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Biden looks to donors as he prepares to enter race


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DCCC raises record of $11.6 billion in February - Politico

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News Politics

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Black lawyer says deputy detained him at court based on race

An African-American lawyer has filed a complaint against a Maryland sheriff's deputy who detained him after mistaking him for a suspect.

Rashad James with Maryland Legal Aid tells news outlets a Harford County deputy thought he was his client impersonating a lawyer and questioned him at the county courthouse. James' client is also black and wasn't present when being represented by James on March 6.

James says the officer didn't believe his driver's license was valid. James says he was the only black attorney in the courtroom and it was his first time representing a client in Harford County.

James says the deputy was racially motivated, and his complaint asks for an internal investigation and a record made in the officer's personnel file. Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler says in a statement that his office is investigating.

Source: Fox News National

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Manafort asks judge for sentence far below the maximum -court filing

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Manafort arrives for arraignment on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington
FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for arraignment on a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst//File Photo/File Photo

February 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Monday asked a federal judge in Washington to impose a prison term “significantly below the statutory maximum” when he is sentenced on March 13, according to a court filing.

Manafort pleaded guilty in a federal court in Washington last September to conspiracy against the United States – a charge that includes a range of conduct from money laundering to unregistered lobbying – and conspiracy to obstruct justice for attempts to tamper with witnesses.

He can be sentenced up to five years for each count, for a statutory maximum of 10 years.

“We respectfully request that the Court impose a sentence

significantly below the statutory maximum sentence in this case,” Manafort’s lawyers said in the filing.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team said in a filing on Saturday that Manafort, 69, “repeatedly and brazenly” broke the law, and argued he did not deserve leniency at sentencing.

While Mueller did not recommend a specific sentence, he portrayed Manafort as a “hardened” criminal who was at risk of repeating criminal behavior if released from prison.

Mueller is investigating allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any collusion between Russia and the campaign of President Donald Trump.

Russia denies trying to interfere in the election, and Trump says his team did not collude with Moscow.

Manafort is due to be sentenced on March 8 in a separate case in Alexandria, Virginia. He faces up to 25 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines in that case, in which he was convicted last year of financial crimes.

In Monday’s filing, Manafort’s lawyers asked the Washington judge to impose a concurrent sentence if he receives prison sentences in both cases.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Sonya Hepinstall)

Source: OANN

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APNewsBreak: Escaped Ponzi scammer possibly went to Brazil

A man who masterminded a $100 million Ponzi scheme and escaped from a federal prison in California may have fled to South America and federal officials have named his boyfriend as a person of interest in the case, according to court records reviewed by The Associated Press on Thursday.

Frederick Darren Berg was serving an 18-year prison sentence when he walked away from the federal prison camp in Atwater, California, in December 2017.

Since then, investigators have been focusing their attention on his boyfriend, Darrell Ray Blankenship, a flight attendant who authorities say may have had access to a private jet and frequently traveled to Chile, according to court documents.

Earlier this week, federal agents sought a search warrant for his electronics and communication and they suspect he's been talking to Berg since his escape, the records said.

Blankenship has not been charged with a crime or formally accused of wrongdoing. He did not immediately respond to a message left Thursday at a cellphone number listed in court papers. The U.S. Marshals Service, which is investigating the matter, did not immediately comment on the case.

A few weeks after Berg's escape — in the first three weeks of 2018 — Blankenship posted several photos that investigators believe were taken at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including one that showed three men sitting on a lounge chair and one of them had the same hairline as Berg, court records said.

During that same time, Blankenship also sent a message to Berg's mother with a note that read, "hello from Rio," according to the documents. Investigators also obtained a message that Blankenship allegedly sent to a tarot card reader in February 2018 that was signed "Darrell and Darren."

Months later, deputy U.S. marshals tracked down a tipster — a mutual friend of Berg and Blankenship — who showed them Instagram messages he received from Blankenship. One of the messages said Blankenship had "just heard from Darren" and that he was fine.

Berg pleaded guilty in 2012 to wire fraud, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud charges for scamming hundreds of people. Federal prosecutors in Washington state alleged that Berg began the nearly decade-long scam in 2001 and used investors' funds to sign contracts, buy real estate and make loans, all while promising there would be profits to repay the investors.

Source: Fox News National

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Investigation into Chiefs WR Hill continues

FILE PHOTO: NFL: NFL Honors-Red Carpet
FILE PHOTO: Feb 2, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Tyreek Hill during red carpet arrivals for the NFL Honors show at the Fox Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports - 12098140

March 19, 2019

The investigation into allegations of battery against Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill remains open.

Steve Howe, the district attorney in Johnson County, Kan., acknowledged in a written statement Monday that his office “has received numerous requests for information” about the status of the investigation into Hill but could provide no additional details.

“While we understand the public’s concern, the investigation is still ongoing. It would be irresponsible to make definitive ‘official’ statements before the investigation is complete,” according to the statement.

The 25-year-old Hill has not been charged with any crimes.

Hill is under investigation for an alleged battery incident involving a juvenile, according to multiple published reports. The Kansas City Star reported that Hill’s 3-year-old son suffered a broken arm in the incident.

The report from police in Overland Park, Kan., where Hill lives, is dated March 14. It is unclear if the incident occurred that day.

Overland Park police also responded to the same address on March 5 to investigate a report of child abuse or neglect. Hill’s name is listed on the report.

His fiancee, Crystal Espinal, is listed on the March 14 report under the category of “others involved.” The Star reported that Espinal is pregnant with twins and that she is the mother of the 3-year-old whose arm was broken.

Hill reportedly choked and punched Espinal when she was pregnant in December 2014. Hill was arrested and dismissed from the Oklahoma State football team.

Hill later pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation and received three years’ probation.

The Chiefs issued the following statement last week regarding Hill:

“The club is aware of the investigation involving Tyreek Hill,” the Chiefs said in a statement to The Kansas City Star. “We’re in the process of gathering information and have been in contact with the league and local authorities. We’ll have no further comment at this time.”

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Alabama bill would allow churchgoers to carry guns

Some Alabama lawmakers want churchgoers to be able to defend themselves in church -- so they are proposing a bill that would allow them to be armed while sitting on the pews.

State Rep. Lynn Greer filed a bill this month in the State Legislature called the "Alabama Church Protection Act," which would allow parishioners to carry guns in church.

Al.com reported the Republican state lawmaker said he proposed the bill, HB 36, at the request of a church in his district after shootings in other states.

According to the proposed legislation, “a person is not criminally liable for using physical force, including deadly force, in self-defense or in the defense of another person on the premises of a church under certain conditions.”

The bill was previously introduced in the State House of Representatives last year and would add churches to the 2006 Stand Your Ground law, which allows someone to use force if they feel their life is threatened, according to Al.com.

VIRGINIA WANTS TO ALLOW GUNS IN CHURCHES IN WAKE OF DEADLY SHOOTINGS

“I think it’s a good idea,” Birmingham attorney Eric Johnston, who is the president of the Southeast Law Institute, told Al.com. “Small churches don’t have the budgets to have a policeman,” said Johnston.

In a public hearing last year, members of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America opposed the bill.

CONCEALED CARRY GROUP'S ONLINE GUN-TRAINING EVENT TO FOCUS ON PROTECTING PLACES OF WORSHIP 

The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill last year, but it never made it out of the Legislature, according to Al.com.

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There have been more than a dozen fatal shootings at places of worship around the country since 2012, including November 2017 when Devin Kelley opened fire at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, killing 26 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Floods kill at least 18 in southern Iran, after deluge in north

Damaged vehicles are seen after a flash flooding In Shiraz
Damaged vehicles are seen after a flash flooding In Shiraz, Iran, March 25, 2019. Tasnim News Agency/Handout via REUTERS

March 25, 2019

By Parisa Hafezi

DUBAI (Reuters) – At least 18 people were killed and around 100 others were wounded in flash floods in Iran’s southern province of Fars, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, following devastating floods in the north.

State TV said several provinces were also on high alert for more imminent flooding because of heavy rain. The meteorology department warned people about rain forecast for the coming days, state radio reported, urging them to avoid any trips.

As the victims of the northern Iran flood struggled with the water and mud, President Hassan Rouhani’s hardline rivals have criticized his government for doing too little, too late.

Iran’s hardline judiciary said on Sunday the government’s handling of the disaster was being investigated, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.

“Any shortcomings regarding the handling of the floods, failure to provide relief and aid to the survivors will be investigated,” it quoted judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi as saying.

Hardline cleric Raisi lost the 2017 presidential election, when Rouhani was re-elected.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday that Rouhani has returned to Tehran from Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Gulf, where he had been spending the Iranian new year holiday.

He was criticized by Iranians on social media for being in the south when flooding was hitting the north of the country.

In a rare move, Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on the armed forces to help the flood-hit northern provinces.

Iran’s hardline media have accused the government reacting too slowly to the floods, while highlighting aid work by the Revolutionary Guards – a rival power center in Iran’s faction-ridden political establishment.

Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri fired the governor of Golestan province, according to Tasnim, for not cutting short his trip abroad during the floods.

The spread of flooding to the south follows days of floods that affected more than 56,000 people living in 270 villages and small towns in the northern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran, on the Caspian Sea, since March 19, TV reported.

In Shiraz, in the south, Tasnim quoted the head of Iran’s emergency medical services, Pirhossein Kolivand, as saying 18 people had been killing, including four children. Some 94 were injured in the city in Fars province.

TV aired footage of cars caught in flood waters in Shiraz. Iran’s Students News Agency ISNA said high water had damaged thousands of houses in Shiraz and other towns.

“We all are going to die. Pray for us. We are all going to die. Mother, we all are going to die,” said a woman in a bus caught in the floods in Shiraz, according to a video posted on Twitter.

Fars Governor Enayatollah Rahimi told state TV the flooding was under control and rescue and aid workers had been dispatched to the flood-hit areas.

Kolivand later said one other person was also killed in Sarpol-e Zahab in the western province of Kermanshah.

Authorities also have warned about possibility of floods in the capital, Tehran, as well as in the oil-rich southern province of Khuzestan in the next 48 hours.

(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: OANN

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An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, Britain December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

April 26, 2019

LONDON, April 26 – British factories stockpiled raw materials and goods ahead of Brexit at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they were increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey of the manufacturing industry showed expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.

The record pace of stockpiling recorded by the CBI was mirrored by the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index published earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)

Source: OANN

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo

April 26, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Fewer than half of Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as concerns over rising costs and racial matters plague his administration nearly a year after taking office.

The survey, conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center, showed that only 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a stunning election victory in May 2018, ending the previous government’s more than 60-year rule.

But his administration has since been criticized for failing to deliver on promised reforms and protecting the rights of majority ethnic Malay Muslims.

Of 1,204 survey respondents, 46 percent felt that the “country was headed in the wrong direction”, up from 24 percent in August 2018, the Merdeka Center said in a statement. Just 39 percent said they approved of the ruling government.

High living costs remained the top most concern among Malaysians, with just 40 percent satisfied with the government’s management of the economy, the survey showed.

It also showed mixed responses to Pakatan Harapan’s proposed reforms.

Some 69 percent opposed plans to abolish the death penalty, while respondents were sharply divided over proposals to lower the minimum voting age to 18, or to implement a sugar tax.

“In our opinion, the results appear to indicate a public that favors the status quo, and thus requires a robust and coordinated advocacy efforts in order to garner their acceptance of new measures,” Merdeka Center said.

The survey also found 23 percent of Malaysians were concerned over ethnic and religious matters.

Some groups representing Malays have expressed fear that affirmative-action policies favoring them in business, education and housing could be taken away and criticized the appointments of non-Muslims to key government posts.

Last November, the government reversed its pledge to ratify a UN convention against racial discrimination, after a backlash from Malay groups.

Earlier this month, Pakatan Harapan suffered its third successive loss in local elections since taking power, which has been seen as a further sign of waning public support.

Despite the decline, most Malaysians – 67 percent – agreed that Mahathir’s government should be given more time to fulfill its election promises, Merdeka Center said.

This included a majority of Malay voters who were largely more critical of the new administration, it added.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 26, 2019

By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh

(Reuters) – European shares slipped on Friday after losses in heavyweight banks and Glencore outweighed gains in healthcare and auto stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic data for the first quarter.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0935 GMT, eyeing a modest loss at the end of a holiday-shortened week. Banks-heavy Italian and Spanish indices were laggards.

The banking index fell for a fourth day, at the end of a heavy earnings week for lenders.

Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled after posting lower first quarter profit, hurt by intensifying competition and Brexit uncertainty, while its investment bank also registered poor returns.

Weakness in investment banking also dented Deutsche Bank’s quarterly trading revenue and sent its shares lower a day after the German bank abandoned merger talks with smaller rival Commerzbank.

“The current interest rate environment makes it challenging for banks to make proper earnings because of their intermediary function,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist eurozone, at Rabobank.

Since the start of April, all country indexes were on pace to rise between 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent, their fourth month of gains, while Germany was strongly outperforming with 6 percent growth.

“For now the current sentiment is very cautious as markets wait for the first estimates of the U.S. GDP growth which could see a surprise,” Mevissen said.

U.S. economic data for the first-quarter is due at 1230 GMT. Growth worries outside the United States resurfaced this week after South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted at the start of the year and weak German business sentiment data for April also disappointed.

Among the biggest drags on the benchmark index in Europe were the basic resources sector and the oil and gas sector, weighed down by Britain’s Glencore and France’s Total, respectively.

Glencore dropped after reports that U.S authorities were investigating whether the company and its subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the commodity exchange act.

Energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs.

Chip stocks in the region including Siltronic, Ams and STMicroelectronics lost more than 1 percent after Intel Corp reduced its full-year revenue forecast, adding to concerns that an industry-wide slowdown could persist until the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, healthcare, which is also seen as a defensive sector, was a bright spot. It was helped by French drugmaker Sanofi after it returned to growth with higher profits and revenues for the first-quarter.

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES led media stocks higher after it maintained its full-year outlook on the back of the company’s Networks division.

Automakers in the region rose 0.4 percent, led by Valeo’s 6 percent jump as the French parts maker said its performance would improve in the second half of the year.

Continental AG advanced after it backed its outlook for the year despite reporting a fall in first-quarter earnings.

Renault rose more than 3 percent as it clung to full-year targets and pursues merger talks with its Japanese partner Nissan.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: OANN

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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 26, 2019

By Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan

(Reuters) – The “i word” – impeachment – is swirling around the U.S. Congress since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted Russia report, which painted a picture of lies, threats and confusion in Donald Trump’s White House.

Some Democrats say trying to remove Trump from office would be a waste of time because his fellow Republicans still have majority control of the Senate. Other Democrats argue they have a moral obligation at least to try to impeach, even though Mueller did not charge Trump with conspiring with Russia in the 2016 U.S. election or with obstruction of justice.

Whether or not the Democrats decide to go down this risky path, here is how the impeachment process works.

WHAT ARE GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT?

The U.S. Constitution says the president can be removed from office by Congress for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Exactly what that means is unclear.

Before he became president in 1974, replacing Republican Richard Nixon who resigned over the Watergate scandal, Gerald Ford said: “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”

Frank Bowman, a University of Missouri law professor and author of a forthcoming book on the history of impeachment, said Congress could look beyond criminal laws in defining “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings.

HOW DOES IMPEACHMENT PLAY OUT?

The term impeachment is often interpreted as simply removing a president from office, but that is not strictly accurate.

Impeachment technically refers to the 435-member House of Representatives approving formal charges against a president.

The House effectively acts as accuser – voting on whether to bring specific charges. An impeachment resolution, known as “articles of impeachment,” is like an indictment in a criminal case. A simple majority vote is needed in the House to impeach.

The Senate then conducts a trial. House members act as the prosecutors, with senators as the jurors. The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides over the trial. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president from office.

No president has ever been removed from office as a direct result of an impeachment and conviction by Congress.

Nixon quit in 1974 rather than face impeachment. Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were impeached by the House, but both stayed in office after the Senate acquitted them.

Obstruction of justice was one charge against Clinton, who faced allegations of lying under oath about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Obstruction was also included in the articles of impeachment against Nixon.

CAN THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURN?

No.

Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if Democrats tried to impeach him. But America’s founders explicitly rejected making a Senate conviction appealable to the federal judiciary, Bowman said.

“They quite plainly decided this is a political process and it is ultimately a political judgment,” Bowman said.

“So when Trump suggests there is any judicial remedy for impeachment, he is just wrong.”

PROOF OF WRONGDOING?

In a typical criminal court case, jurors are told to convict only if there is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” a fairly stringent standard.

Impeachment proceedings are different. The House and Senate “can decide on whatever burden of proof they want,” Bowman said. “There is no agreement on what the burden should be.”

PARTY BREAKDOWN IN CONGRESS?

Right now, there are 235 Democrats, 197 Republicans and three vacancies in the House. As a result, the Democratic majority could vote to impeach Trump without any Republican votes.

In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach Clinton, a Democrat.

The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would requires 67 votes. So that means for Trump to be impeached, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him.

WHO BECOMES PRESIDENT IF TRUMP IS REMOVED?

A Senate conviction removing Trump from office would elevate Vice President Mike Pence to the presidency to fill out Trump’s term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2021.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)

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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes
FILE PHOTO: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s lawyers on Friday are set to ask a Florida judge to toss out hidden-camera videos that prosecutors say show the 77-year-old billionaire receiving sexual favors for money inside a Florida massage parlor.

The owner of the reigning Super Bowl champions plans wants the video to not be used as evidence against him as he contests two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Spa in Jupiter, Florida, along with some two dozen other men.

His legal team is fresh off a win on Tuesday, when they successfully persuaded Palm Beach County Judge Leonard Hanser to block prosecutors from releasing the hidden-camera footage to media outlets, which had requested copies under the state’s robust open records law.

Kraft, who has owned the franchise since 1994, pleaded not guilty, but has issued a public apology for his actions.

His attorneys have argued in court papers that the surreptitious videotaping of customers, including Kraft, inside a massage parlor was governmental overreach and the result of an illegally obtained search warrant.

The warrant, Kraft’s lawyers claim, was secured under false pretenses because police officers cited human trafficking as a potential crime in their application. Prosecutors have since acknowledged that the investigation yielded no evidence of trafficking.

Palm Beach County prosecutors in a court filing on Wednesday said Kraft’s motion should be rejected because he could not have had any expectation of privacy while visiting a commercial establishment to engage in criminal activity.

That prompted an indignant response from Kraft’s attorneys, who said the prosecution’s position on privacy was “unhinged.”

“It should go without saying that Mr. Kraft and everyone else in the United States have a reasonable expectation that the government will not secretly spy on them while they undress behind closed doors,” they wrote.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax, editing by G Crosse)

Source: OANN

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