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Biden looks to donors as he prepares to enter race


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On the roster: Biden looks to donors as he prepares to enter race - I’ll Tell You What: Beto, Biden and bonsais! - Beto says he could win Texas in the general - Dem senator readies pre-made agenda for next POTUS - A true ‘dilly, dilly’ moment

BIDEN LOOKS TO DONORS AS HE PREPARES TO ENTER RACE
Fox News: “Former Vice President Joe Biden told a group of supporters on Tuesday that he is planning to run for president in the 2020 and needs help securing contributions from donors, according to a report. Biden, who ranks high in polls among Democratic favorites, said he wanted to raise enough donations that were comparable to what Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., raised shortly after announcing their candidacy, a source knowledgeable on the matter told the Wall Street Journal. … Biden told his supporters on Tuesday that his candidacy would be judged by how quickly it could raise donations, the Wall Street Journal reported. But despite signs indicating that Biden is prepping for a presidential bid, he has yet to make a formal announcement. Biden seemingly slipped during a speech in Delaware on Saturday, telling the audience: ‘I have the most progressive record of anybody running for the --- anybody who would run.’”

He continues to lead the pack in the polls - Fox News: “Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders lead the large field of Democratic presidential contenders in a new national poll. But Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas are also distancing themselves from the remainder of the pack in the survey, released Tuesday by CNN. Twenty-eight percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independent voters said they would most likely support Biden for the party’s 2020 presidential nomination. … Harris, the former California attorney general, enjoyed the biggest bump in the survey. She jumped eight percentage points from CNN’s December poll to now stand at 12 percent. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts stood in fifth place, at 6 percent, with former Secretary of State John Kerry at 4 percent. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota stood at 3 percent.”

World leaders have also given Biden love - Politico: “When Joe Biden attended the annual Munich Security Conference last month, the wonky foreign policy confab promised an escape from the nonstop speculation back home about the former vice president’s political plans. Instead, Biden’s 2020 intentions were the talk of the conference. When Armenian President Armen Sarkissian ran into him in a hallway, a TV camera captured him asking Biden: ‘Are you going to run?’ (Biden whispered an inaudible answer.) And in several conversations with European leaders in Munich, Biden heard a repeated refrain, according to a conference attendee familiar with the conversations: The world needs you. Citing Biden’s long foreign policy track record and longtime commitment to the trans-Atlantic alliance, some of the leaders — echoing views from across the continent — told Biden that his return to the White House would be a sure way to restore western alliances that President Donald Trump has dramatically fractured.”

McAuliffe won’t make a 2020 decision until Biden does - WaPo: “When [Terry McAuliffe] left office in January 2018, McAuliffe appeared to be well positioned for a White House run as a socially liberal, business-friendly Democrat from an important swing state. But 14 months later, it’s unclear if there is room for McAuliffe, 62, in a party that seems to be pulling leftward. … Complicating McAuliffe’s deliberations — his self-imposed March 31 deadline for a decision is looming — is former vice president Joe Biden. A friend of 40 years, Biden would occupy the same center-left, establishment lane. If Biden gets in, McAuliffe would more than likely stay out, some friends say. ‘The only time you’ll ever see the words ‘deferential’ and ‘Terry McAuliffe’ in the same sentence is [with regard to] Joe Biden,’ said one associate, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid about McAuliffe’s private deliberations.”

THE RULEBOOK: THERE MUST BE CONSEQUENCES FOR ACTIONS
“If there be no penalty annexed to disobedience, the resolutions or commands which pretend to be laws will, in fact, amount to nothing more than advice or recommendation.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 15

TIME OUT: NEW FOSSIL ALERT  
NatGeo: “About 115 million years ago in what's now northwest China, a female bird was on the verge of motherhood. But somehow, her life on an ancient lakeshore took a traumatic turn, triggering a pregnancy complication that killed the egg forming inside her and may have even led to her death. Entombed ever since, this mother bird is now a paleontology milestone: Named Avimaia schweitzerae, the newly described species is the first fossil bird known to science that contains an unlaid egg. … Described this week in Nature Communications, the egg could shed light on reproductive disorders in ancient birds. And if its pigments are preserved, the fossil could reveal more about how ancient birds nested. Previous research has shown that the colors and speckles on dinosaur eggshells may vary depending on the dinosaur's nesting behavior, such as whether the species buries its eggs or broods them. This pattern holds true in the only dinosaurs alive today: birds.”

Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval:
 41 percent
Average disapproval: 53.6 percent
Net Score: -12.6 points
Change from one week ago: down 1.8 points 
[Average includes: CNN: 43% approve - 51% disapprove; Gallup: 39% approve - 57% disapprove; Monmouth University: 44% approve - 52% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve - 55% disapprove; IBD: 41% approve - 53% disapprove.]

I’LL TELL YOU WHAT: BETO, BIDEN AND BONSAIS!
This week, Dana Perino and Chris Stirewalt hash out who constitutes the top tier of the Democratic nominating process and Dana reveals where to find secret Cherry Blossoms and bonsai trees in D.C. Plus, Chris goes through the mailbag and Dana fires off some trivia. LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE HERE

BETO SAYS HE COULD WIN TEXAS IN THE GENERAL
Fox News:Beto O’Rourke predicts that if he wins the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, he’ll take his native state of Texas in the general election. The former congressman from El Paso also said he would ‘absolutely’ support his campaign staff if they wanted to unionize. He also would consider lowering the federal voting age to 16, scrapping the Electoral College, increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court, and eliminating the filibuster in the Senate. Speaking with reporters after holding his first event in New Hampshire as a presidential candidate, O’Rourke said, ‘Yes I think we can win Texas. I think we’ve proven we know how to campaign.’ …   Winning Texas and its 38 electoral votes would be a major coup for the Democrats. The last Democrat to take the state in a presidential election was Jimmy Carter in 1976. Republican President Donald Trump won Texas in 2016 but by a smaller margin than GOP nominee Mitt Romney in 2012.”

Gillibrand admits errors in handling of sexual misconduct claim - AP: “New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand acknowledged Tuesday that there were some ‘post-investigation human errors’ when her Senate office investigated allegations of sexual misconduct against various staffers. Gillibrand, campaigning in Iowa for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, also confirmed that her deputy chief of staff, Anne Bradley, was resigning but said only that ‘the decision was her own.’ Bradley’s handling of a sexual harassment claim made by a female staffer against one of Gillibrand’s male aides came under fire after Politico reported the aide was kept on despite the allegation. … ‘We decided that because of some post-investigation human errors that future investigations should be done by our new chief of staff, who actually has experience in this area,’ Gillibrand said, a reference to Joi Chaney, who joined the senator’s staff in January and previously served in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during the Obama administration.”

2020 hopeful Delaney says Electoral College talk a waste of time - Fox News: “Democratic presidential candidate John Delaney thinks it's a waste of time for candidates to talk about the Electoral College. ‘I would love to get rid of the Electoral College because I don’t think it’s the right way -- but it’s not changing. I think to some extent it’s a total waste of time to talk about it,’ the onetime Maryland representative said on ‘The Story with Martha MacCallum.’ ‘I’d rather talk about improving public education, creating a better health care system, lowering drug prices, investing in infrastructure. Doing things that matter to the American people.’ … Delaney also addressed the topic of age, and the question of whether fellow candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., 77, and former Vice President Joseph Biden, 76, were too old to run, reacting to a column in The Washington Post asking if the two veteran politicians had waited too long to pursue the high office.”

2020 Dems give green-light for their own campaigns to unionize - Fox News: “Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls are quickly warming to the idea of allowing their own campaign workers to unionize… It's an idea that has caught on among a wide Democratic field seemingly willing to entertain a range of proposals that would have been non-starters in past cycles. … While [Bernie] Sanders became the first candidate to actually go ahead with unionization, former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro announced in January that he will pay all campaign workers, including interns, $15 an hour or more. … Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas -- who entered the race last week -- said that if campaign workers want to unionize, he would ‘support it all the way’ as he made a laundry list of promises to potential campaign staff.”

Give this a read: ‘A political awakening: How Howard University shaped Kamala Harris’ identity’ - LAT: “It was at Howard that the senator’s political identity began to take shape. Thirty-three years after she graduated in 1986, the university in the nation’s capital, one of the country’s most prominent historically black institutions, also serves as a touchstone in a campaign in which political opponents have questioned the authenticity of her black identity. ‘I reference often my days at Howard to help people understand they should not make assumptions about who black people are,’ Harris said in a recent interview.”

DEM SENATOR READIES PRE-MADE AGENDA FOR NEXT POTUS
Politico:Brian Schatz is no household name. But he's already positioning himself as an influential figure in the 2020 presidential race — someone who can unite the party around a shared agenda even if the primary inevitably turns ugly. Schatz, the senior senator from Hawaii, says he is eager to help Democrats avoid ‘that whole stupid, unproductive, toxic debate’ of 2016, when voters were seemingly forced to choose between Bernie Sanders’ bold-but-vague proposals and Hillary Clinton’s detailed-but-modest legislative prescriptions. To do so, he’s been consulting with many of his Democratic colleagues running for president, often serving as an informal sounding board for their big ideas. Schatz has also penned his own series of proposals — on health care, climate change and economic inequality — to provide Democrats with a ready-made agenda should they take power in 2020. And Schatz’s plans are gaining traction with Senate Democrats pursuing the White House.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Senators rally around McCain legacy after fresh barrage of Trump attacks - Fox News

DCCC raises record of $11.6 billion in February - Politico

Gov. Larry Hogan pitches Maryland for Amazon’s second headquarters - WaPo

Andrew Gillum launches Florida based voter registration group ahead of 2020 election - Politico

AUDIBLE: EYE ON THE PRIZE
“You’re wasting your time, unless the evidence is so conclusive that the Republicans will understand. Otherwise, it's a gift to the president. We take our eye off the ball.” – Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., defending her impeachment stance despite criticism from members of her party.

Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.

A TRUE ‘DILLY, DILLY’ MOMENT
KLKN-TV: “On Sunday, Kyle Simpson and his friend, Gayland Stouffer, were surveying flood damage on property [near Linwood, Nebraska] where Simpson runs a duck hunting club. … Just as they were getting ready to leave, Stouffer noticed something laying in muddy field. Simpson thought it was a black box. Stouffer said otherwise - that it was actually a mini refrigerator full of beer. … [I]t was, fully stocked with Busch Light and Bud Light - about three cases worth, according to Simpson. … Simpson texted the pictures to a friend, who posted them in a Facebook group. … But the social media post did more than just garner laughs - it got Simpson in contact the fridge's owner. After talking to the owner, Simpson said he learned the fridge had also been involved in a fire at the family's cabin in 2007. … [Simpson is] making arrangements to reunite the fridge with its rightful owner, but says it'll be a little lighter than it was when they found it.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“But there’s a deeper reason for this rush to banish Confederate symbols, to move them from the public square to the museum. The trigger was not just the massacre [at Emanuel AME Church] itself, but even more tellingly the breathtaking display of nobility and spiritual generosity by the victims’ relatives. … Such grace demands a response.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing for the Washington Post on June 25, 2015.

Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

Source: Fox News Politics

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U.S. new home sales fall more than expected in January

A real estate sign advertising a new home for sale is pictured in Vienna, Virginia
FILE PHOTO: A real estate sign advertising a new home for sale is pictured in Vienna, Virginia, U.S. October 20, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing/File Photo

March 14, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell more than expected in January, suggesting the housing market weakness persisted early in the first quarter, despite a moderation in mortgage rates.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday new home sales declined 6.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 607,000 units. December’s sales pace was revised higher to 652,000 units from the previously reported 621,000 units.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for about 11 percent of housing market sales, slipping 0.6 percent to a pace of 620,000 units in January.

New home sales are drawn from permits and tend to be volatile on a month-to-month basis. They fell 4.1 percent from a year ago. Affordability remains a challenge, especially at the lower end of the market, even as mortgage rates have dropped to last year’s highs and house price inflation has slowed.

Expensive lumber as well as land and labor shortages continue to constrain builders.

Economists expect the housing market, which hit a soft patch last year, to remain sluggish through the first half of 2019. Investment in homebuilding contracted 0.2 percent in 2018, the weakest performance since 2010.

The release of the January new home sales report was delayed by a 35-day partial shutdown of the federal government that ended on Jan. 25. February’s new home sales report, which was scheduled for release on March 25, will now be published on March 29.

New home sales in the South, which accounts for the bulk of transactions, tumbled 15.1 percent in January. Sales dropped 11.4 percent in the Northeast. Sales in the Midwest plunged 28.6 percent to the lowest level since January 2014. But sales rose 27.8 percent in the West to a 10-month high.

The median new house price fell 3.8 percent to $317,200 in January from a year ago. There were 336,000 new homes on the market in January, down 1.5 percent from December. Supply is, however, just over half of what it was at the peak of the housing market boom in 2006.

At January’s sales pace it would take 6.6 months to clear the supply of houses on the market, up from 6.3 months in December. Just under two-thirds of the houses sold last month were either under construction or yet to be built.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Source: OANN

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Taliban tries to change perception of its treatment of women ahead of peace talks

Ahead of the first ever peace talks between the Taliban and negotiators picked by the government, it is clear the Taliban is trying to soften its image, especially about women.

“I think in all of the meetings, the Taliban delegation declared several times that they would protect all the women’s rights and human rights here in Afghanistan, but within the Islamic teachings and the national culture here in this country,” according to Mullah Abdul Hakim Mujahid, currently a Taliban member of the peace council and a former Taliban Ambassador to the U.N.

The first line of defense against the Taliban is the Afghan National Army. Basic Training is now taught by Afghan officers. Equipped by Americans, they outnumber the Taliban 10 to 1 but often melt in battle. The Afghan army is plagued by desertion, illiteracy, and a basic failure to obey orders.

Without the backbone of 14,000 U.S. forces on the ground, few believe this Army could hold off determined Taliban fighters for long.

TALIBAN LAUNCHES SPRING OFFENSIVE DESPITE DELICATE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

FOX NEWS' STEVE HARRIGAN REFLECTS ON AFGHANISTAN, AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR

Other challenges could prove more difficult for the Taliban, most notably trying to gain control of the capital where their medieval views are not shared.

When the war first started there were just 1.5 million people here living in Kabul. Today there are four times that number and that could be trouble for the Taliban. How will they ever be able to control this urban population if they do take power?

For the past 18 years, girls and women in Kabul have been able to study, work, travel, which they were not allowed to do for the five years of Taliban rule. The new generation says it is not afraid of the Taliban.

“Not at all, because I think the Taliban can’t do anything now," a psychology student at Kabul University told Fox News. "No we are not, we won’t be silenced anymore.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

These girls parents pay $30 a month for their daughters to learn math, chemistry, English and Islamic studies alongside boys through seventh grade. They are safe - for now.

Source: Fox News World

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Dodgers end six-game skid with win over Brewers

MLB: Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Dodgers
Apr 14, 2019; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Ross Stripling (68) in the sixth inning of the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

April 15, 2019

Ross Stripling allowed one run in eight innings to help the Los Angeles Dodgers end a six-game losing streak with a 7-1 win against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon.

Stripling (1-1) gave up four hits, struck out three and walked one with his 88 pitches, becoming the second Los Angeles starter to go at least seven innings this season.

Alex Verdugo homered and drove in three runs, Chris Taylor had two hits and two RBIs, A.J. Pollock had two hits and scored two runs, and Joc Pederson homered for the second time in the series for Los Angeles.

Brewers starter Jhoulys Chacin (2-2) went 2 1/3 innings for his shortest regular-season outing since May 23, 2017.

Facing the Dodgers for the first time since he was the losing pitcher in Game 7 of the 2018 National League Championship Series, Chacin allowed six runs and six hits, striking out three and walking three more.

Chacin retired the first two batters, but loaded the bases on two walks and a single by Pollock. Verdugo then grounded a 3-1 pitch up the middle for a 2-0 lead.

Pederson homered with two outs in the second to make it 3-0, and Chacin got into trouble right off the bat in the third, walking Cody Bellinger for the second time before giving up a single to center by Pollock to put runners on the corners.

Max Muncy singled to right to drive in Bellinger for a 4-0 lead. Verdugo hit a tapper in front of the plate that moved the runners to second and third, and Taylor followed with a single to right to make it 6-0, ending Chacin’s day.

Verdugo hit a solo homer off Chase Anderson in the fifth to make it 7-0.

The Brewers ended the shutout when Eric Thames scored Jesus Aguilar with a sacrifice fly in the eighth to make it 7-1.

Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich, who came into the series hitting .467, was removed after 5 1/2 innings. He went 2-for-12 in the three games against the Dodgers and was hitless in his past eight at-bats.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Small plane crashes in southern Bulgaria, 2 killed

Authorities in Bulgaria say a small private plane has crashed in a field in a southern region, killing the pilot and the lone passenger on board.

Plovdiv police chief Atanas Ilkov said the two-seat Zodiac aircraft was on a demonstration tour when one of its wings separated in flight and it fell to the ground near a stadium in the village of Orizare. The accident occurred at 10:20 a.m. Saturday as a sports event was taking place at the stadium.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The crash is the second of a small Bulgarian aircraft this month. On April 2, a small plane crashed into a mountain in neighboring Northern Macedonia, killing all four people on board.

Source: Fox News World

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Arkansas woman allegedly murders husband for refusing to quit porn: report

An Arkansas woman “flew into a rage” and fatally shot her husband inside his man cave after spotting a porn channel on their satellite television bill, according to prosecutors.

Patricia Hill, 69, had asked her dearly beloved to cancel his smut subscription with the Dish Network —  after she caught him watching dirty TV shows on multiple occasions — but he apparently refused.

“She told him over and over again to stop, and he said he would but went right back to doing it,” explained Hill’s attorney Bill James in court Monday, according to the Pine Bluff Commercial.

MAN SUES PARENTS OVER HIS MASSIVE PORNOGRAPHY COLLECTION

He said the couple was “basically estranged” when the shooting happened last July and that Hill’s husband, Frank Hill, 65, had been spending most of his time in their shed out back.

“He went to his shed, and she went to work,” James said.

After telling him repeatedly to quit watching porn, James claimed that Hill decided to cancel his subscription. When the next bill came, she saw that the channel was back up and running — and her “reality snapped,” the lawyer said.

“She lost her mind,” James alleged in his opening statement. “She didn’t try to hide it. She told the truth (about what happened).”

'LAW & ORDER' DIRECTOR'S WIFE EXPLAINS WHY SHE STAYED AFTER HE WAS CONVICTED OF POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Hill allegedly confronted her husband inside his man cave and asked him about the porn. She apparently didn’t like what he said and marched inside to fetch her Beretta .22-caliber pistol, according to prosecutors.

Hill walked back out to the shed and allegedly shot her husband two times. She left the gun inside their home — right next to the TV bill.

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According to James, Hill viewed pornography as a “personal affront to her and to her god.”

Source: Fox News National

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Trump fails to end ‘Apprentice’ contestant’s defamation lawsuit

Summer Zervos listens as her attorney Gloria Allred speaks during a news conference announcing the filing of a lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump in Los Angeles
Summer Zervos listens as her attorney Gloria Allred speaks during a news conference announcing the filing of a lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake

March 14, 2019

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York state appeals court rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s effort to dismiss a defamation lawsuit by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on his television show “The Apprentice,” or delay it until after he leaves the White House.

In a 3-2 decision on Thursday, the Appellate Division in Manhattan said the U.S. Constitution did not strip state courts of power to decide cases arising under state constitutions, even if they involved sitting presidents.

Despite suggesting he embodies the executive branch and has significant responsibilities, “the President is still a person, and he is not above the law,” Justice Dianne Renwick wrote.

The dissenting judges said the lawsuit would interfere with Trump’s job as president, and should wait until he left office.

Trump’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz said Trump will appeal to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, “which we expect will agree with the dissent.”

The decision affirmed a lower court ruling from last March.

Zervos’ lawyers are hoping to question Trump under oath about whether he defamed her by calling her a liar after she accused him of sexual misconduct.

“We look forward to proving to a jury that Ms. Zervos told the truth about defendant’s unwanted sexual groping and holding him accountable for his malicious lies,” Zervos’ lawyer Mariann Wang said.

Trump has denied Zervos’ claims and called her case politically motivated. Several other women have also accused Trump of improper sexual conduct.

Zervos, an “Apprentice” contestant in 2005, accused Trump of kissing her against her will at a 2007 meeting in New York, and later groping her at a Beverly Hills hotel.

She came forward in October 2016, the month before Trump was elected, after an “Access Hollywood” recording showed Trump speaking in vulgar terms about women. Trump also republished on Twitter a post calling Zervos’ accusations a “hoax.”

The appeals court called Zervos’ case “materially indistinguishable” from former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones’s lawsuit accusing then-President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment.

In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court let Jones’ case go forward. That paved the way for Clinton’s impeachment the following year.

Justice Angela Mazzarelli, one of Thursday’s dissenters, said the “all-consuming nature of the Presidency creates a constitutional barrier” against Zervos’ lawsuit.

All five justices found Zervos’ defamation claim legally sufficient, without ruling on its merits.

Trump also faced a defamation claim by adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit over a hush money agreement. That lawsuit was dismissed on March 7.

The case is Zervos v Trump, New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, No. 7610.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad, California, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Amit Dave and Mayank Bhardwaj

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc has sued four Indian farmers for cultivating a potato variety that the snack food and drinks maker claims infringes its patent, the company and the growers said on Friday.

Pepsi has sued the farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, exclusively grown for its popular Lay’s potato chips. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips.

PepsiCo is seeking more than 10 million rupees ($142,840.82) each for alleged patent infringement.

The farmers grow potatoes in the western state of Gujarat, a leading producer of India’s most consumed vegetable.

“We have been growing potatoes for a long time and we didn’t face this problem ever, as we’ve mostly been using the seeds saved from one harvest to plant the next year’s crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the four farmers sued by Pepsi.

Patel did not say how he came by the PepsiCo variety.

A court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of Gujarat, on Friday agreed to hear the case on June 12, said Anand Yagnik, the lawyer for the farmers.

“In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety,” A PepsiCo India spokesman said. “This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefiting from seeds of our registered variety.”

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

The All India Kisan Sabha, or All India Farmers’ Forum, has asked the Indian government to protect the farmers.

The farmers’ forum has also called for a boycott of PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips and the company’s other products.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

PepsiCo is the second major U.S. company in India to face issues over patent infringement.

Stung by a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, which is now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India over a cotton-seed dispute with farmers, Reuters reported in 2017. (reut.rs/2ncBknn)

(Reporting by Amit Dave in AHMEDABAD and Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Martin Howell and Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shradha Singh

CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co said on Friday it was considering spinning off its ethanol business after slim biofuel margins and Midwestern floods slammed the U.S. grains merchant’s profit, which tumbled 41 percent in the first quarter.

ADM said it was creating an ethanol subsidiary, which will include dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois.

The ethanol subsidiary will report as an independent segment, the company said, allowing options “which may include, but are not limited to, a potential spin-off of the business to existing ADM shareholders.”

Results were hit by the “bomb cyclone” blizzards that devastated the Midwest and Great Plains this year, causing massive flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, washing out rail lines and wreaking havoc in the moving and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat. One-sixth of U.S. ethanol production was halted.

In March, ADM warned Wall Street that flooding and severe winter weather in the U.S. Midwest would reduce its first-quarter operating profit by $50 million to $60 million.

“The first quarter proved more challenging than initially expected,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, with earnings down in its starches, sweeteners and bioproducts unit. Luciano said impacts of the severe weather ultimately “were on the high side of our initial estimates”.

Ongoing problems in the ethanol industry added to the problems and “limited margins and opportunities” for ADM, Luciano said.

The ethanol industry has been in the midst of a historic downswing due to the U.S.-China trade war, excess domestic supply and weak margins.

ADM, which had been an ethanol pioneer, signaled to Wall Street in 2016 that it was hunting for options and considering sales of its U.S. dry ethanol mills. Luciano told Reuters this year that offers ADM had received for the mills were too low.

In addition, ADM said it planned to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota, to produce higher volumes of food and industrial-grade starches.

Other major traders are alsy trying to distance themselves from struggling ethanol businesses. Louis Dreyfus Company BV spun off its Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Biosev in 2013. Rival Bunge sold its sugar book and has sought a buyer for its Brazilian mills since 2013.

ADM, which makes money trading, processing and transporting crops, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, has been looking to strengthen its core business. Last month it said it would seek voluntary early retirements of some North American employees and cut jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

The company expects to lower 2019 capital spending by 10 percent to between $800 million and $900 million.

Net earnings attributable to the company fell to $233 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $393 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $15.30 billion from $15.53 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents per share, while analysts on average had estimated 60 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration
FILE PHOTO: The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Slack Technologies Inc, operator of the popular workplace instant-messaging app, reported a loss of $140.7 million in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2019, the company said on Friday in a regulatory filing ahead of its planned public market debut.

The company said its daily active users exceeded 10 million in the three months ended Jan. 31, 2019.

Slack expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SK”, it said.

The San Francisco-based company is seeking to go public via a direct listing, making it the second big technology company after Spotify Technology SA to bypass the traditional route of listing shares through an initial public offering.

A direct listing is a cheaper way of becoming a public company as the process requires fewer investment banks and therefore lower fees.

In a direct listing, however, a company does not sell any new shares to raise money. Instead, it gives existing shareholders the opportunity to cash out.

Slack is the latest in a string of high-profile technology companies looking to go public this year. Lyft Inc, Pinterest and Zoom Video Communications have completed IPOs so far in 2019.

The company is hoping for a valuation of more than $10 billion in the listing, Reuters had previously reported. Some early investors and employees have been selling the stock at around $28, valuing the company close to $17 billion, Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge, a brokerage company, told CNBC on Thursday.

Slack set a placeholder amount of $100 million to indicate the size of the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

Its competitors include Microsoft Teams, a free chat add-on for Microsoft’s Office365 users.

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Anil D’Silva)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Candidate Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of an exit poll in Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit poll in a presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Matthias Williams

KIEV (Reuters) – Russia’s decision to make it easier for residents of rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to obtain a Russian passport is meant to test Ukraine’s new leader and the West should not recognize the documents, Lithuania’s foreign minister said on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the order on facilitating passports on Wednesday, three days after comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political novice, won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election.

Linas Linkevicius, whose own country also has strained relations with Moscow, told Reuters in an interview that the West should consider imposing new sanctions on Russia.

“This is a blatant violation of international law. And basically also a kind of test to the new (Ukrainian) leadership, which is also a usual game,” Linkevicius said.

“The least we can do (is) we shouldn’t recognize these passports. How to do that technically, it’s another issue to discuss. Also (we need) to look at additional sanctions,” said Linkevicius, whose small Baltic nation is a member of NATO and the European Union.

Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its support for armed separatists battling Kiev’s forces in eastern Ukraine. Some 13,000 people have been killed in that conflict despite a notional ceasefire signed in Minsk in 2015.

Linkevicius, who in Kiev on Friday became the first minister of an EU country since Ukraine’s election to meet President-elect Zelenskiy, said they had discussed the passport issue.

Zelenskiy also raised the possibility of resetting the Minsk ceasefire agreement without giving any concessions to Russia, Linkevicius said.

“DANGEROUS CANCER” OF GRAFT

The minister urged Zelenskiy to deliver on his electoral promise of tackling corruption, which he described as the “most dangerous cancer” facing Ukraine, which hopes one day to join the EU.

Last month, Lithuania’s own relations with Russia came under renewed strain after a Vilnius court found former Soviet defense minister Dmitry Yazov, in absentia, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in a 1991 crackdown against Lithuania’s pro-independence movement.

Russia branded the verdict “extremely unfriendly and essentially provocative” and opened a probe into the judges involved.

Linkevicius accused Russia of seeking to politicize the judicial process by trying to take revenge on the judges, adding: “This is lamentable.”

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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A Cook County judge recently called out embattled State Attorney Kim Foxx for upholding a double standard by prosecuting a woman for filing a false police report — but dropping similar charges against embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.

Foxx has faced intense criticism over her office’s decision to drop a 16-count indictment against Smollett, just weeks after bringing the charges against the high-profile TV star. Foxx’s deal with Smollett, which did not require him to admit guilt, drew ire from the public, the city’s top cop and the former mayor who called it a “whitewash of justice.”

JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHICAGO PROSECUTOR KIM FOXX CHIDED BY NATIONAL ATTORNEYS GROUPS AFTER JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHARGES DROPPED 

Cook County Judge Marc Martin, who was presiding over an unrelated case, chastised Foxx and her office for creating a situation where anyone charged with filing a false report would expect the same leniency her office afforded Smollett.

Candace Clark, 21, is facing one felony count of making a false report. Prosecutors accused her of giving a friend access to her bank account and then telling authorities the money had been stolen. She denies the charges and claims she’s the victim of Foxx’s double standard — something the judge weighed in on.

“Well, Ms. Clark is not a movie star, she doesn’t have a high-price lawyer, although, her lawyer’s very good. And this smells, big time,” Martin said to prosecutors during a recent hearing, Fox 32 reported. “I didn’t create this mess, your office created this mess. And your explanation is unsatisfactory to this court. She’s being treated differently.”

The judge continued, “There’s no publicity on this case. She doesn’t have Mark Geragos as her lawyer or Ron Safer or Judge Brown. It’s not right. And (if) I proceed in this matter, you’re just digging yourselves further in a hole. (If the) press gets a hold of this, it’ll be in a newspaper. Why is Ms. Clark being treated differently than Mr. Smollett?”

Foxx recused herself from the Smollett case in February but continued to oversee the investigation through text messages with her assistant Joseph Magats.

The text messages revealed Foxx called Smollett a “washed up celeb who lied to cops.” They also show she cautioned Magats about throwing the book at Smollett.

“Sooo……I’m recused, but when people accuse us of overcharging cases…16 counts on a class 4 becomes exhibit A,” Foxx wrote to Magats on March 8.

“Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16. On a case eligible for deferred prosecution I think it’s indicative of something we should be looking at generally. Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should,” she added, referring to the case of R&B singer R. Kelly, who was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with four women, three of whom were underage.

KIM FOXX’S CHIEF ETHICS OFFICER RESIGNS FOLLOWING SMOLLETT CONTROVERSY

President Trump said last month he asked for a federal review of Foxx’s decision to drop the charges against Smollett. He also called the actor “an absolute embarrassment to our country.”

The Smollett case garnered national attention and threatened to tear Chicago apart. It pit the police department and mayor against prosecutors and underscored the idea that wealthy people are somehow above the law.

Smollett told police he was attacked on Jan. 29 around 2 a.m. as he was returning home from a sandwich shop in Chicago. He said two masked men shouted racial and anti-gay slurs, poured bleach on him, beat him and tied a rope around his neck. He claimed they shouted, “This is MAGA country” — a reference to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

CLICK HERE FOF THE FOX NEWS APP

After an intense investigation, police said Smollett staged the entire incident to drum up publicity for his career.

Smollett has strongly denied the accusations.

Source: Fox News National

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