1 of 2 protesters hit by car on closed Seattle highway dies

SEATTLE (AP) — A car drove onto a closed freeway early Saturday and struck two people in a crowd protesting against police brutality, killing one and critically injuring the other, authorities said.

Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle died in the evening at Harborview Medical Center, spokesperson Susan Gregg said.

Taylor and Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, were hit by the car that barreled through a panicked crowd of protesters on Interstate 5 (?)early Saturday morning, officials said.

Dawit Kelete of Seattle drove the car around vehicles that were blocking I-5 and sped into the crowd about 1:40 a.m., according to a police report released by the Washington State Patrol. Video taken at the scene by protesters showed people shouting “Car! Car!” before fleeing the roadway.

Love is in serious condition in the intensive care unit, Harborview, Gregg said.

Love was filming the protest in a nearly two-hour-long Facebook livestream captioned “Black Femme March takes I-5” when the video ended abruptly; with about 15 seconds left, shouts of “Car!” can be heard as the camera starts to shake before screeching tires and the sound of impact are heard.

A graphic video posted on social media showed the white Jaguar racing toward a group of protesters who are standing behind several parked cars, set up for protection. The car swerves around the other vehicles and slams into the two protesters, sending them flying into the air.

The driver, who was alone, fled the scene after hitting the protesters, Trooper Chase Van Cleave told The Associated Press. One of the other protesters got in a car and chased the driver for about a mile. He was able to stop him by pulling his car in front of the Jaguar, Van Cleave said.

Troopers arrived, and the driver was put in custody, Washington State Patrol Capt. Ron Mead said.

Kelete was described by offices as reserved and sullen when he was arrested, according to court documents. He also asked if the pedestrians were OK, the documents say.

Kelete was booked into the King County Correctional Facility on Saturday morning on two counts of vehicular assault. Bail was denied.

A judge found probable cause to hold Kelete on an investigation of vehicular assault. He faces a second court hearing on Monday at which the judge will determine if he can be released on bail, according to court documents.

It was not immediately clear if Kelete had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Officials were trying to determine the motive as well as where he got onto the interstate, which had been closed by the state patrol for more than an hour before the protesters were hit. Mead said they suspect Kelete drove the wrong way on a ramp. Trooper Rick Johnson said the driver went through a barrier that closed the freeway.

Troopers did not know whether it was a targeted attack, but impairment was not considered a factor, Mead said.

Kelete has a Seattle address. He is listed in public records as a student who attended Washington State University between 2011 and 2017 majoring in business and commerce. His enrollment status could not be confirmed because the university was closed Saturday.

The Washington State Patrol said Sunday evening that going forward it won’t allow protesters to enter I-5 and would arrest pedestrians on the freeway.

Seattle has been the site of prolonged unrest following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide protests. Dozens of people were arrested this past week in connection with protests as demonstrations continue after authorities cleared the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” zone Wednesday morning.

Protesters had shut down the interstate for 19 days in a row, Mead said at a press conference.

The State Patrol responded by closing sections of the interstate to keep drivers and protesters safe.

“In a time that requires care and flexibility, we are exercising the safest means possible to avoid injuries or worse to motorists, protesters, WSDOT personnel and our troopers by closing the roadway and separating protesters from vehicular traffic,” Chief John Batiste said in a statement on June 27, responding to complaints about the road closures.

Mead emphasized that the freeway is “simply not a safe place” for pedestrians, and said he hoped protesters would cease what he termed “unlawful behavior” in blocking the interstate.

“My hope is, as a result of this tragedy, protesters will reconsider their desire to be on the interstate because I cannot guarantee their safety, plain and simple,” Mead said.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said the city stands beside the friends and family of the victims.

“No one should risk their life for demanding better from our city, state and country,” Durkan said on Twitter.

Protesters were on the freeway for more than an hour before the car drove around the blockade around 1:36 a.m., Mead said.

The state patrol tweeted out two pictures of the driver’s car with significant damage to its bumper and windshield.

Seattle police tweeted that they were assisting.

Trump defends US history, blasts 'radical left' in 'Salute to America' celebration

President Trump evoked the history of American patriots who defeated Nazis, toppled communists and chased down terrorists, but warned of another threat now in today's political climate -- the "radical left."

In a Fourth of July speech at the White House in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and racial unrest, Trump made a full-throated defense of America's past and said he won't allow an "angry mob" to tear down statues, "indoctrinate our children" or "trample" freedoms.
“We are now in the process of defeating the radical left," Trump said to hundreds at the White House lawn Independence Day celebration. "The Marxists. The anarchists. The agitators. The looters, and people who in many instances, have absolutely no clue what they are doing.”

Trump, who has railed against the "cancel culture," refused to let the coronavirus pandemic close down a grand Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C., despite objections from local officials over rising infection rates.

Four flyovers over East Coast cities, a D.C. military air show, music and fireworks took place as part of the "Salute to America" celebration to honor America's 244th birthday Saturday.
"Thanks to the courage of those patriots on July 4, 1776, the American Republic stands today as the greatest, most exceptional and most virtuous nation in the history of the world," Trump said.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump watch as V-22 Osprey aircraft perform a flyover during a "Salute to America" event on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, July 4, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Trump praised the ingenuity of American workers and lauded American heroes who defeated Nazis and dethroned fascists. But as Black Lives Matter protesters have taken to the streets in the wake of George Floyd's death to demand racial justice -- with some activists taking down Confederate statues and other relics -- Trump warned of a new front that America must overcome: left-wing radicals seeking to destroy history.

Trump accused the media of "slander" for sowing racial divisions and said the press dishonors the memory of soldiers "by insisting they fought for racism." He said the country's heritage belongs to citizens of every background, regardless of race.
"Our past is not a burden to be cast away,” Trump said. “... This incredible story of American progress is the story of each generation picking up where the last one finished.” 

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump watch as the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team descend during a "Salute to America" event on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, July 4, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump paid tribute to the military and those who founded America 244 years ago, and talked of his plans to create a "national garden" of American heroes.
"We will not throw away our heroes. We will honor them, and we will prove worthy of their sacrifice," Trump said.
Trump acknowledged the struggles of the coronavirus pandemic, which "goes out in one area and rears back its ugly face in another area." He touted advancements on testing, producing ventilators, and said the U.S. will likely have a vaccine or therapeutic solution before the end of the year. He blamed China for a "cover-up" about the virus's origin and said the country must be held accountable for spreading a global pandemic.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump place their hands on their chest during a "Salute to America" event on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, July 4, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Trump had already kicked off the Independence Day weekend with a defiant speech at Mount Rushmore Friday where he stood up to the "cancel culture" of racial justice activists and those who are trying to wipe out American history, tear down statues and defame heroes.

Just hours before his White House address Saturday, Trump retweeted a post from a conservative author pointing out the hypocrisy from the "PC Coronavirus Police" that protesting America is safe, but celebrating America is unsafe.
Protesters blocking the highway to Mount Rushrome Friday were arrested Friday in advance of Trump's speech. Demonstrators demanding racial justice also crowded at Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House Saturday.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump appear at a "Salute to America" event on the South Lawn of the White House, Saturday, July 4, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Trump sought to make a sharp contrast to presumptive White House opponent Joe Biden, who put out an Independence Day message saying America has never lived up to the founding idea of equality -- evoking slavery and George Floyd's death -- and called on the country to address "systemic racism." A Trump aide called Biden's message to Americans on the Fourth of July "truly shocking."
"Biden opens by saying that America has 'NEVER lived up to' our ideals, then goes on to denigrate Thomas Jefferson, evoke a series of the very worst moments of our history, accuse the country of systemic racism, cast us as a bad people whose conscience is 'gnawed at' by principles he says we have 'never'  embodied, and then go on to say 'American history is no fairy tale,' and suggest that only by voting for him can America redeem itself from this terrible story," the Trump aide said.
As the coronavirus is far from contained -- with more than 50,000 new cases daily -- public health officials have warned against large-scale gatherings and cities have minimized celebrations by canceling fireworks, closing beaches and even banning spectators at Nathan’s Famous July Fourth hot dog-eating contest.

COVID-19 cases have grown at a rate not experienced even during the deadliest phase of the pandemic in the spring, with Florida health officials recording another record-breaking day.
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser raised objections about the fireworks celebration at the nation's capital but noted she doesn't control the federal land. She warned the federal government about the dangers of such a large crowd and told her constituents: “Just because someone invites you to a party doesn’t mean you have to go."
It appears the COVID pandemic and the scorching heat kept the large crowds away from the National Mall. Protestors were virtually nonexistent all day on the Mall, but hundreds of protesters were spotted closer to the White House at the recently named Black Lives Matter Plaza.
The Department of Interior had planned a major celebration with more than 10,000 fireworks expected to light up the National Mall for about 35 minutes.
Officials had said they would hand out 300,000 face coverings to spectators at the National Mall. Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt said visitors would be encouraged to wear masks and keep a six-foot distance from one another. But there was no indication masks would be mandatory.
Kicking off the celebration, military flyovers saluted the skies in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore. The military planes joined the larger air show in Washington, D.C., with a demonstration by the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team and a 21-gun salute by the military’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard.

Trump’s own plane, known as Air Force One when he’s aboard, kicked off the festivities with a flyover above the president and First Lady. The air show included an array of heritage planes from past wars.
The White House said this year's celebration had a "different look than 2019" due to the coronavirus concerns.
Last year, Trump held a big Independence Day event on the National Mall with armored military vehicles on display and gave a speech from the Lincoln Memorial -- to the dismay of Democrats, who accused Trump of trying to politicize the holiday.
This year, Trump and First Lady Melania Trump invited frontline workers -- police, doctors, nurses and military members -- to the White House to watch the airshows and fireworks with their families.
The White House stressed that social distancing would be observed and facial coverings and personal hand sanitizers were provided.
Several hundred guests were seated at round tables on the White House lawn in 88-degree heat, with roughly a third of them wearing masks.

Guests waved miniature American flags to the sounds of patriotic music performed by the US Air Force Band, followed by the President's Own Marine Band and the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters.
"The American people have shown tremendous courage and spirit, particularly our amazing frontline workers, in the fight against this global pandemic just as our forefathers did in the fight to secure our independence, and both deserve celebration on America’s birthday this year," White House Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
Fox News' John Roberts, Mark Meredith, Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Kaepernick denounces 4th of July as ‘celebration of white supremacy’

The media praises Colin Kaepernick amid George Floyd unrest and calls for his NFL return after Roger Goodell admits 'we were wrong' about the kneeling controversy.

Happy Fourth of July? Not for free agent NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
In a Twitter message Saturday, the former San Francisco 49ers player denounced the nation's 244th birthday as a “celebration of white supremacy.”
Along with a video showing images of the Ku Klux Klan, police brutality, slavery and lynchings, Kaepernick wrote: “Black ppl have been dehumanized, brutalized, criminalized + terrorized by America for centuries, & are expected to join your commemoration of ‘independence’, while you enslaved our ancestors. We reject your celebration of white supremacy & look forward to liberation for all.”
The video's disturbing images were over a backdrop of fireworks and actor James Earl Jones reading 19th-century abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
Kaepernick, 32, started kneeling for the national anthem before NFL games in 2016 to protest racial inequality and police brutality and has been a free agent since his 49ers contract expired in 2017.
No teams have signed him since, raising allegations that the league was deliberately blackballing him. But last month, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he was encouraging teams to consider signing Kaepernick.

"I welcome that," Goodell said.
As Black Lives Matter protests continue across the U.S. following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis, the country has restarted a deeper conversation about race, equality and American history.
Kaepernick tweeted the same video on Independence Day last year.

Charlie Kirk says Trump should add 'positivity' to election bid: Americans 'want their lives back'

Blame the media and the coronavirus for President Trump's current campaign woes, Charlie Kirk said Saturday.
His advice for the president: Trump should use positivity to jumpstart and reenergize his reelection bid.
"I think that America right now, because of the propaganda media and the activist wing of the Democrat Party, America feels a little bit down right now," Kirk said during an appearance on Fox News' "Justice with Judge Jeanine."
Adding more positive messaging would help recapture the spark of Trump's 2016 campaign, the founder of Turning Point USA  added.
Americans "want their lives" back and some are unfairly blaming the president for their frustration regarding the coronavirus, he said.
"The American people right now on Independence Day weekend, they want their lives back. And so they are a lot of voters right now are frustrated and they're wrongly placing some of that frustration, I believe, on the president of the United States," Kirk told host Jeanine Pirro. "It's just there's a lot of reasons for it."
Kirk pointed to Trump's embrace of the SpaceX-NASA joint launch of a rocket into space last month, an event that gave the country a much-needed boost of optimism and positivity.
"I think what the president should continue to do is embrace the spirit that we saw on that rocket launch, where we went to space for the first time in nearly a decade -- contrasting with the violence, the anarchy in the streets," Kirk said. "The president is the best offensive player that we have ever seen in American politics when he sets the agenda. People follow brilliantly, by the way."
"And so that kind of big and bold, frontier-minded spirit -- talking to America as a country of pioneers again," Kirk said. "I can tell you from the thousands of people that I communicate with week to week, and the hundreds of thousands of messages that we get every single month, Americans right now -- they are yearning for that renewal of optimism and positivity."

4th of July 2020 Cartoons

Trump, Biden fight for primacy on social media platforms

WASHINGTON (AP) — On an average day, President Donald Trump sends about 14 posts to the 28 million Facebook followers of his campaign account. His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, delivers about half that many posts to an audience of just 2 million.

The numbers are similarly skewed in other spheres of the social media landscape.

On Twitter, Trump’s 82.4 million followers dwarf Biden’s 6.4 million. The president has spent years cultivating a ragtag digital “army” of meme makers and political influencers who retweet campaign messages hundreds of times daily. Trump is outspending Biden on Google and YouTube advertising by nearly 3 to 1.

As his reelection bid faces growing obstacles, his primacy in the dizzying digital world is one of his top advantages, giving him a massive platform to connect with supporters and push a message that ignores his vulnerabilities related to the pandemic, unemployment and race relations. Biden and his allies are now working feverishly to establish a social media force of their own.

For the first time, Biden outspent Trump on Facebook advertising in June, pouring twice as much money into the platform as the president. His campaign is recruiting Instagram supporters to hold virtual fundraisers. And it’s plotting ways to mobilize the power of hundreds of teens on TikTok who reserved tickets for Trump’s recent Oklahoma campaign rally and took credit for sinking the event by artificially inflating the crowd count before it began.

But Trump’s head start may be tough to overcome.

“Vice President Biden and Trump have very different challenges right now,” said Tara McGowan, the founder of liberal digital firm Acronym and former digital director for the Democratic super PAC Priorities USA during the 2016 campaign. “Trump needs to hold his base ... and Vice President Biden needs to define and in a lot of ways introduce himself to you new voters, and potential supporters.”

But Trump’s unimpeded access to the digital microphone is facing its limits.

Twitter is beginning to fact check Trump’s posts, including one that made unfounded claims that mail-in voting would lead to fraud. The company also alerted users when the president posted a manipulated video, and it hid his Twitter threat about shooting looters in Minneapolis.

Under pressure in June as major companies yanked advertising from its site, Facebook promised it would label Trump posts when they break rules around voting or hate speech. Video messaging platform Snapchat last month also said it would keep the president’s account active and searchable but would stop showcasing his profile on the platform. And in a move to clamp down on hate and violent speech, the online comment forum Reddit decided to ban one of the president’s most prolific fan forums, The_Donald.

Trump and Biden have strikingly divergent tactics on social media.

A centerpiece of Trump’s digital efforts is the Team Trump Online! nightly live broadcasts streamed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Twitch, an online streaming platform. The broadcasts feature top Trump surrogates including daughter-in-law Lara Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump also tweets with far greater velocity, sending more than 160 Twitter messages during a seven-day period starting June 14, an Associated Press analysis of Trump and Biden’s accounts reveals. More than 50 of Trump’s posts were retweets from an assortment of users that included the U.S. Army, far-right meme makers, conservative news outlets, little-known congressional candidates and anonymous accounts that in some cases promoted conspiracy theories.

The president’s steady retweets of everyday users helps fans feel connected to him, said Logan Cook, a Kansas internet meme maker whose work Trump has regularly promoted on his social media accounts.

“President Trump’s team, they’re blending in with social media culture, which is also why they’re getting into so much trouble,” said Cook, whose Twitter account @CarpeDonktum was permanently suspended last week for copyright violations. His memes are controversial because he alters videos to mock Trump’s political rivals, including Biden.

Twitter users celebrate being retweeted by the president, or his inner circle, like the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who has more than 5 million followers.

Trump’s followers see producing sardonic memes or videos as a game where the ultimate prize is a retweet from the president, said Misha Leybovich, a tech entrepreneur who produces social media engagement products that support Democratic candidates and causes.

“The fan base is having a blast,” Leybovich said. “If they never gave the fans the ability to be amplified by the president, the stakes would be lower.”

Biden has stuck to a more conventional approach, tweeting nearly 60 messages during that same time, only a handful of which were retweets from verified accounts, like former President Barack Obama, or established news outlets. Every video Biden tweeted out over that week in June was produced by his own campaign.

But the effectiveness of campaign messaging isn’t just about numbers, said Jennifer Mercieca, a political rhetoric professor at Texas A&M University.

“If you want to compare the attention and engagement metrics, it might look like Trump is way ahead, but that attention and outrage isn’t always good,” Mercieca said. “When a child is throwing a tantrum, you’re giving them attention, but it’s not because you approve of their behavior.”

Indeed, the Biden campaign argues that despite being outmatched on social media, their engagement is strong.

“The way that they treat their supporters, it’s about distraction. It’s about keeping them angry,” said Rob Friedlander, Biden campaign digital director. “For us it’s about, how do we make you feel like you’re brought into the campaign.”

The campaign is creating Facebook groups, holding virtual events on Instagram and partnering with social media influencers who create posts in support of the campaign.

One such group is an Instagram account called Bakers for Biden,which bakes bread and ships sourdough starters across the country in exchange for donations to Biden. The group was born out of what Brooklyn marketing executive Domenic Venuto first saw as an inadequate response from Biden’s campaign to Trump’s taunts and conspiracy theories.

Critics of US-Taliban deal say militants can’t be trusted

 

FILE - In this April 9, 2019, file photo, Afghans watch a civilian vehicle burnt after being shot by U.S. forces following an attack near the Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Three American service members and a U.S. contractor were killed when their convoy hit a roadside bomb on Monday near the main U.S. base in Afghanistan, the U.S. forces said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Intelligence alleging that Afghan militants might have accepted Russian bounties for killing American troops didn’t scuttle the U.S.-Taliban agreement or President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw thousands more troops from the war. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Intelligence that Afghan militants might have accepted Russian bounties for killing American troops did not scuttle the U.S.-Taliban agreement or President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw thousands more troops from the war.

It did give critics of the deal another reason to say the Taliban shouldn’t be trusted.

The bounty information was included in Trump’s president’s daily intelligence brief on Feb. 27, according to intelligence officials, and two days later, the U.S. and Taliban signed an agreement in Qatar. The agreement clears the way for America to end 19 years in Afghanistan and gives Trump a way to make good on his promise to end U.S. involvement in what he calls “endless wars.”

On March 3, three days after the agreement was signed, the president had a 35-minute phone call with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban and head of their political office in Qatar. After reports of the bounties broke in late June, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a video conference with Baradar to make it clear that the U.S. expects the Taliban to live up to their commitments,

Under the agreement, the U.S. will pull all its troops out of Afghanistan by May 2021. So far the U.S. has reduced U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan from 12,000 to 8,600 — a target reached ahead of schedule. Now, Trump is considering when and how quickly to further shrink the U.S. military footprint.

For its part, the Taliban committed to reducing violence, cutting ties with al-Qaida and sitting down with other Afghans to craft a political road map for their country’s future. The Taliban have pledged to ensure that the areas they control — about half the country at this time — are not used by militant groups to target the U.S. and its allies.

Critics of the deal like Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., say the agreement is simply a “cover for withdrawal.”

“I have serious concerns with how this agreement has been pursued,” Waltz said. “The Taliban has shown repeatedly — through violence and bombings both before and after the deal was signed — that they are not serious about adhering to their end of the bargain.”

The White House insists the president was not aware of the intelligence but that the administration responded to the information to protect troops. Administration officials say Russia — along with other countries, including Iran — have been providing the Taliban money and guns for years, although bounties would signal stepped up Russian aggression.

Military experts note that the Taliban didn’t need any monetary incentive to kill Americans. They also point out that the U.S. worked against the Soviets in the late 1980s, providing militants with shoulder-held anti-aircraft Stinger missiles, which turned around the course of the war and sped-up negotiated Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“Bounties or not, what we judge the Taliban on is whether they honor the deal,” said Scott Smith, an expert on Afghanistan peace processes with the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, defense officials and Afghan experts claim the Taliban has not taken steps to live up to the now four-month-old agreement and they are skeptical the Taliban will ever break with al-Qaida, which conducted the 9/11 attacks.

The U.S. general overseeing American military operations in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, said in mid-June that he is dubious of the Taliban’s intentions to fulfill its commitments, suggesting that he would not favor a rapid U.S. withdrawal. McKenzie said it is an open question whether the Taliban will keep Afghanistan from being the launchpad for attacks on the U.S.

“They have not yet completely made that case,” McKenzie said, adding that “time is now beginning to grow short.”

Mike Morell, former CIA acting and deputy director, told the House Homeland Security Committee’s intelligence and counterterrorism panel on June 24 that the Taliban is militarily and politically stronger than at any time since 2001 when the Taliban refused to hand over al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.

“I believe that the Taliban, in its peace negotiations with the United States, have told us what we want to hear in order to encourage us to leave the country,” Morell said.

Thomas Joscelyn, a long time critic of the deal at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said the Taliban have repeatedly said al-Qaida has not been in Afghanistan since 2001. “Without any verification or enforcement mechanisms — and there are no such provisions specified in the text of the deal released to the public — there is no reason to think the Taliban is telling the truth now,” he said.

The Defense Department’s latest report on the war said the Taliban has stepped up violence against Afghan forces, but has avoided attacks on U.S. or coalition troops.

The militants have joined with Afghan and U.S. forces in hitting Islamic State fighters hard, pressuring the group to relinquish control of an area in eastern Afghanistan. But IS still has the ability to conduct mass-casualty attacks, the report said.

The report also said U.S.–led counterterrorism operations have degraded al-Qaida, which now poses only a “limited threat” to the U.S. The Pentagon report said, however, that the Taliban maintain close ties to al-Qaida.

Pompeo says only a couple hundred active al-Qaida fighters remain in Afghanistan. On Thursday, Pompeo hinted, without elaborating, that he’d seen indications that the Taliban are no longer going to let al-Qaida operate in Afghanistan.

“I can’t talk about the things that I have seen,” Pompeo said on Fox News Channel’s Special Report. “But know this. I spoke with the Taliban again just this week in an effort to further the peace negotiations to try to get them to the table with the Afghan government.”

However, a May report by the United Nations says al-Qaida is “quietly gaining strength in Afghanistan while continuing to operate with the Taliban under their protection.” The report says 400 to 600 al-Qaida operatives are active in 12 of Afghanistan 34 provinces. The U.N. report also reported six meetings between al-Qaida and Taliban senior leaders during the past 12 months — while U.S.-Taliban talks were ongoing.

Protesters block road leading to Mount Rushmore ahead of Trump event, approximately 15 arrested

About 15 protesters were arrested Friday after they blocked an access road to Mount Rushmore hours before President Trump was scheduled to give remarks to kick off Independence Day weekend.
According to the Associated Press, the protest group was mostly made up of Native Americans protesting that South Dakota’s Black Hills were taken from the Lakota people against treaty agreements.

Sheriff's deputies and National Guard troops confront protesters near Mount Rushmore, S.D. (Twitter/@LizWillis_)

One group parked three vans across the road and removed the tires from two of the vehicles to make it more difficult to remove them. Several demonstrators climbed on top of the vans chanting “Land back!”
The sheriff’s office said attendees had been told to arrive early and should have been past the roadblock by the time the standoff began. However, the Rapid City Journal reported that some motorists who had tickets for Friday evening's fireworks show were unable to get through the protests and were standing by their cars watching the standoff.
The Journal also reported that law enforcement in riot gear as well as members of the National Guard had declared an unlawful assembly.
Police later used pepper spray on several protesters to break up the standoff and tow trucks were brought in to remove the vans blocking the road. Arrests were made after protesters ignored a police-imposed deadline to leave.
The Journal reported that the lower bowl of the amptheater where Trump was scheduled to speak at approximately 8:50 p.m. local time was full, but there were many empty seats in the upper level.
President Trump has been outspoken against recent protests across America that have targeted historical monuments and statues demonstrators feel represent a pattern of systematic racism in the U.S.
Sources confirmed for Fox News earlier Friday that Trump planned on addressing the “totalitarian behavior that is completely alien to American life” and the “cancel culture” he believes is being pushed by the left.
He is also expected to emphasize America’s history as a “great and virtuous country.”
“You can expect the president to express strong support for America’s military, the men and women of our police, and so many of our cherished principles and institutions that are under attack daily from the left," a senior administration official told Fox News in a statement Friday evening.
The Associated Press and Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report.

Trump, in fiery Mount Rushmore address, decries rise of 'far-left fascism,' calls on Americans to rise up

Speaking after the legendary U.S. Navy Blue Angels roared overhead, President Trump ushered in the July 4th weekend Friday night at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota with a full-throated condemnation of "far-left fascism" and a defense of "Judeo-Christian principles."
"This monument will never be desecrated," Trump declared to cheers and applause. "These heroes will never be defaced. Their legacy will never, ever be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten. And Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and to our freedom."
The president asserted that recent attacks on the nation's monuments, alongside "cancel culture" and the rise of the Marxist ideology of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, were symptoms of a "left-wing cultural revolution" that was threatening to "overthrow the American Revolution." BLM explicitly advocates the destruction of the "nuclear family structure," which Trump said was in fact the "bedrock of American life."
"We only kneel to Almighty God," Trump remarked, in a clear shot at athletes who kneel in protest during the national anthem. "We will not be intimidated by bad, evil people. It will not happen."

"We only kneel to Almighty God. We will not be intimidated by bad, evil people. It will not happen."
— President Trump

Trump went on to characterize endemic efforts to terminate and humiliate dissent as a form of "totalitarianism" and an "attack on our magnificent liberty" -- and promised that it "will be stopped very quicky."
Hours before he spoke, CNN, echoing The New York Times, derided Mount Rushmore as a monument to slaveholders on stolen native lands. The New York Times' newsroom also sits on land taken from natives; and several CNN reporters previously praised Mount Rushmore as recently as 2016.
“This movement is openly attacking the legacies of every person on Mount Rushmore," Trump said, referring to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
Trump, who separately praised police officers, also announced plans  to create "a new monument to the giants of our past."
He said he would sign an executive order to establish a national garden of American heroes -- a "vast outdoor park" to feature the statues of the "greatest Americans to ever live"
"From this night, and from this magnificent place, let us go forward united in our purpose and rededicated in our resolve. We will raise the next generation of American patriots."
After Trump spoke, the White House released text of an executive order establishing the garden, which expressly notes that it will include only lifelike representations and eschew "modernist or abstract interpretations."
A preliminary list of people to be honored in the garden includes John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, MLK, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Ronald Reagan, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Antonin Scalia, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, Jackie Robinson, Christopher Columbus, Junipero Serra, and Betsy Ross.
Trump's comments followed a series of protests and riots across the country that led to the destruction of numerous monuments, as well as the terminations of high-level academics and policy experts simply for challenging Black Lives Matter's push to defund all police departments.
"They want to silence us," Trump said, as cheers of "U-S-A!" broke out. "But we will not be silenced. ... We want free and open debate, not cancel culture. ... Their goal is not a better America. Their goal is to end America. ... But just as in centuries past, the American people will stand in their way."

"Their goal is not a better America. Their goal is to end America. ... But just as in centuries past, the American people will stand in their way."
— President Trump

Trump specifically praised the FBI's recent arrest of the "ringleader" of several statue attacks, as well as his executive order to increase punishments for those who deface monuments.
'"Tonight, as we meet here tonight, there is a growing danger that threatens every blessing our ancestors fought so hard for, struggled, and bled to secure," Trump said, warning of a concerted attempt to "wipe out our history" and "indoctrinate our children."
That was an apparent reference to public schools' decision to teach false information from The New York Times' "1619 Project." The author of that project has acknowledged her own anti-white racism, and core claims of the project have been debunked by historians.
"They think the American people are weak and soft and submissive," the president continued, to applause, "But no, the American people are strong and proud. And they will not allow our country and its values and history and culture to be taken from them."
"Those who seek to erase our heritage want Americans to forget our pride and our great dignity, so that we can no longer understand ourselves or America’s destiny,” Trump said.
It is time, Trump said, for American politicians to summon "bravery" to confront the moment.

President Donald Trump watches as planes perform fly-overs of the Mount Rushmore National Monument Friday, July 3, 2020, in Keystone, S.D. (Associated Press)

"For the sake of our honor, for the sake of our children, for the sake of our children, we must protect and preserve our history, our heritage and our great heroes," he continued."
The small town of Keystone, which lies a couple of miles from the monument, was buzzing with people Friday hoping to catch a glimpse of the fireworks and the president. Many wore pro-Trump T-shirts and hats. Few wore masks.
“This is going to rank up in the top Fourth of Julys that I talk about,” said Mike Stewhr, who brought his family from Nebraska.
The event drew thousands of spectators, most of them without masks, even as coronavirus cases spiked across the country. The president spoke before a big fireworks show, the first to be held at the site in more than a decade.
Hours before Trump arrived, protesters blocked a road leading to the monument. Authorities worked to move the demonstrators, mostly Native Americans protesting that South Dakota's Black Hills were taken from the Lakota people against treaty agreements. About 15 protesters were arrested after missing a police-imposed deadline to leave.

President Donald Trump speaks at Mount Rushmore National Monument Friday, July 3, 2020, in Keystone, S.D. (Associated Press)

Trump received a South Dakota show of support, with the state Republican Party selling T-shirts that feature Trump on the memorial alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.
But concern about the coronavirus risk and wildfire danger from the fireworks, along with the Native American groups' protests were also present.
Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, a Trump ally, had said social distancing won't be required during the event and masks will be optional. Event organizers were to provide masks to anyone who wanted them and planned to screen attendees for symptoms of COVID-19.
In his speech, Trump largely steered clear of references to coronavirus, instead focusing on the nation's history -- and its lessons for the present.
"We will never surrender the spirit and the courage, and the cause of July 4, 1776," he said. "Upon this ground we will stand firm and unwavering."
Fox News' John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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