U.S. Officials are now confirming the North Korean missile test was an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The ICBM, which is believed to be “two-stage,” officials said, would have a range of at least 3,500 miles, and thus be capable of reaching Alaska. (NBC link)

This launch represents another escalation by Kim Jung-Un in his ongoing quest for long-range intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles.  The ICBM test is another in a series of violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning the launches, and is simultaneously a slap in the face to Chinese President Xi Jinping who is presumably trying to get North Korea to back down.

China’s support of North Korea will become even more of an issue with the increased escalations.  Understanding the perspective of President Donald Trump toward these events, we would/should anticipate a series of economic actions by the U.S. administration against China.

The U.S. cannot focus exclusively on North Korea, their enablers must be targeted for corrective leverage. Economic sanctions can increase internal regional pressure.

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It’s challenging to see the sunlight at the end of this complex tunnel, but it’s there. More visible today than a week ago.

White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short appears on Fox News Sunday to discuss the ongoing efforts to reform ObamaCare.  In a very positive shift amid the overall discussion, for the first time the point of the cost on the individual insurance market is brought to the forefront.

CTH readers will note our continuing frustration that 99% of the entire healthcare discussion has centered around medicaid spending, or the state funded subsidy of low-income healthcare coverage.

The vast majority of the most severely impacted people within the discussion, middle-class workers/taxpayers who do not qualify for medicaid, have been essentially locked out of the legislative consideration. It is refreshing to see middle America finally being part of the equation.  Within the Senate bill, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have finally advanced something of value.

The “Consumer Choice Amendment” would allow insurance companies to sell plans that do not follow regulations created under Obamacare, with the caveat that those insurers have to sell at least one plan that adheres to Obamacare’s mandates. The proposal would allow insurers to sell plans with tailored benefits.

(Video Below)

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Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price interviewed by Chuck Toad on NBC’s Meet The Prose.

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Utilizing some Bloomerberg and Zerohedge reporting – treeper SeekerofTruth provides a nice recap of Illinois financial self-flagellation.  Charging head-first into the abyss:

SeekerOfTruth – June 30 came and went and the Illinois legislature did nothing. So the courts have stepped in now.  Bloodbath coming. Fun to watch if any news outlets would report on the story. The bloodbath of decades of liberal policies and corruption.

“From Horrific To Catastrophic”: Court Ruling Sends Illinois Into Financial Abyss.

By the end of Friday – the last day of the fiscal year – Illinois legislators failed to enact a budget, and while negotiations continued amid some glimmers of hope and lawmakers planned to meet over the weekend, the failure marked a continuation of the historic impasse that’s left Illinois without a full-year budget since mid-2015, and which, recall, S&P warned one month ago will likely result in a humiliating and unprecedented downgrade of the 5th most populous US state to junk status.

Then came the begging. (more…)

The House of Representatives passed Kate’s Law a bill that increases penalties against deported illegal aliens who reenter the country illegally.  The bill is named for Kate Steinle who was murdered in San Francisco in 2015 by an illegal alien who was previously deported five times and convicted of seven felonies.

The passing of Kate’s Law followed passage of another bill that allows the federal government to strip so-called “sanctuary cities” of federal funding if they refuse to cooperate with federal officials on immigration enforcement. San Francisco, where Steinle was killed, is a self-proclaimed sanctuary city.

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Tomorrow, the House will vote on the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which will cut federal grant money to cities that shield dangerous criminal aliens from being turned over to federal law enforcement. The House will also vote on Kate’s Law – named for Kate Steinle, who was killed by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times. This law will enhance criminal penalties for those who repeatedly re-enter the country illegally.

Today, ahead of tomorrow”s vote, President Trump met again with families of victims impacted by the crimes committed by illegal aliens, thanked them for their courage and presented their stories for all to hear.    The passage these laws, and the enforcement of America’s border security, represents well-known campaign promises.

[Transcript] – 3:07 P.M. EDT – THE PRESIDENT: Good to have you all. Hello, Chairman. Great man, right here. Might be another one right there. We have some good ones. We had a wonderful meeting on healthcare, yesterday, you probably know about, and so we’re moving along. Hello, Thomas.

Thank you very much for being here to discuss two crucial votes taking place in Congress tomorrow on vital safety and national security legislation.

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President Trump meets the swamp people to discuss the making of swamp sausage…

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Again, as with 99.99% of all ObamaCare conversations, the entirety of media discussion  surrounds Medicaid spending, funding, etc.

The middle-class taxpayers’ healthcare interests, those on the individual market, are entirely disconnected from the political discussion by the professional political class.

Frustrating is an understatement.

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In an effort to break the intransigence of Republican Senators who refuse to vote approval for the senate healthcare reform/replace bill, President Trump met with Senator Rand Paul earlier this afternoon.  President Trump is trying to get the #NeverTrumper’s to support the 3 step approach.

The Senate version of the Freedom Caucus (Cruz, Lee, etc), and Senators from states who are now entirely addicted to federal medicaid spending, are not willing to support legislation that doesn’t: A.) give them a full repeal, and B.) give them even more Obamacare money, respectively.

Because of the intransigence of both oppositional sides within the Republican Senate, it now appears a vote is not going to take place this week.

That said, President Trump calling them to the White House to remind them if they don’t do it this week, the far-left-activist groups (those demanding single-payer) are going to swarm the Senators over the holiday break; and they will return to DC in no better shape than they are in today.

There is a reason why Harry Reid ‘sequestered’ the entire Senate for two weeks before Christmas 2009, never let them leave for holiday recess and forced a vote on Christmas Eve at 1:38 in the morning.  If they don’t get it done now, it’s dead.

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The U.S. State Department has released it’s 2017 ‘Trafficking in Persons Report” (TIP report), as annually mandated by U.S. law.   Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Senior Counselor to the President Ivanka Trump discuss the ongoing initiatives to combat human smuggling, sex trafficking and modern slavery.

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You can read the full Trafficking in Persons Report HERE.

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White House Senior Adviser to the President Kellyanne Conway is interviewed by former Clinton White House aide ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos about the current healthcare bills on Capitol Hill.

ABC’s Stephanopoulos is one of the most ardent Democrat party ideologues/operatives within media and this interview is a representative example of how he argues exclusively from a position of ideological advocacy against the Trump administration.

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