North Korea's Kim Jong Un expresses faith in Trump, reaffirms commitment to nuclear-free peninsula

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his South Korean counterpart will meet later this month to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, his state-controlled media reported Thursday.
Kim also expressed faith in President Trump efforts to settle a nuclear impasse, despite recent bumps in the diplomacy., the report said.
Chung Eui-yong, a special envoy from South Korea, told reporters that Kim stressed that "he has never talked negative about President Trump to his staff or anyone else," South Korea's Yonhap News reported.
Chung reportedly said North Korea expressed hope to improve the "North-U.S. relationship within Trump's first term."
The statement comes after a South Korean envoy met with Kim to set up the inter-Korean summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
KCNA said Kim and the South Korean delegation reached a “satisfactory agreement” over the planned inter-Korean summit.
Kim was paraphrased as saying it was “his will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat."
The dates of the summit were expected to be released sometime Thursday.
Kim’s commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula comes amid an impasse with the United States and growing skepticism of his intent to dismantle his nuclear weapons program.
His statement raises hopes that talks can get back on track following his meeting with President Trump in Singapore.
To overcome increasing dispute between Pyongyang and the U.S., Seoul is trying to persuade both countries to proceed with the denuclearization process simultaneously.
In addition, the South is aiming for a four-nation summit that would include China, to declare a formal end to the Korean War. Many see the peace declaration as a precursor to the North calling for the removal of all U.S. troops in the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. officials have insisted that the North must first takes steps to abandon its nuclear weapons before any peace declaration. Steps include allowing outside inspections, giving up some nuclear weapons during the early stages of negotiations and providing an account of components of its nuclear program.
Experts believe an end-of-war declaration could make it easier for North Korea to move toward discussions of a peaceful regime, diplomatic recognition and security concessions.
The North has routinely accused the United State of holding back the end-of-war declaration and making "unilateral and gangster-like" demands for denuclearization.
On Tuesday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy statement where it said an end-of-war declaration would be a necessary trust-building step that would "manifest the political will to establish the lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."
The declaration would be among several issues discussed, South Korean officials said, between North Korean officials and South Korean envoys.
Nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have settled into a stalemate since the summit meeting between Kim and Trump.
Citing a lack of progress in denuclearization, Trump called of a planned visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month.
Moon recently said the inter-Korean summit could warm relations between the Unites States, which maintains that efforts to improve relations should coincide with efforts to denuclearize the North.
"If needed, we should pull forward the negotiations for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with the development in relations between the South and North," Chung said.
Two past summits between the two Koreas in April and May removed fears of war between the two nations.
The frosty relationship between the United States and North Korea could present a tougher challenge for Moon’s third meeting with Kim, with his commitment to abandon his nuclear weapons in doubt.

Trump digs in after explosive New York Times op-ed, vows to drain swamp

President Trump calls The New York Times 'gutless' for publishing an anonymous op-ed reportedly from a senior administration official who claims individuals inside the White House are working to thwart the president; chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports.
President Trump took to Twitter late Wednesday and vowed to continue "draining the swamp" after The New York Times ran an anonymous op-ed written by a senior White House official who labeled the president "petty and ineffective." 
"I'm draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Don't worry, we will win!" Trump tweeted.
The New York Times on Wednesday published an explosive opinion piece written that described a "two-track presidency" in which top officials are "working diligently from within to frustrate parts of [President Trump's] agenda and his worst inclinations."
Trump called the piece "gutless."
"Does the so-called “Senior Administration Official” really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!" the president tweeted.
The piece titled "I am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," said that meetings with the president would "veer off topic and off the rails."
"He engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back," the anonymous author wrote.
The senior White House official wrote that many of the the administration's policies have already made America safer and more prosperous, "but these successes have come despite — not because of — the president’s leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective."
The writer alleged that "there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment" to remove Trump from office because of the president's "instability ... But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. "
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Press Secretary Sarah Sanders had also demanded the unnamed author "resign."
"We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed. This is a new low for the so-called 'paper of record,' and it should issue an apology," Sander said in a statement.
The New York Times defended the piece.
"We are incredibly proud to have published this piece, which adds significant value to the public's understanding of what is going on in the Trump administration from someone who is in a position to know," a Times spokesperson said in response to the White House statements.
The op-ed was published one day after The Washington Post published excerpts from a forthcoming book by longtime reporter Bob Woodward in which the Trump administration was depicted as filled with second-guessing staffers and Cabinet members filching papers from the president's desk before he could sign them.

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Ayanna Pressley, Dem backed by Ocasio-Cortez, upsets Michael Capuano in Massachusetts House primary

Ayanna Pressley, right, upset 10-term U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano in a Democratic primary Tuesday night.  (AP, File)

Boston city councilor Ayanna Pressley unseated 10-term U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano in a Democratic primary Tuesday in the latest shakeup of the House Democratic caucus by a far-left challenger.
Capuano conceded defeat to Pressley in the race to represent Massachusetts' 7th District approximately 30 minutes before The Associated Press formally called the race. With 69 percent of precincts reporting late Tuesday, Pressley had the lead by 10,682 votes.
Pressley, who is running unopposed in November, is set to become the first African-American woman elected to Congress from the Commonwealth.
Capuano is the fourth House member to lose a primary this year, along with Reps. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C.; Mark Sanford, R-S.C., and fellow 10-term Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y.
The prospect of a Pressley upset had drawn some comparisons to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's defeat of Crowley in June. The New York democratic socialist had endorsed Pressley, as did Our Revolution, the offshoot of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.
However, unlike Crowley, Capuano had fiercely contested the Massachusetts race by racking up endorsements, attending debates and highlighting his consistently liberal voting record in one of the most Democratic districts in a traditionally Democratic state.
And unlike Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old political neophyte, the 44-year-old Pressley has a track record in Massachusetts' halls of power. She served as former Secretary of State John Kerry's political director when he was a U.S. senator and became the first black woman elected to the Boston City Council in 2009.

Ayanna Pressley celebrated her victory with supporters Tuesday night.  (AP)

Greeting voters at a Boston polling station earlier Tuesday, Pressley spoke of "the ground shifting beneath our feet and the wind at our backs."
"This is a fight for the soul of our party and the future of our democracy," she told reporters. "This is a disruptive candidacy, a grassroots coalition. It is broad and diverse and deep. People of every walk of life."
Pressley has backed Medicare-for-all and called for defunding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
She likely was aided by the demographics of the 7th district, which cuts a north-south swathe through the city of Boston and includes portions of neighboring Chelsea, Everett, Randolph, Milton and Somerville -- where Capuano served as mayor for nine years in the 1990s.
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State lawmakers designated the district as the first majority-minority district in Massachusetts. Just a third of the population is white, with blacks, Hispanics and Asians constituting most of the other two-thirds.
However, Pressley had bristled at the notion that race was a defining issue in her campaign.
"I have been really furious about the constant charges being lobbed against me about identity politics that, by the way, are only lobbed against women and candidates of color," she said in one debate. "I happen to be black and a woman and unapologetically proud to be both, but that is not the totality of my identity."
The contest also formed sharp divides among Boston's Democratic political and media elite. The city's mayor, Marty Walsh, campaigned with Capuano in the final days of the race. U.S. Rep. Joseph Kennedy, a grandson of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, also endorsed the incumbent, calling him "a guy who won't shy away from steep odds or tough truths."
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Pressley was backed by state Attorney General Maura Healey, who repeatedly has challenged the Trump administration's policies on on immigration, gun control and other issues. She also was endorsed by The Boston Globe, which called her "the future of the Democratic Party."
The last time an incumbent Democratic House member in Massachusetts lost a primary was in 2014, when Seth Moulton defeated former Rep. John Tierney, who brought significant personal baggage to the campaign.

Nike billboard featuring Kaepernick hovers over San Francisco

This image taken from the Twitter account of the former National Football League player Colin Kaepernick shows a Nike advertisement featuring him that was posted Monday, Sept. 3, 2018.  (Twitter via AP)

A black-and-white Nike billboard of Colin Kaepernick hovers above a building in San Francisco.
The vertical sign atop a Nike store is part of the sportswear company and the former San Francisco 49er’s "Just Do It" campaign to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
The "gray and solemn" eyes of Kaepernick are looking over Union Square in the city where he was once a quarterback, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.  A message that read "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything" in white letters was printed over Kaepernick's face. 
His activism began when he kneeled during the national anthem of football games to protest social injustice. Nike aimed to reference the movement he sparked, the report said. 
Kaepernick is currently unsigned and has a pending lawsuit against the National Football League, which he accuses of blacklisting him.
The company famous for the swoosh is now facing backlash since its announcement of the campaign.
President Trump weighed in on Tuesday, telling The Daily Caller that he "thinks it's a terrible message."
Trump said it’s Nike's right to make its own business decisions, as much as he disagrees with the endorsement, according to the report.
"It is what this country is all about, that you have certain freedoms to do things that other people think you shouldn’t do, but I personally am on a different side of it,” the president said.
Kaepernick already had a deal with Nike that was set to expire, but it was renegotiated into a multiyear deal to make him one of the faces of the anniversary campaign, according to a person familiar with the contract. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Nike hasn't officially announced the contract.

Pro-Trump candidate Geoff Diehl triumphs in Massachusetts primary, to take on Elizabeth Warren in November

State Rep. Geoff Diehl won the primary to take on Sen. Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts.  (AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)

Republicans in deep-blue Massachusetts selected pro-Trump State Rep. Geoff Diehl to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in November, setting the stage for a contentious referendum on the first-term senator's national profile as she openly mulls a run for the presidency in 2020.
Diehl triumphed over attorney John Kingston, and Beth Lindstrom, an aide to former Gov. Mitt Romney, with early results showing him with a convincing double-digit lead over his rivals.
Of the three candidates, Diehl had the closest ties to President Donald Trump. Diehl co-chaired Trump's 2016 Massachusetts campaign. He was quick to note that despite its liberal reputation, Massachusetts gave Trump one of his most lopsided early primary wins.
Warren, who has served in the Senate since 2013, ran unopposed in Tuesday's Democratic primary. She released ten years worth of tax returns recently, laying the groundwork for a potential presidential run in 2020.
Warren hasn't yet declared her intention to run, saying she's wanted to focus on her reelection first. But she has clearly floated the possibility of pursuing the White House, saying in August she's not afraid to be "the underdog."
President Trump repeatedly has unloaded on his prospective rival, saying she lied about having Native American roots to help her legal career and vowing to toss a heritage test at her during a presidential debate.
Fox News has ranked the November race as likely Democrat.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday soundly defeated ultraconservative challenger Scott Lively on his way to seeking a second four-year term in office, overcoming charges that he is too moderate as Republicans seek to maintain their hold on New England's governorships.
He's set to face 47-year-old Ohio native Jay Gonzalez, the Democratic nominee for governor, in November. A former official in the administration of Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, Gonzales has hammered Baker on the deficiencies in the state's mass transit system and called for stronger protections for immigrants.
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But despite Massachusetts' longstanding reputation as a deeply liberal state, Baker commands sky-high approval ratings there and ranks among the nation's most popular governors. He largely ignored Lively, a staunch supporter of President Trump.

Democratic Rep. Richard Neal flips a coin to determine speaking order as challenger Tahirah Amatul-Wadud looks on before their primary debate at WGBY TV in Springfield, Mass., Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018.  (AP)

Baker credited in part his willingness to work cooperatively with Democratic leaders at the Statehouse. He is a progressive Republican, and supports universal healthcare and greater state investments in transportation and education.
Republicans currently hold the governorships of four out of six states in highly liberal New England, including Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and are looking to grow that number in November.
Also on Tuesday, in a major upset, Boston city councilor Ayanna Pressley defeated 10-term incumbent Rep. Michael Capuano. Pressley, expected to be the first black woman elected to represent Massachusetts in Congress because she's set to run unopposed in November, had the backing of Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
And Rep. Richard Neal defeated Democratic primary challenger Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, an attorney who had hoped to make history herself by becoming the first Muslim elected to Congress from Massachusetts. She backed a proposal to make Medicare available to all Americans regardless of age.
Neal will run unopposed in November.

Lindsey Graham certain Kavanaugh 'is going to be on the Supreme Court,' weighs in on status of Mueller probe

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham called Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh “the single best legal mind of his generation,” adding he's certain the judge “is going to be on the Supreme Court.”
Graham told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that Trump was the “big winner” in Wednesday’s hearing and that Democrats were the “big losers.” He said that Republicans have voted in favor of certain liberal judges in the past when the party was in the minority -- but he claimed Democrats have been unwilling to do the same.
“I think the country is tired of the yelling and they’d like us to get things done. And, at times, Donald Trump drives me crazy, but he’s produced, and Kavanaugh is the single best legal mind of his generation. Any Republican president would’ve picked him.”
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Graham went on to say that Kavanaugh is “equally qualified if not more” qualified than Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan, both of whom were approved for the high court during the Obama administration.
He also said on “The Story” that the hearings will reflect poorly on Dems, adding: “If this is their approach to how to govern, they're going to have a hard time in 2020.”
Graham seemed to be confident that Kavanaugh would be approved.
“Kavanaugh’s going to be on the Supreme Court. Well done, Mr. President.”
Graham also spoke about the recent loss of his close friend Sen. John McCain -- and the man picked to serve out the remainder of his term.
“They’ve taken John’s wingman, John Kyl, who's steady as a rock, solid conservative who tries to solve hard problems and let him finish out his good friend’s term and it makes a lot of sense to me and come January we’ll get somebody that will be able to run in 2020.”
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He also added that Kyl, a former Arizona senator, is “a vote for Kavanaugh.”
MaCallum briefly asked Graham about the New York Times report that Special Counsel Robert Mueller was willing to accept some written answers from Trump about Russian collusion accusations.
He said it seemed unlikely Mueller's team would produce a report before midterm elections.
“If their still negotiating, talking to the president, most likely you won’t get a report until after the election.”
Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings started Tuesday and are set to continue through the week.

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