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 The left is suddenly piling on Joe Biden, with ample help from the media. It was inevitable that some of the more liberal candidates would go after Joe because he's in a position to cruise to the nomination unless he gets roughed up. And journalists are primed for any takedown attempt because they want a competitive race, and Biden is turning it into a snooze-a-thon. What's more, many journalists and pundits agree with the carping that Biden isn't liberal enough. And simmering in the background is a bit of embarrassment that they predicted Biden would be such a weak candidate; they wouldn't mind a little retroactive vindication. Biden reverses course to support repeal of Hyde AmendmentWhy is Planned Parenthood flipping out over the Hyde Amendment if abortion is really 3% of what they do?Pompeo: Trump's 'America First' discards multilateralism that no longer works  President Trump is not trying to tear apart the European Union. He is also not bent on abandoning any of the big multinational institutions — NATO, the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization and others — that the U.S. built up after World War II. He is, however, committed to putting American interests first in foreign policy, and that means big institutions found to be no longer effective in promoting Western values of freedom and human rights must reform or face abandonment from Washington. That was the central message of Mike Pompeo, at first Mr. Trump’s chief spy and now his chief diplomat, charged with explaining the shift in Washington to a wary world. The secretary of state and former CIA chief has served as the tip of the spear in translating Mr. Trump’s “America First” vision to nervous European leaders, and he spoke expansively of the president’s mission in a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Times this week as he rounded out his second tour through the capitals of the continent in less than a month. House Democrats, Republicans Secretly Negotiating Congressional Pay Raise Party leaders from both sides of the aisle met in private this week to negotiate a deal that would give lawmakers their first pay bump since 2009, but one day later, the National Republican Congressional Committee blasted Democrats alone for considering a pay raise. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., hosted a meeting Tuesday with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., to talk about a deal, reports Politico Playbook. McCarthy and Scalise have said they're open to a pay raise that would increase lawmakers' salaries from $174,000. McCarthy in May told NBC that lawmakers are leaving because of the pay, and Congress hasn't had a cost-of-living adjustment in a decade. US and Russian warships nearly collide in the Pacific  The United States and Russian navies are at odds over an apparent near collision in the Pacific Friday with each side blaming the other. The US and Russian warships came somewhere between 50 feet and 165 feet of each other, according to the two opposing reports, with both sides alleging their ships were forced to perform emergency maneuvers to avoid a collision, which can be seen in video and a picture of the event obtained by CNN. This latest incident comes just days after the US Navy accused Russia of intercepting a US aircraft and amid tensions with Moscow on a wide range of geopolitical issues. Last month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Russian Vladimir Putin in the resort town of Sochi, where he warned Russia about interfering in US elections, taking a tougher public line than President Donald Trump on the issue. U.S. Navy says Russians were 'unsafe and unprofessional' in dangerous near collision incident A U.S. missile cruiser and Russian destroyer nearly collided Friday in the Philippine Sea, with the two vessels coming within at least 100 feet of one another as the two nations traded blame for the incident. American officials say the USS Chancellorsville was forced to take emergency actions to avoid hitting Russia’s Udaloy I DD 572. It’s the latest in a string of air and sea confrontations between the U.S. and Russia. FBI wiretap petitions for Trump campaign contained key errors Four FBI wiretap applications targeting a Trump campaign volunteer were more inaccurate than previously known based on subsequent investigative information, an analysis shows. The FBI applications to federal judges under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) are a central focus of the Justice Department’s special review of how the Obama administration started its probe into the Donald Trump campaign. 'Whole Life Democrats' seek to redefine party's stance on abortion Louisiana legislator sponsors anti-abortion constitutional amendment Louisiana state Rep. Katrina R. Jackson has been called plenty of names — a fake Democrat, a traitor, even a Republican — but she prefers another label: “whole life Democrat.” The two-term legislator has repeatedly defied her party with her staunch pro-life advocacy. She not only voted this week to place the No Right to Abortion constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot, but she also sponsored it. Yet Ms. Jackson is more than a random political outlier. She is helping carve a niche in her party for Democrats who oppose abortion but support a host of social programs, including a livable wage, affordable health care, equal pay for women and criminal justice reform. Pence: US 'Encouraged' by Mexico's Proposals as Tariffs Loom U.S. and Mexican officials claim to be making progress as they labored for a second day to avert import tariffs. But President Donald Trump is still threatening to impose them as he tries to pressure Mexico into stemming the flow of Central American migrants across the United States' southern border. Vice President Mike Pence, monitoring the talks from his travels in Pennsylvania, said Thursday the U.S. was "encouraged" by Mexico's latest proposals but that tariffs still were set to take effect on Monday. Pence added that it would be "for the president to decide" whether Mexico was doing enough to head off the tariffs. Pence said that, among other issues, negotiators had been discussing a potential agreement to make it difficult for those who enter Mexico from other countries to claim asylum in the U.S. Mexico has long resisted that request.
Jobs creation slows dramatically with payrolls up just 75,000 in May, much worse than expected Job creation decelerated strongly in May, with nonfarm payrolls up by just 75,000 even as the unemployment rate remained at a 50-year low, the Labor Department reported Friday. The decline was the second in four months that payrolls increased by less than 100,000 as the labor market continues to show signs of weakening. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a gain of 180,000. In addition to the weak total for May, the previous two months’ reports saw substantial downward revisions. March’s count fell from 189,000 to 153,000 and the April total was taken down to 224,000 from 263,000, for a total reduction of 75,000 jobs. Pomp, fakery, shock, rage, and crisis averted Another crisis lies behind us. The New York Times had reported that Donald Trump was, all by himself, plotting to destroy the Special Relationship with Britain, and The Washington Post reported unidentified troop movements near Yorktown, believed to be remnants of the British army surrendered by Gen. Cornwallis, marching on the capital to avenge Mr. Trump’s various insults in London. But the president apparently used all the right forks at the dinner, he didn’t drool on his tie, and he seemed to get along swimmingly with Queen Elizabeth II at the elegant state dinner at Buckingham Palace. An occasional royal smile widened into a grin (perhaps at one of the president’s jokes), he made no attempt to grab anything, and the Special Relationship survived intact. “But it was a close-run thing,” the Duke of Wellington told CNN News. The trip was a success. Hope and respect are the keys to peace in Israel If employers have to lay off workers because of the boycott, everyone gets hurt, including Arabs Hope and respect will help bring peace throughout Israel. Tonette and I visited Israel this past week. I saw a glimpse of that hope while visiting a company called Alon Group in Samaria. There we spoke with owner Rafael Alon and his team. Of the hundreds of people that they employ at that factory, about half of the workforce is Jewish and the other half is Arab. Rafael says he loves all of his employees. And he notes with pride that his workers make about two and a half times as much at his factory as people make in the Arab areas. Having a good-paying job makes people much more interested in keeping their job and maintaining their homes without conflict.
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