The Latest: Pence to address influential GOP Jewish group

The Latest: Pence to address influential GOP Jewish group


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):

4:55 p.m.

Vice President Mike Pence's speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition will be the visual evidence of the fruits of years of labor by the politically active group.

The annual conference at billionaire donor Sheldon Adelson's casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip has become a de facto campaign stop for Republican presidential candidates over the past few years.

With the first Republican White House in eight years, the group of Republican donors and Jewish leaders is set to hear not only from Pence on Friday night, but from many other Republican leaders.

Among those scheduled to speak this weekend are former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney, and Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina.

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3:55 p.m.

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru says he and President Donald Trump had a "cordial and constructive conversation" during their meeting at the White House.

Kuczynski tells reporters after the gathering that he discussed Trump's plans for the construction of a wall along the border between Mexico and the United States.

The Peruvian leader says he told Trump that he is interested in the free movement of people — he emphasized "legally" — and also told the U.S. leader, "we prefer bridges to walls."

He says the conversation focused on immigration, trade and other "subjects of common interest."

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3:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump is welcoming Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to the White House.

Trump says in brief remarks in the Oval Office that it's an honor to welcome his Peruvian counterpart to Washington.

He says, "Peru has been a fantastic neighbor. We've had great relationships, better now than ever before."

Trump says the two men have known each other for quite a while. They're expected to discuss business, including Peru's purchase of U.S. military vehicles and problems in Venezuela.

Kuczynski says Latin America needs to grow and that he plans to discuss how to do that with Trump.

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3:10 p.m.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich says there is no animosity between him and President Donald Trump, his former Republican presidential rival.

Kasich says after a White House meeting that now that Trump is the president, "it's sort of like being on an airplane. You want to root for the pilot."

The governor says he shared his ideas on potential changes to former President Barack Obama's health care law. Ohio was among 31 states that expanded Medicaid under the law and Kasich says Trump "listened very carefully to what I had to say about it and had a very positive response."

Kasich is in Washington for a weekend of meetings at the National Governors Association.

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2:15 p.m.

The head of the National Rifle Association says conservatives should stand up for themselves if "the violent left brings their terror into our communities."

Wayne LaPierre spoke Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he showed videos of violent protesters. He asked the crowd if they were ready to take on the left.

LaPierre said: "Show them you won't submit. We will not be intimidated."

He says members of the NRA helped President Donald Trump win the election, that "Americans wanted a fire, and we got one."

He also argues the media is a threat, saying, "You're not going to win, and you will not defeat us."

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1:20 p.m.

Vice President Mike Pence is welcoming about 40 of the nation's governors to the Naval Observatory and telling them "the door is open to the West Wing" for governors.

Pence welcomed the governors to his residence at the start of a weekend of meetings, including events at the White House with President Donald Trump.

The former Indiana governor says he and Trump want to work with the states on issues like jobs, health care and infrastructure.

He says the Trump administration wants to "forge strong partnerships" with governors.

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12:50 p.m.

British politician Nigel Farage (fah-RAHZH') is telling American conservatives that "what happened in 2016 is the beginning of a great global revolution."

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Farage on Friday compared Britain's June vote to leave the European Union and President Donald Trump's victory in November. He said both campaigns were about putting their countries first and most doubted they would win.

"We're winning!" he said to huge cheers.

Farage was the leader of the UK Independence Party and has long campaigned to leave the 28-nation bloc. He said there could be similar results in upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany.

"What I do know is if the challengers don't get over the line this year, they will shift the center of gravity of the entire debate," Farage said.

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12:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order taking aim at government regulations.

The president says the order will direct each federal agency to establish a regulatory reform task force.

The task forces will then recommend which regulations they can simplify or eliminate.

The president has long argued that excessive regulations are "killing jobs, driving companies out of our country like never before."

He says the regulator burden is "an impossible situation" for big and small businesses, but says, "we're going to solve it very quickly."

Trump signed the order in the Oval Office surrounded by top executives from major corporations.

He signed a previous order that instructed agencies to identify two regulations to eliminate for every new one they create.

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11:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump's speech Friday to a leading conservative group was like a series of greatest hits from his campaign rallies.

He reminisced about his victory in the Republican primaries. He vowed to "build the wall" along the Mexican border. He denounced Hillary Clinton's characterization of some of his supporters as belonging in a "basket of deplorables."

And perhaps most strikingly, the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference responded to his Clinton criticism with chants of "Lock her up!" just as they did at Trump rallies last year.

Further blurring the line between Candidate and President Trump: He left the Conservative Political Action Conference stage to "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones, the same exit music he used during the campaign.

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11:10 a.m.

President Donald Trump is signaling more reforms are ahead for the nation's welfare system. He tells conservatives that "it's time for all Americans to get off welfare and get back to work." He adds, "You're going to love it."

The nation's welfare laws were overhauled under former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. The changes provided states with grants in exchange for greater flexibility in how they can use the funds.

There's been a steady decline in the number of needy families participating in the nation's welfare program since the mid-1990s.

Trump says at the Conservative Political Action Conference that "jobs are already starting to pour back" and points to pledges for more manufacturing jobs in states like Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

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11:04 a.m.

President Donald Trump is pledging that "in a matter of days," his administration will take "a brand new action" to prevent potential terrorists from entering the U.S.

Though Trump did not specify what is coming, White House officials have said a new immigration ban will be released shortly.

The original ban was knocked down by a federal court. Trump said Friday to a gathering of conservatives that "we will not be deterred from this course."

He vowed that would "never apologize" for protecting the safety of American people and promised that "we are going to keep radical Islamic terrorism the hell out of country."

The original order sparked widespread protest.

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10:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump is vowing again to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have committed crimes.

Trump's telling a gathering of conservatives that "as we speak today, immigration officers are finding gang members, drug dealers and criminal aliens and throwing them the hell out."

His declaration comes the day after he and one of his Cabinet secretaries offered clashing takes on the nature of the deportation push.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly pledged in Mexico that the United States won't enlist its military to enforce immigration laws and that there will be "no mass deportations."

But only hours earlier Trump suggested the opposite, saying it would be a "military operation."

Press secretary Sean Spicer later said Trump used "military" as an adjective and was stressing "precision."

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10:50 a.m.

President Donald Trump says he inherited a "failed health care law" in his address to the Conservative Political Action Conference. Trump claims it threatens the nation's medical system with "total catastrophe."

Trump reiterated his promise to repeal and replace the sweeping health care law signed into law by former President Barack Obama.

Trump says at CPAC that "Obamacare" doesn't work and it covers "very few people," even though the 2010 health law has provided medical insurance to 20 million Americans. The president says he and the GOP-led Congress will "make it much better" and "less expensive."

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10:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump is complaining about the media's use of anonymous sources and accusing news news outlets of making up source for damaging reports about his White House.

Trump spoke just hours after members of his own staff held a press briefing in which they refused to attach their names to the information.

Trump is speaking at the nation's largest gathering of conservative activists.

He escalated his attacks on what he calls the "fake news." He says fake reporting is the "enemy of the people."

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8 a.m.

President Donald Trump is blaming the FBI for failing to stop leaks to the media, saying the information being reported is classified and could have a "devastating effect" on the country.

Trump made the remarks in a tweet early Friday. His tweet follows reports that White House chief of staff Reince Priebus had asked a top FBI official to dispute media reports that Trump's campaign advisers were frequently in touch with Russian intelligence agents during the election.

Trump writes, "The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security 'leakers' that have permeated our government for a long time. They can't even find the leakers within the FBI itself."

He adds, "classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW."

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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