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During his election campaign, he promised to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The White House commented that waiting to do such a move might help to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
U.S.
“The United States Will Withdraw” – Trump
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“The United States will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement,” said Trump this week.
Trump said he wants to negotiate for better terms, and that other countries are given an economic edge by the current accord. The U.S., he said, suffers lost jobs, lower wages, closed factories, and diminished economic production because of the agreement.
European countries said that the agreement could not be renegotiated, and China reaffirmed its commitment to the deal.
The U.S. entered the agreement under Obama, who decided to say yes to it without submitting it to the Senate for confirmation — analysts believe it wouldn’t have passed the Senate.
Teens Now Have to Get Business Licences to Mow Lawns
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In a city in Alabama called Gardendale, youths who go out to mow lawns this year have been threatened by officials and landscaping companies that they have to get a business licence before starting, which brings in $110 for the city for each licence.
Adults who also cut lawns over the summer have made complaints about teens making money cutting a few lawns, and the mayor of the town, Stan Hogeland, said that people must have a business licence when operating within the city, and that he would like to have something added to the books that would be more appropriate for teens making summer cash, like “maybe a temporary licence … that targets teenagers.” He said that going after teens was not a priority, and that he wanted to find a way to deal with the situation favorably.
Bilderberg Group to Meet on Russia, Trump and “Information War”
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This year’s meeting, taking place in Chantilly, Virginia, near the White House, includes the following topics: ‘Russia in the international order,’ China, ‘The Trans-Atlantic defence alliance: bullets, bytes and bucks,’ ‘The war on information,’ ‘Direction of the EU’ and ‘Why is populism growing?’
It’s the 65th meeting of the secretive group. Kissinger, Thiel, and upper level staff of news organizations like Bloomberg, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and the London Evening Standard will also be among the 130 so far confirmed.
U.S. Shoots Down ICBM for First Time
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According to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, their ground-based defense system has finally shot down an ICBM on the first try.
However, what it hit wasn’t actually an ICBM, but a simulated missile shot from the Marshall Islands, and the interceptor was shot from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Because the simulated missile doesn’t have the unpredictability, range, counter-countermeasures, or mass numbers of real ones, it isn’t representative of how well the military would be able to prevent an actual ICBM attack. Military officials still spoke highly of the event as a significant step.
The “kill vehicle” used in the test is a new kind, a 5-foot-long device that steers into the path of the oncoming missile, destroying it by the force of impact.
Trump Calls Killers of Christians in Egypt “Organizations”
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Trump continues to not use the term he frequently challenged others to use during his campaign, “radical Islamic terrorism,” when commenting this week on the attack on Christians in Egypt that killed 25 and wounded as many others.
Attacks on Christians by Muslims are common in Egypt and other Muslim-majority countries in the area.
Trump called those responsible for the attacks “evil organizations of terror with a thuggish ideology.”
Trump’s Second Version of Travel Ban Block Upheld
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The first Federal appeals court (in Richmond, VA) to rule on the revised travel ban upheld the decision of a lower court to block it.
The appellate judges said the policy “drips with religious intolerance.”
The Justice Department said it would appeal further.
Trump at NATO Meeting
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The president met with other world leaders in Brussels this week — a meeting for an organization he last year called “obsolete” in the city he last year called a “hell hole.”
Analysts noted that world leaders seemed somewhat dismayed about Trump’s continued insistence they pay more money. Trump reminded them many nations owe large amounts for their defense.
Trump also met with the two leaders of the EU, another institution previously heavily criticized by Trump, and with France’s new leader Macron.
Trump, Flynn, Comey Thing Ongoing
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Although there haven’t been any big breaks in the story, the relationship between Trump, Trump staff, Flynn, and Comey continues to dominate U.S. news headlines this week.
Trump’s Statement on Manchester Attack Includes No Mention of ‘Radical Islamic Terrorism’
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Although during the campaign trail Trump used the term frequently, and criticized other politicians for never uttering it, he did not use the term or even make reference to “Islam” or “Muslim” while making his statement on the attack — now confirmed by police to have been perpetrated by a Muslim extremist. Instead, he said he would refer to the perpetrators as “losers.”
Trump Speech in Saudi Arabia: Islamic Extremism, Problematic Iran
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At the Arab and Muslim leaders summit this weekend, attended 50 dignitaries, mostly Sunnis, Trump gave a speech in which he talked about common enemies: Islamic terrorism and Iran.
Trump recently completed a $350m (over the next 10 years) arms deal with Saudi Arabia, the biggest in U.S. history.
Robert E. Lee Statue Removed
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The fourth monument to be taken down by the New Orleans city council and Mayor Mitch Landrieu was the Robert E. Lee statue which sat on a 70-foot perch downtown.
The previous 3 statues had been removed in the middle of the night without warning while workers wore masks to hide their identity and police and snipers were on duty to ensure orderly removal.
Opponents of the movement claim it is a rewriting or erasing of history, and the moves have been protested as well as supported.
Last week, the Louisiana statehouse passed HB71 to require a referendum before any memorial could be altered, removed, relocated or destroyed. Black members walked out to demonstrate their opposition to the law. The move was taken in order to prevent local governments like Landrieu’s from removing more Confederate monuments.