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'First in the nation' election tradition in New Hampshire at risk

DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. — Every four years, at the stroke of midnight, a small New Hampshire town 20 miles south of the Canadian border with fewer than a dozen residents is thrust into the national spotlight.

The town of Dixville Notch comes together to cast its primary votes all at once, the minute the polls open, billing itself as the very first in the nation.

"Every four years, Dixville voters get their five minutes of fame," said Tom Tillotson, the town's election moderator. "Four minutes later, everybody's forgotten about us for another four years."

But the tradition is now at risk.

LAWMAKERS RE-ELECT GUARDIAN OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY, DESPITE WORK ON TRUMP ELECTION COMMISSION

This comes amid scrutiny of the 2016 contest in Dixville Notch from election investigators at the New Hampshire Attorney General's office, New Hampshire Public Radio reports.

Dixville Notch Election Moderator Tom Tillotson prepares to count the ballots in the 2016 election, in which several votes were disputed. (FOX NEWS)

Dixville Notch Election Moderator Tom Tillotson prepares to count the ballots in the 2016 election, in which several votes were disputed. (FOX NEWS)

"We noticed some irregularities in the way that they were running their elections," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Broadhead, who oversees the Election Law Unit. "And so we broadened the inquiry to the election officials as well."

Broadhead said that his team found some votes in the 2016 election were cast by individuals who did not live in the town, along with several other inconsistencies in the voter registration process. They were tipped off by a neighboring town's clerk who identified residents in her town watching coverage of the Dixville Notch primary, the Attorney General's preliminary report said.

Eight people voted in Dixville Notch in 2016. Since the investigation began, the voter roll is down to just five — the minimum amount of people needed for the town to hold an election in the state of New Hampshire.

Those five people are Tillotson, his wife, his son, and two people working to reopen the shuttered Balsams Resort in the center of town.

In its heyday, the Balsams used Dixville Notch's elections as an attraction in the slow winter months in the North Country.

CASTRO TOUTS EXPERIENCE, POLICY SPECIFICS, AS HE CONTRASTS HIMSELF WITH BETO O’ROURKE

Since 2011, the 150-year-old resort has sat vacant in the serenity of New Hampshire's wilderness. When Balsams and a nearby factory closed, it took all of the people working there with it, leaving a ghost town.

The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch has sat vacant since 2011. (ROB DIRIENZO / Fox News)

The Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch has sat vacant since 2011. (ROB DIRIENZO / Fox News)

Although there are now several other small New Hampshire towns that participate in midnight voting, in 1960 Dixville Notch became the first. Tillotson said Dixville Notch is emblematic of full democracy in action.

"The whole point of Dixville voting Is not to get publicity," Tillotson said. "The whole point is to encourage people to get out and vote—to lead by example. Here's a little town where a hundred percent of the population gets up at midnight. That's not easy."

Although Dixville Notch dubs itself "First in the Nation," several other small New Hampshire towns participate in the tradition. (ROB DIRIENZO / Fox News)

Although Dixville Notch dubs itself "First in the Nation," several other small New Hampshire towns participate in the tradition. (ROB DIRIENZO / Fox News)

While the fate of the tradition rests on the Balsams project, elsewhere in the state a slew of proposed changes to New Hampshire voting laws could completely transform elections in the state.

In the state legislature, which Democrats recently regained control of, close to 60 bills have been proposed to change nearly every facet of the election process. Some bills seek to reform lobbying rules and how campaigns are funded, while much of the focus has been on voter eligibility rules.

LARRY HOGAN, POTENTIAL TRUMP PRIMARY CHALLENGER, HEADED TO NEW HAMPSHIRE IN APRIL

The New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union has sued the state, claiming a new law requiring a drivers' license to vote is unconstitutional.

"Now, anybody who votes in New Hampshire will have to get a New Hampshire driver's license and register their car in New Hampshire and that can cost hundreds of dollars here," said Henry Klementowicz, staff attorney for the New Hampshire ACLU. "That is a fee that they'll have to pay simply as a consequence of voting. So we think that's a poll tax and that's wrong."

While that lawsuit is pending, Democrats in New Hampshire legislature will have an uphill battle passing legislation with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu in the governor's mansion.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, back at Dixville Notch, Tillotson hopes the Balsams project will prevail so the tradition will live to see the 2020 election.

"I don't think I've accepted yet that Dixville Notch midnight voting is over," Tillotson said, looking downward. "So I'm optimistic. As I said there's a lot of good stuff happening inside. This project is looking forward more to go forward."

Source: Fox News Politics

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Café that charged a ‘man tax’ and gave women priority seating is going out of business

A lesbian-owned, vegan coffee shop in Brunswick, Australia, that made international headlines in 2017 for charging a voluntary 18 percent “man tax” will close its doors for good Sunday after less than two years in business.

Handsome Her, which opened as a “space for women, by women,” received backlash for what critics called reverse sexism. The café asked male patrons upon checkout if they wanted to pay an optional surcharge meant to represent the gender pay gap and offered female patrons priority seating.

LGBTQ GROUPS CONDEMN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CAMPAIGN TO END CRIMINALIZATION OF HOMOSEXUALITY WORLDWIDE AS STUNT

While the business did not confirm or deny rumors of bankruptcy, co-owner Alexandra O’Brien said the Handsome Her team will continue to pursue its mission to drive change with “hands-on” work across Australia. O'Brien said allegations of sexism only proved “how fragile masculinity is” and confirmed the need to “confront and dismantle patriarchy.”

The business' apparent failure sparked mixed reactions online. While some social media users praised the Handsome Her team as "heroes" and "lesbian feminist activists," others called them "man-haters" and said the cafe's impending closure proved that "sexism in business is a bad idea."

In a Facebook post titled “A Handsome Farewell,” O'Brien said the café opened “to carve out a swathe of space to prioritize women and women's issues,” but instead became a “punching bag” while “gentlemen’s social clubs live on and strong around Melbourne and the world over.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Handsome Her conducted business for the last time on April 14 but will hold one final day of “story-telling, dancing, singing, eating and drinking” on Sunday. The celebration will include a “pay as you feel” scheme and all proceeds will be donated to Maiti Nepal, a nonprofit organization dedicated to help the victims of sex-trafficking in Nepal, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

Source: Fox News World

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Australian doctors, cave divers honored in Thailand for helping rescue soccer team, coach

Two Australian doctors who were instrumental in the dramatic rescue of 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach from a cave last year received a royal honor from King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Friday.

Richard Harris and Craig Challen were presented the award at a ceremony in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was also in attendance.

THAILAND PUZZLES OVER POLITICAL SURPRISES FROM ROYALS

Harris and Challen said before the presentation that they were looking forward to going to Chiang Rai province on Monday and see how the boys on the Wild Board soccer team they helped save were doing.

In this photo released by Government Spokesman Office, Richard Harris, left, an Australian member of the Thai cave rescue team, shakes hands with Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha after receiving the Member of the Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn during the royal decoration ceremony at the Royal Thai Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April 19, 2019. 

In this photo released by Government Spokesman Office, Richard Harris, left, an Australian member of the Thai cave rescue team, shakes hands with Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha after receiving the Member of the Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn during the royal decoration ceremony at the Royal Thai Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April 19, 2019.  (Government Spokesman Office via AP)

DIVER WHO HELPED RESCUE TRAPPED THAI BOYS IS RESCUED FROM UNDERWATER TENNESSEE CAVE

"It's really exciting for us to go and see them and make sure they're well and see how they're doing after the rescue," Harris said. "Hopefully we will find them in good shape."

Last July, a mixed team of Thais and expert divers from several countries around the world joined forces for the dramatic search and rescue mission for the team and their coach who went missing when heavy rain flooded the Tham Luang cave complex.

The drama and eventual rescue unfolded over 18 days and grabbed global headlines.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Harris and Challen, who were jointly named Australians of the Year in January, and said should another cave rescue be needed, they are ready and willing to help.

"We have a little bit more experience now," Challen said. "We seem to be the world record holders in cave-diving rescues now."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News World

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Sheriff: Service dog's tail amputated after groomer attack

A Florida man is accused of felony cruelty to animals for an attack on a service dog that resulted in the amputation of its tail.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a Facebook post that he personally walked James Cordell Doughy Suthann into jail following his arrest Monday. He was accompanied by Satellite Beach police Chief Jeff Pearson.

The incident occurred Feb. 6 at a grooming salon where Suthann worked. Ivey says Suthann was angry that an 8-year-old German Shepherd service dog wouldn't stand during the grooming appointment. Video captured him grabbing the dog's tail while swinging the animal off the ground and twisting the tail. Emergency surgery was required.

Ivey says the video is so graphic he won't post it. The dog is owned by a disabled veteran.

Source: Fox News National

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Benjamin Netanyahu likely to win Israeli prime minister election after opposition party concedes

Israel's Blue and White party leaders are conceding defeat in Israel's election, saying they will work against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the opposition.

Yair Lapid, the party's No. 2 figure, told a press conference Wednesday that though his party "did not win in this round, I respect the voters." He said his party will "embitter" Netanyahu's life from the opposition.

The Blue and White party, headed by former army chief of staff Benny Gantz, drew even with Netanyahu's Likud party, but the incumbent prime minister is poised to form a government with his larger bloc of religious and nationalist allies.

Gantz says his party has "founded a true alternative rule to Netanyahu."

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Paris given NBA regular-season game in 2020

NBA: San Antonio Spurs at Charlotte Hornets
Mar 26, 2019; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Hornets center Willy Hernangomez (41) is fouled by San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) during the second half at the Spectrum Center. The Hornets won in overtime 125-116. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

March 28, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Paris will stage its first regular-season NBA game next January when Charlotte Hornets face Milwaukee Bucks, organizers confirmed on Thursday.

The announcement looks almost certain to end London’s nine-year run as host city for the NBA’s European game — the most recent of which was in January when New York Knicks lost to the Washington Wizards in front of a sell-out O2 Arena crowd.

All 19,000 tickets for that game were snapped up in an hour, with fans from 39 nations attending.

The Paris match, which will be 10 years after the last NBA pre-season game was staged there, will take place at the revamped AccorHotels Arena in Bercy on Jan. 24.

Berlin had also been a option.

“Our NBA Paris Game will showcase the continued global growth of basketball in one of the world’s greatest cities,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

“With France leading a record number of players from Europe in the league, we look forward to bringing together basketball fans from across the continent for the NBA’s first regular-season game in Paris.”

The NBA has a large following in France with the opening-night rosters for the 2018-19 featuring nine French players, more than any European country for the 12th consecutive season.

Paris has hosted nine pre-season NBA games, one of which featured the Hornets against the Golden State Warriors in 1994.

The Hornets have two French players on their roster — four-time NBA champion Tony Parker, and Nicolas Batum.

The Bucks will be playing their first game in France, although they played a regular-season game in London in 2015.

While it appears bad news for London, the NBA have explored the possibility of more than one regular-season game in Europe.

Speaking in London earlier this year, the NBA’s Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum told reporters: “It’s been one (regular season game) per year. I definitely think there’s room for more than that. We will have to figure out what that optimum number is, whether that’s two or three.

“I don’t think there’s any potential limit as long as it makes sense from a business standpoint.”

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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EU steadfast in support for Ukraine, EU’s Tusk tells new Ukraine leader

Candidate Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of an exit poll in Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev
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/Stringer

April 23, 2019

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union is steadfast in its support for Ukraine, European Council president Donald Tusk said in a tweet on Tuesday after a telephone conversation with Ukraine’s president-elect, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Tusk, who chairs summits of EU leaders, said he had had a first good phone call with Ukraine’s new leader.

“I assured him of the EU’s steadfast support to Ukraine. Looking forward to our cooperation and EU-Ukraine Summit in July,” Tusk’s tweet read.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop)

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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