2 US Air Force B-1 bombers fly near North Korean border in show of force

Two U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers on Saturday flew near the Korean Demilitarized Zone in a show of force, the Air Force said in a statement. 

The two B-1 bombers flew 2,000 miles from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam to conduct a precision strike training exercise with South Korean fighter jets. The bombers were also joined by Japanese fighters during their flight.

These missions are called “Jungle Lightening” by the Air Force.
Later, the Air Force called the mission a "demonstration of the ironclad U.S. commitment to our allies."
The bombers fired releasing inert weapons at the Pilsung Range. The mission took 10 hours, according to the statement.
"North Korea's actions are a threat to our allies, partners and homeland," Gen. Terrence O' Shaughnessy, the Pacific Air Forces commander, said. "Let me be clear, if called upon we are trained, equipped and ready to unleash the full lethal capability of our allied air forces."
This is the second 'show of force' by the US military since the July 4 North Korea test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, a first for the rogue, communist regime.
On the night after the launch, the US and South Korean military conducted a joint missile test using short range missiles into waters off the peninsula.
A North Korean test of an ICBM is a momentous step forward for Pyongyang as it works to build an arsenal of long-range nuclear-armed missiles that can hit anywhere in the United States. The North isn’t there yet — some analysts suggest it will take several more years to perfect such an arsenal, and many more tests — but a successful launch of an ICBM has long been seen as a red line, after which it would only be a matter of time — if the country isn’t stopped.
President Trump said North Korea’s plan to develop an ICBM capable of hitting the U.S. “won’t happen” and has since made tough talk on the issue a signature.
Amid heightened tensions with North Korea, the U.S. will conduct a flight test of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), an element of the nation’s ballistic missile defense system, Fox News has learned. The test, which will be conducted by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), is scheduled to take place this month.
The THAAD test will be conducted against an intermediate ballistic missile. THAAD is not a weapon used against ICBMs, but only short and medium range missiles.
There is currently a THAAD battery in South Korea but only two of the scheduled six launchers on the battery are operational as the South Korean government performs an "environmental impact" study at the golf course where the battery is deployed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Lucas Tomlinson is the Pentagon and State Department producer for Fox News Channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @LucasFoxNews

DOJ Asks Federal Judge to Allow Texas Voter ID Law to Stand

The Department of Justice is asking a federal judge to stop any further action against Texas voter ID law.
DOJ officials say a plan enacted last month by a republican controlled legislature fixes parts of the law considered discriminatory against African Americans and Latinos.
Texas original 2011 voter ID law also faced a number of legal challenges.
Judges repeatedly found it discriminated against minority and elderly voters.
The Trump administration dropped an Obama-era argument that Texas lawmakers had enacted the law with a discriminatory intent.

Pres. Trump Reaffirms Plans for Border Wall, ‘Absolutely’ Wants Mexico to Pay It

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President Trump reaffirms his plans of building a southern border wall, and says he “absolutely” still wants Mexico to pay for it.
The president made the remarks when questioned by a reporter Friday as he sat down next to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at the G-20 summit in Germany.
However, Mexico’s foreign minister says the proposed border wall was not part of their bilateral talks
He also said the U.S. and Mexico share a ‘”complex relationship” with many issues.
Earlier this year, Pena Nieto canceled a meeting with President Trump as tensions between the two countries escalated after he said Mexico does not believe in walls.

Mayor De Blasio Cartoons

North Korea tensions: South's president seeks meeting with Kim Jong Un

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he is willing to meet with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong Un amid heightened tensions in the wake of Pyongyang’s first intercontinental ballistic missile test-launch.

Moon, in a speech ahead of the G-20 summit in Germany, also  proposed the two Koreas resume reunions of families separated by war, stop hostile activities along the DMZ and cooperate on the 2018 Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

"The current situation where there is no contact between the relevant authorities of the South and the North is highly dangerous," Moon said. "I am ready to meet with Chairman Kim Jong Un of North Korea at any time at any place, if the conditions are met and if it will provide an opportunity to transform the tension and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula."
Moon added that he is ready to put all issues on the negotiating table, including the North’s nuclear program and the signing of a peace treaty to officially end the Korean War.
Since taking office in May, Moon has been trying to improve ties with North Korea, but his efforts have produced little, with the North testing a series of newly developed missiles including an ICBM on Tuesday.
The North's ICBM launch, its most successful missile test to date, has stoked security worries in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo as it showed the country could eventually perfect a reliable nuclear missile capable of reaching anywhere in the United States. Analysts say the missile tested Tuesday could reach Alaska if launched at a normal trajectory.
After the launch, Kim said he would never put his weapons programs up for negotiation unless the United States abandons its hostile policy toward his country. Kim's statement suggested he will order more missile and nuclear tests until North Korea develops a functioning ICBM that can place the entire U.S. within its striking distance.
In a show of force against North Korea, South Korea and the United States staged "deep strike" precision missile firing drills on Wednesday. In North Korea's capital, thousands of people rallied Thursday in Kim Il Sung square to celebrate the launch.

De Blasio races to Germany to protest G20 summit

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Mayor Bill de Blasio is jetting off to Germany on Thursday to protest President Trump and other world leaders attending the G20 Summit meeting.

The day after a cop was assassinated in The Bronx, de Blasio skipped an afternoon swearing-in ceremony for 524 new NYPD recruits ahead of his flight overseas.

A last-minute advisory from City Hall said Hizzoner “will attend several events surrounding the G20 Summit, including Saturday’s Hamburg Zeigt Haltung rally.”
Organizers of that demonstration — “Hamburg Shows Attitude,” in English — say 10,000 people have registered to oppose G20 participants including Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdgoan.
“All stand for an attitude that we find unacceptable and do not want to accept,” Lutheran Bishop Kirsten Fehrs has said.
City Council members said they were unaware of de Blasio’s plan to abandon the Big Apple to push his progressive agenda in Europe.

Pence: Trump laid out a 'vision for the West' in Warsaw speech

Vice President Mike Pence praised President Trump's speech in Poland Thursday, telling Fox News' "Hannity" that Trump demonstrated "a commitment of will that will never back down to the shared values that we in this trans-Atlantic alliance have shared for more than 75 years."

Trump's address in Warsaw's historic Krasinski Square called on the U.S. and its Western allies to confront common threats, declaring "Our values will prevail, our people will thrive and our civilization will triumph."

Pence told host Laura Ingraham that Trump's speech displayed "unapologetic American leadership."
"It really is remarkable to think that for the last eight years we had an administration that was, more often than not, apologizing for America around the world," the vice president said. "And today in Warsaw ... President Donald Trump reaffirmed our nation’s commitment to be the leader of the free world."
Pence noted that Trump had urged Russia to cease what the president called "its destabilizing activities ... and its support for hostile regimes" ahead of Friday's much-anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany.
"For me, it was an example of the kind of bracing and direct and candid leadership that people across this country welcome in this president," said Pence, who later added, "frankly, ... leaders around the world, they are welcoming a President of the United States who’s embracing his role as leader of the free world."

Senate Republicans Warn of National Security Threat Due to Increased Leaks

Reporters ask questions after the Trump administration’s tax reform proposal in the White House briefing room. (Kevin Lamarque)

Senate Republicans are issuing a national security warning as the Trump administration is facing an alarming amount of media leaks.
A report released Thursday by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman says they’re now taking place about once a day.
It shows at least 125 stories with leaked information were found between the president’s inauguration and May 25th.
This is nearly seven times faster than Presidents Obama and Bush in their first 126 days in office.
The report adds the leaks exposed operations against enemies, and caused a diplomatic incident with an ally.