Syria Latest/North Korea Update

On Saturday, a poisonous gas attack on the rebel-held town of Douma, Syria, killed at least 42 people. Later that day, Israeli warplanes bombed a Syrian regime airbase east of the city of Homs, Russian and Syrian military forces said. Syrian state media accused the United States of attacking the base, but Russia on Monday claimed the attack was carried out by Israeli jets. The United States has denied hitting the base. A war-monitoring group said the overnight airstrikes killed 14 people, according to the Associated Press. 

Russia's Defense Ministry said two Israeli aircrafts targeted the T4 air base in Homs province, firing eight missiles. It said Syria shot down five missiles while the other three landed in the western part of the base. 

On Sunday, Donald Trump tweeted that the Syrian regime and its backers would pay a “big price” for the attack.

North Korea Tells U.S. it is Prepared to Discuss Denuclearization

North Korea has told the United States for the first time that it is prepared to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets President Donald Trump, a U.S. official said on Sunday. 

U.S. and North Korean officials have held secret contacts recently in which Pyongyang directly confirmed its willingness to hold the unprecedented summit, the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. The communications, still at a preliminary stage, have involved State Department officials talking to North Korea apparently through its United Nations mission, and intelligence officers from both sides using a separate backchannel, the official said. Until now, the United States had relied mostly on ally South Korea’s assurance of Kim’s intentions. South Korean envoys visited Washington last month to convey Kim’s invitation to meet.

National Guard Comes to Back Up Border Patrol

President Trump has called for 4,000 National Guard troops to be sent to the border over the next few months, in order to strengthen border security while the Trump administration awaits the building of the promised wall. 

“We’re going to be doing things militarily. Until we can have a wall and proper security, we're going to be guarding our border with the military,” President Trump said, calling the measure a “big step.”

The Trump administration announced on Friday that they would be sending 500 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border over the weekend, and up to 4,000 troops will be available through September. The first round of troops will come from Arizona and Texas, two of the four states that border Mexico.

Recent Trump Polling

The Rasmussen Reports Daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows that 48% of likely U.S. voters approve of President Trump’s job performance, and 52% of those polled disapprove. The latest figures include 31% who strongly approve of the way Trump is performing and 42% who strongly disapprove.

London's Mayor Declares Intense New 'Knife Control' Policies to Stop Epidemic of Stabbings and Acid Attacks

The UK has one of the highest rates of acid attacks per capita in the world, according to Acid Survivors Trust International. It claims the country does not have "tight controls on acid sales" or "legislation specific to acid attacks". Over the past years, the number of attacks has increased. In 2012 there were 228 attacks. In 2014, 200 attacks were reported, and in 2016 there were 601 attacks.

Most of the acid attacks were being carried out in Newham, in East London, which had three times more acid attacks with almost 400 of London's 1,500 reports over the last five years happening there. The number of cases more than doubled from 2014 to 2016. 

Many of the acid attacks appear to be gang-related, which helps explain the rocketing number of cases in small areas of major cities. Criminologists believe gang members may be swapping guns and knives for acid as a weapon of choice because possession is hard to monitor, but its impact on victims can be devastating. 

In 2016, there were 32, 448 knife crimes committed in London, an increase of 14% from the previous year, 2015.

The Sun reports that at least 35 people have been fatally stabbed in London since the beginning of 2018. Met Police records show 37,443 recorded knife offenses and 6,694 recorded gun offenses across the UK in the year up to September 2017.

Hannity v. Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel offered to put an end to a feud between him and Fox News host Sean Hannity. Kimmel took to Twitter on Sunday to apologize to those that he may have offended with his brash jabs at the conservative commentator during a week of verbal and social media sparring. 

“While I admit I did have fun with our back and forth, after some thought, I realize that the level of vitriol from all sides (mine and me included) does nothing good for anyone and, in fact, is harmful to our country,” Kimmel tweeted. 

The jousting kicked off last week when Kimmel mocked first lady Melania Trump's accent during a bit on his late-night show. Last week, Kimmel had played a clip of the first lady reading a book to children during the White House Easter Egg Roll, laughed and then tried to mimic her accent. “About dis and dat,” he said, laughing. Then he turned to his heavily accented, Mexican American sidekick and said, “Guillermo, you know what this means? You could be first lady of the United States.” 

“Liberal Jimmy Kimmel, making fun of the first lady of the United States and her involvement in the White House Easter Egg Roll,” Hannity said about the joke. “Even her accent…  Now, I’m going to tell you something: What a disgrace. Hey, Mr. Kimmel, that’s her fifth language. How many do you speak?” 

Hannity also slammed Kimmel during his prime-time Fox News show, calling Kimmel a "despicable disgrace" and an “a** clown.” That prompted Kimmel to devote several minutes of his next program to firing back at Hannity. “If I'm an a** clown,” Kimmel said, “You are the whole a** circus.” 

The spat continued to play out on Twitter. Hannity called Kimmel “Harvey Weinstein Jr.” Kimmel also made sexually suggestive comments about Hannity's devotion to President Donald Trump. “Don't worry - just keep tweeting - you'll get back on top! (or does Trump prefer you on bottom?)” Kimmel wrote in one tweet directed at Hannity. Some of Kimmel's barbs earned backlash. The Daily Beast published an opinion piece Sunday saying his comments were “homophobic.” 

Kimmel offered a mea culpa in his tweet on Sunday. “By lampooning Sean Hannity's deference to the President, I most certainly did not intend to belittle or upset members of the gay community and to those who took offense, I apologize,” he said. “I will take Sean Hannity at his word that he was genuinely offended by what I believed and still believe to be a harmless and silly aside referencing our First Lady's accent,” Kimmel continued. “I am hopeful that Sean Hannity will learn from this too and continue his newly-found advocacy for women, immigrants and First Ladies and that he will triumph in his heroic battle against sexual harassment and perversion.” 

Shortly after Kimmel's apology, Hannity teased a response on his own Twitter account. “Just had this pop up. I am at a tournament with my daughter. I'll have a full and comprehensive response tomorrow on Hannity. 9 EST FOX,” he wrote.

PM Video Submission

David Land, Fairfield, IL: Hi Bill this is Dave Land in Fairfield, Illinois.  I saw an item in the news recently that has me confused so maybe you can explain. A Florida Democratic National Committee member, John Parker, resigned earlier this month after fierce pushback for using the term colored people. Parker said he miss spoke and simply misused the phrase colored people when he intended to say people of color.  Now here's my question. The national organization for African Americans is the NAACP, which stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. So if it's ok to say colored people in the name of that organization what's wrong with what Mr. Parker said? Thank you.

Mail Time!

• Bill, I guess to some University professors now, being born White is the new "original sin" and when they attack "Christian Privilege", they forget that Christians come in many colors not just white. My question is do you think these are just isolated professors who woke up one morning and said " I think I'll give a class on how bad "Whiteness" is, or is this a movement being directed by some centralized source? 

• There is great danger at the border. Last week members of our family with were caught in gunfire in Tijuana while trying to go to a dentist. The Washington crowd needs to get out of their bubble and listen to President Trump. 

• I'd like to start by saying that I am a new premium member. I love the No Spin News. I believe I know one of the reasons why the media does not report on the gun violence in Chicago. The city of Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. Chicago is a glaring example of gun control not working. This is an embarrassment to the left leaning media.

Word of the Day: Craven