Trump says he's 'terminating' NAFTA, announces new trade agreement with Mexico

President Trump on Monday said he plans to terminate the existing North American Free Trade Agreement, as he announced a new tentative agreement between the United States and Mexico that he described as "one of the largest trade deals ever made."
"I'll be terminating the existing deal and going into this deal," the president said in the Oval Office, calling it a "big day for trade."
But the president said Monday “we’ll see” if Canada can still be part of the trade pact, leaving open the possibility of separate agreements.
"We are starting negotiations with Canada pretty much immediately," Trump said.
Trump, sitting at the Resolute Desk, put Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on his speaker phone as the press watched in the Oval Office. The Mexican president, speaking through a translator, congratulated the negotiators on both sides and expressed hope the United States and Canada would come to an agreement. 
Later, the White House said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau congratulated Trump. "The leaders discussed US - Canada trade and agreed to continue productive conversations," White House officials said.
Earlier in the day, Trump said he wanted to get rid of the name “NAFTA” because it has bad connotations. He said he planned to call the deal the "United States-Mexico Trade Agreement" instead.
The United States Trade Representative called the U.S.-Mexico deal a “preliminary agreement in principle, subject to finalization and implementation.”
“They used to call it NAFTA, we are going to call it the United States-Mexico Trade Agreement, and we will get rid of the name NAFTA,” Trump said. “It has a bad connotation because the United States was hurt very badly by NAFTA.”
Trump on Monday called it "one of the largest trade deals ever made." The U.S. and Mexico have been working to resolve key differences on issues ranging from automobiles to energy.
According to a fact sheet from the United States Trade Representative, the agreement includes new rules of origin to incentivize manufacturers to source goods and materials in North America – including requiring 75 percent of auto content be made in the United States and Mexico.
Officials in Canada, though, on Monday still expressed optimism over a deal.
“Canada is encouraged by the continued optimism shown by our negotiating partners,” a spokesman for Canada's minister of foreign affair, Chrystia Freeland, said Monday. “Progress between Mexico and the United States is a necessary requirement for any renewed NAFTA agreement.”
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump often railed against the trade pact as “the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere.”
Trump and Peña Nieto have been working for the past five weeks to iron out their bilateral differences so Canada can rejoin the talks to update NAFTA. The U.S. and Mexico wanted to finalize an agreement this month so that it can be signed ahead of Mexican President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s inauguration in December.
One of the biggest issues on the negotiating table deals with car manufacturing jobs, as the Trump administration pushes for a deal that would boost factory employment in the U.S.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Idelfonso Guajardo were seen walked together Monday into the White House without talking to reporters. The delegation also included Jesus Seade, a World Trade Organization veteran tapped by Lopez Obrador as his future chief trade negotiator.
The U.S. on Thursday agreed to keep the 2.5 percent tariff currently applied under World Trade Organization rules if the cars are made at factories that already exist, which leaves open the possibility that automobiles that are built at new plants could face tariffs of 20 percent to 25 percent.
Trump has also signaled that he is open to negotiating trade deals with Mexico and Canada separately, while both countries have said they want to keep the three-nation trade deal that dates back to 1994.
Earlier in August, Trump threatened Canada with auto tariffs if the U.S. and Canada can't forge a deal.
"Canada must wait," Trump tweeted. "Their Tariffs and Trade Barriers are far too high. Will tax cars if we can't make a deal!"
Canada responded with a statement Friday night, saying: "Our focus is unchanged. We'll keep standing up for Canadian interests as we work toward a modernized trilateral NAFTA agreement."
Adam Austen, a spokesman for Canada's foreign minister, added: "We're glad Mexico and the U.S. continue to work out their bilateral issues. It's the only way we'll get to a deal."

California lawmakers approve tougher restrictions on firearms possession, report says

California Gov. Jerry Brown will reportedly consider three bills intended to add restrictions on gun ownership in his state.  (AP)

Lawmakers in California on Monday sent three bills to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk that call for stricter restrictions on firearms in a state that has one of the toughest gun laws in the country.
The bill was sent to Brown’s desk one day after a gunman opened fire at a gaming event in Florida, killing two before turning the gun on himself.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the bills call for a lifetime ban for those convicted of domestic violence along with those ordered by a court to a psychiatric hold twice in one year.
State lawmakers have also called for Californians interested in obtaining a concealed weapon permit to undergo eight hours of instruction and pass a live-fire test before being granted the permit, the report said.
Most Republicans opposed the concealed-carry measure, warning that there is no limit on the amount of training a county can demand for the permit under the proposed law.
The state is known to have tight gun laws. Those convicted of domestic violence in the state currently face a 10-year probation, the report said. The state also currently enforces a five-year ban for those ordered by a court into a psychiatric holds, the report said.
“If you want to have a loaded gun in public, you need to show that you know what you are doing,” Todd Gloria, a Democratic assemblyman, told The Times.

Cohen lawyer admits he was anonymous CNN source for bombshell story on Trump Tower meeting

Lanny Davis, the high-powered attorney of President Trump’s longtime “fixer”-turned-foe Michael Cohen, admitted Monday he was an anonymous source for a bombshell CNN story on the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting — after The Washington Post outed him as a source for its own story.
Davis told BuzzFeed News Monday night he regretted being the anonymous source as well as his subsequent denial. The CNN story, which cited multiple “sources,” claimed Cohen said President Trump knew in advance about the Trump Tower sit-down.
“I made a mistake,” Davis told BuzzFeed.
CNN, which has stood by its reporting, did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Davis spent recent days walking back his bombshell assertions that his client could tell Special Counsel Robert Mueller that Trump had prior knowledge of the meeting with a Russian lawyer discussing potentially damaging information on Hillary Clinton.
Trump has denied knowledge all along, and fired back following CNN’s report last month.
“I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!” Trump tweeted on July 27.
The CNN report from July 27 headlined, “Cohen claims Trump knew in advance of 2016 Trump Tower meeting,” cited “sources with knowledge,” contradicting repeated denials by Trump and his surrogates, as Fox News previously reported. CNN’s report resulted in countless cable news segments and sent other news organizations scurrying to match.
Among them was The Washington Post. On Sunday, the newspaper published an interview in which Davis backpedaled.
Davis, attempting to clean up his comments in interviews last week after Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, tax evasion and bank fraud, told the Post he “should have been more clear” that he “could not independently confirm what happened.”
Davis said he regretted his “error.”
“Davis’s latest comments cast doubt on what Cohen may know, including about a June 2016 meeting in New York’s Trump Tower attended by Trump’s eldest son and a Russian lawyer,” the Post wrote on Sunday night.
Davis started walking back the allegations last week, when during an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, he was asked whether there was evidence that Trump knew about the meeting before it happened.
“No, there’s not,” Davis said.
He told BuzzFeed on Monday night about his comments to Cooper: “I did not mean to be cute.”
Fox News' Brian Flood and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Frank Miles is a reporter and editor covering sports, tech, military and geopolitics for FoxNews.com. He can be reached at Frank.Miles@foxnews.com.

Russian Hacking Vote Cartoons

Attorney General Sessions Deems Late Senator Mccain ‘Great Leader’ with ‘Relentless Drive’

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks during a news conference regarding the country’s opioid epidemic, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions offers his condolences over the death of Senator John McCain, calling him a “great leader” with “relentless drive.”
In a statement Saturday, Sessions said the country was McCain’s top priority and “his ferocious tenacity for his country was unmatched.”
Sessions went on to say America has lost a great patriot and cited his support for the U.S. troop surge to Iraq back in 2007 as completely selfless and patriotic.
McCain first announced his brain cancer diagnosis in July of last year.

Kelli Ward criticized for suggesting McCain pre-timed announcement to damage her campaign

Kelli Ward speaks to the media as she prepares to file her nominating petitions at the state Capitol in Phoenix  (AP)

Hours before Sen. John McCain died on Saturday, a Republican seeking Arizona’s other U.S. Senate seat suggested that his family’s earlier announcement that he was ending cancer treatment had been timed to hurt her campaign.
Former State Sen. Kelli Ward, who lost a primary to McCain running from the right in 2016 and is now trying to win the GOP nomination for retiring Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat, made the suggestion in response to a Facebook post by a campaign aide.
According to screenshots of the conversation posted on Twitter by Arizona political reporters, the aide, Jonathan Williams, wondered if it was “just a coincidence” that the announcement of McCain ending medical treatment came the day Ward was launching a statewide bus tour, her big push before Tuesday’s primary.
Ward replied: “I think they wanted to have a particular narrative that is negative to me.”
After her response was Tweeted out, Ward deleted the post and replaced it with one claiming the media was concocting a story.
Aaron Borders, an Arizona lobbyist and ex-vice chair of the Maricopa County GOP, shared the comment on his Facebook page told The Washington Post that Ward, “shouldn’t be saying any of this. Leave it alone. [McCain’s] not even an opponent. That’s about as narcissistic as it gets,”
“I’ve said again and again to pray for Senator McCain & his family,” Ward wrote. “These decisions are terrible to have to make. I feel compassion for him and his family as they go through this.”
McCain, a war hero who survived five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, served three decades in Congress and went on to become the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 2008, died Saturday. He was 81 years old.

Michael Goodwin: Here's how Trump can survive the fierce attack against his presidency

From Day One, President Trump has been fighting a war for survival on two fronts. One front involves law enforcement, led first by James Comey’s FBI and now by special counsel Robert Mueller. The other front is political, where Trump faces the resistance movement led by congressional Democrats.
But sift through the fog of last week’s dizzying headlines about guilty pleas, immunity deals and possible impeachment, and a clear picture emerges: The two fronts have united, with the anti-Trumpers in the Justice Department and those in politics now openly working hand-in-hand against him.
In the long slog to unseat the president, the official merger of the anti-Trump forces marks a dramatic turning point. For one thing, it shows beyond doubt that the Mueller probe is fundamentally tainted by partisan politics, with the latest example involving Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer. Inexplicably, Cohen’s case remains in control of Manhattan federal prosecutors.
The US attorney Trump appointed for that outpost, Geoffrey Berman, reportedly was ordered to recuse himself by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, leaving the office staffed mostly by holdovers from Preet Bharara’s tenure.

For all the glee of his opponents and media doomsaying, only a fool would count President Trump out. He’s bounced back from the brink before and there are three reasons why he could do it again.

Bharara was fired by Trump when he refused to resign and is cheering for Trump’s fall. Meanwhile, his former colleagues made the politically charged demand that Cohen accuse the president of criminal behavior in his own plea documents, illustrating how Cohen is a pawn and Trump is the real target.
The anti-Trump alliance also raises the stakes even higher in the midterm elections. Every match- up will be a referendum on him, and if Republicans lose either house of Congress, his power ebbs and his troubles instantly expand.
Perhaps most remarkable of all, this new legal-political landscape shows the power wielded by Lanny Davis, a decades-long friend, lawyer and fixer to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
With Davis serving as Cohen’s lawyer, the Clinton machine is effectively directing much of the assault on the president. After brokering Cohen’s deal with prosecutors, Davis began a televised barnstorming tour where he declared that because Cohen said Trump “directed” him to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels and another woman during the 2016 campaign, it is certain the president broke campaign-finance laws.
Leaving aside that the deal proves nothing about Trump, the fact remains that Davis’ role is a delicious revenge scenario beyond anything Hillary could have imagined. She now has a mole working with Mueller!
Click here to keep reading Michael Goodwin's column.
Michael Goodwin is a Fox News contributor and New York Post columnist.

Tiger Woods says 'you have to respect the office' of president after questions about his relationship with Trump

Tiger Woods shot down questions on Sunday about his relationship with President Trump, urging people to respect the office of the president.  (AP)

Tiger Woods shot down questions on Sunday about his relationship with President Trump, urging people to respect the office of the president.
“He's the President of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office,” Woods said during a news conference just after the final round of the US PGA Northern Trust tournament.

"He's the President of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office."
- Tiger Woods

The comment was in response to a provocative reporter’s question that tried to get Woods to denounce Trump’s policies and feuds with NBA and NFL players, USA Today reported.
Woods was asked whether he had anything to say to people who “find it interesting” that he maintains a rather personal relationship with the president who tightening immigration controls in the country and feuding with both NBA and NFL players.
“At times, especially 2018, I think a lot of people, especially immigrants are threatened by him and his policy — what do you say to people who might find it interesting that you have a friendly relationship with him?” a reporter asked Woods.
Trump and Woods are known golfing partners for years and have remained in touch ever since Trump took office.
“Well, I’ve known Donald for a number of years,” Woods said. “We've played golf together. We've had dinner together. I've known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.”
The golf star was then asked to comment about the race relations in the country, which he declined.
“No. I just finished 72 holes and really hungry,” Woods said and moved on to questions that were relevant to his performance at the tournament that day.

Gun Control 2018 Cartoons

NRA Blasts Dems For Trying To Bring Down Pres. Trump Via Clinton Tactics

Dana Loesch

The NRA blasts the Left and the FBI for trying to bring down President Trump.
During an interview Friday, NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch slammed the Democrats for doing anything necessary to entrap President Trump.
Loesch said liberals will make a legal problem to do so, and will use campaign finances to fund the venture.
She clarified moral dilemmas surrounding the president would not result in legal trouble, so they use the so-called ‘Clinton years’ as a template to manipulate the situation.

“They’re trying to Al Capone the president. I mean, you remember. Capone didn’t go down for murder. Elliot Ness didn’t put him in for murder. He went in for tax fraud. Prosecutors didn’t care how he went down as long as he went down. The same goes for Democrats, whatever avenue is needed to take down the president they’ll take it.” -Dana Loesch, NRA spokeswoman

This comes just days after President Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations among other charges.

Report: U.S. Will Retaliate Against Syria If It Uses Chemical Weapons

US national security adviser John Bolton, speaks during an interview about the meeting with his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev, at the American embassy in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, August 23, 2018. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

OAN Newsroom

UPDATED 2:50 PM PT – Sat. August 25, 2018

A new report suggests the U.S. may be preparing to hit Syria if President Bashar Al Assad ever uses chemical weapons.
According to a report released Saturday, National Security Adviser John Bolton issued the warning to his Russia counterpart earlier this week.
Bolton reportedly clarified the U.S. will respond with more force than it has in the past.
This comes just one day after a report surfaced from U.S. Intelligence suggesting Assad may be planning a chemical attack in the Idlib province.

Liberal media's desperate push for Trump impeachment may actually hurt Democrats

Future Democrat Drone?

The liberal news media have a new favorite word to use when discussing President Trump: impeachment. 
For example, MSNBC and CNN reporters, anchors and guests said “impeach,” “impeachment” or some other form of the word on the cable news channels an incredible 222 times between 6 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. And of course, they talked about possible impeachment other days as well, and newspapers and websites were also filled with impeachment speculation. 
Most Democrats in Congress and their leaders are shying away from talking about impeachment before the November midterm elections – but that’s not stopping the anti-Trump media.
In the discussions about kicking the duly elected president of the United States out of office, speakers gave their fond recollections of the effort to impeach President Nixon, which resulted in his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974.
Journalists and the people they interviewed fondly recalled the Nixon drama, talked about the how you can’t spell “election” without an “I,” and warned the Supreme Court nomination  of Judge Brett Kavanaugh will face fierce opposition from Democrats.
Journalists were so desperate for the narrative that they completely ignored correcting a false statement they had promoted for nearly a half-hour across the three broadcast networks. ABC, CBS and NBC first reported that “Trump knew in advance of 2016 Trump Tower meeting” with Russians. Then when former Trump attorney Michael Cohen’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, corrected the record the media ignored it for an entire day.
Facts apparently don’t matter. MSNBC did a number on accuracy and ran an incorrect graphic of “how impeachment works” two days in a row. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking as the left-wing network hoped that 60 senators could convict the president instead of the required 67.
Slate flashed back to the impeachment drama it enjoyed (hint: not the one involving President Clinton.) “Most of the articles of impeachment against Nixon could easily apply to Trump,” it reported.
Journalists couldn’t control themselves. NBC’s “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie was enthralled talking to “Meet The Press” host Chuck Todd about possible impeachment.
“So is this gonna, in some way, be like the only issue in the midterms going forward?” Guthrie asked.
“I think it’s possible,” Todd said.
Oddly, CNN’s Ana Cabrera and sometime-conservative host S.E. Cupp accused the White House of the “politics of fear” over that same possibility of impeachment. Cupp stressed that saying what her network is saying is “stoking these fears” that the Democrats will impeach. She claimed it’s a voter “turnout” strategy.
Apparently, she never watches her own network. But who can blame her?
There’s one fly in the ointment. Democrats are afraid that rational Americans don’t want to impeach a president for something he might have done that they don’t care about and happened before he ever took office. The party fears such impeachment talk might help the GOP.
The issue Democrats want to flee is the top agenda item of liberal billionaire Tom Steyer. And at least part of his wish came true – the part he’s paying $120 million to get – turning the election into a referendum on impeaching the president.
Steyer, whose record of picking winning candidates in elections is atrocious, wants to impeach President Trump and replace him. Possibly with himself. He’s already built a list of 5.5 million impeachment fans and the former hedge fund executive is “seriously looking into running for president,” according to CNBC.
So the news media aren’t just buying into a bogus exercise in impeachment, they are genuinely doing the work of a likely Democratic candidate.
Ah, journalism.

John McCain's US Senate seat: What happens next?

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will have big shoes to fill as he mulls over who he will appoint to temporarily fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late John McCain until a special election can be held to complete McCain's term.
McCain, 81, lost his year-long battle with brain cancer Saturday, leaving behind a decades-long legacy in politics which included presidential runs.
Even as he took a months-long hiatus from Washington to recover in his home state, McCain maintained a voice in Congress, sharing his opinion on legislation and frequently criticizing President Trump’s agenda.
McCain was one of the first to express opposition to Trump’s first presidential pardon in August 2017 of Joe Arpaio — the former sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County who was found guilty of a misdemeanor contempt-of-court charge in a trial prosecuted by the Justice Department.
A week earlier, McCain slammed Trump’s remarks surrounding last year's violence in Charlottesville, Va., writing in a tweet there’s "no moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate & bigotry."
In September 2017, McCain shocked his Republican colleagues with a thumbs-down vote against a replacement for "Obamacare," the health care law approved under President Barack Obama.
“I cannot in good conscience vote for the Graham-Cassidy proposal. I believe we could do better working together, Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried,” McCain wrote, in part, after his dramatic vote. “I take no pleasure in announcing my opposition. Far from it. The bill’s authors are my dear friends, and I think the world of them. I know they are acting consistently with their beliefs and sense of what is best for the country. So am I.”
Trump signed a military policy bill in August named for McCain, but in a sign of their testy relationship the president made no mention of McCain's name in remarks at a signing ceremony.
Here’s what happens to Mccain’s Senate seat, according to Arizona election law.

Governor appoints a new senator

Arizona is one of 36 states where a governor makes an appointment to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Therefore, Gov. Ducey will appoint an interim senator to fill McCain’s seat.
Because McCain was a Republican, state law requires Ducey to appoint a member of the same party — a move that’s critically important for the Trump administration, as the GOP currently holds a bare 51-49 Senate majority.
The newly appointed senator would be in office until the next general election in November 2020. The interim senator would not be obligated to run in that election.
Whomever is elected to the Senate seat in November 2020 would complete McCain's term, which expires in January 2023.

What happens if the governor chooses a member of Congress?

If Ducey chooses one of the state’s current congressional members to fill the seat, then a special election would need to be held to fill that empty spot. According to the Arizona State Legislature, that election would have to be held “not less than 120 nor more than 133 days” after the vacancy occurs.

McCain's body arrives in Phoenix, crowd gathers to pay respects

A hearse carrying the body of U.S. Sen. John McCain, who died Saturday after a year-long battle with brain cancer, arrived in uptown Phoenix on Saturday evening.
At least two-dozen people stood near the freeway exit as the motorcade that carried the senator’s body from his Cornville home arrived at the mortuary after 8:30 p.m. local time, the Arizona Republic reported.
By late evening, about 200 people were gathered outside the A.L. Moore Grimshaw Mortuary. Some could be heard shouting, “I love you, John,” while others waved flags or wore red, white and blue.
"We knew it was coming. It was expected," one onlooker told the Republic. "It happened so quickly. But he led a good life and I'm sure his family is proud of him. He left a legacy that will long be remembered."
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered all flags in the state to be lowered to half-staff in honor of McCain.
“May God rest his soul and look over his entire family. Our state and our nation mourn together," the governor tweeted.
Meanwhile in Washington, the U.S. flag was seen at half-staff over the White House in honor of the fallen senator.
McCain is expected to lie in state in both Arizona and Washington, before being laid to rest at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Md. His website states that more information will be available once funeral services are finalized.
Before he died, McCain requested that former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama give eulogies at his funeral. Both men paid tribute to McCain on Twitter.
McCain, a Vietnam prisoner of war, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 and U.S. Senate in 1986. He was the GOP nominee for president in 2008. During his time in office he earned a reputation for reaching across the aisle.
He died Saturday at age 81, four days shy of his birthday. He is survived by his wife, Cindy, seven children, and five grandchildren, his website states.

Make America Great Again Cartoons

US cuts aid to Palestinians by more than $200 million

$200 million could go to US Veterans.

Which flag do the American people owe Allegiance?

Make America Great Again.

The Trump administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza, the State Department said Friday.
The department notified Congress of the decision in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to lawmakers and then to reporters. It said the administration will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere."
The move comes as President Donald Trump and his Middle East pointmen, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, staff up their office to prepare for the rollout of a much-vaunted but as yet unclear peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.
"At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer," the department said. "As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million ... originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza."
"This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the notice said, without providing additional details.
One main issue the U.S. has had with support for the Palestinian Authority had been its stipends paid to the families of Palestinians killed, injured or jailed for attacks on Israel. Israel and the Trump administration, have repeatedly demanded that those payments from a so-called "martyrs' fund" be halted because they encourage terrorism. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to do so.
The Palestine Liberation Organization quickly denounced the decision, calling it "the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool. The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion."
"The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale," PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement. "There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation. The U.S. administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources; now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation."
The notice did not give an exact amount of the funds to be cut, but said they had been approved in 2017 as part of a $230.1 million package in economic support funds for the Palestinians.
One official said the specific amount had not yet been determined because $25 million in planned 2017 funding for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network, which provides health care to Palestinians, remains on hold and under review. All or part of that could still be released or reprogrammed, the official said.
The U.S. had planned to give the Palestinians $251 million for good governance, health, education and funding for civil society in the current 2018 budget year that ends on Sept.30. But with just over a month to go before that money must be used, reprogrammed to other areas or returned to Treasury, less than half has actually been spent.
Earlier this month, the department had released about $60 million of the 2018 money for security projects that encourage cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Israel and Jordan, in particular, had lobbied for the security assistance to be continued.
The loss of the assistance is almost certain to further provoke the Palestinians against the Trump peace plan. The Palestinian leadership has been openly hostile to any proposal from the administration, citing what it says is a pro-Israel bias, notably after Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December and moved the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv in May. The Palestinian Authority and Abbas broke off contact with the U.S. after the Jerusalem announcement.
The announcement does not include some $65 million in frozen U.S. funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which provides services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon. However, the Trump administration is extremely skeptical of UNRWA and that money is also likely to be reprogrammed, according to officials.
Friday's decision follows a similar decision last week in which the State Department announced that it was redirecting $230 million dollars in aid that had been planned for stabilization programs in liberated areas of Syria. In that case, however, the department said the loss of U.S. funding would be more than offset by other nations, including Saudi Arabia, which announced a $150 million contribution for Syria stabilization just hours before the American announcement.

Ocasio-Cortez's socialist fairytale could destroy the American Dream

While President Trump is busy making America great again, Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – who is expected to win a U.S. House seat in November in a heavily Democratic congressional district in New York City – is calling for policies that would turn the American Dream into the American Nightmare.
If you think the “socialist paradise” nations of Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea are the greatest countries on the planet, Ocasio-Cortez is the candidate for you.
Today even China and Russia (once part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) are moving their economies away from socialism and toward a hybrid of state control and capitalism in order to build better lives for their people. And Eastern European nations that were once part of or allied with the U.S.S.R. abandoned the failed socialist economic model years ago.   
Nevertheless, the global failure of socialism hasn’t stopped Ocasio-Cortez from advocating her kooky socialist agenda. She’s promising free college, a government-run health-care system, free housing and the guarantee of a federal job.
The 28-year-old candidate acts like she’s the millennial version of Oprah, except there’s one major distinction. All the “free” stuff she’s giving away has to be paid for by someone – and in this case it’s not her. It’s you – the American taxpayer.
My mom always said that nothing in life is free. For those who aren’t convinced, look no further than Venezuela to see the catastrophic consequences and havoc the socialism fairytale can unleash on a country.
Venezuela’s demise has touched off the inevitable flood of refugees into neighboring countries – a crisis that mirrors the migration of refugees from war-torn Syria and others parts of the Middle East to Central and Western Europe.
Some women in Venezuela feel they have no other option but to join the sex trade in Colombia in order to feed their families.
A former ballerina, businesswoman and mom of two in Venezuela said: "This is a shameful job but what option do I have? I have to make money to look after my children and feed them. There is nothing in Venezuela.”
Another woman, a former hairdresser and mom said: “If things ever get any better in Venezuela, I'd love to set up my own business. Anything would be better. I do this because I have to do this. If I could do something better, I'd do it ... and I'd stop this straight away."
The economic collapse in Venezuela has torn families apart and wreaked destruction. Just to survive, Venezuelans are leaving their families and dropping what amounts to two years of their salaries to cross over into Colombia.
One woman who left her family said: "There is nothing in Venezuela. We have to do this to get money to live, to give my children a future.”
It’s estimated that 45,000 people cross into Colombia over the Simon Bolivar Bridge from Venezuela every day.  Some come to get supplies, while some are immigrants wanting to make new lives.
Ocasio-Cortez can dream socialist fantasies all she wants while campaigning and giving interviews in the media.
But if you believe in reality instead of fantasy, you’ll favor President Trump’s successful economic policies any day, as I do.
There’s plenty of evidence that our economy is moving in the right direction under the Trump administration. Hispanic and African-American unemployment are at near all-time lows. Unemployment for women is the lowest it’s been in decades. And we saw the economy surge to a 4.1 percent rate of annualized growth in the past quarter – the fastest in four years.
Breaking news: Capitalism works.
The strong economy our nation enjoys today contrasts dramatically with the snake oil that Ocasio-Cortez preaches.
While the United States enjoys a booming economic recovery, even Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Nicolas Maduro admitted his economic model, based on his reign of socialism, has “failed."
"The production models we've tried so far have failed and the responsibility is ours, mine and yours," he told his United Socialist Party. Later he went on to say: “Enough with the whining … We need to produce with or without (outside) aggression, with or without blockades, we need to make Venezuela an economic power. No more whining, I want solutions comrades!”
If he really wants solutions he should try capitalism. It’s been working for years.
Socialism has been tried multiple ways and multiple times since the Russian Revolution in 1917 – and it has failed every single time. Ocasio’s socialist America would bring catastrophe on our families and leave our children picking up the pieces.
No one said it better than British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, when she was first running for that job 42 years ago. She said: “Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other people’s money.”
Venezuela is just the latest proof that the socialist fantasy has inflicted horrific damage on countless families and national economies over the past 100 years. Those who champion such a course for our country ignore facts, history and the very world around them.
Lauren DeBellis Appell, a freelance writer in Fairfax, Virginia, was deputy press secretary for then-Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., in his successful 2000 re-election campaign, as well as assistant communications director for the Senate Republican Policy Committee (2001-2003).

Trump is giving our youth hope for a better future – here's how

President Donald Trump pauses while speaking during a rally Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, in Charleston, W.Va.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Eight years ago, it seemed there wasn’t a bright future awaiting young Americans. They were deceived by politicians who promised them the American Dream but delivered an economic nightmare.
They were faced with the highest youth unemployment rate on record. The youth unemployment rate measures joblessness for people ages 16 to 24 who are actively seeking work.
In June 2010, 19.1 percent of young Americans seeking work were unemployed. But by last month the youth jobless figure was less than half that – 9.2 percent.
President Trump’s policies have reversed this horrific trend, rescuing our next great generation from years of despair fostered by Democrats in Washington.
Echoing partisan talking points, President Trump’s critics may be quick to question whether the administration has improved the lives of underprivileged youth. Yet, black and Hispanic youth unemployment rates have also declined, dropping to new historic lows.
The extraordinary improvement in youth employment would not be possible without President Trump’s focus on strengthening small businesses across the country. By decreasing taxes and slashing regulations, the President has unleashed our economy, creating millions of new jobs for Americans of all ages.
Less than two years after the 2016 presidential election, the U.S. economy began growing at a rate that many thought was impossible, and the overall unemployment rate has dropped to the lowest point of the century.
To promote youth employment through policy solutions, President Trump has placed a very high priority on workforce training, providing young people and other workers with new skills to prepare for new jobs in our evolving economy. Last year, he took action to get “companies, unions, industry groups and federal agencies to go out and create new opportunities for millions of citizens.”
When President Trump took office, he inherited an unprecedented crisis in higher education. This too has held young people back from advancing in their lives productively. During the previous administration, the number of graduating college seniors with debt was skyrocketing. 
President Obama’s Department of Education pledged to solve the student debt crisis, but it was utterly inept in its effort to address the issue. An Education Department memorandum admitted that officials “overstated student loan repayment rates at most colleges and trade schools.”
An independent study by The Wall Street Journal later confirmed that the Education Department inflated 99.8 percent of all repayments across America. This appears to be an effort to cook the books and conceal the true crisis for young people completing their college degrees.
President Trump, on the other hand, is tackling the issue of student debt head-on, proposing to overhaul the loan servicing system and undo other failed policies implemented by the previous administration.
While everyone can agree that young Americans have suffered economically in recent years, Democrats in Washington are refusing to compromise with President Trump on reasonable measures to improve the economic condition of our youth.
A healthy economy is a foundation for a healthy future. Thanks to President Trump, the renewed confidence of businesses across America is now resulting in more jobs for young people than ever before. The economy is also growing at a record pace, ensuring that new opportunities will continue to emerge for America’s youth.
America’s young people deserve more than a mediocre future – and we now have demonstrated proof that President Trump is building a path for our success.
Charlie Kirk is the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, an advocacy group for young conservatives.