USA news on Youtube Dec 30 2017

Hey guys. Mark here from Melbourne with a quick update from Vestas 11 Hour Racing.

First of all, all of us want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas

and hope you're looking forward to a Happy New Year.

We are really looking forward to this next leg.

Leg 4 up to Hong Kong and on that leg we're gonna be implementing

a couple of crew changes.

First and foremost will have Phil Harmer rejoining the team.

He's been dealing with a little bit of a back injury and wasn't able to

do the first few legs, but he's been working really hard in his rehab and

we're looking forward to having his fresh burst of energy back on board.

We're also gonna have Hannah Diamond join us. She did the first leg and

obviously we were very successful there and it's all part of our crew rotation

So it really should be a seamless integration.

And the unfortunate

bit is that Charlie's at home dealing with an ongoing family medical emergency.

All of our hearts go out to Charlie and his family and he

really wishes he could be here, but ultimately the strength of our team

is that we're surrounded by a number of people and a lot of sailing talent where

anybody can do just about any job on the boat.

So we're in a really good spot

I think we're gonna have another competitive leg and there's no reason

why we shouldn't be able to put up just as good, if not a better result

in the next leg as we did in the last.

So it's really business as usual for us here.

Obviously all of our well wishes going out to Charlie and his

family and to all of you as well.

Just want to thank everybody for their support

It's been a very interesting race with lots of twists and turns and

this next leg should be another interesting one as well.

We'll be shedding off the neoprene gloves and out will come to floppy hats.

And it's gonna be plenty hot but but it should be a really good leg.

Thanks for supporting us and look forward to seeing everybody in the water.

For more infomation >> Race Crew Announced for Leg 4 - Duration: 1:50.

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BREAKING: Mar-A-Lago Forced To SHUT DOWN |MK Today - Duration: 3:06.

BREAKING: Mar-A-Lago Forced To SHUT DOWN.

President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Golf Club was forced to shut down on Friday, and

the reason why has people ecstatic.

The President has been spending his Christmas vacation at the Florida club to take some

time away from the chaos in Washington, but it hasn't come without some chaos of its

own.

In fact, earlier this week, a crew for CNN was caught in the bushes trying to spy on

President Trump as he played a round of golf at the exclusive resort, so the President

did what anyone wanting privacy would do – he had a giant white box truck parked right in

their line of view so the CNN camera's couldn't see in.

Although despite the fake news media's attempts to catch the President in a precarious predicament,

he came out on top once again, and he did so in a major way.

On Friday, 45 decided he was going to honor the brave men and women of the Coast Guard

in a manner that no other president in the past has done – shut down the entire private

resort to allow them to play a tournament and enjoy themselves for the day.

From the White House pool report:

Per White House:

The President invited service members of the United States Coast Guard – from Station

Lake Worth Inlet and other Coast Guard members from across the United States – to play

golf today at Trump International Golf Course.

"These brave men and women patrol the waterways near Palm Beach and Mar-a-Lago every day.

The president wanted to thank these service members personally for their service to this

nation," deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said.

Check out some pictures:

"@POTUS shut down Mar-a-Lago on Friday to show appreciation for the brave men & women

in the @USCG, letting them play a tournament on the prestigious course, all on his dime.

He fed them meals all day too.

Thank you, Mr. President!

#MAGA"

According to reports, the President also made sure the golfing soldiers were well fed throughout

the day, serving them lunch and snacks as they made their way around the course.

As if you anyone really needed to be reminded, Barack Obama played golf 333 times while he

was in office, according to CBS News reporter Mark Knoller.

Of those, do you know how many times he shut down a golf course to let our brave soldiers

have a tournament?

None.

However, he did once interrupt a golf game to address the beheading of James Foley, but

it was only a brief pause before he went back onto the course to finish the hole he was

on.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, than what's it worth to shut down your entire

elite golf course so people, who probably couldn't afford to play there otherwise,

can have an afternoon of fun?

Thank you, President Trump, for showing so much appreciation to the one branch of our

Armed forces that gets the least amount of recognition.

I'm positive you not only made their day, but gave them a major boost in morale as well

as an awesome story to tell for the rest of their lives.

what do you think about this?

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For more infomation >> BREAKING: Mar-A-Lago Forced To SHUT DOWN |MK Today - Duration: 3:06.

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No More Free Money: President Trump Cuts Off Millions in Military Aid to Pakistan |MK Today - Duration: 4:32.

No More Free Money: President Trump Cuts Off Millions in Military Aid to Pakistan.

The Trump administration announced on Friday it will not be sending military aid totaling

$255 million to Pakistan.

The monetary aid was denied to the Pakistan government in response to its ineffective

action against terrorists and militants on its soil.

The Hindustan Times reported:

The Trump administration on Friday announced the United States will deny Pakistan military

aid amounting to $255 million as it expects Islamabad to take decisive action "against

terrorists and militants on its soil".

"The United States does not plan to spend the $255 million in FY 2016 in Foreign Military

Financing for Pakistan at this time," said a spokesperson of the President's National

Security Council in a statement to Hindustan Times.

"The President has made clear that the United States expects Pakistan to take decisive action

against terrorists and militants on its soil, and that Pakistan's actions in support of

the South Asia Strategy will ultimately determine the trajectory of our relationship, including

future security assistance.

"The Administration continues to review Pakistan's level of cooperation."

The statement reflected and sealed the administration's complete disillusionment with Pakistan, which

had sought to brazenly disregard the explicit warnings issued by President Donald Trump

personally and leading members of his cabinet, such as secretaries James Mattis and Rex Tillerson.

"This could be the severest blow dealt to Islamabad by this administration if it indeed

decided to withhold it," said a leading US expert on Pakistan, who did not want to

be identified.

"There is more coming," the expert added.

First reported by The New York Times, the move to withhold the money, which may not

be large but would have signaled US backing, is reported to have come shortly after Pakistan

refused to hand over to the Americans an operative of the Haqqani Network apprehended during

the rescue of an American-Canadian family in October.

The Haqqani Network is an affiliate of Afghan Taliban and works out of Pakistan, inflicting

massive casualties on US-led international coalition in Afghanistan.

Frustrated by Islamabad's reluctance to give them, the United States has tied large

portions of military aid payments to Pakistan to its actions aimed at debilitating the network.

Pakistan, however, has chosen to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in such payments over

2015 and 2016, instead of kicking out the terrorists.

And it has lost equity.

The Trump administration was clear from the start it wouldn't countenance continuity

in ties and aid without real changes.

"We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they

are housing the very terrorists that we are fighting," President Donald Trump had said

unveiling his new South Asia strategy in August.

"But that will have to change, and that will change immediately."

But there was no marked change in Pakistan's behaviour, as was publicly attested by a top

US military commander, General John Nicholson, in November, three months after Trump's

unequivocal warning.

There have been signs, instead, of resolute defiance, such as the release of Lashkar-e-Taiba

founder Hafiz Saeed from house arrest, An outraged White House used unusually harsh

language and tone to demand his rearrest, with a warning that failure could have "repercussions"

for bilateral ties.

Saeed remains free, and Pakistani officials have sought to shift the blame for it on the

independence of the country's judiciary, when law enforcement and prosecution remain

with the executive branch.

And they sought to blame India for providing insufficient incriminating evidence — in

connection with the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks carried out by Saeed's Lashkar-e-Taiba.

There is a US bounty of $10 million for the man's arrest.

Denial of aid, many critics of Pakistan argue, will unlikely make an impact on Islamabad

and they have called for harsher measures.

Stripping Pakistan of the status of a non-NATO ally, for one, which could cost it military

aid in terms of money and equipment.

And, more punishing perhaps, would be to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, such

as Syria and North Korea, which could severely cripple Pakistan.

That's the impending "more" indicated by the South Asia expert.

What do you think about this?

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