Quake in North Korea may have been nuclear test

It would be in the best interest of the North Korea people to overthrow the fat little stupid guy that kills his own family just to stay in power.

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake in North Korea early Sunday was likely the result of the country's sixth nuclear test, media reports said.

North Korean state media claimed early Sunday that the blast was a test of a hydrogen bomb.

The test was estimated to have a yield of 100 kilotons, meaning a blast that was four to five times more powerful than the explosion in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, a South Korean defense official told the country's Yonhap News Agency.
Pentagon officials told Fox News early Sunday that the U.S. government would have no official response until after the U.S. fully assesses what happened.
South Korea's presidential office says the security chiefs for Seoul and Washington have spoken. The office says U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster spoke with his South Korean counterpart, Chung Eui-yong, for 20 minutes in an emergency phone call about an hour after the detonation.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency initially pegged the earthquake at magnitude 5.6, but the 6.3 reading came from the U.S. Geological Survey.
The epicenter was determined to be near a well-known North Korean test site, according to media reports. U.S. intelligence agencies have been closely watching the test site since at least March, when initial signs of test prepartions were visible.
U.S. officials at the time told Fox News to expect a nuclear test in the near future. Now, more than five months later, the rogue communist regime appears to have followed through.
In his New Year's address, Kim Jung Un said his nation had entered the "final stage" preparing for the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In July, North Korea successfully test-fired two ICBMs.
Now just hours after photos emerged showing the North Korean dictator inspecting a new thermonuclear warhead in a lab, North Korea claims to have conducted its sixth nuclear test and first since September 2016.
The U.S. Air Force has WC-135 "sniffer" planes in Japan that will be measuring the air samples near the Korean Peninsula to confirm the presence of radioactive particles in the atmosphere and confirm the nuclear test. The Japanese military also has radiological detection equipment in some of its jets as well.
On Thursday Fox News asked Defense Secretary James Mattis if the Pentagon was seeing evidence of an upcoming nuclear test in North Korea. He declined to comment.
The previous day, before sitting next to his South Korean counterpart, Mattis said "We are not out of diplomatic options."
The quake was detected at 12:36 p.m. in North Korea’s North Hamgyeong province, Yonhap reported, citing information from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Reuters gave the location as 55 kilometers north northwest of Kimchaek, citing U.S. Geological Survey information. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the news agency said.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had recently said North Korea was showing "restraint" in its recent actions.
"Pyongyang has certainly demonstrated some level of restraint that we’ve not seen in the past," he said at the State Department.
President Trump, at a rally in Phoenix in late August, said North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un was starting to "respect" the United States.
In April, Tillerson told Fox News' Bret Baier that China had asked North Korea not to conduct any more nuclear tests.
“We’re asking a lot of the Chinese,” Tillerson said at the time. “We are going to test China’s willingness to help address this serious threat.”
'Absolutely unacceptable'
Early Sunday, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe quickly commented that if the quake was indeed a nuclear test by North Korea, it would be "absolutely unacceptable."
The quake came just hours after the regime of leader Kim Jong Un bragged of developing a more advanced nuclear warhead, Britain’s Guardian reported. The epicenter of the quake was estimated to be at 10 kilometers underground, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The Kim regime has been engaged in a heated rhetorical battle with the United States in recent months – largely because of missile tests North Korea has conducted.
Shortly after the initial quake, Yonhap said a second quake was detected with a magnitude 4.6, but South Korea's weather agency denied another quake occurred. There was no word from the military in Seoul about the possible second quake.
North Korea conducted its fifth test last year in September. In confirmed, the latest test would mark yet another big step forward in North Korean attempts to obtain a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching deep into the U.S. mainland.
The U.S. State Department had no immediate reaction. South Korea's presidential office said it will hold a National Security Council meeting chaired by President Moon Jae-in.
Torrid pace
North Korea conducted two nuclear tests last year and has since maintained a torrid pace in weapons tests, including flight-testing developmental intercontinental ballistic missiles and flying a powerful midrange missile over Japan.
Earlier Sunday, photos released by the North Korean government showed Kim talking with his lieutenants as he observed a silver, peanut-shaped device that was apparently the purported thermonuclear weapon destined for an ICBM. What appeared to be the nose cone of a missile could also be seen near the alleged bomb in one picture, which could not be independently verified and which was taken without outside journalists present. Another photo showed a diagram on the wall behind Kim of a bomb mounted inside a cone.
Aside from the factuality of the North's claim, the language in its statement seems a strong signal that Pyongyang will soon conduct its sixth nuclear weapon test, which is crucial if North Korean scientists are to fulfill the national goal of an arsenal of viable nuclear ICBMs that can reach the U.S. mainland. There's speculation that such a test could come on or around the Sept. 9 anniversary of North Korea's national founding, something it did last year.
As part of the North's weapons work, Kim was said by his propaganda mavens to have made a visit to the Nuclear Weapons Institute and inspected a "homemade" H-bomb with "super explosive power" that "is adjustable from tens (of) kiloton to hundreds (of) kiloton."
Jump in progress
North Korea in July conducted its first ever ICBM tests, part of a stunning jump in progress for the country's nuclear and missile program since Kim rose to power following his father's death in late 2011. The North followed its two tests of Hwasong-14 ICBMs, which, when perfected, could target large parts of the United States, by threatening to launch a salvo of its Hwasong-12 intermediate range missiles toward the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam in August.
It flew a Hwasong-12 over northern Japan last week, the first such overflight by a missile capable of carrying nukes, in a launch Kim described as a "meaningful prelude" to containing Guam, the home of major U.S. military facilities, and more ballistic missile tests targeting the Pacific.
Vipin Narang, an MIT professor specializing in nuclear strategy, said it's important to note that North Korea was only showing a mockup of a two-stage thermonuclear device, or H-bomb. "We won't know what they have until they test it, and even then there may be a great deal of uncertainty depending on the yield and seismic signature and any isotopes we can detect after a test," he said.
To back up its claims to nuclear mastery, such tests are vital. The first of its two atomic tests last year involved what Pyongyang claimed was a sophisticated hydrogen bomb; the second it said was its most powerful atomic detonation ever.
It is almost impossible to independently confirm North Korean statements about its highly secret weapons program. South Korean government officials said the estimated explosive yield of last year's first test was much smaller than what even a failed hydrogen bomb detonation would produce. There was speculation that North Korea might have detonated a boosted fission bomb, a weapon considered halfway between an atomic bomb and an H-bomb.
Invaluable information
It is clear, however, that each new missile and nuclear test gives the North invaluable information that allows big jumps in capability. A key question is how far North Korea has gotten in efforts to consistently shrink down nuclear warheads so they can fit on long-range missiles.
"Though we cannot verify the claim, (North Korea) wants us to believe that it can launch a thermonuclear strike now, if it is attacked. Importantly, (North Korea) will also want to test this warhead, probably at a larger yield, to demonstrate this capability," said Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
North Korea is thought to have a growing arsenal of nuclear bombs and has spent decades trying to perfect a multistage, long-range missile to eventually carry smaller versions of those bombs.
South Korea's main spy agency has previously asserted that it does not think Pyongyang currently has the ability to develop miniaturized nuclear weapons that can be mounted on long-range ballistic missiles. Some experts, however, think the North may have mastered this technology.
The White House said that President Donald Trump spoke with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan regarding "ongoing efforts to maximize pressure on North Korea." The statement did not say whether the conversation came before or after the North's latest claim.
A long line of U.S. presidents has failed to check North Korea's persistent pursuit of missiles and nuclear weapons. Six-nation negotiations on dismantling North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for aid fell apart in early 2009.
'Great destructive power'
The North said in its statement Sunday that its H-bomb "is a multi-functional thermonuclear nuke with great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack according to strategic goals."
Kim, according to the statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, claimed that "all components of the H-bomb were homemade ... thus enabling the country to produce powerful nuclear weapons as many as it wants."
In what could be read as a veiled warning of more nuclear tests, Kim underlined the need for scientists to "dynamically conduct the campaign for successfully concluding the final-stage research and development for perfecting the state nuclear force" and "set forth tasks to be fulfilled in the research into nukes."
The two Koreas have shared the world's most heavily fortified border since their war in the early 1950s ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 American troops are deployed in South Korea as deterrence against North Korea.
Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and Jennifer Griffin and the Associated Press contributed to this story.

Lawmakers to Vote On Amendments To Limit Civil Asset Forfeiture

Attorney General Jeff Sessions acknowledges applause at the Fraternal Order of Police convention Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn.

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Congress is taking up an appropriations bill next week that may decide the future of ‘Civil Asset Forfeiture.’
The bill will authorize spending for the Department of Justice for the upcoming fiscal year.
Three amendments by both Democrat and Republican lawmakers have been submitted, all three aimed at limiting the use of ‘Civil Asset Forfeiture’, and eventually de-funding the practice.
The program allows law enforcement to seize and eventually sell property of those under arrest, which includes everything from cash on hand to real estate.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently issued a directive to ramp-up the program.

Report: President Trump Looks To Withdraw From Trade Deal With South Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets South Korean President Moon Jae-in prior to delivering a joint statement from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 30, 2017.

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In an effort to create better trade deals for the U.S. a new report claims President Trump is preparing to withdraw from its Free Trade Agreement with South Korea.
The report published on Saturday reveals President Trump has asked advisers to prepare to leave the deal, and will likely begin the formal process as early as next week.
If the Trump Administration decides to withdraw from deal, the President may look to South Korea to import more U.S. products without restrictions; something he believes will help U.S. businesses and workers.

Antifa College Cartoons

Colleges struggle over defending or curbing free speech

 When College Administrators start letting Antifa groups run the show the college should be shut down because this has nothing to do with education.

University of Missouri

Evergreen State College

Both the University of Missouri and Evergreen State College have been rocked by left-wing demonstrations, some of which administrators in both schools allowed. Now both have had to deal with falling enrollment and a decline in funds - and there are fears the situation could spread to other schools.

The defining issue is whether parents and donors see administrators as capable of containing clashes and responding firmly when protests get out of control, experts say.

Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a nonprofit that advocates for a variety of higher education issues, told Fox News that how a college handles freedom of expression matters greatly to prospective students, their parents and donors.
“When they look to what college to pick, parents and students are thinking of the largest investment their family is likely to make beyond the purchase of a home,” Pfeffer Merrill said. “Across the political spectrum, one of the most essential assets is [the opportunity] to be exposed to a wide range of views.”

Violence is coming from antifa group on campus. Now they control administrators and shut out competing ideas they disagree with or don’t like.

There is increasing concern, she said, “about a lack of openness to having a full conversation” amid a growing intolerance of views that are different or considered offensive.
“It’s senior leadership at the colleges that sets the tone,” she said.
At Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., last year left-wing students called for a day for whites to stay off campus. But a professor -- well known as a progressive -- publicly criticized the move. The response was threats and physical intimidation by students. Administrators decided to suspend classes for several days.
As at Missouri, the school administrators were assailed for allowing a group of overzealous students to call the shots.
Now Evergreen State has experienced a decline in enrollment that has resulted in a $2.1 million budget shortfall, forcing the liberal arts school to announce layoffs. The blow to the school’s enrollment and finances is seen as stemming, at least in part, from the showdown.

The general consensus was that [the enrollment decline] was because of the aftermath of what happened in November, 2015. There were students from both in the state and out of state that just did not apply, or those who did apply but decided not to attend.
- Mun Choi, new system president, University of Missouri

In 2015, the University of Missouri’s main campus, which is in Columbia, experienced escalating tensions over allegations of racism at the school – and protests became violent. Several administrators acceded to demonstrators’ demands that they resign.
School officials were widely criticized for not gaining control over the protests, which grew in size and tension, even resulting in some demonstrators lashing out at reporters who were trying to cover their message.
Since then, freshman enrollment has plunged by 35 percent, and donations to the athletic department have dropped 72 percent over the year before, according to published reports.
The University of Missouri had to temporarily close seven dormitories – renting them out for special events, such as homecoming games – and planned to cut 400 jobs.
“The general consensus was that [declining enrollment] was because of the aftermath of what happened in November 2015,” the New York Times quoted Mun Choi, the new system president, as saying. “There were students from both in the state and out of state that just did not apply, or those who did apply but decided not to attend.”
If left-wing groups continue making demands and administrators acquiesce to them, other schools may suffer the same fate as Missouri and Evergreen, according to one expert.
“I don’t think we have seen the full extent of the fallout at the University of Missouri,” Sterling Beard, editor of The Leadership Institute's Campus Reform, told Fox News. “Violence is coming from Antifa groups on campus. Now they control administrators and shut out competing ideas they disagree with or don’t like.”
Beard said Missouri’s protests spread to other colleges, but they did not spiral out of control.
“The lesson is that administrators have to treat their students like the adults that they are,” he said. “Nowadays they treat students with kid gloves.”
When students cross the line from expressing a view or demonstrating for a cause to disrupting education or making people feel unsafe on campus, it’s time for administrators to lay down boundaries, Beard said.
“They must not be afraid to expel students and lay down the law.”
One school that has resisted the kinds of demands Missouri and Evergreen gave in to is the University of Chicago.
In the summer of 2016 incoming freshmen at the University of Chicago received a welcome letter that made the institution’s commitment to the free and open expression of ideas clear:
“Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called ‘trigger warnings,’ we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual ‘safe spaces’ where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”

Trump slams 'rigged system' over claim Comey 'exonerated' Clinton before probe ended

President Trump on Friday slammed what he called a “rigged system” following reports that former FBI Director James Comey began drafting an “exoneration statement” for Hillary Clinton before interviewing her in connection with her private email use as secretary of state.  

“Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over…and so much more. A rigged system!” Trump tweeted early Friday.

The president was referring to allegations made this week by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
In a news release Thursday, the senators said Comey began drafting the exoneration statement in April or May 2016, which was before the FBI interviewed 17 key witnesses, including Clinton herself and other top aides.
COMEY BEGAN DRAFTING 'EXONERATION STATEMENT' BEFORE INTERVIEWING KEY WITNESSES, SENATORS SAY
“Conclusion first, fact-gathering second—that’s no way to run an investigation,” they wrote in a letter this week to the FBI. “The FBI should be held to a higher standard than that, especially in a matter of such great public interest and controversy.”
Grassley and Graham said they learned about the draft after reviewing transcripts of interviews with top Comey aides.
“According to the unredacted portions of the transcripts, it appears that in April or early May of 2016, Mr. Comey had already decided he would issue a statement exonerating Secretary Clinton,” the senators said.
They added, “That was long before FBI agents finished their work. Mr. Comey even circulated an early draft statement to select members of senior FBI leadership. The outcome of an investigation should not be prejudged while FBI agents are still hard at work trying to gather the facts.”
Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, was investigated by the FBI for using a private email address and server to handle classified information while serving as secretary of state.
In July 2016, Comey famously called Clinton’s email arrangement “extremely careless” though he decided against recommending criminal charges.
The transcripts in question were from interviews conducted by the Office of Special Counsel, which interviewed James Rybicki, Comey’s chief of staff, and Trisha Anderson, the principal deputy general counsel of national security and cyberlaw, the senators said.
“It is unclear whether the FBI agents actually investigating the case were aware that Mr. Comey had already decided on the investigation’s outcome while their work was ongoing,” the senators wrote.
In the Wednesday letter to FBI Director Chris Wray, the two senators said they have requested all records relating to the drafting of the statement.
Comey was fired as FBI director by Trump in May amid tensions over the Russia investigation.

Obama Becomes Most Expensive Ex-President in U.S. History

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Barack Obama becomes the most expensive ex-president in U.S. history, costing taxpayers almost $1.2 million a year.
Obama’s official allowance for 2018 is the highest among the five living ex-presidents, exceeding George Bush’s budget by $100,000 and Bill Clinton’s by $200,000.
Despite claiming his presidency empowered the disadvantaged, Obama made a dent in Americans’ pockets with shared responsibility payments.
Now his office in D.C. is the most expensive of all other ex-presidents’ and will cost taxpayers $536,000.
His pension is also the highest at around $236,000.
Not only did Barack and Michelle Obama leave the White House as multi-millionaires, they also put a hefty price tag on on their public speaking services.
One speech from the former president could cost up to $400,000.

Russia Promises Tough Response Over Consulate Closures

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

OAN Newroom

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

College Protesters Cartoons

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke resigns

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

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

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

Trump pushing for $6 billion in Harvey recovery funding

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

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

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

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

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

OAN Newsroom

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

House Committee Delays Hearing On Net Neutrality Due to Obstruction

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

OAN Newsroom

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

Antifa Cartoons

Pelosi on violent Antifa members: Lock them up

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Howard University Hires Former FBI Director James Comey

James Comey can now add "professor" to his resume.

Howard University has appointed the former FBI Director to serve as the Gwendolyn S. and Colbert I. King Endowed Chair in Public Policy for the 2017-2018 academic year. As part of this role, Comey will lead five lectures, although the topic has yet to be announced. He will also serve as the Opening Convocation keynote speaker, welcoming the incoming Freshman class on September 22.

"[Comey's] expertise and understanding of the challenges we continue to face today will go a long way in sparking rich discussion and advancing meaningful debates across campus," Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick said in a statement.

According to the release from the University, Comey will forego the $100,000 compensation, instead donating it to a scholarship fund for the University dedicated to helping students from foster homes.

"I am honored to hold the King Chair this school year. Howard has a longstanding history of being a vibrant academic community and the perfect place to have rich dialogue on many of the most pressing issues we face today," Comey said in the statement.

Comey's tenure at Howard University will coincide with the release of his widely anticipated book, which is expected to be published in the Spring of 2018.

President Donald Trump unexpectedly fired Comey on May 9, citing recommendations from the two top officials in the Department of Justice, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, based on his handling of the probe into Hillary Clinton's e-mails.

The termination provoked outrage, particularly given the fact that Comey was overseeing the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the presidential campaign. Trump conceded later that week in an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt that he had always intended to fire Comey and was frustrated with the investigation. Comey publicly testified about his relationship with Trump before the Senate in June.

Comey's replacement, Christopher Wray, was confirmed by the Senate and sworn into office earlier this month.

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FBI shuts down request for files on Hillary Clinton by citing lack of public interest

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The FBI is declining to turn over files related to its investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails by arguing a lack of public interest in the matter.

Ty Clevenger, an attorney in New York City, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in March of 2016 asking for a variety of documents from the FBI and the Justice Department, including correspondence exchanged with Congress about the Clinton email investigation.

But in a letter sent this week and obtained by Fox News, the head of the FBI’s Records Management Division told Clevenger that the bureau has “determined you have not sufficiently demonstrated that the public’s interest in disclosure outweighs personal privacy interests of the subject.”

"You must show that the public interest sought is a significant one"

“Therefore, records regarding your subject are withheld pursuant to FOIA exemptions,” David M. Hardy of the FBI’s Records Management Division told Clevenger.
Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee in 2016, was investigated by the FBI for using a private email address and server to handle classified information while serving as secretary of state.
In July 2016, then-FBI Director James Comey famously called Clinton’s email arrangement “extremely careless” though he decided against recommending criminal charges.
HILLARY CLINTON'S BOOK RELEASE HAS DEMS WORRIED, IRRITATED
Though Clinton lost the election, Clevenger is still attempting to obtain documents related to the investigation. He's seeking to prove she committed perjury, the Washington Times reported.
He specifically asked for all documents resulting from a September 6, 2016 referral to the Justice Department from then-House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican.
At the time, Chaffetz asked the department to “investigate and determine whether Secretary Clinton or her employees and contractors violated statues that prohibit destruction of records, obstruction of congressional inquiries, and concealment or cover up of evidence material to a congressional investigation.”
On Aug. 8, the FBI asked Clevenger to detail why the public would be interested.
“If you seek disclosure of any existing records on this basis, you must demonstrate that the public interest in disclosure outweighs personal privacy interests,” the letter stated. “In this regard, you must show that the public interest sought is a significant one, and that the requested information is likely to advance that interest.”
Clevenger expressed disbelief at the request.
“Frankly, I am stunned I should have to explain why my request pertains to a matter of public interest,” Clevenger wrote in an Aug. 11 letter to the FBI.
He cited how Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president of the United States, a former secretary of state and a former senator.
Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Feinstein stuns San Francisco crowd: Trump 'can be a good president'

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., stunned a San Francisco audience Tuesday when she said that if President Trump "can learn and change," he could “be a good president.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Feinstein made the comments during a sold-out Herbst Theater interview. She was onstage with Ellen Tauscher, a former Bay Area congresswoman.

The paper described the event as a “political lovefest” — pointing out that Feinstein is wildly popular in San Francisco, where she served as mayor for a decade. She was first elected to the Senate in 1992, after a failed bid for governor of California.
Toward the end of the evening, Feinstein reportedly shocked the crowd when she declined to say that Trump should be impeached and then told the audience that they should be prepared to see Trump complete his four-year term.
Feinstein serves on both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, both of which are investigating Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
“The question is whether he can learn and change. If so, I believe he can be a good president,” she said.

"The question is whether he can learn and change. If so, I believe he can be a good president.”

The report said, “the crowd reacted with stunned silence, broken only with scattered “No’s and a few hisses and some nervous laughter.” The article said that kind of talk is “never heard in Democratic circles.”
Feinstein has been a tough critic of Trump. She recently slammed his decision to pardon Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, saying Trump's action shows a “flagrant disregard for the rule of law in this country.”
She asserted that the pardon sent a message to police departments across the United States “that racial profiling is OK.”
On the topic of a border wall with Mexico, Feinstein said she believes Americans would rather send aid to Texas flood victims than pay for a border wall.
She has also criticized Trump’s transgender military ban and called the nature of Trump’s immigration policies “cruel and arbitrary.”
The conversation touched on many subjects, but the 84-year-old did not say whether she’ll seek re-election next year.
Still, Feinstein stood by her comments about Trump, saying, “We have to see if he can forget himself enough and have the type of empathy and direction the country needs.”
She said if he doesn't, "there are things that can be done."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Edmund DeMarche is a news editor for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @EDeMarche.

Illinois Gov. Under Fire For Signing Bill Protecting Illegal Immigrants

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner greets supporters before he takes the stage at a Republican Day rally at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Ill. Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017. (Rich Saal/The State Journal-Register via AP)

The governor of Illinois is under fire after signing a bill to protect illegal immigrants.
Governor Bruce Rauner passed the “Trust Act” Monday, which prohibits authorities from arresting or detaining a person based solely on their immigration status.
He claims this will help law enforcement keep the state safer, but many see this as an attempt to defy the president’s tough stance against illegal immigration.
Some are accusing Rauner of making Illinois a sanctuary state.
Others believe the move is an attempt by the governor to strengthen his base in order to win reelection in 2018.

Pres. Trump Says ‘All Options Are On The Table’ After N. Korea Missile Launch

South Korean army soldiers aim their machine guns during the annual Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise in Yongin, South Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. In a first, North Korea on Tuesday fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload that flew over Japan and splashed into the northern Pacific Ocean, officials said.  (Hong Gi-won/Yonhap via AP)

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President Trump doubles down on his warning to North Korea saying, “all options are on the table.”
In a White House statement Tuesday, the president said threatening and destabilizing actions only increase North Korea’s isolation from all nations.
This comes after the rogue nation fired an intermediate range ballistic missile over Japan that landed in the Pacific Ocean.
Earlier this month, the president warned Pyongyang the U.S. military will unleash “fire and fury” if an attack is launched.
The U.S., Japan, and South Korea requested an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting.
Meanwhile, South Korea sent a powerful response to North Korea’s missile launch.
The country’s Air Force conducted a live fire drill involving powerful bombs Tuesday morning.
President Moon Jae-in ordered the strike as a display of the country’s ability to punish Pyongyang if it were to attack.
The country also threatened to exterminate North Korea’s leadership as annual joint-drills between South Korea and the U.S. continue.
Following the launch, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and South Korea’s foreign minister agreed to consider tougher sanctions against Pyongyang.

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Arpaio opens door to return to public office, after Trump pardon

Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who received the first presidential pardon of the Trump administration last week, is considering getting back into the “political field,” he told Fox News on Monday.

“When I left office, I said I’m probably going to be done with politics, but I’m back in the political field again—whatever that means, I don’t know,” Arpaio, 85, told Fox News. 

Early Monday, the Washington Examiner reported that Arpaio may challenge Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who has been in a public feud with Trump for weeks.
But Arpaio clarified to Fox News that he's not sure what office he might seek or if he'll even run again, claiming he didn’t specifically mention Flake by name.
“I don’t know what office I would run for if I even decided to run for office—I’m undecided on the issue,” he said.
Flake was unsupportive of President Trump’s Arpaio pardon, tweeting late Friday: “Regarding the Arpaio pardon, I would have preferred that the President honor the judicial process and let it take its course.”
Arpaio, the former Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff, had been found guilty of criminal contempt for defying a judge’s order to stop traffic patrols that allegedly targeted immigrants.
The White House announced Trump’s pardon late Friday, saying that “after more than 50 years of admirable service to our nation, he is a worthy candidate for a Presidential pardon.”
Trump went on to post his announcement on Twitter.
“I am pleased to inform you that I have just granted a full Pardon to 85 year old American patriot Sheriff Joe Arpaio,” Trump tweeted Friday night. “He kept Arizona safe!”
SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO WINS PARDON FROM TRUMP
Arpaio thanked the president, while saying in an earlier tweet that his conviction was the result of a “political witch hunt by holdovers in the Obama justice department.”
Brooke Singman is a Politics Reporter for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @brookefoxnews.

North Korea's launch of ballistic missile over Japan sends clear message to US, allies

North Korea on Tuesday-- in an act of defiance-- fired a midrange ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear payload over Japan for the first time, sending a clear message to Washington and Seoul.

The distance and type of missile test seemed designed to show that North Korea can back up a threat to target the U.S. territory of Guam, if it chooses to do so, while also establishing a potentially dangerous precedent that could see future missiles flying over Japan.

Any new test worries Washington and its allies because it presumably puts the North a step closer toward its goal of an arsenal of nuclear missiles that can reliably target the United States. Tuesday's test, however, looks especially aggressive to Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.
North Korea will no doubt be watching the world's reaction to see if it can use Tuesday's flight over Japan as a precedent for future launches. Japanese officials made the usual strongly worded condemnations of the launch. There were no immediate tweets from Trump.
"We will do our utmost to protect people's lives," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. "This reckless act of launching a missile that flies over our country is an unprecedented, serious and important threat."
A U.S. congressman visiting Seoul said Washington is now pressuring North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions by shutting down the impoverished country's access to hard currency, the lifeblood of its expensive weapons program.
The Pentagon told reporters that it was investigating the launch over Japan, adding: "North American Aerospace Defense Command determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America." The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said the Japanese military did not attempt to intercept the missile.
South Korea's air force effectively fired back at North Korea's missile launch over Japan by conducting a live-fire drill involving powerful bombs, officials said early Tuesday.
Four F-15 fighters dropped eight MK-84 bombs that accurately hit targets at a military field near South Korea's eastern coast, Seoul's presidential spokesman Park Su-hyun said. Each bomb has an explosive yield of a ton, according to the country's air force.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile traveled around 1,677 miles and reached a maximum height of 341 miles as it traveled over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
The North has conducted launches at an unusually fast pace this year -- 13 times, Seoul says -- and some analysts believe Pyongyang could have viable long-range nuclear missiles before the end of Trump's first term in early 2021.
Seoul says that while the North has twice before fired rockets it said were carrying satellites over Japan -- in 1998 and 2009 -- it has never before used a ballistic missile, which is unambiguously designed for military strikes.
Tuesday's missile landed nowhere near Guam, but firing a Hwasong-12 (Hwasong is Korean for Mars, or Fire Star) so soon after the Guam threat may be a way for the North to show it could follow through if it chose to do so. Guam is 2,200 miles away from North Korea, but South Korea's military said the North may have fired the most recent missile at a shorter range.
Another interesting aspect of this launch is that it was the first-ever reported from Sunan, which is home to Pyongyang's international airport. Some outside observers wondered if North Korea had launched a road-mobile missile from an airport runway -- something South Korea's military couldn't immediately determine.
Tuesday's launch comes days after the North fired what was assessed as three short-range ballistic missiles into the sea and a month after its second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts say could reach deep into the U.S. mainland when perfected.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week, said he welcomed the restraint Pyongyang showed by not firing any missiles in July.
“(North Korea) think that by exhibiting their capability, the path to dialogue will open,” Masao Okonogi, professor emeritus at Japan’s Keio University, told Reuters. “That logic, however, is not understood by the rest of the world, so it’s not easy,” he said.

Israel PM Accuses Iran of Building Missile Bases in Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attend a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, Monday , Aug.28, 2017. ( Heidi Levine, Pool via AP)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Iran of building missile sites in Syria and Lebanon during a meeting with the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu provided no evidence of his claims, but said Iran’ is turning Syria and Lebanon into military bases for its declared goal of eradicating Israel.
Iran has been one of Syria’s biggest supporters during the country’s six year civil war.
Israel fears after an Assad victory Iran will have a permanent military base in Syria, creating a threat to Israel’s safety.
During the meeting Guterres vowed to do everything he could to maintain peace in the region.

Gynecology Pioneer Statue Defaced in New York’s Central Park

Protesters in New York participated in graphic demonstrations in order to rally for the removal of a controversial monument to a doctor who experimented on enslaved women. (Bringing Down America)

Vandals defaced a statue in New York’s Central Park dedicated to Doctor Jay Marion Sims by spray-painting it with the word “racist.”
According to police, the vandals damaged the back of the statue, and covered its neck, mouth and eyes with red paint.
Doctor Sims is known as the “father of modern Gynecology.”
The academic community says he operated on women in catastrophic conditions that he was trying to fix.
However, Sims is said to have performed experimental surgeries on three enslaved women without the use of anesthesia.
Earlier this week, members of the Black Youth Project and Planned Parenthood staged protests demanding that statue be taken down.
The Democrat Mayor of New York Bill De Blasio said a possible removal of the statue is under consideration.