Delivering a very classy and uniting concession speech current Kansas Republican Governor Jeff Colyer concedes the GOP primary race to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Moments ago, after a week of ongoing absentee ballot collection for the GOP gubernatorial primary, Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer conceded the race to Secretary of State Kris Kobach.
During the concession speech Colyer said he felt is was the right thing to do, and as he endorsed Kobach he repeated his goal to keeping the Kansas Governor position in the hands of Republicans.   According to KMBC News Kris Kobach was leading Colyer by 345 votes and a total of 91 out of 105 counties had certified their results.
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It’s not a bluff; it’s never a bluff…. He doesn’t bluff.  I’ve looked through the interviews, writing and granules of opponents describing hundreds of deals, and I cannot find a single person who ever said that Donald Trump was bluffing during any negotiations.

NYT cont. […] In recent days, officials from the Commerce Ministry, the police and other agencies have summoned exporters to ask about plans to lay off workers or shift supply chains to other countries.

With stocks slumping and the currency dropping 9 percent against the dollar since mid-April, censors have been deleting a torrent of criticism online, some of it directed at President Xi Jinping’s leadership.  State news outlets, by contrast, have sought to promote the official line, with the authorities restricting the use of the phrase “trade war.”

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Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers the White House press briefing for Tuesday August 14, 2018.  Anticipated start time 2:30pm EST:
UPDATE: Video Added

The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) is an assembly and survey of small business owners throughout the U.S.  In the latest survey (full pdf here) overall optimism is the second highest ever recorded at 107.9 (the highest reading was 108 in 1983).

The full press release is available here.  The full pdf of the survey is available here. The executive summary outlines the overall content and highlights the sentiment amid Main Street U.S.A.:

[…] Although some panned any celebration of the 4.1 percent second quarter GDP growth, small business owners beg to disagree. At least in the small business sector of the economy, Main Street’s performance over the last 21 months is unprecedented based on reports for the past 45 years by hundreds of thousands of NFIB’s member firms. Owners have never been so optimistic for so long. This has translated to improved employment and investment spending that buoys GDP growth, even at the end of what will be the longest expansion in modern history.
Consumer sentiment is at record high levels. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of our economy, posted 4 percent growth in Q2. Historically revised data show that consumers have been saving much more than thought, and income gains in recent months have been solid, providing support for spending in the second half. The record levels of firms reporting higher compensation is a clear indication that wages will be rising further in the second half.

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The images are jaw-dropping.  Dozens of vehicles plunged well over a hundred feet when a massive section of an elevated/suspension bridge collapsed in Genoa, Italy.  The death toll continues to grow (currently 35); and incredibly there were/are actual survivors being pulled from vehicles.  The bridge was built in 1967, and there was a very bad storm at the time of the collapse. An eye witness stated he saw a direct lightning strike on the support tower just prior to the moment of failure.

According to the U.K. Daily Mail approximately 35 people were killed and there are an unknown number of missing-feared dead, after the Genoa Italy bridge collapse.  The images of twisted steel and concrete debris into a river and an industrial park are horrific. Thankfully, there was almost no-one working at the industrial park due to holidays.
The vehicles that fell off the bridge dropped approximately 150 feet below along with the concrete and steel of the structure.  Rescue workers are working to try and locate any possible survivors who would be trapped in the rubble.
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Sadly another jihadist attack hits the heart of London, England, today as a terrorist used a car to drive directly into pedestrians and cyclists only a few yards away from an earlier, almost identical, attack. Thankfully, no-one was killed; several cyclists were hit by the vehicle and treated for injuries.

(Via The Daily Mail) The Westminster terror suspect who ploughed into at least 15 cyclists and pedestrians appears to have travelled to London from his Midlands home in a Ford Fiesta bought just two months ago, MailOnline can reveal today.
The man, who is in his late twenties, is refusing to speak to police who have identified him and believe he was not known to Scotland Yard or MI5 before the shocking carborne rush hour attack this morning.
But security sources have suggested the suspect is from the Birmingham area and was known to police in the West Midlands.
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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

President Trump Twitter @POTUS / Vice President Pence Twitter @VP

Sarah H Sanders Twitter @SHSanders45

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.  The five extremists of the New Mexico jihadist compound, where a 3-year-old was murdered, are being released from custody pending trial without any bail whatsoever.  They are free on a a mere signature bond; a promise to return for trial.

(Via Daily Caller) A New Mexico state judge ruled Monday that five alleged Muslim extremists accused of training children to conduct school shootings do not have to remain in jail while they await trial for child abuse.
Judge Sarah Backus released the five defendants, Siraj Wahhaj, Hujrah Wahhaj, Subhannah Wahhaj, Jany Leveille, and Lucas Morten, on a $20,000 “signature bond,” according to the Albuquerque Journal. That means that the defendants will not have to pay money unless they violate the conditions of their release.  (read more)

Remember, this is the same DOJ/FBI who cleared the compound and then had to return because the property owner found weapons and ammunition missed by local, state and FBI investigators.  While contemplating their release, let that sketchy aspect sink in.
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NBC Journalist Gadi Schwartz filed a remarkable ground report about the New Mexico terror camp. While reporting on the compound in Northern New Mexico, where children were believed to have been trained on how to carry out school shootings, Mr. Schwartz was given rare access and permission to tour the area by the rightful owner of the property.
We often find ourselves critical of MSM; however, this is one of those examples of a journalist filing a great report. See his twitter thread here for more pictures:

This is a raw, unedited video that I hope will help give people who are following this story some context. Will also build a thread @GadiNBC on Twitter to fill in more details.