Earlier today the New York Post (Murdoch Inc.) was reporting a cabinet meeting was scheduled to take place tomorrow at Camp David, in Maryland.  The unusual location for this meeting stemmed from information the Post obtained via an anonymous “White House official.”

For some reason, every media report felt it was important to emphasize that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard would be in attendance at the cabinet meeting.  Gabbard’s departure is openly well known and not expected until June 30th, but for some reason the DC media stenographers were quite interested in whether DNI Gabbard would be in attendance.

After about 8 hours, President Trump announced the cabinet meeting was moved back to Washington DC, due to an inclement weather forecast.

[WEATHER]

Terrible weather. Horrible stuff. 40% chance of rain even.

Cloudy, with a chance of meatballs.

During the eight hours between the leaked location report and the sudden reversal in venue, something else happened.

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hold a press conference in New Delhi during Rubio’s first official trip to India.

In continuation of President Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy, Secretary Rubio notes that India has become one of America’s most strategic partnerships in the world.  Both nations represent the world’s largest democracies, and both nations face internal scrutiny as an outcome of their need to be open and accountable to the people they represent.  Additionally, the trade and economic partnership between the USA and India is critical to hedge against the influence by Chinese expansion.

The question and media answers begin at 16:10, with the first question asking about U.S. policy that no longer supports mass visa opportunities for Indian residents.  Rubio notes the same visa restrictions that are in place now against India are the same visa limits now in place against the entire globe.  The process to reform and/or change how immigration takes place always creates some friction points.  WATCH:

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting India while opening the latest U.S. Embassy New Delhi. During remarks before a formal dinner, Secretary Rubio noted there may be information coming later today on the conflict with Iran.

Simultaneous to this, President Trump is reported to be in discussions with all of the Arab state partners.

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Secretary Rubio at the ribbon cutting in New Delhi is below.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a press conference with the assembled press pool following NATO discussions in Helsingborg, Sweden.

The main topics of concern from the European media is the reduction of U.S. troops from NATO bases and the current status of the conflict with Iran.  Rubio notes that Sweden and Finland joining NATO was one of the few examples of the alliance benefiting from the addition of countries.  However, that said, the overall posture of NATO should proceed with an urgency on their own defense posture as the U.S. footprint is under evaluation.

At 15:25 of the video below, Secretary Rubio discusses the current status of the U.S. toward the conflict with Ukraine.  Rubio notes the Ukraine-Russia conflict will only resolve with a negotiated settlement.  WATCH: 

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives remarks to the media from Miami as he prepares to travel to Sweden on a diplomatic mission. Rubio is asked about ongoing negotiations and conflicts with Iran as well as the indictment of Cuban official Raul Castro.

Secretary Rubio also discusses the World Health Organization and the Ebola outbreak in Africa.  As noted by Rubio the #1 priority for the administration is making sure the issue does not come to the United States.  Rubio also noted a change in posture toward NATO following several EU countries refusing to allow U.S. military engagement from bases within their nations.  “The president and I are both disappointed,” with the intransigence of several NATO countries.

Secretary Rubio continues to state the U.S and Cuban officials are still in communication throughout the political conflict between the two countries, the main problem is the Cuban regime doesn’t know how to effectively run a country and is corrupt with all revenue that exists.  Cuba is heading toward being “a failed state” and that issue elevates the urgency due to proximity.

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This afternoon, federal and state officials from Florida unsealed an indictment against Raul Castro which was returned in federal court in Miami on April 23, and charges him with one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of ‌destruction of aircraft. Five other people are also named as defendants in the case.

U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche made the announcement in Florida to a packed audience of Cuban-Americans. Reuters: “The charges stemmed from a 1996 incident in which Cuban jets shot down planes operated by a group of Cuban exiles, U.S. acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at an event in downtown Miami on Wednesday to honor victims of the incident. “My message today is clear: The United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens,” Blanche said to applause in a packed auditorium of government officials and Cuban Americans in Miami.”

For those not familiar with the sensitivity of the issues in the South Florida area, it is difficult to imagine the impact of this announcement.  There are hundreds of thousands of first- and second-generation Cubans who fled the brutality of the communist regime when Fidel Castro took power.  This is a very close and personal issue for the Cuban people within Miami-Dade.

Everyone in/around Miami knows an immediate family member or close family friend who was victimized by the Castro regime. As noted by The Hill:

[…] In indicting Castro, the U.S. is laying a similar groundwork that led to the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was also indicted in a U.S. court before armed forces seized him from his compound.

It’s unclear what action may await Castro and Cuba, but CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with officials on the island last week to convey that the window for negotiations will not be open indefinitely. (source)

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivers a message to the Cuban People on their Independence Day.  The remarks from Secretary Rubio are broadcast simultaneously with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announcing in Miami, Florida, an ¹indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro.

Secretary Rubio outlined how the hardships of the Cuban people are driven by the corrupt actions of their government and went into detail about the systems of control currently in place to keep the Cuban people under extreme control systems of communism.

…”In the U.S. we are ready to open a new chapter in the relationship between our people and our countries. And currently, the only thing standing in the way of a better future, are those who control your country.”   ~ Secretary Marco Rubio

¹Four American men were killed in 1996 when their private airplanes were shot down by the Cuban military over international waters.  The military was led by Raul Castro at the time who gave the order.  Raul Castro, now 94, stepped down as president in 2018, but is considered by the U.S. to still be the effective leader of the country.

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Those of dark whispered voices are shrieking loudly today, directing their soulless vessels to shout opposition to the Christian rededication of our nation. They listen to the voices of betrayal telling them to shriek about “freedom of religion” as noted in the constitution, yet their arguments are twisted around the false premise that does not exist, “freedom from religion.”

Our constitution does not block the expression of religion; it blocks the favoring of one expression over another.

Freedom of religion is entirely different than freedom from religion, though both represent a moral choice.

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White House official photographer Daniel Torok just announced that all of the Beijing trip photographs have been uploaded to the White House Flickr Account.  I was hoping Torok captured this moment, and indeed he did.

[View All Here]

China blacklisted him, sanctioned him, blocked him, and then Chairman Xi ended up having to shake his hand.  Because Donald J Trump.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio eloquently takes some geopolitical complexities and puts them into understandable terms.  During an interview aboard Airforce One en route to Beijing, Fox News pundit Sean Hannity asks some regional questions about high profile events.

Secretary Rubio accurately puts the perspective of Chinese interests into the context of current friction points between the USA and Iran.  WATCH:

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