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A Rough Week for Socialism

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Socialist politicians have been getting a lot of attention lately but the good news is they haven’t been getting much done. Last week a major legislative setback for socialism in Washington was followed by a remarkable vote of confidence in American capitalism by investors at home and abroad.

Few pieces of legislation have enjoyed as much buzz as the Green New Deal from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey. So grand are its socialist ambitions that converting the entire U.S. health care system to government management is just one part of an economic overhaul estimated to cost as much as $94 trillion over 10 years.

But putting the Green New Deal to a vote on the Senate floor turned out to be a buzzkill for socialists. Not a single senator voted for it, all Republicans voted against, and the GOP was joined in opposition by Democrats Doug Jones of Alabama, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, along with Maine independent Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats. All the Senate Democrats running for president voted “present” even though they had all signed their names as co-sponsors of the Green New Deal.

While socialist economics was getting whacked in Washington, outside the Beltway capitalists were preparing for what could be a historic year for the creation of publicly traded corporations. On Thursday the money-losing ride-hailing service Lyft responded to huge investor demand by increasing the price of shares in its initial public offering. Despite being a distant second to Uber in the young industry of connecting riders with drivers, Lyft raised its IPO price to $72 per share and a total valuation of more than $23 billion and traded up from there.  

Capitalists like to talk about animal spirits in a healthy market -- the instinct to take risks and seize opportunities in an open and competitive economy. The animal spirits in this space have been so spirited and excited about the possibilities of ride-hailing and driverless cars that they’ve been pouring billions into Lyft and Uber despite years of losses. Now the capitalists who invest in U.S. stocks are showing that same spirit, and not just for young tech stars. Iconic jeans maker Levi Strauss & Co. went public last week for the second time in its 166-year history and its shares have been trading more than 30% above the offering price.    

Expect Uber to also go public soon, with a valuation that may exceed $120 billion. The ride-hailing giant could be followed quickly into the public markets by other “unicorns” -- start-ups valued above $1 billion. Workplace messaging app Slack, home rental platform Airbnb, Elon Musk’s rocket company Space X, stationary bike and related media seller Peloton and photo-sharing app Pinterest are also likely 2019 IPO candidates.

Buyers should be careful because the rush to sell shares to the public may reflect in part a belief among early private investors that markets are frothy and the economy is in the later stages of a recovery. But the increasing desire of private companies to go public is also a welcome sign of a robust economy that has driven markets higher as well as policy changes focused on allowing everyday investors to own America’s most innovative companies.

Neil Dhar, a partner at accounting giant PwC, tells me that “we’re living in a bit more of a deregulated environment.” He expects a surge of IPO activity over the next several months.

Make no mistake, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists deserve the credit for creating new businesses. But when it comes to a more welcoming environment for companies considering going public, both President Trump and former President Obama helped build this.

Trump tax cuts and deregulation have driven economic growth and stock market valuations higher, enticing start-ups to sell shares to the public. Meanwhile, Trump’s Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Jay Clayton, has been seeking to maximize the benefits of  Obama’s 2012 JOBS Act, which sought to make it easier for young companies to prepare for a public offering and test investor appetite before having to make wholesale public disclosures.

A surge of new public companies would represent a big change. Backed by abundant venture capital and free of the regulatory hassles imposed on public companies, start-ups in recent years have often chosen to remain private -- even as their revenues and valuations soared. The result is a smaller menu of companies for retail investors to consider. Clayton noted last year that exchange-listed operating companies in the U.S. numbered fewer than 4,500, down about 40% from the 7,400 that were listed at the end of 1998. This means fewer options for mom-and-pop investors.

But this year should mark a sharp departure from this trend following an encouraging 2018. Renaissance Capital reports that last year the IPO market hit a four-year high with 191 IPOs and $47 billion in proceeds. 2019 should be much bigger.

A great year for new companies will require calm or rising markets, a tall order given slowing global growth and continued uncertainty about trade and interest rates. But individual investors who enjoy using apps created by companies like Uber and Pinterest should soon be able to own them, too. Just like the institutional players, individuals still want to back young and innovative companies with the potential to change the world. This is no guarantee of great returns, but opportunities that have only been available to the wealthy are becoming options for the average investor. And this could mean a lot of bad days ahead for capitalism’s critics. Could socialists get sick of losing?

Maria Bartiromo is anchor of "Mornings with Maria" on Fox Business Network and "Sunday Morning Futures" on Fox News Channel. @mariabartiromo on Twitter

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Homeless man pleads guilty to state charge in GoFundMe plot

A homeless man pleaded guilty Friday to a state charge in a GoFundMe scheme that prosecutors say brought in $400,000 with a made-up story about him aiding a stranded driver.

Thirty-six-year-old Johnny Bobbitt, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty Friday in New Jersey Superior Court to conspiracy to commit theft by deception.

He faces five years of probation and was entered into the state's drug court program for nonviolent offenders.

He had pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries up to 10 years.

Bobbitt conspired with 28-year-old Katelyn McClure, of Bordentown, New Jersey, and her then-boyfriend 39-year-old Mark D'Amico, of Florence, according to prosecutors. Authorities say they made up a story in 2017 about Bobbitt giving McClure $20 for gas when she was stranded along a Philadelphia highway.

The online campaign raised more than $400,000 from 14,000 donors, made international headlines and led to media appearances by the trio. But the feel-good-story was based on a lie, prosecutors said.

The couple claimed the cash would be donated to Bobbitt, but New Jersey authorities said the three split the money and spent lavishly, including on a BMW, designer bags, and trips to Las Vegas and elsewhere. GoFundMe has said it has refunded the donations.

Their relationship soured when Bobbitt sued the couple over what he said was their failure to turn money over to him.

New Jersey prosecutors said the suit led them to start an investigation.

McClure pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud this week. She and D'Amico face state charges, as well.

D'Amico has denied wrongdoing.

Source: Fox News National

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‘Daddy won,’ Alec Baldwin’s Trump boasts in first ‘SNL’ since end of Mueller probe

“Saturday Night Live” built the cold open of its newest episode around the report that Special Counsel Robert Mueller recently submitted following his two-year-long Russia investigation. Alec Baldwin returned to play President Trump alongside Robert De Niro as Mueller.

The sketch showed Mueller reading the almost 400-page report, Attorney General William Barr, played by Aidy Bryant, summarizing it and Trump live-tweeting his reactions.

“I am reading zero pages,” Baldwin’s Trump said. “But Sean Hannity has read it and he’s so excited, he texted me an eggplant.”

DONALD TRUMP SLAMS 'SNL' AFTER RERUN EPISODE, FLOATS THE IDEA OF AN FCC INVESTIGATION INTO THE SHOW

“On the charge of obstruction of justice, we have not drawn a definitive conclusion,” De Niro's Mueller said, to which Bryant's Barr replied, “But I have, and my conclusion is Trump clean as a whistle.”

“Free at last, free at last!” Baldwin as Trump said. “Russia, if you’re watching, go to bed. Daddy won.”

As for allegations of Trump-Russia collusion, De Nrio as Mueller said there were “several questionable instances” and noted that 37 people were indicted during his investigation.

“The pardons are already in the mail,” Baldwin’s Trump replied.

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Later, Trump said, "If you shoot at the devil, you best not miss.”

"Did somebody say ‘devil'?,” Rudy Giuliani, played by Kate McKinnon, responded, suddenly emerging.

“I guess I was a legal genius the whole time,” Giuliani continued. “And all of my mind games worked. If you want to know what my mind games were, you have to ask the family of goblins who live in my head and holds open my eyes.”

“P.S., can’t wait to see what the Southern District of New York has in store for Trump," Mueller said.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Reports: Braves sign Acuna to eight-year, $100 million extension

FILE PHOTO: MLB: Spring Training-New York Mets at Atlanta Braves
FILE PHOTO: Mar 23, 2019; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (13) hits a solo home run against the New York Mets in the fifth inning at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

April 2, 2019

The Atlanta Braves and 21-year-old outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. have agreed to an eight-year, $100 million contract extension, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.

The deal begins this season and includes a $10 million buyout on two club options worth $17 million each, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. That means Atlanta can potentially keep Acuna for the next 10 seasons (through 2028) at a maximum of $124 million.

Acuna batted .293 with 26 homers, 64 RBIs, 78 runs scored and 16 stolen bases in just 111 games last season as the National League Rookie of the Year.

Through the Braves’ first four games this year, Acuna was 3-for-14 at the plate with one home run and two RBIs.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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The Reasons Behind The Relentless Ideological Onslaught Against Free Markets

I sometimes think that the free market concept is treated like The Hunchback of Notre-Dame’s Quasimodo in the long novel of global economic history.

It is considered ugly and undesirable by most people who judge it at a mere glance without bothering to understand it. It is a bogeyman; a scapegoat for numerous societal problems that it has nothing to do with. In reality, the only time free markets do cause trouble is when they are manipulated or misused by elitists seeking to turn them into something other than free markets. And, even when free markets display their great value and internal beauty, many still prefer other systems that are intrinsically corrupt but flashier on the surface.

There are many reasons behind this persistent attitude. However, they are not coincidental or natural. Human beings actually tend to gravitate toward free markets over and over again in history, and away from centralized government interference and dominance in economic trade. But whenever they do, they get hammered down by the-powers-that-be. In our modern era, establishment elites have chosen to be more subtle (for now) and dissuade people from free markets through disinformation and propaganda.

To break it all down to a simple observation – Whenever disaster strikes economically, free markets are blamed. Whenever something is fixed, even if that fix is a temporary band-aid on a sucking chest wound, government involvement and socialism are applauded.And so the cycle continues until free markets become a pariah with no place in our world and centralization becomes the prevailing answer to everything.

Free market trade is ever present at a local level and always has been. But, those who favor globalism are hell-bent on putting an end to any and all private unregulated commerce forever.


From Sex Cults to public groping, the top levels of the US Government are infested with creeps and perverts. Tom Pappert breaks down how their deviancy runs deeper than you imagine.

Before the increased lockdown in the 20th century, domestic trade in the U.S. was loosely regulated, if at all. The income tax didn’t exist, except for a trial run during the Civil War which was eventually repealed. There was no permanent central bank managed by unaccountable elites arbitrarily dictating interest rates or inflating the economy through asset purchases. Businesses were formed around partnerships which were limited in their scope, and while government grants and aid were afforded to some of these partnerships (as during the construction of the transcontinental railroad), these grants or bonds had an expiration date set for the moment the job was completed. At that point, the partnerships were dissolved and the company heads were expected to pay back the government on the grants given.

This is not to say that corruption in business did not exist pre-20th century; it certainly did. And in most cases this corruption was fueled by collusion between business moguls and government officials. Without the aid of government (the opposite of free markets) such criminal companies and monopolies cannot exist.

The suppression of free markets began in the aftermath of the Civil War and the passage of the 14th Amendment, which was intended to protect the citizenship rights of former slaves, but was instead used as a legal loophole by the elite to establish what we now know as “corporations”.

Corporations are defined by their corporate charter, which is granted by the government, as well as their “corporate personhood” derived from the exploitation of the 14th Amendment. Corporate personhood allowed for limited liability as well as many other government protections. Unlike partnerships, leaders of corporations cannot in many cases be prosecuted criminally and their personal assets are protected if those crimes were executed by “the company”.  There are exceptions in history, but how often do you see corporate CEO’s prosecuted and suffer anything more than a slap on the wrist?

The company can be sued as a “legal person” in civil court, or fined by the government, but in general CEO’s and major shareholders are protected from any consequences, even if they were directly involved in the commission of a crime.

This relationship between government and corporations has become so egregious that today these monopolies receive special legal protections and immunity from some civil lawsuits, aid in the form of taxpayer funded welfare, massive tax cuts which smaller businesses and less connected corporations do not enjoy, and even central bank bailouts which keep them afloat. Major corporations are not allowed to fail, and no one is allowed to compete with them on a level playing field.

This is the exact antithesis to free markets. This is socialism. Yet many socialists point the finger at free market “capitalism” as the source of all our economic problems. This is impossible, because free markets on a level any higher than local trade do not exist today and have not existed for at least a century.

Another often misrepresented part of the free market mythos is that free markets are amoral creations that must be allowed to evolve without any oversight or conscience. This claim is sometimes made by a subset of people who say they are free market activists, but do not understand free markets in the slightest.

A soulless economic model is not what “Wealth of Nations” writer Adam Smith originally envisioned. Smith was a staunch advocate of an inherent moral compass as a guide for society. He was also highly distrustful of elitist philosophy, and saw it as a control mechanism designed to convince the public that their everyday experiences and instinctual judgments were “inadequate”; meaning, people should set aside their voice of conscience and let the system tell them what they should think and do.

What Smith asserted was that while people often act in their own best interest, they will generally do so while still adhering to a universal moral compass. They will seek success through hard work and endeavor (as they should be allowed to do), but the notion that people will naturally destroy everything and everyone around them in the process unless they are heavily governed is a propaganda argument with no basis in reality. This claim persists today and is still the primary argument used against freedom in trade.

There is a group of people that do behave in a destructive way automatically or instinctually when engaging in commerce without regulation, and these people have become a fascination of mine. They are narcissistic sociopaths; the defining characteristic of most financial and political elites.

I have outlined the facts surrounding narcissistic sociopaths in numerous articles, and I recommend readers study these for greater details. To summarize, full blown narcissistic sociopathy is a psychological aberration present in around 1% of any given population from birth. That is to say, in most cases these people are not created by their environment. Many of them come from very balanced and sheltered childhoods. They are born the way they are.

Narcissistic sociopaths are a tiny portion of the population, but lacking any sense of empathy or conscience, they account for a vast percentage of all crimes committed in society. They also gravitate to positions of power and influence from the business world to politics.

Most of the criticisms of Smith’s model for free markets revolve around the crimes of corporations (which are anti-free market) as well as the immoral behavior of narcissistic sociopaths. When one applies the free market idea to normal people, it works. When one applies it to narcissistic sociopaths, it doesn’t. My question is this – Is the best solution to remove free markets for everyone? Or, is the best solution to remove narcissistic sociopaths from positions of power and influence within free markets?

Establishment elites want us to believe that the former solution is the only solution, and with good reason. All centralization starts with economic centralization. Trade is the lifeblood of civilization, and if you can control the mechanisms of trade, you can potentially control an entire nation, or even the entire world. Free markets are a cure for the cancer of corporatism and socialism, and all they require is that people start participating in commerce without the consent or oversight of government. This is a difficult thing to stop when it gets started.

This is why the establishment is so obsessed with converting to a cashless society in which every transaction no matter how small is tracked and vetted. This is why governments are enacting harsher and harsher penalties for anyone doing business without their explicit approval. This is why government taxation and regulation is making small business ventures more difficult. And, it is why law enforcement officers are being encouraged by bureaucrats to write tickets punishing children selling lemonade on street corners. We are being conditioned to avoid attempting free market trade.

The final and most prolific attack on free markets is the use of the “greater enemy” and the “greater good” as props to undermine positive views of free markets. For example, a common argument against free markets relies on the idea that if people are allowed to pursue commerce unregulated, they would devour the Earth’s resources and destroy it in the process. While we have already seen some of the environmental damage done by the corporatocracy and the sociopathic people that control it, most of these crimes go unpunished despite considerable regulation.

How long have companies like Monsanto operated with impunity under the protection of government? Only recently in civil courts has this company finally had to pay for some of its crimes. But will a single Monsanto CEO or major shareholder go to jail for poisoning the ecosystem or giving people cancer? I doubt it.

The claim of the socialists and environmentalists that more government will save us from bad corporate practices is observably not true. Government and corporations work together to protect their fellow narcissistic sociopaths. More government means more corporate and elitist power. There is not a socialist nation on the planet that has not suffered this outcome.

I agree with Adam Smith in the idea that normal citizens will act to pursue success, but also to pursue balance. When given the opportunity to actually function within a true free market, most people are not going to destroy their surrounding environment and resources in some mad dash for gain. Why? Because it is in their self-interest not to. They know that if they abuse the structures around them they will lose their source of commerce. They know that if they ruin the system for others they will be shunned in business. They also know that if they fail in such a spectacular manner and commit criminal sabotage of the free market system they will have to suffer the regret and shame that will follow.

The only factor that this does not apply to are the elites themselves; the narcissistic sociopaths devoid of conscience with whom we now contend for our freedoms. I would suggest that Smith’s free markets, unshackled from centralization and government interference, would function almost perfectly if these people were cut from the equation entirely.

Source: InfoWars

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At Easter mass, Parisians pray for Notre-Dame’s swift restoration

People attend Easter Sunday Mass at Saint-Eustache, days after a massive fire devastated large parts of the structure of the gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral, in Paris
People attend Easter Sunday Mass at Saint-Eustache, days after a massive fire devastated large parts of the structure of the gothic Notre-Dame Cathedral, in Paris, France, April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

April 21, 2019

By Michaela Cabrera and Noémie Olive

PARIS (Reuters) – With no cathedral to go to, hundreds of Parisians gathered for Easter Sunday mass at the smaller Saint-Eustache catholic church on the city’s right bank, and prayed for the swift restoration of Notre-Dame after its devastating fire.

The archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, began the service by drawing a parallel between the planned reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, celebrated every year by Christians at Easter.

“We will rise up again and our cathedral will rise up again,” he told the congregation, which included the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the head of the Paris fire service, General Jean-Claude Gallet.

The mass had originally been scheduled to be held at Notre-Dame, whose spire was destroyed and its roof gutted in Monday’s blaze as rescuers put their lives at risk to salvage the rest of the centuries-old cathedral and its priceless artifacts.

Half way through the mass, Gallet received a minute’s applause from the congregation in tribute to the 400 firefighters who extinguished the blaze, and was then handed a bible that survived the fire.

“We wish to reunite with the faithful, to pray together, hoping that Notre-Dame of Paris is revived as quickly as possible,” said Annie le Bourvellec, a charity worker, as hundreds of worshippers queued outside Saint-Eustache, one of Paris’s biggest churches, ahead of the mass.

Kimon Yiasemiees, a construction litigation expert from Washington D.C., expressed a similar sentiment.

“It is a tragedy, but in any tragedy, you have to look for a hope of renewal,” he said. “And it just shows me that, not only the French people, but people around the world are really in tune to Notre-Dame and to Paris…”

President Emmanuel Macron pledged this week that France would rebuild the cathedral in five years and that the French people would pull together to repair their national symbol.

The destruction of one of the France’s best-loved and visited monuments prompted an outpouring of sorrow and a rush by rich families and corporations to pledge around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for its reconstruction.

(Reporting by Michaela Cabrera and Noemie Olive; Additional reporting and writing by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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MGM Resorts announces 254 layoffs, says more job cuts coming

Las Vegas-based casino company MGM Resorts International has announced a first phase of layoffs in a cost-cutting operational shift as it aims to boost earnings.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the 254 layoffs announced Thursday will cut labor costs by $100 million.

In a letter to employees, CEO Jim Murren calls it streamlining and says more positions will be eliminated in coming weeks.

MGM Resorts in January announced its MGM 2020 plan to boost earnings by $200 million by next year.

It says the current cuts affect managers, not union workers.

The company has about 77,000 employees and is the largest employer in Nevada.

It's under investor pressure to improve earnings after share prices have fallen 12 percent since August.

MGM shares closed Thursday at $27.75, down 14 cents.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: Naqvi Founder and Group Chief Executive of Abraaj Group attends the annual meeting of the WEF in Davos
FILE PHOTO: Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group Chief Executive of Abraaj Group attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Tom Arnold

LONDON (Reuters) – A London court case to extradite Arif Naqvi, founder of collapsed private equity firm Abraaj Group, to the United States on fraud charges was adjourned until May 24, a court official said on Friday.

Naqvi was remanded in custody until that date, the official said. A former managing partner of Dubai-based Abraaj, Sev Vettivetpillai, was released on conditional bail to appear again at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 12, the official said.

Under the U.S. charges, both men are accused of defrauding U.S. investors by inflating positions held by Abraaj in order to attract greater funds from them, causing them financial loss, the official said.

Vettivetpillai could not be reached for a comment.

Naqvi, in a statement released through a PR firm, has pleaded innocent.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that Naqvi and his firm raised money for the Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund, collecting more than $100 million over three years from U.S.-based charitable organizations and other U.S. investors.

Naqvi and Vettivetpillai were arrested in Britain earlier this month. Another executive, Mustafa Abdel-Wadood was arrested at a New York hotel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Griswold said at a hearing in Manhattan federal court on April 11.

Abdel-Wadood appeared at the Manhattan hearing and pleaded not guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges.

(Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: OANN

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Former Vice President Joe Biden announces his 2020 candidacy
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in this still image taken from a video released April 25, 2019. BIDEN CAMPAIGN HANDOUT via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By James Oliphant

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, in his first interview as a Democratic presidential candidate, said on Friday that he does not believe he treated law professor Anita Hill badly during the 1991 confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Biden had joined the burgeoning 2020 Democratic field a day earlier.

Biden’s conduct during those hearings, when he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, became a renewed subject of controversy after the New York Times reported that Biden had called Hill earlier this month in the run-up to his presidential bid and that Hill was dissatisfied with Biden’s expression of regret.

Appearing on ABC’s “The View,” Biden largely defended his actions as a senator almost 30 years ago, saying he believed Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment levied at Thomas and tried to derail his confirmation.

Activists have long been unhappy that Hill was questioned in graphic detail by the all-white, all-male committee chaired by Biden.

“I’m sorry she was treated the way she was treated,” Biden said, but later, he asserted, “I don’t think I treated her badly. … How do you stop people from asking inflammatory questions?”

“There were a lot of mistakes made across the board and for those I apologize,” he said.

Biden praised Hill as “remarkable” and said she is “one of the reasons we have the #MeToo movement.”

Asked why he had not reached out to Hill earlier, Biden said he had previously publicly stated he had regrets about her treatment and that he “didn’t want to quote invade her space.”

That seemed to be a reference to another controversy that looms over Biden’s presidential run: allegations by several women that he made them uncomfortable by touching them at political events.

Biden also addressed that criticism, saying he was now more “cognizant” about a woman’s “private space.” But he maintained that he had been “trying to bring solace.”

He suggested he was still trying to sort out the guidelines for his conduct going forward.

“I should be able to read better,” he said. “I have to be more careful.”

Pressed by the show’s panel for an apology to his accusers, Biden would not entirely capitulate.

“So, I invaded your space,” he replied. “I mean, I’m sorry this happened. But I’m not sorry in a sense that I think I did anything that was intentionally designed to do anything wrong or be inappropriate.”

Biden, 76, served as former President Barack Obama’s vice president for two terms. He is competing with 19 others for the Democratic presidential nomination and the chance to likely face President Donald Trump next year in the general election.

His first public event as a presidential candidate is scheduled for Monday in Pittsburgh.

(Reporting by James Oliphant; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s stock slumped over 4% on Friday to its lowest price in two years, rounding out a rough week that included worse-than-expected quarterly results and a pitch by Chief Executive Elon Musk on autonomous cars that failed to win over investors.

With investors betting Tesla will soon raise capital, the stock has fallen 13% for the week to its lowest level since January 2017, before the launch of the Model 3 sedan aimed at making the electric car maker profitable.

One positive development for Tesla: a U.S. District Court judge on Friday granted a request by Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission for a second extension to resolve a dispute over Musk’s use of Twitter.

On Wednesday, Tesla posted a worse-than-expected loss of $702 million for the March quarter. Musk said Tesla would return to profit in the third quarter and that there was “some merit” to raising capital.

Musk is still battling to convince investors that demand for the Model 3, the company’s first car aimed at the mass consumer market, is “insanely” high, and that it can be delivered efficiently to customers around the world.

Tesla ended its first quarter with $2.2 billion, down from $3.7 billion in the prior quarter, and the company is planning expansions including a Shanghai factory, an upcoming Model Y SUV, and other projects.

(GRAPHIC: Tesla’s cash – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DyJjX6)

On Monday, Musk hosted a self-driving event, where he predicted Tesla would have over a million autonomous vehicles by next year. Some analysts perceived the presentation as a way to deflect attention from questions about demand, margin pressure, increasing competition and even Musk’s ongoing battle with U.S. regulators.

Tesla’s stock has now fallen 29 percent in 2019 and the company’s market capitalization has declined to $41 billion from $63 billion in mid-December.

(GRAPHIC: Tesla’s declining market cap – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dwd62r)

Analysts now expect Tesla’s revenue to expand 19% in 2019, compared with 83% growth in 2018 and 68% growth in 2017, according to Refinitiv.

Following Tesla’s quarterly report, 12 analysts recommend selling the stock, while 11 recommend buying and eight are neutral. The median analyst price target is $275, up 16% from the stock’s current price of $236. Berenberg analyst Alexander Haissl has the most optimistic price target, at $500, while Cowen and Company’s Jeffrey Osborne has the lowest, at $160, according to Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said Friday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s rare public criticism of the Obama administration was a “soft” way of accusing the previous administration of covering up Russia’s attempts at hacking the 2016 presidential election.

While speaking Thursday in New York at the Public Servants Dinner of the Armenian Bar Association, Rosenstein said that the Obama administration “chose not to publicize the full story about Russian computer hackers and social media trolls and how they relate to Russia’s broader strategy to undermine America.”

During an appearance on “America’s Newsroom” Friday morning, Huckabee called the comments an “unusually candid moment for Rosenstein.”

“I thought it was a soft way of him saying there was a cover-up,” Huckabee said. “They knew the Russians were attempting to influence the election and attempting to hack the election but they didn’t fully disclose that to the American people and certainly didn’t disclose it to the Trump campaign.

SWALWELL NOT CERTAIN TRUMP ISN’T A ‘RUSSIAN ASSET’

“Instead they tried to set a trap for them. It failed. The Trump team did not take the bait. And that’s the one conclusion that we can certainly come away with from the $35 million worth of investigation,” Huckabee continued.

Next week, Attorney General William Barr will testify before Congress and is expected to answer questions about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Trump, which found that there was not adequate evidence to conclude that President Trump and his administration colluded with Russia, though the president could not be exonerated in terms of the possibility that he obstructed justice.

Barr will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee next Wednesday and to the House Judiciary Committee the following day.

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

“It is going to be a theater, an absolute show,” Huckabee said of the hearings. “Just like the Kavanaugh hearings were and like everything else is in Congress. We ought to close the curtain on them and can’t come back until after the election. They aren’t doing their job anyway. We aren’t paying them because they’re doing a wonderful service to the country and spare us the hypocrisy of thinking they’re interested in getting to the bottom of the facts,” he continued.

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Ultimately, Huckabee argued, if Americans “took their partisan hats off,” they would see that President Trump was exonerated by the investigation.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Sri Lanka's former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa greets his supporters after his return from the United States, in Katunayake
Sri Lanka’s former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa greets his supporters after his return from the United States, in Katunayake, Sri Lanka April 12, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

April 26, 2019

By Sanjeev Miglani and Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s former wartime defense chief, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said on Friday he would run for president in elections this year and would stop the spread of Islamist extremism by rebuilding the intelligence service and surveilling citizens.

Gotabaya, as he is popularly known, is the younger brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the two led the country to a crushing defeat of separatist Tamil rebels a decade ago after a 26-year civil war.

More than 250 people were killed in bomb attacks on hotels and churches on Easter Sunday that the government has blamed on Islamist militants and that Islamic State has claimed responsibility for.

Gotabaya said the attacks could have been prevented if the island’s current government had not dismantled the intelligence network and extensive surveillance capabilities that he built up during the war and later on.

“Because the government was not prepared, that’s why you see a panic situation,” he said in an interview with Reuters.

Gotabaya said he would be a candidate “100 percent”, firming up months of speculation that he plans to run in the elections, which are due by December.

He was critical of the government’s response to the bombings. Since the attacks, the government has struggled to provide clear information about how they were staged, who was behind them and how serious the threat is from Islamic State to the country.

“Various people are blaming various people, not giving exactly the details as to what happened, even people expect the names, what organization did this, and how they came up to this level, that explanation was not given,” he said.

On Friday, President Maithripala Sirisena said the government led by premier Ranil Wickremesinghe should take responsibility for the attacks and that prior information warning of attacks was not shared with him.

Wickremesinghe said earlier he was not advised about warnings that came from India’s spy service either, presenting a picture of a government still in disarray since the two leaders fell out last October.

Gotabaya is facing lawsuits in the United States, where he is a dual citizen, over his role in the war and afterwards.

The South Africa-based International Truth and Justice Project, in partnership with U.S. law firm Hausfeld, filed a civil case in California this month against Gotabaya on behalf of a Tamil torture survivor.

In a separate case, Ahimsa Wickrematunga, the daughter of murdered investigative editor Lasantha Wickrematunga, filed a complaint for damages in the same U.S. District Court in California for allegedly instigating and authorizing the extrajudicial killing of her father.

Gotabaya said the cases were baseless and only a “little distraction” as he prepared for the election campaign. He said he had asked U.S. authorities to renounce his citizenship and that process was nearly done, clearing the way for his candidature.

‘DISMANTLE THE NETWORKS’

He said that if he won, his immediate focus would to be tackle the threat from radical Islam and to rebuild the security set-up.

“It’s a serious problem, you have to go deep into the groups, dismantle the networks,” he said, adding he would give the military a mandate to collect intelligence from the ground and to mount surveillance of groups turning to extremism.

Gotabaya said that a military intelligence cell he had set up in 2011 of 5,000 people, some of them with Arabic language skills and that was tracking the bent towards extremist ideology some of the Islamist groups were taking in eastern Sri Lanka was disbanded by the current government.

“They did not give priority to national security, there was a mix-up. They were talking about ethnic reconciliation, then they were talking about human rights issues, they were talking about individual freedoms,” he said.

President Sirisena’s government sought to forge reconciliation with minority Tamils and close the wounds of the war and launched investigations into allegations of rights abuse and torture against military officers.

Officials said many of these secret intelligence cells were disbanded because they faced allegations of abuse, including torture and extra judicial killings.

Muslims make up nearly 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 22 million, which is predominantly Buddhist.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Frances Kerry)

Source: OANN

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