Today In News: June 20, 2017

Today In News:

•  For an Anti-Trump protest, 230 arrested journalists arrested were charged with felony rioting - charges that carry a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $25,000.

• Trump administration responses being discussed include expanding U.S. drone strikes, redirecting or withholding some aid to Pakistan and perhaps eventually downgrading Pakistan's   status as a major non-NATO ally. 

• Government air and artillery bombardments hit rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Deraa, on the border with Jordan after a two-day ceasefire expired.

• In a series of floor motions, inquiries and lengthy speeches, Democrats criticized the closed-door meetings that Republicans have been holding to craft a replacement for Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act. 

• Trump last week gave the former Marine Corps general, James Mattis, full authority to decide the number of additional U.S. troops sent to Afghanistan, a move that comes even before a war strategy has been set. Mattis is quickly becoming one of the most powerful Defense secretaries in recent memory, with access to President Trump that few can match.

• President Donald Trump met with Ukraine's president on Tuesday and expressed support for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine but said nothing about Russia's role, while the U.S. government added to sanctions over Moscow's actions. The sanctions target Ukrainian and Russian officials and companies that U.S. authorities accuse of helping Russia tighten its grip on the Crimean peninsula, a part of Ukraine annexed by Russia in 2014 in a move Western leaders denounced as illegal.

• Ford initially planned to move production of the Focus to Mexico, but it is now scrapping than plan in favor of production in China after production at its Michigan plant ends in 2019.

• In a hidden room in a house near Argentina’s capital, police believe they have found the biggest collection of Nazi artifacts in the country’s history.

• The White House press corps has grown frustrated by the restrictions the administration has imposed on the press briefings. Press secretary Sean Spicer will hold an on-camera briefing with reporters on Tuesday, for the first time in more than a week.

• A Senate panel has declined to include President Trump’s controversial proposal to separate air traffic control from the federal government in a must-pass aviation bill.  Instead, the House will have to take the lead on efforts to transfer the country’s air navigation system to a private corporation.

• The United States, Brazil and 10 other members of the 34-nation Organization of American States issued a letter accusing Venezuela of undermining democracy, failing to feed its people and violating rights.

• Belgian authorities said they foiled a “terror attack” when soldiers shot and killed a suspect after a small explosion at a busy Brussels train station that continued a week of attacks in the capitals of Europe.

• A bill that slaps new sanctions on Russia, and passed the Senate almost unanimously, has been blocked by the House. The legislation has been flagged by the House parliamentarian as a "blue slip" violation, referring to the constitutional requirement that revenue bills originate in the House.