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Steve is a student of history, political history and the history of applied psychology. He's also a former Goldman Sachs insider. Steve knows the dark underbellies of the entire planet. His strongest desire is to undo the bureaucratic state, the "Deep State" period. Steve knows The Art of War. If he has left the White House, then it's because he knows he can do more damage to the swamp from outside. Certainly since what he knows from the inside now. Steve always said he'd be there no more than 1 year. Thus, he learned faster than was expected. This was...

A Google search for cyber crime images yields hundreds of takes on roughly the same visual: a person in a black, hooded sweatshirt lurking behind a computer screen. But if you talk to Jason McNew about how best to describe the web users committing such crimes, you'll hear a different answer. "The perpetrators of these crimes know exactly what they're doing," he said. "They are well-educated, well-funded and organized. This problem is organized crime. They're college graduates. They operate out of jurisdictions where they know American law enforcement can't get them."

President Donald Trump spent the Father's Day weekend at Camp David, which has been a quiet getaway for presidents in the Maryland countryside. After spending weekends at his own luxury clubs, this was Trump's first weekend at the presidential retreat known for its rustic charm. Trump also tweeted about the retreat, a 30-minute helicopter ride from White House, saying it was an honor to be there. The retreat is administered by the White House Military Office and includes a presidential office and living quarters, swimming pool, and meeting hall. (TWEET-AT-LINK) Trump usually spends weekends at the properties owned by him...

President Trump and his family will make their first visit to Camp David this weekend, according to the White House. “The first family heads to Camp David. Hoping everyone has a wonderful weekend,” Stephanie Grisham, communications director for first lady Melania Trump, tweeted Friday evening. (TWEET-AT-LINK) Alerts of the president’s visit were issued by the federal government earlier this week, according to The Frederick News Post, which noted a Federal Aviation Administration notice being issued. Similar notifications were sent in March and May but didn't lead to a visit. This is the first visit Trump will make as president to...

Of all the perks of the presidency that Barack Obama will miss as he leaves the White House, it’s a good bet that Camp David won’t rank high on the list. Compared with his predecessors, President Obama has spent little downtime over the past eight years at the secluded presidential retreat in the mountains overlooking Thurmont, Maryland. In total, Mr. Obama has visited Camp David 39 times, spanning all or parts of 93 days — barely 3 percent of his two-term tenure. By contrast, President George W. Bush made 149 visits to Camp David in two terms, covering all or...

An update from councilman Burgess on the incredibly ridiculous sit outs in Seattle they've been having at the administration building. Burgess explained to me that the city council decided to give Scott Morrow what he wanted and then some! It was a dream come true that seemed too good to be true yet was true! The King County human services decided to give Share nearly four-hundred thousand in funds with few strings attached, more than enough to keep the shelter open. In addition, the council promised further funding to SHARE/WHEEL to last longer. There were few strings attached, one of...

Colorado dodged a bullet. After a stinging backlash from local leaders and Rocky Mountain politicians in both parties, the Obama White House retreated this weekend from plans to dump in our state 1,000 minors who immigrated here illegally. Good riddance to the feckless feds, and don't come back, y'all. Now, let this be a lesson for other communities facing the D.C.-engineered human flood. You can and should say no -- and force Washington to put first things first. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had unveiled a hastily drawn scheme just two months ago to convert a Denver...

The United States spent a total of $5.9 billion to fund militaries around the world in 2014, according to the government’s 2015 Foreign Assistance report. Of that total, some 75%, or about $4.4 billion, was divided between Israel and Egypt. Clearly, the Middle East, at 64% of the pie, is the theme here, with Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon also found among the top 10 recipients. Closer to home, Colombia led the Americas with a relatively scant $29 million. Still, that’s enough to place it ninth overall on the list.

The Obama administration is likely to fall far short of the lofty goals it set for itself at Thursday’s summit with Gulf leaders, several experts on the region said. While the White House has framed the seven-nation meeting as an opportunity to deepen and strengthen Gulf nations’ security relationship with the United States in light of a possible nuclear deal with Iran, the six foreign leaders attending have set out bargaining chips that the administration has already shot down, and it’s not exactly clear what else, besides those tangible items, either side wants. “Something that actually offers a couple of...

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said today that if King Salman changing his mind against coming to Washington this week was supposed to send a message to the administration, “that message was not received.” Earnest insisted that “all the feedback that we’ve received from the Saudis has been positive.” The Saudi king, who was supposed to meet one-on-one with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday before a broader meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, initially RSVP’d “yes.” On Friday, he changed that to a “no.” Of the GCC states invited — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar,

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister insisted on Monday that King Salman's last minute decision not to attend a Camp David summit was not intended as a snub to the United States, AFP reported. The White House, meanwhile, said that the king spoke with President Barack Obama and "expressed his regret" for missing the summit. "This is not related in any way, shape or form to any disagreement between the two countries," Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters at Saudi Arabia's embassy Washington, according to AFP. On Sunday, Jubeir announced that King Salman would skip the May 14 summit of Persian Gulf...

The White House was scrambling Monday to put a positive face on an upcoming summit of Persian Gulf states after learning leaders from four of the six invited nations are expected to skip. While those nations are still sending representatives to the summit being hosted by President Obama later this week at Camp David, the absence of crucial heads of state -- notably, Saudi Arabia's new king -- could present an awkward situation for the administration. But State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf rejected the notion this was a "snub," and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest likewise said the administration...

King Salman of Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from a carefully orchestrated summit with the US that President Barack Obama hoped would assuage Gulf anxieties about the conclusion of a nuclear agreement with Iran. Until Sunday the monarch had been expected to join other heads of state from the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries at an unprecedented meeting at the White House and a day of talks at the presidential retreat at Camp David. Now the only leaders attending will be the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait. The summit, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, follows months of tension and intensive...

The Obama administration insisted Monday that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman isn’t snubbing President Barack Obama with his decision not to attend a Camp David meeting this week, despite widespread speculation that his absence seems to be a rebuke to Obama’s effort to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. Obama had invited King Salman to meet at the White House and Camp David on May 13 and 14, and the White House had indicated that the two would meet in private before a meeting of other Gulf Cooperation Council states. On Sunday, however, Saudi Arabia said it would instead send the...

Four rulers of a six-member alliance of Persian Gulf states will likely be absent from a summit hosted by President Obama this week at Camp David. In a statement Sunday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said Thursday's summit coincides with a humanitarian cease-fire in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting Shiite rebels known as Houthis. He said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, would lead the Saudi delegation and the king's son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is defense minister, will also attend. Obama had planned to meet Salman one-on-one a day before...

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman will skip a May 14 summit of Persian Gulf leaders with President Barack Obama, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. At the summit Obama is expected to offer the Gulf leaders reassurances over the efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. The decision marks a diplomatic snub from one of the top leaders in the region, and follows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the Saudi capital last week, noted the report. […] Arab governments have been expressing their concern about the terms of a potential nuclear deal with Iran. The major...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is foregoing his usual round of weekend golf at a Washington suburban military base. Instead, he and his family are choosing what is for them a rare woodland getaway: a weekend at the presidential mountaintop retreat of Camp David. The family was leaving Friday for the isolated and heavily guarded hideaway in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. The White House said the family weekend had already been planned and that he would return to the White House on Sunday. The escape from the White House caps a fierce week of foreign policy eruptions, highlighted by a...

Spokesmen for the two Egyptian presidential candidates recently advocated for putting the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel to a vote in a referendum. […] “Our enmity with the Zionist enemy goes to our very existence. It’s either us or them. No peace is possible,” said Tamer Hindawi, (Hamdeen) Sabahi’s spokesman, during the debate. He further claimed that “The Zionist enemy is clearly the head of colonialism in the region. In our view, the Camp David Accords are responsible for many of our crises, and might even be the main reason for Egypt’s subjugation to America, and for the decline...

Despite the government shutdown, Vice President Joe Biden is vacationing at Camp David this long weekend. He's joined at the Maryland retreat by his family, including his wife (Jill Biden), children, and grandchildren. The vice president is also there with "essential" government workers, who must work despite the government shutdown. That includes his Secret Service detail, as well as the Secret Service details assigned to the rest of his family, and other support staff. They are protecting the Bidens as they vacation -- but aren't getting paid because of the federal shutdown. The vice president's public schedule simply reads: WEEKEND...

President Barack Obama will host Cabinet members and their families on Friday for a rare retreat at Camp David, a White House official said. Obama uses the facility far less often than many of his predecessors have, only occasionally holding meetings there or heading there for a weekend of rest and relaxation. The president has hosted Cabinet members and their families there just once before, weeks before Democrats' big losses in the 2010 midterm elections.