Trump’s Primary Challengers Hit Another Roadblock

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I know it may not seem like it, but President Trump is facing primary challenges. It’s ridiculous. They’re not going to be successful. But hey, it’s a free country, and if former GOP Gov. Bill Weld, who ran on the Libertarian ticket last year and pretty much encouraged people to vote for Hillary, and Rep. Joe Walsh want to be the dunce cap crew this cycle—then let them. Trump has aptly called these people the “three stooges.” They’re not going to win. President Trump has solid approval ratings among Republican Party members. We have a nominee. We don’t need to waste time depleting money and more importantly, time, on this silly contest. This isn’t Carter in 1980. Let’s get a grip.

And these three are no-names. There’s no money, no exposure, no national constituency with these three would-be challengers. Joe Walsh, Weld, and Sanford cannot win a national election. We already have the war chest filled, the infrastructure set, and the base juiced to re-elect Donald Trump; enough of this circus. The party isn’t stupid. They know this is ridiculous. There is a GOP consensus candidate on who should be the nominee in 2020, and that person is President Donald J. Trump. Arizona recently joined states that are nixing their primary contests because…well, they’re not necessary this year. And this isn’t unprecedented either. Democrats have done it before as well (via The Hill):

The Arizona Republican Party officially canceled its 2020 presidential primary contest on Monday, joining several other state Republican parties.

State Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward confirmed the party’s decision in a letter to Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs obtained by The Hill.

. . .

South Carolina, Nevada, and Kansas are also expected to drop their primary contests as well[.] (Read more from “Trump’s Primary Challengers Hit Another Roadblock” HERE)

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Support For Gun Control Declines After Texas Shooting

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We’re still reeling from a rather violent spate of mass shootings. El Paso, Texas Dayton, Ohio, and Odessa, Texas each saw some lunatic commit senseless acts of violence. Still, mass shootings are still rare. Violent crime is still down. And rifles still commit the smallest share of gun deaths. It’s well below 500. And yes, it’s a numbers game. It shouldn’t be, but the anti-gun Left decided to combine homicides with suicides to inflate the numbers and manufacture a narrative that the U.S. is a shooting gallery. It’s not. And neither are our schools, which have never been safer.

Firearms reporter Stephen Gutowski of The Washington Free Beacon wrote today that despite these shootings gun control is trending downward, though expanding background checks remains high (via Free Beacon):

Polls from Quinnipiac University and an ABC News/Washington Post partnership asked about the gun control debate in America and specific gun control proposals. Both polls showed a general downward trend in support for new gun control measures even in the immediate aftermath of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio.

Neither poll found heightened enthusiasm for any gun control proposal which had been polled more than twice. Instead, they found support for gun control policies either relatively stable or declining, though still substantial.

The September 5 ABC/Washington Post poll found support for “a nationwide ban on the sale” of undefined “assault weapons” fell 6 points from last April. It now sits at 56 percent support, up 9 points from its low in 2015 but a full 24 points down from its high point in 1994, when the federal assault weapons ban went into effect. The August 29 Quinnipiac University poll had similar results on an identically worded question with support dropping 3 points to 60 percent since May 22, 2019, and down 7 points from its highest level on February 20, 2018.

(Read more from “Support For Gun Control Declines After Texas Shooting” HERE)

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To Prevent Mass Shootings, Trump Looks into ‘Controversial’ Proposal

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By Daily Wire. The Trump White House is looking into a cutting edge but “controversial” proposal that seeks to prevent mass shootings prompted by mental illness.

With studies finding that about a quarter of mass shooters have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness, Trump has repeatedly pointed to psychological as well as ideological causes behind many mass shootings. In his speech following the horrific shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, Trump outlined a series of steps his administration is promoting to address the growing problem, including “reform[ing] our mental health laws to better identify mentally disturbed individuals who may commit acts of violence, and mak[ing] sure those people not only get treatment, but when necessary, involuntary confinement.” He added, “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun.”

One of the new ways of proactively addressing the issue that the administration is considering involves the development of a new research agency and the use of a technology that will help detect those suffering from mental illness who may pose a risk to themselves or others.

“The White House is considering a controversial proposal to study whether mass shootings could be prevented by monitoring mentally ill people for small changes that might foretell violence,” The Washington Post reported Monday.

The proposal, presented by former NBC Chairman and long-time Trump associate Bob Wright, seeks to create a new agency called HARPA to “come up with out-of-the-box ways to tackle health problems,” the Post reports. (Read more from “To Prevent Mass Shootings, Trump Looks into ‘Controversial’ Proposal” HERE)

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Ex-DNC Official: Trump’s Position on Gun Control Is Unclear, He Has Backed Away from Changes in past

By Fox News. As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer wait for President Trump to make a move on gun control legislation, former DNC communications director Mo Elleithee said Monday the commander-in-chief has appeared ambivalent on the issue.

Elleithee told Dana Perino on “Daily Briefing” that “the president has sort of danced with this a little bit in the past, only to back away.”

He added that Trump held a “meeting with a bipartisan group of senators saying he was in favor of background checks” — but then “pulled back after talking to the National Rifle Association.”

Calling the moment “critical,” Sen. Chuck Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent the president a letter Sunday urging him to expand background checks and use his influence to sway Republicans in the Senate who blocked the bill passed by the House earlier this year. (Read more from “Ex-DNC Official: Trump’s Position on Gun Control Is Unclear, He Has Backed Away from Changes in past” HERE)

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Prince Andrew Looks Obviously Thin, Stressed Amid Epstein Scandal Involvement; MIT Media Lab Chief Out After ‘Deeply Disturbing’ Link to Jeffrey Epstein

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By International Business Times. Prince Andrew looks stressed and much thinner during his first royal engagement since taking a break from his duties.

Last week, the Duke of York made an appearance at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Bruges. During the outing, a Sky News journalist ambushed the dad of two with a question related to Jeffrey Epstein’s scandal.

“Prince Andrew, will you cooperate with lawyers in America?” the journalist asked. However, Prince Andrew didn’t say anything even though it was evident that he actually heard the question.

A photo of Prince Andrew from his recent outing was also published online by Express. In the snap, it is evident that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s third child has lost a considerable amount of weight.

And the once handsome “playboy prince” also looks stressed. Prince Andrew’s eyebags are also quite bigger than before. Sarah Ferguson’s ex-husband must be stressing over the possibility of being interviewed regarding Epstein. (Read more from “Prince Andrew Looks Obviously Thin, Stressed Amid Epstein Scandal Involvement” HERE)

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MIT Media Lab chief out after ‘deeply disturbing’ link to Jeffrey Epstein

By USA Today. The head of the the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s embattled Media Lab has resigned and the school has opened an investigation into “deeply disturbing” links between the lab and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, MIT’s president has announced.

The fallout comes three weeks after another senior lab employee said he would resign in protest over revelations lab director Joi Ito took money from Epstein, who apparently committed suicide in jail last month.

Ito, who also taught at the prestigious school, resigned Saturday, hours after an article in The New Yorker detailed how the lab accepted gifts from Epstein despite being listed as “disqualified” in MIT’s official donor database. The article said the lab listed Epstein’s contributions as anonymous and avoided disclosing to the school the full extent of his involvement.

MIT President L. Rafael Reif issued a statement calling the accusations “extremely serious” and said MIT’s general counsel was hiring a prominent law firm to conduct an investigation “as swiftly as possible.”

Last week, Ito disclosed that he had received $1.2 million from Epstein for investment funds Ito controlled in addition to a $525,000 donation to the lab. The New Yorker said Epstein also secured at least $7.5 million in donations, including $2 million from Microsoft founder Bill Gates and $5.5 million from Leon Black, a wealthy equities manager and chairman of the Museum of Modern Art. (Read more from “MIT Media Lab Chief out After ‘Deeply Disturbing’ Link to Jeffrey Epstein” HERE)

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State Police: No One in New Jersey Has Surrendered a Single Large Cap Magazine Since State Ban

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New Jersey’s “large-capacity” magazine ban hasn’t resulted in lawmakers’ desired effect as no magazines have been turned over and the state’s residents are reportedly hiding the banned magazines.

When the magazine ban went into effect in December of last year, state officials encouraged individuals to hand in their magazines, but residents have taken to stashing them in a massive vault instead of handing them in, according to NJ.com.

A New Jersey State Police spokesman told NJ.com that not a single large-capacity magazine has been turned in in the nine months the law has been in effect.

The law, which bans magazines with more than a 10-round capacity, does permit owners of the banned magazines to hand them over to law enforcement, modify them to only hold the permitted number of rounds, sell them to authorized owners or store them with an authorized company. . .

According to Eric Rebels, a local gun-rights activist, some gun owners have opted to bury their magazines in their backyard or set them behind sheetrock in their garages, despite the risk from these penalties. (Read more from “State Police: No One in New Jersey Is Complying with Large Cap Magazine Ban” HERE)

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Border Patrol Just Released New Illegal Crossing Numbers and It’s Clear Trump’s Policies Are Working

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By Townhall. U.S. Customs and Border Protection released new apprehension numbers Monday afternoon proving President Trump’s tough border security policies are working.

“During the month of August, CBP apprehended or deemed inadmissible a total of 64,006 people. For July, that number was 82,055. This represents a decline of approximately 22%. Moreover, the August number reflects a decline of 56% since the May peak, which was a staggering 144,255,” Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan announced.

Morgan released the numbers from the White House and stressed that while new policies are working, there is still a crisis at the border. Congress, which is back in session today after August recess, must change weak asylum laws and stop catch-and-release.

“President Trump negotiated with Guatemala to have migrants apply for asylum there rather than making the journey to the U.S. Thanks to President Trump’s negotiating, Mexico agreed to step up enforcement at their own borders and stop the flood of migrants from reaching the U.S. Mexico has apprehended about 134,000 people in just the past few months since the U.S. and Mexico reached the agreement. We have expanded the Migrant Protection Protocols to allow more asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases proceed. As of September 1st, CBP has returned more than 41,500 individuals to Mexico under MPP,” the White House released in response to the significant decline. (Read more from “Border Patrol Just Released New Illegal Crossing Numbers and It’s Clear Trump’s Policies Are Working” HERE)

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Convicted Sex-Offender Apprehended by Border Patrol Agents

By KFox14. A convicted sex-offender immigrant was apprehended by Border Patrol agents Friday at the Ysleta Border Patrol station. . .

After a brief pursuit, agents stopped both vehicles, according to agents. Seven people tried to flee and six were taken into custody, agents said. . .

Agents said Rivas-Marquez had been charged with multiple sex offenses against a victim under 13-years-old. (Read more from “Convicted Sex-Offender Apprehended by Border Patrol Agents” HERE)

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Records Raise New Questions About FBI’s Michael Flynn Investigation

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By Fox News. Then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe told the White House in early February 2017 that the bureau was not considering the national security adviser at the time, Michael Flynn, for a potential Logan Act prosecution over conversations with the Russian ambassador before Donald Trump was sworn in as president, government records reviewed by Fox News indicate.

McCabe was referring to the rarely prosecuted 200-year-old statute that bars American citizens from engaging with a foreign government without authorization from the current U.S. government.

The records also indicate that Flynn reported, on two separate occasions, in the days leading up to his White House firing that FBI agents told him the bureau investigation was over or being closed out.

Both incidents raise questions over the underlying offense that formed the basis for the initial FBI and DOJ investigation into Flynn.

The retired general was later fired by the White House for misleading the vice president about communications with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador, during the transition before Trump was sworn in. (Read more from “Records Raise New Questions About FBI’s Michael Flynn Investigation” HERE)

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Adam Schiff Lashes Michael Flynn for Refusing to Cooperate

By Politico. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has refused to cooperate with the House Intelligence Committee’s demand for testimony and documents, Chairman Adam Schiff wrote in a letter released Monday.

“Notwithstanding repeated efforts by committee staff to engage with your counsel and accommodate your adjournment requests, you have, to date, failed to comply with the committee’s subpoena or cooperate with the committee’s efforts to secure your compliance,” Schiff wrote in the letter to Flynn, which demands that the retired Army lieutenant general appear for testimony on Sept. 25.

Schiff said Flynn’s new counsel, Sidney Powell, “exhibit[ed] a troubling degree of unprofessionalism” in conversations with committee staffers, outlining a series of interactions between Powell and Schiff’s aides.

According to Schiff, Powell “refused to accept service” of the subpoena issued by the panel in June. Schiff indicated that Powell repeatedly sought deadline extensions for Flynn’s cooperation before ultimately ignoring phone calls attempting to arrange Flynn’s testimony for late July, just ahead of Congress’ six-week summer recess. (Read more from “Adam Schiff Lashes Michael Flynn for Refusing to Cooperate” HERE)

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State Attorneys General Launch Google Antitrust Investigation; Study Claims Google Reflected ‘Very Dramatic Bias’ in 2016 Election Search Results

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By Breitbart. State Attorneys General launched the largest, bipartisan antitrust investigation against Google Monday, encompassing nearly every state in the country.

State attorneys general announced Monday that they will begin an antitrust investigation into Google, primarily looking into whether Google’s dominant control of the online search markets and search traffic may have stifled competition, restricted access, and harmed consumers.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton started the conference by noting that the search giant “dominates all aspects of advertising on the Internet and searching on the Internet.”

The investigation includes nearly all state attorneys general– except for California and Alabama. The attorneys general from the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico joined the investigation as well. The probe features Republicans, Democrats, and politicians across the political spectrum.

Google collects more than $48 billion in digital advertising spending annually and captures more than 75 percent of online American searching ads. (Read more from “State Attorneys General Launch Google Antitrust Investigation” HERE)

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Dr. Robert Epstein: Study Claims Google Reflected ‘Very Dramatic Bias’ in 2016 Election Search Results

By Fox News. Google allegedly offered search results during the 2016 election season that manipulated voters in Hillary Clinton’s favor, according to researcher Dr. Robert Epstein.

The study looked into “politically oriented searches” from a “diverse group of American voters,” Epstein said in an interview airing Sunday on “Life, Liberty & Levin.”

“In 2016, I set up the first-ever monitoring system that allowed me to look over the shoulders of a diverse group of American voters — there were 95 people in 24 states,” he said.

“I looked at politically oriented searches that these people were conducting on Google, Bing and Yahoo. I was able to preserve more than 13,000 searches and 98,000 web pages, and I found very dramatic bias in Google’s search results… favoring Hillary Clinton — whom I supported strongly.”

Regarding the specific results of his study, Epstein claimed the findings showed what he called a sizable bias. (Read more from “Dr. Robert Epstein: Study Claims Google Reflected ‘Very Dramatic Bias’ in 2016 Election Search Results” HERE)

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Federal Judge Reinstates Order Blocking Trump Immigration Policy Nationwide

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A federal judge in California has disregarded a higher court’s ruling to reinstate a nationwide injunction against one of the Trump administration’s new immigration rules.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar issued a court order for a nationwide halt to enforcement of a Trump administration rule requiring asylum-seekers who come through multiple countries to apply for refuge in a safe “third country” along the way.

Tigar had already blocked the rule once before in mid-August, but — after the case was appealed — the injunction was dialed back by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which limited to the injunction to areas within their geographic territory. In effect, this meant that the new policy would only have gone into effect for the time being in Texas and New Mexico, but not in Arizona and California, which are within the 9th Circuit’s territory.

“While nationwide injunctions are not the ‘general rule,’ ” Tigar — an Obama appointee who is a judge for the Northern District of California — concluded in his latest decision, “they are appropriate ‘where such breadth [is] necessary to remedy a plaintiff’s harm.'” . . .

“While a small number of suits present matters and settings for which nationwide injunctive relief is appropriate, federal district court judges have issued nationwide injunctions in situations far beyond that set,” writes Ronald Cass — dean emeritus of the Boston University School of Law — in a 2018 academic paper. “Expanded use of nationwide injunctions—especially broad injunctions against the United States—undermines rule-of-law values, threatens the operation of courts as impartial arbiters of disputes over legal rights, erodes the Constitution’s careful separation of functions among the branches of government, and is at odds with basic aspects of the federal judiciary’s design, including its geographic divisions.” (Read more from “Federal Judge Reinstates Order Blocking Trump Immigration Policy Nationwide” HERE)

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U.S. Navy Deploys New Ship-Killer Missile to China’s Backyard; This Stealthy New Missile Just Reached One of the World’s Hottest Flash Points

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By Defense News. It can travel more than 100 nautical miles, passively detect an enemy through imaging stored in its computer brain and can kill a target so precisely that an operator can tell it to aim for a specific point on a ship — the engine room or the bridge, for example. And it’s heading to China’s stomping grounds.

The U.S. Navy littoral combat ship Gabrielle Giffords deployed Tuesday from San Diego, California, packing the service’s new Naval Strike Missile, transforming the LCS from an under-gunned concept ship gone awry to a legitimate threat to Chinese warships at significant ranges.

Giffords is the second LCS to deploy this year. The LCS Montgomery also deployed from San Diego in June after a 19-month lapse in LCS deployments as the Navy reworked the way it mans and trains crews for the ships.

Pacific Fleet spokesman Capt. John Gay confirmed Giffords’ deployment, saying the ship got underway Sept. 3, equipped with the Naval Strike Missile and the newly mission-capable MQ-8C Fire Scout drone. The Fire Scout, an over-the-horizon surveillance and targeting platform, achieved its initial operational capability in June. . .

When equipped with the Raytheon/Kongsberg-made Naval Strike Missile, or NSM, and Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout for surveillance over the horizon, an LCS sitting off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, could destroy a ship sitting off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. That’s more than 30 miles further than the published range of the current anti-ship missile, the Harpoon, which is in excess of 67 miles. (Read more from “U.S. Navy Deploys New Ship-Killer Missile to China’s Backyard” HERE)

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This Stealthy New Missile Just Reached One of the World’s Hottest Flash Points

By Investors. The Navy has reportedly deployed a new stealth missile from Raytheon (RTN) that’s designed to sink ships to the Pacific, where territorial disputes have escalated regional tensions.

The Naval Strike Missile was deployed aboard the USS Gabrielle Giffords, a littoral combat ship, earlier this week from San Diego, on its way to the Indo-Pacific theater, according to Defense News.

The new stealth missile is designed to destroy enemy ships from up to 100 nautical miles away, according to Raytheon, which made it with Norway’s Kongsberg.

The sea-skimming, terrain-hugging missile also emits low-observable signals to avoid detection by enemy radars and uses an advanced seeker for precise targeting, Raytheon says. It can perform evasive maneuvers to counter antimissile defenses as well. . .

The deployment of the Raytheon missile comes as the U.S. ramps up freedom-of-navigation exercises amid myriad territorial disputes in the Pacific, where China is building artificial islands as part of an exclusion zone. (Read more from “This Stealthy New Missile Just Reached One of the World’s Hottest Flash Points” HERE)

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