate in San Francisco was accompanied by the request to clear it within two days, said Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “We gave the Americans a month to bring the number of diplomatic personnel in accordance with the number of our personnel in the United States, but they kicked out our 35 people with families within two days and now they force us to close a consulate within two days.”
Lavrov said Russia’s decision to cut diplomatic ties came as a response to the U.S. expelling Russian diplomats last December.

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Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke resigns

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, one of the highest-profile members of law enforcement to emerge as a vocal supporter of President Trump, resigned from his position on Thursday.

County Clerk George Christenson said that he received a resignation letter from Clarke but that no reason for the move was provided.

Clarke issued a "retirement statement" to local media hours after his resignation was announced. "After almost forty years serving the great people of Milwaukee County, I have chosen to retire to pursue other opportunities," Clarke wrote. "I will have news about my next steps in the very near future."
In June, Clarke announced that he had rescinded his acceptance of a post in the Office of Public Engagement for the Department of Homeland Security. However, the office had never confirmed that it offered him the job, in which he would have served as a liaison between DHS and state and local law enforcement.
Clarke, a tough-on-crime conservative Democrat, had built a following among conservatives with his provocative social media presence and for his support of President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign. He also spoke at the Republican National Convention last summer. But he later was accused of plagiarism in his master’s thesis at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Clarke denied the report in which it was claimed that he failed to properly attribute his sources at least 47 times in his 2013 thesis, titled "Making U.S. security and privacy rights compatible."
In an email to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clarke wrote, "only someone with a political agenda would say this is plagiarism."
He also drew criticism for conditions in his jails. A mentally ill inmate allegedly died after being deprived of water as punishment, prosecutors said.
Some Wisconsin conservatives had encouraged Clarke to challenge U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, but he repeatedly rejected their overtures.
Clarke recently published a memoir, "Cop Under Fire."
There was no immediate word on a replacement.

Trump pushing for $6 billion in Harvey recovery funding

President Trump is requesting that nearly $6 billion be made available for the Harvey recovery process.

The administration urged Congress on Thursday to approve and provide $5.95 billion for the initial response and recovery efforts related to the devastating hurricane affecting parts of Texas and Louisiana, Axios reported.

A senior administration official told the website that White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney will be calling Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill this week, asking them for their support on the funding plan.
The official added that the Trump administration believes the requested amount will be more than enough to support hurricane recovery efforts until year's end.
If approved by Congress, $5.5 billion would go to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for its disaster relief operations and $450 million to the Small Business Administration to assist affected businesses.
To access the funding, the U.S. debt limit would have to be increased – a move that would aim at lowering the risk of default, Bloomberg Politics reported.
A separate official told the news site that the White House was looking to extend the limit long enough to move back the threat of default until Congress is able to draft a budget for the full federal fiscal year.
Trump has expressed his desire to move swiftly on recovery efforts and rebuild damaged areas in Houston and southeast Texas. Some Democrats have said that the area could need more than $150 billion in federal aid. The initial request is expected to be a down payment on a larger federal aid package, the Washington Post reported.
The news came on the same day that President Trump pledged $1 million of his personal money to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey in both Texas and Louisiana.
“The president is pledging a million dollars of personal money to help,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Thursday.
Sanders said the president asked that she “check with” reporters for “suggestions” on groups and organizations that would be “best and most effective in providing aid.”
The press secretary was asked whether Trump would pay the $1 million from his personal funds, or from the Trump Organization.
“I know the president said he was going to give — I don’t know the legal part of exactly that, but he said his personal money,” Sanders answered. “So I assume that comes directly from him.”
Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed reporting to this story.
Perry Chiaramonte is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @perrych

China Criticizes U.S. Push For New Sanctions On N. Korea

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov)

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China’s foreign ministry is criticizing the U.S. over its push to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea.
Officials in Beijing oppose the practice of unilateral sanctions, and what it calls “long-arm jurisdiction” in agreement of one country’s domestic law.
China also called for earnest, comprehensive, and thorough implementation of the existing U.N. Security Council resolutions.
“We think it is regrettable that some countries selectively overlook the relevant Security Council resolutions’ demand to advance dialogue, and stubbornly emphasize pressure and sanctions, said Hua Chunying, a spokeswomen for the Chinese foreign ministry. “They are always holding back China’s efforts to promote dialogue, and making irresponsible remarks every time there is renewed tension on the peninsula.”
China expressed hope all sides in the ongoing crisis will make rational and wise choices for the sake of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.

House Committee Delays Hearing On Net Neutrality Due to Obstruction

FILE PHOTO – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo is seen before the FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015. (REUTERS/Yuri Gripas)

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A key House Committee delays a hearing on net neutrality after not one of the eight major tech companies showed up to testify.
GOP members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are seeking to establish legislative net neutrality, which is currently subject to regulation by the FCC.
The FCC’s duty is to ensure internet service providers treat all internet data the same, regardless of user content, website, or platform.
Some Democrats favor the FCC’s takeover of the internet.
“We need those rules in place to put a check on this consolidation that’s happening among these big companies,” said Representative John Sarbanes. “That’s why an open internet has to be preserved by keeping these rules in place, and I don’t understand, I cannot understand why the new head of the FCC would want to get rid of that authority.”
Experts say legislative net neutrality would deprive both the FCC and major internet providers of control over the internet.
In July, House Republican leaders threatened that if internet providers kept objecting net neutrality other policies could become tougher on them.

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Pelosi on violent Antifa members: Lock them up

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says the "violent" members of Antifa — those members of the anti-fascist group who allegedly attacked conservative demonstrators over the weekend in Berkeley, Calif. — should be arrested and prosecuted.

"Our democracy has no room for inciting violence or endangering the public, no matter the ideology of those who commit such acts," Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. "The violent actions of people calling themselves Antifa in Berkeley this weekend deserve unequivocal condemnation."

The article pointed out that the famous California liberal distanced the Democratic Party from the group.
In addition, Pelosi told the Denver Post’s editorial board: “You’re not talking about the far left of the Democratic Party — they’re not even Democrats. A lot of them are socialists or anarchists or whatever.”
Thirteen people were arrested and five others were injured Sunday after more than 100 black-clad, hooded protesters with masks and weapons attacked and overwhelmed peaceful demonstrators.
"They came with black masks, they carried weapons, they were pounding people down with their fists and feet," University of California-Berkeley College Republican Ashton Whitty told Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum" Monday night. "I knew I had to get out of there.
"Everything was great until Antifa showed up," Whitty added.
Pelosi, who represents a district in neighboring San Francisco, had been criticized for not condemning the Antifa violence as forcefully as she had warned about the potential for unrest at a Patriot Prayer rally that had been planned for Saturday.
Berkeley's mayor, Jesse Arreguin, had previously spoken out against Antifa, saying the group should be classified "as a gang."
"They come dressed in uniforms," Arreguin said. "They have weapons, almost like a militia, and I think we need to think about that in terms of our law enforcement approach."

N. Korea Threatens Guam Again, Says Launch Over Japan Was Prelude to Strike On U.S. Territory

People fill the square of the main railway station to watch a televised news broadcast of the test-fire of an inter-continental ballistic rocket Hwasong-12, Wednesday, August 30, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for more weapons launches targeting the Pacific Ocean to advance his country’s ability to contain Guam, state media said, a day after Pyongyang for the first time flew a ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload over Japan. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)

North Korea is once again threatening to attack Guam.
The country’s state-run media issued a warning Wednesday, saying its recent missile launch over Japan was a preview for a planned strike on the U.S. territory.
Video of North Korea’s latest launch was also released, showing a mid-range ballistic missile shooting into the sky.
Reports say Kim Jong-un wants to conduct more missile tests to advance North Korea’s military capabilities.
President Trump has said diplomatic talks with the North are not the answer.
China has suspended coal imports from the North, and banned North Korean companies from doing business in the country.
Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan agreed to significantly increase the pressure on Pyongyang, demanding even stricter U.N. sanctions against North Korea.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe say that Pyongyang’s projectile launch is an act of outrageous violence exceeding the level of a provocation.
The South Korean president expressed his solidarity with the people of Japan as the North Korean missile launch sparked concern and unease among the residents of Hokkaido.
The statements come after intensified threats out of Pyongyang promising more ballistic missile tests and threats targeting Guam.
Japan and South Korea say they are seeking deeper cooperation on the matter with the U.S. as well as with China and Russia.
Early next month, the leaders will meet with their Russian and Chinese colleagues at an economic forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok where they plan to deepen communication on the North Korean menace.
The threat escalates as Pyongyang vows even more missile tests despite the U.N. condemnation of the rogue state’s actions.

11 States and District of Columbia Send Letter to Senate Health Committee

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11 states along with the District of Columbia run their own Obamacare exchanges, and want more federal funding.
In a letter dated August 29th to the Senate, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee the states shared there ideas, which included guaranteeing insurer payments and a reinsurance fund to help insurers.
The letter comes as insurers are trying to figure out much to charge for Obamacare, and some states are seeing possible increases of 50%.
The states also want the Department of Health and Human Service to continue granting them federal waivers to meet Obamacare requirements.