Democrats Northam, Murphy win gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey

Democrat Ralph Northam, left, won the gubernatorial race in Virginia as Democrat Phil Murphy, right, won in New Jersey.

Democrats rode to victory in Tuesday's hotly contested gubernatorial elections, as Ralph Northam defeated Republican Ed Gillespie in Virginia and Phil Murphy beat Republican Kim Guadagno in New Jersey.
The victories -- especially the win in Virginia -- are a shot in the arm to the beleaguered Democratic Party, which has lost four special congressional elections to Republicans since Donald Trump was elected president a year ago.
Northam, Virginia's lieutenant governor, won with the support of federal government employees and non-white voters, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis.
Northam garnered 54 percent to Gillespie's 45 percent, with 99 percent of precincts reported.
As he began his victory speech late Tuesday night in Fairfax, Northam was briefly ushered off stage by security after several pro-sanctuary cities protesters in the crowd began heckling him. Once he returned to the stage, Northam vowed to work to unite the state.

Democratic nominee Ralph Northam, left, defeated Republican Ed Gillespie, right, on Tuesday in the state's gubernatorial contest.  (AP)

“We need to close the wounds that divide, and bring unity to Virginia," he said. "Whether you voted for me or not, we are all Virginians. And I hope to earn your confidence and support as we move forward."
Speaking in Richmond, Gillespie told supporters he had conceded to Northam.
“Obviously, wish it had gone the other way, but I thank those who voted,” Gillespie said.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez celebrated the wins by saying voters in Virginia and New Jersey “rejected a Trump-Pence agenda” -- though the voter analysis suggested President Trump was not a major factor at the ballot box.
Meanwhile, Trump reacted to the results by saying Gillespie, whom he supported, did not adequately embrace him during the race.
"Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for," the president tweeted. "Don’t forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!"
Ahead of Tuesday’s elections, the president repeatedly tweeted his support for Gillespie in the race to replace Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Virginia. Polling in recent weeks had seemed to show Gillespie gaining ground on Northam in Virginia, the only southern state lost by Trump in 2016.
FULL ELECTION DAY COVERAGE
Towards the end of the campaign, Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, emphasized issues embraced by Trump during the presidential campaign, vowing to crack down on sanctuary cities and the MS-13 gang.
The race between Gillespie and Northam had gotten particularly nasty in recent weeks, with each side accusing the other of running ads that were out of line and racially tinged.
VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE GUIDE
Last week, a liberal group called the Latino Victory Fund released a television ad showing immigrant and minority children in Virginia being chased down the road by a man in a pickup truck with a Confederate flag and a Gillespie bumper sticker. Republicans decried the ad, accusing Democrats of fear-mongering. The group behind it eventually took the ad down after last week’s terrorist attack by truck in New York.
Meanwhile, Democrats repeatedly protested ads from Gillespie accusing Northam of voting for bills that would lead to a threat increase from the MS-13 gang. In a video posted on Twitter after he voted Tuesday, McAuliffe warned about a possible Republican upset and called on voters to reject the “bigoted, racist ads that Ed Gillespie has run against Ralph Northam”
“I do not want you waking up like you did after the presidential election last November and saying, ‘how could this possibly happen?’” McAuliffe said.
VIRGINIA, NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES SPAR OVER SANCTUARY CITIES
Gillespie and Northam also sparred over the highly charged issue of removing Confederate monuments in the state. Northam's campaign attempted to tie Gillespie to the white supremacist violence this summer in Charlottesville, something Gillespie's campaign called an "ugly character smear."
Northam’s team portrayed the race as a referendum against Trump, labeling Gillespie “Trump's chief lobbyist” because of his former lobbying career.
The gubernatorial elections come as the national Democratic Party finds itself in disarray over former DNC interim chairman Donna Brazile’s new book claiming the DNC rigged the nomination for Hillary Clinton over rival Bernie Sanders in 2016.

Democratic nominee Phil Murphy, right, defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, left, in New Jersey.  (AP)

In New Jersey, Murphy -- a former Goldman Sachs executive and U.S. ambassador to Germany -- will succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who has seen his approval numbers take a drastic hit and is term-limited after eight years in office.
Christie's deep unpopularity made Lt. Gov. Guadagno's campaign an uphill climb from the start.
Like Gillespie, Guadagno spent the campaign railing against sanctuary cities, releasing an ad drawing attention to Murphy’s comments in support of New Jersey being a “sanctuary state” and telling the story of an illegal immigrant who was convicted of killing several students in 2007.
“Murphy doesn’t have our backs,” the ad’s narrator said. Referencing criminal illegal immigrants, the narrator added: “He has theirs.”
Like Northam in Virginia, Murphy responded by accusing Guadagno of channeling Trump.
“Kim Guadagno should be ashamed of herself for the way she’s politicizing the deaths of three children and painting a community with the broad brush of a murderer, a tactic she must have gleaned from President Trump,” Murphy said in response to the ad. “To say the least, these are not New Jersey’s values.”

Trump, speaking in Seoul, warns North Korea: 'Do not underestimate us'

Speaking in front of South Korea’s National Assembly Wednesday morning, President Trump warned North Korea: "Do not underestimate us."

"Today, I hope I speak not only for our countries, but for all civilized nations, when I say to the North: Do not underestimate us. And do not try us," Trump said. "We will defend our common security, our shared prosperity, and our sacred liberty," the president said to cheers.

"We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction," he continued. "We will not be intimidated. And we will not let the worst atrocities in history be repeated here, on this ground we fought and died so hard to secure."
The comments contrasted remarks the president made earlier in the week, in which he appeared open to possible talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
During a news conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday, Trump argued that "it makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that is good for the people of North Korea and for the world."
"I do see certain movement," Trump said.
But a day earlier, while in Tokyo, the president argued that "the era of strategic patience" with North Korea was finished and defended his previous rhetoric regarding the country.
That tone matched his speech on Wednesday.
"The world cannot tolerate the menace of a rogue regime that threatens with nuclear devastation," Trump argued, while advocating for "peace through strength."
"All responsible nations must join forces to isolate the brutal regime of North Korea," he said.
"It is our responsibility and our duty to confront this danger together - because the longer we wait, the greater the danger grows, and the fewer the options become," he continued. "And to those nations that choose to ignore this threat or, worse still, to enable it: The weight of this crisis is on your conscience."
TRUMP LANDS IN JAPAN, KICKING OFF FIRST ASIA TRIP
The speech in South Korea comes amid a 13-day trip to Asia that has already seen the president visit Japan and South Korea with stops in China, Vietnam and the Philippines still on the docket. 

Guns don't kill people, people kill people Cartoons

Democrat walks out of moment of silence for Texas massacre victims

California Rep. Ted Lieu that he would not join his colleagues who were observing the moment of silence in the chambers of the House of Representatives.

A junior Democratic congressman walked out of a moment of silence Monday night for victims of this weekend's mass shooting at a Texas church.

In a video posted to Facebook Monday evening, California Rep. Ted Lieu said that he would not join his colleagues who were observing the moment of silence in the chambers of the House of Representatives.

"I can’t do this again; I’ve been to too many moments of silences," Lieu said in the video. "In just my short period in Congress, three of the worst mass shootings in us history have occurred. I will not be silent.”
"I urge us to pass reasonable gun safety legislation, including a universal background check law supported by 80 percent of Americans, a ban on assault rifles and a ban on bump stocks,” Lieu added.
Lieu has been active on social media since the shooting.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families affected by the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs," he posted on Twitter Sunday.
But just two hours later, after some of his followers objected to the measured nature of the tweet, Lieu unloaded on the National Rifle Association.
"I agree my prior tweet could be better," Lieu tweeted. "So here: I pray for the victims in TX. Also, screw the @NRA & can you help Dems take back the House."

Classy woman fired after flipping off Trump's motorcade

President Trump's motorcade drives through New York City during the United Nations General Assembly.

What a Classy Lady.

The woman who flipped off President Trump's motorcade last month said Monday that she was fired on Halloween for violating her employer's code of conduct policy -- but she vowed she would do it all over again if given the chance.
Juli Briskman, 50, now an ex-member of the marketing team at the government contractor Akima LLC, was on her bicycle on Oct. 28 when Trump's motorcade drove by her on a northern Virginia road.
A photo that quickly went viral showed her raising the middle finger of her left hand in defiance as the motorcade returned from the Trump National Golf Club.
"My finger said what I was feeling," Briskman, who had been on the job for just over six months, told CNN. "I'm angry and I'm frustrated."
Briskman's face was not visible in the photo, but she claimed she immediately confessed her involvement to her employer the Monday after the photo went viral.
Briskman said she was then promptly fired on Tuesday from the government contracting firm and escorted out of the building for violating the "code of conduct policy."
“They said, ‘We’re separating from you,‘” Briskman told the Huffington Post.  “Basically, you cannot have ‘lewd’ or ‘obscene’ things in your social media. So they were calling flipping him off ‘obscene.’”
Briskman, who claimed she was fired because her employer was worried about losing government contracts, said she has contacted the American Civil Liberties Union. She insisted she would flip off the president again if given the chance.
"Health care doesn't pass, but you try to dismantle it from the inside," Briskman told CNN. "Five-hundred people get shot in Las Vegas; you're doing nothing about it. You know, white supremacists have this big march and hurt a bunch of people down in Charlottesville and you call them good people."

Election Day: Trump factor looms large in Virginia, New Jersey governor's races

Virginia is one of only two states that have off-year governor's races on Election Day 2017. Here's why the Virginia race is getting national attention and how the "Trump effect" could impact the battle between Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam.

Democrats have worked feverishly all year to make nearly every local election a referendum on President Trump – and Tuesday's gubernatorial races are no exception. 

The Trump factor looms large in the marquee Virginia gubernatorial race, where Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and his allies have churned out mailers and ads tying Republican rival Ed Gillespie to the Trump White House at every turn. 

The Trump-referendum strategy has not been particularly successful for Democrats in the House special elections so far this year. But this time, polls in New Jersey and Virginia’s gubernatorial races show the Democratic candidates in the lead.
In New Jersey, Democratic nominee Phil Murphy holds a substantial lead over Republican Kim Guadagno.
But the race in Virginia is considerably tighter. According to the latest Fox News Poll released Monday, Northam holds a 5-point edge over Gillespie, who says there is “no doubt” the polls are close.
In the final stretch, Gillespie questioned whether the Democrats' Trump-all-the-time strategy is a sound one.
FOX NEWS POLL: VIRGINIA GOVERNOR'S RACE REMAINS TIGHT
“They’ve known they’re in a close race for some time. They’ve been throwing the kitchen sink at us with awful and vile ads,” Gillespie said on Fox News’ “Daily Briefing” Monday.
The most controversial of those ads was run by a Democratic group, Latino Victory Fund. It showed minority children seemingly being chased by a driver in a pickup truck, decked out with a Confederate flag and a “Gillespie for governor” bumper sticker. The ad concluded with a scene of a Charlottesville-like rally, with a narrator asking: “Is this what Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie mean by the ‘American Dream?’”
The ad was removed after extensive backlash.
ELECTION DAY 2017: FULL COVERAGE
Other mailers boast that Northam is "standing up to Trump and Gillespie's politics of fear and hate."

This is one of numerous mailers from Virginia Democrats trying to link Republican candidate Ed Gillespie to President Trump.

It's a message the campaign stands by as polls are set to open.
“Independent groups are denouncing Ed Gillespie because he has run the most divisive, fear-mongering campaign in modern history,” Northam campaign spokeswoman Ofirah Yheskel said in a statement to Fox News. “It is not shocking that communities of color are scared of what his Trump-like policy positions mean for them.”
Northam has campaigned with Democratic power players like former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden and even had a fundraiser headlined by Hillary Clinton.
WHO ARE ED GILLESPIE AND RALPH NORTHAM?
Meanwhile, Gillespie has garnered Republican support, with a fundraiser hosted by former President George W. Bush. He was joined by Vice President Pence on the campaign trail—but not Trump. Trump, though, has repeatedly expressed his support for Gillespie on Twitter.
"The state of Virginia economy, under Democrat rule, has been terrible. If you vote Ed Gillespie tomorrow, it will come roaring back!" Trump tweeted Monday.
Despite Democrats' claims, Gillespie seems to be keeping a certain distance from Trump, while telling Fox News that he would work with “President Trump and Vice President Pence and the Cabinet.” He listed priorities for Virginia, like “building more ships” and “keeping Norfolk the largest base in the world.”
“In terms of working with the president and vice president, any governor of Virginia has to be able to work with the president of the United States,” Gillespie said Monday. “That’s always been our history given our proximity. I’ll be able to.”

In New Jersey, Democratic nominee Phil Murphy holds a substantial lead over Republican Kim Guadagno.  (AP, File)

In New Jersey, Lt. Gov. Guadagno is dealing not only with attempts to link her to Trump but to outgoing and controversial Gov. Chris Christie.
Murphy, a multimillionaire former Goldman Sachs executive and former U.S. ambassador to Germany, said the choice for New Jersey’s next governor couldn’t be clearer.
“On the one hand more of the same, another Chris Christie four years of failed politics, of failed politices for the middle class that was hollowed out and ravaged, where public education doesn’t get funded, infrastructure is ignored, we become more unfair by the day and we are caught in this awful us vs. them vortex,” Murphy said at a recent campaign event. “Or we can turn the page and change.”
Guadagno’s response? She reminds voters that Christie is no longer on the ballot.
Murphy, like Northam, also has welcomed big names on the campaign trail, with former Presidents Obama and Bill Clinton, and Biden, at campaign events.
There is much at stake in both gubernatorial elections, but whoever takes the governor’s mansion in New Jersey could have the added responsibility of appointing a senator—if Sen. Bob Mendendez, D-N.J., is convicted in his corruption trial and resigns.
Menendez maintains his innocence. But if he were to step down, the appointment decision would have serious implications for Trump's policy agenda in a closely divided Senate.
“With the Senate so evenly divided, the outcome of the New Jersey gubernatorial election, if Senator Menendez were to be convicted, could determine the Trump agenda and if it would move forward with greater ease in the Senate," said Brigid Harrison, a professor of political science and law at Montclair State University.
Another race to watch Tuesday is in Utah, with the election to fill the House seat previously held by Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz who resigned from his post in June.

As kidnapped American professor's health dangerously deteriorates, pressure on Pakistan again mounts

It has been a year and three months since five gunmen disguised in Afghan military uniforms targeted an SUV on a main road near Kabul’s American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) — taking two foreign professors, U.S. citizen Kevin King, 60, and Australian Timothy Weeks, 48, as hostages.

But as King’s health dangerously declines, a spotlight again has been put on Pakistan and what role they can play in facilitating an urgent release. Najib Danish, the spokesperson of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, told Fox News that they believe the professors are being held in the border region — on the Pakistan side.

“The terrorists do not have the power to keep hostages for such a long time in Afghanistan because the people here would have let Afghan Forces know of their location by now,” he said. “We are sure the Pakistan government wants to take advantage of these professors and at some point will release them like the other couple. This is a game by Pakistan.”
Last week, the Afghan Taliban released a statement indicating that King is seriously ill and requires urgent medical attention.
“His illness has intensified, his feet have swollen and sometimes he becomes unconscious and his condition worsens every day,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said. “We have tried to treat him time to time but we do not have medical facilities as we are in a war situation.”

Professors Kevin King and Timothy Weeks are believed to be held by Haqqani in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan

The professors are believed to be under the captive authority of the Haqqani network, which works closely with the Taliban as a kidnapping moneymaking enterprise. Haqqani also held U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl and the recently released hiker Caitlan Coleman and her family — who were located in Pakistan following a grueling five-year captivity.
A senior Afghan intel source, connected to the National Directorate of Security (NDS), also affirmed to Fox News that the professors were kidnapped by Haqqani with the help of “internal circles,” which function like criminal gangs in Kabul. According to the source, they were held initially in the Arzo district of Logar province in the Speen Jomat area, just a few miles from the tribal area of Pakistan known as Parachinar, but were later shifted deeper inside the Kurram district inside the bordering tribal areas.
The NDS source also claimed that the Haqqani network continues to demand the release of one of their top commanders, Anas Haqqani, who was captured in 2014 and sentenced to death by Afghan officials and that there are some Afghan officials pushing for this maneuver under the belief it may make foreign visitors safer.
However, a well-placed U.S. official told Fox News that they are absolutely standing by their no-concession policy, and that there will be no such trades made. Nonetheless, they do believe King’s condition to be especially dire and are calling for the immediate release of the professors on humanitarian grounds, stressing that “time is of the essence.”

Kidnapped Professors: AustralianTimothy Weeks and American Kevin King

King is thought to have developed serious heart and kidney problems since being in captivity, and the Taliban have sought to make this public now as, according to a government source, it has proven to be a “burden” on them.
The Taliban, which did not provide proof of King’s deteriorating condition, indicated in their statement last week that the U.S. is running out of time to fulfil its demands and that the “Islamic emirate will not be held responsible” if he dies.

Taliban fighters  (The Associated Press)

Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, U.S. authorities closely connected to the case were not able to verify whether King and Weeks are likely inside Afghanistan or Pakistan territory. The U.S. State Department has persistently, and continues to, call for the immediate and unconditional release of the two hostages.
The Pakistan Embassy in the U.S. did not respond to a further request for comment, but Washington-based Pakistan Ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry assured Fox News in September that they do not allow insurgent groups to operate in their territory, and that the government has regained full control of the country — including the oft-considered lawless tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Chaudhry also insisted that it is the Afghan government which needs to stop sending “mixed messages” to groups like the Taliban. The two neighboring countries long have had tensions over issues of security and terrorism, and which country is to blame for its export.
DOZENS OF AWOL AFGHAN TRAINEES IN THE US REMAIN UNACCOUNTED FOR, REPORT SAYS
GETTING TOUGH ON THE TALIBAN: TRUMP ADMIN SAID TO BE URGING CLOSURE OF THE MILITANT GROUP'S QATAR OFFICE

A video released of hostages Caitlan Coleman and husband Joshua Boyle while being held in captivity

The push for a release comes at a time of rocky relations between the U.S. and Pakistan. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened this year to withdraw aid money to Pakistan, accusing the country of harboring militants. The pressure is said to have prompted Pakistan to conduct last month’s Coleman rescue operation — earning praise from the Trump team and avoiding another potential national embarrassment, akin to the 2011 raid in which U.S. forces killed Usama bin Laden inside Pakistani territory without the government’s authorization.
The last visual proof-of-life came in June with the release of a video by the Taliban, in which the two appeared haggard seemingly speaking into a laptop webcam with King pleading to President Trump: “Have mercy on me and get me out,” and “please do not send any commandos.”

U.S Navy SEALs successfully killed Al Qaeda leader in Pakistan in 2011

An unsuccessful rescue attempt was made by U.S. Navy SEALs in the weeks after the initial kidnapping, but the hostages had been moved just prior to their ascendance into the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan.
AUAF also is cooperating closely with authorities to push for a release, but acknowledged that efforts to have their staff members released so far have proven fruitless.
“We are really worried about their health and safety. They were here to teach the Afghan boys and girls, the future of this country and this has had bad effects on all our educational programs,” an official, who asked not to be identified, said. “We are still trying our best to release them, and we are talking to Afghan officials. No one has asked us for money yet, we just hope for their safe release.”
The students too have taken a vocal role in requesting that their professors be returned safely.
One student, Marzia, described King as someone “extremely passionate about teaching them about the world,” and another, Freshta, stressed that King and Weeks only ever wanted to see them do well.
“They came to Afghanistan as teachers, to help us. These innocent people have done nothing to harm anyone and they need to be reunited with their family, friends and colleagues,” she added. “Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and we will not feel good until they are safely back with us.”

Man hailed a hero for chasing Texas church gunman after massacre

Johnnie Langendorff said in a interview that he helped track down the gunman after the Texas church massacre.  (Fox San Antonio)

One of the men who said he helped tracked down the Texas church gunman on Sunday is being hailed a hero for potentially preventing more bloodshed after the deadly shooting.

Johnnie Langendorff told Fox San Antonio that he decided to track down the killer after seeing the gunman exchanging fire with a member of the community.

Multiple sources speaking to Fox News identified the gunman as 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley. The mass shooting unfolded around 11:30 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, which is about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio. At least 26 people were killed and 20 wounded.
Langendorff said he arrived at an intersection near the church. He said he witnessed two men exchange fire and recognized one of them from the community.
“The shooter of the church had taken off, fled in his vehicle, the other gentleman came and said we need to pursue him. And that’s what I did, I just acted,” he told a local TV station Ksat.com.
Following a brief chase, the two caught up with the gunman.
“He got a little bit of a jump on us. We were doing about 95 (mph) down (Route) 539 going around traffic and everything. Eventually he came to a kind of a slowdown and after that we got within just a few feet of him and then he got off the road,” he said.
“He just lost control. That is when I put the vehicle in park and I was still on the phone to dispatch (police). The other gentleman jumped out and has his rifle drawn on him. He didn’t move after that.”
Police arrived within five to seven minutes to the location where the shooter stopped. “We led police to him,” he said, according to Ksat.com.
Langendorff said he was not aware at the time of the chase that the shooter had additional weapons in his vehicle and he might have prevented more deaths.