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US cuts aid to Palestinians by more than $200 million

$200 million could go to US Veterans.

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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.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, others to address social-media bias against conservatives at Capitol Hill hearing

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is seen at the New York Stock Exchange, Nov. 19, 2015.  (Associated Press)

Amid concerns that conservative voices are being silenced on social media, a U.S. House committee announced Friday that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and other tech executives will appear before the panel on Capitol Hill Sept. 5.
Dorsey will discuss his company’s “algorithms and content judgment calls” before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the committee announced via Twitter.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who has frequently complained about "one-sided" content on social media, said Dorsey's scheduled appearance was arranged through talks among Dorsey, himself and U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., chairman of the committee.
"One-sided conversations are an affront to the public mission that serves as the foundation for these social media platforms – including Twitter," McCarthy said in a statement. "That is why I worked with Chairman Greg Walden and requested Jack Dorsey to testify to Congress and talk with the American people about filtering practices on Twitter."

"One-sided conversations are an affront to the public mission that serves as the foundation for these social media platforms – including Twitter."
- House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

McCarthy added: "We all agree that transparency is the only way to fully restore Americans’ trust in these important public platforms."
Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have faced accusations of liberal bias as numerous conservative commentators have been banned or censored for violating guidelines. Many have complained that the guidelines are unclear.
Most recently, Salena Zito of the New York Post, wrote that her column – which she said contained “no expletives, conspiracy theories, hate speech or sexual language” – was removed by Facebook and Twitter without explanation.
Dorsey has conceded that San Francisco-based Twitter’s staff is primarily “left-leaning,” but has denied notions that the platform bans users for conservative viewpoints.
“[I] do understand the concern,” Dorsey said in an interview with Fox News Radio’s Guy Benson. “We have folks that are at various points in the political spectrum and they don’t feel comfortable today bringing up certain issues or their viewpoints on certain issues. And I don’t believe that is acceptable.”
Noted Walden in a statement: “Twitter is an incredibly powerful platform that can change the national conversation in the time it takes to go viral. When decisions about data and content are made using opaque processes, the American people are right to raise concerns.”
Representatives from Google and Facebook are also scheduled to appear at next month's hearing.

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Senate Passes $857B Spending Package

In this photo taken June 27, 2017, the U.S. Senate is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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UPDATED 5:06 PM PT — Thurs. August 23, 2018

The Senate overwhelmingly passes a more than $800 billion spending package, as Congress seeks to avoid a possible government shutdown next month.
The bill passed in an 85-7 vote Thursday and will keep the Defense Department, Labor, Education and Health and Human Services funded through next year.
Not included in the package is additional funding for the border wall, but Republicans hope the bill’s $20 billion increase to Defense spending and pay raise for troops will be enough to convince President Trump to approve it.
The Senate did reject an amendment that would have cut federal funding to planned parenthood, something the White House will also likely take issue with.
The House and Senate will have just 11 days to deliver a final version of the bill to the president’s desk before funding runs out on September 30.

Sen. Graham Thinks President Trump Will Fire Attorney General Sessions Following Midterms

GOP Senator Lindsay Graham said he believes President Trump may fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, following the upcoming midterm elections.
Graham made the suggestion to reporters Thursday, saying the president should be able to have confidence in his attorney general.
He went on to warn against firing him before the November elections, noting it could “create havoc.”
This comes as Sessions has been under fire from President Trump, with the president claiming he’s failed to take control of the Justice Department.

FILE – In this Dec. 15, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump sits with Attorney General Jeff Sessions during the FBI National Academy graduation ceremony in Quantico, Va. Trump’s White House counsel personally lobbied Attorney General Jeff Sessions to not recuse himself from the Justice Department’s investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

“I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice,” stated Senator Graham. “Clearly, Attorney General Sessions doesn’t have the confidence of the president.”
Sessions fired back, saying he “took control” the day he was sworn in to his role and is proud to serve his country.
He went on to say the Justice Department will not be affected by “political considerations,” while touting prosecutors and investigators for their talent.