Wednesday, August 29, 2018

                    NEWS SUMMARY AT THIS HOUR

                               (UPDATING EXPANDING THROUGH 8AM EASTERN TIME)

We begin with the latest on the Russia, Syria, Iran situation.

The United States is publicly warning Russia and Syria against the use of chemical weapons during the upcoming government offensive in Syria.

Heather Nauert of the State Department says that the United States will respond to any verified use of chemical weapons in Syria" "in a swift and appropriate manner".  She said US officials are talking about the matter with their Russian counterparts.

Russia's Defense Ministry spokesman said last Saturday that British intelligence and jihadist opposition forces in Syria were planning a false flag chemical attack to trigger a military response by the US and allied nations.

Mainstream media reports stressed a threatening Russian military posture Tuesday with word that Russia now has the largest number of warships in Syrian waters ever since they began supporting the government there in 2015.

Another big story involved Russia's plans for a major military exercise next month involving thousands of tanks and planes and hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu says Russia is negotiating with opposition forces in northern Syria to avoid a fight with the Assad regime forces preparing to launch their expected offensive.

Meanwhile, US UN Ambassador Nikki Haley says Iran is using human shields in the war in Yemen where Iran backs the Houthi rebels.

Her comments came hours after a United Nations human rights panel reported that the various factions in Yemen's Civil War including the Saudi Arabian led military coalition supported by the US may be guilty of war crimes.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis says the US is working for a negotiated settlement of the conflict but also said Saudi Arabia has a right to defend itself from missile attacks launched by Houthi rebels against Saudi targets.

The Houthis say they fired another missile at Saudi Arabia today.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei says that Iran could pull out of the nuclear deal with foreign powers if the deal does not serve its own interests.   The United States has already pulled out of it with other powers saying they are trying to salvage the deal.    Khamenei's comments were posted today on his official website.

Former Congressman, Republican presidential candidate and longtime Libertarian activist Ron Paul has endorsed the independent candidacy of Ryan Bundy for governor of Nevada.

Paul said Bundy knows abuse at the hands of the federal government first hand and noted how he was imprisoned in connection with the Bunkerville Standoff while the federal government hid evidence proving his innocence.

Ryan Bundy faces Republican Adam Laxalt and Democrat Steve Sisolak in the General Election in Nevada this November.

Tuesday was a big primary election day.

President Trump put the best spin on outcome of the 3-way Republican US Senate race in Arizona.  

In 2016 the primary winner Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally wouldn't say who she would vote for in the November election echoing the lack of enthusiasm for Donald Trump in the Arizona GOP led by the late Senator John McCain who wrote in Senator Lindsey Graham.

Tweeting late last night, Trump noted that McSally did not accept the endorsement of outgoing Republican Senator Jeff Flake, an outspoken opponent of the President.   He urged support for McSally in November. 

Flake responded saying that he had never endorsed anyone in the race to begin with and his last endorsement was of Democrat Doug Jones against Roy Moore in the Alabama Special Election last year.

Conservative Trump supporting candidate Kelli Ward was heavily attacked by anti-Trump special interests with a massive negative ad campaign during the primary campaign.

She was also hampered by the third candidate in the race, former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Democrat Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema won in her primary to face McSally in November.

Among the Democrats in Florida former Clinton Administration Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala won the nomination for an open House seat in the Miami area.

And a Bernie Sanders type Democrat Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum won his party's nomination for US Senate.   He will face Republican Governor Rick Scott in the fall.

Police in the Netherlands have arrested a man alleged to be planning an attack on Dutch Parliament member and Party of Freedom leader Geert Wilders.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister has condemed a planned Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest being held by Wilders in November.   Shah Mahmood Qureshi complained to his Dutch counterpart over the planned contest saying:  "such acts spread hate and intolerance".

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's agreeable to a new trade deal with the United States if its favorable to Canada.

Canada's Foreign Minister broke off a European trip and rushed to Washington after President Trump announced agreement with Mexico leaving Canada out in the cold on a new trade agreement to replace NAFTA, which the President said was bad for the United States.

Canada is now trying to cut a deal so it can be in on the pact between US and Mexico.

Actress Rose McGowan is coming out in support of former child actor Jimmy Bennett, who says he was sexually assaulted by Actress-Director Asia Argento in 2013 when he was 17.

McGowan says what happened to Bennett "wasn't fair (or) right".

McGowan also says she is reevaluating her relationship with Argento.   Both of them say they were victimized by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Argento has admitted paying Bennett 380-thousand dollars but denies any sexual misconduct.

Text messages have recently been published that appear to contradict her denial of sexual activity with him.

French and British fishing boats have clashed in the English Channel.   A group of several dozen French boats came down on five British vessels with insults, rocks and smoke bombs hurled at the Brits.

The French were angered by the British fishing for scallops in waters 12 miles off the coast of Normandy.   Its legal for the British to be fishing there but the French say their catch is being stolen from them.

The European Union regulates how much fishing can be done causing problems for the fishing industry with many in Britain advocating Brexit as a way to rejuvenate the industry.

A British fishing association is calling for calm in the aftermath of the incident.  A French local government official says both sides attacked each other during the confrontation.

How many people died when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico last September?    A "independent investigation"  revised the number of dead 50 times higher to 2.975.    The governor of Puerto Rico accepted the findings officially this week.

Blame is being thrown at Washington and the Trump Administration with some critics going so far as to claim President Trump cared more about victims of hurricanes in Texas and Florida than in Puerto Rico.

Pennsylvania's Governor Tom Wolf, a  Democrat running for re-election this year, is visiting Puerto Rico this week.  Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York has made relief for Puerto Rico a major issue in his re-election year as well.   Both politicians apparently trying to capitalize on the issue to reach Puerto Rican voters in their states.

Governor Cuomo will face off against his left-leaning Democrat primary opponent actress Cynthia Nixon in a debate this evening at Hofstra University.   Nixon says Cuomo is controlling the debate through direct interaction with sponsor WCBS-TV leaving her out in the cold.  She also says that Cuomo is even controlling the air conditioning to cool down the temperatures for his comfort and make her female metabolism uncomfortable.

Voters will decide the winner in the primary on September 13th.

In the southern German state of Bavaria, latest polling for the October 14th election shows the lowest numbers ever for the Christian Social Union, the sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union.     The CSU is down to 36 percent.   They won nearly 48 percent  of the vote and a parliamentary majority in the last election.

Immigration and migrant crime are major issues.

The anti-European Union  Alternative for Germany Party is in its first quest for votes in the state elections.    They are polling at 14 percent with the left-leaning Green Party polling at 15 percent.

That's the news and if you want to remember 50 years ago in Chicago, the tumultuous Democratic National Convention, there's a special post at this link.....DNC 1968 POST

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