Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Hong Kong customs seizes massive cocaine haul

Hong Kong customs has seized a haul of cocaine with an estimated market value of $13 million.

The customs service in the semi-autonomy Chinese territory says one man has been arrested in the operation that netted 91 kilograms (200 pounds) of the drug.

As a major Asian port city, Hong Kong is considered a key transit point for contraband from illegal drugs to endangered wildlife parts. Much of that is bound for mainland China or Southeast Asia where drug laws tend to be much stricter.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's large population of finance workers, lawyers and others in well-paid white collar sectors also provides a lucrative market for drugs including cocaine and marijuana.

The city was founded as a British colony in 1942 as a result of the First Opium War.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

U.S. housing starts fall on weak single-family homebuilding

A single family home is shown under construction by Toll Brothers Inc, the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder, in Carlsbad, California
A single family home is shown under construction by Toll Brothers Inc, the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder, in Carlsbad, California, United States May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

March 26, 2019

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) – U.S. homebuilding fell more than expected in February as construction of single-family homes dropped to more than a 1-1/2-year low, but the outlook for the housing market is improving amid declining mortgage rates.

Housing starts decreased 8.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.162 million units last month, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. The percent decline was the largest in eight months, and bad weather could have contributed to the sharp drop in homebuilding last month.

Data for January and December were revised higher.

Building permits fell 1.6 percent to a rate of 1.296 million units in February. While that was the second straight monthly drop in permits, they are now outpacing starts, which suggests a pickup in homebuilding in the months ahead.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts falling to a pace of 1.213 million units in February.

The housing market hit a soft patch last year, squeezed by higher mortgage rates, pricey lumber, and land and labor shortages, which led to tight inventories and more expensive homes. But borrowing costs have eased as the Federal Reserve signaled it was halting further interest rates increases this year amid growing headwinds to the economy.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropped to an average of 4.28 percent last week, the lowest in more than a year, from 4.31 in the prior week, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. House price inflation is also slowing.

Still, homebuilders remain constrained in their ability to construct more homes for the lower end of the market. A survey last week showed confidence among homebuilders was steady in March, with builders still complaining about the scarcity of skilled workers, land and zoning restrictions in many major metro areas.

Investment in homebuilding contracted 0.2 percent in 2018, the weakest performance since 2010.

Single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the housing market, tumbled 17.0 percent to a rate of 805,000 units in February, the lowest level since May 2017. The percentage drop in single-family homebuilding was the largest since February 2015.

Single-family homebuilding fell in all four regions last month. Permits to build single-family homes were unchanged in February at a pace of 821,000. These permits are now leading housing starts, suggesting a rebound in single-family construction in the coming months.

Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment jumped 17.8 percent to a rate of 357,000 units in February. Permits for the construction of multi-family homes fell 4.2 percent to a pace of 475,000 units last month.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani Editing by Paul Simao) ((Lucia.Mutikani@thomsonreuters.com; 1 202 898 8315; Reuters Messaging: lucia.mutikani.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

Source: OANN

0 0

Genetic genealogy testing popular despite concerns

The type of DNA analysis that led to the arrest of an Alabama truck driver and part-time preacher in two slayings nearly 20 years has become the latest trend in police work in many parts of the country, despite concerns over privacy and fairness.

A national association for criminal defense attorneys says genetic genealogy crime-solving can lead to mistakes.

But a relative of one of the victims in the 1999 killings trusts that authorities got the right person when they arrested Coley McCraney, 45, of Dothan on murder charges in the deaths of Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley, both 17.

"We've been through pure hell the last 20 years," said Mike Roberts, Hawlett's stepfather. "DNA don't lie."

Law enforcement interest in using genetic genealogy to crack cold cases took off after the highly publicized arrest of a suspect in the so-called Golden State serial killings in California last year.

A suspect in those cases was found by running crime-scene DNA through a genealogy database, said CeCe Moore, chief genetic genealogist with Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs. The same company did the searches that led to McCraney's arrest in Alabama after police heard of the technique.

After genealogical matching identified McCraney as a potential suspect, police said, the man voluntarily submitted a DNA sample that tied him to evidence left at the crime scene.

While investigators seeking new leads in cold cases are intrigued, others see red flags.

"There are huge privacy concerns," said Jennifer Friedman, a public defender in Los Angeles who has been involved in cases involving DNA since the late 1980s.

She said there are multiple problems with tying people to crimes using family genetic information, including the fact that most people probably wouldn't want a relative arrested based on their DNA sample.

Amy McGuire, a professor of biomedical ethics at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told The Associated Press last fall that police searches using DNA and genealogy websites have sometimes pointed to an incorrect person.

And directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers passed a resolution in 2013 opposing the use of familial DNA searches during criminal investigations. The board cited multiple concerns, including the possibility of incorrect matches caused by inadequate procedures.

To make matches, Moore said her company only uses a database to which people have uploaded their information voluntarily after being told it was subject to use in investigations.

She said only about a million people — out of an estimated 23 million who have taken a consumer DNA ancestry test — are in GEDMatch, the database used in the Alabama investigation. GEDMatch is a public genetic database repository to which people have uploaded profiles from at-home ancestry kits.

Moore said the same technique once was used to help adopted individuals search for birth families.

"Many of us that were working with adoptees and others of unknown parentage knew that the methodologies that we had created for that were applicable for law enforcement," she said. The California case helped "open the door" to law enforcement, she said.

McCraney's case is just getting started, and it's unclear whether the defense may try to raise genealogical genetic testing as an issue in court.

But on the street where McCraney grew up in south Alabama, neighbors including 67-year-old Mattie Beaty expressed disbelief at his arrest.

"I tell you, that's a good child. A lot of stuff don't add up. I know they are holding back a lot ... but 20 years, and they are just now coming up with his DNA," Beaty said.

Hawlett and Beasley vanished after heading to a party on July 31, 1999. Their bodies were found the next day in the trunk of Beasley's black Mazda along a road in Ozark, a city of 19,000 people about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Montgomery. Each was shot in the head.

The case sat unsolved for nearly two decades, until the arrest in the Golden State killings. Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker said "let's try that" after hearing about the West Coast case.

McCraney was arrested Friday after the Alabama crime scene sample was analyzed and uploaded to GEDMatch.

Parabon's work enabled police to charge McCraney with multiple counts of capital murder, including one accusing him of killing Beasley during a sexual assault. It's unclear what other evidence, if any, police might have against McCraney.

Moore said the company is now fielding calls for help in decades-old cases as interest grows in this technique. Since May, the company has helped provide law enforcement with identifications in 43 cases, she said.

She said genetic genealogy can help provide answers for families who have seen their loved one' murders go unsolved for years.

"The fact that we can finally provide those is just incredibly important," Moore said.

___

Associated Press writer Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama, contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

Washington, Beijing Hope To Finish Trade Deal During Next Round Of Talks

We hadn’t heard much on the US-China trade talks in recent days as the Trump administration appeared content to sit back and watch stocks rip to fresh all-time highs.

But after Larry Kudlow told a reporter during a public appearance on Tuesday that talks were making progress and that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospects for a deal, a flurry of reports out overnight affirmed that the next – and hopefully final – round of negotiations will begin in Beijing next week.

According to Bloomberg, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer will travel to Beijing on Tuesday as both sides hope to hammer out a final deal by the end of May.

Talks starting next Tuesday “will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases and enforcement,” the White House said in a statement.

Answering a question from a reporter during an appearance at the National Press Club, Kudlow said the final deal would be more sweeping in scope than “anything in the history of US-China trade.”

“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made a heck of a lot of progress,” Kudlow said.

“We’ve come further and deeper, broader, larger-scale than anything in the history of U.S.-China trade.”

“We’ve gotten closer and we’re still working on the issues, so-called structural issues, technology transfers,” Kudlow added. “Ownership enforcement is absolutely crucial. Lowering barriers to buy and sell agriculture and industrial commodities. It’s all on the table.”

The following week, Chinese officials led by Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington for discussions set to begin on May 8. By the end of that week, officials on both sides reportedly hope to have a deal in hand that could potentially be signed in Japan later in May during President Trump’s visit to the country to meet new emperor Crown Prince Naruhito.

Officials hope to announce that a deal has been reached, as well as plans for a signing summit, during Liu’s visit to Washington.

Still, one Chinese official noted that the US must still agree to some concessions before a deal can be finalized.

The intense meetings indicated that the two sides have the pressure and willingness to reach a deal,” said Zhou Xiaoming, a former Chinese Ministry of Commerce official and diplomat. “But whether a deal can be reached or not, depends on both sides needing to show understanding and make concessions.”

American and Chinese officials have reportedly been in regular contact via teleconference since Liu’s last visit to Washington in early April. The two biggest obstacles to a deal remain an agreement on enforcement – Mnuchin had previously said the two sides had agreed to open ‘enforcement bureaus’ and reports said Trump was considering leaving the issue to his successor by setting a target of 2025 for China to fulfill its pledges. The fact that they haven’t been ironed out means the Trump Administration hasn’t entirely caved, at least not yet.

Another enforcement plan would involve an agreement for China and the US to unilaterally impose sanctions over suspected violations after a bilateral consultation. That might involve both sides foregoing their rights to retaliate and bring up challenges with the WTO.

Also, the issue of the US removing some or all of the trade war tariffs remains a problem for Beijing.

Despite these longstanding obstacles, analysts remain optimistic that a deal will be reached in the near future.

“The cake is almost baked, so this should be the final back-and-forth. There is relatively little left to tie down substantively, and the optics look better for the Chinese if these visits look reciprocal,” said Leland Miller, chief executive officer of China Beige Book, an economics consulting firm.

Miller added that the deal has largely already been priced in by markets, which means that while stocks might not see any more upside once a deal is struck, the agreement could trigger a ‘sell the news’-type reaction. Or worse, if it does ultimately fall through, or if the can is kicked down the road, stocks could throw a tantrum.



Sometimes art imitates real life.

Source: InfoWars

0 0

After 60 years in exile, Dalai Lama’s still remembered in his homeland

FILE PHOTO - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama gestures as he arrives for his visit to the Tibet Institute Rikon in Rikon
FILE PHOTO - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama gestures as he arrives for his visit to the Tibet Institute Rikon in Rikon, Switzerland September 21, 2018. REUTERS/ Arnd Wiegmann

March 12, 2019

By Philip Wen

TAKTSER, China (Reuters) – It may have been six decades since the Dalai Lama fled into exile, but in the isolated mountain hamlet where he was born, he remains very much on the minds of devotees and Chinese authorities alike.

On the northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, Taktser, in Qinghai province, where the Dalai Lama was born in 1935 to parents who farmed buckwheat and barley, is a magnet to worshippers and foreign tourists – and security personnel.

During a recent Reuters visit to Taktser, known in Chinese as Hongya, police armed with automatic weapons blocked the winding road leading into the village of some 60 houses.

Police and more than a dozen plain-clothed officials who declined to identify themselves refused Reuters entry, saying the village was private and not open to the public.

The Qinghai government and China’s State Council Information Office, which doubles as the Communist Party’s spokesman’s office, did not respond to requests for comment.

Beijing views the Nobel Peace Prize laureate as a dangerous separatist and has denounced the 83-year-old spiritual leader as a “wolf in monk’s robes”. The Dalai Lama denies espousing violence and says he only wants genuine autonomy for Tibet.

Many of China’s more than 6 million Tibetans still venerate the Dalai Lama, despite government prohibitions on displays of his picture or any public display of devotion.

This Sunday marks 60 years since the Dalai Lama, disguised as a soldier, fled the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, after rumors that Chinese troops were planning his abduction or assassination fomented an abortive popular uprising.

The Dalai Lama crossed into India two weeks later, and has not set foot in Tibet since.

Despite the passage of time, during sensitive political anniversaries China’s security apparatus routinely restricts access to the village where the Dalai Lama’s old family is located, behind a pair of wooden doors and high concrete walls.

‘IN YOUR HEART’

One 29-year-old Tibetan man in the largely ethnic Tibetan town of Rebkong, set in a precipitous valley in Qinghai with a large monastery adorned in rich colors, enthusiastically recounted to Reuters his pilgrimage to Taktser years ago.

He said Tibetans were well aware of the upcoming 60th anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s exile, even if public commemorations of any sort were banned.

“You can only bury it in your heart, we just don’t speak about it,” he said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

“We have no ability to go against politics, we can only just go with society.”

Born Lhamo Thondup, the Dalai Lama was just two years old when identified by a search party as the new incarnation of Tibet’s most important spiritual leader, and was whisked from the family home to live in Lhasa.

The anniversary of his escape over the mountains into exile in India is one of several politically sensitive dates in China this year, including the 30th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in June, that the ruling Communist Party wants to ensure passes without controversy.

Speaking on the sidelines of China’s annual meeting of parliament this month, Tibet’s Communist Party chief Wu Yingjie said the Tibetan people felt greater affection toward the government than the Dalai Lama, who “hasn’t done a single good thing for the people of Tibet”.

As the Dalai Lama ages, many Tibetans fear that Beijing will simply appoint its own replacement.

The Dalai Lama has suggested that his incarnation might be found outside Chinese-controlled territory, or that the centuries-old Dalai Lama institution could die with him.

(Reporting by Philip Wen; Editing by Tony Munroe, Robert Birsel)

Source: OANN

0 0

French Europe minister to lead Macron's EU campaign

France's European Affairs minister, Nathalie Loiseau, will lead President Emmanuel Macron's campaign in European Parliament elections in May.

Macron's party said Loiseau's candidacy will be formalized on Monday evening. As a consequence, Loiseau is expected to resign as a minister, leading to a probable government reshuffle in the coming days.

Loiseau, a career diplomat, joined Macron's government in June 2017 and was notably involved in the country's Brexit preparations.

She will head the centrist, pro-European campaign of Macron's party for the May 23-26 election in an effort to counter a populist and nationalist wave across the continent.

French polls suggest that Macron's party is ahead of the far-right, anti-immigrant National Rally.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

NASA’s Twins Study Sees No Red Flags for Human Space Travel

From his eyes to his immune system, astronaut Scott Kelly's body sometimes reacted strangely to nearly a year in orbit, at least compared to his Earth-bound identical twin — but newly published research shows nothing that would cancel even longer space treks, like to Mars.

The good news: Kelly largely bounced back after returning home, say scientists who released final results from NASA's "twins study," a never-before opportunity to track the biological consequences of spaceflight in genetic doubles.

It marks "the dawn of human genomics in space," said Dr. Andrew Feinberg of Johns Hopkins University. He led one of 10 teams of researchers that scrutinized the twins' health down to the molecular level before, during and after Kelly's 340-day stay at the International Space Station.

More importantly, the study "represents more than one small step for mankind" by pointing out potential risks of longer-duration spaceflight that need study in more astronauts, said Markus Lobrich of Germany's Darmstadt University and Penny Jeggo of the University of Sussex, who weren't involved in the work.

The findings were published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, on some notable space anniversaries — when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space in 1961, and the first launch of the space shuttle in 1981.

KEY FINDINGS

NASA already knew some of the toll of space travel, such as bone loss that requires exercise to counter. This time, NASA-funded scientists looked for a gamut of physiologic and genomic changes that Scott Kelly experienced in space, comparing them to his DNA double on the ground, former astronaut Mark Kelly. Some results had been reported in February.

Possibly the weirdest finding had to do with something called telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes. Those tips gradually shorten as we get older, and are thought to be linked to age-related diseases including some cancers.

But in space, Scott Kelly's telomeres got longer. "We were surprised," said Colorado State University telomere expert Susan Bailey. She can't explain it although it doesn't mean Kelly got younger. Back on Earth, his telomeres mostly returned to preflight average although he did have more short telomeres than before.

Next, Kelly's DNA wasn't mutated in space but the activity of many of his genes — how they switch on and off — did change, especially in the last half of the voyage, which ended in March 2016.

Immune system genes especially were affected, putting it "almost on high alert as a way to try and understand this new environment," said study co-author Christopher Mason, a Weill Cornell Medicine geneticist in New York.

Again, most gene expression returned to normal back home, but some of the immune-related genes were hyperactive six months later.

Other findings:

—Some changes in the structure of Kelly's eye and thickening of his retina suggested that, like about 40% of astronauts, he experienced symptoms of "spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome." It may be caused by fluids shifting in the absence of gravity.

—He experienced some chromosomal instability that might reflect radiation exposure in space.

—A flu shot given in space worked as well as one on Earth.

—Kelly aced cognitive tests in space but slowed down after his return, maybe as more things competed for his attention.

ULTRA LONG-DISTANCE TESTING

Researchers needed months' worth of blood, urine and fecal samples, along with cognitive and physical tests and ultrasound scans. That meant getting creative: Some blood samples required analysis so rapidly that Kelly would time collection so the blood could travel on Russian Soyuz capsules carrying other astronauts back to Earth.

That wouldn't be an option on a three-year trip to Mars. One of the study's technological advances: Portable DNA-sequencing equipment that will let astronauts run some of their own genomic analyses on future missions, said Weill Cornell's Mason.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Studying one pair of twins can't prove risks of spaceflight, researchers cautioned. And longer missions, to the moon or Mars, will mean greater stress and radiation exposure.

Colorado State's Bailey plans to study 10 additional astronauts on year-long missions, using the twin findings as a road map.

"We need to get outside of low-Earth orbit and we need for the astronauts to spend longer periods of time to really evaluate some of these health effects," she said.

Source: NewsMax America

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Well, Joe Biden didn’t exactly clear the field.

I don’t think it matters much that Biden waited until yesterday to become the 20th Democrat vying for the nomination, even though it exposed him to weeks of attacks while he seemed to be dithering on the sidelines.

A much greater warning sign, in my view, is the largely negative tone surrounding his debut. He is, after all, a former vice president, highly praised by Barack Obama, who has consistently led in the early primary polls, and beating President Trump in head-to-head matchups. Yet much of the press is acting like he’s an old codger and it’s just a matter of time before he keels over politically.

This is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that the vast majority of journalists and pundits know and like Joe Biden and his gregarious personality.

The reason is that Biden, after a half-century in politics, lacks excitement, and the press is magnetically attracted to novel and unorthodox types like Beto and Mayor Pete. You don’t see Biden on the cover of Vanity Fair, and a grind-it-out win by a conventional warrior doesn’t set journalistic hearts racing.

JOE BIDEN ANNOUNCES 2020 PRESIDENTIAL BID: 3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT

For many in the media, Biden isn’t liberal enough, at least not for the post-Obama era. He doesn’t promise free college and free health care and has a history of working with Republicans, such as John McCain (whose daughter Meghan loves him, and Biden will hit “The View” today.)

What’s more, Biden’s campaign style — speak at rallies, rack up union endorsements — seems hopelessly old-fashioned when we measure popularity by Instagram followers. News outlets are predicting he’ll have trouble getting in the online fundraising game, leaving him reliant on big donors, which used to be standard practice.

And then there’s the age thing. Biden would be the oldest president to be inaugurated, at 78, and he looked a step slow in encounters with reporters yesterday and a few weeks ago.

But what if the journalists are in something of a Twitter bubble, and the actual Democratic Party is much more moderate? We saw that with the spate of allegations by women of unwanted touching, which dominated news coverage until polls showed that most Dem voters weren’t concerned. In that wider world, the Scranton guy’s connection to white, working-class voters could help him against Trump in the industrial Midwest.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF OF THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Biden denounced the president’s term as an “aberrant moment” in his launch video, saying four more years would damage the country’s character and “I cannot stand by and watch that happen.”

But first, he’d have to win the nomination in the face of an unenthusiastic press corps.

A New York Times news story said Biden would be “marshaling his experience and global stature in a bid to lead a party increasingly defined by a younger generation that might be skeptical of his age and ideological moderation.”

The Washington Post quoted Democratic strategists as saying that Biden faces an “uphill battle” and “isn’t necessarily the heir apparent to Obama, despite being his No. 2 in the White House for eight years. They argue voters will judge Biden by the span of his decades-long career and are worried the veteran pol hasn’t yet found a winning formula for his own candidacy.”

The liberal Slate said the ex-veep’s rivals view him as a “paper tiger”:

“Biden is something more like a 2016 Jeb Bush: a weak establishment favorite whose time might be past … Biden’s biggest challenge in the primary will be a compromised past spanning nearly 50 years.”

“Compromised” suggests a history of scandal, yet what Slate means is political baggage, such as his backing of a Clinton-era crime bill unpopular with black voters today. Yet I think the rank and file isn’t as concerned about a vote back in 1994, or even the Anita Hill hearings, as the chattering classes.

BIDEN’S SENATE RECORD, ADVOCACY OF 1994 CRIME BILL WILL BE USED AGAINST HIM, EX-SANDERS STAFFER SAYS

One of the few left-leaning pundits to suggest the press is underestimating Biden is data guru Nate Silver at 538:

“Media coverage could nonetheless be a problem for Biden. Within the mainstream media, the story of Biden winning the nomination will be seen as boring and anticlimactic. That tends not to lead to favorable coverage. Meanwhile, some left-aligned media outlets may prefer candidates who are some combination of more leftist, more wonkish, more reflective of the party’s diversity, and more adept on social media.

“If Biden is framed as being out of touch with today’s Democratic Party and that narrative is repeated across a variety of outlets, it could begin to resonate with voters who don’t buy it initially. If he’s seen as a gaffe-prone candidate, then minor missteps on the campaign trail could be blown up into big fumbles.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Look, it’s entirely possible that Biden could stumble, get lapped in fundraising and just be outclassed by younger and savvier rivals. He was hardly a great candidate in 1987 and in 2008.

But if the former vice president finds his footing and the field narrows, the press will be forced to change its tune, and we’ll see a spate of stories about how Joe Biden has “grown.”

Source: Fox News Politics

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
South Africa's 400m Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk looks on as he attends South African Championships in Germiston
South Africa’s 400m Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk looks on as he attends South African Championships in Germiston, South Africa, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

April 26, 2019

GERMISTON, South Africa (Reuters) – Olympic 400 meters champion Wayde van Niekerk has backed South African compatriot Caster Semenya in her battle with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which now appears to have taken a new twist.

Semenya, a double 800 meters Olympic gold medalist, is waiting for the outcome of her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to halt the introduction of new regulations by governing body IAAF that would require her to take medicine to limit her natural levels of testosterone.

The IAAF wants female athletes with differences of sexual development who run in events from 400 meters to a mile, to reduce their blood testosterone level to below five (5) nmol/L for a period of six months before they can compete, saying they have an unfair advantage.

“She’s fighting for something beyond just track and field, she’s fighting for woman in sports, in society and I respect her for that,” Van Niekerk told reporters.

“I will support her and with the hard work and talent that she’s been putting into the sport. With what she believes in and what she’s dreaming for, I’ve got a lot of respect for her.

“I really hope and pray that everything just goes from strength to strength for her.”

Semenya has sprung a surprise at the on-going South African Athletics Championships though, ditching the 800 meters and instead competing over 1,500 and 5,000-metres – the latter one would not require her to medically lower her testosterone level.

She stormed to victory in the 5,000-metres final in a modest time of 16:05.97, but looked to have lots left in the tank as she passed the finish line.

Semenya beat fellow Olympian and defending national 5,000m champion Dominique Scott in Thursday’s final but the latter admitted she is unsure whether the 800m specialist could be a serious Olympic contender over the longer distance.

“Honestly‚ I have no idea‚” Scott said. “Before today I probably would have said no. It’s hard to compare a 5,000 at altitude to a 5,000 at sea level.

“But I think she’s an amazing runner and I don’t think there’s any limit or ceiling on what she can do.”

Van Niekerk, the 400m world record holder, had to abort his comeback from a knee injury, that had sidelined him for 18 months, following a combination of cold weather and a wet track.

“We are trying to take the correct decisions now early in the year so as not to put myself in any harm,” he said.

“It was a bit chilly this entire week prepping and coming through here as well it was quite cold and it caused bit of tightness in my leg. We decided to not risk it.

“My recovery is going well and I would like to be back in competition this year, but will only do so if I can deliver a good performance.

“I am a competitor and respect my opponents, so I need to be at my best when I return.”

(Reporting by Nick Said, additional reporting by Siyabonga Sishi; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

The suspected leader of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka died in the Shangri-La hotel, one of six hotels and churches targeted in the attacks that killed at least 250 people, authorities said.

Police said Mohamed Zahran, leader of the National Towheed Jamaat militant group, had been killed in one of the bombings. The group’s second in command was also arrested, police said.

Zahran amassed an online following for his hate-filled sermons. Some were delivered before a banner depicting the Twin Towers.

Sri Lankan authorities said Friday that Islamic cleric Mohammed Zahran died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel during the Easter Sunday atatcks that killed at least 250 people. 

Sri Lankan authorities said Friday that Islamic cleric Mohammed Zahran died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel during the Easter Sunday atatcks that killed at least 250 people.  (YouTube)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that the attackers responsible for the bombings were supported by the Islamic State group. Around 140 people in Sri Lanka had connections to ISIS, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said.

“We will completely control this and create a free and peaceful environment for people to live,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Investigators determined the attackers received military training from someone called “Army Mohideen.” They also received weapons training overseas and at some locations in Sri Lanka, according to authorities.

A copper factory operator arrested in connection with the bombings helped Mohideen make improvised explosive devices, police said. The bombings have led to increased security throughout the island nation as authorities warned of another attack.

Source: Fox News World

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist