Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Real News with David Knight

9:00 am 12:00 pm



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Medicare chief says ‘Medicare-for-all’ is ‘biggest threat to American health care system’

The nation’s top Medicare official said on ‘Fox & Friends’ Wednesday that Democrats' “Medicare-for-all” proposal amounts to “the biggest threat to the American health care system,” claiming the policy would lead to worse care and longer wait times.

“I’ve been saying that Medicare-for-all is the biggest threat to the American health care system,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma said. “What we’re talking about is stripping people of their private health insurance, forcing them into a government-run program.”

BERNIE SANDERS' 'MEDICARE-FOR-ALL' PLANS INCLUDES HEALTH CARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., unveiled his latest Medicare-for-all plan last week -- legislation that was endorsed by other 2020 Democratic hopefuls Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, N.Y., Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. A similar bill has been introduced in the House.

Such plans would abolish almost all private coverage. Proponents have said such plans would give access to health care to all, recognizing it as a human right.

Some estimates put the 10-year cost of the plan at more than $32 trillion. Sanders said at a Fox News town hall on Monday that it would mean many Americans would "pay more in taxes." But he also argued the plan's costs would replace premiums and deductibles already being paid by American families, claiming many would pay less in the end.

"I am concerned about the debt. That's a legitimate concern," Sanders said. "But we pay for what we are proposing. In terms of Medicare for All, we are paying for that by eliminating as I said before, deductibles and premiums. We are going to save the average American family money."

An informal poll of the audience on Monday showed most in attendance indicating they could support such a plan.

But Verma noted that socialized health care systems in other countries have problems of their own -- including long wait times and poor care -- leading citizens to travel to the U.S. for drugs and care they can't access at home.

“So this is a bureaucracy that’s going to be making decisions about everybody’s healthcare, what kind of benefits they can have, what kind of medications that they can have access to,” she said. “And if we look at other socialized countries that have tried this approach, what do we see there? Long wait times, poor quality health care and that’s why those people are flying to the United States to get their health care.”

NEW MEDICARE-FOR-ALL' BILL WOULD LARGELY OUTLAW PRIVATE INSURANCE

The reality is we’re having problems today paying for the Medicare program and the trustees have warned about solvency, so adding more people to the program is only going to exacerbate it,” she said.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

The plan has also seen skepticism from Democrats in Congress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in February that "Medicare-for-all” may not be “as good a benefit as the Affordable Care Act.”

“It doesn’t have catastrophic [coverage] -- you have to go buy it. It doesn’t have dental. It’s not as good as the plans that you can buy under the Affordable Care Act,” she told Rolling Stone in an interview. “So I say to them, come in with your ideas, but understand that we’re either gonna have to improve Medicare — for all, including seniors — or else people are not gonna get what they think they’re gonna get. ... And by the way, how’s it gonna be paid for?”

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

Trump has more women as top advisers than Obama, Bush, or Clinton

President Trump, often criticized for his stance toward women, employs more women as senior advisers than former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton did at the similar points in their presidencies.

Given the relative paucity of female senior presidential advisers prior to Clinton, Trump's employment of women as key advisers at this early point in his presidency may be higher than any other president's in history

At the beginning of the third year of his first term as president, Trump has seven female top advisers, as compared to five for Obama, three for Bush, and five for Clinton at that point. He had eight as of December 2018, when United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley departed the administration.

The top advisers are White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway; CIA Director Gina Haspel, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, senior adviser Ivanka Trump, Director of Legislative Affairs Shahira Knight, and Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp.

Trump reportedly will also nominate more women to powerful positions soon, such as U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft for U.N. ambassador and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie Liu for associate attorney general, a key post currently held by Rod Rosenstein.

Click for more from Washington Examiner. 

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

Pro-Life ‘Unplanned’ Scores #5 Box Office, Despite Advertising Ban by Major Networks

Super Male Vitality

Limited Advanced Release

69.95

31.47

The all new and advanced Super Male Vitality formula uses the newest extraction technology with even more powerful concentrations of various herbs and extracts designed to be even stronger.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/smv-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

Super Male Vitality

69.95

31.47

The all new and advanced Super Male Vitality formula uses the newest extraction technology with even more powerful concentrations of various herbs and extracts designed to be even stronger.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/smv-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

Survival Shield X-2 – Nascent Iodine

39.95

17.95

Leading the way into the next generation of super high -quality nascent iodine, Infowars Life Survival Shield X-2 is back and available for you to purchase!

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/x2-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-2-nascent-iodine.html?ims=jyedx&utm_campaign=IW+-+SSX2+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SSX2-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-2-nascent-iodine.html?ims=jyedx&utm_campaign=IW+-+SSX2+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SSX2-55%25off-Widget

Survival Shield X-2 – Nascent Iodine

39.95

17.95

Leading the way into the next generation of super high -quality nascent iodine, Infowars Life Survival Shield X-2 is back and available for you to purchase!

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/x2-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-2-nascent-iodine.html?ims=jyedx&utm_campaign=IW+-+SSX2+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SSX2-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-2-nascent-iodine.html?ims=jyedx&utm_campaign=IW+-+SSX2+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SSX2-55%25off-Widget

Source: InfoWars

0 0

Florida House Passes GOP Immigration ‘Sanctuary’ Ban Bill

The Florida House has passed a high-profile Republican bill requiring local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and banning so-called "sanctuary city" policies that shield immigrants who are arrested.

The GOP-led House voted 69-47 along party lines Wednesday for the measure, sending it over to the Senate where a similar bill is pending.

Florida doesn't currently have any formal "sanctuary cities" like those in other states. The bill sponsored by GOP Rep. Cord Byrd of Jacksonville Beach would require local authorities to honor federal immigration detainer requests that can lead to a person's deportation.

The bill prompted the American Civil Liberties Union to warn immigrants against traveling to Florida and triggered protests around the state. Democrats failed in attempts to weaken the bill or create exceptions.

Source: NewsMax America

0 0

Harris joins Elizabeth Warren’s call for impeachment

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, is the latest presidential candidate to join the call for President Donald Trump’s impeachment following the release of the Mueller Report.

During a televised town hall on Monday night, Harvard University student Karla Alvarado asked Harris if congressional Democrats should “reconsider” their position on impeachment, something top leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, has repeatedly dismissed.

Harris began by declaring that it’s “very clear” that there is “a lot of good evidence” in the Mueller Report that points to obstruction of justice. And although she still intends on beating Trump in the 2020 election, she expressed that Congress should proceed with impeachment.

CANDIDATE ASKS CNN'S CHRIS CUOMO TO STOP 'CREEPING'

“I believe Congress should take the steps towards impeachment,” Harris said. “I am also a realist and when I look at what has been happening over the two years and some months since I’ve been in the United States Senate, I have also witnessed folks in the United States Congress and in particular the GOP, who have been presented with many reasons to push back against this president and they have not.”

She later elaborated that while impeachment may pass in the Democratic-controlled House, it would likely not in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Last week, Harris expressed caution towards impeachment, saying she wanted to hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller and “really understand” what he concluded in his report before moving forward with impeachment.

Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, doubled down on her call to impeach Trump at an earlier town hall.

GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“There is no ‘political inconvenience’ exception to the United States Constitution,” Warren told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

Ballot Harvesting Divide Persists Amid Elections Debate

X

Story Stream

recent articles

During last week’s fierce partisan debate over House Democrats’ campaign finance/elections and ethics overhaul, there was one thing Republicans and Democrats appeared to agree on:  the dearth of information about ballot harvesting – the controversial practice of campaign workers, union members, and volunteers collecting mail-in ballots from voters and delivering them to election officials to be counted – and its impact on elections.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell criticized the Democratic measure, which was designed to make voting easier and which passed on a party-line vote, for not addressing “sketchy” ballot harvesting practices. The GOP leader pointed to the fraud uncovered in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, which both Democrats and Republicans have condemned.

It was illegal to collect absentee ballots in North Carolina because Republicans passed a law barring the practice. But some form of ballot harvesting takes place in 19 other states, where little or no data has been collected on the practice’s impact and abuses.

The Democrats’ bill, HR 1, is “suspiciously silent on the murky ballot harvesting practices that recently threw North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District into chaos,” McConnell said during a recent speech on the Senate floor.

Shortly after the midterms, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan made national headlines by calling the practice “bizarre” and arguing that what happened in California, where several seats in traditionally red Orange County flipped, “defies logic.” Several Republicans saw election night leads dwindle away in the days and weeks afterward as mail-in and absentee votes were counted. Three years ago the state legislature passed a law making it lawful for anyone to collect voters’ absentee ballots and drop them off.

Democrats have countered that the GOP hasn’t shown any documented evidence of fraud involved with the practice and is simply trying to make it harder for Democrats to vote, especially in minority communities where voters may not be close to polling places or have transportation available to them.

John Santos, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, told RealClearPolitics that the party is fighting to overturn laws barring ballot harvesting in Arizona and other places because there “is no evidence of widespread fraud” that “would justify blanket bans.”

During consideration of HR 1 on the House floor last week, Democrats voted down amendments from GOP Reps. Ken Calvert of California and Mark Walker of North Carolina that would have prohibited ballot harvesting nationwide.

“For years, conservatives who questioned ballot harvesting – a practice where unvetted organizers can go door-to-door, collecting absentee ballots like candy – were criticized and demeaned,” Walker (pictured) said in a statement afterward. “Now, as we see election fraud in my home state and House Democrats are rightfully calling for additional election-security measures, they are rejecting common-sense proposals, fearing a breakdown of their legislated electoral advantages.

“Ballot-harvesting is a cooking pot for election fraud and abuse, and we need to get all the cooks out of the kitchen,” he added.

Before the GOP amendment was rejected, the Native American Rights Fund, the oldest and largest nonprofit law firm devoted to defending the rights of Indian tribes, wrote a letter to members of Congress calling on them to oppose Calvert’s proposal, arguing that “mailing locations are not as accessible for natives on tribal lands as they are to non-natives off tribal lands. Home mail-service does not exist throughout Indian Country.”

The Calvert amendment is a solution in search of a problem, the group wrote, adding, “On the rare occasions in which improprieties are alleged to have occurred in the handling of ballots, such as those that have come to light in North Carolina … they are already prohibited under state law. The answer to these sorts of violations is to use existing laws, not pass unneeded federal legislation that will disenfranchise Native American voters.”

Republicans say they proposed the nationwide ban precisely because states have become a patchwork of expansions and prohibitions regarding the practice, depending on which party controls the legislature.  

Calvert said last week that the practice lacks transparency, which has understandably led to voter concern. He said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and other election officials “have provided little if any information on the rules and regulations covering ballot harvesting since Democrats legalized the practice” there.

On March 4 he sent a list of 27 questions to his local Riverside County Registrar of Voters that he said remain unanswered. For instance, he questioned whether those turning in collected ballots are required to provide their name or the name of the organization they are working on behalf of or any other identifying information, and whether they are barred from turning over a ballot to another individual or organization before turning it in to an authorized voting location.

Calvert also asked whether the registrar requires any identifying information from the individual who drops off the ballot, whether a list of those persons is created and whether that list is subject to public disclosure. Because the law states it’s illegal to fail to “deliver the ballot in a timely fashion,” he asked what constituted a “timely fashion” and if there were any hard deadlines involved.

“Our election laws should always be focused on what protects the confidence and integrity in our elections, not what gives one party an advantage over the other,” Calvert said a statement.

In response to Calvert’s questions, Padilla said only that California is “expanding opportunities for eligible citizens to register to vote and for registered voters to cast their ballot.”

“These opportunities include in-person early voting, the option to vote-by-mail, and giving voters the power to decide who they most trust to return their vote-by-mail ballot for them if they so choose,” he told the Riverside Press Enterprise.

“As other states are rolling back voting rights, California is modernizing our elections and making it easier for all eligible citizens to participate.”

McConnell said he and other Republicans have opposed ballot harvesting and called for other “common-sense” election safeguards only to be “demonized by Democrats and their allies.”

Susan Crabtree is a veteran Washington reporter who has spent two decades covering the White House and Congress.

0 0

Proxy firms Glass Lewis, ISS back Allergan in fight against Appaloosa

Allergan ticker info and symbol are displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE
FILE PHOTO: Allergan ticker info and symbol are displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) April 6, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

April 15, 2019

By Manas Mishra

(Reuters) – Two major shareholder advisory firms urged investors to vote against billionaire investor David Tepper’s hedge fund demand that Allergan Plc immediately split the roles of chief executive officer and chairman, in a boost to the Botox maker.

The recommendation from Institutional Shareholder Services LP and Glass Lewis & Co against the proposal of Tepper’s Appaloosa gives firepower to Allergan Chairman and CEO Brent Saunders ahead of the drugmaker’s shareholder meeting on May 1.

“Their recommendations affirm our position that our plan to adopt separate Chair and CEO positions with the next leadership transition is the best approach for Allergan shareholders,” Allergan said in a statement.

However, an analyst said the recommendations were contrary to the views of many investors.

“This news is likely to frustrate a sizeable group of shareholders and we continue to await the result of the vote,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Randall Stanicky said.

Appaloosa has been pressing Allergan since last year to separate the two roles, and asked for an immediate split after Allergan said an independent member of its board would be chairman, but only at its next leadership change.

Both the proxy firms said that an immediate separation of the roles was not necessary.

“There are no significant concerns regarding the board’s current leadership structure sufficient to suggest that an immediate split of the CEO and chairman roles is warranted at this time rather than at the next CEO transition,” ISS was quoted as saying in the Allergan statement.

Appaloosa said ISS’ recommendations were “baffling” as they were inconsistent with the firm’s support for a similar proposal last year, and asked shareholders to vote for its proposal.

Allergan, under pressure to rescue the company’s falling stock prices, launched a review of its strategy last year. But that review is likely to result in the sale of its relatively small infectious disease unit.

Appaloosa has voiced its discontent with the results of the review, and has called for a breakup or sale of the company, citing recent clinical failures such as that of its depression treatment rapastinel.

Allergan’s shares have fallen about 12 percent in the past 12 months. They trade nearly 60 percent below their record high of $340.33 in 2015.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Real News with David Knight

9:00 am 12:00 pm



FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain's far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Vox party, aligned to a broader far-right movement emerging across Europe, has become the focus of speculation about last minute shifts in voting intentions since official polling for Sunday’s national election ended four days ago.

No single party is anywhere near securing a majority, and chances of a deadlocked parliament and a second election are high.

Leaders of the five parties vying for a role in government get final chances to pitch for power at rallies on Friday evening, before a campaign characterized by appeals to voters’ hearts rather than wallets ends at midnight.

By tradition, the final day before a Spanish election is politics-free.

Two main prizes are still up for grabs in the home straight. One concerns which of the two rival left and right multi-party blocs gets more votes.

The other is whether Vox could challenge the mainstream conservative PP for leadership of the latter bloc, which media outlets with access to unofficial soundings taken since Monday suggest could be starting to happen.

The right’s loose three-party alliance is led by the PP, the traditional conservative party that has alternated in office with outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists since Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s.

The PP stands at around 20 percent, with center-right Ciudadanos near 14 percent and Vox around 11 percent, according to a final poll of polls in daily El Pais published on Monday.

Since then, however, interest in Vox – which will become the first far-right party to sit in parliament since 1982 – has snowballed.

It was founded in 2013, part of a broader anti-establishment, far-right movement that has also spread across – among others – Italy, France and Germany.

While it is careful to distance itself from the ideology of late dictator Francisco Franco, Vox’s signature policies include repealing laws banning Franco-era symbols and on gender-based violence, and shifting power away from Spain’s regional governments.

TRENDING

According to a Google trends graphic, Vox has generated more than three times more search inquiries than any other Spanish political party in the past week.

Reasons could include a groundswell of vocal activist support at Vox rallies in Madrid and Valencia, and its exclusion from two televised debates between the main party leaders, on the grounds of it having no deputies yet in parliament.

Conservative daily La Vanguardia called its enforced absence from Monday’s and Tuesday’s debates “a gift from heaven”, while left-wing Eldiario.es suggested the PP was haemorrhaging votes to Vox in rural areas.

Ignacio Jurado, politics lecturer at the University of York, agreed the main source of additional Vox votes would be disaffected PP supporters, and called the debate ban – whose impact he said was unclear – wrong.

“This is a party polling over 10 percent and there are people interested in what it says. So we lose more than we win in not having them (in the debates),” he said

For Jose Fernandez-Albertos, political scientist at Spanish National Research Council CSIC, Vox is enjoying the novelty effect that propelled then new, left-wing arrival Podemos to 20 percent of the vote in 2015.

“While it’s unclear how to interpret the (Google) data, what we do know is that it’s better to be popular and to be a newcomer, and that Vox will benefit in some form,” he said.

For now, the chances of Vox taking a major role in government remain slim, however.

The El Pais survey put the Socialists on around 30 percent, making them the frontrunners and likely to form a leftist bloc with Podemos, back down at around 14 percent.

The unofficial soundings suggest little change in the two parties’ combined vote, or the total vote of the rightist bloc.

That makes it unlikely that either bloc will win a majority on Sunday, triggering horse-trading with smaller parties favoring Catalan independence – the single most polarizing issues during campaigning – that could easily collapse into fresh elections.

(Election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ENugtw)

(Reporting by John Stonestreet and Belen Carreno, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the OPEC is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

April 26, 2019

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and told the cartel to lower oil prices.

“Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said you’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down,” Trump told reporters.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy near Lyon
Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy in Meyzieu near Lyon, France, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

April 26, 2019

By Julien Pretot

MEYZIEU, France (Reuters) – Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas was wringing out his women’s team shirts in the locker room on a rainy London day eight years ago when he decided it was time to take gender equality more seriously.

It was halftime in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal at Meadow Park with 507 fans watching and Aulas realized that his players did not have a another kit for the second half.

“Next time, there will be a second set just like for the men, that’s how it’s going to work from now on,” he said.

Lyon have since won five Champions League titles to become the most successful women’s team in Europe and recently claimed a 13th consecutive domestic crown.

They visit Chelsea on Sunday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with a fourth straight title in their sights.

At the heart of their achievements is a pervasive ethos that promotes gender equality throughout the club, starting in the youth academy.

In 2013, Aulas appointed former Lyon and France player Sonia Bompastor as head of the Women’s Academy — the female equivalent of one of France’s top youth set-ups that has produced players such as Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette and Hatem Ben Arfa.

At the Youth Academy, girls and boys share the same facilities.

“Pitches, physiotherapy rooms are the same for all,” the 38-year-old Bompastor told Reuters.

As the girls train under the watch of former Lyon and France international Camille Abily, the screams of the boys practicing can be heard nearby.

The boys and girls also benefit from the same psychological support that includes hypnosis sessions and yoga.

“We have a ‘mental ability’ cell and the hypnotist acts on the girls’ subconscious, on their deeply held beliefs after observing them on and off the pitch,” Bompastor added.

SAME TREATMENT

One message the Academy staff are trying to convey is that girls are as good as boys.

“Women’s nature is such that we have low self-esteem. So self-esteem is a big topic for our girls,” said Bompastor.

This is not the case with the boys, she added.

“Some 14, 15-year-old boys still think they would beat our professional players, we tell them this would not be happening. We still need to work on those beliefs,” she said.

Female players also have to face questions that their male counterparts do not, Bompastor explained.

“In France there is a problem with the way women are considered, there are high aesthetic expectations. So we get heavy questions on femininity, intimate questions that men don’t get,” she said.

OL’s Academy has been held up as a shining example for others to follow, even in the U.S., where women’s soccer has a wider audience than in Europe.

“About one third of the (senior women’s) squad comes from the Academy, we have a good balance,” said Bompastor.

“I’m getting tons of requests from American universities and foreign clubs, who want to come and visit our facilities.”

‘ONE CLUB’

The salaries of the senior players is one area where there remains a large discrepancy between Lyon’s men’s and women’s teams.

While the three best-paid women players in the world are at Lyon with Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg earning 400,000 euros ($445,520) a year, this figure is dwarfed by the around 4 million euros earned annually by men’s player Memphis Depay.

There is, however, a level of interaction between the men’s and women’s players that is not present at many other clubs.

“When you talk about OL you talk about women and men, you talk about one club and you feel it when you are here or outside in the city,” Germany defender Carolin Simon told Reuters.

“We see it when we play in the big stadium. It’s not ‘normal’ for women’s football,” the 26-year-old, who joined the club last year, added.

Lyon’s female players also enjoy respect from their male counterparts, Simon said.

“It’s very cool, it’s a big honor to feel that it doesn’t matter if you are a professional man or woman. We talk with the men, there are handshakes, it’s a good atmosphere and it’s also why we are successful,” said Simon.

“The men respect us and it’s not just for the cameras.”

Her team mate, England’s Lucy Bronze, sees the men’s respect as key to improving women’s football.

“We might not be paid the same but they are just normal with us, they see us as footballers the same as they are,” Bronze told Reuters.

“Being at Lyon has really opened my eyes. To improve women’s football, it starts with having the respect of your male counterparts. It’s the biggest thing because they can influence so many people.”

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

April 26, 2019

GENEVA (Reuters) – Yemeni authorities have rounded up about 3,000 irregular migrants, predominantly Ethiopians, in the south of the country, “creating an acute humanitarian situation,” the U.N. migration agency said on Friday.

“IOM is deeply concerned about the conditions in which the migrants are being held and is engaging with the authorities to ensure access to the detained migrants,” the International Organization for Migration said.

The migrants are held in open-air football stadiums and in a military camp, it said in a statement.

The detentions began on Sunday in the city of Aden and the neighboring province of Lahj, which are under the control of the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels control Sanaa, the capital, and other major urban centers.

Both sides are under international diplomatic pressure to implement a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire deal agreed last year in Sweden and to prepare for a wider political dialogue that would end the four-year-old war.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Yemen every year, mostly from the Horn of Africa, driven by drought and unemployment at home and lured by the wages available in the Gulf.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
U.S. dollar notes are seen in this picture illustration
U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. Picture taken November 7. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

1/DOLLAR JUGGERNAUT

The dollar has zipped to near two-year highs, leaving many scratching their heads. To many, it’s down to signs the U.S. economy is chugging ahead while the rest of the world loses steam. After all, Wall Street is busily scaling new peaks day after day.

Never mind the cause, the effect is stark. The euro has tumbled to 22-month lows against the dollar and investors are preparing for more, buying options to shield against further downside. Emerging-market currencies are also in pain, with Turkish lira and Argentine peso both sharply weaker.

Now U.S. data need to keep surprising on the upside or even just meet expectations. The International Monetary Fund sees U.S. growth at 2.3 percent this year. For Germany, the forecast is 0.8 percent. The U.S. economy’s rude health has given rise to speculation the Fed might resume raising interest rates. Unlikely. But as other countries — Canada, Sweden and Australia are the latest — hint at more policy easing, there seems to be one way the dollar can go. Up.

(GRAPHIC: Dollar outperforms G10 FX – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dz17S5)

2/FED: UP OR DOWN?

Wall Street is near record highs and recession worries are receding, so as we mentioned above, investors might wonder if the Federal Reserve will start raising rates again.

Such a pivot is unlikely after the Fed killed off rate-rise expectations at its March meeting. And the latest Reuters poll all but puts to bed any risk of rates will go up this economic cycle, given inflation remains below the Fed’s alarm threshold and unemployment is the lowest in generations.

Before the March rate-pause announcement, a preponderance of economists penciled in one or more increases this year. But that has flipped. A majority of those surveyed April 22-24 see no further tightening through December and more are leaning toward a cut by the end of next year.

Indeed, interest rate futures imply Fed Funds will be below the current 2.25-2.50 percent target range by this December.

Recent positive consumer spending and exports data have eased market concerns of a sharp economic slowdown. But inflation probably needs to run hot for a long period to panic policymakers off their wait-and-see course.     

(GRAPHIC: Federal funds and the economy – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DzjTZz)

3/HEISEI TO REIWA

Next week ends three decades of Japan’s Heisei era. Heisei, or Achieving Peace, began in 1989 near the peak of a massive stock market bubble and closes with the country trapped in low growth, no inflation, and negative interest rates.

The new era that dawns on May 1 is called Reiwa, meaning Beautiful Harmony. It begins when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne. But do investors really want harmony? What they want to see is a bit of economic growth and inflation to shake up the status quo.

The Bank of Japan’s stimulus toolkit to revive a long-suffering economy is anything but harmonious and yet it’s set to stay. The central bank confirmed recently rates will stay near zero for a long time. But the coming days may not be harmonious or peaceful for currency markets. A 10-day Golden Week holiday kicks off on April 29 and investors are fretting over the risk of a “flash crash” – a violent currency spasm that can occur in times of thin trading turnover.

The year has already seen two yen spikes and many, including Japan’s housewife-trader brigade – so-called Mrs Watanabes – appear to have bought yen as the holiday approaches. Their short dollar/long yen positions recently reached record highs, stock exchange data showed.

(GRAPHIC: Japan stocks: from Hensei to Reiwa – https://tmsnrt.rs/2W6a7Fe)

4/EARNING TURNING

Quarterly earnings were supposed to be the worst in Europe in almost three years, but with a third of results in, things are looking a little rosier.

Two-thirds of companies’ results have beat expectations, and they point to earnings growth of 4.5 percent year-on-year. Financials have delivered the biggest surprises, according to analysis by Barclays.

That might just show how low expectations were. In fact, analysts are still taking a red pen to their estimates.

The latest I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv shows analysts on average expect first-quarter earnings-per-share for STOXX 600-listed companies to fall 4.2 percent. That would be their worst quarter since 2016 and down sharply from an estimated 3.4 percent just a week earlier.

Those estimates may end up being a little too bearish as earnings season goes on, quelling worries that Europe is heading toward a corporate recession.

GSK and Reckitt Benckiser will give the market a glimpse of the health of the consumer products market and spending on everything from toothpaste, washing powder and paracetamol.

(GRAPHIC: Earnings forecasts – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DuO2ZF)

5/WAITING FOR THE OLD LADY

Sterling has gone into the doldrums amid the Brexit delay and unproductive talks between the UK government and the opposition Labour party on a EU withdrawal deal. The resurgent dollar, meanwhile, has taken 2 percent off the pound in April. It is unlikely the Bank of England will be able to rouse it at its May 2 meeting.

Despite robust retail and jobs data of late, the economic picture is gloomy – 2019 growth is likely to be around 1.2 percent, the weakest since 2009, investment is down and Governor Mark Carney says business uncertainty is “through the roof”.

Indeed, expectations for an interest rate increase have been whittled down; Reuters polls forecast rates will not move until early 2020, a calendar quarter later than was forecast a month ago. The hunt for a new governor to replace Carney in October adds more uncertainty to the mix.

The recent run of UK data has fueled hopes of economic rebound. That’s put net hedge fund positions in the pound into positive territory for the first time in nearly a year. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street might temper some of that optimism.

(GRAPHIC: Sterling positions – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XJwUXX)

(Reporting by Alden Bentley in New York, Vidya Ranganathan in Singapore; Karin Strohecker, Josephine Mason and Saikat Chatterjee in London; compiled by Sujata Rao; edited by Larry King)

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