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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has cut short the final leg of his Asia trip to race back to Washington, where the Trump administration faces a critical week on tax reform and a funding plan to keep the government running, an aide said on Sunday.

Pence, who has been traveling in Asia to reassure allies and partners about President Donald Trump's commitment to the region, had originally planned to spend two nights in Honolulu at the end of a trip that took him to South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Australia.

While he spoke with business leaders in each country, Pence's trip was overshadowed by rising tensions in North Korea , where it is feared another nuclear test could be conducted soon in defiance of United Nations sanctions.

Pence will now spend one night in Hawaii and is slated to be back in Washington on Tuesday morning, his aide told reporters before Air Force Two landed at Pago Pago in American Samoa for refueling.

Trump has a busy week ahead. Funding appropriated by Congress to run the government runs out on Friday, so he and lawmakers must agree on new legislation or the government will shut down on Saturday.

Saturday is also Trump's 100th day in office, a benchmark used by pundits to assess the initial accomplishments and shortfalls of his young presidency.

Trump plans to outline principles for tax reform on Wednesday, a top brief for Pence.

While in Honolulu, Pence will meet leaders of the U.S. Pacific Command and is also slated to speak to U.S. troops and their families, the aide said.

Pence had planned to tour the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor but will no longer do that, the aide said.

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Why Vice President Pence Is Cutting Short His Asia Trip - Fortune

#VPinAUSDay Seven: Vice President Mike Pence arrives in Australia to meet with government and business leaders

We arrived safely in Australia on Saturday to continue discussions with another key American ally in the Asia-Pacific region.

My first stop of the day was with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Australia is, and always will be, one of Americas closest allies and truest friends.

We are partners in security, we are partners in prosperity, and together we are bound by our historic alliance. And under President Donald Trump, the United States is committed to strengthening our bond for the benefit of our people, and for the benefit of our world.

As the Prime Minister and I discussed, together, our nations will continue to uphold a rules-based system that is the foundation of peace and prosperity in the Asia Pacific.

I continued my day with in-depth discussions with the American and Australian business community. Today, our economic partnership is worth a staggering $1.5 trillion, and investment has grown by 50 percent in the last three years alone.

Under President Trump, Im very pleased to pledge that the United States will continue to work together with Australia to forge even greater opportunity and prosperity for both our nations and our people.

I ended the first day in Australia meeting with other government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, and Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove. In the meetings, I underscored the United States' unwavering commitment to the U.S.-Australia alliance and to the broader Asia-Pacific region.

You can get the latest updates from my visit to Australia by now following the hashtag #VPinAUS, @VPComDir, and @VPPressSec on social media. There is an album on my Facebook page with photos from the trip. Each morning, you can also read a recap of the previous day here on wh.gov.

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Vice President Mike Pence arrives in Australia to meet with ... - The White House (blog)

When we were newlyweds, my husband started graduate school at a seminary whose presidentfrequently recommends that men do everything within their power to safeguard their marriages and ministries. Nothing will destroy a pastor and his family faster than sexual scandal.

In addition to agreeing that he would not be alone with a person of the opposite sex, my husband gave me the remote control and asked me to set the viewing controls to restrict any type of program I thought would harm our marriage. He never knew the password in the years we had cable. When we got rid of cable, he started asking me to look up reviews of movies to determine whether we should watch them.

My husbands actions showed me that he wanted me to trust him and that he valued me. I respect him for this and feel cherished and loved. It takes humility to admit that you are capable of falling. But it also made me aware of the grave possibility of temptations that have the power to destroy our marriage.

So when I heard of Vice President Mike Pences personal policy for his conduct with women who are not his wife, I grew in respect for him. When I heard about the allegations of sexual misconduct against former Fox personality Bill OReilly, I wondered if he might have his job today had he espoused similar policies. Because of these allegations, Fox fired OReilly last week. OReilly issued a statement calling it tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims.

If the claims are indeed unfounded, it would be easier to prove this (and less likely they would have arisen in the first place) if OReilly had treated interactions with women as Pence does. Pences policy aims to put him above reproach. A man who is never alone with a woman besides his wife is trying to prevent even a hint of infidelity and can dispute false allegations, and his wife should be able to trust his faithfulness to her. A man who doesnt drink alcohol without his wife wants to prevent foolish inebriated behaviors that could hurt his marriage. These two rules Pence holds are an extension of his wedding vows to remain faithful to his wife until death should part them.

Pences personal policy also shows respect for women. A politician with his standard for conduct frees women to be merited based on their abilities and performance, rather than on their attractiveness or flirtatious behavior. It levels the playing field for women because it attempts to protect them from unwanted advances.

Pences personal convictions also show esteem for the covenant he made to his wife in their marriage vows. He is attempting to protect his marriage and seeking to love his wife well because he values her. The world should see that he is a one-woman man and that he recognizes sin starts with temptation. In this he demonstrates a high view of his wife, his wedding vows, and the institution of marriage.

Outside of a traditional view of marriage, understanding Pences convictions is impossible. Such conduct is not the action of a misogynist, it is the conduct of a man who highly values the most important woman in his life. Nor does it suggest that women are around only to entice or domesticate it actually protects women from sexual harassment.

To accuse Pence of following sharia law is ignorant of both sharia law and how Christianity defines the role of a husband, because in creating these boundaries for himself Pence is actually giving himself for his wife. He is showing he will forsake possibly advantageous business dinners by prioritizing his wife over all other women and over his career. It is loving and honorable. This man knows that sexual immorality, all impurities, and covetousness have no place among the saints.

Pences policy does not absolutely prevent him from sexually harassing women, but it is a good safeguard. A man with such apolicy is likely thinking about how to respectfully treat women and how certain behaviors will have unfavorable, and possibly destructive, repercussions. Perhaps that would have also protected OReilly from the accusations against him.

When a man does not have such policies, and is not admitting risk of impurity, he opens up himself not only to allegations, but also to temptations. We cannot run from temptations if we do not know or admit they are there. Carefully considering how we should act with the opposite sex is vital for adults who want to live honorably. Adopting Pences policy, or any other standard for conduct, is no guarantee of living a pure life, but it is an admission that purity is worth fighting for.

We cant condemn Pence for his efforts to act honorably and condemn OReilly for his alleged sexual harassment at the same time. The allegations against OReilly are just one of the reasons Pences policy is so important it strives to protect women from being victims in addition to attempting to protect Karen Pence from the pain of an unfaithful husband. Pences policy holds women and marriage in high regards. His love of his wife and his protection of his marriage is good for everyone.

Tucker Carlson is reportedly taking over OReillys spot at Fox News. If I could offer him a piece of advice, Id tell him to conduct himself more like Pence than his predecessor. It would help protect both his job and marriage.

Jessica Burke lives in North Carolina with her husband and their four children. A former public school teacher, Jessica has spent the last decade with a vocation of homemaker and classical home educator. The Burkes lived overseas for three years and have been to almost 20 countries together, surviving some adventures they will never speak of to the grandparents.

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If Bill O'Reilly Followed Mike Pence's Rules, He Might Still Be On TV - The Federalist

March for Science, Washington D.C.

On this Earth Day, the March for Science brought out tens of thousands of fans of the scientific method and scientific pursuits. You know; the stuff that teaches us about the world we livein. The stuff of every invention, ever. The reason we have everything from beer to Twitter. The reason nobody you know has polio.

Unfortunately there arent any others we can move to. This is it. And it doesnt matterwhether Mike Pence fancies himself personally smarter than the most devoted expertsworking, collectively, for generations, to suss out more substantive details on the origins of man than he, personally, is interested in; hes not, and it doesnt work that way.

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At Daily Kos on this date in 2014Earth Day is one day of 365. What about polar ice cap day, rainforest day, corporate plunder day?

While Earth Day organizers refused checks from Standard Oil, Monsanto and Procter and Gamble, among others, many political activists on the Left viewed the whole affair with suspicion. They saw environmental advocacy in general as a diversion from "real issues," such as poverty, racism, the Vietnam War and the imperialism that engendered it. Indeed, just a week after that first Earth Day, on April 29, the U.S. sent troops into Cambodia and, within three weeks, six students had been killed during protests at Kent State and Jackson State Universities. Environmental matters were for many protesters a low priority.

But Nelson, an avid opponent of the war, didn't see it that way. After the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, he had come up with the idea for Earth Day based on the anti-war college campus teach-ins he had witnessed. He got Denis Hayeswho eight years later would be my boss at the Solar Energy Research Instituteto coordinate Earth Day doings, Instead of putting out a national agenda for Earth Day, Nelson argued that it should be a grassroots affair with activities set in motion in local communities, not by professional organizers based in Washington, D.C.

And that was exactly how it played out.

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Open thread for night owls: Mike Pence's own history of science denial - Daily Kos

Speaking aboard the USS Ronald Reagan at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan Wednesday, Pence reiterated the US and its allies were prepared to respond to potential North Korean attack with "overwhelming" force.

"We will defeat any attack and meet any use of conventional or nuclear weapons with an overwhelming and effective American response," the Vice President said, to applause from the hundreds of US and Japanese troops gathered on the deck.

"All options are on the table. History will attest the soldier does not bear the sword in vain," he said.

Pence has used the first stops on his 10-day visit to Asia Pacific to stress the Trump administration's strong commitment to US allies in the face of hostile rhetoric from Pyongyang.

On Sunday, as part of celebrations to mark the birthday of late North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, state television aired a concert which included a video showing the US engulfed in flames.

The audience can be seen applauding as a band plays against the backdrop of a big screen showing tanks and missiles being fired.

The previous day, Pyongyang paraded its military hardware, including what could have been two intercontinental ballistic missile canisters.

The US played its own part in the tensions with surprise bombing action in Syria and Afghanistan, which Pence held up Wednesday as proof of US resolve.

"The enemies of our freedom and this alliance would do well not to test the resolve of this president or the capabilities of the armed forces of the United States of America and our allies," Pence said.

The trip so far has been something of a "reassurance shuffle" -- going from ally to ally to let them know America has their backs -- according to John Delury, a professor at the Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies in Seoul.

The Bush administration tried to get them to the negotiating table during the Six Party talks, and the punishing sanctions levied under the Obama administration haven't deterred Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

"Short of launching a shock and awe campaign which would be overwhelming in its breadth and scale there's not a lot else the US and its allies can do other than tighten the constrictor grip on the North," said Alex Neill, a senior fellow at the Shangri-La Dialogue.

One of the most common refrains from Trump, Pence and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been "the era of strategic patience is over," referring to what was essentially a wait-and-see tactic to dealing with Pyongyang but is notoriously vague, says Neill.

Pence repeated the phrase in South Korea, the first stop on his tour, and again during his speech aboard the Ronald Reagan.

"My hope is that they'll continue to get the message not just from the United States, here in Japan, and in South Korea, but on an increasing basis from China and countries all over the world committing to a denuclearized Korean Peninsula," he said.

Recent developments, however, have may have confused that message.

Last week, President Trump said he was sending an "armada" to the Korean Peninsula as a show of force.

But the revelation could be damaging to the US position in Asia, experts say, as it feeds the idea that President Trump cannot always be taken at his word.

"America has played a certain role in Asia since 1945 ... that role has in the end of the day been a stabilizer," Delury said. "That's what being undermined here with a president who thrives on unpredictability ... it's going to eat away at the fundamental credibility of the US role in Asia."

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Vice President Mike Pence gives stern warning to North Korea - CNN