President trump left washington for West Virginia today with no comment about the search for a Supreme Court nominee, but the white house tells fox news the president spoke with three more candidates today. Sources say they include Appellate Court judges joan larson and Thomas Hardeman and utah senator mike lee bringing to seven the total number of candidates the president has interviewed to replace justice kennedy. Despite critics charge that President Trump is seeking to overturn roe vs. Wade, the white house insists there is no litmus test. The main thing the president is looking for our people that set the qualifications that you would want in a Supreme Court justice. A tremendous intellect, someone who will stick to upholding the constitution, and somebody who has great judicial temperament. The white house is also only too happy to turn the waters and speculation surrounding the president s pick. This afternoon, confirming the president s conversation with senator lee. Lee told fox news i thought it went well. It very hard predict. Sources involved in the Selection Process to tell fox news its hardly likely that he will become the next Supreme Court justice. White house officials were amused to watch stories of his possible elevation to the Supreme Court catch fire. As the president searches for the next supreme, hes also engaging the Supreme Leader of north korea. Secretary of state mike pompeo will travel to pyongyang on thursday. The white house has refused to confirm reports that north korea is making improvements to several uranium your richmond sites which will appear to contradict his promise to dismantle his nuclear program. Are not going to confirm or deny intelligence reports. Im not going to comment on that. We had good meetings just a couple of days ago. The goal is the same as its always been, denuclearization and thats what we will continue pushing for. Again this week President Trump said the deal with north korea could fall apart, but he remains optimistic tweeting not for me we would now be at war with north korea. While that statement may be open to debate, the president s tough stance on immigration has found some unlikely company. German chancellor Angela Merkel narrowly avoided the breakup of her government by implementing new border controls. We have found a good compromise after tough negotiations and difficult days. The cohort liberal immigration policies where the target of frequent attacks by President Trump. The german people are going to riot. They are going to end up overthrowing this woman. I dont know what shes thinking. They have millions of people pouring into germany and now they are not stopping them. Today press secretary Sarah Sanders dodged the question whether the president feels vindicated by her aboutface. The president s focused on trying to fix the immigration problem we have here in the United States. He would like to see congress, particularly democrats, stop political grandstanding and actually come up with some Real Solutions and work with us to fix the problem. What are the chances of getting an Immigration Reform bill . To quote muhammad ali, slim to none and slim just left town. There may be little oxygen on capitol hill left for anything else. Jon john roberts at the white house, thank you. The Trump Administration announced this afternoon it is reversing an obama era policy that encouraged colleges to consider race during the College Admissions process. Correspondent Garrett TenneyGarrett Tenney reports tonight on what brought them to this decision. Today the Justice Department announced its getting rid of of obama era guidelines to promote diversity by using race in college initiated stomach admissions decisions. The guideline from 2011 and 2016 laid out legal recommendations looking for affirmative action. Firms doj argues that the obama era guidance isnt legally sound and goes beyond precedent on that issue. It doesnt change the law but supporters of the move hope it pushes colleges to change. It will be one more step in discouraging universities and colleges from using race and ethnicity as a criteria for admissions. That should not be happening in america in the year of 2018. Attorney general Jeff Sessions has now rescinded dozens of guidance documents issued by the Obama Administration after launching a review last year. Doj determined a lot of the obama era policies were inconsistent with the constitution, saying today the executive branch cannot circumvent congress or the courts by creating guidance that goes beyond the law and in some instances stays on the books for decades. But critics suggest this reversal is a politically motivated attack on affirmative action. All across the country we are seeing a coordinated series of attacks on raceconscious policies in the higher ed context. It sends the wrong message to administrators and College President s all across our country that are working hard to ensure diversitys on their campuses. The Supreme Court last held that affirmative action was constitutional in 2016. The deciding vote in that case was Justice Anthony kennedy, who in his opinion left the door open to future legal challenges. With his retirement, its just another example of how his successor is expected to have a major impact on the court for years to come. Jon Garrett Tenney, thank you. President trump wants nato countries to pay their fair share for defense and is making demands of several nato leaders and allies. National security correspondent Jennifer Griffin has a report from the pentagon. In a series of letters that became public after they were sent to european leaders, both President Trump and his defense secretary jim mattis have warned the u. S. Is losing patience with nato allies not pulling their weight and defense expenditure. A june 12 letter from mattis to his british counterpart warned britain could forfeit its special relationship with the u. S. If it does not spend more. All of this week before a nato summit in brussels and its threats from President Trump to pull u. S. Troops out of europe and shutter bases in germany if it does not meet its nato obligations. The United States puts over 4. 5 of the gdp into nato. It wants other countries to step up. They have a commitment to meet the 2 threshold. The u. S. Actually spends closer to 3. 5 of its gdp on defense, still far more than the other 28 nato allies. Britain is one of just four nations currently spending more than 2 of their gdp. For President Trump, it has become a rallying cry. We are the piggy bank that they like to take from. Germany is paying 1 of a much smaller gdp. That doesnt work, folks. It doesnt work. So i think we should pay the same as germany. Former defense secretary robert gates raised the issue in 2011. Future u. S. Political leaders, those for whom the cold war was not the formative experience that it was for me, may not consider the return on americas investment in nato worth the cost. President bush and obama both pressed nato allies to pay their fair share, estimated at 2 of gdp. President obama famously referred to some as free riders. Going forward, every nato member state must step up and carry its share of the burden. By showing the political will to invest in our collective defense. The allies agreed to ante up by 2024. While pentagon officials agree nato countries should spend more, former top u. S. Commanders who served in europe warned it would be a colossal mistake for President Trump to pull out the 32,000 u. S. Troops currently in germany suggesting it would simply be a win for russia. Jon Jennifer Griffin at the pentagon, thanks. For the short trading day ahead of the holiday the dow dropped 132, the s p 500 lost 13 and the nasdaq finished down 65. As americans hit the road for the holidays the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline, 2. 86, the highest level for the july 4th period in years but still about 0. 10 less than a month ago. Republican congressman jim jordan is facing accusations of ignoring allegations of sexual abuse by a by a doctor t ohio state university. Three torments till my former wrestlers told nbc news that it was Common Knowledge that he inappropriately touched players during appointments. Now congressman jordan was assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994 and is denying any knowledge of that abuse. His spokesperson today is saying he never saw any beers, never heard about any abuse and never had any abuse reported to him during his time as a coach at the school. He has not been contacted about the matter but will assist them in any way they asked because of what is alleged is true with the victims deserve a full investigation and justice. Male athletes from 14 sports in the university have reported alleged misconduct by strauss. Strauss died in 2005. 12 boys and a coach are no longer alone in a flooded cave. Theyve been trapped there for more than a week. Seven members of the thai navy seals, including a doctor, joined them in the cave, but a Senior Foreign Affairs correspondent even as rescuers make it in, they still face challenges in getting them out. How to get these kids out of a mile deep cave in northern thailand. Thats the challenge facing rescue teams now. Many people are coming. The boys, aged 1116, and their 25yearold coach have been practicing soccer since ten days ago when they decided to explore a nearby cave. Heavy rains flooded the cave trapping a deep underground. After days of frantic searching, including u. S. Military Service Members from japan, they were found alive. I have to think the International Community in assisting us. This would not have been possible if we didnt help each other. The 13 are said to be in stable condition. Theyve been living off water dripping from the cave walls but theyve had nothing to eat. We have given the boys food, starting with easily digested and high protein food with enough minerals. Getting those trapped out is a challenge. It waiting for flooding to receipt or drilling a tunnel could take months with more rains forecast, officials are considering assisting those trapped to dive their way out with special breathing gear, also very tricky. Once the cave flood seriously again, with the amount of water going through in the current and the visibility and water, it may be that diving operations will become impossible. For now, family and friends who have been waiting for joe are their loved ones are alive. When you think about such a problem set when the outcomes could have been far worse and to have such a miracle story, i dont see how you couldnt be believing in humanity. For now rescue teams continue to pump out water from the caves to keep the boys alive and to keep hope alive that this miracle story ends up well. Jon greg palkot, thanks. A former i. T. Aid to Congressional Democrats has pleaded guilty to bank fraud. Pleaded guilty to making a false statement on an application for a home equity loan. Once worked for congresswoman Debbie Wasserman schultz among other lawmakers and was investigated for possible cyber breach. Investigators determine federal charges were not warranted in that probe. Congress sets another date with fbi agent peter strzok over his antitrump text. This as a senate panel announces it agrees russia preferred a trump rather than a clinton presidency. Catherine herridge joins us live with more. Catherine, good evening. Thanks, good evening. The Senate Intelligence committee released an unclassified report backing up the 2017 intelligence assessment that found restroom wanted to down damage the liver clinton, harm or elect ability and over time the russian government developed a clear preference for donald trump. When the report was released in 2017 there was some daylight between nsa, the fbi then led by director james comey, and the cia, then led by director john brennan over the key findings. Senate investigators interviewed analysts and concluded the differences were not politically motivated. The Senate Report also confirmed Opposition Research compiled by former british by Christopher Steele and paid for by the dnc and Clinton Campaign did not play any role in the 2017 assessment because the information was considered unverified. In a separate development, a federal judge ordered special counsel lawyers and former National Security advisor mike flynn to appear in a d. C. Court on july 10th after both sides ask for most more time for thed time. Since the december guilty plea, pointing to a republican drafted congressional report that found Andrew Mccabe and fbi director james Comey Told Congress their agents found no signs of deception during his interview about his russian context. Legal analysts are warning against jumping to any conclusions. Its kind of tough to unring that bell. He has stood up in court, he has said he lied. He has said the circumstance of the lie. If he undid it, it all goes away, his protection goes away on Everything Else as well as this. They also issued a subpoena for fbi agent peter strzok to publicly testify on the tenth. He is one of two agents who interviewed flynn. Jon catherine herridge, thanks. Up next, stories from the border from texas to israel. But first, heres what some of our fox affiliates around the country are coming to me. Fox 40 in sacramento, where firefighters are still trying to get the upper hand over a Massive Wildfire in sparsely Populated Areas in the northwest of the cities. That fire has grown to 109 square miles. Fox 25 in boston, where the governor is hoping to get guns out of the hands of people considered a danger to themselves or others. The socalled red flag measure will allow a relative or someone else with close ties to a legal gun owner to petition a court for a 12 month extreme Risk Protection order if the individual was exhibit any dangerous or unstable behavior. If the gun owner is allowed to appeal the decision. And take alive look at st. Louis from fox 2. The big story there, the reopening of the famous gateway arch. The arch is back open after undergoing five years of renovations to make the National Monument more accessible. And that is tonights live and rainy look outside the beltway from special report. Imagine enjoying a slice of pizza. Now its as easy as pie. Nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts for allday, allnight protection. Can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn . For allday, allnight protection. No mathere are over 10,000 allstate agents riding sweep. Call one today. Are you in good hands . A hotel can make or break a trip. And at expedia, we dont think you should be rushed into booking one. Thats why we created expedias addon advantage. Now after booking your flight, you unlock discounts on select hotels right until the day you leave. Addon advantage. Discounted hotel rates when you add on to your trip. Only when you book with expedia. My lineage was the vecchios and zuccolis. 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A federal court is blocking the Trump Administrations zerotolerance policies towards immigration saying it must stop putting legitimate asylumseekers into tension. Correspondent Casey Stegall with what this means for one Border Crossing in el paso. In response to a joint lawsuit filed by the aclu and others, a federal judge has determined at least five ice field offices around the country were not affording asylumseekers their full rights. Judge states this opinion does no more than hold the g