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Trump Vows Veto as Democrats Launch Resolution to Stop Border Emergency

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Tuesday on a resolution aimed at stopping President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to build a wall on the border with Mexico, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Friday.

House Democrats introduced the resolution early on Friday, taking the first step to challenge Republican Trump's assertion that he could take money Congress had appropriated for other activities and use it to build the wall.

Pelosi predicted the resolution would pass the Democratic-controlled House. Action would then move to the Republican-majority Senate, where the measure's future is less clear.

In any case, Trump vowed on Friday to veto the measure if it passes both chambers and gets to his desk. Congress would then have to muster the two-thirds majority necessary - a very high hurdle - to override his veto in order for the measure to take effect.

"On the wall? Will I veto it? One hundred percent. One hundred percent, and I don't think it survives a veto. We have too many smart people that want border security, so I can't imagine that it could survive a veto," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

About 226 House lawmakers have joined the sponsor, Democratic U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas, in backing the legislation. The co-sponsors so far include one Republican, Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, Castro said.

"What the president is attempting is an unconstitutional power grab," Castro said in a conference call with reporters. He called on all members of Congress - Democrats and Republicans - to support the resolution terminating Trump’s emergency declaration, saying it tramples on congressional authority and would set a dangerous precedent.

Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress decides how taxpayer dollars are spent. The president can, however, veto spending bills.

Trump declared the national emergency last week after Congress declined to fulfill his request for $5.7 billion this year to help build the wall.

The measure needs only a simple majority in both the House and Senate. It will need the votes of at least four Republicans to pass the Senate, assuming all the Democrats and the two independents there back it.

Pelosi rejected Trump's argument that there is an emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border. "The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally," she said.

The issue is also in the courts. A coalition of 16 U.S. states led by California sued Trump and top members of his administration on Monday to block his decision to declare the emergency.

Officials have said that the administration found nearly $7 billion to reallocate to the wall, including about $3.6 billion from the military construction budget. A U.S. defense official told reporters Friday said officials had not yet decided what specific programs might be affected, although military housing would not be impacted.

There are about 5,000 U.S. active duty and National Guard troops near the border now and that would go up to about 6,000 next month, the official said. He added it could take weeks for an assessment of what Pentagon money might be shifted to the wall project, and months before any construction.

Congress this month appropriated $1.37 billion for building border barriers following a long battle with Trump, which included a 35-day partial government shutdown - the longest in U.S. history - when agency funding lapsed on Dec. 22.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Exclusive: Despite sanctions, Russian tanker supplied fuel to North Korean ship-crew members

Russian Tantal an oil/chemical tanker is berthed at the far eastern city of Vladivostok
The Russian vessel Tantal, an oil/chemical tanker, is berthed at the far eastern city of Vladivostok, Russia April 3, 2016. Picture taken April 3, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer

February 26, 2019

By Polina Nikolskaya

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) – A Russian tanker violated international trade sanctions by transferring fuel to a North Korean vessel at sea at least four times between October 2017 and May 2018, two crew members who witnessed the transfers said.

Such transactions could have helped provide North Korea with an economic lifeline and eased the isolation of the secretive communist state, whose leader, Kim Jong Un, is due to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam this week.

Primportbunker, the owner of the vessel the crew members said made the transfers, did not respond to requests for comment by telephone. No one answered the door when Reuters visited the building where Primportbunker has its headquarters in the port city of Vladivostok on Russia’s Pacific coast.

On the four voyages between Oct. 13, 2017, and May 7, 2018, the Tantal tanker gave its destination as the Chinese port of Ningbo when it set sail, according to port documents seen by Reuters and tracking data from financial data company Refinitiv.

It then met up in international waters with a North Korean vessel to which it transferred its cargo of fuel, the two crew members who witnessed the transfers said.

The two crew said the fuel transfers took place when the Tantal’s transponder, which allows the vessel to be tracked at sea, was not operating. Shipping industry experts said this indicates the transponder was deliberately turned off or the Tantal had entered a zone not covered by ship-tracking radar.

On each occasion, the transponder started operating again when the Tantal was close to port in Russia, the two crew said.

They declined to give their names, citing fear of reprisals.

“We got officially registered for Ningbo and went to the 12-mile zone (marking the limits of Russian territorial waters),” one of the crew said, describing four journeys in which he was involved.

“We worked at night there with the North Korean tanker Chon Moyng-1,” he said.

Such transactions violate the international sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear and missiles program, which include a United Nations ban on nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum exports to Pyongyang.

Washington has accused Russia of “cheating” on sanctions and said it has evidence of “consistent and wide-ranging Russian violations”. In earlier denials that it has violated sanctions, Russia has said such accusations are not backed up by evidence.

THREE OTHER TRIPS

Russia’s foreign ministry and the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions, did not respond to requests for comment about the Tantal. The independent U.N. panel of experts that monitors implementation of sanctions also did not respond.

Russia’s Far Eastern Customs Administration said it could not provide information about the Tantal’s voyages. The Seaport Administration of Russia’s Primorye region, which includes Vladivostok, said it had sought information from the Federal Marine and River Transport Agency in response to Reuters’ questions but the agency provided no information.

One of the crew members who said he was on board during the transfers said the ship that received the fuel flew the North Korean flag and saw it had the name Chon Myong-1 on its side.

The Chon Myong-1 was in March 2018 included on a U.N. list of vessels that have conducted so-called ship-to-ship transfers of fuel in violation of sanctions. 

Reuters’ was unable to obtain comment from North Korea and the owners of the Chon Myong-1.

The Tantal concealed its fuel transfers to North Korea by declaring when it returned to port that it had transferred the fuel at sea to a Chinese vessel, the two crew members said.

A third crew member said the Tantal had met up on these occasions with a vessel that was not North Korean – the China-registered Hui Tong 27 – and told port authorities on its return to port that it had transferred its cargo of fuel to this ship. But the Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed the Hui Tong 27 was not in the area at these times.

The Tantal also gave Ningbo as its destination on three other trips between October 2017 and May 2018, according to port documents and shipping data. The two crew members who spoke to Reuters did not cite any evidence that sanctions were violated on these three voyages.

In December 2017, Reuters quoted two senior Western European security sources as saying Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in the preceding months by transferring cargoes at sea. The security sources made no mention of the Tantal.

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

A court in Vladivostok introduced bankruptcy proceedings on behalf of the Russian tax service against Primportbunker on Sept. 18 last year, according to a publicly available court order. The first stage of bankruptcy proceedings is still under way — the company is now under temporary management which is assessing its ability to pay off creditors. If unable to pay, the company’s assets will be sold and it will be closed down, according to Russian law.

The two crew members who spoke to Reuters said they had not always been paid their wages on time.

Denis Vlasov, executive partner in law firm Vladpravo which represented Primportbunker, said Primportbunker had tried to resolve its financial problems including wage arrears, but that Vladpravo stopped working with the company about a year ago. He said he knew nothing about the Tantal’s declared trips to Ningbo.

Shipping brokers cited customs data as showing that on three of the seven trips from October 2017 to May 2018 the Tantal was carrying fuel from the Komsomolsky refinery in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia’s far east. The refinery, which is owned by state oil company Rosneft, did not respond to requests for comment. There was no suggestion Rosneft know of the alleged transfers at sea. Rosneft did not respond to requests for comment.

The data quoted the brokers for the same three trips showed the oil products were acquired from the refinery by a small Russian  trading firm, Mir Torgovli, based in Vladivostok. Mir Torgovli’s buyer was a Chinese firm in Shandong called Worldmax Trading Co. Ltd, according to the data cited by the brokers.

Mir Torgovli’s chief executive declined to comment. Reuters was unable to reach Worldmax Trading.

After completing the last of the seven voyages for which the destination was registered as China, the Tantal has not left Vladivostok port, according to the Refinitiv ship-tracking data. It sits at anchor offshore, shipping industry sources said.

(Additional reporting by Gleb Stolyarov in Moscow, Jonathan Saul in London, Meng Meng and Aizhu Chen in Beijing, Michelle Nichols in New York, Lesley Wroughton in Washington, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Source: OANN

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NHL roundup: Tkachuk posts five-point game as Flames rout Rangers

NHL: New York Rangers at Calgary Flames
Mar 15, 2019; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) celebrates his goal against the New York Rangers during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

March 16, 2019

Matthew Tkachuk collected two goals and a career-high five points — his second game of the week with at least four points — and the host Calgary Flames climbed back atop the Western Conference with a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Friday night.

Goalie David Rittich stopped 24 shots for the Flames, who have racked up 20 goals during a three-game winning streak.

Tkachuk has been as hot as anybody through the winning spree, having netted six goals and 10 points in that span, and coming through at key times. Case in point was his game-winning goal three minutes into the second period.

With the score tied 1-1, Tkachuk deflected Mark Giordano’s waist-high point shot en route to his sixth four-point game of the campaign. Seventy seconds later, Tkachuk had a hand in Garnet Hathaway’s tally, feeding the puck to the front of the net for a nifty redirect for his 100th career assist.

Maple Leafs 7, Flyers 6

Jake Muzzin scored two goals and added an assist, Auston Matthews added another pair of goals and host Toronto rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat Philadelphia.

Patrick Marleau, Zach Hyman and Martin Marincin each contributed one goal for the Maple Leafs, who snapped a two-game losing streak. Ron Hainsey, Nazem Kadri, William Nylander and Nikita Zaitsev each had two assists. Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 23 of 29 shots on goal.

James van Riemsdyk paced the Flyers with a hat trick, while Jakub Voracek, Radko Gudas and Shayne Gostisbehere added one goal apiece.

Blue Jackets 3, Hurricanes 0

Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 46 saves for his sixth shutout of the season as host Columbus defeated Carolina.

Adam McQuaid, David Savard and Josh Anderson scored for Columbus, with two early goals providing the Blue Jackets with a cushion as the Hurricanes peppered Bobrovsky at times.

Bobrovsky stopped 22 second-period shots, as the Hurricanes held a 22-2 edge on shots but didn’t change the scoreboard.

Devils 3, Canucks 2

Damon Severson’s shootout goal gave visiting New Jersey a comeback victory over Vancouver.

Severson, New Jersey’s seventh shooter in the shootout, was falling down as he beat Vancouver goaltender Jacob Markstrom with a wrist shot from the doorstep. He decided the contest after Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson and Drew Stafford had exchanged shootout goals.

The Devils posted their second straight win following seven consecutive losses. The Canucks took their 14th loss in 19 games.

Golden Knights 2, Stars 1

Ryan Reaves scored the game-winner early in the third period, and Marc-Andre Fleury had 40 saves for his league-leading 35th victory as visiting Las Vegas defeated Dallas.

Max Pacioretty also scored for Vegas, which improved its lead over fourth-place Arizona to six points in the Pacific Division with its seventh win in its last eight games. Fleury extended his personal winning streak to six games, during which he has allowed a total of five goals.

Roope Hintz scored for Dallas, which lost for just the second time in eight games. The Stars, playing the second half of a back-to-back that started with a 4-1 win at Minnesota on Thursday night, didn’t land in Dallas until 2:30 in the morning.

Ducks 5, Avalanche 3

Corey Perry scored a tie-breaking power-play goal with 57 seconds left, Josh Gibson had 41 saves, and visiting Anaheim beat Colorado.

Perry finished with two goals, Ryan Getzlaf had a goal and two assists and Daniel Sprong had a goal and an assist for the Ducks, who dealt a blow to Colorado’s playoff hopes.

Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist, and Mikko Rantanen and Sven Andrighetto scored for the Avalanche. Colorado (30-29-12) is now five points behind Arizona for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with 11 games remaining for both teams.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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In early campaigning, 2020 Democrats try out tactics for taking on Trump

Combination photo of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates
2020 Democratic presidential candidates are seen in a combination of file photos (L-R top row): U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, (L-R bottom row): U.S.Senator Kamala Harris, Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, U.S. Senator Cory Booker and Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. REUTERS/Files

March 20, 2019

By Ginger Gibson

HEMINGWAY, S.C. (Reuters) – In the most polarized political environment in decades, Democratic voters want to know how their eventual nominee will match up against President Donald Trump in the November 2020 general election.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York appears willing to go the furthest yet, at least symbolically, in trying to prove she is ready to go toe-to-toe with the president.

On Sunday, she will deliver her campaign launch speech at a rally in view of one of Trump’s hotels in New York City, taking her “vision of restoring America’s moral integrity straight to President Trump’s doorstep,” her campaign said.

The backdrop for her speech underscores a defining theme of the Democratic nominating contest. Trump is present at every campaign stop – not physically, but as a constant topic of discussion, even if his name is not uttered by those seeking to defeat him.

Candidates are trying to convince voters in early primary states that they would provide the best Trump opposition. And in a large field with few variations on policy so far, each contender is using different tactics to make their case.

“Voters need to believe that a candidate can stand on stage, take a rhetoric punch from Trump and still look strong and viable,” said Joel Payne, a Democratic strategist who worked for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 White House race.

Potential and declared candidates including former Vice President Joe Biden and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders “have likely already passed that litmus test with voters,” Payne added. “Others who are less known to the public probably still have some proving to do.”

A February poll by Emerson College found every Democratic hopeful out-performed Trump in a hypothetical general election matchup, except when a third-party candidacy was added to the equation.

At campaign events in rural South Carolina this month, Senator Kamala Harris used a simple refrain to begin answers about complicated policy questions: “We need a new president.”

Harris, a former prosecutor, is seeking to convince voters that her courtroom experience prepared her to be able to successfully “prosecute” Trump on the debate stage, a campaign aide said.

But Harris does not plan to make her case using any demeaning nicknames for Trump, something the president did during the 2016 campaign to deride his opponents.

“They don’t want someone who is going to mimic his tactics,” the aide said of Democratic voters. “Democrats want someone who can confront from him.”

VOTERS FOCUSED ON ELECTABILITY

A February poll by Monmouth University found that 56 percent of Democrats would prefer a nominee who has a good shot at defeating Trump even if they do not agree on policy positions.

The poll found women voters – who turned out in droves during the 2018 midterm elections to help send a historic number of women to Congress – were even more inclined to prioritize electability over ideology with 61 percent putting their positions aside in favor of a candidate who can defeat the president, compared to 45 percent of men.

The high level of Democrats citing electability over “kitchen table” issues like jobs and the economy was surprising to Tim Hagle, a political science professor at the University of Iowa.

But Hagle thinks it could be a product of the large field of Democrats, with voters looking for ways to whittle it down. Once the field narrows, policy issues such as immigration and jobs could again emerge as top concerns, he said.

“What is different this time is the intensity about wanting to defeat Trump,” Hagle said.

Even candidates who are inclined not to tussle with Trump directly still talk about him a lot.

In Mount Vernon, Iowa on Friday, Beto O’Rourke largely spoke of Trump in the context of using his campaign to try and bring people together. He criticized Trump – not using his name – for how the president talks about immigrants and Muslims.

“We’ve never been as divided as we are right now. And we’ve never seen the kind of rhetoric employed by this president in our history,” said O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman. “This is absolutely wrong. And there’s a consequence to this rhetoric and the policies employed by the president.”

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, a Democratic hopeful, insists Trump can be defeated by a candidate who offers a calmer tone instead of attacks.

“I know there’s some ‘fight fire with fire’ people out there, and God bless ’em, if they become the nominee, I’m behind them,” Booker told a group of voters at a New Hampshire pub last week. “But I’m willing to die on this hill, because I believe that when we as Americans extend grace to one another, we’re not weaker, but stronger.

“My mom taught Sunday school, and she taught me to love my enemies,” Booker said. “I’m not going to let anybody drag me so low as to contort my soul and make me hate them.”

(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Additional reporting by Joseph Ax in New Hampshire and James Oliphant in Iowa; Editing by Alistair Bell)

Source: OANN

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Greek government safeguards majority with new election rule

Lawmakers in Greece have approved a proposal to allow candidates in upcoming European elections to retain their seats in the national parliament — an amendment needed to preserve the government's razor-thin majority.

Two independent lawmakers backing left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras are expected to run in the May 26 European election but their departure could have toppled the government. Amid strong protest from opposition parties, lawmakers voted 148-105 Wednesday to change the rules.

Tsipras' government narrowly avoided collapse in mid-January following the departure of a nationalist coalition partner. But six independent members of parliament rescued the government, pledging support and giving Tsipras the backing on 151 lawmakers in the 300-seat legislative assembly.

The coalition collapse was triggered by a landmark agreement between Greece and neighbor North Macedonia to normalize relations.

Source: Fox News World

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2nd day of searching at Nigeria school building collapse

Search and rescue work continues in Nigeria a day after a building containing a school collapsed with scores of children said to be inside.

A National Emergency Management Agency spokesman late Wednesday said 37 people had been pulled out alive, with eight bodies recovered from the ruins.

An unknown number remain missing.

It is not yet known what caused the collapse of the three-story building in a densely crowded neighborhood at the heart of Nigeria' commercial capital, Lagos.

Building collapses are all too common in the West African nation, where new construction often goes up without regulatory oversight.

Lagos state Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode has said the building, which had been marked for demolition, was classified as residential and the school was operating illegally on the top two floors.

Source: Fox News World

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New US Consumer Watchdog Chief to Continue Review of Complaints Database, Fair Lending

The new director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will continue with reviews, begun by her predecessor, of its public complaints database and how the agency enforces discriminatory lending laws, she told Reuters.

Speaking to Reuters in her first interview since taking office in December, Kathy Kraninger said the agency was discussing how the public complaints database, a key source of the bureau's investigations, should operate.

"It is on the agenda this year to address what is the public kind of discussion about what the database should be," she said on Wednesday.

The financial industry and consumer advocates have been watching closely to see whether Kraninger would continue with a number of controversial projects begun by Mick Mulvaney, formerly the agency's interim director and now President Donald Trump's chief of staff.

Kraninger acknowledged the database, which went public in 2012 to boost transparency of consumer issues, supported the bureau's mission to protect borrowers, but did not rule out making it private.

Shielding the complaints from the public gaze would mark a major win for the industry, which has lobbied against being publicly named and shamed. However, it would spark opposition from consumer advocates and Democrats who say keeping it public encourages companies to address customer complaints.

Mulvaney, who worked with Kraninger in her previous role at the Office of Management and Budget, had questioned the policy of publishing the complaints.

Kraninger's comments suggest she may continue with Mulvaney's efforts to curtail the bureau's powers, after the administration of President Barack Obama built it into a powerful watchdog.

Created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to crack down on predatory lenders, the CFPB sits at the heart of a battle between Democrats and Republicans over the future of consumer financial protections under the business-friendly Trump administration.

Republicans have argued since its creation that the agency was given too much power and was unaccountable. They set about overhauling the agency after taking it over in November 2017, including rolling back rules and reducing enforcement actions.

Democratic lawmakers have accused the administration of bowing to industry lobbyists and warn the changes could sow the seeds of the next financial crisis.

Mulvaney had also begun a review of whether the agency should continue to apply a legal tool known as "disparate impact" when enforcing laws that guard against discriminatory lending.

Disparate impact refers to a legal theory that allows regulators to prosecute practices that adversely affect one group of people compared with others, though the rules applied may on their face be neutral.

It had not been clear whether Kraninger would take on Mulvaney's projects, or chart a new course.

Kraninger said the CFPB would continue to review whether it should build cases using disparate impact, which had served as the basis for discriminatory lending cases brought by the bureau under Democratic control.

"It's controversial, but it need not be if we have a public discourse on what the lay of the land is, try to get the evidence in one conversation, and think of the next steps that are appropriate," said Kraninger, adding the agency would discuss the application of disparate impact during public discussions over the coming months.

Kraninger told Reuters the bureau would focus enforcement efforts on "bad actors" who do not intend to follow the law, in a departure from the agency's aggressive enforcement stance under Democratic control.

"It's not a black and white issue," Kraninger added. "I can tell you that at the end of the spectrum of what is a bad actor clearly those who have no intent to comply with the law."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

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

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

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News World

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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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