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MLB investigating racist messages aimed at Cubs P Edwards

FILE PHOTO: MLB: Spring Training-Boston Red Sox at Chicago Cubs
FILE PHOTO: Mar 26, 2019; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Carl Edwards Jr. against the Boston Red Sox during a spring training game at Sloan Park. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

April 16, 2019

Major League Baseball is investigating racist social media posts aimed at Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Carl Edwards, a league spokesman told The Athletic.

Edwards received racist messages on Instagram, according to the report, drawing the attention of the league as well as the players’ union.

“We are aware of the situation. We have a team that works with social media companies to take appropriate actions in situations like this,” an MLB spokesperson told The Athletic.

The Cubs demoted Edwards to Triple-A Iowa earlier this month to iron out his woes to start the season. Edwards had a 32.40 ERA in four relief appearances this season, allowing six earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings.

Overall, the 27-year-old is 8-8 with a 3.36 ERA in 176 relief appearances for the Cubs (2015-19).

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Media ‘obsessed’ with Trump, guests Tammy Bruce and Jeffrey Lord tell Laura Ingraham

Independent Women’s Voice President Tammy Bruce and former CNN contributor Jeffrey Lord called the mainstream media “obsessed” with President Trump and compared them to drug addicts avoiding rehab Friday while appearing on the “Ingraham Angle” to discuss the aftermath of the Mueller report release.

“At this point, with the clips you showed, it's turned into fan fiction. ... It's almost as if they know it's absolutely impossible. But they can't let it go. It's like that show, ‘Intervention,’ where the person starts to run across the parking lot because they don't want to get into the van to go to the airport to go to the rehab center,” Bruce said.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN GOES ON POST-MUELLER OFFENSIVE

“They've completely lost any sense of normalcy of any kind of sense of reality. They know it. They don't care. They just think, well, maybe this is going to be click bait and maybe some of our audience will come back.”

Ingraham played both Bruce and Lord a montage of CNN hosts and pundits talking about how the Mueller report release and results were a win for Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

TRUMP WORRIED MUELLER APPOINTMENT WOULD DISTRACT FROM HIS PRESIDENCY: 'THIS IS THE END. I'M F---ED'

“Let’s be clear this report is a gift to the government of Russia,” one CNN commentator said in the montage.

The Mueller report was released Thursday and showed investigators did not find evidence of collusion between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russian operatives.

Lord said he believes the media is “obsessed” with President Trump and disappointed the report didn’t find evidence of collusion. He also said he believes the investigation into how the Russia investigation began will deliver the “real truth.”

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“They're about to get the real truth with all of these deep-state people in the FBI and the Department of Justice who were colluding with members of the media to trap Donald Trump, to frame Donald Trump. And they were obsessed about it. They're still obsessed about it,” Lord said.

“They're so disappointed they didn't get him and they're going to try again. The only one they're going to get is themselves.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Trump says trade talks with China going ‘very well’

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump participates in briefing on southern U.S. border in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a briefing on "drug trafficking on the southern border" in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

March 19, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that U.S. trade talks with China were going well as two top American officials reportedly plan a visit to China next week for a fresh round of talks.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expect to fly to Beijing the week of March 25 to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who will pay a return trip to Washington the following week, the Wall Street Journal said, citing Trump administration officials.

Talks between China and the United States are in the final stages, with a target date for a deal by the end of April, according to the report.

“China’s going very well. Talks with China are going very well,” Trump said in response to a shouted question at the end of his White House news conference with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Washington and Beijing have slapped import duties on each other’s products that have cost the world’s two largest economies billions of dollars, roiled markets and disrupted manufacturing and supply chains.

Representatives of the U.S. Treasury and Office of the U.S. Trade Representative could not be immediately reached for comment. The White House had no immediate comment.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Grant McCool)

Source: OANN

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Exclusive: Air Force to push Congress for military housing tenant bill of rights

Hearing before Senate Armed Services subcommittees on the Military Housing Privatization Initiative in Washington
FILE PHOTO: Assistant Secretary of Defense For Sustainment Robert McMahon; Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment Alex Beehler; Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations, and Environment Phyllis Bayer; Assistant Secretary of Air Force for Installations, Environment, and Energy John Henderson testify before Senate Armed Services subcommittees on the Military Housing Privatization Initiative in Washington, U.S. February 13, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott

February 18, 2019

By M.B. Pell and Deborah Nelson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Aiming to grant military families far greater say to challenge hazardous housing, the U.S. Air Force told Reuters Monday it will push Congress to enact a tenant bill of rights allowing families the power to withhold rent or break leases to escape unsafe conditions.

The proposed measure, outlined in an interview at the Pentagon by Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson and Chief of Staff David L. Goldfein, follows complaints from military families who say they are often powerless to challenge private industry landlords when they encounter dangerous mold, lead paint and vermin infestations.

“Clearly there are areas where we have issues,” Goldfein said.

Added Secretary Wilson: “That could put a little more leverage into the hands of the renters.”

The Air Force push adds to a drumbeat of reforms to emerge in recent weeks following a Reuters series, Ambushed at Home, that documented shoddy housing conditions at bases nationwide and described how military families are often empowered with fewer rights than civilian tenants.

Read the series Ambushed at Home at https://reut.rs/2t1Y2UA

Wilson said the Air Force is actively working with the Army and Navy to push a tenant bill of rights that would give military families a stronger hand in housing disputes. She wants to strengthen the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a law that includes active duty housing protections. As one example, Wilson proposed expanding the act to allow base families to end their lease or withhold rent if their landlords fail to correct health and safety problems.

Beyond that effort, she said wing commanders of each U.S. Air Force base have been directed to inspect all 50,000 privatized family housing units in the force’s portfolio by March 1. She cited housing breakdowns at Air Force bases including Tinker in Oklahoma, Maxwell in Alabama, MacDill in Florida and Keesler in Mississippi.

In addition, she said, the inspector general’s office will launch a review of how Air Force bases respond to housing health and safety complaints.

Last week, the U.S. Army vowed to renegotiate its housing contracts with private real estate firms, test homes for toxins and hold its own commanders responsible for protecting residents. And on Friday, the Army issued a letter directing senior commanders to conduct inspections of all housing within the next 30 days.

The military action plans follow a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this month in which members of Congress sharply questioned private industry landlords and Defense Department leaders over conditions at U.S. bases.

Wilson said the Air Force is also considering working with Congress to renegotiate its contracts with housing companies to allow the service to withhold all incentive fees from low-performing landlords.

(Additional reporting by Joshua Schneyer. Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

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Vietnam vet wins HOA’s approval to fly American flag, resolving long-running dispute

A long-running American flag flap involving a Vietnam veteran and a Virginia homeowners association appears to have been resolved.

The dispute pitted the Wyndham Homeowners Association in Henrico against Richard Oulton, a medic during the Vietnam War with the 1st Battalion 9th Marines, a unit that suffered so many casualties it became famously known as "The Walking Dead."

Twenty years ago, Wyndham took Oulton to court over a 25-foot flag pole on his property in the affluent townhouse development, WRIC-TV reports.

VETERAN SAYS HE'S FORCED TO SELL HOME AFTER HOA FINES HIM FOR HANGING US FLAG IN FLOWER POT

After Oulton was found guilty of violating the HOA’s by-laws, the flag pole was forced to go.

"I'm standing in my front yard being told my American flag is a visual nuisance,” Oulton told the station as he took down the flag pole. “I think it's horrible, but I have to comply."

Now with the help of a Virginia state lawmaker, the HOA says Oulton can put the flag pole back up, according to the station.

US AIR FORCE VETERAN TOLD POLE FLYING AMERICAN FLAG VIOLATES 'COMMUNITY'S STANDARDS'

"They asked us to poll our neighbors and we polled all of the neighbors that were adjacent, nine houses and (it) was 100 percent support," Oulton told the station.

Oulton is planning to hold a flag-raising ceremony next month and says he wants to fly Old Glory in front of his house again to honor the memory of those from the 1/9 who lost their lives in Vietnam.

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"The memories are always there," he told the station. "Unfortunately, they're deep inside me and I can't clear them out."

Source: Fox News National

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Brent nears $72 amid tightening supplies; surprise draw in U.S. crude stocks

FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland
FILE PHOTO: An oil pump is seen operating in the Permian Basin near Midland, Texas, U.S. on May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder/File Photo

April 17, 2019

By Jane Chung

SEOUL (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Wednesday, supported by concerns over tightening global supply due to U.S. sanctions and fighting in Libya, as well as an unexpected fall in U.S. crude inventories.

International benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $71.93 a barrel by 0034 GMT. Brent earlier hit a fresh five-month high of 71.96 a barrel, the highest since Nov. 8 when prices topped $72 a barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $64.45 per barrel, up 40 cents, or 0.62 percent, from their previous settlement.

WTI is up more than 40 percent this year and Brent up more than 30 percent, on the back of a deal between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia to limit their output by 1.2 million barrels per day starting January.

In June, the producer group and others will decide whether to continue to curb their production, although concerns have arisen over Russia’s willingness to stick with the cuts.

An unexpected fall in U.S. crude inventories also boosted oil prices.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended April 12 to 452.7 million, compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 1.7 million barrels, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) released on Tuesday.

“Crude oil prices continued its recent rise, as investors prepared themselves for a barrage of information from the U.S. shale industry,” ANZ bank said in a note, pointing to the start of the U.S reporting season.

Official data on U.S. production from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due to be released on Wednesday.

(Reporting By Jane Chung; editing by Richard Pullin)

Source: OANN

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Amazon appoints Indra Nooyi to board

FILE PHOTO - CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York
FILE PHOTO - CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

February 25, 2019

(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc said on Monday it named former PepsiCo Inc Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi as a director of the company and appointed her to the audit committee of the board.

Nooyi served as CEO of PepsiCo from October 2006 to October 2018.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru)

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)

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.”

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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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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