US Disrupts Evacuation Of IS Militants In Syria

In this photo released by Lebanon's official government photographer Dalati Nohra, Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun, right, and Spanish Defense Minister Yacoub Sarraf, left, listen to Lebanese President Michel Aoun, speaking to journalists at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017. Aoun declared victory against the Islamic State group Wednesday in a live statement praising the Lebanese army for carrying out the operation that ended with the deal to evacuate IS fighters and their families in return for information about nine troops who were kidnapped by IS in August 2014. (Dalati Nohra via AP)

BEIRUT, LEBANON (ASSOCIATED PRESS, AUGUST 30, 2017) — The U.S.-led coalition said Wednesday it carried out airstrikes to disrupt a convoy of Islamic State militants being evacuated from the Lebanon-Syria border to an IS-held area in eastern Syria near Iraq, without targeting the evacuees themselves.

Coalition aircraft struck a small bridge and cratered a road to hinder the convoy's progress. The coalition also struck a separate group of IS militants traveling to meet the convoy, according to Col. Ryan Dillon, a coalition spokesman.

U.S. officials have criticized the transfer of hundreds of militants and civilians who are bound for an IS-held area near the Iraqi border, saying the extremists should be killed on the battlefield. The evacuation came as part of a controversial deal brokered by the Lebanese Hezbollah group to clear IS from an area along the Lebanon-Syria border.

The coalition is reluctant to strike the actual convoy of evacuees because the fighters have wives and children traveling with them, said a U.S. official, who wasn't authorized to discuss military details and requested anonymity. Although Hezbollah members are believed to be the ones escorting the convoy, the Syrian government's involvement creates further risk for the U.S. if the coalition were to hit it.

The coalition nevertheless said in a statement that it is not bound by the evacuation agreement. There are about 300 militants and almost as many family members on buses being evacuated under the deal.

"We are monitoring their location in real time," Dillon said, adding that the coalition "will not rule out strikes against IS fighters being moved." He added that any strike will be in accordance with "the law of armed conflict and if we are able to do so and can discriminate and discern the difference between fighters and civilians."

Syrian opposition activists said the convoy, which left the Lebanon-Syria border on Tuesday, is still in government-held territory in eastern Syria. The evacuation agreement, the first such publicized deal, had already angered many Iraqis, who accused Syria and Lebanon's Hezbollah of dumping the militants on the Iraqi border rather than eradicating them.

The top U.S. envoy for the international coalition against IS, Brett McGurk, tweeted Wednesday that IS "terrorists should be killed on the battlefield, not bused across #Syria to the Iraqi border without #Iraq's consent." McGurk added that the anti-IS coalition will help ensure that "these terrorists can never" enter Iraq.

Lebanese troops launched an attack against IS on Aug. 18, while Syrian troops and Hezbollah fighters launched a simultaneous offensive from the Syrian side of the border. The militants agreed to a cease-fire over the weekend once they had been squeezed into a small area along the frontier.

Lebanon has defended the agreement, in which the militants are said to have revealed the location of the remains of nine Lebanese soldiers who were captured in 2014. The remains of several people have been uncovered in the border area, and DNA tests are underway to determine whether they belong to the missing soldiers. Lebanese officials say they are almost sure the remains are of the soldiers.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun declared victory against IS on Wednesday and praised the Lebanese army for carrying out the operation. "Our only consolation is that we knew the fate of the soldiers," he said. "We wish they were celebrating with us."

Army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun, who is not related to the president, told reporters Wednesday that as the offensive against IS was underway, the Lebanese mediator called him to say that the extremists accepted a cease-fire in return for information about the fate of the soldiers.

"I had one of two choices. Either to go on with the battle and not know the fate of the soldiers or give in and know the fate of the soldiers," Aoun said. The Lebanese commander added that he cares most about the lives of his soldiers, and that one of the main achievements was to win the battle without taking further casualties.

In a separate incident, mines laid by the extremists killed at least nine people and wounded dozens who were fleeing IS-held areas in Syria's eastern Deir el-Zour province, according to an opposition monitoring group and state media.

State news agency SANA said 10 people were killed and 28 wounded when the vehicles they were traveling in drove over mines. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nine people were killed and many others wounded in the Abu Khashab area on the northern edge of Deir el-Zour province, a main stronghold for IS.

In Syria, meanwhile, President Bashar Assad received Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari. State media gave no further details. Iran has been one of Assad's main backers since Syria's conflict began in March 2011.

Associated Press writer Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.

Amnesty Int’l Accuses Nigerian Authorities Of Detaining Hundreds Illegally

BY EJIOFOR ALIKE

THIS DAY                                                                                               

Osai Ojigbo Via This Day

Global rights group, Amnesty International, has accused the federal government of illegal detention of several Nigerians and raised concern that hundreds of people are being held in secret detention.

The organisation said in a statement on Tuesday that the enforced disappearance of persons, which is being perpetrated by the agencies of the federal government, is prohibited under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, to which Nigeria is a state party.

Amnesty’s statement, which marks the International Day of the Disappeared being celebrated today, noted that enforced disappearances are being used to instil fear into civilian population living in areas of the country wracked with conflict and insecurity.
The group’s media manager, Isa Sanusi, called on the government to release details on the fate and whereabouts of all those who have been disappeared.

“Many families of the victims of enforced disappearance spend painful years searching for justice, truth and reparation but are ignored or misled about the fate of their relatives. The authorities must do the right thing now by releasing all of them or disclosing information about their fate or whereabouts” the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, said.

According to Amnesty International research, most enforced disappearances take place in the conflict-ridden North-east of Nigeria where young men are often seized by the military after being accused of affiliation to the armed group Boko Haram.

The organisation obtained details of men, women and children who are victims of enforced disappearance in other parts of Nigeria.
According to figures provided to Amnesty by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), at least 600 of their members’ whereabouts are not known since the clashes with the military in December 2015 in Zaria, Kaduna state.

The figures showed that more than 350 people are believed to have been unlawfully killed by the military between December 12 and 14, 2015.
Amnesty quoted the families of some of the victims who told the group about their painful ordeal of years in search for justice.
According to the group, one Malama Zainab Isa said her husband, Abdullahi Abbas, and their six children’s whereabout or fate is not known since the night of December 14, 2015, following the clashes in Zaria.

“He sells books at the Husainiyyah where the clashes took place. All six of our children were with him that day. Up to now we don’t know their fate. We don’t know whether the seven of them are alive or dead and no one is giving us any information that can ease our pain,” the group quoted the woman as saying.
Amnesty also quoted Ibrahim Aliyu, whose three brothers’ whereabouts or fate is not known since 2012 after arrest by state security services as saying that:

“Before my three brothers disappeared, we used to contribute money to support our extended family.
“Now without them, the burden is entirely on my shoulder. I have to do everything; take care of their families and provide for our mother. Our mother is now perpetually ill, because she thinks a lot about my brothers’ fate. Sometimes, I feel I can’t bear the pain anymore,” Aliyu added.

Commenting on the International Day of the Disappeared, Amnesty International called on the Nigerian authorities to investigate all cases of enforced disappearances and bring all those suspected of criminal responsibility to justice in fair trials before ordinary civilian courts without recourse to death penalty.
“In addition, the authorities must provide full reparation to victims and their families, including compensation, rehabilitation, restitution, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.”

“We call on authorities to investigate cases of enforced disappearance across Nigeria to end this crime under international law that makes the victims vulnerable to torture and other human rights violations. The families of the victims of enforced disappearance have already waited too long for answers. They deserve justice, truth and reparation now,” Ojigho added.

Why Nnamdi Kanu’s Bail Should Be Revoked – Nigerian Government

BY EVELYN OKAKWU

PREMIUM TIMES NIGERIA

Nnamdi Kanu Via Premium Times

The Nigerian government on Friday demanded the revocation of the bail granted the leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, in April.

In a statement on Thursday signed by Salihu Isah, an aide to the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, the Nigerian government hinged its request on 11 grounds of arguments.

According to the statement, the Nigerian government accused Mr. Kanu of ‘totally violating’ the 12 main conditions he was demanded to comply with by Justice Binta Nyako at an Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on April 25.

Citing some of Mr. Kanu’s bail conditions, the prosecution said the defendant negated the conditions and acted in ways that allegedly have adverse effect on the nation’s security.

“Among other conditions for the bail of the 1st defendant are as follows: “That he should not be seen in a crowd exceeding 10 people.

“That he should not grant any press interviews, hold or attend any rallies;

“And that he should file in court medical updates of his health status every month.”

The government said that the bail conditions were perfected by the defendant/applicant which he is currently enjoying.

“Rather than observing all the conditions, the 1st defendant/respondent in flagrant disobedience to the court order flouted all conditions given by the court.

“The first defendant has in furtherance to the offence he was charged, inaugurated Biafra Security Service, ” the statement said.

“That the defendant held a rally at his residence in his hometown, Afara-UkwuIbeku in Umuahia, Abia State; the said rally with a CROWD exceeding 10 persons was captured in video published on the 1st June 2017 and circulated on YouTube.”

According to the statement, the defendant’s separatist comments have increased rather than reducing.

Some of the statements allegedly made after he was granted bail include the following:

“I was not born to be rich, politician or scientist but to restore Biafra. I did not say we are restructuring Nigeria or implementing Aburi but restoring Biafra. That is the total exit of Biafra from Nigeria thereby restoring the kingdom of God on earth… There will be no elections,” among others.

Mr. Kanu was first arrested in October 2015 and charged before a magistrate court by Nigeria’s government.

The case against him was later amended resulting in the current charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Trump Administration Imposes Sweeping Sanctions On Venezuela

Vice President Mike Pence listens as Venezuelan exile Maria Eugenia Tovar speaks during a meeting with the exile community at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017, in Doral, Fla. Tovar is holding a photo of her daughter who was killed in Venezuela during a protest.

CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AP) — The Trump administration on Friday slapped sweeping financial sanctions on Venezuela, dramatically ratcheting up tensions between the two countries and making it harder for embattled President Nicolas Maduro to raise badly needed funds to prevent a debt default.

The sanctions Trump signed by executive order prohibit financial institutions from providing new money to the government or state oil company PDVSA. It would also restrict PDVSA's U.S. subsidiary, Citgo, from sending dividends back to Venezuela as well as ban trading in two bonds the government recently issued to circumvent its increasing isolation from western financial markets.

"These measures are carefully calibrated to deny the Maduro dictatorship a critical source of financing to maintain its illegitimate rule, protect the United States financial system from complicity in Venezuela's corruption and in the impoverishment of the Venezuelan people, and allow for humanitarian assistance," the White House said in a statement.

A senior Trump administration official said additional sanctions would be imposed if Maduro doesn't reverse course and meet opposition demands that he roll back plans to rewrite the constitution, free dozens of political prisoners and hold fair and transparent elections.

In a call to brief reporters on the measures, the official said the United States has significant influence over Venezuela's economy but does not want to wield it in an irresponsible manner that could further burden the already-struggling Venezuelan people.

Reflecting those concerns and a strong lobby effort by the U.S. oil industry, Friday's action stopped short of cutting off U.S. imports of Venezuelan oil that are crucial both to Venezuela's economy and to Gulf refiners.

The sanctions follow through on Trump's threat last month that he would take strong economic actions if Maduro's increasingly authoritarian government went ahead with plans to create a constitutional assembly that is made up wholly of government loyalists. The opposition boycotted the vote to elect the body's 545 delegates.

Since the assembly was seated, it has voted by acclamation to oust the nation's outspoken chief prosecutor, take lawmaking powers from the opposition-controlled congress and create a "truth commission" that many fear will be used to target the government's political opponents. Several prominent opposition mayors have also been removed or ordered arrested by the government-stacked supreme court.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence signaled the move earlier Friday, tweeting that the U.S. "will not stand by as Venezuela crumbles." "The birthright of the Venezuelan people has always been and will always be libertad," he wrote, using the Spanish word for "freedom."

The sanctions are likely to worsen a crisis that has already seen Venezuela's oil-dependent economy shrink by about 35 percent since 2014 — more than the U.S. economy did during the Great Depression. Maduro, who is among some 30 senior officials already barred from the United States, seemed almost resigned to the possibility. He warned this week that the Trump administration was readying a "commercial, oil and financial blockade" in the mold of the one that has punished Cuba for decades. He said it would be meant to pave the way for a U.S. military intervention.

"The economic measures the U.S. government is preparing will worsen Venezuela's economic situation," he told foreign journalists Tuesday, vowing to protect the population from the worst effects of any sanctions.

There was no immediate government reaction Friday even as some leaders of the opposition expressed satisfaction. "Venezuela's increasing economic and political isolation has a sole culprit: Nicolas Maduro," recently ousted Caracas-area Mayor Ramon Muchacho said in a tweet from exile in Miami.

David Smilde, a Tulane University sociologist who has spent decades researching Venezuela, said blanket sanctions that cut off the government's cash flow and hurt the population are likely to strengthen Maduro in the short-term.

"It will bolster his discourse that Venezuela is the target of an economic war," said Smilde, who supports Friday's more limited sanctions targeting future indebtedness. But with Venezuela's streets calmer than they have been for months, and the opposition reeling from its failure to prevent the constitutional assembly from going forward, action from an increasingly concerned international community represents the best chance of reining in Maduro, he added.

Maduro is already struggling to combat widespread shortages and triple-digit inflation as oil production has tumbled to its lowest level in more than two decades. Any economic sanctions, however mild, increase the risk of a default on Venezuela's ballooning debt.

The government and PDVSA have about $4 billion in debt payments coming due before the end of the year but only $9.7 billion in international reserves on hand, the vast majority consisting of gold ingots that are hard to trade immediately for cash.

Venezuela has taken desperate steps to remain current on its debt throughout the economic crisis, and the president has blamed his enemies for spreading rumors about any impending default.

Associated Press writer Fabiola Sanchez reported from Caracas and Joshua Goodman reported from Bogota, Colombia.

Constituents Seek Recall Of Murray-Bruce For Being An ‘Abuja Senator’

BY EMMANUEL ADDEH

THIS DAY, AUGUST 23, 2017

Ben Murray-Bruce Via This Day

YENAGOA, BAYELSA (THIS DAY) --- The people of Nembe, Brass and Ogbia Local Government Areas in Bayelsa State on Tuesday threatened to initiate the process of recalling Senator Ben Murray-Bruce for allegedly abandoning them and making Abuja his home.

Many of the constituents, comprising mainly students, from the Bayelsa East senatorial district, within which the local government areas fall, said since the lawmaker was elected, he had seldom met or consulted with them on any issue.

They alleged that the senator was in the habit of empowering and meeting with people outside the district and the state, to the detriment of his primary constituency.
In a statement signed by Samuel Tari (Nembe), Ambrose Joseph (Brass) and Mark John (Ogbia), the aggrieved constituents gave the federal lawmaker an ultimatum of 10 days to retrace his steps or face their wrath.

The angry electorate in the area lamented that the senator was not in a good relationship with his people and had continued to shy away from his constitutional responsibilities.
According to them, the senator was donating relief materials to people in other states when his constituents were wallowing in poverty with many students unable to pay their fees.
Aside the alleged non-performance, they said since the politician cum media entrepreneur was elected, he had not visited his people.

“Since Murray-Bruce became a senator, he has failed to look into the basic needs and challenges currently bedevilling the Bayelsa East senatorial districts, such as issues of education, as most of our students cannot access good quality education.

“He has failed to attract a single project to the districts in terms of infrastructure including roads and others. He has continuously and deliberately ignored efforts by the people to create a working relationship that will bring out purposeful leadership for our people,” they said.
Added to that, the signatories to the statement said none of the senator’s promises during the campaign had been fulfilled.
“He is yet to fulfill any of his campaign promises; painfully, he is an Abuja-based senator. He refuses to visit his constituency, except only once when he visited his hometown and couldn’t even stay for up to four hours.

“Sincerely, we are tired. Other places are enjoying the benefits that come from having a national representative. Our case has been a curse rather than a blessing. We are just like a district without a senator. This why we intend to change that narrative,” they noted.
For a start, the constituents asked the senator to organise a town hall meeting with his people and take out time to tour his constituency.

“We are, hereby, giving him an ultimatum of 10 days, starting from August 21. If he fails to meet with us, we shall take our protest to the National Assembly.
“We will mobilise all the students, our mothers and our fathers. We will initiate his recall process. Our people deserve a better treatment from him. We request to have a town hall meeting,” the aggrieved constituents said.

Worldwide Remembrance Of The Slave Trade 'A Tribute To Every Victim' – Senior UNESCO Official

UNITED NATIONS NEWS CENTER

UNESCO earlier this year added to its World Heritage List the Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo (Angola) – one of the largest constituted states in Southern Africa from the 14th to 19th centuries – as an acknowledgement of its “outstanding universal value.” Photo: UNESCO/Joost De Raeymaeker

AUGUST 22, 2017(UNESCO) – While the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is a tribute to every victim and their resistance against slavery, it is also a reminder of the importance of teaching history, a senior United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural (UNESCO) has stressed.

“The legacy of the slave trade is a symbolic victory for human rights freedom; and the International Day acts as a reminder of the eternal effort to reaffirm human dignity and break down ignorance” Nada Al-Nashif, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences told UN News ahead of the International Day of remembrance, marked annually on 23 August.

Since its 1998 establishment, the commemoration has provided an opportunity to look back at the legacy of the slave trade and to understand how the uprising that began in 1791 in what is now Haiti was symbolic of a victory for freedom and human rights.

She explained that many regions of the world consider it to be a day of common heritage that symbolizes “a call for freedom, for justice and for dialogue among people.”

According to Ms. Al-Nashif, it is important to understand the limitation of interpretation, to change the silence and to act together to make resistance against slavery an inspirational force for future generation.

She underscored that its “call for truth” permeates UNESCO's work in appealing for social justice, the reduction of inequality and the preservation of human dignity and human rights.
Tracing history

Aiming not only to break the silence, but to better understand the historic causes, methods and global consequences of the tragedy, UNESCO launched in 1994 the landmark Slave Route Project.

“Highlighting global transformations and cultural interactions,” Ms. Al-Nashif said the project showcased “how cultural pluralism and intercultural dialogue and understanding are critical to the culture of peace.”

Since its introduction, UNESCO maintains that the project has had a significant impact at local, national, regional and international levels – and has helped to effect a change in attitudes by 'de-racializing' the tragedy which, de facto, concerns humanity as a whole.

The Slave Route Project has contributed substantially to fostering greater awareness of the ethical, political, socio-economic and cultural aspects of this chapter of history, “and even the official recognition of slavery as a crime against humanity by the United Nations,” according to Ms. Al-Nashif.

Ms. Al-Nashif noted that project also speaks to “remedy the general ignorance on the history of Africa by reconstructing it – freeing it from racial prejudice – and re-reading the history through purely African perspectives or more objective views of scientists or researchers.”

Turning newly-nominated UNESCO World Heritage sites, Ms. Al-Nashif told UN News about Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site in Brazil and Mbanza Kongo, the Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo in Angola, saying “both [are] recognized to be of universal value.”

Ms. Al-Nashif said that Valongo, the former harbour area in Rio de Janeiro is “one of the most important wharfs in world history, because as many as 900,000 African men, women and children were held there before being sold in the Brazilian market and, for the two decades that it existed, was a hub for how the African diaspora came to the New World.”

The Vestiges were also a principal slave trade route through which enslaved people were transported to the Americas and Caribbean.

“The archaeological traces of the past speak to the many tangible and intangible heritage elements that still exist and have been honoured now,” she stressed.

Ms. Al-Nashif added that slavery is not a thing of the pass.

“Today we talk about modern slavery and human trafficking; the pushback on multilateralism and human rights; about race, identity and culture; and the challenges on how we can co-exist together,” she concluded.

7 Senate Seats Most Likely To Flip In 2018

BY BEN KAMISAR AND LISA HAGEN

THE HILL, AUGUST 22, 2017

Next year's midterm elections will provide Republicans with a major opportunity to build their majority in the Senate - if they can overcome President Trump's dismal approval rating and internal party rancor.

The 2018 Senate map heavily favors Republicans, who will only defend eight seats, including just two of which are considered vulnerable right now. By comparison, Democrats have to defend 25 seats, including 10 in states that Trump won in 2016.

Despite the rough landscape, Democrats received a handful of breaks in the early months of 2017. But with so few offensive opportunities, Democrats will have to thread the needle in deep-red states just to tread water.

Here are the seven most vulnerable Senate seats of the 2018 midterm elections as they stand now.

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.)

Heller is the only Republican up for reelection in 2018 who represents a state that Hillary Clinton won last November. Making matters worse for Heller, he's had a rough 2017.

His public wavering during the recent healthcare debate will hurt Heller in a state he won with only 46 percent of the vote in 2012, especially since his state accepted ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion. By the end of the GOP ObamaCare repeal push, a poll from the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling found him with a 22 percent approval rating.

Democrats are largely falling in line behind Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), a strong challenger with backing from former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the dean of Nevada Democrats. Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) is still weighing a bid, but Democrats' near-uniform support for Rosen could squeeze Titus out of the race and give the party more time to focus on Heller.

In the meantime, Rosen and Democratic groups have hammered Heller on his healthcare position. Perennial candidate Danny Tarkanian will challenge Heller in the GOP primary from the right, a fight that could hurt Heller with the Republican base. But as an incumbent, Heller will have heavy reinforcements from Washington Republicans who are committed to helping one of their own.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.)

McCaskill is one of the few statewide Democratic officeholders left in Missouri, which Trump won by 19 points in November.

The two-term senator spent 2016 as one of Hillary Clinton's top surrogates, mounting a strong defense of the Democratic presidential nominee that McCaskill's rivals believe will become a weakness in her own campaign.

McCaskill's party also just lost Missouri's 2016 Senate race, despite a strong campaign from Democrat Jason Kander.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (R) continues to move closer to a bid, as key state Republicans push to unite around him after he won his 2016 election with more votes than Trump. And he'll likely have some serious financial backing - Politico reported last week that the Club for Growth has banked $10 million to support Hawley.

But Hawley is new to elected office, and McCaskill is a strong fundraiser. She pulled in more than any of the other vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the second quarter of 2017, leaving her with $5.1 million in the bank.

Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.)

Donnelly leveraged a bipartisan approach to politics and his blue-collar appeal into a Senate seat in 2012, but he'll have to fight yet another tough battle if he wants to keep his Senate seat in a state Trump won by 19 points.

Republican Reps. Todd Rokita and Luke Messer are engaged in a nasty primary. Messer is considered the more establishment Republican option, but Rokita surprised many observers with a strong second fundraising quarter where he outraised Messer by more than $400,000 and topped him in cash-on-hand.

The brutal primary could play to Donnelly's favor, sapping resources from the eventual nominee and leaving wounds that could take some time to heal. But Republicans are seizing on a recent report that Donnelly owned stock in a family company that outsources jobs to Mexico, even as he publicly criticized other companies for sending jobs out of the country.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)

Flake wouldn't rank this high in a normal election year, but a Republican president threatening to support a primary challenge to an incumbent GOP senator isn't normal, either.

The Arizona senator's path to reelection has grown more difficult as his feud with Trump heats up. Earlier in August, Trump called Flake "toxic" in a tweet where he applauded Kelli Ward, Flake's primary opponent. And his upcoming Tuesday rally in Arizona could give him a stage to take more shots at Flake or even officially endorse a primary opponent.

Complicating Flake's path is Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who confirmed this week that she's still considering a bid.

Flake will have the backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee and a score of outside groups that look to protect GOP incumbents, whether or not they have Trump's support. And Republicans have so far been successful at keeping a statewide Democratic push at bay. But keep an eye on how far Trump is willing to go in the primary - that could be a major factor.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)

In 2016, West Virginia went for Trump by a larger margin than any other state - 42 points.

That resounding victory hasn't been lost on Manchin, who's made it a point to try and work with the president and Senate GOP colleagues. Another factor counting in his favor: Manchin's consistent record of winning statewide office in the state since 2001, despite the state's rightward drift.

But Trump's popularity in West Virginia has drawn interest from strong Republican candidates, and the winner will pose a serious threat to Manchin's political future. And Democrats can't be encouraged by Gov. Jim Justice's decision to ditch the Democrats and become a Republican last month, a decision he announced with Trump at his side.

Rep. Evan Jenkins and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey are locked in another tough primary, as each tries to capture the mantle of being the "true conservative" in the race. The gloves have come off as Jenkins tries to frame Morrisey as late to the Trump bandwagon, while Morrisey focuses on Jenkins's history as a Democratic state legislator.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.)

Heitkamp hails from another deep-red state - North Dakota went for Trump by about 36 points.

Like Manchin, Heitkamp has walked the line between the party's opposition to Trump and his popularity among her constituents - briefly floated as a potential Agriculture Secretary, Heitkamp, like Manchin, voted for more than two-thirds of Trump's Cabinet appointments.

While Heitkamp hasn't announced whether she'll run for reelection, her steady fundraising pace keeps the door for another bid wide open. Heitkamp had $3 million in the bank as of the end of June - more than half the total she spent during her entire 2012 bid.

Heitkamp received her first challenger this week when state Sen. Tom Campbell, who is framing himself as an outsider who better exemplifies the values of voters in the conservative state, entered the race. Campbell might not have the primary field to himself, though - Rep. Kevin Cramer (R) is mulling a bid of his own.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.)

Republicans have a lot to like about their Montana prospects. Trump won the state by more than 20 points in November, and Republican Greg Gianforte just won the state's at-large congressional seat in a special election even after he assaulted a reporter.

Tester has never hit 50 percent in either of his two Senate bids, winning each election with 49 percent after a libertarian candidate siphoned off part of the vote.

But Tester, a former chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is no stranger to a tough fight and has forged his own brand in the state separate from the national Democratic Party that's allowed him to outperform a typical Democratic candidate.

Republicans are going into battle without the candidates they wanted, as former Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) is now Secretary of the Interior and Attorney General Tim Fox opted to run for governor instead. State Auditor Matt Rosendale appears to be the favorite in the GOP, with businessman Troy Downing and state Sen. Albert Olszewski also in the mix.

Other races to watch

There are five other Democrats running in states Trump won - Sens. Bill Nelson (Fla.), Bob Casey Jr. (Pa.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio). These five do not yet seem as vulnerable as the others, but the races could move up the rankings depending on how primaries shake out.

Florida Republicans are in a holding pattern as Gov. Rick Scott (R) weighs a bid, since his entry would immediately clear the field and give Nelson a top-tier challenger. Casey and Baldwin are waiting to see how the large GOP primary fields taking them on shake out.

Musician Kid Rock is mulling a bid against Stabenow. And Brown could face a rematch against his 2012 opponent, state treasurer Josh Mandel, but some state Republicans aren't excited about his campaign and are looking for other options.

Priest Urges Haters To Repent; Reveals His Ku Klux Klan Past

BY MATHEW BARAKAT

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2017

© The Associated Press FILE - In this May 3, 1982 file photo, President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan pose with the Butler family on their front porch at their home in College Park, Md. home of the family, which has been victimized by…


MCLEAN, VA. (ASSOCIATED PRESS) — A Roman Catholic priest in Virginia is taking a leave of absence after disclosing he once burned crosses as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Father William Aitcheson, a priest in the diocese of Arlington, described how he belonged to the Klan as a young man in a column published Monday in The Arlington Catholic Herald, the diocese's newspaper.

"My actions were despicable. When I think back on burning crosses, a threatening letter, and so on, I feel as though I am speaking of somebody else," he wrote.

Aitcheson, 62, said that 40 years have passed since he was in the Klan, but the images from this month's violent white nationalist rally in Charlottesville reminded him that "we cannot forget, we should not forget."

"While I firmly believe God forgave me -- as he forgives anyone who repents and asks for forgiveness -- forgetting what I did would be a mistake," Aitcheson wrote.

The diocese noted that Aitcheson "voluntarily asked to temporarily step away from public ministry, for the well being of the Church and parish community."

In a statement, Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge called Aitcheson's past with the Klan troubling, but said he hopes his story of transformation will help others.

"I pray that in our current political and social climate his message will reach those who support hate and division, and inspire them to a conversion of heart," Burbidge wrote.

Aitcheson was ordained as a priest in 1988 by the Diocese of Reno-Las Vegas, and has been assigned to the Arlington Diocese since 1993, most recently serving at St. Leo the Great in Fairfax.

In his article, Aitcheson wrote that his membership in the Klan is public information, but rarely comes up.

Indeed, Aitcheson was convicted on criminal charges in 1977 after the cross-burnings, one of which drew a response from President Ronald Reagan years later.

Reagan paid a visit in 1982 to the home of Phillip and Barbara Butler — Aitcheson had burned a cross on their lawn after the Butlers moved to a mostly white neighborhood in College Park, Maryland. Reagan's visit came a week after a judge ordered Aitcheson to pay the Butlers $23,000 in damages.

Diocese spokesman Billy Atwell said the diocese knew about Aitcheson's past with the Klan when he arrived in 1993, but "just learned this weekend about the civil suit from 40 years ago and will be working with Fr. Aitcheson to ensure he meets all of his legal and moral obligations to make restitution."

Aitcheson was sentenced to 90 days in jail in 1977 after a series of criminal charges involving allegations that he was involved in multiple cross-burnings, including the Butlers' home, and had threatened to kill Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr.

Trump And McConnell Locked In A Cold War, Threatening The G.O.P. Agenda

BY ALEXANDER BURNS AND JONATHAN MARTIN

THE NEW YORK TIMES AUGUST 22, 2017

© Eric Thayer for The New York Times Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has fumed over President Trump’s regular threats against fellow Republicans and criticism of Senate rules.

The relationship between President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has disintegrated to the point that they have not spoken to each other in weeks, and Mr. McConnell has privately expressed uncertainty that Mr. Trump will be able to salvage his administration after a series of summer crises.

What was once an uneasy governing alliance has curdled into a feud of mutual resentment and sometimes outright hostility, complicated by the position of Mr. McConnell’s wife, Elaine L. Chao, in Mr. Trump’s cabinet, according to more than a dozen people briefed on their imperiled partnership. Angry phone calls and private badmouthing have devolved into open conflict, with the president threatening to oppose Republican senators who cross him, and Mr. McConnell mobilizing to their defense.

The rupture between Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell comes at a highly perilous moment for Republicans, who face a number of urgent deadlines when they return to Washington next month. Congress must approve new spending measures and raise the statutory limit on government borrowing within weeks of reconvening, and Republicans are hoping to push through an elaborate rewrite of the federal tax code. There is scant room for legislative error on any front.

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A protracted government shutdown or a default on sovereign debt could be disastrous — for the economy and for the party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Yet Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell are locked in a political cold war. Neither man would comment for this story. Don Stewart, a spokesman for Mr. McConnell, noted that the senator and the president had “shared goals,” and pointed to “tax reform, infrastructure, funding the government, not defaulting on the debt, passing the defense authorization bill.”


Still, the back-and-forth has been dramatic.

In a series of tweets this month, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. McConnell publicly, then berated him in a phone call that quickly devolved into a profane shouting match.

During the call, which Mr. Trump initiated on Aug. 9 from his New Jersey golf club, the president accused Mr. McConnell of bungling the health care issue. He was even more animated about what he intimated was the Senate leader’s refusal to protect him from investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to Republicans briefed on the conversation.

Mr. McConnell has fumed over Mr. Trump’s regular threats against fellow Republicans and criticism of Senate rules, and questioned Mr. Trump’s understanding of the presidency in a public speech. Mr. McConnell has made sharper comments in private, describing Mr. Trump as entirely unwilling to learn the basics of governing.

In offhand remarks, Mr. McConnell has expressed a sense of bewilderment about where Mr. Trump’s presidency may be headed, and has mused about whether Mr. Trump will be in a position to lead the Republican Party into next year’s elections and beyond, according to people who have spoken to him directly.

While maintaining a pose of public reserve, Mr. McConnell expressed horror to advisers last week after Mr. Trump’s comments equating white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., with protesters who rallied against them. Mr. Trump’s most explosive remarks came at a news conference in Manhattan, where he stood beside Ms. Chao. (Ms. Chao, deflecting a question about the tensions between her husband and the president she serves, told reporters, “I stand by my man — both of them.)

Mr. McConnell signaled to business leaders that he was deeply uncomfortable with Mr. Trump’s comments: Several who resigned advisory roles in the Trump administration contacted Mr. McConnell’s office after the fact, and were told that Mr. McConnell fully understood their choices, three people briefed on the conversations said.

Mr. Trump has also continued to badger and threaten Mr. McConnell’s Senate colleagues, including Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, whose Republican primary challenger was praised by Mr. Trump last week.

Mr. Trump was set to hold a campaign rally on Tuesday night in Phoenix, and Republicans feared he would use the event to savage Mr. Flake again.

If he does, senior Republican officials said the party’s senators would stand up for their colleague. A Republican “super PAC” aligned with Mr. McConnell released a web ad on Tuesday assailing Mr. Flake’s Republican rival, Kelli Ward, as a fringe-dwelling conspiracy theorist.

“When it comes to the Senate, there’s an Article 5 understanding: An attack against one is an attack against all,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who has found himself in Mr. Trump’s sights many times, invoking the NATO alliance’s mutual defense doctrine.

The fury among Senate Republicans toward Mr. Trump has been building since last month, even before he lashed out at Mr. McConnell. Some of them blame the president for not being able to rally the party around any version of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, accusing him of not knowing even the basics about the policy. Senate Republicans also say strong-arm tactics from the White House backfired, making it harder to cobble together votes and have left bad feelings in the caucus.

When Mr. Trump addressed a Boy Scouts jamboree last month in West Virginia, White House aides told Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from the state whose support was in doubt, that she could only accompany him on Air Force One if she committed to voting for the health care bill. She declined the invitation, noting that she could not commit to voting for a measure she had not seen, according to Republican briefed on the conversation.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told colleagues that when Mr. Trump’s interior secretary threatened to pull back federal funding for her state, she felt boxed in and unable to vote for the health care bill.

In a show of solidarity, albeit one planned well before Mr. Trump took aim at Mr. Flake, Mr. McConnell will host a $1,000-per-person dinner on Friday in Kentucky for the Arizona senator, as well as for Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, who is also facing a Trump-inspired primary race next year, and Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska. Mr. Flake is expected to attend the event.

Former Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, a Republican who is close to Mr. McConnell, said frustration with Mr. Trump was boiling over in the chamber. Mr. Gregg blamed the president for undermining congressional leaders, and said the House and Senate would have to govern on their own if Mr. Trump “can’t participate constructively.”

“Failure to do things like keeping the government open and passing a tax bill is the functional equivalent of playing Russian roulette with all the chambers loaded,” Mr. Gregg said.

Others in the party divide blame between Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell. Al Hoffman, a former finance chairman of the Republican National Committee who has been supportive of Mr. McConnell, said Mr. McConnell was culpable because he has failed to deliver legislative victories. “Ultimately, it’s been Mitch’s responsibility, and I don’t think he’s done much,” Mr. Hoffman said.

But Mr. Hoffman predicted that Mr. McConnell would likely outlast the president.

“I think he’s going to blow up, self-implode,” Mr. Hoffman said of Mr. Trump. “I wouldn’t be surprised if McConnell pulls back his support of Trump and tries to go it alone.”

An all-out clash between Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell would play out between men whose strengths and weaknesses are very different. Mr. Trump is a political amateur, still unschooled in the ways of Washington, but he maintains a viselike grip on the affections of the Republican base. Mr. McConnell is a soft-spoken career politician, with virtuoso mastery of political fund-raising and tactics, but he had no mass following to speak of.

Mr. McConnell, while baffled at Mr. Trump’s penchant for internecine attacks, is a ruthless pragmatist and has given no overt indication that he plans to seek more drastic conflict. Despite his private battles with Mr. Trump, Mr. McConnell has sent reassuring signals with his public conduct: On Monday, he appeared in Louisville, Ky., with Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, for a discussion of tax policy.

Mr. McConnell’s Senate colleagues, however, have grown bolder. The combination of the president’s frontal attacks on Senate Republicans and his claim that there were “fine people” marching with white supremacists in Charlottesville has emboldened lawmakers to criticize Mr. Trump in withering terms.

Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee rebuked Mr. Trump last week for failing to “demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence” required of presidents. On Monday, Senator Susan Collins of Maine said in a television interview that she was uncertain Mr. Trump would be the Republican presidential nominee in 2020.

There are few recent precedents for the rift. The last time a president turned on a legislative leader of his own party was in 2002, when allies of George W. Bush helped force Trent Lott to step down as Senate minority leader after racially charged remarks at a birthday party for Senator Strom Thurmond, Republican of South Carolina.

For the moment, Mr. McConnell appears to be far more secure in his position, and perhaps immune to coercion from the White House. Republicans are unlikely to lose control of the Senate in 2018, and Mr. Trump has no allies in the Senate who have shown an appetite for combat with Mr. McConnell.

Still, some allies of Mr. Trump on the right — including Stephen K. Bannon, who stepped down last week as Mr. Trump’s chief strategist — welcome more direct conflict with Mr. McConnell and congressional Republicans.

Roger J. Stone Jr., a Republican strategist who has advised Mr. Trump for decades, said the president needed to “take a scalp” in order to force cooperation from Republican elites who have resisted his agenda. Mr. Stone urged Mr. Trump to make an example of one or more Republicans, like Mr. Flake, who have refused to give full support to his administration.

“The president should start bumping off incumbent Republican members of Congress in primaries,” Mr. Stone said. “If he did that, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan would wet their pants and the rest of the Republicans would get in line.”

But Mr. McConnell’s allies warn that the president should be wary of doing anything that could jeopardize the Senate Republican majority.

“The quickest way for him to get impeached is for Trump to knock off Jeff Flake and Dean Heller and be faced with a Democrat-led Senate,” said Billy Piper, a lobbyist and former McConnell chief of staff.

Trump Kills More Civilians Than Obama Fighting ISIS

BY TOM O'CONNOR

NEWSWEEK

The U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) has killed more civilians during President Donald Trump's first seven months in office than in the three years it existed under his predecessor, according to the latest estimate by a U.K.-based monitor.

Airwars, which describes itself as a "journalist-led transparency project," released Tuesday its latest data on airstrikes reportedly conducted by the U.S. and its allies battling ISIS and other jihadists in Iraq and Syria. According to data gathered since the coalition's inception in October 2014, the U.S.-dominated multinational force has been responsible for a minimum of 5,117 civilian deaths, with about 55 percent of them occurring during Trump's administration. While the stage of the conflict inherited by the Republican leader has largely involved targeting ISIS's urban strongholds after allied gains elsewhere under former President Barack Obama, Trump has faced backlash at home and abroad over reports of mounting collateral damage.

"During @BarackObama's 29 months at helm of ISIS war we tracked 855 alleged civilian casualty events which likely killed 2298-3398 civilians," Airwars tweeted to the group's official account.

"In @realDonaldTrump's first 7 months as President, we tracked 1,196 alleged incidents in which we assess at least 2,819-4,529 civilians died," it added.

The U.S. began conducting airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria in October 2014 as part of what came to be known as the Joint Combined Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve. The campaign was created in response to lightning gains made across Iraq and Syria by ISIS, a notoriously brutal and powerful offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. The ultraconservative Sunni Muslim group managed to overpower local forces and expanded its self-proclaimed caliphate across nearly half of the two countries.

The group's lines of defense began to collapse in Iraq as it was targeted by the country's armed forces, Kurdish militias, majority-Shiite Muslim militias backed by Iran and U.S.-led airstrikes. In Syria, U.S. airstrikes assisted the local Kurdish forces and some Arab insurgent groups in taking on the jihadists, while a 2015 Russian intervention allowed Syria's embattled military and its allies, including Iran-backed militias, to retake large parts of the country lost to ISIS and other anti-government groups in the wake of a 2011 uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Assad have also been criticized for reports of high civilian casualties incurred by their joint air campaigns.

When Trump came into office in January, U.S. forces had already begun major offensives to help local allies dislodge ISIS from two of its most important cities. Since then, the Iraqi government has declared ISIS defeated in Mosul, by far the largest city to fall into the jihadists' hands, and the Syrian Democratic Forces, a mostly Kurdish alliance of Arabs and ethnic minorities, has beaten ISIS in about half of its de facto capital of Raqqa. As the two campaigns became increasingly urban, civilian casualties increased substantially. In last month's report, Airwars said that about 80 civilians were killed per month under Obama and that that figure had risen to 360 under Trump by July.

Other monitoring groups have also criticized the increasingly deadly consequences of the U.S.-led intervention against ISIS. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based group with ties to the exiled Syrian opposition, said Monday that coalition airstrikes had escalated in the past week, killing 167 people, with at least 42 dead reported from a single airstrike that day.

"Such massacres only add to the deteriorating humanitarian situation of civilians in ISIS-controlled areas in Raqqa city, where death became inevitable awaiting even those who try to flee along with their families to areas far from the doomed city," the group wrote.

Co-Founder Of Firm Tied To Trump Dossier Interviews With Senate Panel

BY MAX GREENWOOD

THE HILL

Provided by The Hill Co-founder of firm tied to Trump dossier interviews with Senate panel

The co-founder of a firm behind the controversial opposition research dossier on President Trump spoke to investigators on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday behind closed doors.

ABC News reported that Glenn Simpson was set to be questioned about funding and sources for the dossier, which contained salacious and unverified information about the president.

Simpson's firm, Fusion GPS, was first hired by Republicans to dig up dirt on Trump during his presidential campaign. But as Trump emerged as the party's likely nominee, GOP donors ended their work with the firm, and Democrats began paying Fusion GPS for opposition research on Trump.

Fusion GPS commissioned Christopher Steele, a former British spy, to compile the dossier.

The firm's role in developing the controversial document has emerged as a topic of interest for the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is among several congressional panels probing Russia's efforts to meddle in the presidential election and possible ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Simpson had initially declined to speak with the committee but agreed to do so last month. In exchange for his testimony, the panel's top lawmakers, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), agreed to withdraw a subpoena for his testimony.

According to a Fox News report, Fusion GPS has already turned over some 40,000 documents to the judiciary committee.

Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and Russian officials and has fiercely denied allegations made in the dossier, which remains uncorroborated.