Ingraham on Republicans: 'A lot of them don't want Donald Trump to succeed'

Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham lashed out at establishment Republicans Tuesday night, telling Fox News' "Hannity" that "a lot of them don't want Donald Trump to succeed."

"A lot of them don't like his policies," said Ingraham, who singled out Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake as being part of "a significant Chamber of Commerce wing of the Republican Party."

Flake made headlines Tuesday with the release of his book, titled "Conscience of a Conservative," in which he described the GOP as being in "denial" about the consequences of electing Trump president.
'CHAOS IS NOT A GOOD PRINCIPLE': FLAKE SAYS GOP 'IN DENIAL ABOUT TRUMP
"Republicans play the safe gentlemanly game of politics," Ingraham told host Sean Hannity. "They agree with the Democrats on a lot of these key issues, and they don’t agree with Donald Trump on a lot of key issues, so they’re not willing to fight for him."
The Lifezette editor-in-chief theorized that Trump's critics have yet to get over his surprise victory in last year's election.
"He crushed them and they never got over it," Ingraham said. "The day after the election, they began plotting what they hoped would be his demise."

US may get tougher against China trade policies

The Trump administration is signaling it intends to take a harsher stance on trade issues than it has during its first six months.

The U.S. is considering using rarely invoked U.S. trade laws to fend off China’s demands that foreign companies share their technology in return for access to the country’s vast market.

The move is prompted by discontent among U.S. businesses, which have grown frustrated with China’s trade and market access practices, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Those practices have helped position China to become a global leader in emerging technologies, such as microchips and electric cars, the New York Times reported.
The U.S. policy shift also may reflect White House frustration that it hasn’t received the help it hoped for from China in addressing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
But a senior Chinese official said Monday there was no link between North Korea’s nuclear program and China-U.S. trade, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, trade ministers from China and other nations -- including Brazil, Russia and India -- concluded a conference in Shanghai on Wednesday, agreeing to promote international cooperation and oppose "trade and investment protectionism," Reuters reported.
A source familiar with the U.S. discussions said the Trump administration planned to employ Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows Washington to investigate China’s trade practices and, within months, raise tariffs on imports from China, or impose other sanctions.
Section 301 was used frequently in the 1980s to combat Japanese imports of steel, motorcycles and other items, but less frequently after the World Trade Organization was founded in 1995, Reuters reported.
The new investigation would focus on China’s alleged “forced technology transfer policies and practices,” the source said, adding that the Trump administration could launch the probe as soon as this week.
One question not yet answered is whether the Trump administration would work with the WTO or seek to impose penalties on China without relying on the international body, the Wall Street Journal reported.
On Monday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, assailing China and the European Union for “formidable nontariff trade barriers” and asserting the U.S. would use “every available tool” to combat those barriers.

GOP Senators: Stay on Health Care or ‘Move On’ to Tax Reform

Losers?

Some GOP Senators are saying it’s time to move on from health care, and onto tax reform, despite pressure to stay the course from the president and White House officials.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Orrin Hatch said it’s time to move onto other legislative priorities. He’d “like to get off health reform for a while,” and let it calm down to come back to it later and then we’ll get that solved.”  Hatch says, “We do need to do tax reform. This country hasn’t had tax reform since 1986.”

Monday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin reiterated he was 100% confident tax reform could be done this year, saying, “we will pass tax reform. This  is about creating jobs about creating wage growth about a simpler and fairer tax system. We’re going to simplify personal taxes, 95% of Americans will be  able to fill out their tax return on a large post card.”

However, many Republicans think the party should continue to give healthcare another shot.  I think they need to go home and tell their constituents it’s time to move on,” said Lindsey Graham, in response to his colleagues.  “Our best ideas haven’t even been presented yet. “

President Trump continues to urge Senators to push forward with Healthcare. Sunday he tweeted “Don’t give up Republican Senators, the World is watching: Repeal & Replace.. and go to 51 9nuke option), get Cross State Lines & more.”

While Graham said he would not vote on any changes to the Senate, including Trump’s suggested ‘nuke option’ he said “at the end of the day I want to help [President Trump] with an agenda I believe in.  His insistence we continue to focus on health care may save us from ourselves.”

Pres. Trump is Reviewing Pentagon’s Proposed Strategy for Afghanistan

Security forces respond at the site of a suicide attack followed by a clash between Afghanistan’s forces and IS fighters during an attack on Iraq embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, July 31, 2017. A media outlet linked to the Islamic State group says two IS militants were behind the attack on the Iraqi Embassy in the Afghan capital

As the nation’s longest war continues in Afghanistan, President Trump is reviewing the Pentagon’s proposed strategy to break a stalemate against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
On Monday, a defense official said the department’s working on a process that is being guided by the White House.
They’re reviewing how several aspects of national power like the military, intelligence and finances will contribute to their goals in ending the country’s war.
Defense Secretary James Mattis had promised a plan by mid-July after a request for more troops.
However, officials say he wants to make sure the strategy is right before fulfilling that call.

sanctuary policies cartoons

CNN's Fareed Zakaria: Trump won because of rebellion from 'the white working man'

Fareed Zakaria a piece of crap.

CNN host Fareed Zakaria explained how President Donald Trump rose to power on "New Day" Monday morning.

"The election of Donald Trump is really a kind of class rebellion against people like us, educated professionals who live in cities, who have cosmopolitan views about things," Zakaria said.

Zakaria also blamed racism and diversity on Trump's rise.
"A real sense of cultural alienation, older, white, noncollege education Americans have, a sense that their country is changing because of immigrants. Because maybe blacks are rising up to a central place in society, because gays being afforded equal rights. Because of, frankly, working women. Everybody is muscling in on the territory that the white working man had," Zakaria said.

Portland's sanctuary policies to blame for horrific rapes, says GOP leader

To blame for horrific rapes

Portland's reckless sanctuary city policy is to blame for the rape of two women by a man deported 20 times, Oregon's top Republican official told Fox News Monday.

State GOP chairman Bill Currier told "Fox & Friends" that Sergio Martinez, who was last detained in December but promptly released, should not have been in the country a week ago when he allegedly attacked a pair of women. The horrific attacks shocked the city and stoked fresh criticism of the pro-illegal immigrant policies.

"He was given preferential treatment,” said Currier. “Essentially in Oregon, our governor and the mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, have created a protected class for illegal aliens that commit serious crimes."
Martinez, 31, had a detainer placed on him as a “serious immigration violator” yet immigration officials in December were not notified. Multnomah County officials ended up releasing him back into the community.
PORTLAND MAN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING 65-YEAR OLD HAD BEEN DEPORTED 20 TIMES
Martinez is now being held without bail on charges of robbery, kidnapping and sexual abuse. One of his alleged victims is a 65-year-old woman who was brutally attacked in her home. The other woman was attacked in her apartment’s parking garage. Both attacks occurred last Monday.
Martinez has reportedly told Portland police he is a meth addict. He has been homeless in Portland for the past year.
Portland is widely known as a safe haven for illegal immigrants – no matter how many times they have been deported. The city and, Multnomah County and even the state legislature – all run by Democrats – have passed law declaring themselves a sanctuary for people in the country illegally.
THE SHOCKING DEPORTATION AND CRIMINAL HISTORY OF THE MAN WHO ATTACKED TWO OREGON WOMEN
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Martinez has been deported 13 times since 2008. He has a lengthy criminal record in three states, with charges including battery, felony, burglary and felony illegal re-entry after removal.

He was in the Multnomah County Jail in December and ICE asked the sheriff’s department to notify them when he was released. The county ignored that request – as they do for all immigration detainers.
One month after Martinez was released, Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese launched an investigation into one of his deputies for contacting ICE before having a pre-trial meeting with an illegal immigrant. Around the same time, a judge was accused of letting an illegal immigrant slip out of her courtroom through the employee exit to escape ICE agents out in the hallway.
That judge was later found to have done nothing wrong.
As for Martinez, taxpayers may have to end up paying for his defense. The Portland City Council awarded $50,000 to launch a project aimed at helping immigrants fight deportation and other legal issues.
Fox News' Dan Springer contributed to this report

Lindsey Graham on health care: 'We should be politically horsewhipped if we don't try this again'

Sen. Lindsey Graham tells Fox News the Republicans deserve to be “politically horsewhipped” if they don't try again to repeal and replace ObamaCare -- and on Monday he revealed details of his new plan.

Despite rocky results in the Senate last week, Graham, R-S.C., is urging the Senate to continuing working on alternatives.

Speaking to Dana Perino on “The Story with Martha MacCallum” on Monday night, Graham advocated for his own alternative: a plan that he has assembled with Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Under the Graham-Cassidy plan, federal dollars spent on Obamacare would be block-granted to states. Additionally, the individual and employer mandate would be repealed; requirements that health insurers would cover pre-existing conditions would be kept; and the ObamaCare medical device tax would be cut. Other ObamaCare taxes would remain.
TRUMP TARGETS CONGRESS MEMBERS' OWN HEALTH PLANS AFTER OBAMACARE REPEAL FALLS FLAT
“I am, like, 1,000 percent with Donald Trump on this,” Graham said. “We should be politically horsewhipped if we don’t try again. The best idea we haven’t even brought up. Take all the money under ObamaCare and block-grant it back to the states,” he said.
“That ends single-payer health care. The government closest to the people is the best government. The health care closest to the people is the best health care. We had Republican governors up in the White House today… we look to Washington to fix ObamaCare, we should’ve looked to the governors.”
“I’m excited about Graham-Cassidy, which empowers governors,” Graham said. “Four states under ObamaCare get 40 percent of the money: New York, California, Massachusetts and Maryland. My goal is to make sure that if you live in South Carolina you get the same amount of money from the federal government as you would if you lived in California with more flexibility. It’ll put Democrats in a box. It will make health care more accessible to you. If you don’t like what’s going on, you complain to your governor or your statehouse guy, rather than a bureaucrat in Washington. I’m so excited about this. Mr. President, don’t let us quit! Make us keep trying. I think we can pass this bill to block grant the money back to the states.”
Whether Graham’s legislation would make it to a vote wasn’t exactly clear but the senator said he remained hopeful.
SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL: REPUBLICANS RELEASE DRAFT OF NEW PLAN
“If we took a really principled position on health care, that we should send the money back home, closest to the patient, and had hearings and votes in the normal course of business, then we could get this done,” Graham said.
“West Virginia, under my approach, gets 43 percent more money than under ObamaCare with more flexibility,” he explained. “So the bottom line is, by 2026, we want to make sure that every state gets the same block granting. And Mr. President, you make sure that we try this before we say we failed. We haven’t even begun to fight yet.”
Asked to discuss a recent White House shake-up that saw Anthony Scaramucci ousted as the White House Communications Director on Monday, Graham deflected. “None of this matters if we’re successful,” he said. “If we fail on health care I don’t care who he hires.”
A couple of Democratic proposals for health care changes have emerged.
Under one by Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Tom Carper of Delaware, the federal government would help pay larger than expected claims for insurers providing coverage on the federal and state online marketplaces established by Obama's law.
Another by Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri would let people in counties where no insurers offer policies on exchanges buy the same coverage that members of Congress purchase. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated last week that exchanges would offer no coverage next year in 40 of the country's roughly 3,000 counties.

Trump administration hits Venezuela's Maduro with sanctions after 'sham' vote

The Trump administration hit Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with financial sanctions on Monday in the wake of a weekend election that gave the country’s ruling party virtually unlimited powers.

The sanctions follow through on a U.S. threat to take action against Maduro and his socialist government if they went ahead with Sunday's election, which the administration decried as a “sham.”

“All options are on the table, and we will consider everything,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters at Monday’s White House briefing.
The sanctions freeze any assets Maduro may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from doing business with him. They were outlined in a brief notice by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control ahead of a White House announcement.
The monetary impact of the sanctions wasn't immediately clear as Maduro's holdings in U.S. jurisdictions, if he has any, weren't publicized. However, imposing sanctions on a head of state is rare and can be symbolically powerful, leading other countries to similarly shun such a leader. For example, the U.S. has had sanctions against Syria's President Bashar Assad since 2011.
"Yesterday's illegitimate elections confirm that Maduro is a dictator who disregards the will of the Venezuelan people," Mnuchin said. "By sanctioning Maduro, the United States makes clear our opposition to the policies of his regime and our support for the people of Venezuela who seek to return their country to a full and prosperous democracy."
He warned of further U.S. penalties against Maduro allies.
"Anyone who participates in this illegitimate (constituent assembly) could be exposed to future U.S. sanctions for their role in undermining democratic processes and institutions in Venezuela," Mnuchin said.
Officials had said the sanctions could target Venezuela's oil sector, including possibly its state-owned petroleum company.
But after the announcement, an official said Trump's administration held off due to possible complications, including some involving subsidiaries. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the process and demanded anonymity.
The assembly will draw up a new constitution that many believe is aimed only at securing Maduro's increasingly authoritarian rule. On Monday, Venezuela's government said the election had given it a popular mandate to dramatically recast the political system, despite widespread claims of low voter turnout.
The Trump administration was quick to denounce the vote.
"Maduro's sham election is another step toward dictatorship," Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on Twitter. "We won't accept an illegit govt. The Venezuelan ppl & democracy will prevail."
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the new assembly "is designed to replace the legitimately elected National Assembly and undermine the Venezuelan people's right to self-determination."

Sen. Susan Collins Cartoons

Trump strong-arms ObamaCare back to table; holdout Collins says 'job is not done'

Senate Republicans ended July in humiliating and seemingly final defeat over repealing and replacing ObamaCare, but relentless pressure this weekend from President Trump and reports of yet another potentially winning bill has sparked renewed hope of success within the party.  

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., reportedly has a new overhaul plan for the Senate, where senators will returned Monday because Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has revoked the first two weeks of their traditional August recess.

Trump also met privately with several Senate Republicans on Friday, according to Politico, which also first reported about the Graham proposal.
The president then launched into a very public Twitter rant this weekend in which he said Senate Republicans “look like fools” for trying and failing for essentially the entire month to pass an overhaul plan.
“It’s time to move on,” McConnell, R-Ky., said Friday, after the last repeal attempt failed.
The president -- sounding desperate to fulfill a major campaign promise in ending ObamaCare -- also suggested McConnell lower the vote threshold from 60 to 51 votes and that he might yank the subsidies that members of Congress receive to pay for their ObamaCare policies.
“The world is watching,” Trump said in a final, chiding tweet Sunday morning.
Beyond taking away Congress’ subsidies, Trump also hinted at ending subsidies to insurance companies that offer policies under ObamaCare.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told “Fox News Sunday” that Trump will make that decision “this week.”
She also called the subsidies received by congressional members and their staffers a “really sweet deal” and argued, “This is exactly what so many Americans hate about Washington, D.C.”
“The president will not accept those who said it is, quote, time to move,” she also said.
Trump said Friday after the failed votes, as he has before, that he aimed to let the 2010 health care law “implode” under its own weight of rising premium costs and few insurance policy options.
However, he and essentially every Washington Republican have been elected on a promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare.
The GOP-led House passed its overhaul measure this spring, but not without the same kinds of problems faced by the Republican-led Senate, include how to get support from all wings of the party.
They are divided on such key issues as whether Medicaid should be expanded and whether subsidies should continue to be provided to insurance companies, apparently for low-income families to pay for policies.
The Senate has 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats and Independents who vote, or caucus, together.
Democrats say they are willing to work on solutions to ObamaCare but so far have not participated in the process.
The GOP-controlled House and Senate for the past several years have passed dozens of either full- or partial-repeal measures. But they have failed to do so since Trump, a fellow Republican, took office in January.
Several GOP senators have balked at the recent measure and amendments, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins.
Collins said Sunday that the ObamaCare issue remains unsettled and that the Senate must get back to work.
“Our job is not done,” she told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “There are serious problems with (ObamaCare.) ... And I certainly hope the administration does not do anything in the meantime to hasten that collapse.”

North Korea threat: Japan's Abe says he and Trump agree to take further action

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he and President Donald Trump agreed to take further action against North Korea following its latest missile launch.

Abe told reporters after the call that Trump pledged to “take all necessary measures to protect” Japan and that Abe praised his commitment to do so.

He also called on China and Russia to do more to stop Pyongyang.
“We have made consistent efforts to resolve the North Korean problem in a peaceful manner, but North Korea has ignored that entirely and escalated the situation in a one-sided way,” Abe said, according to Bloomberg. “The international community, starting with China and Russia, must take this obvious fact seriously and increase pressure.”
Abe said Japan would pursue concrete steps to bolster defense system and capabilities under the firm solidarity with the U.S. and do utmost to protect the safety of the Japanese people.
The White House said in a statement after the phone call that the two leaders “agreed that North Korea poses a grave and growing direct threat to the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other countries near and far,” Reuters reported.
The call between the two world leaders comes hours after the U.S., Japanese and South Korea militaries spent 10 hours conducting bomber-jet drills over the Korean peninsula.
The training mission was a response to North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches and nuclear program, and part of the U.S. regular commitment to defending its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, the general’s statement said.
"The time for talk is over. The danger the North Korean regime poses to international peace is now clear to all," said United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley in a statement.
North Korea conducted test launches of ICBMs on July 3 and July 28, and has claimed that its weapons can now reach the U.S. mainland.
On Saturday, two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, under the command of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, joined counterparts from the South Korean and Japanese air forces in sequenced bilateral missions.

Trump Insider Talk White House Shake-up

Washington, D.C.- Emerald Robinson, Political Correspondent
The announcement of a key change-up in White House late Friday came as a surprise, although it clearly isn’t the first time this administration has made big announcements as the weekend begins. Frank Buckley, a speech-writer for President Trump and administration insider, says it was a necessary change to promote the President’s agenda. “He had his mission and his mission was to be a bridge to the congressional Republicans and they weren’t having it, so good-bye Reince!” said Buckley.
Buckley, who also helped assemble a foreign policy team for President Trump, says bringing in General John Kelly as Chief-of-Staff is a smart move and probably signals a change in the tone of the administration. He says it could be a movement in a more aggressive direction after the President’s disappointment with health care and in his dealing with Congress.
“Up to now in respect to dealing with Obamacare, the message has been ‘ok we’ll put it over to Congress and we’ll let the congressional Republicans deal with it.’ And that didn’t work very well, so now something else has to be tried,’ explained Buckley.
And that something else is getting more Trump loyalists into the White House according to the Trump insider. Buckley says there is not enough Trump “loyalists” in the White House. He added that many of those hired were hired on a temporary basis and phased out after a six-month period. He attributes this lack of loyalists to former Chief-of-Staff Reince Preibus.
Buckley also said White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci is a good move, even after his highly publicized rant this week against Reince Preibus to the New Yorker. Buckley added that sometimes “few obscene words are necessary to describe a situation.”
Buckley warned that the White House has to get it’s act together and find its real allies so that the President can press on with his agenda. Buckley said his hope is that under General John Kelly’s guidance, the White House can do just that.

Nikki Haley: Venezuela Vote ‘A Sham’

American Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley condemns Venezuela over its recent vote to create a constituent assembly, calling it a ‘sham’. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley speaks out against the Venezuelan government, calling its election a ‘sham’.
She took to Twitter on Sunday, saying America won’t accept Nicolas Maduro’s attempts to rewrite the country’s constitution and create an illegitimate government.
Haley said Maduro’s election for a new constitutional super-body is ‘a step toward dictatorship’, and claimed both democracy and the Venezuelan people will prevail.
The U.S. State Department made a statement Sunday evening, condemning the Venezuelan government for the vote.
It claimed the new body seems designed to undermine Venezuelan people’s right to self-determination.

Loose Lips Sink Ships Cartoons

Conway, other Trump supporters laud decision to replace Priebus with Kelly

Top White House adviser Kellyanne Conway and other President Trump supporters on Saturday backed the president’s decision to make retired Gen. Mike Kelly his new chief of staff.

“I think General Secretary Kelly will bring some strength and discipline, and put out, without even saying to others, that loose lips sink ships,” Conway, counselor to the president, told Fox News' “Fox & Friends.”

She spoke one day after Trump replaced White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus with Kelly, amid widespread leaks from inside the West Wing and apparently across the administration that have slowed the president’s agenda.
“I think people will think thrice before they try to hurt each other … by using the press,” said Conway, Trump’s campaign manager in the final stretch of his successful 2016 White House bid.
Kelly, a retired Marine general, was the Homeland Security secretary before the announced change Friday.
“I think what the president wants to do is to make a fresh start,” Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s first campaign manager, also said Saturday on “Fox & Friends.”
“And I think he and General Kelly are going to make a great combination. It's time -- and I think the general is going to do this -- to make sure that everybody who’s working in the administration is working for the president’s agenda.”
Lewandowski didn’t accuse Priebus of leaking damaging information but suggested there was “no recourse” against those who did under his watch.
Priebus’ departure follows the ousting last week of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who helped Priebus lead the Republican National Committee before they joined the Trump White House.
As part of the larger White House shakeup, Trump has hired fellow New Yorker Antony Scaramucci as his communications director and has publicly suggested Attorney General Jeff Session also could be fired.
Kelly is considered a battle-hardened commander who would bring a background of military discipline and order to the unsettled White House. 
Kelly's experience as Homeland Security secretary and a veteran of three tours in Iraq -- along with a sobering family tragedy -- suggests he'll be a loyal manager for Trump when he officially starts the job Monday.
"He has been a true star of my administration," tweeted Trump in announcing the move.  The president also called Kelly a "great leader" and "great American." He called Priebus, ousted after a tumultuous six months, a "good man."
As Homeland Security secretary, Kelly has taken the lead on some of Trump's most controversial policies, including his executive orders suspending the admission of refugees and temporarily barring visitors from several Muslim-majority nations. Those orders have been stripped down by courts pending a Supreme Court review this fall.
And he has stood up to Congress.
In April, Kelly bluntly challenged members of Congress critical of the Trump administration's aggressive approach to immigration enforcement to either change the laws or "shut up."
But Kelly has won bipartisan respect from lawmakers as a result of his distinguished military career. He joined the Marine Corps in 1970, carving out a reputation as a highly respected but often outspoken commander who could roil debate and issue unpopular directives on issues ranging from women in combat to the treatment of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center.
Kelly also holds a somber distinction. He was the highest-ranking officer to lose a child in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. Kelly's son, Marine 1st Lt. Robert Kelly, was killed in November 2010 in Afghanistan.
The general retired from the military last year, wrapping up a three-year post as head of U.S. Southern Command, which spanned some of the more fractious debate over the Obama administration's ultimately failed attempt to close the detainee facility at Guantanamo.

US, allies prepared to use 'overwhelming force' in North Korea, general says

The U.S. and its allies are prepared to use “rapid, lethal and overwhelming force,” if necessary, against North Korea, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces warned Saturday night.

The statement from Gen. Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy, U.S. Pacific Air Forces commander, came after the militaries of the U.S., South Korea and Japan spent 10 hours conducting bomber-jet drills over the Korean Peninsula.

The training mission was a response to North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches and nuclear program, and part of the U.S. regular commitment to defending its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, the general’s statement said.
“North Korea remains the most urgent threat to regional stability,” O’Shaughnessy said.
“Diplomacy remains the lead,” he said. “However, we have a responsibility to our allies and our nation to showcase our unwavering commitment while planning for the worst-case scenario.
“If called upon,” he added, “we are ready to respond with rapid, lethal and overwhelming force at a time and place of our choosing.”
North Korea conducted test launches of ICBMs on July 3 and July 28, and has claimed that its weapons can now reach the U.S. mainland.
The country’s recent actions have drawn condemnation from President Trump, and prompted U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to confer with counterparts from South Korea and Japan to develop a response, Fox News has reported.
Both Trump and Tillerson have criticized China, saying the Beijing government has failed to use its influence to discourage North Korea from developing its nuclear program, Fox News reported.
On Saturday, two U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers, under the command of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, joined counterparts from the South Korean and Japanese air forces in sequenced bilateral missions.
According to the Pentagon, the U.S. bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, then flew to Japanese airspace, where they were joined by two Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self Defense Force) F-2 fighter jets.
The B-1s then flew over the Korean Peninsula, where they were joined by four F-15 fighter jets from the South Korean air force.
The B-1s then performed a low-pass over Osan Air Base, South Korea, before leaving South Korean airspace and returning to Guam.
Throughout the approximately 10-hour mission, the air crews practiced intercept and formation functions, enabling them to improve their combined capabilities and strengthening the long-standing military-to-military relationships in the region, the Pentagon said.
U.S. Pacific Command maintains flexible bomber and fighter capabilities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific theater, retaining the ability to quickly respond to any regional threat in order to defend the U.S. and its allies, the statement said.

President Trump Tweets About Russia, ‘Outdated’ Filibuster Rule

In this photo taken July 26, 2017, President Donald Trump pauses while speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.

President Trump calls out ineffective republican leadership in the Senate, following the defeat of the Obamacare repeal bill.
In a tweet Saturday, the President said republicans in the Senate will never win if they don’t go to a 51-vote majority, adding they are just wasting time.
The 60 votes required for many major legislative efforts is said to be a key reason for the failure of the health care reform in the Senate.
President Trump went on to call the rule very outdated.
Earlier Saturday, President Trump also put the alleged Russia meddling theory to rest, after it was revealed the firm Fusion GPS, which was behind the infamous Steele Dossier, also did work for Russia.
The President said on Twitter that Russia was working against him during the 2016 election because he campaigned on cheaper oil prices and a strong military.
He previously claimed Russian officials wanted Hillary Clinton to win because she would have weakened our nation’s defenses.
Earlier this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned a victim of the firm and he revealed the company was hired by Russia to run a smear campaign against the President in an effort to lift Russian sanctions.

Iran: U.S. Navy was Unprofessional During Confrontation in Persian Gulf

Sailors man the rails as aircraft carrier USS Nimitz with Carrier Strike Group 11, and some 7,500 sailors and airmen depart for a 6 month deployment in the Western Pacific from San Diego, California, U.S., June 5, 2017.

Iran says a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier acted in an unprofessional way, after it fired warning shots near some of its vessels.
The incident happened on Friday in the Persian Gulf and involved the USS Nimitz and an accompanying ship.
The U.S. Navy says one of its helicopters was on a routine patrol in international airspace when several Iranian vessels approached at high speed.
The Navy tried to establish communications, but didn’t get an answer.
They, then, sent out flares, which prompted the boats to halt.
U.S. officials say the encounter was safe and professional.
The incident comes days after a U.S. Navy patrol boat fired warning shots near an Iranian vessel that reportedly came dangerously close to them during a tense encounter.

Republican Turncoat Cartoons

John McCain saving Obamacare is proof that the system is broken

In the dead of night, Republican senators unveiled and voted on the Health Care Freedom Act, the so-called “skinny repeal” bill that was anything but skinny. On Thursday night, the CBO released a score of the HCFA based on details of the bill that had been held in secret by garbage rat king Mitch McConnell until mere hours before the vote. The CBO’s estimate showed that 15 million people would have been thrown off their insurance next year, and 16 million by 2026. Premiums in the individual marketplace would have gone up by 20 percent.
Ultimately, early Friday morning, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins voted the bill down, which crashed and burned in a 49-to-51 vote. The suspense all came from McCain, who wouldn’t tell reporters what he had decided, telling them instead to “watch the show.” If any one of those senators had changed their mind, repeal would have gone through, with Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.
While HCFA was ultimately defeated, it’s hard to overstate how broken this entire process has become. Republicans were voting on a bill that they explicitly stated was so terrible that they did not want to see it actually go into effect. Paul Ryan had to promise that the bill would go to conference committee and that the House would negotiate with the Senate to reach a compromise to improve the bill. But Ryan’s commitments were ambiguous, and it sure looked like the House was gearing up to pass a straight-up “skinny” repeal. If McCain had caved, Republican leaders would have been able to present the “skinny” bill as a fait accompli.
From the beginning, McConnell did everything he could to make the process as opaque and undemocratic as possible—to the public, to Democrats, even to his own caucus. He knew that secrecy was the only way he would have even the slightest chance of getting his monster through the system. In an incredible moment on the floor last night that illustrated just how fast McConnell was trying to jam this bill through, Senator Patty Murray tried to interrupt Senator Mike Enzi to ask more questions about the bill, which had only been made public an hour earlier. Enzi replied that her time would probably be better spent in reading the bill.

Democrat pile-on: Hundreds of challengers already filing to take on Republicans

Democrats are entering the 2018 congressional races in record numbers, largely motivated by the Trump “resistance” movement they hope will extend into next year.

An analysis of the Federal Election Commission’s six-month report for midterm candidates shows 209 Democratic challengers with at least $5,000 raised -- by far the biggest batch of challengers for any year dating back to 2003, according to statistics kept by the Campaign Finance Institute.

The July 15 FEC summary also shows 105 of 241 House Republican incumbents so far have a Democratic challenger with such a war chest.
Out-of-power Democrats have crowed for months about the prospect of voter dissatisfaction with President Trump and congressional Republicans spawning a 2018 wave election in their favor.
“I think a lot of it is inspiration meets opportunity,” Mac Zilber, a California-based Democratic political consultant, said of the large Democratic field.
“It’s Donald Trump first and foremost. But they’re also being driven by a lot of donors and activists out there. And frankly, some people were a little more complacent under Obama. They’re finally taking that step.”
New York Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley recently said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has more than 350 candidates lined up for next year’s races, in which his party would need to win 24 more House seats to take control of the chamber.
“No district is off the table,” said DCCC Chairman Rep. Ben Ray Lujan.
To be sure, historical trends for the party that doesn’t control the White House suggest an opportunity for Democrats to make big gains in next year’s midterms. Beyond Trump’s record-low approval rating, pulled down by the Russia meddling-collusion probes, Capitol Hill Republicans continue to struggle to pass an ObamaCare overhaul bill as promised during the 2016 campaign.
However, Democrats face several big challenges – old and new.
The party still appears split between establishment voters like those who voted for Hillary Clinton in last year’s presidential race and the progressive wing that backed democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders. In addition, Republicans continue to out-fundraise Democrats. And Democrats’ massive candidate field raises questions about whether the party’s political infrastructure might be over-extended – and whether overcrowded primary races could leave the winners bruised going into November 2018.
The anti-Trump campaign platform also has failed so far to help Democrats pick off Republican-held seats in four special House elections this year.
REPUBLICANS DISMISS DEMS' 'BETTER DEAL'
Eyeing a reset, Washington Democrats on Monday officially rebranded their party and message -- promising “a better deal” for voters with better-paying jobs and other economic opportunities.
“They don’t have a message, and that became clear this week when they took tips from Papa John’s,” said Jesse Hunt, press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, referring to criticism that the “better deal” slogan mimics that of the pizza chain.
Zilber, a partner in J&Z Strategies, downplayed the notion that Democratic candidates will uniformly attack Trump.
“One of the great things about primaries is that they are natural experiments to see which message wins out,” he said.
Zilber also argued that different messages will appeal to different voters, including those in Orange County, Calif., a historically conservative area with an increasingly diversified population that in 2016 voted for Clinton, marking the first time they picked a Democrat.
Among the party’s biggest GOP targets are California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, elected to Congress nearly three decades ago and whose 48th Congressional District has four Democratic candidates, and Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock. Her 10^th district has eight Democratic candidates, according to the most recent FEC records.
Hunt argued Wednesday that Democrats’ preferred candidate to deny Comstock a second term is Jennifer Wexton, who trails three other Democrats in the race in fundraising and who had her picture taken with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when Democrats announced their “better deal” plan in Comstock’s district.
“You’ll see that photo again,” Hunt said.
Michael Malbin, of the Washington-based Campaign Finance Institute and who analyzed the FEC data, says Democrats are putting themselves in a strong position to take advantage of a wave, if there is one.
“But winning the first inning is not the same as winning the ninth," he recently wrote in a blog for the nonpartisan Brookings Institution.
The average cost of winning a 2016 House race was $1.3 million, according to OpenSecrets.org.
The special House election this year for the open seat of former GOP Rep. Tom Price cost an estimated total $55 million, a record amount.

Russia, China are North Korea's 'enablers,' Tillerson says

Rex Tillerson, U.S. secretary of state

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson lashed out at Russia and China early Saturday, following North Korea’s second test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile – and reports that Kim Jong Un’s regime was now capable of striking cities on the U.S. mainland.

Tillerson labeled the two U.S. rivals the “principal economic enablers” of North Korea’s weapons programs, and called on them to ramp up efforts to curb the growing nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

“All nations should take a strong public stance against North Korea by maintaining and strengthening U.N. sanctions to ensure North Korea will face consequences for its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them,” Tillerson said.
China has reportedly pressed North Korea to abide by all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and cease any actions that could escalate tensions.
Meanwhile, President Trump condemned North Korea’s action as “reckless and dangerous,” and said the U.S. will take all “necessary steps” to protect itself and its allies.
Kim expressed “great satisfaction” following the ICBM test. The missile traveled 620 miles until landing in waters near Japan, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.
Analysts now believe Pyongyang’s weapons can hit U.S. cities such as Los Angeles or Chicago.
Tillerson said the U.S. wants a peaceful resolution to denuclearize North Korea, adding that Washington “will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.”

The United States "will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea."

The secretary of state was in contact with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. They planned to work closely with South Korea on a U.N. Security Council resolution to crack down on the rogue North, Japan’s Kyodo News Service reported Saturday.
Following North Korea’s ICBM launch, forces from the U.S. and its ally South Korea conducted joint military exercises in the region that included the launch of a barrage of missiles of their own.
South Korea has stepped up its military presence along the Korean Peninsula in recent weeks, and was considering deploying additional anti-missile systems. The recent ICBM test has also prompted South Korea to discuss with the U.S. increasing the warhead limit of their missiles from 1,100 pounds, to a ton.

Border Patrol Arrests 2 Men After Finding 5 Immigrants, Gun in SUV

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent suits up for his night patrol along the international border between Mexico and the United States near San Diego, California. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

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Two men are behind bars after trying to smuggle illegal immigrants and weapons from Mexico into the U.S.
Border patrol agents stopped the men early Thursday morning in eastern San Diego County.
After inspecting their SUV, officers found two other men lying down in the cargo area of the vehicle and three more sitting in the back seats.
Agents also found an AR-15 rifle with 19 rounds of ammunition.
The five additional passengers admitted they were in the country illegally.

China Steps-Up Presence at N. Korean Border

A soldier stands guard near a barbed wire fence on Hwanggumpyong Island located in the middle of the Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju and the Chinese border city of Dandong. (Jacky Chen/Reuters)

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China is said to be fortifying its border with North Korea in response to heightened tensions in the region.
New measures reportedly include the creation of a border defense brigade along with 24 hour drone surveillance across the nearly 900 mile border.
The Chinese military has been going through substantial modernization efforts in recent years, but officials maintain the North Korea crisis should be resolved with diplomacy.
A recent Pentagon report concluded Pyongyang could develop a missile capable of reaching the U.S. by as early as next year.

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Scaramucci's interview tirade sends Twitter aflutter

Newly hired White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci has certainly made his mark in Washington -- and on the internet.

The Mooch’s interview with the New Yorker on Thursday, in which he demanded that Ryan Lizza tell him who leaked the details of a dinner that President Trump attended the previous night, left Twitter in a frenzy over the shock and vulgarity of his vitriol.

In typical meme-worthy fashion, some of the tweets made light of the situation.
Some mentioned his Italian-American heritage, debating whether Scaramucci had brought honor or shame to people who share his ethnicity.
Others used the social media platform to come to Scaramucci’s defense.