Deal with Senate panel lets Trump Jr., Manafort avoid public testimony

A U.S. Senate panel has agreed to let President Trump’s eldest son and his former campaign manager testify behind closed doors next week in connection with its probe into possible Trump administration ties to Russia.

Both Donald Trump Jr. and former campaign manager Paul Manafort confirmed the deal reached with the Senate Judiciary Committee, ABC News reported.

The agreement allows both Trump Jr. and Manafort to avoid public testimony when the committee conducts a hearing next week on Capitol Hill.
The Trump administration has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Russia.
A statement from the office of committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the deal means the panel no longer needs to subpoena Trump Jr. and Manafort to appear before them.
“Both Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort, through their attorneys, have agreed to negotiate to provide the committee with documents and be interviewed by committee members and staff prior to a public hearing,” the statement said. “Therefore, we will not issue subpoenas for them tonight requiring their presence at Wednesday’s [July 26] hearing but reserve the right to do so in the future.”
Committee ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., tweeted Friday afternoon, “The Judiciary Committee will talk to Trump Jr. & Manafort before they testify in public, but we will get answers.”
Both Trump Jr. and Manafort have come under scrutiny following revelations that they attended a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian attorney and at least five other people.
According to emails released by Trump Jr., the prospect of potentially damaging information about 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was touted as a reason for the meaning. But Trump Jr. later said the focus of the meeting turned to Russian adoptions.
Meanwhile, President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, who also attended the meeting in Trump Tower, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday and the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, in connection with their Russia probes.

Sen. Cruz Says Failure to Pass Health Care Bill Could Hurt GOP in 2018

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz warns his GOP colleagues inaction on health care reform could result in problems in the 2018 midterm elections.
Earlier Friday Cruz said republicans should be worried about losing their seats if a health care bill isn’t passed.
He added voters should hold GOP senators accountable.
Additionally, Cruz says republicans will look like fools if they break campaign promises like repealing and replacing Obamacare.
Cruz then said he believes GOP senators are close to unifying behind a health care bill, and hopes a vote takes place soon.

Trump Administration Stops Postponement for Illegals

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A new report indicates the Trump administration is taking measures to deport illegals more quickly.
The study by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse shows the administration has stopped the practice of deferring deportations in immigration court.
Attorneys for the DHS are no longer asking for prosecutorial discretion where only illegals who commit violent crimes are prioritized for deportation.
During the first five months of President Trump’s time in office, less than 100 illegals per month have been given prosecutorial discretion.
That’s far less than the same time of five months in 2016 under Obama where 24,000 illegals were given discretion monthly.

Sen. Kamala Harris Cartoons

Democrats Harris, Kennedy dismiss talk of challenging Trump in 2020

President Donald Trump has been in office for only six months, but that hasn’t prevented political junkies from speculating about which Democrats may try to oppose him in the 2020 presidential race.

An upcoming scheduled appearance in New Hampshire by U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of California has already sparked talk that she might run, as Fox News reported Thursday.

But other Democrats – aside from obvious names such as former Vice President Joe Biden – are also drawing attention. Fresh faces being mentioned include Sen. Kamala Harris of California and Rep. Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts.
Speculation about Harris continues to mount following her recent trip to New York’s Hamptons, where she met with Hillary Clinton supporters and major donors.
“She’s running for president. Take it to the bank,” one fundraiser told the Hill about 52-year-old Harris. “She’s absolutely going to run.”
A recent poll showed that Harris would narrowly defeat Trump if the 2020 election were held today, Breitbart News reported.
The former prosecutor and state attorney general of California gained national attention during recent Senate Intelligence Committee hearings, when her questioning of former FBI Director James Comey and others was interrupted on two occasions – once by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and once by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C.
However, Harris quickly dismissed talk of a presidential bid while at a Recode technology conference in May.
“I’m not giving that any consideration. I’ve got to stay focused,” Harris said.
But, according to Page Six of the New York Post, the senator is scheduled to make another trip to the Hamptons soon, where she will meet with influential Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and former Attorney General Eric Holder.
Meanwhile, Kennedy was recently featured in a Town & Country article that dubbed him “The next president.”
The grandson of Robert F. Kennedy is also known for his stand against Trump’s promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare, as well as his support for Planned Parenthood.
But just like Harris, the 36-year-old congressman quickly dismisses talk of a run for the White House.
He added that the headline caught him by surprise.
“Furthest thing from my mind,” he said after a rally in Quincy, Massachusetts. “So, no plans on that, thanks very much.”

California judge refuses to bring back Trump's sanctuary cities ban

Americans protesting??

In a seeming act of defiance toward the Trump administration, a federal judge in San Francisco has refused to reinstate the president’s sanctuary cities order.  

The bold move to not reinstate President Donald Trump's executive order -- which sought to slash funding to cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities -- comes amid a battle between the State Department and local governments across the country over the edict from Washington.

The U.S. Department of Justice had asked U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick to reverse his own injunction in April against Trump's executive order. The injunction was issued in response to lawsuits by San Francisco and Santa Clara County in California.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote a memo in May saying the executive order should be applied narrowly to a small number of grants and to very specific violations of immigration law. The memo said cities that "willfully refuse to comply" with federal law could lose grants from the Justice and Homeland Security departments, but not other federal funding.
The Justice Department said the memo negated the need for Orrick's injunction.
Orrick said he found Sessions' memo unconvincing, asserting it would allow the attorney general to reverse his stand at any moment.
The judge's injunction stops enforcement of the executive order across the country, and allows the lawsuits to go forward.
And Orrick's refusal to reverse it strikes another blow to Trump's attempt to punish cities that give safe haven to those in the country illegally.
On Friday, Sessions is scheduled to visit Philadelphia, where officials have said its local law enforcement will not act as immigration agents — a stance Sessions has challenged as unconstitutional.
During a speech to law enforcement officials in Las Vegas, Sessions recently singled out Philadelphia, saying the City of Brotherly Love is "advertising" its policy and "protecting criminals."
Sessions' trip comes on the heels of a New York Times interview published this week in which Trump expressed frustration with Sessions for recusing himself from the FBI probe into Russian influence on the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Jobless Claims Plunge to 233,000, Lowest Level in 2 Months

Job seeker Dalvin Jones, left, chats with Valmira Haxhimusa during the Opportunity Fair and Forum employment event in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

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Fewer people are filing for unemployment.
A new jobless claims report shows new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 233,000 in the second week of July.
That’s the lowest level in two months.
Investors expected there would not be a drop, and the numbers would remain steady from the previous week.
Historically low unemployment levels from the past few months are one of the biggest signs of a healthy U.S. economy.

Turkish State News Agency Reveals Location of U.S. Troops in Syria

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Pentagon officials say a Turkish state run news agency published the location of U.S. military posts in Syria.
A Pentagon spokesman said the information puts U.S. troops in danger.
The news report published on Tuesday named the locations of 10 U.S. military posts in Northern Syria .
In some cases the story detailed the number of U.S. and French troops in the area.
Relations between the two nations have been rocky since the U.S. began supplying Kurdish YPG fighters with weapons to drive ISIS out of Syria.
Turkey considers the YPG a branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.