Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Maga First News with Peter Boykin

8:00 am 9:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Bernie Sanders’ Campaign Brings in $18.2M in First Quarter

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., hauled in $18.2 million in the first quarter of 2019 for his presidential run, The Hill is reporting.

In just the first 24 hours of his 2020 campaign Sanders had brought in $5.9 million. The Hill noted by the end of the first week, Sanders already had collected $10 million.

The first quarter fundraising was fueled by about 900,000 individual donations, averaging about $20, said Faiz Shakir, campaign manager. The average age of donors was under 39 years old, he said.

Sanders already is expanding his campaign operations in key early-voting states, according to Jeff Weaver, a senior adviser to the candidate.

“These resources are going to allow us to compete on all levels in all of the Super Tuesday states,” Weaver said.

“While we had to in 2016 make choices about where we could compete…this campaign will have the resources and the volunteer grassroots strength to compete in every state in the primary process."

By comparison, South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg said his campaign has brought in over $7 million during the first quarter, while Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., has collected $12 million.

The Hill noted Sanders, Buttigieg and Harris are the only three to announce their first quarter fundraising figures so far.

Source: NewsMax Politics

0 0

Trump announces Kelly Knight Craft as nominee for UN ambassador

President Trump on Friday announced Kelly Knight Craft, the current ambassador to Canada, as his nominee to become the next United States ambassador to the United Nations.

"Kelly has done an outstanding job representing our Nation and I have no doubt that, under her leadership, our Country will be represented at the highest level," Trump tweeted. "Congratulations to Kelly and her entire family!"

If confirmed for the role, Craft would succeed former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who abruptly announced her resignation in October last year.

The president's announcement comes roughly a week after State Department spokewoman Heather Nauert withdrew her name from consideration for the position.

“I am grateful to President Trump and Secretary [Mike] Pompeo for the trust they placed in me for considering me for the position of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations," Nauert said in the statement released by the State Department on Saturday. "However, the past two months have been grueling for my family and therefore it is in the best interest of my family that I withdraw my name from consideration."

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

The Latest: India not looking for escalation with Pakistan

The Latest on escalating India-Pakistan tensions (all times local):

10:40 a.m.

India says it does not wish to see a further escalation of the situation with Pakistan and will continue to act with responsibility and restraint.

This shortly after Pakistani police said mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier in the Himalayan region of Kashmir killed six civilians on Wednesday.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj says the limited objective of Tuesday's pre-emptive strike inside Pakistan was to act decisively against the terrorist Jaish-e-Mohammad group to prevent another attack in India.

Swaraj spoke at the 16th Meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China in Wuzhen, China.

Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a convoy of India's paramilitary forces in the Indian portion of Kashmir on Feb. 14 that killed 40 troops.

Pakistan said there were no casualties in India's airstrike near the town of Balakot on Tuesday.

___

9:55 a.m.

Pakistani police say mortar shells fired by Indian troops from across the frontier in the Himalayan region of Kashmir struck homes, killing six civilians and wounding several others amid increasing tensions between the two South Asian nuclear rivals.

Local police official Mohammad Altaf says six people, including children, were killed Wednesday in Kotli village in Pakistan's part of Kashmir, which is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety.

Pakistani and Indian troops deployed in Kashmir often trade fire.

The latest civilian casualties came a day after tensions escalated sharply following a pre-dawn airstrike by India that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp in northwest Pakistan.

Pakistan says Indian warplanes dropped bombs near the town of Balakot but there were no casualties.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Japan’s Nomura axeing jobs and bank branches to cut costs by $1 billion

Logo of Nomura Holdings is pictured in Tokyo
A logo of Nomura Holdings is pictured in Tokyo, Japan, December 1, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

April 4, 2019

By Takashi Umekawa and Abhinav Ramnarayan

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nomura Holdings will cut $1 billion in costs from its wholesale business and shut more than 30 of 156 domestic retail branches in its latest overhaul, the ailing bank said on Thursday.

Nomura also plans to axe about 100 jobs in London — the center for its European investment banking business — as part of the overhaul, a banking source told Reuters.

The wholesale segment has been dragging on the performance of Japan’s biggest brokerage and investment bank, pushing it to its heaviest quarterly loss in nearly 10 years in the three months to December.

Nomura then put the business, which serves corporations and institutional investors, under review as CEO Koji Nagai focused on reducing reliance on volatile global markets and building up stable revenue flows.

The target of cutting $1 billion in costs will be achieved over the “medium term”, with 60 percent completed by the end of the financial year to March 2020, Nomura’s joint COO Kentaro Okuda said in an investor day presentation.

The cost reduction will result in revenue gains between $300 million and $400 million, with the ultimate target of building a wholesale platform that delivers consistent pretax income of $1 billion, he said without giving a timeframe for that goal.

The segment swung to a pretax loss of 95.9 billion yen ($861 million) in the third quarter, versus a 14 billion yen profit a year earlier.

Nomura’s wholesale business has been squeezed by lower trading revenue in fixed income and what the bank described on Thursday as rigid indirect costs, adding that revenue for the business fell 24 percent to $4.9 billion in the past financial year.

The bank said it would “de-emphasize” all operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa while sharpening its focus in Asia, excluding Japan, and the Americas, where it aims to increase business with corporate clients.

CORPORATE FOCUS

The planned London job cuts represent part of this push, the banking source said, declining to be named.

The source, who has knowledge of Nomura’s business strategy, said the investment bank will also focus more on the corporate business rather than rates. It will also shift focus from bond trading to the primary market managing bond sales for borrowers.

Nomura will look to maintain all of its existing relationships regardless of the job losses, he added. The bank is a primary dealer for a number of European government bond issuers.

When asked about how many jobs will be cut as part of the global overhaul, Nomura CEO Nagai declined to comment.

A document seen by Reuters shows that Nomura would look for a 50 percent cost reduction in its trading business in Europe, Middle East and Africa while also aiming to digitize its systems.

The plans include pursuing “strategic growth opportunities” in China, where the bank last week received regulatory approval to set up a majority-owned brokerage joint venture.

For the year ended in March, analysts expect the company to post its first annual loss since 2009, Refinitiv data shows, hurt also by a steep drop in profit at its retail business.

Japanese banks have been accelerating cost-cutting by shutting down domestic branches as they grapple with ultra-low interest rates and a declining population at home.

Nomura’s plans to pare its retail footprint at home comes after rival Mizuho Financial Group last month said that it would book about 500 billion yen of impairment losses on fixed assets, including costs from closing branches at home and software-related expenses.

(Reporting by Takashi Umekawa in Tokyo and Abhinav Ramnarayan in London; Additional reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in Hong Kong; Editing by Himani Sarkar and David Goodman)

Source: OANN

0 0

Cut Britain some slack, says Ireland’s Varadkar

PM (Taoiseach) of Ireland Varadkar waits for President of European Council Tusk in Dublin
FILE PHOTO: Prime Minister (Taoiseach) of Ireland Leo Varadkar waits to meet with President of the European Council Donald Tusk in Dublin, Ireland March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

March 21, 2019

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Britain must give a reason if it wants to delay its departure from the European Union, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said ahead of a summit of European leaders on Thursday, adding that Britain needed flexibility given the “chaos” in London.

Varadkar said that nobody in the EU wanted Britain to leave the European Union without a deal, and that there was openness to an extension.

“The situation in London is somewhat chaotic at the moment,” he added. “We need to cut the entire British establishment a little bit of slack on this and support their request … for a short extension. No deal will only ever be a British choice.”

(Reporting by Robin Emmott and Alastair Macdonald, writing by Thomas Escritt, editing by Alissa de Carbonnel)

Source: OANN

0 0

Biden makes it all about Trump


**Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.**

On the roster: Biden makes it all about Trump - I’ll Tell You What: Yawp or yawn - Buttigieg crowding out Beto - Senate majority may come down to Colorado - Watch parrot

BIDEN MAKES IT ALL ABOUT TRUMP 
Fox News: “Former Vice President Joe Biden, in an online video Thursday, officially declared his candidacy for president in 2020, capping off weeks of intrigue and media speculation. He enters a crowded field of Democratic contenders aiming to unseat President Trump -- nearly 32 years after he announced his first campaign for president. The campaign is Biden’s third for the White House, having also unsuccessfully run in 1988 and 2008. ‘The core values of this nation, our standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that has made America -- America -- is at stake. That’s why today I’m announcing my candidacy for president of the United States,’ Biden tweeted early Thursday. With the announcement, which followed months of deliberations, Biden becomes a front-runner in an incredibly crowded field of Democratic presidential contenders all vying to face off next year against Trump. … Biden is expected to follow up the announcement with his first high-dollar fundraiser in the Philadelphia home of Comcast executive David Cohen Thursday evening and appear at a local union hall in Pittsburgh on Monday.”

No easy task - FiveThirtyEight: “…Biden’s path to the nomination is [not] easy. Not by a long shot. … Arguably, in fact, media elites have the same blind spots for Biden that they had for Trump. … [T]here’s a gap between where [BernieSanders is polling and where Biden is, and empirically, it’s a relevant one. Based on historical data, we estimate that candidates with high name recognition who are polling at 20 percent (Sanders) in early national polls can expect to win their nominations about 15 percent of the time, other factors held equal. But candidates who are polling at 28 percent (Biden) win their nominations something more like 35 percent of the time, or roughly twice as often. It’s also possible that Biden will get a bounce in his polls after his announcement, as Sanders did and as Kamala Harris did and as Beto O’Rourke sorta did.”

Biden tells donors he needs big bucks on day one - Politico: “On the eve of announcing his presidential bid, former Vice President Joe Biden raised the alarm about fundraising in a Wednesday conference call with top donors and supporters. ‘The money’s important. We’re going to be judged by what we can do in the first 24 hours, the first week,’ Biden told the group, according to one participant, whose recollections of the quotes were confirmed by two others on the call. ‘People think Iowa and New Hampshire are the first test,’ Biden said. ‘It’s not. The first 24 hours. That’s the first test. Those [early states] are way down the road. We’ve got to get through this first.’ Biden — noting that ‘I hate to do this’ in discussing the fundraising — said he would be flying around the country for fundraisers with the participants but urged them to do what they can as soon as possible.”

Ocasio-Cortez allies attack ‘out-of-touch’ Biden - Fox News: “A progressive political group that boosted New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's bid for Congress last year vowed to oppose former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, blasting him as part of the ‘old guard’ and accusing him of standing in opposition to the ‘center of energy’ in the Democratic Party. ‘While we're going to support the Democratic nominee, we can't let a so-called ‘centrist’ like Joe Biden divide the Democratic Party and turn it into the party of ‘No, we can’t,’’ the group Justice Democrats said Thursday. … The group added: ‘Joe Biden stands in near complete opposition to where the center of energy is in the Democratic Party today.’”

Cindy McCain denies Biden endorsement report - Fox News: “Cindy McCain, the widow of late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., responded to the reports that her family will endorse former Vice President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. McCain tweeted Wednesday: ‘Joe Biden is a wonderful man and dear friend of the McCain Family. However, I have no intention of getting involved in presidential politics.’ Her daughter, ‘The View’ host Meghan McCain retweeted the remarks. … McCain’s comment comes after a report in the Washington Examiner that said the McCain family would support Biden. The report cited sources close to the family.”

THE RULEBOOK: DIFFERENT COURSES FOR DIFFERENT HORSES
“It will not be alleged, that an election law could have been framed and inserted in the Constitution, which would have been always applicable to every probable change in the situation of the country; and it will therefore not be denied, that a discretionary power over elections ought to exist somewhere.” – Alexander HamiltonFederalist No. 59

TIME OUT: DRAFTING THE FUTURE 
Nat Geo: “Although his paintings are far better known, Leonardo [da Vinci’s] wealth of manuscripts and drawings lay bare the inner workings of his genius. His fertile mind … is evoked on every one of the 7,000 sheets preserved… As the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death is commemorated this year, the artist’s notebooks are experiencing a renaissance of their own. Museums are mounting exhibitions of his sketches, and scholars are publishing new analyses, delving ever deeper into the full spectrum of his creations. Most remarkably, pages from Leonardo’s notebooks are finding their way into the hands of experts in the very fields Leonardo studied, from medicine and mechanical engineering to music. Reaching back centuries, they’re reaping fresh insights, probing Leonardo’s work to inform their own. Even as science, medicine, and technology have pushed past the boundaries of what we can do and how we can do it, Leonardo’s notebooks reveal how much we still have to learn.”

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

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval:
 42.8 percent
Average disapproval: 52 percent
Net Score: -9.2 points
Change from one week ago: no change 
[Average includes: Fox News: 45% approve - 51% disapprove; Monmouth University: 40% approve - 54% disapprove; Gallup: 45% approve - 51% disapprove; GU Politics/Battleground: 43% approve - 52% disapprove; IBD: 41% approve - 52% disapprove.]

I’LL TELL YOU WHAT: YAWP OR YAWN
This week, Dana Perino and Chris Stirewalt discuss the growing 2020 Democratic field, who cries more between the two of them and Dana talks sports. Plus, Dana answers thoughtful mailbag questions and see how Chris does with trivia. LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE HERE

BUTTIGIEG CROWDING OUT BETO 
NYT:  “In a Democratic race filled with voters who say they are hungering for a next-generation candidate, the contest between Mr. [Beto] O’Rourke, 46, and Mr. [Pete] Buttigieg, 37, is emerging as something of a parallel primary, with many voters attending events for both of them and, in some cases, agonizing over which one to support. … But it is unlikely that as the nominating contest moves past the early-voting states next year, there will be room for two white men under 50 who present themselves as mainstream progressives. Both men are fresh faces in a party that often covets newness, and each is difficult to pin down on policy, hailing from neither the establishment nor the insurgent wing and centering their appeal in biography as much as ideology. … The first votes are still more than nine months away, and Mr. O’Rourke has ample opportunity to regain momentum. But even some of the attendees at his events who were clad in Beto gear said they were unsure how to choose between him and Mr. Buttigieg.”

Mayor Pete’s secret weapon - Vanity Fair: “Buttiegieg’s sexual orientation is not a central theme of his campaign message, but it doesn’t need to be for prominent L.G.B.T. donors who have grown accustomed to supporting candidates who are friendly on their issues, but never one their own. … But before Buttigieg could even think about catching fire, he had to find a way to pay for a staff, travel, and digital advertising. He initially followed [HowardDean’s counsel, cracking open wallets in L.G.B.T. donor networks even if he was unable to lock down full-blown commitments from major bundlers. … It worked… Many L.G.B.T. donors who gave early to multiple candidates are now either firmly in Buttigieg’s corner or lining up to host big money events for his campaign. … In May, Buttigieg will attend a fundraising event in the Washington area hosted by lobbyist Steve Elmendorf, a top Hillary Clinton bundler who recently told CNBC that he’s fully in Buttigieg’s corner in the 2020 race.”

Beto hires big Iowa staff - Des Moines Register: “Beto O'Rourke has hired 16 people in Iowa as he works to catch up to the organizing pace set by many of the other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. O'Rourke entered the race later than many of his competitors, announcing in mid-March that he would run for president. By that time, many others had made key hires, opened field offices and dispatched volunteers and organizers across the state. ‘There’s no question that getting into the race a little bit later puts us a little bit behind in the organizing effort,’ said Norm Sterzenbach, who will lead O'Rourke's Iowa efforts as state director. ‘So we definitely are making a conscious effort to get a good, expansive team in place as quickly as possible.’”

Booker's tax returns show lucrative speaking gigs, royalties - Fox News: “Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker’s tax returns show most of his wealth stems from lucrative speaking engagements and royalties. Booker, the 2020 candidate who has yet to make a splash in the crowded Democratic field, released 10 years of tax returns on Wednesday after numerous other candidates released their records in recent weeks. The New Jersey senator reported income of $152,715 in 2018 for his salary, $22,781 in taxes which amounts to an effective tax rate of 15 percent, significantly lower than Sen. Kamala Harris’ 37 percent or Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 26 percent. Most of Booker’s wealth comes public speaking fees and royalties, including $2 million in speaking fees between 2009 and 2014, nearly $1 million in royalties from 2015 to 2017 after the release of his book, ‘United.’”

Dems focus on new voting bloc: Renters - NYT: “Renters hold little sway in Washington. They vote at lower rates than homeowners. … And their problems, if anyone considers them at all, are typically waved off as problems for local government. It’s striking, then, that several Democratic candidates for president are now approaching renters in a way they’ve seldom been treated before — as a voting bloc. Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, senators from some of the most expensive housing markets in the country, have proposed substantial bills to alleviate the housing crisis. They’re not talking in gauzy terms about homeownership, the rare housing topic that usually gets a nod. They see unsustainable, raw-deal, skyrocketing rents, and they’re not hesitant to sermonize about it.”

SENATE MAJORITY MAY COME DOWN TO COLORADO 
FiveThirtyEight: “Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner is arguably the most endangered Republican senator running for re-election in 2020. He is one of two GOP senators defending seats in states that lean Democratic and only narrowly won his race in 2014. Gardner could also face stiff competition — more than 10 Democratic challengers have already stepped forward for the opportunity to take him on. … Ideologically-speaking, Gardner has occupied the middle lane of his party, which is good for a Republican running in a state that leans blue. But in the Senate, Gardner has voted in line with President Trump’s position more often than Colorado’s 2016 presidential result would suggest. This could be a problem for him in 2020, considering Gardner’s narrow victory in 2014 and that the Democratic nominee for president has won Colorado three times in a row. … Regardless of who faces off in the general election, the Colorado race will most likely be crucial to deciding which party wins a Senate majority.”

Heitkamp, Donnelly pair up to help 2020 candidates - Axios: “Former Democratic Sens. Heidi Heitkamp and Joe Donnelly, who both lost their 2018 re-election races in North Dakota and Indiana, respectively, are launching the One Country Project to help their party win back rural voters ahead of the 2020 cycle. Why it matters: Their team looked at rural votes by county and state from 2000 to 2018 and found that if Democrats don't break their performance with rural voters, they're projected to once again win the popular vote but lose the Electoral College in 2020. Their focus is primarily on Democratic Senate races and the presidential election, but they eventually want to work with races up and down the ballot in these rural areas. Heitkamp and Donnelly will work with campaigns before the election, giving them messaging, data, polling, and a strategy to break through with these voters who ‘didn’t feel that we shared their beliefs’ in past elections, Donnelly told Axios in an interview.”

THE JUDGE’S RULING: ON OBSTRUCTION, BARR IS WRONG
This week Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano explains obstruction of justice: “The essence of obstruction is deception or diversion -- to prevent the government from finding the truth. To Mueller, the issue was not if Trump committed crimes of obstruction. Rather, it was if Trump could be charged successfully with those crimes. Mueller knew that Barr would block an indictment of Trump because Barr has a personal view of obstruction at odds with the statute itself. Barr's view requires that the obstructer has done his obstructing in order to impede the investigation or prosecution of a crime that the obstructer himself has committed. … So, the dilemma for House Democrats now is whether to utilize Mueller's evidence of obstruction for impeachment. They know from history that impeachment only succeeds if there is a broad, national, bipartisan consensus behind it, no matter the weight of the evidence or presence of sophisticated legal theories.” More here.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Pergram: How Congress could be facing not one, but two shutdowns - Fox News

Barr to testify to Senate on Mueller report next week - National Review

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has homes and City Hall office raided by feds Fox News

AUDIBLE: CASHING IN  
“I’ve been raising money since 1977. And I’ve never had anybody complain about not getting an invitation to a fundraiser. That shows you the depth of enthusiasm, the depth of relationships that the vice president has built over the years.” – Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell talking to the Daily Beast about the clamor for invitations to Joe Biden’s first fundraiser.

FROM THE BLEACHERS
“You mentioned Ms. Harris might think about the difference between leadership and popularity next time she is onstage w/ hard questions coming her way. I would have to agree. I think it might be interesting if you and Brianna came up with the Ten Traits of Effective Presidential Leadership and then figure out how to pose a question to each candidate, early on, as to how he/she intends to demonstrate those Traits if elected. What say youse all (used to live in MI…diction from the Land of Yoopers)?” – Rick Schuknecht, Bradenton, Fla.

[Ed. note: I like it, Mr. Schuknecht! This is also something I will talk about with Dana Perino on “I’ll Tell You What.”]

“Chris, Which do you think would be more helpful for a potential voter to pick a President, review of the tax returns or have them produce a list of their potential cabinet positions?  It seems to me, that electing a president is a lot like getting married, you don't just marry the bride you also marry the whole family. You keep writing and I will keep reading.” – Michael Strader, Toccoa, Ga.

[Ed. note: I think your point about cabinet members is an excellent one, Mr. Strader. It would present a challenge in terms of actually assembling the cabinet since it’s different to be asked to accept an actual spot versus a hypothetical one from a candidate. But even just choosing, say, a secretary of state and an attorney general could go a long way. Those things, though, are very different than the question of tax returns. Presidential candidates release their tax returns to demonstrate that they are not corrupt – that the money they have earned was lawful and does not come from sources that could prove compromising in office. I guess if you made me choose between the two, I’d have to go for transparency and accountability over cabinet composition.]

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

WATCH PARROT 
WaPo: “A parrot was taken into custody Monday after nearly spoiling a raid while playing lookout for two crack-dealing suspects by repeatedly yelling, ‘Mamãe, polícia!’ according to Brazilian police in the state of Piauí. The phrase means, ‘Mama, police!’ Police encountered the unnamed parrot at the home of the two alleged crack cocaine dealers, perched inside a small brick one-story home with a windowless facade, Brazil’s R7 news channel reported. As police searched for the suspects, it seemed the lime-green bird knew exactly what to do. ‘He must have been trained for this,’ one officer involved in the operation said of the parrot’s attempt to interfere with law enforcement, the Guardian reported. ‘As soon as the police got close he started shouting.’ The bird’s efforts were not successful, however.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“I don't think either [Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton are] defensible. It is a question of how skillfully the other uses it.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) said on “Special Report with Bret Baier” on Oct. 7, 2016.

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

Morning Consult Poll: Most Voters Oppose Trump's Border Order

Most voters oppose President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency at the nation's southern border as the Senate prepares to vote on a resolution opposing the measure, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday.

The poll of 1,194 voters, conducted March 8-10, shows 52 percent of voters oppose the declaration, up one percent from February, reports Politico, compared to 38 percent of voters who support the declaration, down one percent.

The Senate is expected to vote against Trump's declaration Thursday, after the House voted last week against it. However, neither chamber has enough votes to override a likely Trump veto.

The poll shows opinions on the declaration generally fell along party lines:

  • 10 percent of Democrats support it.
  • 83 percent of Democrats oppose.
  • 80 percent of Republicans support.
  • 13 percent of Republicans oppose it.
  • 57 percent of independents oppose the declaration.
  • 30 percent of independents support it.

Voters said their opinions of lawmakers could also be affected, depending on how they vote for Trump's order:

  • 33 percent of voters said they would be more likely to vote for their senators or representatives if they supported Trump's emergency declaration.
  • 45 percent said they would be less likely.
  • 11 percent said it would make no difference.

The party splits on the measure were also similar:

  • 74 percent of Democrats said they would be less likely to support a lawmaker who supports the measure.
  • 70 percent of Republicans said they would be more likely.
  • 46 percent of Independents would be less likely.
  • 23 percent of Independents would be more likely.

Source: NewsMax America

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Maga First News with Peter Boykin

8:00 am 9:00 am



Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

April 26, 2019

By Rupam Jain and Hameed Farzad

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani encouraged newly-elected lawmakers to participate in the peace process with the Taliban as he opened on Friday the first session of parliament since a controversial election.

Ghani has invited thousands of politicians, religious scholars and rights activists to an assembly known as a loya jirga next week to discuss ways to end the 17-year war.

Several opposition leaders have said they will boycott the four-day assembly in Kabul, saying it was pulled together without their input and is being used by Ghani as he seeks a second term in a September presidential election.

“We have presented the peace plan on a regular basis and we are committed to it,” Ghani said in the first session since parliamentary elections marred by technical problems, militant attacks and accusations of voting fraud last year.

“Based on this plan, there will be no peace deal and negotiation that does not have the green card of the parliament,” he added.

Officials from the United States and the Taliban have held several rounds of talks to end the Afghan war.

U.S. negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, has reported some progress toward an accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal and on how the Taliban would prevent extremists from using Afghanistan to launch attacks as al Qaeda did on Sept. 11, 2001.

The insurgents have so far rejected U.S. demands for a ceasefire and talks on the country’s political future that would include Afghan government officials.

The loya jirga, a centuries-old institution used to build consensus among competing tribes, factions and ethnic groups, is an attempt by Ghani to influence the peace talks and cement his position for a second term, Afghan politicians and Western diplomats say.

Amid growing political divisions in Kabul, opposition politicians have demanded that Ghani step down when his mandate ends next month, and give way to an interim government to oversee peace talks with the Taliban. Ghani has ruled that out.

The country’s top court said last week Ghani can stay in office until the presidential election in September.

(Reporting by Hameed Farzad, Rupam Jain, Editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Thursday defended special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation while slamming former President Barack Obama’s administration for being slow to take action on Russian interference in U.S. elections and ex-FBI Director James Comey for telling Congress the agency was investigating collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Our nation is safer, elections are more secure, and citizens are better informed about covert foreign influence schemes,” Rosenstein said in a speech to the Armenian Bar Association, marking his first public remarks after the Mueller report was released, reports CBS News.

He also pointed out that the investigation revealed a pattern of computer hacking and the use of social media to undermine elections as “only the tip of the iceberg of a comprehensive Russian strategy to influence elections, promote social discord, and undermine America, just like they do in many other countries,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Obama administration also made “critical decisions,” including choosing not to publicize the full story about Russian hackers and social media trolling, “and how they relate to a broader strategy to undermine America,” said Rosenstein.

He noted that the Mueller probe began after Comey disclosed during a hearing before Congress that President Donald Trump “pressured him to close the investigation and the president denied that the conversation occurred.”

Rosenstein said two years ago, when he was confirmed, he was told by a Republican senator that he would be in charge of the probe and that he’d report the results to the American people.

However, he said he didn’t promise to do that, because it is “not our job to render conclusive factual findings. We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei’s factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain must get to the bottom of the leak of confidential discussions during a top-level security meeting about the role of China’s Huawei Technologies in 5G network supply chains, British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday.

News that Britain’s National Security Council, attended by senior ministers and spy chiefs, had agreed on Tuesday to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country’s 5G network and restrict its access to non-core elements was leaked to a national newspaper.

The leak of secret discussions has sparked anger in parliament and amongst Britain’s intelligence community. Britain’s most senior civil servant Mark Sedwill has launched an inquiry and written to ministers who were at the meeting.

“My understanding from London (is) that an investigation has been announced into apparent leaks from the NSC meeting earlier this week,” said Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing.

“To my knowledge there has never been a leak from a National Security Council meeting before and therefore I think it is very important that we get to the bottom of what happened here,” he told Reuters in a pooled interview.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday he could not rule out a criminal investigation. The majority of the ministers at the NSC meeting have said they were not involved, according to media reports.

Hammond said he was unaware of any previous leak from a meeting of the NSC.

“It’s not about the substance of what was apparently leaked. It’s not earth-shattering information. But it is important that we protect the principle that nothing that goes on in national security council meetings must ever be repeated outside the room.”

Allowing Huawei a reduced role in building its 5G network puts Britain at odds with the United States which has told allies not to use its technology at all because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

There have been concerns that the NSC’s conclusion, which sources confirmed to Reuters, could upset other allies in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network – the Five Eyes alliance of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

However, British ministers and intelligence officials have said any final decision on 5G would not put critical national infrastructure at risk. Ciaran Martin, head of the cyber center of Britain’s main eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, played down any threat of a rift in the Five Eyes alliance.

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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

President Trump on Friday said “no money” was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, after reports that the U.S. received a $2 million hospital bill from Pyongyang for the late American prisoner’s care.

“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else. This is not the Obama Administration that paid 1.8 Billion Dollars for four hostages, or gave five terroist[sic] hostages plus, who soon went back to battle, for traitor Sgt. Bergdahl!” Trump tweeted Friday.

NORTH KOREA GAVE US $2M HOSPITAL BILL OVER CARE OF AMERICAN OTTO WARMBIER, SOURCES SAY

The Washington Post first reported that North Korean authorities insisted the U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier, 21, who was a student of the University of Virginia, sign a pledge to pay the bill before allowing Warmbier’s comatose body to return to the United States. Sources confirmed the bill and the amount to Fox News on Thursday.

Sources told the post that the envoy signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions from the president, but a source told Fox News that the U.S. did not ever pay money to North Korea.

The White House declined to comment when asked on the bill, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying in a statement that: “We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration.”

Meanwhile, the president added: “’President[sic] Donald J. Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator that I know of in the history of the United States. 20 hostages, many in impossible circumstances, have been released in last two years. No money was paid.’ Cheif[sic] Hostage Negotiator, USA!”

Warmbier was on tour in North Korea when he allegedly stole a propaganda sign from a hotel. He was arrested in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor in March 2016. Warmbier, for unknown reasons, fell into a coma while in custody and was held in that condition for an additional 17 months.

North Korean officials did not tell American officials until June 2017 that Warmbier had been unconscious the entire time. He died less than a week after he returned to the U.S. North Korean officials, though, have repeatedly denied accusations that Warmbier was tortured, instead claiming that he had suffered from botulism and then slipped into a coma after taking a sleeping pill.

AMERICAN PRISONERS HELD IN NORTH KOREA ON THEIR WAY HOME AFTER POMPEO VISIT, TRUMP SAYS

Fred and Cindy Warmbier sued North Korea over their son’s death and in December were awarded $501 million in damages – money that the Hermit Kingdom will probably never pay.

While the Warmbiers blamed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump has said he believes Kim’s claims that he did not know about the student’s treatment.

Trump and Kim have met in two separate summits. The most recent, held in February, ended without an agreement on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told Fox News: “Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused.  No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything.”

Last year, the Trump administration was also able to save three American prisoners held by North Korea. Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim, and Kim Hak Song were all detained in North Korea. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the three Americans home last May, and said they were all in “good health.”

Fox News’ John Roberts, Rich Edson, Nicholas Kalman, and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon, South Korea, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

April 26, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop and drama star Park Yu-chun was arrested on Friday on charges of buying and using illegal drugs, a court said, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the South Korean entertainment business.

Suwon District Court approved the arrest warrant for Park, 32, due to concerns over possible destruction of evidence and flight risk, a court spokesman told Reuters.

Park is suspected of having bought about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former girlfriend earlier this year and using the drug around five times, an official at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.

Park has denied wrongdoing, saying he had never taken drugs, and he again denied the charges in court, Yonhap news agency said.

Park’s contract with his management agency had been canceled and he would leave the entertainment industry, Park’s management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said on Wednesday.

Park was a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.

A scandal involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chat about rape led at least four other K-pop stars to quit the industry earlier this year.

The cases sparked a nationwide drugs bust and investigations into tax evasion and police collusion at night clubs and other nightlife spots.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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