President Obama Meets with Philippines president to discuss Human right issues

Human rights concerns will be on the agenda when US President Barack Obama meets controversial Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte for the first time next week.

The two leaders will talk on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Laos, starting on September 6. It will be their first meeting since Duterte took power in June.

"We absolutely expect (President Obama) will raise concerns about some of the recent statements from the president of the Philippines," White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told media when asked whether Duterte's controversial remarks about vigilante killings, journalists and women would be on the agenda.

Rhodes said Obama regularly brought up issues around human rights offenses with treaty allies such as the Philippines.

Since Duterte took office, more than 1,900 people have died, including at least 700 in police operations as part of the president's hardline war on drugs.

"Double your efforts. Triple them, if need be. We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or put behind bars -- or below the ground, if they so wish," Duterte said during his State of the Nation speech on July 25

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Trump Campaign Official Says Hillary Will Be Dead Within A Year & Replaced With VP

John E. Jaggers, who heads the Donald Trump campaign effort in Maryland and battleground Northern Virginia, is predicting rival Hillary Clinton will be dead in a year and claims Clinton is covering up an undisclosed illness with 'wool coat' she wore on Nantucket Island.

Jaggers, who is also a Tea Party leader, made the startling statement about Clinton's morbidity while also floating a theory that suggests there is more than just sartorial discretion behind Clinton's decision to sport a long coat on a recent trip to Nantucket to raise campaign cash.

He apparently was referencing an online rumor that Clinton's garment might be being used to cover up a mystery illness. 

'How many of you would wear a wool coat in August?' Jaggers asked at the resort event, the Loudoun Times-Mirror reported.

'The woman who seeks to be the first female president of the United States wears a wool coat at every single thing. Have you ever stopped to wonder why? It's a big deal, folks,' Jaggers added.

Then he continued with his unsourced opinion about Clinton's health – taking a page from Trump, who has said Clinton lacks the 'stamina' to be president and has mocked for for excessive sleeping. 

'This woman is very, very sick and they're covering it up. You're not so much talking about Hillary Clinton being president for eight years – you're talking about Tim Kaine being president for eight years,' he said, mentioning Clinton's running mate, a Virginia native. 'Because that's what we're dealing with here.'

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Obamas Return Home From Two Weeks Summer Vacation

The first family returned to Washington DC, concluding their last trip to Martha's Vineyard before the end of Barack Obama's presidency.

Despite the 16 days of rest and relaxation, the president may have a lot on his mind in between Malia's gap-year shenanigans and the catastrophic floods in Louisiana.

Obama is readying himself to visit Louisiana, where 13 people have already died in the catastrophic floods that damaged about 40,000 homes and displaced 4,000 people.

Despite the devastation, Obama refused to cut his vacation short as political opponents and the Louisiana press pressured him to acknowledge and confront the disaster.

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ISIS claim another reason Trump shouldn’t be president – Clinton

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton AFP

Hillary Clinton admonished rival Donald Trump on Thursday for claiming that she and Barack Obama were the founders of the Islamic State, saying anyone who would “sink so low” should never be president.

“No, Barack Obama is not the founder of ISIS,” Clinton tweeted.

“Anyone willing to sink so low, so often should never be allowed to serve as our Commander-in-Chief.”

Trump again roiled the presidential campaign late Wednesday, telling a rally in Florida that Obama “is the founder of ISIS.”

“And I would say, the co-founder would be crooked Hillary Clinton.”

Republicans have long stated that the foreign policies of Obama and his then-secretary of state Clinton share blame in helping create conditions that allowed IS to grow in Iraq and Syria.

IS was founded in 2013, months after Clinton left the State Department. It was born out of the terror group Al-Qaeda in Iraq that grew in strength in 2006 following Republican president George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

The group flourished with Obama’s withdrawal of US troops from Iraq in late 2011. Republicans said Obama was slow to recognize the threat when he said in 2014 that the Islamic State was a “JV” — junior varsity — team even though they gained ground in Syria and Iraq.

“It goes without saying that this is a false claim from a presidential candidate with an aversion to the truth and an unprecedented lack of knowledge,” Clinton senior policy advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.

“This is another example of Donald Trump trash-talking the United States.”

Sullivan warned that Trump was “echoing the talking points of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests, while failing to offer any serious plans to confront terrorism or make this country more secure.”

The Democratic National Committee weighed in, saying Trump “should apologize for his outrageous, unhinged and patently false suggestions.”

But on Thursday, Trump doubled down, telling homebuilders in Miami Beach, Florida that Obama and Clinton were “the founders of ISIS.”

“ISIS will hand her the most valuable player award,” he said of Clinton, 68.

Earlier Thursday, Trump stood firm when asked by CNBC whether it was appropriate to say a sitting US president founded a jihadist group determined to kill Americans.

“Is there something wrong with saying that?” Trump, 70, said. “Are people complaining that I said he was the founder of ISIS?”

“All I do is tell the truth. I’m a truth-teller.”

With his poll numbers slipping after two nightmarish weeks, the billionaire real estate mogul also sought to minimize the personal cost of a potential defeat against Clinton.

“If at the end of 90 days I fall short… even though I’m supposed to have a lot of good ideas, it’s OK. I go back to a very good way of life,” he told the network.

“It’s either going to work or I’m going to, you know, I’m going to have a very, very nice long vacation.”

Last week, Trump prepared his followers for possible defeat, warning a rally that the November 8 election will be “rigged.”

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