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Kushner: Russia investigation had ‘harsher impact’ on US than election meddling

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner argued Tuesday the investigations over whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign have been “way more harmful” than Russia’s election meddling through social media.

“When you look at what Russia did, buying some Facebook ads and trying to sow dissent, it's a terrible thing,” Kushner said at the Time 100 Summit in New York. “But I think the investigations and all of the speculation that's happened for the last two years has a much harsher impact on our democracy than a couple Facebook ads.”

REP SAYS MUELLER REPORT SHOWS STEELE DOSSIER ‘FALSE AND FAKE,’ CHALLENGING ORIGINS OF FBI PROBE

Kushner, the president’s son-in-law who worked on the campaign, said he spent much more money in 2016 on Facebook ads than the Russians.

“I think they said they spent $160,000,” Kushner said. “I spent $160,000 on Facebook every three hours during the campaign. If you look at the magnitude of what they did, the ensuing investigations have been way more harmful.”

Kushner, who doesn’t speak in public very often, made the comments in the wake of the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report saying investigators found no evidence the Trump campaign conspired with Russia in election meddling.

“When the whole notion of the Russian collusion narrative came up, I was the first person to say I’m happy to participate with any investigations,” Kushner said. “I thought the whole thing was kind of nonsense to be honest with you.”

HOUSE JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN SUBPOENAS EX-WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL DON MCGAHN

Kushner said he sat for three interviews with the House of Representatives. He said he also interviewed for nine hours with Mueller’s team. Referencing his past statements, Kushner said, “I think everything I’ve said has now been proven to be true. And it’s been very, very thoroughly investigated.”

He referenced the infamous meeting at Trump Tower in 2016 between several Trump campaign associates and a Russian lawyer, recalling wanting to leave meeting because it seemed like a waste of time. Mueller's team investigated the meeting, but did not conclude it was evidence of coordination.

“It’s a meeting had it never come up…I would have never thought about it again,” Kushner said. “But now the media spends so much time focusing on it.  And quite frankly, the whole thing is just a big distraction for the whole country.”

Fox News’ Tamara Gitt contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Ex-Chief of Staff Kelly Forced Ousted Secret Service Chief on Trump

Official Washington and much of the national press was in an uproar on Monday afternoon following the President’s announcement that Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles was being replaced.

Little mentioned in all of the debate over whether Alles was fired or (as he was claiming late in the afternoon) the director is leaving on his own is that his appointment was virtually forced on Trump in April 2017 by then-Secretary of Homeland Security (and future White House Chief of Staff) John Kelly.

“At one point, Kelly threatened he would resign unless Trump appointed Alles,” Ron Kessler, author of the critically acclaimed book “The Trump White House," told Newsmax.

Trump, in fact, had no intention of appointing Alles, a retired Marine Corps major general and old friend of fellow marine Kelly’s.  The President’s preference was George Mulligan, a veteran agent and chief operating officer of the Secret Service.

Moreover, as Kessler wrote in his book, “[when] he interviewed Alles, Trump was not impressed.  Alles volunteered that he knew next to nothing about the Secret Service.  Apparently, it was too much trouble to read books and articles about the agency or to check out the Secret Service website before meeting with the President.”

Of his two year stint at the helm of the Secret Service, Kessler wrote that its agents “are also unimpressed by Alles and largely ignore him.  …Apparently, co-opted by Secret Service management, Alles proved to be the exact opposite of what was needed to reform the Secret Service.”

In his book, Kessler concluded that “nothing has changed within the Secret Service since the party-crashing Salahis went prancing into the White House state dinner back in 2009, or since I broke the Secret Service prostitution scandal in 2012….."

Alles, he wrote flatly, “not only retained that same senior management that produced so many scandals, he has done nothing to change the agency’s culture that has led to those scandals and the low morale that results in a shockingly high turnover rate.”

Nevertheless, “General Kelly wanted [Alles] in the worst way, and nobody else wanted him,” former White House Counselor Steve Bannon told Kessler. 

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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California woman arrested for elder, animal abuse after dad, 96, found in home with up to 700 rats, cops say

A California woman was arrested after authorities discovered her 96-year-old father and multiple pets living inside a home in conditions described as "not fit for human living" with up to 700 rats inside, officials said Tuesday.

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Catherine Ann Vandermaesen, 65, was arrested last Thursday on suspicion of felony elder abuse and misdemeanor animal abuse after authorities visited the home in Ojai, located northwest of Los Angeles.

Sheriff's deputies had originally paid a visit to the home Wednesday for a “check-the-wellbeing” call initiated by Ventura County Adult Protective Services after Vandermaesen was suspected of not properly caring for her 74-year old sister.

This undated booking photo provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office shows Catherine Ann Vandermaesen, of Ojai, Calif.

This undated booking photo provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office shows Catherine Ann Vandermaesen, of Ojai, Calif. (Ventura County Sheriff's Office)

The sheriff's office said when deputies made contact with Vandermaesen and her sister, they did not want the deputies to enter the home and "insisted all occupants at the location were fine." Deputies also asked to see the sisters' 96-year-old father, but both daughters would only agree to bring the man out in a wheelchair after refusing to allow deputies inside.

MOM, 28, JOINS BOYFRIEND IN FACING MURDER CHARGE IN DEATH OF 9-YEAR-OLD GIRL FOUND IN DUFFEL BAG

When officers came back to the home the next day, they discovered "excessive animal fecal and urine matter" throughout the entire home, in addition to floors and countertops piled with trash. Eight dogs, two rabbits, a cat, a parrot and 55 pet rats ended up being removed from the home.

“The house of horror. It was dirty, there was paper on the floor, dog crap all over. It was uninhabitable and very unsanitary.” 

— Neighbor Karin Rudio

"According to Ventura County Animal Control and Humane Society of Ventura County – Ojai, they estimated another 200 to 700 wild rats were still loose and residing within the two bedrooms dwelling, walls, garage and garbage located throughout the residence," the sheriff's office said.

Photos released by the sheriff's office show the filthy conditions inside.

Eight dogs, two rabbits, a cat, a parrot and 55 pet rats were removed from the home.

Eight dogs, two rabbits, a cat, a parrot and 55 pet rats were removed from the home. (Ventura County Sheriff's Office)

“The house of horror,” neighbor Karin Rudio told KEYT-TV. “It was dirty, there was paper on the floor, dog crap all over. It was uninhabitable and very unsanitary.”

"Excessive animal fecal and urine matter" throughout the entire home, in addition to floors and countertops piled with trash.

"Excessive animal fecal and urine matter" throughout the entire home, in addition to floors and countertops piled with trash. (Ventura County Sheriff's Office)

Rudio said that rats from the home ate all her flowers, and said hundreds of rats have come through her back yard and ruined her belongings.

KIDNAPPED BOSTON WOMAN RAPED, FORCED TO DRINK WHISKEY FOR DAYS, COURT DOCS ALLEGE

“Rats! Pet rats, I don’t know," she said. "For some reason she is fascinated with rats."

Ventura County Sheriff's Detective Joseph Preciado told the television station that Vandermaesen was in charge of the care for her father and all the animals in the residence. It also wasn't the first incident with Vandermaesen, with prior reports of these same issues, the station reported.

Deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office discovered the scene on Thursday.

Deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office discovered the scene on Thursday. (Ventura County Sheriff's Office)

"That is why we are able to arrest her for the elder abuse charge and also for the animal neglect charge,” Preciado said.

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Vandermaesen's elderly father and her 74-year-old sister, who deputies described as a "possible victim," were taken by ambulance to a hospital. Authorities did not disclose their conditions.

Officials said that county authorities assumed custody of the 96-year-old, and helped the sister get temporary housing services. The city of Ojai later "yellow" tagged the home, declaring it "unlivable and a danger to the occupants and animals" due to the conditions inside.

Source: Fox News National

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The Latest: Road rage arrest is little comfort to parents

The Latest on an arrest in the road-rage shooting death of a 10-year-old Arizona girl (all times local):

1:30 p.m.

The parents of a 10-year-old girl who died in a road-rage shooting outside their Phoenix home say they are thankful police have made an arrest.

Taniesha and Dharquintium Brown spoke Friday in their driveway, where a gunman opened fire two days earlier, killing their daughter, Summerbell.

They also said nothing will bring back their daughter, and Taniesha Brown says she will never heal from her pain.

Police say 20-year-old Joshua Gonzalez followed the family's vehicle Wednesday to their home after a traffic dispute and began shooting when Dharquintium Brown went to confront him. Gonzalez has been arrested.

Summerbell, who was seated in the back of the car, was wounded and pronounced dead at a hospital.

___

10 a.m.

Phoenix police have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of a 10-year-old girl that investigators say was motivated by road rage.

Police Chief Jeri Williams said Friday that 20-year-old Joshua Gonzalez was booked into jail on a first-degree murder charge in the killing of Summerbell Brown and three counts of aggravated assault.

Authorities say a driver followed Summerbell and her family to their home Wednesday after their vehicle had cut him off.

The girl's father pulled into their driveway and got out to confront the suspect when he opened fire.

Summerbell was wounded and later pronounced dead at a hospital. Her father was shot, suffering non-life-threatening injuries.

Her mother and sister were in the car but escaped injury.

Williams says tips from the public were crucial for Gonzalez' arrest.

Source: Fox News National

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Italy: Migrant Sets Bus Full Of Children on Fire as Part of Pro-Refugee Protest

A Senegalese migrant set a bus full of children on fire in Italy as part of a pro-refugee protest against the deaths of asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe.

The bus was taking a group of school children home after outdoor activities in Crema before the driver, 47-year-old Ousseynou Sy, decided to change course.

After the migrant threatened passengers with a knife, one of the children managed to call their parents, who in turn alerted the police.

Authorities then set up road blocks in an effort to stop the driver, who then proceeded to ram the bus into them.

After losing control of the bus, Sy stopped the vehicle, poured gasoline on it and set it ablaze.

All the passengers were able to escape through the back door and windows, although 12 children subsequently had to be taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.

The migrant said that he wanted to kill himself and potentially others as a protest to “stop deaths in the Mediterranean Sea,” referring to asylum seekers who have drowned in an attempt to illegally enter Europe. He also reportedly threatened to “carry out a massacre”.

Having once been one of the primary entrance points for illegal immigrants entering the continent, Italy has drastically reduced the number of migrants arriving on its shores thanks to populist leader Matteo Salvini’s strong border policy.

At its peak, Italy was receiving around 120,000 illegal immigrants via boat from Libya a year. This number has been slashed to around 23,000, a number that is likely to shrink further as a result of Salvini’s actions.

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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

Source: InfoWars

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Poorest 10 percent of Brazilians to gain most from pension reform: ministry

FILE PHOTO: A street vendor of cleaning products walks past a big Brazilian flag in Sao Paulo
FILE PHOTO: A street vendor of cleaning products walks past a big Brazilian flag in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 28, 2018. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

March 21, 2019

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Reform of Brazil’s overloaded pension system would reduce income inequality in Latin America’s largest nation, according to an Economy Ministry study published on Thursday, with the country’s poorest set to enjoy the biggest gains.

Average income per capita across the poorest 10 percent of Brazilians would rise 3.48 percent per year through 2023 if some kind of pension reform was passed, the study found, with a narrower rise of 2.63 percent a year across the top 10 percent of earners.

The study comes as Congress begins debate on a controversial government proposal to overhaul Brazilian social security, which has faced setbacks as lawmakers complain that military personnel are sacrificing less than civilians.

The research follows an Economy Ministry study last month that predicted Brazil would slide into a deep recession next year if the social security system was left in its present state, continuing to bleed huge amounts of public funds.

The government said its proposed overhaul would save more than 1 trillion reais ($265 billion) over the next decade, boosting economic growth, lifting wages and generating around 8 million new jobs between now and 2023.

The lion’s share of that will be seen in the lower income strata where unemployment and reliance on informal jobs are significantly higher, the Economy Ministry said.

Failure to reform the system would see average incomes in the bottom 10 percent of earners fall an average 0.54 percent a year over the next five years, while the top 10 percent would see average income fall by 0.41 percent, the study found.

Brazil’s economy has struggled to recover from a devastating 2015-16 recession. Unemployment in the three months to January rose to 12 percent, the first increase in 10 months.

(Reporting by Jamie McGeever, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Source: OANN

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Stuart Varney: Trump is bound to win again in 2020 if Democrats are as far-left as Bernie Sanders

Fox Business host Scott Varney has slammed 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders' town hall appearance on Fox News on Monday evening and predicted President Trump will win his re-election campaign if he runs against him.

In an impassioned appearance on "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning, Varney called Sanders' appearance at the town hall "unconvincing," and argued his proposed plan to tax the wealthy goes against the Vermont Senator's own commitment towards advocating for a fair economy for all.

In addition, he said, Sanders is now backing off of his targeting of millionaires after his own tax returns revealed a hefty salary.

"Here is a guy who is 1 percent. He is a millionaire. And he is a socialist. I got a problem with that. He is trying to make sure that we, the rest of us on our way up, don't accumulate the pile that he has already at 77," Varney said.

BERNIE SANDERS, ANGRY AT POTSHOTS, SLAMS LEFT-WING GROUP

BERNIE SANDERS, AT COMBATIVE FOX NEWS TOWN HALL, MAKES NO APOLOGIES FOR MAKING MILLIONS

"If the Democratic party has moved so far to the left that Bernie Sanders, a socialist, is now the front-runner, I would confidently predict that he loses in 2020 and Donald Trump wins," he continued.

Varney also touched on Sanders' proposed plan to expand estate taxes up for the mega-wealthy, which the host deemed "outrageous."

"Where is the fairness in confiscating our money when we've saved all our lives for that money to pass on to our children and our grandchildren?" Varney asked.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"To me, fairness is allowing people with the brains, talent, drive, ability to climb that food chain and get to the top and stay there and be proud of it. Fairness to him is taking it off you."

During Monday's town hall, Sanders doubled down on his previous defenses of his wealth, which even some progressives have called hypocritical.

"This year, we had $560,000 in income," Sanders said. "In my and my wife's case, I wrote a pretty good book. It was a bestseller, sold all over the world, and we made money. If anyone thinks I should apologize for writing a bestselling book, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna do it."

Source: Fox News Politics

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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