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US Air Force sends message to North Korea with display of air power

U.S. Air Force officials made it clear to North Korea they were not messing around, launching a surprise military exercise with full combat air power in Japan Wednesday.
The jets in the arsenal of the 18th Wing, which conducted the exercise, include HH-60 Pave Hawks, F-15 Eagles, E-3 Sentries and KC-135 Stratotankers. Military officials call it the Air Force's largest combat-ready wing.

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U.S. Air Force 44th and 67th Fighter Squadron F-15 Eagles and 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron E-3 Sentries taxi down the runway. (U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman John Linzmeier)

IS USA REALLY IN NORTH KOREA'S 'NUCLEAR SIGHT'?
Photos showed a large group of the jets on a runway at Kadena Air Base in Japan.
Meanwhile, China has urged North Korea's opponents not to do anything rash, Reuters reported, despite signs the rogue nation soon may conduct a sixth nuclear test.
GREG PALKOT: DEFIANCE ON DISPLAY IN PYONGYANG
"Military force cannot resolve the issue," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing. "Amid challenge there is opportunity. Amid tensions we will also find a kind of opportunity to return to talks."
Satellite imagery showed activity at North Korea's Punggye-ri testing site, a sign the secretive regime could be preparing for another nuclear test, analysts from the U.S. research institute 38 North wrote.
On Wednesday, President Trump voiced confidence Chinese President Xi Jinping would help him control North Korea's mounting threat.
"I think he wants to help us with North Korea," Trump said of Xi, crediting China in a White House news conference with taking a "big step" by turning back boats of coal that North Korea sells to its northern neighbor. North Korea conducts some 90 percent of its trade with China.
Trump also repeated that trade concessions could be on the table for more cooperation on North Korea. He said he told Xi last week: "The way you're going to make a good trade deal is to help us with North Korea, otherwise we're just going to go it alone. That will be all right, too. But going it alone means going it with lots of other nations."'
The United States has been urging Beijing to use its economic leverage with North Korea, which conducted two underground nuclear explosions and two dozen missile tests last year. It is moving closer to developing a nuclear-tipped missile that could threaten the U.S. mainland, analysts have said.

North Korea nuclear threat: Defiance on display in Pyongyang

Amid new reports the North might be preparing for another nuclear test or missile launch to mark the anniversary Saturday of the birth of the country’s founder Kim il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un, the regime organized a mass turn-out of residents and soldiers to mark the opening of a new government-backed building complex in the capital.
North Korean Prime Minister Pak Pong Ju said the project was a sign North Korea would not be cowed by America and international sanctions adding the achievement had the symbolic impact of a 100 thermonuclear bombs
Kim Jong Un, in fact, happily officiated at the ribbon-cutting for the new complex, but he no doubt has other things on his mind. Like President Trump and his talk about ally China helping in the dispute, as well as that still-possible U.S. military option, and reports of the Trump administration planning more sanctions.
One resident angrily rejected those.
“We really don’t care,” one man told me. “We’ve lived under the sanctions of the U.S. since the very first day. We don’t give a damn.”
As for that new building complex? Despite the fact that no one lives or works there yet, and the shops looked decidedly “un-shopped,” this addition to the showcase capital seemed to please at least one person:
“Our future looks bright,” a woman told me, “thanks to Kim Jong Un.”
And what do the officials think about all the tough talk coming from the Trump administration? To sum up the reaction of one?  Bring it on.

Carter Page: 'All of the lies ... are finally coming out into the open'

Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page decried what he called "false allegations" against him on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" Thursday.
Page reportedly was the target of a so-called FISA order issued last summer that permitted investigators to monitor his communications as part of an ongoing investigation into ties between Russia and Trump campaign officials. He told Fox News Wednesday that the warrant would have been based on "false evidence" and has denied any wrongdoing.
CARTER PAGE SAYS SURVEILLANCE ORDER WOULD HAVE BEEN BASED ON 'FALSE EVIDENCE'
"I’m very encouraged by all this new information that’s coming out about some of these unethical practices and potentially illegal practices," Page told host Eric Bolling Thursday. "When you introduce false evidence in a court of law, including the FISA court, that is illegal."
"Do you think there was some false evidence about you introduced to the FISA court to obtain that warrant so they could surveil you?" Bolling asked.
"Well, there's certainly a lot of indications," answered Page, who referred to information about him in the so-called "dodgy dossier," which contained salacious allegations about Trump and members of his campaign team and was compiled by a former British intelligence officer.
CONGRESS EXPANDS 'UNMASKING' PROBE AMID QUESTIONS OVER RICE ROLE
Page told Bolling the information about him in the dossier was "completely false [and] based on a private investigator people associated with the [Hillary ]Clinton campaign hired."
"I’m very encouraged that all of the lies that have been a drag on this administration are finally coming out into the open," Page added. "So many people have lied against me from the Clinton campaign and many of their surrogates ... let's see what actually comes out."

'Mother of all bombs' kills 36 Islamic State militants, Afghanistan officials say

Afghanistan officials said 36 Islamic State militants were killed when the U.S. dropped the “mother of all bombs” on a tunnel complex Thursday.
The Afghanistan Ministry of Defense added in a statement Friday that there were no civilian casualties and that several Islamic State caves and ammunition caches were destroyed.
The GBU-43B, a 21,000-pound conventional bomb, was deployed in Nangarhar Province close to the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. The MOAB -- Massive Ordnance Air Blast -- is also known as the “Mother Of All Bombs.” It was first tested in 2003, but hadn't been used in combat before Thursday.
President Trump told media Thursday afternoon that "this was another successful mission" and he gave the military total authorization.
Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said the bomb had been brought to Afghanistan "some time ago" for potential use. The bomb explodes in the air, creating air pressure that can make tunnels and other structures collapse. It can be used at the start of an offensive to soften up the enemy, weakening both its infrastructure and morale.
"As [ISIS'] losses have mounted, they are using IEDs, bunkers and tunnels to thicken their defense," Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement. "This is the right munition to reduce these obstacles and maintain the momentum of our offensive against [ISIS]."
The MOAB had to be dropped out of the back of a U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane due to its massive size.
"We kicked it out the back door," one U.S. official told Fox News.
Ismail Shinwari, the governor of Achin district, said the U.S. attack was carried out in a remote mountainous area with no civilian homes nearby. He said there has been heavy fighting in the area in recent weeks between Afghan forces and ISIS militants.
 Hakim Khan, 50, a resident of Achin district where the attack took place, welcomed the attack on ISIS, saying: "I want 100 times more bombings on this group."
The strike came just days after a Green Beret was killed fighting ISIS in Nangarhar, however, a U.S. defense official told Fox News the bombing had nothing to do with that casualty.
“It was the right weapon for the right target, and not in retaliation,” the official said.
The U.S. estimates that between 600 to 800 ISIS fighters are present in Afghanistan, mostly in Nangarhar. The U.S. has concentrated heavily on combatting them while also supporting Afghan forces battling the Taliban.
In August, a company of nearly 150 Army Rangers killed "hundreds" of ISIS fighters in Nangarhar, though five of the Rangers were shot. Some weapons and equipment, including communications gear and a rocket launcher, were also left behind following the operation.

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Fast and Furious scandal: Suspected triggerman in border agent's murder arrested

Agent Brian A. Terry, 40, was killed on Dec. 14 near Rio Rico, Ariz., according to a statement released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. (FNC)

The cartel member suspected of shooting and killing Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in 2010 with a gun supplied by the U.S. government was arrested in Mexico Wednesday, senior law enforcement, Border Patrol, and congressional sources told Fox News. 
The suspect, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, was apprehended by a joint U.S.-Mexico law enforcement task force that included the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals and the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC).
A $250,000 reward had been sought for information leading to the arrest of Osorio-Arellanes, who was captured at a ranch on the border of the Mexican states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua. U.S. authorities have said they will seek his extradition.
Terry was killed on Dec. 14, 2010 in a gunfight between Border Patrol agents and members of a five-man cartel "rip crew," which regularly patrolled the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border looking for drug dealers to rob.
The agent's death exposed Operation Fast and Furious, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) operation in which the federal government allowed criminals to buy guns in Phoenix-area shops with the intention of tracking them once they made their way into Mexico. But the agency lost track of more than 1,400 of the 2,000 guns they allowed smugglers to buy. Two of those guns were found at the scene of Terry's killing.
The operation set off a political firestorm, and then-Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress after he refused to divulge documents for a congressional investigation.
Four members of the "rip crew" already been sentenced to jail time in the U.S. Manual Osorio-Arellanes was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder in February 2014.
In October 2015, Ivan Soto-Barraza and Jesus Sanchez-Meza were convicted by a federal jury of nine different charges, including first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery.
Rosario Rafael Burboa-Alvarez, accused of assembling the "rip crew," was sentenced to 27 years in prison after striking a plea agreement with prosecutors.
The last remaining member of the "rip crew," Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, is believed to still be at large.

Lansing, Michigan rescinds 'sanctuary' status after criticism from businesses

The city council in Lansing, Mich. voted Wednesday to rescind its decsion to deem itself a "sanctuary" city for illegal immigrants after concerns from the businesses that the status would draw unwelcome attention to the city.
The term "sanctuary city" generally refers to jurisdictions that do not cooperate with U.S. immigration officials. Under Lansing city policy, police don't ask for people's immigration status, except as required by U.S. or Michigan law or a court order.
Council members voted 5-2 to reverse last week's 6-0 vote to give the city "sanctuary" status. Immigration advocates in the crowd called called council members "spineless" and said "you're all losing your seats."
The dispute comes as several cities are battling President Donald Trump's promised crackdown on places that block cooperation between their police departments and U.S. immigration authorities. The Trump administration has warned that sanctuary cities could lose federal money for refusing to cooperate with immigration authorities.
After last week's vote, council members received a letter from the Lansing Regional Chamber and Michigan Chamber of Commerce urging them to remove references to "sanctuary city" from its resolution.
"Lansing is a diverse community, rich with history and culture. It's what makes our city a welcoming destination to live, work and thrive," the business groups' letter says. "Recent actions of City Council, whether intended or not, have placed an unnecessary target on the City of Lansing while jeopardizing millions of dollars in federal funding that impacts the city budget."
"The term 'sanctuary' in the resolution has become very problematic and distracting — so distracting in my opinion that's it's taken away from the intent of our resolution, which is to protect individuals," said Councilwoman Judi Brown Clarke. "It's basically a 'don't ask' policy, which was outlined by the mayor's executive order and what we had in our policy complements that."
That was already the policy in Lansing before last week's vote, but Lansing called itself a "welcoming city," rather than a "sanctuary city." Neither the welcoming city resolution nor the sanctuary city resolution called for Lansing to prohibit workers from providing information on a person's immigration status with U.S. immigration officials — a ban that's at the heart of some urban sanctuary cities disagreements with the Trump administration.
Mayor Virg Bernero has said he is confident Lansing's policies don't violate federal law, but "we are also prepared to take legal action to protect the prerogatives and powers of local government and local law enforcement."
Michigan Chamber President and CEO Richard Studley said the group's members want city officials "to stop wasting time on costly political statements and focus on real economic issues."
"I have no problem with the earlier resolution that affirmed the city's status as a welcoming city," Studley said. "The challenge is with the language declaring the city a 'sanctuary city' — adopted hastily with little debate. I think that it is easily misinterpreted or misunderstood."
The issue also has touched off debate in the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature, which is considering banning local governments from enacting or enforcing rules that limit communication and cooperation with federal officials concerning people's immigration status. Similar legislation died in the last session.
Clarke believes that the term "sanctuary" could be getting in the way of helping constituents.
"I think ultimately what we learned is ... we thought we could define what 'sanctuary city' meant, and in actuality it has its own negative connotation," she said. "The only way to take that away is to take that word away."