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The Latest: Texas death row inmate seeks stay of execution

The Latest on the scheduled execution of a member of 'Texas 7' gang of escaped prisoners (all times local):

2:30 p.m.

Attorneys for a Texas death row inmate have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his lethal injection until a Buddhist minister can be present with him in the execution chamber.

Patrick Murphy's lawyers argue that executing the 57-year-old "Texas 7" member without his spiritual adviser present would violate his right to religious freedom. Murphy became a Buddhist almost a decade ago while incarcerated.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday denied a request to stay his execution on the same grounds, upholding a lower court decision.

Murphy is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was convicted in the shooting death of a Dallas-area police officer during a Christmas Eve robbery in 2000.

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12:00 a.m.

Attorneys for a death row inmate say his pending execution is unconstitutional because he never fatally shot a suburban Dallas police officer during a Christmas Eve robbery more than 18 years ago.

Patrick Murphy's lawyers say the 57-year-old shouldn't be executed Thursday night because he wasn't a major participant in the December 2000 robbery in which Irving police Officer Aubrey Hawkins was killed by the notorious "Texas 7" gang of escaped prisoners.

If Murphy's appeals fail and he is executed, he'd be the fourth person put to death in the U.S. this year.

Murphy was convicted under Texas' law of parties, which holds a person criminally responsible for the actions of another if they are engaged in a conspiracy.

Source: Fox News National

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Avenatti, facing multiple federal charges, suggests Los Angeles fraud case has connection to Trump

Celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti suggested in a fiery statement to Fox News late Monday that the Los Angeles lawyers suing him for allegedly stealing from a former client's settlement fund -- a matter that prompted California prosecutors to slap Avenatti with federal criminal fraud charges on Monday -- have political motivations and are "close" to the Trump administration.

Although Avenatti's dramatic New York arrest for an alleged $25 million extortion scheme targeting sports apparel giant Nike dominated headlines on Monday, the separate federal wire and bank fraud charges that Avenatti simultaneously faces in Los Angeles may pose his greatest legal threat. Avenatti faces up to 47 years in jail on the New York charges, and 50 years in the California case, which resulted from a much longer-running investigation involving a lengthier paper trail.

Fox News has exclusively obtained text messages and email conversations between Avenatti, 48, and the former client, Gregory Barela, which documented Barela's persistent efforts for several months in 2018 to locate and obtain funds he was owed pursuant to a settlement agreement that resulted from his intellectual property dispute with an out-of-state company.

Financial documents also reviewed by Fox News show that the money had been wired to an account designated by Avenatti on Jan. 5, 2018, but that Avenatti continued to dodge increasingly frantic questions from the client as to where the funds were.

FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: EMAILS SHOW AVENATTI CLIENT RACING TO OBTAIN SETTLEMENT FUNDS, AS AVENATTI SEEMS TO STALL

"We did nothing wrong and were entitled to every dollar received," Avenatti told Fox News, without providing documentation. "And of course, [Barela] is represented by a person close to Trump." (Avenatti's comments came just a day after Attorney General William Barr announced that Special Counsel Robert Mueller had cleared Trump and his campaign of illegally colluding with Russians -- a matter that, among others, Avenatti had said would bring down Trump's presidency.)

President Donald Trump speaks with the media after stepping off Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks with the media after stepping off Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Stephen G. Larson, a former George W. Bush-appointed U.S. District Court judge who founded Larson O'Brien LLP and now represents Barela in his civil complaint against Avenatti, told Fox News he was grateful that prosecutors filed criminal charges. Barela's complaint is currently in arbitration, but may soon be moved to state court if Avenatti does not pay the required arbitration fees.

“We and our clients applaud the US Attorney and IRS Criminal Investigation for addressing this matter and we intend to carefully follow its progress through the criminal justice system," Larson told Fox News.

Responding to Avenatti's attacks on his law firm, another partner at Larson O'Brien LLP, Steven Bledsoe, said simply: "Falsification of legal documents and theft of client funds is not a political matter."

Federal prosecutors in California charged that Barela's settlement "called for $1.6 million in settlement money to be paid on January 10, 2018," but that instead, Avenatti gave Barela a "bogus settlement agreement" with a false payment date of March 10, 2018. According to prosecutors' affidavit, Avenatti misappropriated his client’s settlement money, in violation not only of federal law but also state ethics requirements, and used it to pay expenses for his coffee business and other ventures.

"This day has been a long time coming."

— Larson O'Brien LLP partner Steven Bledsoe

"When the fake March 2018 deadline passed and the client asked where the money was," prosecutors said, "Avenatti continued to conceal that the payment had already been received."

AVENATTI'S CO-CONSPIRATOR IN NEW YORK CASE WAS CNN CONTRIBUTOR 'NO LONGER WITH THE NETWORK' 

In March 2018, according to the statement of claims filed in arbitration by Barela's attorneys, Barela visited the Eagan Avenatti law firm in Newport Beach, Calif., to ask about the money -- only to see two attorneys who work with Avenatti, John Arden and Ahmed Ibrahim, allegedly try to keep quiet about it.

"Mr. Barela saw Mr. Arden's reflection in the glass wall of the conference room and observed Mr. Arden gesturing towards Mr. Ibrahim to stop discussing Mr. Barlea's settlement payment," the document asserts, after which "both Mr. Ibrahim and Mr. Arden ... actively deceived Mr. Barela by not disclosing that the settlement payment had been received."

In an email dated April 5, 2018, and reviewed by Fox News, Barela wrote to Avenatti that he would "like to discuss my options for collections" on the settlement funds. Ten days later, Barela again sought Avenatti's advice on the "status" of the transfer, and "next actions" to take if the funds were not collected.

Attorney Michael Avenatti leaves Federal Court after his initial appearance in an extortion case Monday, March 25, 2019, in New York. Avenatti was arrested Monday on charges that included trying to shake down Nike for as much as $25 million by threatening the company with bad publicity. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen).

Attorney Michael Avenatti leaves Federal Court after his initial appearance in an extortion case Monday, March 25, 2019, in New York. Avenatti was arrested Monday on charges that included trying to shake down Nike for as much as $25 million by threatening the company with bad publicity. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen).

On May 7, 2018, Barela wrote that if the company "does not pay soon," he might "need a little help" financially from Avenatti. On May 15, Barela again asked if the company had "respond[ed] or paid." Barela also noted in one conversation that he was planning to host a watch party at his home for an upcoming Avenatti appearance on "60 Minutes."

After several advances of funds from Avenatti, on Oct. 10, 2018, Barela wrote, "I was hoping to have an update" on the settlement funds and "get our money." He tells Avenatti, "I need 8K by Tuesday or I'm in deep sh**," and on Oct. 22, he emailed a dire assessment.

"Michael, I was waiting for your call and I know you get busy," Barela wrote on Oct. 22. "I send updates like this so you don't have to dig up old emails. I know your [sic] under pressure so let's discuss what you can or can't do? ... Just so you know I am in real financial trouble and am working on trying to get another loan. I am trying to use the [settlement] agreement to secure it. I need to know that we really have the ability to collect and timing to the best of you [sic] opinion."

The email concluded by asking whether the company had "responded" and "if not what is our next action."

Avenatti did not disclose that he had received the wire transfer in his conversations with Barela, according to Barela's attorneys and a review of emails between Avenatti and Barela, stretching throughout most of 2018.

AVENATTI CUTS TIES WITH STORMY DANIELS -- OR IS IT THE OTHER WAY AROUND?

Avenatti, who briefly considered a bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination and posted a $300,000 bond in New York on Monday, told Fox News earlier this year that Barela's story was "ridiculously false" and "fraudulent," adding that "we previously represented Mr. Barela in multiple matters and he has received 100 percent of what he is entitled to."

Avenatti also insisted that Barela lacks credibility, in part because of legal troubles. Court records obtained by Fox News show that Barela is on probation related to his work on a construction project without having proper licensing, and was ordered to pay nearly $50,000 in restitution.

But Bledsoe, on Monday, asserted that the paper trail was simply damning, saying simply, "This day has been a long time coming. ... I wouldn’t have believed this case if I had not seen the documents myself.”

"Mr. Avenatti is a big talker, but I don’t think there is anyway to get around the written record that we believe shows that he falsified the terms of the settlement agreement, denied receiving the settlement payment, and then spent his client’s settlement money," Bledsoe told Fox News, adding that the Los Angeles case involves an accusation of the "falsification of a settlement agreement and theft of client funds that is supported by straightforward documentation, including bank records, text messages, and emails."

Calling Avenatti's attacks on his client "disgraceful" attempts to misdirect, Bledsoe added: “Falsifying settlement documents and taking a client’s money is about as low as a lawyer can get. It appears that is what Mr. Avenatti has done."

Separately in Los Angeles, U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said Avenatti was also charged following a two-year IRS tax investigation after he allegedly obtained $4.1 million in loans for his law firm and coffee business from a Mississippi bank by using phony tax returns stating that he had made $4,562,881 in 2011, $5,423,099 in 2012, and $4,082,803 in 2013.

Avenatti also stated that he had paid more than $1 million in estimated taxes to the IRS in 2012 and 2013 when, according to prosecutors, he actually owed the IRS $850,438 plus interest and penalties for the years 2009 and 2010. In addition, authorities say, Avenatti paid no personal income taxes for 2011, 2012 and 2013 and paid no estimated taxes in 2012 and 2013.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"[Avenatti] is a corrupt lawyer who instead fights for his own selfish interest," Hanna said, adding that the allegations against the attorney "paint an ugly picture of lawlessness and greed."

Avenatti became famous as the lawyer for Daniels, the adult-film actress who alleged she had an affair with President Trump in 2006 while his wife Melania was pregnant with the couple's son, Barron. In the last year, Daniels and Avenatti became household names in their fight against Trump, dominating cable news shows for months and taunting the president in interviews.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Senate Republicans enact procedural change to speed confirmation of Trump judicial picks

Senate Republicans used a procedural maneuver on Wednesday to effectively prevent Democrats from using delaying tactics to stall votes on President Trump's nominees to federal district courts and the executive branch, as the White House continues its push to transform the judiciary.

Under rules in place prior to Wednesday, any senator could force 30 hours of debate on a nominee, even after the Senate has voted to halt a filibuster and move forward with a vote on the nominee's confirmation. The GOP's move Wednesday restored a precedent that had been in place during the first few years of President Barack Obama's second term, and limited that debate time to just two hours.

Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court nominations, and appeals court judges are exempted from the new precedent, which will continue indefinitely.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accomplished the change by making a point of order, which was upheld by a 51-48 vote. The change in precedent is not technically a formal change in Senate rules, which would require a 67-vote threshold to end a filibuster.

All Senate Democrats voted to reject McConnell's precedent change, with GOP Sens. Mike Lee and Susan Collins joining them.

McConnell said the situation had gotten out of hand, with the Senate taking 128 votes to end debate on Trump's nominees during his first two years in office, far more than under other presidents.

"The comprehensive campaign by Senate Democrats to delay Senate consideration of presidential nominations is now more than two years old," McConnell said. "It's time for this sorry chapter to end."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks to members of the media alongside Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., from left, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, following a Senate policy luncheon, Tuesday, April 2, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks to members of the media alongside Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., from left, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, following a Senate policy luncheon, Tuesday, April 2, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The move comes as the White House has also sought to speed up the process of installing conservative judges. Trump has aggressively nominated -- and Senate Republicans have confirmed -- several judges to the left-leaning 9th Circuit Court of Appeals without first obtaining the approval of the judge's home-state senators.

"The Senate's advice and consent power is not supposed to be used to slow-walk all of a president's nominees simply because one party doesn't like the president who is doing the nominating," said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Republican.

The point of order votes came following the votes to end debate on the nominations of Jeffrey Kessler for Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Roy Altman for a judgeship on the Southern District of Florida.

"It's time for this sorry chapter to end."

— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Former Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada used the same approach in 2013 to lower the filibuster threshold on most nominations to a simple majority when faced with what Democrats said was GOP obstructionism.

NEARLY HALF OF LEFT-LEANING 9TH CIRCUIT IS NOW REPUBLICAN-APPOINTED, THANKS TO TRUMP'S AGGRESSIVE PUSH

Republicans said at the time that Reid and Democrats would come to regret that rules change, which has given Trump largely free rein to fill numerous judicial vacancies that have piled up over the years.

Many Democrats, who benefited from prior rules changes under Obama, are protesting now. They say the GOP move would enable Trump and future presidents, so long as their party controls the Senate, to run roughshod over the Senate.

They say the hurdles required to win confirmation should be difficult as a way to ensure nominees are ethical, qualified and responsive to requests by senators for information.

"There is no emergency that justifies changing the Senate rules. Sen. McConnell himself admitted the Senate has plenty of time to consider nominees," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "This is all about avoiding close scrutiny for extreme ideological nominees that Republicans want to pack onto the federal courts for lifetime appointments."

But other Democrats, McConnell said, indicated behind the scenes that they could support the rules change provided that it wouldn't take effect until the next administration.

Democrats also say that GOP complaints over their tactics now ring hollow after the obstructionism Obama experienced over his two terms.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge nominated to the Supreme Court by Obama, failed to get a Senate hearing, and Republicans stalled numerous other Obama judicial nominees — both when the GOP was in the minority and then after retaking the Senate in 2015.

Armed with the White House and control of the Senate, Trump is now confirming both district and appeals court judges at a dizzying pace and is positioned to reshape the federal judiciary even if he fails to win a second term.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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German industry to drag down over growth once again: Bundesbank

Cars for export stand in shipping terminal at harbour in Bremerhaven
FILE PHOTO: Cars for export stand in a parking area at a shipping terminal in the harbour of the northern German town of Bremerhaven, late October 8, 2012. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

March 18, 2019

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – German economic growth remained subdued in the first quarter, dragged down by weak industrial production, falling export demand for cars and deteriorating manufacturing sentiment, the Bundesbank said in a monthly report on Monday.

Struggling with unexpected weakness in among its car manufacturers, Germany barely escaped a recession last quarter. Fresh indicators suggest any recovery will be slow, at best, a drag on growth across the entire euro zone.

Car manufacturing suffered this quarter from a strike at a key engine plant, but a drop in export orders from outside the euro zone suggests deeper issues, rather than one-off factors, as has been suggested earlier.

“Manufacturing sector could therefore drag down overall economic growth for the third straight quarter,” the Bundesbank said in a regular monthly economic report.

Still, a boom in construction and buoyant private consumption should support the economy during the first quarter, the bank said, noting that employment continues to rise, despite the growth weakness.

“Private consumption, as signaled by the strong increase in retail sales, could pick up again significantly,” the Bundesbank said.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi, editing by Larry King)

Source: OANN

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Trump met with Twitter chief executive on Tuesday: White House

U.S. President Trump attends the 2019 White House Easter Egg Roll in Washington
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump attends the 2019 White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 22, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

April 23, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump met with Twitter Inc’s Chief Executive Jack Dorsey on Tuesday, the White House confirmed, hours after Trump again attacked the social media company.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump suggested Twitter was biased against him without providing evidence. He wrote on Twitter that the company does not “treat me well as a Republican. Very discriminatory.”

Twitter did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

(Reporting by David Shepardson)

Source: OANN

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Censored: End of Free Speech & Dawn of A One Party Nation – Documentary

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Homeland Sec. Nielsen: 'Fear for Our Democracy' With Congress

Members of Congress who criticize how the Department of Homeland Security does its job should change immigration laws if they don't want to see them enforced, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

"I really fear for our democracy when the body who creates the law is telling the body who enforces the law, just don't enforce the law," Nielsen told Fox News' "Fox and Friends."

"The men and women at the Department of Homeland Security have sworn an oath to protect communities to secure the homeland and to enforce the law that Congress passed.”

Nielson's interview aired just hours before the Senate was expected to pass a resolution rejecting President Donald Trump's emergency declaration for the border, and as the DHS has been criticized for implementing many of the president's policies at the border.

She said Trump was within his constitutional authority to declare an emergency, and that many members of Congress are criticizing Customs and Border Patrol for enforcing policies such as on family separations that have been in effect for decades but are "suddenly now political and partisan."

Meanwhile, apprehensions at the border are going up, and Nielsen said that is happening because criminals are finding ways to take advantage of loopholes.

Then, Congress also fails to act, she said.

"This is not a partisan issue," said Nielsen. "It is not partisan to want to protect communities and not partisan to want to secure our border or homeland. And, yet, in this environment, Congress refuses to act.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon, South Korea, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

April 26, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop and drama star Park Yu-chun was arrested on Friday on charges of buying and using illegal drugs, a court said, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the South Korean entertainment business.

Suwon District Court approved the arrest warrant for Park, 32, due to concerns over possible destruction of evidence and flight risk, a court spokesman told Reuters.

Park is suspected of having bought about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former girlfriend earlier this year and using the drug around five times, an official at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.

Park has denied wrongdoing, saying he had never taken drugs, and he again denied the charges in court, Yonhap news agency said.

Park’s contract with his management agency had been canceled and he would leave the entertainment industry, Park’s management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said on Wednesday.

Park was a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.

A scandal involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chat about rape led at least four other K-pop stars to quit the industry earlier this year.

The cases sparked a nationwide drugs bust and investigations into tax evasion and police collusion at night clubs and other nightlife spots.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight taxis after landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington
FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight from Los Angeles taxis after landing at Reagan National Airport shortly after an announcement was made by the FAA that the planes were being grounded by the United States over safety issues in Washington, U.S. March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc cut its 2019 profit forecast on Friday, saying it expected to take a $350 million hit from the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes after cancelling 1,200 flights in the first quarter.

The company said it now expects its 2019 adjusted profit to be between $4.00 per share and $6.00 per share.

Analysts on average had expected 2019 earnings of $5.63 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

The No. 1 U.S. airline by passenger traffic said net income rose to $185 million, or 41 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $159 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total operating revenue rose 2 percent to $10.58 billion.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

April 26, 2019

By James Oliphant

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (Reuters) – Four years ago, Donald Trump campaigned in small towns like Marshalltown, Iowa, vowing to restore economic prosperity to the U.S. heartland.

In his bid to replace Trump in the White House, Pete Buttigieg is taking a similar tack. The difference, he says, is that he can point to a model of success: South Bend, Indiana, the revitalized city where he has been mayor since 2012.

The Democratic presidential contender has vaulted to the congested field’s top tier in recent weeks, drawing media and donor attention for his youth, history-making status as the first openly gay major presidential candidate and a resume that includes military service in Afghanistan.

But Buttigieg’s main argument for his candidacy is that he is a turnaround artist in the mold of Trump, although the Democrat does not expressly invoke the comparison with the Republican president.

“I’m not going around saying we’ve fixed every problem we’ve got,” Buttigieg, 37, said after a house party with voters in Marshalltown. “But I’m proud of what we have done together, and I think it’s a very powerful story.”

Critics argue improving the fortunes of a Midwestern city of 100,000 people does not qualify Buttigieg, who has never held national office, for the presidency of a country of 330 million. Others say South Bend still has pockets of despair and that minorities, in particular, have failed to benefit from its growth.

Buttigieg has told crowds in Iowa and elsewhere that his experience in reviving a struggling Rust Belt community allows him to make a case to voters that other Democratic candidates cannot. That may give him the means to win back some of the disaffected Democratic voters who turned their backs on Hillary Clinton in 2016 to vote for Trump.

Watching Buttigieg at a union hall in Des Moines last week, Rick Ryan, 45, a member of the United Steelworkers, lamented how many of his fellow union workers voted for Trump. The president turned in the best performance by a Republican among union households since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Ryan said he hoped someone like Buttigieg could return them to the Democratic fold.

“He’s aware of the decline in the labor force in America, not just in Indiana or Des Moines or anywhere else,” Ryan said. “Jobs are going overseas. We need a find to way to bring that back.”

Randy Tucker, 56, of Pleasant Hill, Iowa, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said Trump appealed to union members “desperate for somebody to reach out to them, to help them, to listen to their voice.”

Buttigieg could do the same, he said. “In my heart right now, he’s No. 1.”

PAST VS. FUTURE

Buttigieg stresses a key difference in his and Trump’s approaches.

Trump, he tells crowds, is mired in the past, promising to rebuild the 20th century industrial economy. Buttigieg argues the pledge is misleading and unrealistic.

Buttigieg says his focus is on the future, and he often talks about what the country might look like decades from now.

“The only way that we can cultivate what makes America great is to look to the future and not be afraid of it,” Buttigieg said in Marshalltown.

Buttigieg knows his sexual preference may be a barrier to winning some blue-collar voters. But he notes that after he came out as gay in 2015, he won a second term as mayor with 80 percent of the vote in conservative Indiana.

Earlier this month, he announced his presidential bid at the hulking plant in South Bend that stopped making Studebaker autos more than 50 years ago. After lying dormant for decades, the building is being transformed into a high-tech hub after Buttigieg and other city leaders realized it would never again attract a large-scale industrial company.

“That building sat as a powerful reminder. We hoped we would get back that major employer that would fix our economy,” said Jeff Rea, president of the regional Chamber of Commerce.

Buttigieg is praised locally for spurring more than $100 million in downtown investment. During his two terms, unemployment has fallen to 4.1 percent from 11.8 percent.

But a study released in 2017 by the nonprofit group Prosperity Now said not all of the city’s residents had shared in its rebound. The median income for African-Americans remained half that of whites, while the unemployment rate for blacks was double.

Regina Williams-Preston, a city councilor running to replace Buttigieg as mayor, credits him for the revitalized downtown. But she said he had a “blind spot” when it came to focusing on troubled neighborhoods like the one she represents and only grew more engaged after community pressure.

“He understands it now,” she said. “The next step is figuring out how to open the doors of opportunity for everyone.”

‘ONE OF US’

Trump touts the fact that the United States added almost 300,000 manufacturing jobs last year as evidence he made good on his promise to restore the industrial sector. But that growth still left the country with fewer manufacturing jobs than in 2008.

The robust U.S. economy is likely the president’s greatest asset in his re-election bid, particularly in states he carried in 2016 such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He won Buttigieg’s home state by 19 points over Clinton in 2016.

Sean Bagniewski, chairman of the Democratic Party in Polk County, Iowa, said Buttigieg would be well positioned to compete with Trump in the Midwest.

“People love the fact that he’s a mayor,” said Bagniewski, who has not endorsed a candidate in the nominating contest. “If you can talk about a positive future, and if you actually have experience that can do it, that’s a compelling vision in Iowa.”

Nan Whaley, the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, which faces many of the same challenges as South Bend, agreed.

“He’s one of us,” Whaley said. “That helps.”

(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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A man looks out at a flooded residential area in Gatineau
A man looks out at a flooded residential area in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

April 26, 2019

MONTREAL/OTTAWA (Reuters) – Rising waters were prompting further evacuations in central Canada on Thursday, with the mayor of the country’s capital, Ottawa, declaring a state of emergency and Quebec authorities warning that a hydroelectric dam was at risk of breaking.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared the emergency in response to rising water levels along the Ottawa River and weather forecasts that called for significant rainfall on Friday.

In a statement on Twitter, Watson asked for help from the Ontario provincial government and the country’s military.

He warned that “flood levels are currently forecasted to exceed the levels that caused significant damage to numerous properties in the city of Ottawa in 2017.”

Spring flooding had killed one person and forced more than 900 people from their homes in Canada’s Quebec province as of 1 p.m. on Thursday, according to a government website.

Ottawa has received 80 requests for service related to potential flooding such as sandbagging, a city spokeswoman said.

The prospect of more rain over the next 24 to 48 hours triggered concerns on Thursday that the hydroelectric dam at Bell Falls in the western part of Quebec could be at risk of failing because of rising water levels.

Quebec’s provincial police said 250 people were protectively removed from homes in the area as of late afternoon in case the dam on the Rouge River breaks.

The dam is now at its full flow capacity of 980 cubic meters per second of water, said Francis Labbé, a spokesman for the province’s state-owned utility, Hydro Quebec. He said Hydro Quebec expected the flow could rise to 1,200 cubic meters per second of water over the next two days.

“We have to take the worst-case scenario into consideration, since we`re already at the maximum capacity,” Labbé said by phone.

The dam is part of a power station that no longer produces electricity, but is regularly inspected by Hydro Quebec, he said.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Ljunggren and Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Funeral of journalist Lyra McKee in Belfast
FILE PHOTO: Pallbearers carry the coffin of journalist Lyra McKee at her funeral at St. Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

April 26, 2019

BELFAST (Reuters) – Detectives investigating the murder of journalist Lyra McKee in Northern Ireland last week suspect the gunman who shot her dead is in his late teens as they made a further appeal to the local community who they believe know his identity.

McKee’s killing by an Irish nationalist militant during a riot in Londonderry has sparked outrage in the province where a 1998 peace deal mostly ended three decades of sectarian violence that cost the lives of some 3,600 people.

The New IRA, one of a small number of groups that oppose the peace accord, has said one of its members shot the 29-year-old reporter dead in the Creggan area of the city on Thursday when opening fire on police during a riot McKee was watching.

The killing, which followed a large car bomb in Londonderry in January that police also blamed on the New IRA, has raised fears that small marginalized militant groups are exploiting a political vacuum in the province and tensions caused by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

Police released footage on Friday of immediately before and after the shooting showing three men who were involved in the rioting and identified one as the gunman who they believe is in his late teens. 

“I believe that the information that can help us to bring those responsible for her murder to justice lies within the community. I need the public to tell me who he is,” Detective Superintendent Jason Murphy told reporters.

Murphy said those involved in the disorder on the night were teenagers or in their early 20s, and that about 100 people were on the ground watching the trouble as it unfolded.

He added that police believed the gun used in the attack was of a similar caliber to those used before in paramilitary type attacks in Creggan. 

“I recognize that people living in Creagan may find it’s difficult to come forward to speak to police. Today, I want to provide a personal reassurance that we are able to deal with those issues sensitively,” Murphy said, echoing similar appeals in recent days.

(Reporting by Amanda Ferguson, editing by Padraic Halpin and Toby Chopra)

Source: OANN

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