U.S. set to hit China with new round of tariffs on Sunday

In this Aug. 6, 2019, photo, a container ship is docked a port in Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong province. U.S. President Donald Trump angrily escalated his trade fight with China on Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, raising retaliatory tariffs and ordering American companies to consider alternatives to doing business there. (Chinatopix via AP)

The U.S. is expected to impose another round of tariffs on China this weekend.
Speaking to reporters Friday, President Trump said the tariffs are set to go into effect Sunday, and noted Beijing and his administration, are still working on hashing out a trade deal.
Once in effect, Customs and Border Protection will begin collecting 15% tariffs on $112 billions worth of Chinese imports. The president also stated the move puts the U.S. in a favorable position for negotiations.
“The tariffs have put us in an incredible negotiating position and I say that to China directly,” President Trump said to reporters Friday. “And it’s only going to get worse for China. But I say it to China directly, because of the tariffs we’re in an incredible negotiating position and we happen to be taking in billions and billions and billions of dollars.”
The president also weighed in on China’s involvement in Hong Kong, saying he told Beijing officials he wants the situation to be handled in a “humane fashion.”

President Trump: suing Omarosa Newman over confidentiality agreement

President Trump said he’s filing a lawsuit against former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman.
In a tweet Saturday, the president said he’s currently suing “various people” for confidentiality agreement violations.
He said one of them included Newman, adding although he gave her a break, she went for some cheap money with a book.

…Yes, I am currently suing various people for violating their confidentiality agreements. Disgusting and foul mouthed Omarosa is one. I gave her every break, despite the fact that she was despised by everyone, and she went for some cheap money from a book. Numerous others also!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2019

The tweet comes after the president said he wouldn’t have to enforce a confidentially agreement against former personal assistant Madeline Westerhout, who stepped down earlier this week.
Newman published a book about her alleged experiences working with the president last year.

Remarks against Antifa prompt FBI seizure of former Marine’s weapons under Oregon’s ‘red flag’ law: reports

A former Marine who said at a protest that he would “slaughter” Antifa members in self-defense, if attacked, recently had his five weapons confiscated by the FBI, according to reports.
The temporary seizure came through the use of Oregon’s “red flag” law, which allows law enforcement agencies and family members to seek a court order to have weapons taken away from an individual viewed as potentially violent. Such laws are often opposed by supporters of Second Amendment gun rights.
The former Marine, Shane Kohfield, 32, was not charged with any crime, but surrendered five guns, including an AR-15 rifle, according to Phil Lemman, Oregon’s acting deputy state court administrator, the Washington Examiner reported.
The action was reportedly prompted by remarks Kohfield made in public during a demonstration outside the home of Portland, Ore., Mayor Ted Wheeler in August, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported.
“If Antifa gets to the point where they start killing us, I’m going to kill them next," Kohfield told a crowd, according to the Oregonian. “I’d slaughter them, and I have a detailed plan on how I would wipe out Antifa.”
Kohfield previously wrote to U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, a former Navy SEAL, to share his concern about Antifa and voice his support for having the group declared a terrorist organization, a step that President Trump has considered.
Portland has been the site of frequent violent clashes between members of far-left Antifa and supporters of conservative groups such as Proud Boys. The mayor and other city officials have faced criticism for their handling of such events.
Based on the court order, Kohfield – who served two tours of duty in Iraq -- was committed to a veterans hospital for 20 days and was barred from participating in subsequent protests in Portland.
According to the Oregonian, Kohfield conceded that he probably appeared threatening to other people, but he never intended to cause harm.
“I looked unhinged,” he told the newspaper. “I looked dangerous and have the training to be dangerous.”
The FBI would not comment about the case, the Oregonian reported. It was unclear when Kohfield’s weapons would be returned to him.
The Oregon Legislature narrowly passed the state’s red-flag law in 2017, with no Republican support in the House and backing from only one Republican in the Senate. Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, signed the bill into law on Aug. 15 of that year and the law took effect Jan. 1, 2018.

Townhall Cartoons August 2019

Tear gas, water cannon in Hong Kong police-protester faceoff

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police fired blue-colored water from water cannons and tear gas on Saturday in a standoff with protesters outside government headquarters.
While other protesters marched back and forth elsewhere in the city, a large crowd wearing helmets and gas masks gathered outside the city government building. Some approached barriers that had been set up to keep protesters away and appeared to throw objects at the police on the other side. Others shone laser lights at the officers.
Police fired tear gas from the other side of the barriers, then brought out a water cannon truck that fired regular water and then colored water at the protesters, staining them and nearby journalists and leaving blue puddles in the street.
Earlier, large crowds of protesters gathered in central Hong Kong as police readied for possible confrontations near the Chinese government’s main office and elsewhere in the semiautonomous territory.
A march to mark the fifth anniversary of China’s decision against fully democratic elections in Hong Kong was not permitted by police, but protesters took to the streets anyway in the 13th straight weekend of demonstrations.
The mostly young, black-shirted protesters took over roads and major intersections in shopping districts as they rallied and marched. Police erected additional barriers and brought out two water cannon trucks near the Chinese government office and deployed at various locations in riot gear.
Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said Hong Kong citizens would keep fighting for their rights and freedoms despite the arrests of several prominent activists and lawmakers in the past two days, including activist Joshua Wong.
The protests were sparked by a now-shelved extradition bill. Protesters are demanding its full withdrawal, democratic elections and an investigation into alleged police brutality in what have been pitched battles with hard-line demonstrators.
“I do believe the government deliberately arrested several leaders of the democratic camp to try to threaten Hong Kong people not to come out to fight against the evil law,” Lam said at what was advertised as a Christian march earlier in the day.
About 1,000 people marched to a Methodist church and police headquarters. They alternated between singing hymns and chanting the slogans of the pro-democracy movement. An online flyer for the demonstration called it a “prayer for sinners” and featured images of a Christian cross and embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, who had proposed the extradition bill.
Authorities rejected an application from the Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of pro-democracy marches that have drawn upward of a million people this summer, for a march to the Chinese government office. Police said that while previous marches have started peacefully, they have increasingly degenerated into violence in the end.
The standing committee of China’s legislature ruled on Aug. 31, 2014, that Hong Kong residents could elect their leader directly, but that the candidates would have to be approved by a nominating committee.
The decision failed to satisfy democracy advocates in the city and led to the 79-day long Occupy Central protests that fall, in which demonstrators camped out on major streets in the financial district and other parts of Hong Kong.
The participants in the religious march Saturday were peaceful and mostly older than the younger protesters who have led this summer’s movement and, in some cases, blocked streets and battled police with bricks, sticks and gasoline bombs
Religious meetings do not require police approval, though authorities said late Friday that organizers of a procession with more than 30 people must notify police.
The government shut down streets and subway service near the Chinese government’s office, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) west of the religious march.
“A public event is expected on Hong Kong Island this afternoon which may cause severe disruptions,” police said. “Text messages have been sent to alert members of the public to mind their personal safety.”
___
Associated Press videojournalists Alice Fung and Johnson Lai contributed to this report.

EPA cutting back on Obama-era methane regulations

FILE – In this April 24, 2015, file photo, pumpjacks work in a field near Lovington, N.M. Oil industry and environmental groups say they expect the Environmental Protection Agency to release a proposed rule over the next few days that will roll back requirements on detecting and plugging methane leaks at oil and gas facilities. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

The Environmental Protection Agency is cutting back on energy regulations created by the Obama administration, some of which are just copies of other rules.
The latest decision by President Trump’s administration is expected to help oil and gas companies, possibly boosting profits by hundreds of millions of dollars into the next decade.
This includes changing how methane is regulated. Small companies have argued against the installation of technology designed to look for and fix leaks because they say it costs them too much. The president is also planning a rollback of ethanol regulations that are expected to help American farmers.

The Farmers are going to be so happy when they see what we are doing for Ethanol, not even including the E-15, year around, which is already done. It will be a giant package, get ready! At the same time I was able to save the small refineries from certain closing. Great for all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2019

President Trump talked about what his policies are doing for the future of the industry during a joint news conference with France at the G7 summit.
“We are now the number one energy producer in the world,” he stated. “Soon it will be, by far, the number one — it’s tremendous wealth.”
A few weeks before that speech, the president told a crowd in Pennsylvania his administration was clearing a path for energy and manufacturing companies to grow.
A public comment period will be implemented before the EPA’s new methane policy can take effect. This is just the latest effort by the president to cut regulations. He has opened the door for drilling in Alaska and for mining on public land. Additionally, there are reported plans by the EPA in regards to the Endangered Species Act as well as cutting regulations related to streams and wetlands.

CNN touts OANN during anti-Fox news panel

One America News Network received a shout from one of the most outspoken anti-Trump talk show hosts on TV. Earlier this week on CNN, anchor Don Lemon held a panel on the president’s anti-Fox News tweets. During the discussion, a Daily Beast columnist brought up the president’s new favorite news channel — One America News.
While some critics on the panel tried to downplay One America’s rise, others gave the channel some free publicity. One America News CEO Robert Herring took to Twitter in response to the discussion:

Isn't it nice how generous @CNN is?@OANN @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/MTerQo9vKG

— Robert Herring (@RobHerring) August 29, 2019

CBP agents say new border wall in ‘smuggler’s gulch’ makes a difference

Workers break ground on new border wall construction about 20 miles west of Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Aug. 23, 2019. The wall visible on the left was built in 2018 with money allocated by Congress, while the new construction is funded by money reallocated from Department of Defense funding. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio)

According to California Border Patrol agents, new infrastructure in an area known as “smuggler’s gulch” is making a difference. On Thursday, the agent in charge — Justin De La Torre — stated a steep, open canyon between Tijuana and San Diego has been used for decades by immigrants attempting to smuggle drugs into the U.S. from Mexico.
The agent said when he first started working in “smuggler’s gulch” there needed to be at least five agents on patrol. He also noted that effective infrastructure there was lacking. However, De La Torre now says the wall’s formidable features have successfully bolstered Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) security efforts.
“It has an anti-climb feature, it’s made of steel, it also has a concrete base that prevents digging from underneath, and now we’re able to control this area with the new infrastructure,” he stated.
De La Torre added, the agents who patrolled “smugglers gulch” in the past only had a fence made out of landing mat to aid security efforts. He said the fence helped, but it was easy to climb.
President Trump moved to replace the fencing along the San Diego border earlier this year as his administration sped up moves to build taller, stronger border reinforcement. During the State of the Union address, the president stated CBP agents are the ones who see how the wall is helping mitigate the crisis at the border first-hand.
“This is a smart, strategic, see-through steel barrier — not just a simple concrete wall,” said the president. “It will be deployed in the areas identified by border agents as having the greatest need, and as these agents will tell you, where walls go up, illegal crossings go way down.”
Border officials stated they are continuing their efforts to construct several miles of wall along the southwest border. The CBP confirmed several wall construction projects are underway in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Numerous wall construction projects are underway across the Southwest border, including projects in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. pic.twitter.com/43OrCdw8J2

— CBP (@CBP) August 25, 2019

CAIR Cartoons

Census Bureau abruptly ends just-announced partnership with Muslim advocacy group CAIR

EXCLUSIVE: The Commerce Department on Thursday terminated its just-announced planned partnership with the nation's largest Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, after Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" asked about the arrangement -- given CAIR's reported ties to the terrorist group Hamas, and its repeated attacks on the president.
"Based on further review, the Census Bureau is no longer partnering with CAIR," the Commerce Department said in a statement to "Tucker."
The plan, according to the group, was to enhance outreach efforts to Muslims using CAIR's network of local offices. The census, conducted once a decade, has been used not only to determine congressional apportionment, but also as a critical planning tool for state, local and federal agencies.
However, CAIR and the Trump administration would have been strange bedfellows -- and tension in the relationship was evident earlier Thursday. Reached by Fox News prior to the Census Bureau's decision, CAIR openly derided the Trump administration as "white supremacist" despite the partnership.
"The Census Bureau, like CAIR, is nonpartisan," the organization said. "CAIR is not receiving any government funding as part of this project to promote Muslim participation in the U.S. census. We continue to believe that President Trump and his administration promote a white supremacist, anti-immigrant and Islamophobic agenda."
In its official statement on Wednesday announcing the partnership, however, CAIR sounded a more positive note.
"CAIR is proud to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure American Muslims are fairly and accurately counted in the 2020 Census," Nihad Awad, CAIR’s national executive director, said in a news release earlier on Thursday. "Full participation in the census ensures that American Muslims will be better represented in Congress and that their communities receive an equal share in state and federal programs."
The organization added: "CAIR wants to ensure that not only are American Muslim communities being fairly counted, but that their neighbors are getting a fair share in federal and state funding."
In 2009, the FBI severed its once-close ties to CAIR amid mounting evidence that the group had links to a support network for Hamas.
Local chapters of CAIR were shunned in the wake of a 15-year FBI investigation that culminated in the conviction of Hamas fundraisers at a trial in which CAIR itself was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.
The U.S. government has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Roula Allouch, the board chairwoman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, left, seen speaking in 2016. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

The FBI previously had invited CAIR to give training sessions for agents and used it as a liaison with the American Muslim community.
CAIR's executive director, Nihad Awad, attended a post-Sept. 11 meeting with then-FBI Director Robert Mueller, and he met with other top brass as recently as 2006. That was before Awad was shown to have participated in planning meetings with the Holy Land Foundation, five officials of which were convicted in December of funneling $12.4 million to Hamas.
Prosecutors identified CAIR's chairman emeritus, Omar Ahmad, as an unindicted co-conspirator in that trial, and Special Agent Lara Burns testified that CAIR was a front group for radical organizations operating in the U.S.
CAIR denied it conspired in the case and has sued unsuccessfully to have its name removed from the list of co-conspirators. It also has protested the FBI's decision to sever relations.
"This is an unfortunate legacy of the Bush administration's misguided and counterproductive efforts to marginalize mainstream American Muslim organizations," CAIR's national office said in a statement to Fox News at the time. "It is not surprising that we would be singled out by those in the previous administration who sought to prevent us from defending the civil rights of American Muslims."
In a statement on its website in May 2013, CAIR similarly rejected suggestions it had links to terrorism.
"CAIR is not is [sic] 'the Wahhabi lobby,' a 'front group for Hamas,' a 'fundraising arm for Hezbollah,' '...part of a wider conspiracy overseen by the Muslim Brotherhood...' or any of the other false and misleading associations our detractors seek to smear us with," the organization said. "That we stand accused of being both a 'fundraising arm of Hezbollah' and the 'Wahhabi lobby' is a significant point in demonstrating that our detractors are hurling slander, not fact. Hezbollah and the Salafi (Wahhabi) movement represent diametrically opposed ideologies."
"Tucker Carlson Tonight" investigative producer Alex Pfeiffer contributed to this report.