Friday, February 24, 2017

FBI refused White House request to knock down recent Trump-Russia stories: Trump and FBI - Google Search - Friday February 24th, 2017 at 6:28 PM - Russia Open To U.S. Plan To Create Safe Zones, If Syria Is Involved - Thursday February 23rd, 2017 at 3:53 AM


How broken are Democrats? | Fox News

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On the roster: - How broken are Democrats? - White House pushed FBI to stifle reports on Russia ties - Annnnnd…Trump responds to report slamming FBI in tweets - Power Play: CPAC pop quiz! - We used to call this ‘childhood’HOW BROKEN ARE DEMOCRATS?
What kind of party do Democrats want to have?
Simple: One that stops losing elections.
As the members of the Democratic National Committee gather this weekend in Atlanta to choose a new leader, much as been said about the paths forward for the party.
One, personified by Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., is maximal confrontation. Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, urges his party to face down Trump as not just wicked but also criminal.
It was at least three years before Republicans in the Obama era had to deal with bleating from their base about impeachment, but Ellison & Co. are already there.
Think about that for a second. A sitting member of Congress potentially in line to lead a major political party is calling for the impeachment of a president who has been in office for five weeks. Whatever you think of Donald Trump, that’s gonzo stuff.
The other way forward is being cast in the press as a more moderate choice, that of former Labor Secretary Tom Perez.
The very fact that Perez, a staunch uber-liberal, is being depicted as some sort of squish tells you how bad off the Democrats are now.
If you thought John Boehner and Reince Priebus had it bad keeping Republicans from swallowing their tongues in the Obama era, Perez and other basically normal Democrats are about to walk through a hellscape even more diabolical in nature.
Where Republicans had Obama’s supposedly forged birth certificate, Democrats have Vladimir Putin rigging the election. The Democrat’s conspiracy theory is less insane sounding, but will be equally damaging to the party and its mental health – if not more so.
From a practical point of view, dealing with Trump for Democrats would be a pretty straightforward matter. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has basically said as much: Find the points on which Trump, no conservative, agrees with Democrats -- especially on stimulus spending, labor policy and trade -- and then jam the GOP. 
One of the advantages of having a non-ideological president was supposed to be all the deal-making that would get done. But instead, Washington is still stuck.
Yes, that is in part because Trump and his fellow Republicans can’t quite get the signal calling down on moving the big legislation still in the discussion phase, but also because no Democrat other than those from bright-red states feel free to work with Trump on anything.
If Schumer really wanted to be in Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s head, the Democrat would be paying multiple visits to his fellow New Yorker at the White House.
But Schumer knows that he can’t because his party’s base doesn’t even consider Trump the legitimate president, just as some Republicans, including Trump, felt about Obama.
If Perez wins this weekend, his task of leading a political party, not a resistance, will be daunting to say the least. It would be easier for him than it is for Schumer since the party isn’t concerned with policy so much as fundraising and organizing.
Even so, dealing with the frothiest parts of his party is a task no prospective Democratic chairman, save perhaps Ellison, could relish.
The last time Democrats were in the wilderness like this was 13 years ago after the emotionally devastating defeat of John Kerry by incumbent president George W. Bush. Obama proved an unlikely but effective Moses for his party by effectively absorbing the energy the kooks of the far left and channeling it into more productive aims.
Right now, there is no one on the horizon with the potential exception of California Sen. Kamala Harris who could unite this angry, broken party.
This weekend we will find out just how angry and broken it is.

THE RULEBOOK: CODEPENDENT 
“Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires.” – Alexander HamiltonFederalist No. 10
TIME OUT: SACKEDSmithsonian Magazine: “The fate of Greenland’s Vikings—who never numbered more than 2,500 – has intrigued and confounded generations of archaeologists… [O]ver the last decade a radically different picture of Viking life in Greenland has started to emerge from the remains of the old settlements… [I]n the 13th century, after three centuries, [the Vikings’] world changed profoundly. First, the climate cooled because of the volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Sea ice increased, and so did ocean storms…Second, the market for walrus ivory collapsed, partly because Portugal and other countries started to open trade routes into sub-Saharan Africa, which brought elephant ivory to the European market…And finally, the Black Death devastated Europe…The Norse probably could have survived any one of those calamities separately…But all three blows must have left them reeling…The Greenland Vikings were essentially victims of globalization and a pandemic.”
Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with
your tips, comments or questions.
WHITE HOUSE PUSHED FBI TO STIFLE REPORTS ON RUSSIA TIES

AP: “White House chief of staff Reince Priebus asked a top FBI official to dispute media reports that President Donald Trump's campaign advisers were frequently in touch with Russian intelligence agents during the election, a White House official said. The official said that Priebus' request came as the White House sought to discredit a New York Times report about the contacts last week. As of Thursday, the FBI had not commented publicly on the report and there was no indication it planned to. The New York Times reported that U.S. agencies had intercepted phone calls last year between Russian intelligence officials and members of Trump's 2016 campaign team. Priebus' discussion with FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe sparked outrage among some Democrats, who said that the chief of staff was violating policies intended to limit communications between the law enforcement agency and the White House on pending investigations.”
Annnnnd…Trump responds to report slamming FBI in tweets - Fox News: “President Trump, after a brief hiatus, returned to throwing Twitter bombs Friday morning to accuse his own FBI of failing to crack down on leaks – on the heels of reports about a conversation his chief of staff had with the bureau about Russia-related allegations…The White House pushed back, claiming in response that while Priebus did speak with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, McCabe initiated the contact to inform Priebus that The New York Times report about campaign contacts with Russia was incorrect…[Trump tweeted] ‘The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security ‘leakers’ that have permeated our government for a long time. They can't even…. find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW.’”
POWER PLAY: CPAC POP QUIZ!Chris Stirewalt headed over to CPAC with a little pop quiz for attendees – all in good fun. Answers range from weird to wacky to thoughtful to hilarious. WATCH HERE.
AUDIBLE: PASS 
“Sooner or later, I'm going to eat your ass.” – Gov. Jim Justice, D-W.Va. in an interview with radio host Hoppy Kercheval in which Justice was describing himself as a grizzly bear and a Republican state senator with whom he is feuding as a “barking poodle.”
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Pence at CPAC: ObamaCare ‘nightmare’ close to being over - 
Fox News
Trump transition team raised $6.5 million through mid-February in part through cabinet members’ families, corporations - USA Today

Bannon talk at CPAC meant to reassure conservatives nervous about Trump - 
NYT
Trump says the U.S. needs to step up its nuclear arsenal - 
Retuers

Ivanka
Jared Kushner pushed to strike critical language on climate change from executive order - 
The Hill
McCaul says we don’t need ‘a 2,000-mile wall’  - 
Politico
Poll: Large majority think Russian communications should be investigated - 
CBS News
ObamaCare reaches highest approval rating yet - 
Pew Research Center
Fla. Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz calls on Trump to release tax returns - 
WaPo
Montana GOP leader opposes mail-in ballots in election to replace Zinke - Great Falls [Mont.] Tribune
ANY GIVEN SUNDAYAs the nation’s governors prepare to gather in Washington for their annual meeting two chief executives at the forefront of major policy fights, Wisconsin Republican Scott Walker and Virginia Democrat Terry McAuliffe sit down with Mr. Sunday to forecast the fights ahead. Watch “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.
#mediabuzz - Host Howard Kurtz has the latest take on the week’s media coverage. Watch #mediabuzz Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.
ITYW: Sunday, funday - Did you miss your fix of this week’s “I’ll Tell You What” podcast? Well, you can always listen and subscribe here OR tune in to Fox News Channel on Sirius XM channel 450 or on Fox News Talk Sundays at 8 a.m. ET starting this weekend.

FROM THE BLEACHERS“Why isn’t anyone talking about the two countries responsible for 50% of the industrial worlds CO2 emissions in 2013? Two countries with 45% of the world’s population but little in environmental controls. If you want to stop rising CO2 levels, how is it done without huge efforts by China and India? Two countries identified as emerging industrial economies.” – Les Pappas, Scottsdale, Ariz.
[Ed. note: Well, some people are talking about it, but the fact is it seems highly unlikely that any action will be taken on that front anytime in the next four years. And while your point is well taken, we also remember that if Britain and Germany had told the U.S. to scale back our industrial revolution in the 1880s, we would have scoffed too.]

“Your estimate that perhaps ten percent of the country is illegal seems way too high. Pew puts it 3.5 percent.” – Brien Downes, Delmar, N.Y.
[Ed. Note: I was told there would be no math! No, you are quite right. That was my simple sloppy calculation. The Pew estimate of 11 million illegal immigrants out of a total population of 318 million is as close to authoritative as we are likely to get. Good catch.]
Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.
WE USED TO CALL THIS ‘CHILDHOOD’
Travel and Leisure: A new school has opened in Maine with the intent to teach millennials how to do things like manage taxes, eat nutritionally, and balance relationships—AKA how to be an adult. The Adulting School offers classes and events around Portland, Maine to teach beginner adults how to become pros at folding a fitted sheet or actually meeting people at networking events. It also hosts social media groups and webinars to instruct on adulting from afar. Although the courses may seem like mundane experiences everyone must struggle through once in their life (The Adulting School has been criticized for ‘coddling’ millennials), the idea for the school sprung from the mind of a psychotherapist. Co-founder Rachel Weinstein noticed that large groups of millennials she worked with were grappling with many of the same issues—paying bills on time, cooking nutritional dinners, etc.”
AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“The border tax is complicated, difficult to understand, and incredibly intrusive.  It's about as intrusive a step as you can imagine for government to step in.” – Charles Krauthammer on “Special Report with Bret Baier.”
Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Sally Persons contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

Chris Stirewalt joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in July of 2010 and serves as digital politics editor based in Washington, D.C.  Additionally, he authors the daily "Fox News First" political news note and hosts "Power Play," a feature video series, on <a href="http://FoxNews.com" rel="nofollow">FoxNews.com</a>. Stirewalt makes frequent appearances on the network, including "The Kelly File," "Special Report with Bret Baier," and "Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace."  He also provides expert political analysis for Fox News coverage of state, congressional and presidential elections.
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How broken are Democrats?

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White House defends contacts with FBI over Russia reports

Yahoo News - ‎39 minutes ago‎
WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday defended chief of staff Reince Priebus against accusations he breached a government firewall when he asked FBI Director James Comey to publicly dispute media reports that Trump campaign advisers had been ...

Comey faces pressure as White House fights Russia reports

The Seattle Times - ‎56 minutes ago‎
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director James Comey is again in a familiar spot these days — the middle of political tumult. As a high-ranking Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration, he clashed with the White House over a secret ...

White House says no pressure applied on FBI about Russia reports

Washington Times - ‎2 hours ago‎
FILE - In this Feb. 23, 2017 file photo, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus speaks in Oxon Hill, Md. Priebus asked top FBI officials to dispute media reports that President Donald Trump's campaign advisers were frequently in touch ... more >.

White House denies report that FBI rejected its request to “knock down” story

CBS News - ‎5 hours ago‎
In a background briefing, two senior Trump administration officials inveighed against a CNN report that the FBI rejected a White House request to “publicly knock down” a story first reported by the New York Times. That report, published on Feb. 14 ...

Priebus request to FBI violated norms, if not rules

Politico - ‎4 hours ago‎
For decades, presidents from both parties have prohibited White House staff from discussing specific investigations and enforcement cases without clearance from the White House counsel. The rules were developed to prevent even the appearance of ...

Trump Assails 'Fake News,' Blasts Media Use of Anonymous Sources

Bloomberg - ‎6 hours ago‎
President Donald Trump escalated his attacks against the news media at a gathering of conservative activists Friday hours after lashing out at the FBI over leaks about an agency investigation into contacts between his campaign and Russian officials.

White House confirms conversation with FBI about Trump and Russia

The Guardian - ‎4 hours ago‎
FBI director James Comey leaves a meeting on Capitol Hill on Friday in Washington DC. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images. Share on Facebook · Share on Twitter · Share via Email; View more sharing options; Share on LinkedIn · Share on Pinterest ...
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Trump and FBI - Google Search

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Trump and FBI - Google Search

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Story image for Trump and FBI from New York Times

Trump Denounces FBI Over Leaks, Demanding Investigation

New York Times-4 hours ago
President Trump on Wednesday. “The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security 'leakers' that have permeated our government for a long ...
Trump turns his fire on the FBI
The Hill-37 minutes ago
Reince Priebus Needs to Leave Trump's White House. Today.
Featured-<a href="http://Esquire.com" rel="nofollow">Esquire.com</a>-8 hours ago

White House defends contacts with FBI over Russia reports

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WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday defended chief of staff Reince Priebus against accusations he breached a government firewall when he asked FBI Director James Comey to publicly dispute media reports that Trump campaign advisers had been frequently in touch with Russian intelligence agents.
President Donald Trump's spokesman, Sean Spicer, argued Priebus had little choice but to seek Comey's assistance in rebutting what Spicer said were inaccurate reports about contacts during last year's presidential campaign. The FBI did not issue the statement requested by Priebus and has given no sign one is forthcoming.
"I don't know what else we were supposed to do," Spicer said.
The Justice Department has policies in place to limit communications between the White House and the FBI about pending investigations. Trump officials on Friday not only confirmed contacts between Priebus and the FBI, but engaged in an extraordinary public airing of those private conversations.
Spicer said it was the FBI that first approached the White House about the veracity of a New York Times story asserting that Trump advisers had contacts with Russian intelligence officials during the presidential campaign. Spicer said Priebus then asked both FBI Director James Comey and Deputy Director Andrew McCabe if they would condemn the story publicly, which they declined to do.
"The chief of staff said, well, you've put us in a very difficult situation," Spicer said. "You've told us that a story that made some fairly significant accusations was not true. And now you want us to just sit out there."
The FBI would not comment on the matter or verify the White House account.
Friday's revelations were the latest wrinkle in Trump's already complicated relationship with the FBI and other intelligence agencies. He's accused intelligence officials of releasing classified information about him to the media, declaring in a tweet Friday morning that the FBI was "totally unable to stop the national security 'leakers' that have permeated our government for a long time."
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi accused Priebus of "an outrageous breach of the FBI's independence" and called on the Justice Department's inspector general to look into all conversations Priebus and other White House officials have held with the FBI on ongoing investigations.
"The rule of law depends on the FBI's complete independence, free from political pressure from the targets of its investigations," Pelosi said.
A 2009 memo from then-Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department is to advise the White House on pending criminal or civil investigations "only when it is important for the performance of the president's duties and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective."
Ron Hosko, a retired FBI assistant director who oversaw criminal investigations, said the discussions between the FBI and the Trump White House were inadvisable.
"It is a very slippery slope," Hosko said. "Do I get in the position of where I'm updating the White House on my priority criminal cases? The answer is no, I should not be doing that."
Other FBI veterans said the interactions between Priebus and the FBI were not unprecedented. Robert Anderson, a retired executive assistant director who served under Comey and oversaw counterintelligence investigations, said contacts between the bureau and White House are "usually very-well documented" in order to avoid the perception of inappropriate contacts.
CNN first reported that Priebus had asked the FBI for help, and a White House official confirmed the matter to The Associated Press Thursday night. On Friday morning, two other senior White House officials summoned reporters to a briefing to expand on the timeline of events.
The White House officials would only discuss the matter on the condition of anonymity. Two hours later, Trump panned news stories that rely on anonymous sources, telling a conservative conference that reporters "shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name."
Spicer later briefed some reporters on the record. The Associated Press declined to participate in that briefing because some major news organizations were not invited, but audio of the briefing was later circulated by reporters who attended.
Trump has been shadowed by questions about potential ties to Russia since winning the election. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia meddled in the campaign in an effort to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.
On Feb. 14, The New York Times reported that intelligence agencies had collected phone records and call intercepts showing frequent communication between Trump advisers and Russian intelligence agents during the campaign. Trump has said he is not aware of such contacts.
The White House says Priebus was holding a previously scheduled meeting with McCabe the morning after the Times story was published. According to Spicer, McCabe told Priebus in "very colorful terms" that the report was inaccurate, prompting the chief of staff to ask if the FBI would make its view known publicly.
Spicer said McCabe told the White House the bureau did not want to be in the practice of rebutting news stories. A similar message was conveyed to Priebus later in the day by Comey, according to the White House spokesman.
The White House said McCabe and Comey instead gave Priebus the go-ahead to discredit the story publicly, something the FBI has not confirmed.
Priebus alluded to his contacts with the FBI over the weekend, telling Fox News that "the top levels of the intelligence community" had assured him that the allegations of campaign contacts with Russia were "not only grossly overstated but also wrong."
During the campaign, Trump and other Republicans strongly criticized a meeting between Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton, husband of Trump's general election opponent. The meeting came as the FBI — which is overseen by the Justice Department — was investigating Hillary Clinton's use of a private email address and personal internet server.
Spicer said he was not aware of an FBI investigation into Trump campaign advisers' contacts with Russia. Administration officials have acknowledged that the FBI interviewed ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn about his communications with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the transition.
Flynn was fired after it was revealed that he misled Vice-President Mike Pence and other White House officials about the content of those conversations.
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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Vivian Salama, Jill Colvin and Ken Thomas contributed to this report.
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Follow Julie Pace at <a href="http://twitter.com/jpaceDC" rel="nofollow">http://twitter.com/jpaceDC</a>
Julie Pace, The Associated Press
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Sputnik International: What's Behind North Korean Missile Strategy

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North Korea's nuclear program has long been a source for concern for its closest neighbors, Japan and South Korea, as well as for the global community. On February 12, Pyongyang launched a medium-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan and declared the test successful.



 Sputnik International
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Opinions: President Trump attacks nine sources

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 Opinions

One Month in, Anti-Trump Movement Shows Signs of Sustained Momentum 

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U.S. Representative Leonard Lance, who has held more than 40 town hall-style meetings with constituents in his central New Jersey district, has never faced a crowd like he did on Wednesday. The Republican endured catcalls, chants and caustic questions from more than 1,000 residents at a local college, while hundreds of others outside brandished signs with messages like "Resist Trump." Parallel scenes have played out across the country this week during the first congressional recess since Donald Trump became president. Republican lawmakers returning home confronted a wave of anger over a spectrum of issues, including immigration, health care and Trump's possible ties to Russia. The raucous meetings are the latest in a relentless series of rallies, marches and protests that shows no signs of abating more than 30 days into the new administration. The anti-Trump energy has prompted talk of a liberal-style Tea Party movement, in reference to the protests in 2009 that helped reshape the Republican Party and arguably laid the groundwork for Trump's surprise electoral victory last year. "Some of the lessons to draw from that are persistence, repetition, not taking 'no' for an answer," said Victoria Kaplan, the organizing director for the grassroots progressive group MoveOn. Since the day after Trump's inauguration, when millions of protesters joined women's marches worldwide, left-wing organizers have sought to harness that anger to fuel a lasting political campaign. Hundreds of progressive groups have sprung up across the country - some affiliated with national organizations like Indivisible or MoveOn - to help coordinate. At town halls in New Jersey and Virginia this week, constituents came armed with red "disagree" signs they held aloft to register their disapproval of what they heard from their representatives. Some U.S. senators, such as Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, have faced weekly protests outside their offices, and a Pennsylvania health care network set up a "town hall" this week with an empty suit in place of Toomey, who declined to attend. More marches are scheduled across the country in the coming months, including several major events in Washington, tied to gay rights, science and a push for Trump to release his tax returns. Just the beginning? The sheer volume of protests - last week, there were three nationwide calls for action within a five-day span - has some political observers wondering how long it can last. But several experts who study protests said the level of outrage may be increasing, rather than subsiding, after a tumultuous first month in which Trump's words and actions created fresh outrage among liberals almost daily. "We're not anywhere near reaching a saturation point for protest," said Michael Heaney, the author of "Party in the Street: The Antiwar Movement and the Democratic Party after 9/11" and a University of Michigan professor. "If anything, it's just getting started." The key for organizers is to convert large-scale protests into sustained action by building databases of names and encouraging locally based events, experts said. "You can't just have the diehards," said Dana R. Fisher, a University of Maryland professor who studies collective action. "And then you need to channel them into new types of activism." When Fisher surveyed participants at the women's march in Washington, she found one-third were attending their first protest - the highest percentage she has ever observed. "This is unprecedented," she said. "But there's nothing that's not unprecedented about the Trump presidency." Some Republicans have dismissed the protests as manufactured. Trump on Tuesday tweeted that "so-called angry crowds" in Republicans' districts were "planned out by liberal activists." ‘Firing on all cylinders’ But Kaplan of MoveOn said the vast majority of actions were "organic." A weekly conference call the group hosts to discuss the movement has attracted a bigger number of participants each week, with 46,000 people joining the latest discussion. "We are firing on all cylinders to catch up" with grassroots protests, she said. "That is a demonstration of energy and sustainability." Experts also said social media has made it far easier to organize mass protests quickly and efficiently. In what Kaplan said was a sign the protests are having an impact, many Republicans have eschewed town halls this week to avoid confrontations. There were fewer than 100 in-person Republican town halls scheduled for the first two months of the year, compared with more than 200 in the same period in 2015, according to a Vice report. In Louisiana on Wednesday, residents shouted down Republican Senator Bill Cassidy as he tried to explain his health care proposal. Scott Taylor, a freshman Republican representative in Virginia, sparred with hundreds of impassioned constituents on Monday at his own event. Like Lance, whose district voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump, Taylor is already a midterm target for Democrats. Taylor said in an interview after the town hall that he recognized many of the attendees from the local Democratic Party. "It's not like they're just some new organic people who just came about and are concerned," Taylor said. But not everyone was a Democrat. Austin Phillips, a 22-year-old Trump voter, told Taylor at the town hall he was worried about losing healthcare coverage if Obamacare is repealed. "Trump has talked about wanting to repeal it," Phillips, who is self-employed and purchased insurance through an exchange created by the law, said in a later interview. "If they quickly repeal it with no replacement lined up, then theoretically everybody would lose their insurance."

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RSS for National Security: While U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to alleviate Mexico's concerns during a visit to Mexico City, President Donald Trump was fanning them ...

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While U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson tried to alleviate Mexico's concerns during a visit to Mexico City, President Donald Trump was fanning them further with tough talk about "getting really bad dudes out of this country at a rate nobody has ...

 RSS for National Security

Voice of America: Heroin Overdose Deaths Quadruple Between 2010 and 2015: Study 

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Deaths caused by heroin overdoses in the United States quadrupled between 2010 and 2015, according to a new report. The National Center for Health Statistics says there were 12,989 overdose deaths involving heroin in 2015. In 2010, the number was 3,036. In percentages, heroin caused 8 percent of drug overdose deaths in 2010, and now it accounts for 25 percent. The center cites dropping prices and increasing potency for the rise in deaths. Furthermore, experts say they believe the opioid epidemic caused by prescription painkillers may also be driving people to use heroin as the drug is usually much cheaper. "You are 40 times more likely to use heroin if you started with opioid painkillers," Rich Hamburg, the executive vice president for the non-profit Trust for America’s Health, told the Reuters news agency. "Heroin is part of America's larger drug abuse problem." Death from overdosing on prescription painkillers like oxycodone actually fell over the period of the study, dropping from 29 percent of all overdose deaths in 2010 to 24 percent in 2015. Overdoses deaths from cocaine also fell, albeit slightly, the study said. The states with the highest rates of overdose deaths in 2015 were West Virginia, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio, the study found. Overdose deaths increased for all age groups, but rose the most among those 55 to 64, the study said.



 Voice of America
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Officials: Trump adviser asked FBI to dispute Russia reports

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- White House chief of staff Reince Priebus asked top FBI officials to dispute media reports that Donald Trump&apos;s campaign advisers were frequently in touch with Russian intelligence agents during the election, according to three White House officials who confirmed the unusual contact with law enforcement involved in a pending investigation....

FBI issues warning of FBI phone number scam - KSAT San Antonio

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KSAT San Antonio



FBI issues warning of FBI phone number scam
KSAT San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO - The FBI office in San Antonio issued a warning Friday about a telephone scam involving an FBI office phone number. According to FBI spokeswoman Special Agent Michelle Lee, the scammers identify themselves as FBI agents, IRS agents or ...

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Don't Forget the Russia Sanctions Are Russia's Fault - Foreign Policy (blog)

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Foreign Policy (blog)



Don't Forget the Russia Sanctions Are Russia's Fault
Foreign Policy (blog)
Three years ago this week, disgraced Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned his post and fled to Russia after a failed-but-deadly crackdown on protesting Ukrainian citizens. The protests started after Yanukovych suddenly and unexpectedly ...
Trump lawyer pushed pro-Russia deal for Ukraine, politician claimsCNN
Editorial: Russia's new mischiefBoston Herald

all 168 news articles »

Defense One - All Content: US Air Force to Send F-35 to Fight ISIS … In a Few Years 

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A U.S. Air Force weapons load crew assigned to the 33rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron loads a live GBU-12 into an F-35A January 18, 2017, at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

 Defense One - All Content

At CPAC, Trump tightens his grip on the GOP

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OXON HILL, Md. — President Donald Trump arrived at the Conservative Political Action Conference as a conqueror, not just of Hillary Clinton and all other 2016 contenders, but of any rival visions for what the modern Republican Party should stand for.
And in a Friday appearance at CPAC, he let the crowd know it.
In an impassioned if disjointed 49-minute speech, Trump veered from angry attacks on the media to election victory laps before he took something of a dry run of the themes for his joint congressional address next week.
“The core conviction of our movement is that we are a nation that put and will put its own citizens first,” Trump declared at one point. "The GOP will be, from now on, the party also of the American worker," he said at another.
Trump promised to build a border wall, repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law, cut taxes for the middle class “massively,” dramatically boost spending on the military and renegotiate trade deals in a robust display of nationalism as he declared there is no “global flag.”

“I’m not representing the globe,” Trump said. “I’m representing your country.”
In true Trump fashion, however, he waited until the last 30 minutes to outline his vision of what the GOP and conservatism stands for in the era of Trump, instead taking the first 10 minutes of his speech whacking at “fake news” and accusing reporters of concocting sources from thin air. “They just make them up,” he said.
Still, Trump proved his counselor Kellyanne Conway right when she predicted, in her own CPAC appearance, that “by tomorrow, this will be 'TPAC' when he's here, no doubt.”
Trump was greeted by huge applause and waving red “Make America Great Again” hats at almost every turn. A CPAC crowd that in five of the six previous straw polls leading up to the 2016 and 2012 elections had selected libertarian-leaning Ron Paul or Rand Paul as their preferred presidential standard-bearer cheered mightily as Trump promised “one of the greatest military buildups in American history.”

Trump’s appearance was the first by a sitting president at CPAC in more than a decade, since George W. Bush in 2003, and the first by a president in his first year since Ronald Reagan in 1981. Trump pledged to return often, and noted that the first speech of his political career was at CPAC.
Still, it wasn’t so long ago that Trump and his political team were CPAC outsiders rather than the center of celebration and attention. Four years ago, Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon was kept out of CPAC and created a rival event he called “The Uninvited.”
“I want to thank you for finally inviting me to CPAC,” Bannon said pointedly to Matt Schlapp, the American Conservative Union Chairman, on stage Thursday.
That same year, Trump opened his speech to CPAC by lecturing attendees that Republicans who dared to campaign on cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicare would end up as electoral losers.

“The Republican Party is in serious trouble,” Trump said then in a speech that previewed his 2016 campaign themes — curbing illegal immigration, rebuilding the economy and complaining about the media — all the way down his closing slogan, “We have to make America great again, our problems will be solved.”
Trump received polite applause as a celebrity curiosity in 2013. It was thunderous as commander in chief in 2017.
Trump opened Friday with complaints about the “dishonest media” and saying “they shouldn’t be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody’s name.” The comments came only hours after the White House had held a briefing for reporters in which they had insisted on anonymity.
Trump’s tenure has been racked by infighting among his own staff and leaks from intelligence agencies, including about ties between campaign officials and Russia.
Trump also recounted how he had been underestimated by the press in 2016 in what began to sound eerily like his campaign stump speech. At one point, anti-Clinton campaign rally chants of “Lock her up” rang back out in the hall.

But nearly thirty minutes into his speech, Trump pivoted to a preview of next Tuesday’s prime time address, as he ticked through his first month’s accomplishments and outlined what he has planned next, including on health care, the border, the military and trade.
“The era of empty talk is over,” Trump said in a new line for him.
“One by one we’re checking off the promises we made to the people of the United States,” he said. “One by one. And we will not stop until it’s done.”
A day after Bannon had pledged that Trump would usher in the “deconstruction of the administrative state,” Trump said American was “going to be bigger and better and stronger than ever before.”
And then, when he was done, the same song (“You can’t always get what you want”) blared from the loudspeakers just as it had on the campaign. Trump gave a final fist pump before walking off stage and heading back to the White House.
Read the whole story

· · · ·

U.S. new home sales rebound; consumer sentiment dips

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. single-family home sales rose less than expected in January, likely held back by heavy rains and flooding in California, but continued to point to a strengthening housing market despite higher prices and mortgage rates.
  

Priebus call to FBI violated norms, if not rules

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For decades, presidents from both parties have prohibited White House staff from discussing specific investigations and enforcement cases without clearance from the White House counsel.
The rules were developed to prevent even the appearance of political tampering with law enforcement—just the situation the White House finds itself in after a report that President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus asked senior FBI officials, including Director James Comey, to publicly refute a report about Trump associates’ contacts with Russian intelligence.
It’s not clear if the Trump White House has maintained, revoked or replaced the rules. Aides to former President Barack Obama handed off copies of the policy as a model for the Trump White House during the transition, two people with knowledge of the situation said.
According to White House officials, Priebus spoke one-on-one with FBI assistant director Andrew McCabe on the morning of Feb. 15, when McCabe told Priebus that the story, published in the New York Times, wasn’t accurate. According to the officials, Priebus asked, “What can we do about this?” McCabe said he’d get back to him, according to the White House account. Later, McCabe called Priebus to say the FBI couldn’t comment. Comey then called Priebus to say the same, according to the officials.
An earlier account by a senior official had McCabe and Comey rejecting Priebus’ request on the spot, not in later phone calls.
Asked about whether Priebus broke any rules, White House spokesman Michael Short said, “Your questions lack any basic knowledge about the issues at hand.”
Short said “there was no discussion of any investigation — just the inaccuracy of the NYT story.”
The Times story was about calls between Trump associates, including campaign staff, and Russian agents that were intercepted by the FBI and reviewed as part of its larger investigation of Russian meddling in the presidential election.
Short cited a “carve-out in the memoranda you cite for public affairs,” but there has not historically been any such exemption. He declined to provide the policy in effect in the Trump White House.
Under Obama, White House staff were forbidden from contacting any agency or department about the merits of specific matters involving specific parties, including investigations, litigation and enforcement actions, according to a person familiar with the policy. All communications with the Justice Department, whether about a specific matter or not, were routed through the attorney general or his or her deputy.
Only the president, vice president, and White House counsel could start communications with the Justice Department about a specific case or investigation, and staff needed approval from the White House counsel's office before answering incoming inquiries from the Justice Department.

Press secretary Sean Spicer defended Priebus’s request, saying it would have been “insane” to walk away from the FBI’s noting a story was inaccurate. “What sane person would not want to set the record straight?” Spicer said Friday morning.
The White House’s account suggests McCabe, and perhaps also Comey, may also have violated separate FBI rules meant to protect investigations from political influence by discussing the substance of the Times’ reporting with Priebus.
In addition to the policy restricting contacts by White House staff, the Justice Department has for four decades restricted its officials, including the FBI, discussing specific cases with the White House. The FBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The latest version of Justice Department’s policy, established in a 2009 memo from Attorney General Eric Holder, said the Justice Department will advise the president about individual cases only when “important for the performance of the President's duties and appropriate from a law enforcement perspective” and restricted such contacts to the attorney general, deputy attorney general, White House counsel, deputy White House counsel, president and vice president.
“The rule of law depends upon the evenhanded administration of justice,” the memo begins. “The legal judgments of the Department of Justice must be impartial and insulated from political influence.”

It’s also unclear if the Justice Department, now led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is still honoring the Holder policy. But every administration since Jimmy Carter’s has had some version of the rule. The Justice Department did not immediately respond for a request for comment.
The Justice Department policy on contacts is better known than the White House counterpart, and it isn’t clear precisely when the White House policy originated. A 1996 version of the policy, issued by Clinton White House counsel Jack Quinn, prohibited White House staff from contacting federal agencies about specific cases and specially required them to get his approval before contacting the Justice Department about anything, even policy matters.
The Bush administration relaxed the rules by widening the circle of White House and Justice Department staffers who were allowed to communicate.
The Obama White House took pains to emphasize the Justice Department’s independence to quiet concerns about political influence on the FBI’s investigation of Hillary Clinton’s private email server. “This is an investigation that's being conducted by the FBI and the Department of Justice,” press secretary Josh Earnest said in November. “And the White House has gone to great lengths to avoid even the appearance of political interference in that ongoing investigation.”
Matthew Nussbaum contributed reporting.
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· · · ·

Trump vows military build-up, hammers nationalist themes

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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said he would make a massive budget request for one of the "greatest military buildups in American history" on Friday in a feisty, campaign-style speech extolling robust nationalism to eager conservative activists.
  
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Are recreational marijuana and opioid addiction linked?

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As White House press secretary Sean Spicer spoke Thursday about "greater enforcement" of federal marijuana laws, he seemed to link recreational pot use to a different type of drug: opioids.
    


GOP Senators Embrace Awkward Russia Probe That Could Hurt Trump - Bloomberg

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Bloomberg



GOP Senators Embrace Awkward Russia Probe That Could Hurt Trump
Bloomberg
A Senate Intelligence Committee investigation of Russia's effort to influence last year's U.S. election is shaping up as an unexpectedly bipartisan effort that could take months to complete as it explores the most significant controversy shadowing the ...
Trump's Russia scandal reaches a political tipping pointWashington Post (blog)

all 46 news articles »

One Month in, Anti-Trump Movement Shows Signs of Sustained Momentum 

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U.S. Representative Leonard Lance, who has held more than 40 town hall-style meetings with constituents in his central New Jersey district, has never faced a crowd like he did on Wednesday. The Republican endured catcalls, chants and caustic questions from more than 1,000 residents at a local college, while hundreds of others outside brandished signs with messages like "Resist Trump." Parallel scenes have played out across the country this week during the first congressional recess since Donald Trump became president. Republican lawmakers returning home confronted a wave of anger over a spectrum of issues, including immigration, health care and Trump's possible ties to Russia. The raucous meetings are the latest in a relentless series of rallies, marches and protests that shows no signs of abating more than 30 days into the new administration. The anti-Trump energy has prompted talk of a liberal-style Tea Party movement, in reference to the protests in 2009 that helped reshape the Republican Party and arguably laid the groundwork for Trump's surprise electoral victory last year. "Some of the lessons to draw from that are persistence, repetition, not taking 'no' for an answer," said Victoria Kaplan, the organizing director for the grassroots progressive group MoveOn. Since the day after Trump's inauguration, when millions of protesters joined women's marches worldwide, left-wing organizers have sought to harness that anger to fuel a lasting political campaign. Hundreds of progressive groups have sprung up across the country - some affiliated with national organizations like Indivisible or MoveOn - to help coordinate. At town halls in New Jersey and Virginia this week, constituents came armed with red "disagree" signs they held aloft to register their disapproval of what they heard from their representatives. Some U.S. senators, such as Pat Toomey, Republican of Pennsylvania, have faced weekly protests outside their offices, and a Pennsylvania health care network set up a "town hall" this week with an empty suit in place of Toomey, who declined to attend. More marches are scheduled across the country in the coming months, including several major events in Washington, tied to gay rights, science and a push for Trump to release his tax returns. Just the beginning? The sheer volume of protests - last week, there were three nationwide calls for action within a five-day span - has some political observers wondering how long it can last. But several experts who study protests said the level of outrage may be increasing, rather than subsiding, after a tumultuous first month in which Trump's words and actions created fresh outrage among liberals almost daily. "We're not anywhere near reaching a saturation point for protest," said Michael Heaney, the author of "Party in the Street: The Antiwar Movement and the Democratic Party after 9/11" and a University of Michigan professor. "If anything, it's just getting started." The key for organizers is to convert large-scale protests into sustained action by building databases of names and encouraging locally based events, experts said. "You can't just have the diehards," said Dana R. Fisher, a University of Maryland professor who studies collective action. "And then you need to channel them into new types of activism." When Fisher surveyed participants at the women's march in Washington, she found one-third were attending their first protest - the highest percentage she has ever observed. "This is unprecedented," she said. "But there's nothing that's not unprecedented about the Trump presidency." Some Republicans have dismissed the protests as manufactured. Trump on Tuesday tweeted that "so-called angry crowds" in Republicans' districts were "planned out by liberal activists." ‘Firing on all cylinders’ But Kaplan of MoveOn said the vast majority of actions were "organic." A weekly conference call the group hosts to discuss the movement has attracted a bigger number of participants each week, with 46,000 people joining the latest discussion. "We are firing on all cylinders to catch up" with grassroots protests, she said. "That is a demonstration of energy and sustainability." Experts also said social media has made it far easier to organize mass protests quickly and efficiently. In what Kaplan said was a sign the protests are having an impact, many Republicans have eschewed town halls this week to avoid confrontations. There were fewer than 100 in-person Republican town halls scheduled for the first two months of the year, compared with more than 200 in the same period in 2015, according to a Vice report. In Louisiana on Wednesday, residents shouted down Republican Senator Bill Cassidy as he tried to explain his health care proposal. Scott Taylor, a freshman Republican representative in Virginia, sparred with hundreds of impassioned constituents on Monday at his own event. Like Lance, whose district voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump, Taylor is already a midterm target for Democrats. Taylor said in an interview after the town hall that he recognized many of the attendees from the local Democratic Party. "It's not like they're just some new organic people who just came about and are concerned," Taylor said. But not everyone was a Democrat. Austin Phillips, a 22-year-old Trump voter, told Taylor at the town hall he was worried about losing healthcare coverage if Obamacare is repealed. "Trump has talked about wanting to repeal it," Phillips, who is self-employed and purchased insurance through an exchange created by the law, said in a later interview. "If they quickly repeal it with no replacement lined up, then theoretically everybody would lose their insurance."

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· · · ·

Heroin Overdose Deaths Quadruple Between 2010 and 2015: Study 

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Deaths caused by heroin overdoses in the United States quadrupled between 2010 and 2015, according to a new report. The National Center for Health Statistics says there were 12,989 overdose deaths involving heroin in 2015. In 2010, the number was 3,036. In percentages, heroin caused 8 percent of drug overdose deaths in 2010, and now it accounts for 25 percent. The center cites dropping prices and increasing potency for the rise in deaths. Furthermore, experts say they believe the opioid epidemic caused by prescription painkillers may also be driving people to use heroin as the drug is usually much cheaper. "You are 40 times more likely to use heroin if you started with opioid painkillers," Rich Hamburg, the executive vice president for the non-profit Trust for America’s Health, told the Reuters news agency. "Heroin is part of America's larger drug abuse problem." Death from overdosing on prescription painkillers like oxycodone actually fell over the period of the study, dropping from 29 percent of all overdose deaths in 2010 to 24 percent in 2015. Overdoses deaths from cocaine also fell, albeit slightly, the study said. The states with the highest rates of overdose deaths in 2015 were West Virginia, New Hampshire, Kentucky and Ohio, the study found. Overdose deaths increased for all age groups, but rose the most among those 55 to 64, the study said.

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Pelosi calls for DOJ probe of Priebus on FBI, Russia - The Hill

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The Hill



Pelosi calls for DOJ probe of Priebus on FBI, Russia
The Hill
The American people deserve to know the truth.” CNN reported ... The report of White House communications with the FBI during its pending investigation into Russia's influence on the 2016 presidential election may raise questions about ethical violations.
Trump's efforts to obstruct the Russia investigation may have finally gone too farThinkProgress
White House's request to FBI to dispute Trump-Russia stories rejected: reportDaily News & Analysis
FBI rejected WH request to deny Trump team's contacts with Russia: ReportPress TV
Huffington Post -The Missoulian -Salon -New York Times
all 236 news articles »

В День защитника Отечества Президент возложил венок к Могиле Неизвестного Солдата

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Владимир Путин почтил память погибших воинов, возложив венок к Могиле Неизвестного Солдата у Кремлёвской стены.
Возложение венка к Могиле Неизвестного Солдата.
В церемонии приняли участие ветераны Великой Отечественной войны, Председатель Правительства Дмитрий Медведев, Председатель Совета Федерации Валентина Матвиенко, Председатель Государственной Думы Вячеслав Володин, Руководитель Администрации Президента Антон Вайно, Министр обороны Сергей Шойгу, другие государственные и политические деятели.
Глава государства также возложил цветы к стелам городов-героев у Кремлёвской стены. Церемония завершилась маршем военнослужащих Президентского полка.
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Совещание с постоянными членами Совета Безопасности

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Владимир Путин провёл совещание с постоянными членами Совета Безопасности. Обсуждались актуальные международные вопросы и различные темы, связанные с внутрироссийской повесткой дня.
Совещание с постоянными членами Совета Безопасности.
Глава государства также поздравил участников совещания с Днём защитника Отечества.
В совещании приняли участие Председатель Правительства Дмитрий Медведев, Председатель Совета Федерации Валентина Матвиенко, Руководитель Администрации Президента Антон Вайно, Председатель Государственной Думы Вячеслав Володин, Секретарь Совета Безопасности Николай Патрушев, Министр внутренних дел Владимир Колокольцев, Министр иностранных дел Сергей Лавров, Министр обороны Сергей Шойгу, директор Федеральной службы безопасности Александр Бортников, директор Службы внешней разведки Сергей Нарышкин, спецпредставитель Президента по вопросам природоохранной деятельности, экологии и транспорта Сергей Иванов.

Начальник Генерального штаба Вооруженных Сил России провел в Баку переговоры с военным руководством Азербайджана

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В ходе совместной работы стороны обсудили состояние и перспективы сотрудничества двух стран в военной области.

Военачальники России и США договорились о совместной работе по снижению напряженности в мире

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Начальник Генерального штаба ВС РФ генерал армии Валерий Герасимов и председатель Комитета начальников штабов ВС США генерал Джозеф Данфорд на встрече в Баку обменялись мнениями о состоянии российско-американских отношений, оценками ситуации в сфере международной безопасности.

White House Asked FBI To Dispute Stories About Trump-Russia Contacts: Reports

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White House chief of staff Reince Priebus asked the FBI to discredit media reports that President Donald Trump's campaign advisers were frequently in touch with Russian intelligence agents during the election, U.S. media reported late February 23.

Deadly blast hits chemical plant in Uzbekistan

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TASHKENT (Reuters) - An explosion occurred at a chemical plant in the city of Ferghana in Uzbekistan, killing an undisclosed number of people, the Central Asian country's emergency ministry said on Thursday.
  

Malaysia murder mystery breaks with North Korean assassin tradition

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SEOUL (Reuters) - The bizarre assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother marks a departure from the isolated country's repertoire of overseas operations, according to experts on its opaque ruling structures.
  
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Malaysia says VX nerve agent was used in murder of Kim Jong Nam

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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police said on Friday a preliminary report showed the murder of Kim Jong Nam was carried out with a highly toxic chemical known as VX nerve agent.
  

Malaysia says highly toxic VX nerve agent used in murder of Kim Jong Nam

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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - VX nerve agent, a chemical on a U.N. list of weapons of mass destruction, was used to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in last week's bizarre murder in a busy Kuala Lumpur airport, Malaysian police said on Friday.
  

Trump Wants to Expand U.S. Nuclear Arsenal, Make It ‘Top of the Pack’ 

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By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to ensure the U.S. nuclear arsenal is at the "top of the pack," saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity.
In a Reuters interview, Trump also said China could solve the national security challenge posed by North Korea "very easily if they want to," ratcheting up pressure on Beijing to exert more influence to rein in Pyongyang's increasingly bellicose actions.
In his first comments about the U.S. nuclear arsenal since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump said he would like to see a world with no nuclear weapons but expressed concern that the United States has "fallen behind on nuclear weapon capacity."
“I am the first one that would like to see everybody–nobody have nukes, but we're never going to fall behind any country even if it's a friendly country, we're never going to fall behind on nuclear power."
"It would be wonderful, a dream would be that no country would have nukes, but if countries are going to have nukes, we're going to be at the top of the pack," Trump said.
Russia has 7,300 warheads and the United States, 6,970, according to the Ploughshares Fund, an anti-nuclear group.
"The history of the Cold War shows us that no one comes out ‘on the top of the pack' of an arms race and nuclear brinkmanship," said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the independent Arms Control Association non-profit group.
"Russia and the United States have far more weapons than is necessary to deter nuclear attack by the other or by another nuclear-armed country," he said.
The new strategic arms limitation treaty, known as New START, between the United States and Russia requires that by Feb. 5, 2018, both countries must limit their arsenals of strategic nuclear weapons to equal levels for 10 years.
The treaty permits both countries to have no more than 800 deployed and non-deployed land-based intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missile launchers and heavy bombers equipped to carry nuclear weapons, and contains equal limits on other nuclear weapons.
Analysts have questioned whether Trump wants to abrogate New START or would begin deploying other warheads.
In the interview, Trump called New START "a one-sided deal."
"Just another bad deal that the country made, whether it's START, whether it's the Iran deal … We're going to start making good deals," he said.
"WE'RE VERY ANGRY"
The United States is in the midst of a $1 trillion, 30-year modernization of its aging ballistic missile submarines, bombers, and land-based missiles, a price tag that most experts say the country cannot afford.
Trump also complained that the Russian deployment of a ground-based cruise missile is in violation of a 1987 treaty that bans land-based American and Russian intermediate-range missiles.
"To me it's a big deal," Trump said.
Asked if he would raise the issue with Putin, Trump said he would do so "if and when we meet." He said he had no meetings scheduled as of yet with Putin.
Speaking from behind his desk in the Oval Office, Trump declared that "we're very angry" at North Korea's ballistic missile tests and said accelerating a missile defense system for U.S. allies Japan and South Korea was among many options available.
"There's talks of a lot more than that," Trump said, when asked about the missile defense system. "We'll see what happens. But it's a very dangerous situation, and China can end it very quickly in my opinion."
Trump's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month in Florida was interrupted by a ballistic missile launch by North Korea.
Trump did not completely rule out possibly meeting Kim at some point in the future under certain circumstances but suggested it might be too late.
"It's very late. We're very angry at what he's done, and frankly this should have been taken care of during the Obama administration," he said.
According to Japanese news reports, the Japanese government plans to start debate over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, and the land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system to improve its capability to counter North Korean ballistic missiles.
Japanese government sources told Reuters last year Japan may accelerate around $1 billion of planned spending to upgrade its ballistic missile defenses.
Trump vowed during his campaign to step up missile defense efforts and within minutes of his Jan. 20 inauguration, the White House announced that the administration intended to develop a "state of the art" missile defense system to protect against attacks from Iran and North Korea.
It did not provide details on whether the system would differ from those already under development, its cost, or how it would be paid for.
Read the whole story

· · · ·

Trio of military men gain growing influence with Trump

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a White House laden with competing power centers, a trio of military men has emerged as a force to be reckoned with....

Peace Train: Relations between US/NATO and Russia - Colorado Daily

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Peace Train: Relations between US/NATO and Russia
Colorado Daily
During 2016, the relations between the U.S./NATO and Russia continued to worsen. According to the Western mainstream media, Russia was the problem due to its reactions to the U.S.-supported coup in the western part of Ukraine in February 2014.

and more »

Pence condemns Jewish center bomb threats and visits desecrated cemetery in Missouri - Los Angeles Times

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Los Angeles Times



Pence condemns Jewish center bomb threats and visits desecrated cemetery in Missouri
Los Angeles Times
Visiting Fenton, Mo., on Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence condemned a string of bomb threats against Jewish community centers around the nation and the desecration of a St. Louis-area Jewish cemetery over the weekend. "Speaking just yesterday ...
VP Pence Joins Gov. Greitens at Jewish Cemetery Clean-UpCBS Local
VP Pence tours damaged gravestones in St. Louis Jewish cemeteryfox2now.com
Pence Condemns Vandalism at Jewish CemeteryU.S. News & World Report
Daily Caller -Washington Times -STLtoday.com -Mediaite
all 43 news articles »
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Republicans are facing the ire of the anti-Trump movement this week. Will it last? - Washington Post

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Washington Post



Republicans are facing the ire of the anti-Trump movement this week. Will it last?
Washington Post
YORKTOWN, Va. — The raucous anti-Trump movement poured into this historic town Tuesday evening for a 75-minute showdown with a freshman Republican congressman, peppering him with questions on every key national news item. Members of the ...

and more »

Task Force 76 chief of staff dies in recreational accident on Okinawa

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The chief of staff for the Navy’s forward deployed amphibious force — based on Okinawa — died Tuesday in an off-duty recreational accident, Navy officials said.
     

The Guardian: Мифы и правда о Путине - Хартия'97

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Хартия'97



The Guardian: Мифы и правда о Путине
Хартия'97
Изучив движения Путина по видеозаписям, Коннорс заключила, что у него есть ослабляющий здоровье и, вероятно, врожденный неврологический дефект (вероятно, вызванный инсультом в эмбриональный период), который не дает ему полноценно пользоваться правой половиной ...

and more »

Совещание с постоянными членами Совета Безопасности

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Владимир Путин провёл совещание с постоянными членами Совета Безопасности. Обсуждались актуальные международные вопросы и различные темы, связанные с внутрироссийской повесткой дня.
Совещание с постоянными членами Совета Безопасности.
Глава государства также поздравил участников совещания с Днём защитника Отечества.
В совещании приняли участие Председатель Правительства Дмитрий Медведев, Председатель Совета Федерации Валентина Матвиенко, Руководитель Администрации Президента Антон Вайно, Председатель Государственной Думы Вячеслав Володин, Секретарь Совета Безопасности Николай Патрушев, Министр внутренних дел Владимир Колокольцев, Министр иностранных дел Сергей Лавров, Министр обороны Сергей Шойгу, директор Федеральной службы безопасности Александр Бортников, директор Службы внешней разведки Сергей Нарышкин, спецпредставитель Президента по вопросам природоохранной деятельности, экологии и транспорта Сергей Иванов.

Exclusive: Russia asks energy companies for PR info ahead of election

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian government summoned energy companies last week to give it advance notice about developments that could influence public opinion in the period up to May next year, when President Vladimir Putin's term ends.
  

King of Spain's brother-in-law avoids jail while appealing tax-fraud conviction

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MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish court decided on Thursday not to hold the King of Spain's brother-in-law in custody while he awaits an appeal against a six-year jail sentence for charges including tax fraud and money laundering.
  
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UN Envoy Says Russia Asked Syria To Halt Bombings During Talks

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Russia has asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime to halt bombings during peace talks this week in Geneva, UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has said, adding that a peace breakthrough seems unlikely.

In Syria And Ukraine, Russia Positions Itself As Solution To Problems It Created

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The world is becoming ever more tumultuous. But amid the general storm one country can be relied upon to maintain a sanguine -- and sanguinary -- course: Vladimir Putin's Russia. (The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect the views of RFE/RL.)

Sent to Die in the Mediterranean

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The migrant boat that carried more than 70 migrants to their death on Monday was left floating without an engine for days. Smugglers are also taking the unusual risk of sending out boats during rough winter weather.

Mexico: Murders up by a third following Guzman's extradition

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Power vacuum left by the extradition of "El Chapo" Guzman to the US prompts a spike in violence.

President Trump approval rating falls to 38 percent: Poll - AL.com

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AL.com



President Trump approval rating falls to 38 percent: Poll
AL.com
President Trump rally in Florida President Donald Trump salutes as he arrives a Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 17, 2017. Trump is spending a third weekend in a row at his Mar-a-Lago estate. (AP Photo/Susan ...
Quinnipiac poll: Trump approval hits new lowThe Hill (blog)
MTSU poll finds slim majority of Tennesseans approve of Donald TrumpWBIR.com
Will Trump Go To War? Most Americans Fear Military Conflict, Split Over Russia Threat, Iran DealInternational Business Times
Philly.com
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With Big Red Stamp, Russia Singles Out What It Calls ‘Fake’ News 

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The Foreign Ministry’s website now highlights articles it considers to be false, but critics say that the ministry’s designation should be considered a “medal.”

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Donald Trump is losing his war with the media - Washington Post

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Washington Post



Donald Trump is losing his war with the media
Washington Post
It's pretty clear what President Trump is doing by going after the media. He sees someone who is tough on him, with a lower approval rating, and he sets up a contrast. It's like making yourself look taller by standing next to a short person. “You have ...
Poll: Trump's approval rating continues to dipCNN
Trump's disapproval rating keeps creeping upPolitico
Quinnipiac poll: Trump approval hits new lowThe Hill (blog)
Business Insider -CNNMoney -AOL News -U.S. News & World Report
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Who Is Paul Manafort's Man In Kyiv? An Interview With Konstantin Kilimnik

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An elusive Ukrainian associate of Paul Manafort says he briefed the former campaign chairman for U.S. President Donald Trump on Ukraine during last year's presidential race.

Melania Trump re-files Daily Mail lawsuit without controversial wording

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The new complaint drops wording that said she lost the chance to profit from her brand.

The spy next door

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The remarkable double life of undercover agent Jack Barsky who lived the American dream at the KGB's expense.

Russia Open To U.S. Plan To Create Safe Zones, If Syria Is Involved

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Russia is open to dialogue with the United States on creating safe zones in Syria, but believes that any such plan needs to be coordinated with the Syrian government, Moscow's top diplomat said.

Poroshenko Says Satisfied Has 'Built Bridges' With Trump Administration