WorthyNewsBot

(Worthy News) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programs, but he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. "There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely," Trump told Reuters in an Oval Office interview ahead of his 100th day in office on Saturday. Nonetheless, Trump said he wanted to peacefully resolve a crisis that has bedeviled multiple U.S. presidents, a path that he and his administration are emphasizing by preparing a variety of new economic sanctions while not taking the military option off the table. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Israel Air Force reportedly attacked an Iranian arms depot near the Damascus International Airport early Thursday morning, according to the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Manar television station. According to various reports, a series of explosions at fuel tanks and warehouses near the airport rocked eastern Damascus at around 3:20am. Regular supplies of weapons from Tehran are sent by commercial and military cargo planes through the arms supply hub, which is operated by Hezbollah, Reuters cited a regional intelligence source as saying. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Explosions were heard near Damascus’s airport on Thursday morning, in what some local Arabic-language media reports blamed on an Israeli airstrike. The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman said the explosion early Thursday has been heard across the capital, jolting residents awake. “The blast was huge and could be heard in Damascus,” he said. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed Wednesday that the Trump administration aims to lower business tax rates to 15 percent, saying a forthcoming proposal will constitute the “biggest tax cut” for Americans in history. “This is going to be the biggest tax cut and the largest tax reform in the history of our country,” Mnuchin said, as administration officials prepare to outline Wednesday afternoon what he described as “principles” of their tax plan. Mnuchin, speaking at a Washington forum, would not reveal many specifics but confirmed that they want to lower the business rate to 15 percent. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced new sanctions Monday against Syria for its chemical weapon attack, targeting 271 Syrian individuals involved in the Bashar Assad regime’s chemical weapons program. The sanctions target people connected with a scientific center involved in research and development of chemical weapons, freezing their financial assets and blocking U.S. companies form doing business with them. “We will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by any actor and we plan to hold the Assad regime accountable for their unacceptable behavior,” Mr. Mnuchin told reporters at the White House. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The West Bank’s ruling party Fatah called on Palestinians to participate in a day of rage this Friday in support of the hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners. Ma'an, a Palestinian news agency, reported on Saturday that Fatah is urging Palestinians “to clash with the occupier at all friction points.” More than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, led by Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who was convicted of five counts of murder, are carrying out a mass hunger strike in Israeli prisons. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The West Bank’s ruling party Fatah called on Palestinians to participate in a day of rage this Friday in support of the hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners. Ma'an, a Palestinian news agency, reported on Saturday that Fatah is urging Palestinians “to clash with the occupier at all friction points.” More than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, led by Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who was convicted of five counts of murder, are carrying out a mass hunger strike in Israeli prisons. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A police officer was shot dead and two others were seriously wounded Thursday in the Champs-Elysées area of Paris – and ISIS is claiming its “fighter” carried out the AK-47 ambush just three days before the French presidential election. The gunman, who was shot dead by police, was known to French security services for radical Islamist activities, CNN reported. Police officers were said to have been “deliberately targeted” by a man armed “with a Kalashnikov,” or AK-47. “An automatic weapon was used against police, a weapon of war,” French interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told reporters, adding that the “terrorist threat” in France remains high. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The White House said Thursday that it wants to see money for President Trump’s border wall included in the spending bill Congress must pass next week — a demand Democrats said sours negotiations and makes a government shutdown more likely. The demands mark a reversal for the administration, which had been saying it found enough money to build prototypes this year and wouldn’t need a major infusion of cash until next year. But White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that the wall and the money for more immigration agents are priorities. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Islamic State fighters launched a chemical attack against advancing Iraqi security forces in the besieged city of Mosul, injuring a number of local troops amid heavy fighting, the senior U.S. ground commander confirmed Wednesday. The attack, which took place this week in the liberated western portion of the city, ended with several members of the targeted Iraqi unit exposed to a low-grade chemical agent, similar to the material used in earlier chemical strikes against coalition forces, Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Martin said. Iraqi and coalition forces pushed the Islamic State terror group, or ISIS or ISIL, from the city’s west side in January. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - At an annual military parade in Tehran on Tuesday, Iran showed off its new S-300 air defense missile system and other weapons, many displayed under banners calling for Israel’s demise. The military parade showcased the Iranian-made Sayyad-3 anti-aircraft missile for the first time, its Russian-made S-300 system and a slew of other military equipment. Some of the trucks carrying weapons were adorned with banners showing a fist punching through a blue Star of David and the slogan “Death to Israel” in Persian. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Federal authorities have open investigations into radical Islamic terrorists in all 50 states, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which is warning that the threat of terrorism in the United States has reached an all time high with radicalized individuals in the country plotting to strike "each and every single day." The FBI has "open terrorist investigations in all 50 states," according to DHS Secretary John Kelly, who disclosed on Tuesday that there have been at least 37 "ISIS-linked plots to attack our country" since 2013, a number that shows no signs of diminishing. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - US Defense Secretary James Mattis is looking to the Middle East and North Africa for broader contributions and new ideas to fight Islamic extremism as the Trump administration fleshes out its counterterrorism strategy. His trip to the region this week includes stops with longstanding allies Israel and Saudi Arabia, and new partners like Djibouti. As the administration enhances its efforts, Mattis has made a point of consulting counterparts around the world. His goals include expanding the American-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, but also combating al-Qaeda, whose Yemen branch is posing particular worry as it uses ungoverned spaces in the Arab world’s poorest country to plan attacks on the United States. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators and counter-protesters clashed Saturday at a “Patriots Day” rally in Berkeley, the third time the groups engaged in violent confrontations on city streets in recent months. Fistfights broke out near Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, where Trump supporters had scheduled a rally. Fireworks and smoke bombs were thrown into the crowd, and a few demonstrators were doused with pepper spray. Both groups threw rocks and sticks at each other and used a large trash bin as a battering ram as the crowd moved around the perimeter of the park. One bank boarded up its ATMs before the rally as a precaution. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - North Korea attempted and failed to launch a missile, the U.S. Pacific Command confirmed on Saturday. The official said the missile was not an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which North Korea has claimed to possess but has never successfully tested. The missile blew up almost immediately, the U.S. Pacific Command said. The type of missile is still being assessed. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A vote by the U.N. Security council on a draft resolution to condemn the chemical weapon attack in Syria failed Wednesday with a veto by Russia, but fellow member China abstained, a sign that talks with President Trump last week may have had an effect on the superpower. The draft resolution by Britain, France and the United States called for those responsible for the attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun on April 4 to be identified and brought to justice. The resolution garnered 10 votes in favor, Russia and Bolivia against, and China, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia abstaining. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - President Trump vowed U.S. troops are "not going into Syria," during an interview with Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo that is set to air Wednesday. The commander in chief's promise comes days after he ordered 59 Tomahawk missiles be launched at a Syrian air base where Bashar Assad had stored chemical weapons that were used in a recent attack on Syria citizens who oppose the regime. Instead, Trump looked back at the Obama administration's foreign policy and said his predecessor could have taken action against Assad earlier to prevent these continued attacks. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - The Pentagon says a Navy carrier strike group is moving toward the western Pacific Ocean to provide a physical presence near the Korean Peninsula. North Korea’s recent ballistic missile tests and continued pursuit of a nuclear program have raised tensions in the region, where U.S. Navy ships are a common presence and serve in part as a show of force. The U.S. Pacific Command directed the carrier group to sail north to the western Pacific after departing Singapore on Saturday, according to a Navy news release. The carrier group includes the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, with support from several missile destroyers and missile cruisers. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - At least 44 people were killed in bomb attacks on the symbolic cathedral seat of the Coptic Pope and another church on Palm Sunday, prompting anger and fear among Christians and troop deployments across Egypt. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also injured more than 100 people and occurred a week before Coptic Easter, with Pope Francis scheduled to visit Egypt later this month. The assault is the latest on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants, and a challenge to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has pledged to protect them as part of his campaign against extremism. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - A video that will be published in the coming days by the Temple Mount Movement, which is working for the rights of Jews on the Temple Mount and aspires to build the third Jewish Temple, is asking Muslims to evacuate the compound this coming Monday to allow the performance of the Passover sacrifice. "On Monday, April 10, we, the Jewish people, are commanded to perform a special sacrifice on the Temple Mount. Over the years, the Jewish people have been looking forward to the moment when they would be able to renew this mitzvah. So please, evacuate the Temple Mount compound on this day to allow the Jewish people to perform the Passover sacrifice in its rightful time and place," said Rafael Morris in Arabic. In a conversation with Ynet on Tuesday, Morris rejected the claim that his intentions were fanning the flames. "Whoever wants to do this (perform a sacrifice) will do it, no matter what we say. Our goal is to make the Temple Mount a place of brotherhood among all and build a Jewish Temple. We ask them to evacuate the mountain to fulfill one of the most serious commandments in the Torah. It is possible and realistic." [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - American warships stationed off the Syrian coastline fired a salvo of cruise missiles against a Syrian military base in the western part of the country, days after a regime chemical strike left nearly 100 civilians wounded or dead. Roughly 60 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired as part of the attack early Friday morning, U.S. officials said. The strikes were centered on the al Shayrat airfield near the western Syrian city of Homs, located in the Alawite-dominated region of the country. The Arleigh-Burke class destroyers U.S.S. Porter and U.S.S. Ross launched the attacks from locations in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said Thursday night. “As always, the U.S. took extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties,” he said in a statement. “Every precaution was taken to execute this strike with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield.” [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Senate Republicans on Thursday defied Democrats and delivered a big win for President Trump, by voting to change Senate precedent in order to allow the confirmation of Trump's Supreme Court pick. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., invoked the so-called "nuclear option" after warning for weeks that he would take that step if Democrats chose to vote down Trump's pick, Judge Neil Gorsuch. Democrats did just that shortly before noon on Thursday, which prompted McConnell to start the process of changing the process for Supreme Court picks. The change sets a new precedent in the Senate that will allow all Supreme Court nominees to more easily win confirmation by eliminating the 60-vote filibuster, and allowing them to advance with just 51 votes. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday denounced the Syrian regime’s latest alleged chemical weapons attack as an “affront to humanity” and warned it would not be tolerated. Speaking alongside Jordan’s King Abdullah II at a White House news conference, Trump did not lay out in any detail as to how the United States would respond to the killings. While continuing to fault predecessor Barack Obama for much of the current situation in Syria, he acknowledged that dealing with the crisis is now his own responsibility and vowed to “carry it very proudly.” [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Reports that Iran is building workshops and facilities to make advanced rockets inside Lebanon is a “huge development” that constitutes a “whole new kind of threat,” Chagai Tzuriel, director- general of the Intelligence Ministry, said Monday. Tzuriel, at a briefing organized by The Israel Project, attributed the reports to a Kuwaiti newspaper, but seemed to accept their veracity. If true, it would mean the Iranians and Hezbollah are trying to get around the difficulty of transferring arms over land through Syria to Lebanon by manufacturing them there instead. Israel reportedly, on a number of occasions, has attacked convoys moving potentially “game-changing” armaments over land through Syria. [ Source ] View the full article

(Worthy News) - Multiple sources tell Fox News that Susan Rice, former national security adviser under then-President Barack Obama, requested to unmask the names of Trump transition officials caught up in surveillance. The unmasked names, of people associated with Donald Trump, were then sent to all those at the National Security Council, some at the Defense Department, then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and then-CIA Director John Brennan – essentially, the officials at the top, including former Rice deputy Ben Rhodes. The names were part of incidental electronic surveillance of candidate and President-elect Trump and people close to him, including family members, for up to a year before he took office. [ Source ] View the full article