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Kim Jong Un’s arrival in Russia for Putin summit hit by train mishap

Kim Jong Un’s grand arrival in Russia for his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin encountered a minor snafu on Wednesday.

The North Korean leader’s distinct armored green train pulled up to the station in Vladivostok and came to a stop as North Korean officials scrambled to the door to put down ramps. The staff, however, realized the train’s door did not line up with the red carpet that was rolled out ahead of the arrival.

Video showed an official opening the door and noticing the error. The engineer was then forced to roll the train backward in an attempt to line up with the carpet — but it still didn’t go as planned.

Kim Jong Un arrived in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Wednesday.

Kim Jong Un arrived in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Wednesday. (AP)

Two North Korean staffers realized the train door was still a few inches off from perfectly lining up with the red carpet when they placed the green ramp down. They appeared to take a moment to think about how they could resolve the issue before ultimately deciding to leave it how it is.

NORTH KOREAN LEADER KIM JONG UN ARRIVES IN RUSSIAN PORT CITY AHEAD OF FIRST MEETING WITH PUTIN

Kim was greeted by a military orchestra before he got into his personal limousine that traveled with him, and drove away. He is expected to attend a dinner reception hosted by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev, according to South Korean media.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he leaves a train in Vladivostok railway station in Vladivostok, Russia.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he leaves a train in Vladivostok railway station in Vladivostok, Russia. (AP)

The despot traveled to Russia with a big entourage — possibly more than 200 people — and lots of supplies. Kim’s officials are reportedly tasked to collect his bodily waste and cigarette butts to prevent foreign intelligence agencies from collecting and analyzing them for clues into the leader's health.

FORMER MARINE ARRESTED IN RAID AT NORTH KOREAN EMBASSY IN SPAIN

The North Korea-Russia summit comes two months after Kim and President Trump met for the second time, but ended up cutting their meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, short after both sides failed to reach an agreement due to disputes over U.S.-led sanction on the North.

The Hermit Kingdom has continued to express its frustration over deadlock negotiations despite Kim insisting after the Hanoi summit that his regime was still committed to denuclearization.

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Last week, North Korea tested a new weapon and demanded U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to be removed from nuclear talks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News World

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Outnumbered and elderly, Okinawa protesters oppose U.S. military runway

The relocation site for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma where land reclamation work continues is seen in the Henoko coastal district in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
The relocation site for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma where land reclamation work continues is seen in the Henoko coastal district in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo February 23, 2019. Picture taken February 23, 2019. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

April 3, 2019

By Mayuko Ono and Tim Kelly

OKINAWA (Reuters) – A month after Jinshiro Motoyama’s five-day hunger strike forced a referendum over a new U.S. military runway on Japan’s island of Okinawa, he came to bid farewell to a knot of protesters trying to block trucks heading for the building site.

The referendum showed 70 percent of voters opposed expansion of a U.S. Marines base at Henoko on the island, but the vote was non-binding and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government decided to forge ahead with a project long promised to Washington.

“It’s going to be a long battle,” said Motoyama, 27, adding that he was returning to Tokyo, the capital, to resume his study of foreign relations, because he needed to eventually get a job and earn a living.

“I will continue my studies and hope to help in the future. I hope I can encourage the next generation too,” he added, standing near a sign that urged protesters not to give up.

With leaders like Motoyama standing down and few islanders willing to protest at the base every day, despite the referendum’s overwhelming no vote, the plan to build the runway on coral reefs seems to face few obstacles.

The base, expected to be complete in five years, will host aircraft and troops from a residential area about 50 km (31 miles) south at the Futenma air station, which the United States and Japan agreed to close in 1996, after three U.S. servicemen raped a 12-year-old girl.

Many Japanese want the Marine units to leave altogether, to ease the burden on the militarized island.

Okinawa saw some of the bloodiest fighting in World War Two, and U.S. bases home to 50,000 U.S. citizens, among them 30,000 troops and civilian contractors, occupy about a fifth of the island.

But a rapid U.S. military departure is unlikely, because Washington wants a presence on the strategic island chain fringing the East China Sea as the power of neighbouring China grows.

As Chinese warplanes and warships make longer, more frequent forays through the waters into the Western Pacific, Japan has built radar bases, anti-ship missile batteries and deployed stealth fighters in response.

HAULED AWAY

At Henoko, protesters sat in the road to block trucks bringing sand for the new runway, a tactic repeated hundreds of times during more than a decade of demonstrations.

But they were outnumbered by security guards, who hauled away the protesters, many of them elderly, one by one.

“We know young people like Motoyama worked hard to make the referendum happen,” said one of them, 73-year-old Masaru Shiroyama. “Our biggest concern is they will lose heart and give up.”

He vowed not to give up, calling the referendum “a starting point for this new battle in Okinawa.”

As a U.S. tilt-rotor Osprey transport flew overhead, Motoyama looked up, recalling how the roar of military jets often woke him as a schoolboy, and made it hard to play baseball too.

“You can’t hear the ball hit the bat, which can be dangerous, if you’re an outfielder like I was.”

(Reporting by Mayuko Ono and Tim Kelly; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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White House tries to standardize CBD rules and regulations

Since he took office, President Trump has taken a largely hands-off approach to marijuana in states where it's legal, earning praise from civil libertarians. But now pot politics are poised to take a big toll on businesses who are selling a marijuana extract that doesn't get you high. It's called CBD, often seen as marijuana's less-controversial cousin. CBD is best described as a health supplement derived from cannabis, but containing no THC - the psychoactive ingredient in pot. In other words, it can give a relaxing effect without the "high" associated with regular marijuana. But the disparity has some lawmakers and regulators wondering how to classify it.

The Farm Bill passed by Congress last year (which took effect in December) specifically makes CBD legal nationwide, but that new law is now creating inconsistencies with local health regulations in a number of states. And some businesses say it's impossible to follow one set of rules without violating another. "All my labels are regulated. All my labels say that is not FDA approved, which that's the legality of CBD oil right now," insists Igor Yakovlev, who runs the Beezy Beez Honey company in New York. But the proper labeling and licensing didn't stop him and a number of other CBD retailers from being raided by city agencies, even after getting the green light from the federal government. "We were informed [of the new regulations] through the news overnight, no letter, no directions," says Dorothy Stepnowska, owner of the Flower People Coffee Shop in New York. "It's like they're treating us like we're nothing."

The White House is now asking the Food and Drug Administration to explore ways to standardize CBD rules and regulations throughout the country, in an effort to avoid confusion, establish standards, and streamline the permitting process. But so far, the Agency hasn't approved it for use in food or dietary supplements, which legal experts say is a direct contradiction of the new law created by the Farm Bill.

Another big concern has been protecting doctors and researchers who are studying medicinal uses for CBD. Psychiatrists are particularly keen on the compound, which they say can be used to safely treat a host of social issues. Dr. Raphael Bernier of the University of Washington says his team is hoping CBD "will ameliorate some of those challenges we see, reduce irritability, and increase social ability." The uncertainty surrounding the legality of both the testing and treating with CBD, however, have had a chilling effect in the research community, and funding has largely dried up as a result.

But the uncertainty isn't stopping the commercial market from exploding. According to the financial services company Cowen, Americans spent at least $600 million on CBD products last year, and that number is expected to climb over the $2 billion mark by the end of 2019, with projected sales reaching some $16 billion by 2025. And business owners say the potential for that kind of growth will keep them in the CBD business for years to come. "Every day is just like a new challenge between this and that," says Yakovlev.  "But, when they come out with them, if you follow the proper guidelines, I think everything will be okay and sweet like honey."

Source: Fox News Politics

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Protesters attack Turkish opposition leader at funeral

Protesters have attacked the leader of Turkey's main opposition party during the funeral of a soldier who was slain during clashes with Kurdish rebels.

Television footage on Sunday showed some protesters hitting Kemal Kilicdaroglu on the head as security officials tried to escort him away from the crowd.

The attack comes weeks after Kilicdaroglu's pro-secular Republican People's Party took control of the key cities of Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey's March 31 local election away from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party.

Erdogan had led a highly divisive electoral campaign, portraying the elections as a matter of national survival and equating opposition parties with terrorists.

The soldier was among four killed Saturday in a clash against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party rebels near Turkey's border with Iraq.

Source: Fox News World

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Canadian mother fights off mountain lion that mauled her 7-year-old son

A mother summoned her inner mama grizzly to fight off a mountain lion after it latched onto her seven-year-old son’s arm and began to maul him.

Chelsea Bromley rushed to her son’s Zack rescue after hearing loud screams and bangs outside her home in Vancouver Island, Canada. She found that a cougar was attacking the boy.

MOUNTAIN LION PROWLING CALIFORNIA MAN'S BACKYARD CAPTURED IN 'AMAZING' VIDEO: IT WAS 'A CLOSE CALL'

“She jumped it,” Kevin Bromley, the boy’s father told CBC, saying the mother tried to open the jaws to free the child. “I think any mom would do that. It's that selfless love.”

“She jumped it. I think any mom would do that. It's that selfless love.”

— Kevin Bromley

She couldn’t pry open the jaw as the creature had clenched on the boy too hard, but their screams scared the cougar, forcing it to flee the scene.

The father added that there was “blood everywhere” but luckily the mother intervened promptly and saved the child, though he sustained injuries.

“She's beside herself. If it had been a bigger cougar, it would have been over,” he told Global News.

“She's beside herself. If it had been a bigger cougar, it would have been over.”

— Kevin Bromley

MOUNTAIN LION COLORADO RUNNER KILLED WAS YOUNG KITTEN, OFFICIALS SAY

The boy reportedly suffered head, neck and arm injuries, though thanks to a loose hoodie he was protected from further injuries.

He was airlifted to the hospital after the ordeal, with doctors saying he will fully recover.

“He's figured out that was pretty close to near death," Bromley told CBC. "He's old enough to grasp that. And that's a big pill to swallow, just to digest that mentally."

“As soon as I saw him yesterday, I just started bawling,” Bromley added. “I think today it's starting to sink in for him what happened. We're just trying to focus on him and make sure this doesn't impact him mentally or traumatically.”

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British Columbia conservation officers reportedly killed two mountain lions after the incident, with one of them being responsible for the mauling of the child.

Source: Fox News World

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Moldova parliamentary ballot: what's at stake?

More than three million Moldovans are eligible to vote in parliamentary elections Sunday in this former Soviet republic wedged between Romania and Ukraine. They will choose representatives for the next four-year term of the 101-seat legislature. No outright winner is expected and the ballot will likely deepen a rift between pro-Western and pro-Russian forces, amid concerns about endemic corruption and crumbling democracy.

REJIGGED VOTING SYSTEM

The voting system has been changed in what critics say is a ploy to help the two main parties — the broadly pro-Russian Socialists and the nominally pro-European Democratic Party — carve up influence. Democratic leader Vladimir Plahotniuc, one of the country's wealthiest men, is the country's de-facto leader as the Democrats are the main party in the ruling coalition. Voters will directly pick 51 lawmakers, while the remaining 50 lawmakers will be elected via party lists, a method which favors the two bigger parties. Another factor to consider is that there are up to one million voters— almost a third of the electorate— working and living abroad, mainly in the EU and Russia.

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WHO'S RUNNING?

There are three main parties: The Democratic Party, which heads the ruling coalition together with its junior partner the Popular European Party, the Socialists, who favor closer ties to Russia, and the pro-European ACUM which opposes both major parties and signed a pledge Thursday not to enter into a coalition with them if no party wins an outright majority. Parties need to win six percent of the overall vote to enter Parliament.

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POTENTIAL FOR CRISIS

In an interview this week with The Associated Press, Moldovan President Igor Dodon warned of unrest if elections are rigged. While no major fraud is expected on polling day, with 340 international observers from 38 countries monitoring the ballot, there are concerns the elections may be less than free or fair. Facebook recently dismantled 168 fake accounts and 28 pages allegedly attempting to influence voters.

Moreover, the election threatens to keep the country stuck in limbo between the West and Russia, at a time when allegations of government corruption and concerns over erosion of democracy have strained relations with the EU. Moldova signed an association agreement with the EU in 2014, a move seen as a step toward joining the bloc.

Last year, the European Parliament called Moldova "a state captured by oligarchic interests." The EU also froze aid to Moldova after a local court invalidated the 2018 Chisinau mayoral election on a technicality, a move seen as a bid to thwart the apparent victory of a pro-European candidate.

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WHAT ELSE?

ACUM leaders Maia Sandu and Andrei Nastase have accused the Democratic Party leadership of corruption and claimed they had been poisoned. The Democratic Party strenuously denied the allegations.

Source: Fox News World

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Amid crisis, Cuba plans revamp of state and legal system

In the midst of a regional crisis over Venezuela and tough economic straits, the Cuban government is about to launch a sweeping makeover of its centrally planned, single-party system with dozens of new laws that could reshape everything from criminal justice to the market economy.

Nearly a year of debate and discussion ended last month with the approval of Cuba's first constitutional reform since 1976. Some observers see the new constitution as a merely cosmetic update aimed at assuring one of the world's last communist systems won't get another revamp until long after the passing of its founding fathers, now in their late 80s and early 90s. Others see the potential for a slow-moving but deep set of changes that will speed the modernization of Cuba's economically stagnant authoritarian bureaucracy.

Cuban legal experts told The Associated Press that they expect the government to send the National Assembly between 60 and 80 new laws over the next two years to replace ones rendered obsolete by the new constitution. The assembly is virtually certain to unanimously approve all government proposals, as it has for decades.

"I expect to see big changes in Cuba with the new constitution," said Julio Antonio Fernandez, a constitutional law professor at the University of Havana. "A new state structure, a transformed political system, led by the Communist Party, of course, but different and confronting big challenges."

One of the first changes will be in Cuba's political system. Within five months, the government is required to pass a new electoral law that splits the roles of head of state and government between the current president and the new post of prime minister. A new set of governors will replace the Communist Party first secretaries as the highest official in Cuba's 15 provinces.

While the Communist Party remains the only permitted political group, the wording of the new constitution could allow voters to choose between various candidates rather than simply voting yes or no for a candidate pre-selected by a government commission, experts said.

A new business law could create a formal role for small- and medium-sized businesses. Until now, all private workers and employers are legally classified as "self-employed," leading to situations in which hundreds of thousands of "self-employed" waiters, cooks, maids, construction workers and janitors go to work each day for the "self-employed" owners of restaurants, bed-and-breakfasts and construction contractors.

Business owners hope legal recognition will bring them privileges like the right to import and export, now held only by state monopolies.

"There's a full-on effort to give life to the new constitution, to accompany it with laws so it doesn't become a dead letter," Homero Acosta, the secretary of the Cuba's Council of State and one of the key figures in the reform, said on state television this month.

A new family code is expected to address the issue of gay marriage, which was struck from the new constitution after popular resistance.

A new criminal code will for the first time create the right of habeas corpus, requiring the state to justify a citizens' detention, and give Cubans the right to know what information the government holds about them.

The revamped criminal law could also, experts said, contain stronger provisions against domestic violence, greater environmental protections and animal rights and create tougher punishments for government mismanagement and corruption.

Cuba's powerful military and intelligence ministries employ tens of thousands of agents and informants, control much of the economy and are often exempted from the rules governing civilian sectors of the government. Whether the Interior Ministry and Revolutionary Armed Forces will be subject to the new limits in the legal reform remains an open question.

Cuba is in its fourth year of expected zero to minimal growth, and the government feels increasingly threatened by the Trump administration's effort to overthrow Venezuela's Cuban-allied government as the first step in an offensive against socialist states throughout Latin America.

Only 78 percent of registered voters, some 6.8 million out of 8.7 million, said "yes" to the new constitution in a Feb. 24 referendum. That's a massive approval rate in any other country but relatively low for Cuba, where voters usually approve government proposals by margins well over 90 percent.

In this case, some 700,000 voted "no," while others abstained or filed marred or blank ballots.

That could put unusual pressure on the government to come up with new laws that win widespread public approval, rather than simply imposing new regulations after closed meetings of Communist Party and government leaders.

"The referendum showed that Cuba is a more politically diverse society than it often seems on the surface," constitutional lawyer Raudiel Pena said. "Now let's hope that lawmakers really take that into consideration."

___

Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein contributed to this report.

___

Andrea Rodríguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP

Source: Fox News World

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

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

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has blasted the United State and the European Union for imposing sanctions on his country, describing them as “economic terrorism.”

Bashar Ja’afari made his comments Friday in the Kazakh capital of Astana where Russia, Turkey and Iran held a new round of talks with the Syrian government and the opposition on steps to bring peace to the country.

His comments came as government-held parts of Syria are witnessing widespread fuel shortages that are largely the result of Western sanctions on Syria and its key ally Iran.

Ja’afari says: “This is economic terrorism that is escalating through unilateral economic measures.”

A final statement issued at the end of Astana’s 12th round rejected President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

Source: Fox News World

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