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Ambassador Grenell: Mayor Buttigieg pushing ‘Jussie Smollett’ hate hoax against Pence

The U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, defended Vice President Mike Pence against accusations of homophobia alleged by Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and compared the claims to a “hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett.”

“Mayor Pete has been pushing this hate hoax along the lines of Jussie Smollett for a very long time now, several weeks,” Grenell, who is openly gay, said Thursday on “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”

Smollett, an actor, is accused of faking a hate crime and is currently being sued by the city of Chicago.

ROB SMITH: I'M GAY AND SUPPORT MIKE PENCE -- DON'T BELIEVE PETE BUTTIGIEG'S CLAIM THAT PENCE IS ANTI-GAY

Buttigieg, who is openly gay and was once cordial with Pence, has boosted criticism of the vice president calling him anti-gay.

“This is someone who was against ‘Don't Ask, Don't Tell' who felt it was too pro-gay.  He wanted to make sure even closeted of couldn't serve,” Buttigieg said Tuesday about Pence on CNN.

Grenell, who called Pence a friend, accused the mayor of South Bend of drumming up accusations to boost fundraising and asked why he didn’t speak up while Pence was the governor of Indiana.

“It's ironic that right about now when he's starting his fund-raising apparatus to run for president that he comes up with this... idea and this attack,” Grenell said.

The ambassador defended Pence and his wife and cited their Christianity and said the couple “accepted” Grendell and his partner.

“Mike and Karen are great people, they're godly people, they're followers of Christ.  They don't have hate in their heart for anyone. They know my partner, they have accepted us. You asked me do we agree philosophically on every single issue? No,” Grendell said adding that he disagrees with other people he respects.

BUTTIGIEG, ONCE CORDIAL TO PENCE, NOW CRITICAL AMID CAMPAIGN

Grendell chastised the gay community for shifting from a group about tolerance to a group that demands “we all think alike” before noting that Pence has always supported Buttigieg.

“When Mayor Pete came out, the vice president complimented him and said he holds him in high regard. The vice president or then governor has said nothing but positive things about Mayor Pete. I think this is a total hate hoax and I think it's outrageous,” Grenell said.

Source: Fox News Politics

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UK headed for downturn as Brexit worries hammer services sector: PMI

Visitors admire St. Paul's Cathedral from the restaurant floor of the Tate Modern gallery in London
Visitors admire St.Paul's Cathedral from the restaurant floor of the Tate Modern gallery in London March 15, 2007. REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico/File Photo

April 3, 2019

By David Milliken

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s economy looks likely to shrink over the coming months after Brexit worries caused the dominant services sector to contract for the first time in nearly three years, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The closely watched IHS Markit/CIPS services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) tumbled to 48.9 in March from 51.3 in February, weaker than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.

This index is now below 50 and in contractionary territory for the first time since July 2016, immediately after Britons voted to leave the European Union.

Britain’s economy has been sluggish since the 2016 Brexit referendum and saw its weakest expansion in six years in 2018, despite having the lowest unemployment rate in over 40 years.

The slowdown in the global economy has also weighed on growth. But until now few surveys have pointed to an outright contraction in the world’s fifth-largest economy.

Britain had been due to leave the EU on March 29 but parliament repeatedly opposed the Brexit deal Prime Minister Theresa May had negotiated with Brussels.

“There were widespread reports that domestic political uncertainty had constrained demand in March, with clients hoping for clarity about Brexit outcomes before committing to new projects,” IHS Markit said.

Late on Tuesday, May said she would seek another Brexit delay to try to broker a deal with the opposition Labour Party leader, a last-ditch gambit to break an impasse over Britain’s departure that enraged many in her party.

A broader PMI, including manufacturing and construction data released this week, also fell to its lowest since July 2016 and escaped outright contraction only because firms bought more raw materials to prepare for a potentially disorderly Brexit.

“A stalling of the economy in the first quarter will … likely turn into a downturn in the second quarter unless demand revives suddenly, which given the recent escalation of Brexit uncertainty, seems highly improbable,” IHS Markit said.

Unlike in 2016, when demand rebounded rapidly after the initial shock of the referendum result, British businesses have now reported falling orders for the past three months, the longest such run since the depths of a recession in 2009.

Last week the head of the British Chambers of Commerce said business was angry with politicians for “chasing rainbows” rather than accepting that some Brexit goals were unrealistic.

And in news likely to depress growth this month, carmakers BMW and Peugeot said May’s delay to Brexit had come too late for them to cancel stoppages at their British factories, which they had planned because of fears of parts shortages post-Brexit.

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source: OANN

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Hyundai Motor names former Nissan executive Jose Munoz as COO

Jose Munoz, chief performance officer at Nissan Motor Limited, responds to a question on the new Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance venture capital fund during roundtable with journalists at the 2018 CES in Las Vegas
FILE PHOTO - Jose Munoz, chief performance officer at Nissan Motor Limited, responds to a question on the new Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance venture capital fund during roundtable with journalists at the 2018 CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 9, 2018. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

April 18, 2019

(Reuters) – South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co on Thursday named former Nissan executive Jose Munoz as its global chief operating officer.

Munoz, who will take charge on May 1, has also been named president and chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor North America and Hyundai Motor America.

Previously, Munoz, 53, was Nissan Motor Co’s chief performance officer and head of its China operations.

He joined Nissan in 2004 in Europe and led its expansion in North America after the global financial crisis. Since then, Nissan has raised its market share in the United States and posted record sales.

Munoz resigned from Nissan in January, further rattling the Japanese automaker’s management team amid the investigation into ousted Chairman Carlos Ghosn’s alleged financial misconduct.

Widely considered as a close ally of Ghosn and a potential successor to lead the automaking partnership between Nissan and France’s Renault SA, Munoz had been a “person of interest” in Nissan’s widening internal investigation.

Munoz will be based in California and will report to Hyundai’s top leadership in Seoul.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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Irish Brexit border issue could endanger EU-U.S. trade deal: congressman

FILE PHOTO: U.S. House Speaker Pelosi visits Ireland
FILE PHOTO: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks next to Ways and Means Commitee Chairman, Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) as Mayor of Derry City John Boyle looks on near an anti-Brexit protest banner during her visit to the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland in Bridgend, Ireland April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

April 19, 2019

DUBLIN (Reuters) – An influential U.S. congressman has warned the European Union that any Brexit arrangement that undermines Northern Ireland’s 1998 peace agreement could endanger a proposed EU-U.S. trade deal, the Irish Times reported on Friday.

The European Union last week said it was ready to start talks on a trade agreement with the United States and aims to conclude a deal before year-end.

“If America wants a trade agreement with the European Union, which I think is very desirable – I want it – at the same time you are back to the same issue on the border if you do anything that dampens or softens the Good Friday Agreement,” Democratic Congressman Richard Neal was quoted as saying.

Neal is visiting Ireland with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Wednesday said the United States would also not agree to any trade deal with Britain if future Brexit arrangements undermine peace in Ireland, reiterating comments made by the congressman in February.

The European Union has insisted it will not accept any British withdrawal agreement that results in any infrastructure on the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, something that would anger Irish nationalists and could become a target for militants.

But some British politicians have called on Brussels to soften this demand to get a deal done.

Neal, chairman of the Congressional committee overseeing trade, said any Brexit deal must maintain the sanctity of the peace agreement, the Irish Times reported.

How to keep EU-member Ireland’s 500km (350 mile) border with Northern Ireland open after Brexit is proving the most intractable issue in Britain’s tortuous efforts to leave the EU.

British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government is in talks with the opposition Labour Party to build support for a Brexit divorce deal that parliament has already rejected three times, potentially delaying the UK’s departure date from the European Union until the end of October.

Much of the opposition to May’s deal within her own party is centered on fears that it would not provide a clean enough break to allow the United Kingdom to forge new trade deals around the world, especially with the United States.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Source: OANN

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Blackstone to switch from a partnership to a corporation

The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
FILE PHOTO: The ticker and trading information for Blackstone Group is displayed at the post where it is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 4, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

April 18, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Blackstone Group LP, the world’s largest manager of alternative assets such as private equity and real estate, said on Thursday it would convert from a partnership to a corporation, in a bid to get more investors into its stock.

Blackstone is hoping the move will boost its share price, which has for more than a decade traded at a discount to traditional asset managers such as BlackRock Inc.

It will a remove a tax shield it enjoys now, in exchange for enabling investors such as mutual funds and index trackers to buy the stock.

Blackstone also announced first-quarter earnings on Thursday, reporting distributable earnings – the actual cash available for paying dividends – of $538 million in the first quarter, up from $502 million a year earlier.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: OANN

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Missouri woman arrested after claiming she shot boyfriend reenacting movie scene, cops say

Missouri police say they have arrested a woman for murder who claimed to have fatally shot her boyfriend as they were drinking and acting out a scene from a movie they had been watching.

Kalesha Peterson, a 37-year-old nurse, admitted shooting David Dalton, 36, in the head Thursday night with a .38-caliber handgun, but claimed it was an accident, the Fulton Police Department said in a news release.

She was charged with felony murder and unlawful use of a weapon and jailed without bail.

FLORIDA WOMAN SHOOTS PARTNER AFTER ALCOHOL-FUELED ARGUMENT OVER HIS SNORING: DEPUTIES

Police said that Peterson told them during an interview after the shooting that they had been drinking and watching a movie.

“Peterson advised that at some point Dalton suggested the two play out a scene in the movie that involved a firearm,” police said. “Peterson advised that the two retrieved a handgun kept in the bedroom to act out the scene.”

Peterson further stated that she had the gun in her hand when it discharged, according to the news release. She then called 911 to request immediate medical attention for Dalton.

Police did not identify the movie Peterson claimed she and her boyfriend had been watching.

Peterson was given a breathalyzer test, which showed she had been drinking, police said. She admitted being drunk on whiskey, they said.

TEEN PLANNED TO SHOOT EX-GIRLFRIEND AT SCHOOL, DOCUMENTS SAY

In addition, police said Peterson told them she had taken several medications as she was drinking. The news release said that some of those medications increase impairment when taken with alcohol.

KOMU-TV reported interviewing Dalton’s sister, Mary Bonner, who wasn’t buying Peterson’s explanation for the shooting.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“My brother deserves justice and no, I don’t think they were reenacting a movie,” she told the station. “That doesn’t sound like David at all.”

Source: Fox News National

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UK wage growth at new decade high as employers hire in the face of Brexit

FILE PHOTO: City workers head to work during the morning rush hour in London
FILE PHOTO: City workers head to work during the morning rush hour in Southwark in central London April 16, 2014.REUTERS/Toby Melville

April 16, 2019

LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) – – British workers’ pay grew at its joint fastest pace in over a decade, fueled by further job creation, adding to suggestions that Brexit uncertainty is prompting firms to hire workers rather than make longer-term investment in equipment.

Total earnings, including bonuses, rose by an annual 3.5 percent in the three months to February, the Office for National Statistics said, matching the median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.

That was the joint highest rate since mid-2008 although in February alone the pace of wage growth slowed.

Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 3.4 percent on the year, also in line with the Reuters poll.

It was the first fall in that measure of pay growth since the middle of last year.

Britain’s labor market has defied the approach of Brexit, helping households whose spending drives the economy.

However, the surge in jobs could reflect nervousness among businesses who have cut investment, making them more likely to hire workers who can be sacked in the event of a downturn in the economy.

The ONS said employment grew by 179,000 in the three months to February, in line with the Reuters poll forecast.

“The jobs market remains robust, with the number of people in work continuing to grow,” ONS statistician Matt Hughes said. “The increase over the past year is all coming from full-timers, both employees and the self-employed.”

The strength of the labor market is pushing up the official measurement of wages more quickly than the Bank of England has forecast, leading some economists to think it might raise interest rates once the uncertainty about Brexit lifts.

The BoE forecast in February that wage growth would slow to 3.0 percent by the end of 2019 as the economy feels the drag of Brexit uncertainty and a global slowdown.

It also forecast that Britain’s economy will grow at its slowest rate in a decade this year, even if it avoids the shock of a no-deal Brexit.

The pace of wage rises remains slower than the 4 percent increases seen before the financial crisis.

(Reporting by William Schomberg and Andy Bruce)

Source: OANN

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has blasted the United State and the European Union for imposing sanctions on his country, describing them as “economic terrorism.”

Bashar Ja’afari made his comments Friday in the Kazakh capital of Astana where Russia, Turkey and Iran held a new round of talks with the Syrian government and the opposition on steps to bring peace to the country.

His comments came as government-held parts of Syria are witnessing widespread fuel shortages that are largely the result of Western sanctions on Syria and its key ally Iran.

Ja’afari says: “This is economic terrorism that is escalating through unilateral economic measures.”

A final statement issued at the end of Astana’s 12th round rejected President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

Source: Fox News World

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