Scaramucci
Calls Russia Story 'Nonsense,' Warns Media 'Integrity' At Risk After CNN
Retraction
Anthony Scaramucci, the former Trump adviser at the heart of a now-retracted
CNN story, warned Thursday that media organizations everywhere need to
tighten up editorial standards or risk their integrity while calling
the Russia collusion controversy a bunch of nonsense. Once you start
to lose your integrity and your reputation as a news organization, people
start to get tone deaf, he told Fox & Friends. Scaramucci was the
subject of a CNN.com story that tried to draw a link between him and the
Russian Direct Investment Fund, citing a January meeting with an official
from the fund. The report cited a source claiming Scaramucci discussed
the prospect of lifting U.S. sanctions. Fox
VOA VIEW: Scaramucci has the last laugh.
Trump
Signs VA Reform Bill, Following Through On Campaign Promise
President Trump on Friday signed Veterans Affairs reform legislation
meant to protect whistleblowers while making it easier to fire problematic
employees at the department. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability
and Whistleblower Protection Act passed by Congress earlier this month
streamlines the process to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees for
poor performance or misconduct. In addition, it authorizes the VA secretary
to recoup any bonuses awarded to employees who have acted improperly.
Fox
VOA VIEW: Good!
Susan
Rice Agree To Testify Before House Intelligence Panel
The House intelligence committee plans to interview Susan Rice next
month as part of its investigation into Russia meddling in the US election
last year, a high-profile target for Republicans who accuse President Barack
Obama's former national security adviser of improperly handling classified
intelligence reports, according to sources familiar with the private talks.
President Donald Trump and Republicans have focused on allegations that
Rice revealed the names of Trump's transition aides in intelligence reports
-- called "unmasking" -- saying that Obama officials were seeking to divulge
damaging information about the Trump campaign. CNN
VOA VIEW: Will Rice tell the truth - don't
count on it.
House
Panel Votes To Repeal War Authorization For Fight Against ISIS And Al Qaeda
Blindsiding leaders in both parties, a House committee on Thursday
approved a repeal of the war authorization that the US military relies
on to fight the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and around
the globe. The House Appropriations Committee approved by voice vote an
amendment from Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California that would repeal
the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force eight months after the
appropriations bill was signed into law. The amendment is intended is to
force Congress to debate and pass a new war authorization for the war against
ISIS and al Qaeda. Critics like Lee argue the 2001 war authorization is
overly broad and gives the president "the authority to wage war in perpetuity."
CNN
VOA VIEW: CNN likes to embellish.
PLEASE DO BUSINESS WITH THOSE WHO DO BUSINESS WITH US -- OUR ADVERTISERS.
Criticism
Of Trump Shifts From Collusion To Inaction: Dereliction Of His Duty
To Defend The Country
Ambassador Nicholas Burns, who held various diplomatic posts in the
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, told Congress on Wednesday
that President Obama, in hindsight, should have acted more resolutely,
quickly to tell the American people about Russian attempts to interfere
with the U.S. election. But at least Obama eventually did take action,
imposing sanctions on Russia, Burns noted. And what disturbed me about
President Trump is that he's not investigating, has taken no action. CNS
VOA VIEW: Obama was anti America.
Ambassador
Haley: Russian Interference In U.S. Election Has Never Come Up Once At
U.N.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told Congress on
Wednesday that she has not talked to President Donald Trump about Russian
attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. I have not talked
to the president about that, Haley told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
It's not something that's on my radar, she said. I don't get asked about
any of those things at the United Nations. So I am very focused on my work
in New York, and that has never come up once. CNS
U.S.
Travel Ban Bars Grandparents, Fiancés From Six Muslim Countries
Grandparents, grandchildren and fiancés of people in the United
States will be barred from getting U.S. visas under President Donald Trump's
temporary travel ban against citizens of six Muslim-majority countries
taking effect on Thursday, U.S. officials said. The administration also
narrowly interpreted which refugees will be allowed into the country, saying
that links with refugee resettlement agencies would not be enough to win
them admittance, likely sharply limiting the number of refugees allowed
entry in coming months. The Trump administration's temporary travel ban
will go into effect at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT Friday), but in a scaled-back
form that still allows in some travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria and Yemen, following a Supreme Court order on Monday. Reuters
Greta
Van Susteren Out As MSNBC Host
Greta Van Susterens stop at a third cable news network proved to be
short. MSNBC said Thursday that shes out after less than six months at
the network, to be replaced by Ari Melber. Van Susteren began hosting a
Washington-based 6 p.m. weeknight show at MSNBC on Jan. 9, joining the
network after her 14-year run at Fox News Channel ended last summer following
a financial disagreement. Before joining Fox, she had her own show at CNN.
But with the Fox and MSNBC audiences usually diametrically opposed, it
proved a poor fit. MSNBC has had its best ratings in network history in
2017, but Van Susteren hasnt shared in the riches. It was the least-watched
show on MSNBC between 5 p.m. and midnight both Monday and Tuesday of this
week, according to the Nielsen company. USA Today
VOA VIEW: MSNBC is liberal and losing
audience.
Meet
The Mega-Donor Who Funded Fight Against Georgia Religious Liberty Bill
Rolling Stone has a fascinating piece on Tim Gill, the mega-donor who
pumped more than $422 million of his fortune into the cause of equal rights
for the gay community. One of his main goals was to block religious liberty
bills in state legislatures across the nation that critics saw as thinly-veiled
attempts to legalize discrimination against same-sex couples. And one of
the groups biggest battlegrounds was Georgia, where Republican lawmakers
had pushed for years to adopt a version of the measure and in 2016 aimed
to finish the job. Atlanta Journal
U.S.
Plans To Sell Taiwan About $1.42 Billion In Arms
The United States plans to sell Taiwan $1.42 billion in arms, the first
such sale under the administration of Donald Trump and a move sure to anger
China, whose help the president has been seeking to rein in North Korea.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters the administration
had told Congress of the seven proposed sales on Thursday. The United States
plans to sell Taiwan $1.42 billion in arms, the first such sale under the
administration of Donald Trump and a move sure to anger China, whose help
the president has been seeking to rein in North Korea. The State Department
said the package included technical support for early warning radar, high
Speed anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and missile components. Nauert
said the sales showed U.S. "support for Taiwan's ability to maintain a
sufficient self-defense capability," but there was no change to the United
States' long-standing "one China" policy. Reuters
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White
House Defends Trumps Face-Lift Tweet: Fighting Fire With Fire
White House principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
said show co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski have attacked mercilessly
the president, including accusing him of having a mental disorder. I think
hes been very clear that when he gets attacked, he is going to hit back,
she told reporters at the White House. I think the American people elected
somebody whos tough, whos smart and whos a fighter and thats Donald
Trump. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: Not nice, but scrappy - don't
attack Trump if you can't take what he dishes out - he has made his position
clear.
Is
Your Medication Helping Or Hurting? DNA Tests May Be A Guide
Eight years ago, Karen Daggett nearly died while on a Valentines date
with her husband when her prescription medications built up to a toxic
level in her body. She felt dizzy and almost blacked out. Daggett, now
71, was taking several prescriptions for an irregular heartbeat, but neither
she nor her doctors realized the pills weren't helping her and were actually
causing her harm. Daggett is now on a safer heart medication, which was
prescribed to her after undergoing genetic testing at the Mayo Clinic in
Rochester, Minnesota. Her family members also went through testing and
found that they, too, had the same genetic variant that caused her heart
medications not to work. MSNBC
Needle-Free
Flu Vaccine Patch Works As Well As A Shot
A press-on patch that delivers flu vaccine painlessly worked as well
as an old-fashioned flu shot with no serious side effects, researchers
reported Tuesday. People who tried out the patch said it was not difficult
or painful to use, and tests of their blood suggested the vaccine it delivers
created about the same immune response as a regular flu shot, the team
reported in the Lancet medical journal. The hope is the vaccine will be
cheaper, easier to give and more acceptable than a regular flu vaccine.
It was really simple. Its kind of like a band-aid almost, said Daisy
Bourassa, a college instructor who tested the new vaccine for the study.
MSNBC
VOA VIEW: Great!
Trump
Promises New Petroleum Pipeline To Mexico: Itll Go Right Under The Wall
President Trump on Thursday said hes approved a new petroleum pipeline
to Mexico as part of a broader plan to export American energy around the
world. Itll go right under the wall, Mr. Trump said of the new pipeline
during a speech at the Department of Energy. His address coincides with
the White Houses Energy Week, and the president used Thursdays event
to announce several new initiatives that he says are key to economic growth
and kick-starting a golden era of American energy. Mr. Trump ordered
a wholesale review of U.S. nuclear energy policy, and directed the Treasury
to review possible financing of overseas power-generation plants that run
on American coal. Washington Times
YOU can speak out and be heard by having your own "Column" - Visit the "Public Opinion" Section above.
Scientist
Says EPA Staff Pressured Her To Change Testimony To Congress
A Minnesota scientist who leads an Environmental Protection Agency
scientific advisory board says she was pressured by the agency's chief
of staff to change her testimony before Congress to downplay the Trump
administration's decision not to reappoint half of the board's members.
Emails show that EPA Chief of Staff Ryan Jackson asked Deborah Swackhamer,
an environmental chemist who recently retired from the University of Minnesota,
to stick to the agency's stance that the decision on appointments had not
yet been made. CBS
VOA VIEW: Liberal control has been exposed.
Philadelphia
DA Pleads Guilty, Quits And Is Sent Immediately To Jail
In a surprise development, the city's top prosecutor pleaded guilty
Thursday to a corruption charge, resigned from office and was sent immediately
to jail by a judge who said he couldn't be trusted. Two weeks into his
federal trial, District Attorney Seth Williams pleaded guilty to the first
count in a 29-count indictment of corruption, bribery and fraud charges,
CBS Philadelphia reports. The rest of the charges were dismissed. "I'm
very sorry," Williams told the court, choking up as he acknowledged he
would resign. U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond said he was not inclined
to trust Williams' assurances about appearing for sentencing set for Oct.
24, so ordered him immediately jailed. He was led out of the courtroom
in handcuffs. Diamond said he was appalled by the evidence he heard during
the jury trial, and had concluded Williams "sold" his office.
CBS
More
Court Challenges Expected For Trump's New Travel Ban
A scaled-back version of President Donald Trump's travel is now in
force, stripped of provisions that brought protests and chaos at airports
worldwide in January yet still likely to generate a new round of court
fights. The new rules, the product of months of legal wrangling, aren't
so much an outright ban as a tightening of already-tough visa policies
affecting citizens from six Muslim-majority countries. Refugees are covered,
too. Administration officials promised that implementation this time, which
started at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT), would be orderly. Customs and Border
Protection spokesman Dan Hetlage said his agency expected "business as
usual at our ports of entry," with all valid visa holders still being able
to travel. USA Today
VOA VIEW: The court lost.
Trump
Nominates Indiana Doctor For Surgeon General
Indiana's top doctor could soon become the nation's surgeon general.
President Trump on Thursday nominated Indiana State Health Commissioner
Dr. Jerome Adams to serve as the next surgeon general. Adams was appointed
to his current position 2½ years ago by Vice President Mike Pence,
at the time Indiana's governor. While Adams declined interviews through
a Health and Human Services spokesman, he tweeted Thursday that he
was grateful for the opportunity. During his time in office, Adams presided
over a major health crisis an HIV outbreak in Scott County associated
with intravenous drug use that eventually stretched to more than 200 cases.
Although Pence had first expressed reservations about needle exchange programs,
the state's response eventually included such a program among other measures.
USA Today
Governor
Declares State Of Emergency For NYC Transit System
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that he has declared a state of emergency
over New York City's troubled public transit system and has asked its new
leader to complete a series of urgent reviews of the agency's management
and aging infrastructure. The Democratic governor said the state of emergency
declaration will help cut red tape and speed up improvements. The city's
subways and commuter trains have been plagued by rising delays and unreliable
service. Dozens of people were injured when a subway derailed Tuesday.
ABC
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Trump
Trashes Media, Cheers Wins At $10 Million Fundraiser
Republican donors paid $35,000 apiece to hear familiar a message from
President Donald Trump: The media, particularly CNN, keep trying to take
him down, and yet Republicans just keep on winning elections. He noted
with pride that his party had won four special elections this year. The
president was whisked a few blocks from the White House to the Trump International
Hotel, his name-branded Washington venue, for an evening of hobnobbing
behind closed doors Wednesday with major party financiers, including Las
Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn. ABC
VOA VIEW: A win for Trump.
Trump
Vows To Unleash The Vast Energy Wealth Of The U.S.
President Donald Trump said he is lifting an Obama-era policy that
curtailed the financing of coal-fired power plants overseas, as he seeks
to he seeks to reorient the U.S. government away from fighting climate
change and toward American "energy dominance." "We are now on the cusp
of a true energy revolution," Trump told a crowd of executives, lobbyists
and laborers at the Energy Department on Thursday. "We are a top producer
of petroleum and the No. 1 producer of natural gas. We have so much more
than we ever thought possible. We are really in the drivers seat." Trump
is celebrating growing U.S. energy exports he says are leading to "millions
and millions of jobs" and acting as a force for peace around the world.
After decades of dependence on foreign oil, the U.S. is on the verge of
becoming a net exporter of energy resources. Bloomberg
Joe
And Mika Delay Vacation Plans To Respond To Trump On Air
The hosts of MSNBCs Morning Joe delayed their vacation plans so
they can return to the air Friday morning and fire back at President Trumps
Twitter attack. Joe and Mika were supposed to start their July 4th weekend
early by taking Friday off but following Trumps tweet, they postponed
their trip by day so they can be back on air Friday morning to sling some
bad blood back at Trump, an MSNBC source told The Post. Trump called
the couple Crazy Mika Brzezinski and Psycho Joe Scarborough and suggested
she had a face-lift. NY Post
VOA VIEW: MSNBC and "Morning Joe" are
liberal and they are losing.
China
Strongly protests US Arms Sales To Taiwan
China on Friday strongly protested a U.S. plan to sell $1.4 billion
worth of arms to Taiwan and demanded that the deal be canceled. Chinese
foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the sale would severely damage
China's sovereignty and security interests and run counter to Washington's
commitment to a "one-China" policy. He asked the U.S. to immediately stop
the sale to avoid harming relations with Beijing. Tampa
Tribune
U.S.
Can Fund Government Through Early To Mid-October,
The U.S. Treasury can fund the government through early to mid-October
under the current borrowing limit, the Congressional Budget Office said,
giving lawmakers leeway to wait until after their summer recess to increase
the debt cap despite pressure from the Trump administration to act sooner.
However, the timing and magnitude of revenues and outlays over the next
few months could vary noticeably from CBOs projections, so those measures
could be exhausted and the Treasury could run out of cash earlier or later
than CBO projects, the Washington-based organization said Thursday in
a report. Bloomberg
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Trump
Nominates Former Texas Senator As NATO Ambassador
President Donald Trump says he has nominated Kay Bailey Hutchison,
a former Republican senator from Texas, to be the U.S. ambassador to NATO.
Trump has had a rocky relationship with the 28-nation military alliance.
As a candidate, he called NATO "obsolete." The president has criticized
several members of the post-World War II organization for not spending
adequately on defense. At a May meeting in Brussels with NATO members,
Trump complained that his allies had shortchanged "the people and taxpayers
of the United States," creating additional strains for the organization.
Hutchison, who is 73, won a runoff special election to fill a vacant Senate
seat in 1993 and served three full terms. Las Vegas
Sun
House
Passes Bill Targeting Sanctuary Cities
The House has approved a bill to strip federal dollars from "sanctuary"
cities that shield residents from federal immigration authorities. The
bill is one of two immigration measures the House was considering Thursday
as it moves to crack down on illegal immigration, a key priority for President
Donald Trump. A separate measure would stiffen punishments for people who
re-enter the U.S. illegally. Trump often railed against illegal immigration
during his presidential campaign, and his support for tougher immigration
policies is crucial to his voting base. Las Vegas
Sun
VOA VIEW: A good start.
Trump,
Moon Summit Faces 'No Good Options' On North Korea
North Korea is a small country, but the Kim Jong Un regime is expected
to loom large at the first summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and
South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Trump and Moon, who will meet for the
first time Thursday, face the same challenge: a belligerent Pyongyang that
has refused, for the most part, to comply with international calls for
denuclearization. The two leaders have also been the targets of North Korea
bluster. Pyongyang recently claimed Trump's immigration policy is a U.S.
version of Nazism, and accused Moon of following an "imperialist" ally.
UPI
Buy
Your Medical Cannabis Here; Pa. Announces Dispensary Sites
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday announced the names
of 27 companies that will be permitted to sell medical marijuana across
the state next year, reaching another milestone in a program that could
lead to cannabis being available by 2018. The announcement also set off
another round of consternation about whether the cannabis dispensaries
were being distributed fairly and put in places where they would serve
the most patients. In suburban Philadelphia, six are to open in Montgomery
County, three in Bucks County, and two each in Chester and Delaware Counties.
In Philadelphia. the state approved four locations, three across the northernmost
tier of the city, with one in East Mount Airy and two in Northeast Philadelphia.
The fourth is in Fishtown near the SugarHouse Casino. Philadelphia
Inquirer
Germany
Legalizes Gay Marriage
Germanys parliament voted by a wide margin on Friday to legalize same-sex
marriage after Chancellor Angela Merkel did an about-face that freed members
of her ruling conservative bloc to follow their personal conscience rather
than the party line. Merkel, who will seek a fourth term in a national
election on Sept. 24, told reporters after the landmark decision that she
had voted against the measure because she believed that marriage as defined
under German law was between a man and a woman. But she said her decision
was a personal one, adding that she had become convinced in recent years
that same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt children.
NY Post
VOA VIEW: Expected!
72%
Believe Immigrants Take Jobs Americans Don't Want
A Gallup poll found 72 percent of U.S. adults believe immigrants take
jobs Americans don't want and 49 percent said immigrants help the economy.
Gallup asked 1,009 Americans from June 7-11 whether they think immigrants
mostly help the economy by providing low-cost labor or mostly hurt the
economy by driving wages down for many Americans. In response, 49 percent
of Americans said immigrants mostly help the U.S. economy, while 40 percent
said they mostly hurt. In 2005, the last time Gallup posed this question,
42 percent said immigrants mostly help, while 49 percent said they mostly
hurt. The poll has a 4 percent margin of error. UPI
Greta
Van Susteren Out As MSNBC Host
Greta Van Susterens stop at a third cable news network proved to be
short. MSNBC said Thursday that shes out after less than six months at
the network, to be replaced by Ari Melber. Van Susteren began hosting a
Washington-based 6 p.m. weeknight show at MSNBC on Jan. 9, joining the
network after her 14-year run at Fox News Channel ended last summer following
a financial disagreement. Before joining Fox, she had her own show at CNN.
But with the Fox and MSNBC audiences usually diametrically opposed, it
proved a poor fit. MSNBC has had its best ratings in network history in
2017, but Van Susteren hasnt shared in the riches. It was the least-watched
show on MSNBC between 5 p.m. and midnight both Monday and Tuesday of this
week, according to the Nielsen company. USA Today
VOA VIEW: MSNBC is liberal and losing
audience.
Meet
The Mega-Donor Who Funded Fight Against Georgia Religious Liberty Bill
Rolling Stone has a fascinating piece on Tim Gill, the mega-donor who
pumped more than $422 million of his fortune into the cause of equal rights
for the gay community. One of his main goals was to block religious liberty
bills in state legislatures across the nation that critics saw as thinly-veiled
attempts to legalize discrimination against same-sex couples. And one of
the groups biggest battlegrounds was Georgia, where Republican lawmakers
had pushed for years to adopt a version of the measure and in 2016 aimed
to finish the job. Atlanta Journal
Feds
Confirm ISIS Investigations Underway In NC
Shortly after Justin Sullivan was sentenced to life in prison for planning
to commit mass murder in support of the Islamic State, U.S. Attorney Jill
Rose of Charlotte confirmed that investigations of other suspected ISIS
sympathizers continue in North Carolina. A domestic-terrorism expert told
the Observer this week that the North Carolina probes are among some 1,000
active FBI investigations into ISIS-related threats encompassing all 50
states. Keri Farley, the FBIs assistant special agent in charge of North
Carolina, said Sullivans arrest saved lives. But she added that homegrown
violent extremists are becoming harder to stop. Charlotte
Observer
Why
You Should Make Sure At Least One Person In Your Marriage Gets Enough Sleep
Dont go to bed angry is fairly common marriage advice, but new research
makes the case that maybe you should go to bed angry and then have your
conflict when youre well-rested. A new study by The Ohio State University
performed tests on 43 couples and discovered how fighting while sleep-deprived
affects our health. The couple came in for two visits, and each time they
would say how much sleep they had gotten in the past two nights and provide
a blood sample. Then researchers told them to try to resolve a topic that
sparks conflict in their marriage. Blood samples were taken again after
the discussion. Researchers found that not only did lack of sleep tend
to make the conflict worse, it also had serious effects on each persons
physical health. Kansas City Star
Immigration
Courts, Lacking Judges, Are Sinking Under A Massive Backlog Of Cases
When Miami immigration attorney Tammy Fox-Isicoff takes on new clients,
the first thing she tells them no matter how simple the case, no matter
how open-and-shut is, This is going to take, at an absolute minimum,
one year to resolve. And shes probably low-balling it. The average time
for a case to wend its way through South Floridas hopelessly backlogged
federal immigration courts is 551 days closer to two years. Even if those
courts stopped taking new cases tomorrow, it would take about four years
to work the backlog down to zero. The backlog in these courts is terrible,
and its getting worse every day, Fox-Isicoff said. Its not a new problem
its been growing for years, and everybody in the system knows it.
Miami Herald
Russian
Hackers Spoke About Clinton Emails, Flynn
Russian hackers discussed during the 2016 presidential campaign whether
they could obtain emails pilfered from Hillary Clinton and ultimately get
them to an adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, according to a report
published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal. The Journal said investigators
probing Russian meddling in the election have examined intelligence agency
reports about how hackers wanted to get emails from Clinton's server to
an intermediary and then to Mike Flynn, a retired lieutenant general and
senior adviser to Trump who went on to serve briefly as his national security
adviser. The newspaper also references a Republican operative who was convinced
emails missing from Clinton's server were in the hands of Russian hackers,
and who implied in conversations that he was working with Flynn.
SF Gate
Trump
Urges 'Energy Dominance' As He Promotes Exports, Jobs
The Trump administration said Thursday it is taking steps to expand
oil drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans as President Donald Trump
continues to push for U.S. "energy dominance" in the global market. The
Interior Department is rewriting a five-year drilling plan established
by the Obama administration, with an eye toward opening areas in the Arctic
and Atlantic oceans that now are off-limits to drilling. It's one of six
initiatives that the president unveiled Thursday in hopes of generating
more energy exports and jobs. "The golden era of American energy is now
underway," Trump said in a Thursday speech at the Energy Department. "And
I'll go a step further: The golden era of America is now underway, believe
me. And you're all going to be a part of it in creating this exciting new
future." SF Gate
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NETANYAHU
TO AIPAC: IT WAS EITHER KOTEL OR MY GOVERNMENT
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is telling leaders of US Jewry angered
by Sundays government vote on the Western Wall prayer space and on the
conversion issue that he faced a choice of either supporting the moves
or losing his government, The Jerusalem Post has learned. That was also
the message he relayed on Thursday to a high-level delegation from the
American Israel Public Affairs Committee, whose members flew in for the
day to discuss their concerns with Netanyahu and what they are hearing
from their constituents. Jerusalem Post
'ISRAEL
CAN'T AFFORD RUPTURE WITH DIASPORA OVER WESTERN WALL'
Israel and Diaspora Jewry need to renew discussions about the egalitarian
section of the Western Wall, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said in Moscow
on Thursday.
Im very worried by the fact that its been a tense week and that
there is no dialogue, he said. I think that we all have to calm down
and get back to the table and restart the discussions. Edelstein said
Israel cant afford a situation in which Diaspora leadership wont speak
to Israeli leaders, and vice-versa and that there must be a technical,
political solution to the matter. Jerusalem Post
SyriaWar:
US-Backed Forces 'Surround IS In Raqqa'
US-backed forces say they have fully encircled Islamic State fighters
in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the capital of the group's self-proclaimed
caliphate. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and
Arab fighters, say they have now sealed off escape routes to the south.
IS seized Raqqa in early 2014 and established its headquarters there. The
SDF have been gradually advancing on the city since November and launched
an offensive to take it on 6 June. BBC
Ehud
Olmert, Israel's Jailed Ex-PM, To Be Released Early
A parole board cut his term by a third, his lawyer Shani Illouz said.
Olmert, jailed in February 2016, will go free on Sunday, she told Israeli
radio. Olmert is the first former Israeli head of government to be sent
to prison. He became prime minister in 2006 but resigned three years later
when police recommended charges against him.
The 71-year-old is currently being investigated by the state attorney's
office over suspicions he smuggled a chapter of a book he is writing out
of prison, raising fears that it might compromise national security. BBC
Republican
Healthcare Bill Limps Into Recess With No Vote In Sight
As senators started to leave Washington for the Fourth of July recess
on Thursday, a compromise over the beleaguered GOP healthcare bill that
would attract enough votes to pass seemed distant. Days after the Senate
Republican leadership faced a revolt from both wings of their caucus over
a draft bill to repeal and replace Barack Obamas Affordable Care Act (ACA),
lawmakers were considering whether to reach out to moderates by keeping
the former presidents tax increase on wealthier peoples investments and
retreating on cuts for subsidies to the poor and elderly. Guardian
Trump's
Russia Lawyer Faces Conflict-Of-Interest Questions Over $296m Kushner Deal
The lawyer privately advising Donald Trump on the investigation into
Russias interference in the 2016 election is head of a law firm that was
involved in the sale of a prestigious piece of New York real estate to
Jared Kushner, the US presidents son-in-law, in a deal that could fall
under the spotlight of the same inquiry. Marc Kasowitz, a member of the
New York bar who has represented Trump in his business dealings for 15
years, was brought on board by the president last month to provide personal
legal advice relating to the Russian inquiry now being conducted by special
counsel Robert Mueller. The appointment has placed Kasowitz at the center
of the legal maelstrom over the investigation into potential collusion
between Russia and elements of Trumps presidential campaign.
Guardian
Donald
Trump To Meet Vladimir Putin At G20 Summit In Germany
President Donald Trump will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin
next week at the G20 summit in Germany. Senior White House officials declined
to say whether Mr Trump would address Russian interference in the 2016
US election. H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, said the agenda
for the high stakes meeting had not been finalised. He said the US relationship
with Russia "really isn't different" from that with other countries.
Telegraph
Delays
In Access In Syria Will Mean Further Death, Warns Top UN Relief Official
Citing attacks against aid workers in Syria, the removal of live-saving
supplies from convoys and bureaucratic impediments restricting access,
the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator has called for ensuring
immediate and safe humanitarian access to save lives that are dependent
on assistance. Briefing the Security Council today, Stephen OBrien, the
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, also underlined the need
for a sustained reduction in fighting to ease the burden on civilians and
create an environment conducive for assistance. Now is the time. Any delay
will mean further death. The clock is ticking, he warned. UN
News
Security
Council Updated On Status Of Resolution On Irans Nuclear Programme
Briefing the Security Council today, the United Nations political chief
called on the participants of the plan of action on Irans nuclear programme
as well as the wider international community to continue to support the
full and effective implementation of the agreement. The Secretary-General
believes that the comprehensive and sustained implementation of the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will guarantee that Irans nuclear
programme remains exclusively peaceful, while allowing for transparency,
monitoring and verification, said Jeffery Feltman, the Under-Secretary-General
for Political Affairs. UN News
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