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Brazil’s Bolsonaro says he will visit China later this year

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro takes part in wreath laying at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro arrives during ceremonies to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery during his visit to Washington in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

March 19, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday that he planned to visit China in the second half of this year.

Bolsonaro, who during last year’s presidential campaign sharply criticized Chinese investments in Brazil, made the comment in Washington a few hours after he met with U.S. President Donald Trump.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Washington; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Source: OANN

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Ocasio-Cortez called out for social media silence in wake of Sri Lanka terror attacks

New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is being slammed over her social media silence in the wake of the Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which left 359 people dead, and shared images purporting to show the seven bombers who blew themselves up at three churches and three hotels on Sunday. The government also confirmed that the attacks came from Islamic fundamentalists.

OCASIO-CORTEZ DECLARES VA ‘ISN’T BROKEN,’ ALREADY PROVIDES TOP-NOTCH CARE

Yet Ocasio-Cortez, who has previously been quick to comment on other terror attacks such as the Christchurch mosque shootings in March, hasn't yet said anything regarding the tragedy in Sri Lanka -- which took the lives of several American citizens.

Many have jumped on the congresswoman’s Twitter blackout on the subject.

“Twitter-obsessed @AOC posted 14 times about the terror attack on Muslims in New Zealand, but has posted nothing about the terror attack on Christians by Muslim extremists in Sri Lanka. Very odd,” DailyMail.com editor-at-large Piers Morgan tweeted.

“Fact: @AOC tweeted about the horrific tragedy in New Zealand 14 times. She tweeted about the attack on Christians in Sri Lanka zero times. Why?” seconded Turning Point USA’s Charlie Kirk.

CLERIC 'MASTERMIND' BEHIND SRI LANKA ATTACKS KNOWN FOR HATE-FILLED ONLINE SERMONS, POSSIBLE ISIS TIES

Ocasio-Cortez’s reaction differs starkly compared with the aftermath of the terror attack in New Zealand last month, where 50 Muslims were brutally gunned down by a white supremacist.

Following the attack in New Zeland, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted numerous times, seizing on the terror attack to criticize the Trump administration and propose tougher gun control measures in the U.S.

“At 1st I thought of saying, ‘Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore.’ But I couldn’t say ‘imagine.’ Because of Charleston. Pittsburgh. Sutherland Springs. What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?” one of her tweets read.

She also wrote: “Daily reminder that we have a **Muslim Ban** in this country made out of the President’s hostility to Muslim people w/ little-to-no supporting evidence, and a Republican Party that tolerates it. There is so much work to do. Repealing the Ban is square 1.”

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Ocasio-Cortez’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Election observers say initial Thai vote count was 'flawed'

An international election observation group has issued a critical report on Thailand's first election since a 2014 military coup, saying the "tabulation and consolidation of ballots were deeply flawed."

The Asian Network for Free Elections says those issues led to the announcement of some preliminary results that were "wildly inaccurate."

It says the inaccuracies damaged the "perceived integrity of the general election."

Thailand's Election Commission has defended the count and said full preliminary results will be released Friday.

Tuesday's comments from the observers come as a military-backed party and the party whose government was ousted in the coup both claim they should form the next government.

Preliminary results show the anti-military party won the most seats, while the military party appears to have gotten the most votes in Sunday's poll.

Source: Fox News World

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Turkey Agrees Not to Integrate Russian Tech With NATO Systems – Official

Russian S-400 air defense systems will not be integrated into any active NATO military systems, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said in Washington on Monday.

“This system will not be integrated neither with NATO’s systems nor with any other somehow connected to NATO’s national [military] systems,” the minister said during an annual US-Turkey conference in Washington.

He vowed that the decision would not change any of Turkey’s commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Turkish minister also expressed hope that other NATO countries would also keep their commitments to Turkey.

The procurement of the S-400 is not an issue,” Akar said. “We believe that all disagreements can and should be resolved.”


The authoritarian establishment media is now openly reporting anyone who disagrees with them to front organizations of the military industrial complex, NATO & the Democrat Party.

Commenting on the technical discussions with the United States, the minister noted that Turkey was ready for them and it would address concerns over Ankara’s procurement of Russian S-400 air defense systems.

“We are prepared to engage in technical discussions to address US concerns over the S-400 procurement,” Akar said adding that Turkey’s move to acquire the S-400 purchase is a “national decision.”

(Photo by Соколрус / Wiki)

The remarks come after earlier this month, the Pentagon announced that Washington halted deliveries and activities with Turkey on its F-35 fighter jet programme over Ankara’s decision to purchase S-400 air defense systems.

In December 2017, Russia and Turkey signed a loan agreement for the delivery of S-400 air defense systems to Ankara. The Russian-Turkish cooperation on S-400 deliveries has been criticized by NATO and the United States, which have cited security concerns and the inability of integration between S-400 and NATO’s air defense systems. Ankara, for its part, has said that the purchasing of military equipment is its sovereign affair and ruled out the possibility of abandoning the deal with Moscow.

The first S-400 shipment is expected to be delivered to Ankara in July.


President Trump has made it clear he wants to bring the troops home, but the military industrial complex remains in control of America’s military policies.

Source: InfoWars

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Syracuse U: U.S. Constitution is ‘exclusionary’ to some students

Syracuse University denied an application for Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) to become a Registered Student Organization (RSO), stating, as one of its reasons for doing so, that requiring students to believe in the U.S. Constitution is “exclusionary to international students.”

The Syracuse Office of Student Activities denied YAF’s application, in part because members must support the “Sharon Statement,” which is a statement of support for the U.S. Constitution. Syracuse took issue with the Sharon Statement, alleging that adhering to it violates the college’s policy of non-discrimination.

“The Board considers the ‘Sharon Statement’ to be contradictory to Article XI Statement of Non-Discrimination,” Syracuse’s RSO Review Board stated in its rejection email to the group, according to documents obtained by Campus Reform. “Additionally, requiring students to agree in the superiority of the U.S. Constitution is exclusionary to international students and other individuals.”

Additionally, Syracuse’s RSO Review Board took issue with the fact that Young Americans for Freedom is associated with its parent organization, Young America’s Foundation, which the board claims has “extensive control” over the former organization.

Young America’s Foundation has a “pattern” of promoting discourse through “inflammatory” means, according to the Board.

“The Board recognizes that the parent organization, Young America’s Foundation, has demonstrated a pattern of past practice of supporting discourse via printed materials and/or other means that are deemed inflammatory,” the Board stated in an email to the group’s president. “Specifically, products that are supplied free of charge, including the ‘Patriot Pack’ that illustrates an aircraft entering into the World Trade Center and inflammatory statements. The Board considers these materials to be contradictory to the educational mission of Syracuse University and in turn the purpose of a Recognized Student Organization.”

The college listed a variety of other reasons for denying the group registered status, including an “incomplete” constitution, the group’s “undemocratic” nature, “continuity” issues as they relate to the group’s activity during the summer months, “ambiguous” meeting times,” and how money is deposited and reimbursed.

Justine Murray, the YAF group’s president and a Campus Reform correspondent, asserted that even if those issues were resolved, Syracuse would still deny their application.

“I want to stay hopeful that maybe they will approve YAF if I made the proposed changes but based off their first two points and the offense they took to our recognition of the U.S. Constitution, it doesn’t look very probable they will accept us,” Murray told Campus Reform.

Koen Weaver, who is the group’s vice chairman, told Campus Reform, “while I understand the important job of the Office of Student Activities in confirming RSOs on campus, I am concerned by the bias and almost anti-Americanism displayed by our rejection.”

“I cannot fathom how an American University could find fault with students upholding and promoting the ideals of the U.S. Constitution,” Weaver added. “Calling the constitution non-inclusive, while completely ignoring the inflammatory rhetoric of the anti-Capitalist and anti-Israeli [rhetoric] of the university’s International Socialist Organization, shows the obvious political bias, if not the liberal indoctrination agenda of the Office of Student Activities.”

Weaver was referencing the fact that the board previously approved an application by the International Socialist Organization to be an RSO. As an RSO, the group promotes open borders on its Facebook page, which is linked from the official university website. The group’s cover photo states, “let them all in,” a reference to the caravans at the border. The group has also posted graphics that read,  “Capitalism Sucks” and, according to Murray and Weaver, put up flyers on campus that read, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” an iteration of a statement by Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill at the United Nations last year, which eventually led to Hill’s ousting as a CNN commentator.

Murray further commented on the outcome, telling Campus Reform that she was “seriously disappointed” by the decision.

“It was a blatant rejection of free speech and free assembly as if they either don’t understand the U.S. Constitution or actually understand it and hate its provisions,” Murray said. “Every club has its core belief and the RSO Review Board seems to be selective in how they enforce this aspect of its bylaws as if they’re saying conservative beliefs are exclusionary, but liberal beliefs are not and therefore, any conservative beliefs must be silenced.”

Murray calls it “absolutely ludicrous” for the board to suggest the U.S. Constitution is “exclusionary” for some students.

“It’s absolutely ludicrous for the RSO Review Board to suggest that any recognition of the Bill of Rights by a university club violates some rights of foreign students,” Murray said. “Interestingly, the reason many students from abroad come to study in the United States is because of our freedoms and the constitution that protects these freedoms. The Review Board is basically saying you cannot celebrate America.”

Murray provided Campus Reform with further documentation showing that the group appealed the Office of Student Activities’ decision. However, the appeal was denied because it was submitted an hour and a half after the deadline.

“Unfortunately, the appeal for the Young Americans for Freedom Chapter at SU was submitted after the deadline had passed, therefore, it will not be considered,” the email that denied the appeal reads. “Additionally, the application submitted on behalf of YAF was incomplete because there was no completed advisor contract. It is clear that YAF’s application is still incomplete because it is still missing a completed advisor contract, a required component of the New RSO Application. Therefore, this appeal is moot.”

Murray told Campus Reform that the group asked five faculty members at the college to be their faculty advisor. Only one faculty member, whose name appeared on the group’s RSO application as a “prospective advisor,” indicated that they would be willing.

Of the Syracuse University registered student organizations that appear political in nature, Campus Reform identified six of them as left-leaning while just one is conservative. According to the Syracuse University Registered Student Organization Handbook, RSOs are eligible for, among other benefits, university funding and use of resources.

Weaver told Campus Reform that he would like to see more conservatives get the chance to have their voices heard.

“I hope that conservatives and those who reject certain far-left ideals of the OSA have the opportunity to represent themselves and have their voices heard in the near future,” Weaver said.

Campus Reform attempted multiple times to reach various people at Syracuse University who could comment on this matter, including the individual who sent the rejection email as well as the Director of Student Activities. At the time of publication of this article, none of those calls or emails were returned.



Carpe Donktum was recently retweeted by President Trump, however that tweet was banned due to a musical copyright violation. Carpe Donktum joins Owen to discuss making meme magic about America in 2019.

Source: InfoWars

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CVC Capital, Itausa interested in Brazil’s Petrobras LPG distribution unit: sources

FILE PHOTO: A man walks in front of the Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company headquarters in Rio de Janeiro
FILE PHOTO: A man walks in front of the Brazil's state-run Petrobras oil company headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes/File photo

April 12, 2019

By Tatiana Bautzer and Carolina Mandl

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – CVC Capital Partners and Brazilian investment firm Itausa Investimentos Itau SA are among the groups interested in an LPG distribution unit put on the block by Brazil’s Petrobras, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the state-controlled oil company is formally known, expects interested parties to sign confidentiality agreements, the first step to participate in the sale process of Liquigas Distribuidora SA, by April 19.

Petrobras had agreed in 2016 to sell Liquigas Distribuidora to local rival Ultrapar Participacoes SA in a 2.8 billion-real ($720 million) deal, that was blocked by Brazil’s antitrust watchdog Cade in February 2018.

Financial investors are now the main target of the new process, since a sale to one of them would avoid new antitrust hurdles.

Ultrapar is again interested in participating in the sale, Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported on Friday. But this time, Ultrapar would have to join a consortium according to new rules designed by Petrobras and its adviser, Banco Santander Brasil SA, to avoid new antitrust problems.

Petrobras, CVC, Itausa and Ultrapar did not immediately comment on the matter.

The rules, revised earlier this week, demand from rivals with more than 10 percent of market share in the Brazilian LPG distribution market cannot have a stake in the consortium that is higher than 30 percent of Liquigas’ revenue.

Liquigas is Brazil’s largest LPG distribution unit, operating in the whole country with 4,800 authorized re-sellers.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer)

Source: OANN

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Man filmed getting massage at Florida spa files lawsuit

A Florida man is claiming his constitutional rights were violated when his massage at a day spa was secretly recorded during an investigation into human trafficking.

In the federal lawsuit recently filed by a man identified as "John Doe," the man says police were "spying" on him while he was in a "state of undress" during a massage at Jupiter's Orchids of Asia Day Spa.

The man isn't among those charged with solicitation of prostitution in connection with the case. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has pleaded not guilty to two counts of solicitation.

The lawsuit says the man "did not engage in any sexual or illegal activity." The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of damages and names Jupiter police and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

Source: Fox News National

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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)

Source: OANN

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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.”

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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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FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad, California, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Amit Dave and Mayank Bhardwaj

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc has sued four Indian farmers for cultivating a potato variety that the snack food and drinks maker claims infringes its patent, the company and the growers said on Friday.

Pepsi has sued the farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, exclusively grown for its popular Lay’s potato chips. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips.

PepsiCo is seeking more than 10 million rupees ($142,840.82) each for alleged patent infringement.

The farmers grow potatoes in the western state of Gujarat, a leading producer of India’s most consumed vegetable.

“We have been growing potatoes for a long time and we didn’t face this problem ever, as we’ve mostly been using the seeds saved from one harvest to plant the next year’s crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the four farmers sued by Pepsi.

Patel did not say how he came by the PepsiCo variety.

A court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of Gujarat, on Friday agreed to hear the case on June 12, said Anand Yagnik, the lawyer for the farmers.

“In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety,” A PepsiCo India spokesman said. “This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefiting from seeds of our registered variety.”

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

The All India Kisan Sabha, or All India Farmers’ Forum, has asked the Indian government to protect the farmers.

The farmers’ forum has also called for a boycott of PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips and the company’s other products.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

PepsiCo is the second major U.S. company in India to face issues over patent infringement.

Stung by a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, which is now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India over a cotton-seed dispute with farmers, Reuters reported in 2017. (reut.rs/2ncBknn)

(Reporting by Amit Dave in AHMEDABAD and Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Martin Howell and Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shradha Singh

CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co said on Friday it was considering spinning off its ethanol business after slim biofuel margins and Midwestern floods slammed the U.S. grains merchant’s profit, which tumbled 41 percent in the first quarter.

ADM said it was creating an ethanol subsidiary, which will include dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois.

The ethanol subsidiary will report as an independent segment, the company said, allowing options “which may include, but are not limited to, a potential spin-off of the business to existing ADM shareholders.”

Results were hit by the “bomb cyclone” blizzards that devastated the Midwest and Great Plains this year, causing massive flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, washing out rail lines and wreaking havoc in the moving and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat. One-sixth of U.S. ethanol production was halted.

In March, ADM warned Wall Street that flooding and severe winter weather in the U.S. Midwest would reduce its first-quarter operating profit by $50 million to $60 million.

“The first quarter proved more challenging than initially expected,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, with earnings down in its starches, sweeteners and bioproducts unit. Luciano said impacts of the severe weather ultimately “were on the high side of our initial estimates”.

Ongoing problems in the ethanol industry added to the problems and “limited margins and opportunities” for ADM, Luciano said.

The ethanol industry has been in the midst of a historic downswing due to the U.S.-China trade war, excess domestic supply and weak margins.

ADM, which had been an ethanol pioneer, signaled to Wall Street in 2016 that it was hunting for options and considering sales of its U.S. dry ethanol mills. Luciano told Reuters this year that offers ADM had received for the mills were too low.

In addition, ADM said it planned to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota, to produce higher volumes of food and industrial-grade starches.

Other major traders are alsy trying to distance themselves from struggling ethanol businesses. Louis Dreyfus Company BV spun off its Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Biosev in 2013. Rival Bunge sold its sugar book and has sought a buyer for its Brazilian mills since 2013.

ADM, which makes money trading, processing and transporting crops, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, has been looking to strengthen its core business. Last month it said it would seek voluntary early retirements of some North American employees and cut jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

The company expects to lower 2019 capital spending by 10 percent to between $800 million and $900 million.

Net earnings attributable to the company fell to $233 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $393 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $15.30 billion from $15.53 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents per share, while analysts on average had estimated 60 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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