Shanahan predicts expanded role at border for Pentagon

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan expects that the Pentagon’s role on the border will expand in some way as the situation there “deteriorates.”

Shanahan, speaking to reporters while travelling home to Washington, indicated a belief that the number of migrants trying to cross over from the border with Mexico will lead the Department of Homeland Security to request more assistance from the Defense Department.

“We’re still working with DHS to understand, enduring wise, what’s the best fit and role for us and how do we help make sure that DHS can stand up the right capability,” he said. “But just strictly on the basis of the volume and how much the situation there has deteriorated, I would expect us to do more."

The acting secretary added that he expects any additional requests will be “consistent with things we’ve had in the past,” which could include setting up temporary shelters before handing them over to DHS.

“To me, the situation is elastic. If DHS has a certain capacity and there’s a real uptick, then the response is not going to be from them generating more capacity from overtime,” he added.

Shanahan’s comments come on the final day of DHS head Kirstjen Nielsen’s tenure at the agency.

During an interview with Brett Baier of Fox News airing shortly after he returned to Washington, Shanahan defended the military deployments at the border, while denying that he saw “tensions” between President Donald Trump DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, whose last day at the agency was Wednesday.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/04/09/shanahan-predicts-expanded-role-at-border-for-pentagon/

(3) GOP senators introduce bill to reduce legal immigration

Three Republican senators on Wednesday introduced legislation supported by President Trump that would reduce overall immigration levels to limit low-skilled workers from entering the country, which the lawmakers say would boost wages.

Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.), who proposed the bill in the last Congress, have teamed up with freshman Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to reintroduce the legislation, called the RAISE Act, at a time when a surge of migrants at the Southern border has put a spotlight on the need for immigration reform.

“For decades, our immigration system has been completely divorced from the needs of our country and has harmed the livelihoods of working-class Americans,” Cotton said in a statement.

He argues the bill would increase working class wages and create jobs.

The RAISE Act would replace the current employment-visa framework with what sponsors say would be a skills-based system that prioritizes immigrants who are more educated, speak English and show a record of achievement or entrepreneurial initiative.

It would prioritize the legal entry of the immediate family members of United States residents but end preferences for extended family members and adult children.

“Our current immigration system is broken and is not meeting the needs of our growing economy,” Perdue said. “If we want to continue to be the global economic leader, we have to welcome the best and brightest from around the world who wish to come to the United States legally to work and make a better life for themselves.”

Hawley, who was elected to his first term in November, said: “With the RAISE Act, the United States can finally end chain migration and move to a merit-based system.”

The bill would eliminate what sponsors call the “outdated” visa lottery program, which was created to promote diversity.

The GOP lawmakers say the lottery is “plagued with fraud” and fails to promote significant diversity.

The legislation would also limit the number of refugees offered permanent U.S. residency to 50,000 per year.

Senior White House advisor Stephen Miller, whose influence in the White House is growing and is reportedly behind a recent shakeup at the Department of Homeland Security, praised the Raise Act in 2017 as “what President Trump campaigned on.”

The Senate overwhelmingly rejected a Trump-backed proposal to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws in February of 2018 by a vote of 39-60. That proposal was backed by Cotton and Perdue and, like the RAISE Act, would have limited legal immigration and scrapped the Diversity Visa Lottery program.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/438221-gop-senators-introduce-bill-to-reduce-legal-immigration

BARR: ‘I THINK SPYING DID OCCUR’ AGAINST TRUMP CAMPAIGN

Attorney General William Barr dropped a bombshell Wednesday, telling a group of senators that he believes spying against the Trump campaign did take place in 2016.

“I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal,” Barr said during an exchange with Democratic New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Shaheen asked in a follow-up whether Barr believed the FBI spied on the Trump team.

“You’re not suggesting, though, that spying occurred?” Shaheen asked.

“I think spying did occur. Yes, I think spying did occur. But the question is whether it was predicated, adequately predicated,” Barr said.

“I’m not suggesting it wasn’t adequately predicted, but I need to explore that.”

Barr was discussing his plans to investigate the FBI’s decision to open a counterintelligence investigation against Trump campaign associates. The bureau used confidential informants and relied heavily on the Democrat-funded Steele dossier as part of the investigation, which was code-named Crossfire Hurricane.

President Donald Trump and other Republicans have dubbed the counterintelligence probe “Spygate,” especially regarding the FBI’s use of an informant named Stefan Halper. Halper, a former Cambridge professor, made contact with at least three Trump campaign advisers, Carter Page, Sam Clovis and George Papadopoulos. (RELATED: DOJ Watchdog Scrutinizing FBI Informant Who Made Contact With Trump Campaign)

Democrats have bristled at the term “spy” to describe the FBI’s confidential human sources.

Barr said that he plans to form a team to gather information from the Justice Department and Capitol Hill related to the FBI’s investigation, which was formally opened on July 31, 2016.

“I’m not suggesting that those rules were violated, but I think it’s important to look at that.”

“I am going to be reviewing both the genesis and the conduct of the intelligence activities directed at the Trump campaign during 2016,” Barr said.

Barr said that he will not be investigating the entire FBI.

“This is not launching an investigation of the FBI,” he added. “To the extent there were any issues at the FBI, I do not view it as a problem that’s endemic to the FBI. I think there was probably a failure among a group of leaders there at the upper echelon, so I don’t like to hear attacks of the FBI.”

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/10/william-barr-spying-trump-campaign/

Turkey says it will look elsewhere if U.S. won't sell Patriots, F-35s

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey warned on Wednesday that it could buy jets and additional air defense systems from Russia if it cannot get Patriot missile shields and F-35 jets from Washington, raising the prospect of ever deeper defense ties between Moscow and a NATO member.

President Tayyip Erdogan’s existing plans to buy Russian S-400 missile defenses have already alarmed the United States, which says they are not compatible with NATO systems and would compromise the security of F-35 jets Turkey is due to receive.

Washington has offered Ankara both carrot and stick in response, proposing to sell it the Raytheon Co. Patriot systems instead of the S-400s, while at the same time warning of sanctions and a halt in the F-35 fighter jet sales if the Russian deal goes ahead.

Turkey has shown no sign of giving ground and Erdogan, who held talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week, was quoted on Wednesday as saying the July date for delivery of the first S-400s could even be brought forward.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also reiterated Turkey’s stance that the S-400 purchase was a done deal and that it would meet its defense needs from elsewhere if necessary.

“If the United States is willing to sell, then we’ll buy Patriots. However, if the United States doesn’t want to sell, we may buy more S-400s or other systems,” Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

“If the F-35s don’t work out, I will again have to procure the jets I need from elsewhere … There are (Russian) SU-34, SU-57 and others. I will absolutely meet my needs from somewhere until I can produce it myself,” he said.

Asked about Cavusoglu’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was looking for opportunities to broaden its military and technical cooperation with Turkey. “This is an absolutely normal process,” he told reporters.

“EITHER F-35s OR S-400s”

The F-35s stealth fighters are being built by Lockheed Martin Corp, but Turkish manufacturers are also involved in production, further complicating the fallout from any rupture between the two countries.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-usa/turkey-says-it-will-look-elsewhere-if-u-s-wont-sell-patriots-f-35s-idUSKCN1RM0D2

It is possible the Hussein administration set this in motion with the coup attempt on Erdogan. Something is really off about all of this.

Can we get Flynn back to work to help clean this mess up?

U.S. Department of State Announces Updates to Safety and Security Messaging for U.S. Travelers

On April 9, 2019, the Department of State introduced a new risk indicator to our public Travel Advisories in order to communicate more clearly to U.S. citizens the risks of kidnapping and hostage taking by criminal and terrorist actors around the world. The new “K” indicator is part of our ongoing commitment to provide clear and comprehensive travel safety information to U.S. citizens so they can make informed travel decisions.

The Department issues Travel Advisories for every country around the world, offering standardized levels of advice based on established risk indicators such as crime, terrorism, civil unrest, natural disasters, health, and other potential risks. The Travel Advisories for 35 countries have been updated to include a “K” indicator for the risk of kidnapping and/or hostage taking: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Russian Federation, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine (in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine), Venezuela, and Yemen. See the full Travel Advisories for more details: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html.

The U.S. Department of State has no greater responsibility than the safety and welfare of Americans overseas. The Bureau of Consular Affairs works closely with the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs and the entire U.S. interagency to serve and protect Americans overseas and to prevent and resolve cases of kidnapping and hostage taking. We will continue to update our public information as part of our ongoing commitment to serve U.S. citizens as they travel abroad.

https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2019/04/291021.htm

Department of Energy Announces $87 Million for Coal Research and Development Projects

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced up to $87.3 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects for advanced coal technologies and research. DOE Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg announced this R&D funding at the Annual Project Review Meeting for Crosscutting, Rare Earth Elements, Gasification, and Transformative Power Generation at the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

“Coal-fueled power plants are a significant source of electrical power generation in the United States. The goal with these projects is to ensure that the United States can have a fleet of coal-fired power plants that provides stable power generation with operational flexibility, high efficiency, low emissions, and lower costs for consumers,” said Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg. “By investing in this R&D, we will enable the United States to continue maximizing its domestic energy resources while protecting our supply of reliable and affordable electricity.”

In 2017, coal was the second-largest energy source for electricity generation in the United States.

The R&D projects for coal-fueled power plants and technologies will fall under five separate funding opportunity announcements (FOAs):

1.) Advancing Steam Turbine Performance for Coal Boilers: This FOA seeks to improve the performance of steam-based power cycles, resulting in a lower cost of electricity with reduced emissions per megawatt-hour for coal-fueled boilers. This FOA also includes an area of interest for conceptual engineering design for steam turbines in the 50–350 MW range in support of DOE’s Coal FIRST initiative. DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy’s (FE) Advanced Turbines Program will support these projects. Read more details about this FOA here.

DOE Funding: Up to $22 million

2.) Transformational Sensing Systems for Monitoring the Deep Subsurface: This FOA seeks to reduce uncertainty and enable real-time decision making associated with subsurface carbon dioxide (CO2) storage. FE’s Carbon Storage Research Program will support these projects. Read more details about this FOA here.

DOE Funding: Up to $4.8 million

3.) Crosscutting Research for Coal-Fueled Power Plants: This FOA aims to develop innovative technologies that will enhance the performance and economics of the existing and future coal fleet—thereby lowering electricity costs for consumers. FE’s Crosscutting Research Program will support these projects. Read more details about this FOA here.

DOE Funding: Up to $14.5 million

4.) Advanced Materials for High-Efficiency, Flexible and Reliable Coal-Fueled Power Plants: This FOA will reduce the cost and enhance the cyclic durability of materials used in advanced ultrasupercritical power plants. These advanced materials are critical to increasing the efficiency and reliability of coal-fueled power plants. FE’s Advanced Materials Program will support these projects. Read more details about this FOA here.

DOE Funding: Up to $26 million

5.) Process Scale-Up and Optimization/Efficiency Improvements for Rare Earth Elements (REE) and Critical Materials (CM) Recovery from Coal-Based Resources: This FOA will support cooperative agreements to advance the development of technologies for recovery REEs and CMs from domestic coal-based resources through both novel and conventional extraction, separation, and recovery processes. FE’s Feasibility of Recovering Rare Earth Elements Program will support these projects. Read more details about this FOA here.

DOE Funding: Up to $20 million

https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-announces-87-million-coal-research-and-development-projects

Energy is VERY important.

Thanks Secretary Perry!

>>6121634

You don't keep a patriot like ECW in one position. He moves all over the board where his skill set is required.