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Don’t expect details from Mueller probe: senior U.S. Republican

FILE PHOTO: Rep. Doug Collins delivers an opening statement before acting U.S. Attorney General Whitaker testifies before House Judiciary Committee in Washington
FILE PHOTO: Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), the ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, delivers an opening statement before acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker is sworn in to testify before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Justice Department on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 8, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

March 8, 2019

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is unlikely to grant Democrats in Congress access to underlying evidence from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, a top congressional Republican said on Friday.

If Representative Doug Collins is right, Democratic-led congressional committees that have launched their own probes of Trump may be stuck with a Mueller investigation report that serves more as a general guidebook than a detailed roadmap of Russian interference and any Trump campaign collusion.

Democrats, who control the House of Representatives, want congressional investigators to have access to Mueller’s grand jury evidence and other information from the probe, fearing that Attorney General William Barr could release only a summary of Mueller’s report.

But Collins, the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee who met with Barr last week, told reporters that he expects any effort by Democrats to obtain such data from the Justice Department to end up in court, unless Mueller finds that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.

“They have never released it, and we don’t expect that to happen again now,” said Collins.

The Mueller report, Washington’s most eagerly anticipated tome in years, is expected soon. Barr must decide what to do with it, a major test for the new Justice Department chief.

Democrats want access to the underlying evidence because of concern that Barr could withhold any incriminating information about Trump. Justice Department policy does not allow a sitting president to be indicted, but also avoids releasing evidence of misconduct against individuals who have not been charged.

“We do not believe there’s going to be collusion,” Collins added. “There’s no more indictments coming from this that we’ve seen so far.”

He said he also does not expect the Mueller report to discuss related, ongoing federal probes, such as the one in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. But Mueller could share national security-related classified information with Congress, he added.

Collins said his meeting with Barr showed that the two agree on what the law says about what can be released from the Mueller probe. “He said he wants to make as much available as he possibly can,” Collins said. “But he’s also going to be a very firm attorney general … and he’ll stay within the guidelines.”

Justice Department officials and Democratic congressional committee staffers were not immediately available for comment.

Since May 2017, Mueller has been looking into interference by Russia in the presidential election that put Trump in the White House, whether Trump colluded with Moscow and whether he has since tried to obstruct subsequent investigations.

The Kremlin denies U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings that it meddled in the election. Trump denies collusion and obstruction, often calling the Mueller probe a “witch hunt.”

When Mueller reports to Barr, as required under law, Congress likely will not be notified immediately, Collins said.

On Monday, House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler launched a broad investigation into possible obstruction of justice and corruption by Trump and his associates. The probe is aimed at a range of issues from possible campaign finance law violations to alleged contacts between the Trump campaign and Russians.

On Friday, Republicans countered by releasing the transcript of closed-door testimony by a career Justice Department official from 2018, which they said supports their contention of anti-Trump activities among department officials in 2016.

Collins said he intends to release more testimony in future, adding that the committee has about 20 transcripts in total.

(Reporting by David Morgan; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and James Dalgleish)

Source: OANN

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‘Ripper Crew’ ex-con: I’m willing to ‘change my ways’

A convicted killer who has settled in a Chicago suburb said he's "willing to work hard to change my ways" and won't be a threat to area residents, decades after he was accused of being part of a satanic cult that killed women in the 1980s.

"I want no contact with the families," Thomas Kokoraleis said, referring to relatives of murder victims. "I want to just go on with my life and be left alone."

The 58-year-old spoke to the Aurora Beacon-News , less than a week after he was released from an Illinois prison after 36 years. He's staying at Wayside Cross Ministries in Aurora, which provides housing and other services to people who are trying to turn their lives around. Mayor Richard Irvin said he felt "blindsided" by news of Kokoraleis' arrival.

"I want to be a better Christian. And I will do my best to become a productive member of society," Kokoraleis said, wiping tears. "I will not be a threat to Aurora and their citizens. I swear to that. I am willing to work hard to change my ways."

Wayside Cross director James Lukose said he didn't seek Kokoraleis but believes he's in the best place to return to society. He traveled from prison last week with a sleep apnea machine and $15.

Kokoraleis' days are structured: Bible study, chapel and work in the Wayside warehouse. Lights go out at 10 p.m.

"I wish he was someone else's problem," Lukose said. "But he came here to Aurora. So we will do all we can do within our powers and limitations to make his transformation into society complete."

Kokoraleis was among four men accused of being part of the "Ripper Crew" cult that killed as many as 20 Chicago-area women in the 1980s. He was convicted in 1984, but the result was overturned and he was granted a new trial.

Kokoraleis pleaded guilty to one murder in exchange for a 70-year prison term. He was eligible for release after serving 50 percent of the sentence, under rules that were in place at the time. His brother, Andrew, was executed.

___

Information from: The Beacon-News, http://beaconnews.chicagotribune.com/

Source: Fox News National

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25 years after genocide, Rwanda’s Kagame is praised, feared

A quarter-century after Rwanda's brutal genocide, President Paul Kagame remains a constant figure atop the country's politics, feted by those who say it needs his visionary leadership and loathed by others who see a firm authoritarian with a malicious streak.

Kagame is so little-questioned that he speaks openly about the apparent assassinations of opponents. That fear factor keeps him in power, critics say, even as he embraces a global reputation as the man who helped bring an end to the mass killings of some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, and who has brought stability to the East African nation.

In a speech last month, Kagame spoke dismissively of the crime that launched his reputation as a hard-liner: The 1998 killing of exiled opposition leader Seth Sendashonga, a fierce Kagame critic, who was gunned down in the streets of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Referring to the assassination, widely believed to have been carried out by a Rwandan hit squad at Kagame's orders, Kagame said he had little to say. "But I am also not apologetic about it," he added.

It was vintage Kagame, who has been Rwanda's de facto leader since his rebel group seized power by force, ending the 100-day genocide that began on April 7, 1994. He has been president since 2000, and could rule until 2034 following changes to the constitution.

Now 61, Kagame shows no signs of giving up power.

A darling of the development community, Kagame is lauded by some as a driver of economic growth that has lifted many Rwandans from poverty, bringing improved health care and education. He has also pushed for more women in political office, and 64% of the lawmakers in Rwanda's parliament are women, the highest percentage of any country in the world.

But for many others he is the architect of an authoritarian regime that has stamped out virtually all opposition in Rwanda as opponents are jailed, flee, disappear, or are killed under mysterious circumstances.

"There is absolutely no room for dissent within Rwanda," said British writer Michela Wrong, who is researching a book on the country. "You agree, you accept Kagame's supreme power, or you leave."

Rights groups decry what they describe as rampant violations that include the arbitrary detentions of street children and other poor people as part of an unofficial government program to hide "undesirable" citizens from view, according to Human Rights Watch. Street vendors, many of them women, have been among the main targets, it said.

Civic groups, journalists, rights watchdogs and political opponents "cannot operate independently or criticize government policy," Human Rights Watch said in its most recent assessment of conditions in Rwanda.

Amnesty International cited a "climate of fear" before Kagame was re-elected to a third term in 2017, a vote that the president described as "a formality" after the most serious challenger was prevented from running and later jailed.

Even government programs ostensibly aimed at forging national unity are criticized by opponents as tools to more tightly control society.

The U.S. State Department, which describes Rwanda as "a constitutional republic dominated by a strong presidency," also cites the problem of impunity among civilian authorities and the security forces.

Still, Rwanda's government remains a major recipient of U.S. and other foreign aid despite persistent allegations of abuses — a fact that has been sharply criticized by Kagame's opponents. Some analysts have long noted that Western remorse over failure to stop the genocide allows Rwanda a measure of goodwill from benefactors who would act tougher with a similarly repressive regime.

Olivier Nduhungirehe, Rwanda's deputy minister of foreign affairs, told The Associated Press that those complaining about human rights "should keep quiet," as Rwanda marks 25 years since the genocide.

"We can't say that everything is perfect, of course," he said, of concerns voiced by some exiles, who say they are afraid to return home. "But reconciliation is a reality for the past 25 years."

Some critics who have fallen out with the president, including senior ruling party members once seen as Kagame allies, have fled into exile, where safety isn't always guaranteed.

British police have warned two prominent Rwandan dissidents of the threats to their lives posed by Rwanda's government. Similar warnings have been issued to dissidents elsewhere in Europe.

In South Africa, an inquest continues into the death of former Rwandan spy chief and Kagame critic Patrick Karegeya, who was found strangled in a Johannesburg hotel in 2014. Kagame has denied his government had anything to do with the killing but warned that those who betray their country will "pay the price."

Jean-Marie Micombero, a former army major who broke with the Kagame government and who has lived in exile in Belgium since 2011, said that 25 years after Rwanda's genocide, the country has yet to truly heal from its violent past.

"Under Kagame's leadership Hutus and Tutsis are forced to live together," said Micombero, a Tutsi. He called for new leadership that would "work in the areas of truth and justice in the context of a broken society. ... There cannot be reconciliation without truth and justice."

One group in exile that is leading the opposition against Kagame includes former members of Rwanda's ruling party.

Outlawed in Rwanda as a terrorist group and accused of running rebel cells in eastern Congo, the Rwanda National Congress denies the allegations and says it is working toward "a united, democratic, and prosperous nation inhabited by free citizens."

The group's Johannesburg-based leader, former Rwandan army chief Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa, has been the target of multiple assassination attempts that he blames on Kagame.

Rwanda's government dismisses charges it runs hit squads abroad. Nduhungirehe, the deputy foreign affairs minister, accused the Rwanda National Congress of "walking hand in hand with those who committed genocide," something the group strongly denies.

But, says Wrong, the British author and journalist: "The level of invective Kagame dedicates to the Rwanda National Congress, the amount of energy he has expended trying to get Uganda and South Africa to expel or extradite or close down these players, suggests he sees them as a real threat."

"These individuals were once incredibly close to Kagame, they know exactly what makes him tick," Wrong said. "I think it's a case of fearing no one quite so much as a former brother-in-arms."

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Source: Fox News World

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Second woman arrested in connection to murder of elderly psychiatrist found in the trunk of car in Las Vegas desert

A second woman has reportedly been arrested in connection to the murder of a 71-year-old California psychiatrist who was found bludgeoned to death in the trunk of a car parked in the desert outside Las Vegas last month.

Diana Nicole Pena, 30, was taken into custody on Saturday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder with the use of a deadly weapon. She stands accused of working with 25-year-old Kelsey Turner and Turner's boyfriend Jon Logan Kennison to murder Dr. Thomas Burchard, according to The Californian. The three lived together at an apartment in Las Vegas, NV.

After his death, it was revealed that Burchard had paid the rent for Turner's apartment in Las Vegas through June 2019. Turner, a mother who reportedly posed for Playboy Italia and Maxim, was arrested in Stockton, Calif. by FBI agents and extradited to Las Vegas in connection to the murder on March 21. Her extradition was reportedly delayed because she is currently pregnant.

Burchard's girlfriend of 17 years, Judy Earp, said that Burchard had given Turner at least $300,000 over the years that she knew of, and that she considers Turner "as evil as Charles Manson." He reportedly gave a number of other women money over the course of their relationship. Earp added that she believed Burchard was in the early stages of Alzheimer's at the time of his death.

PSYCHIATRIST FOUND DEAD IN PLAYBOY MODEL'S CAR HAD PAID HER RENT, WARRANT SAYS 

Earp was the one who reported the "overly compassionate" Burchard missing. Police recovered his body on March 7 in the trunk of a blue two-door 2017 Mercedez Benz. He was partially clothed and had been bludgeoned to death by an object which reportedly left distinctive marks.

Investigators found that the car was registered to a man living in China who had posted an ad offering the car up on Craigslist, to which Turner allegedly responded. She never reported the car as missing.

The car also led police to Pena, after they discovered her bartending card for her job at the Caesar's Palace hotel inside. Her fingerprints, along with Turner's boyfriend Kennison, were found inside the Mercedes.

PLAYBOY MODEL, 25, ARRESTED IN DEATH OF CALIFORNIA PSYCHIATRIST, 71, FOUND IN TRUNK OF CAR

Pena reportedly did not show up for work after March 6, the day before Burchard's body was found. It is believed that Pena, Kennison and Turner fled to Rio, Calif. before the two women were arrested. Kennison reportedly agreed to speak with detectives, but was not heard from again and remains at large.

Pena is set to have a case status check on Tuesday, and both she and Turner are scheduled for a preliminary hearing in the case on June 3.

Burchard reportedly lived in Monterey, Calif. and spent decades working to help patients at the Montage Health Foundation. A spokesperson for the non-profit organization said the situation was "very sad" and that their "hearts go out to his family, friends, patients, and colleagues."

"Dr. Burchard was a psychiatrist in our behavioral health program for almost 40 years and was very helpful to many patients," spokeswoman Mary Barker said. "We are notifying his patients and providing grief counseling for staff."

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Fox News' Kathleen Joyce and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir ousted after 3 decades in apparent military coup

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was ousted and arrested Thursday in an apparent military coup as army officials took power, effectively ending three decades of autocratic power that was marred by allegations of genocide.

The country’s defense minister, Awad Mohammed Ibn Ouf, dressed in military fatigues, announced on state TV that a state of emergency has been imposed for the next three months and that the military would be taking over for the next two years to suspend the constitution and close the nation’s borders and airspace.

Ibn Ouf said after the two years, "free and fair elections" will take place. He said a transitional military council will lead the country for those two years.

The announcement comes hours after the military said to expect an “important statement” on state TV on state TV as well as reports that al-Bashir had been placed under house arrest inside the presidential palace. The circumstances of the ouster remain unclear.

SUDANESE ARMY TO DELIVER 'IMPORTANT STATEMENT' AMID PROTESTS

Thursday’s news sent tens of thousands of Sudanese to the streets of the capital Khartoum cheering, singing and dancing in celebration.

Protesters chanted: “It has fallen, we won.”

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Sudanese celebrate after officials said the military had forced longtime autocratic President Omar al-Bashir to step down after 30 years in power in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 11, 2019. (AP Photo)

Sudanese sources told Reuters that the 75-year-old Bashir was under house arrest and under “heavy guard” at the presidential residence. A son of Sadiq al-Mahdi, the head of the country’s main opposition Umma Party, told al-Hadath TV that Bashir was under house arrest along with “a number of leaders of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group”.

Pan-Arab TV networks said top ruling party officials were being arrested.

Word of al-Bashir’s remove comes months after protests erupted last December with rallies against a worsening economy. They quickly escalated into calls for an end to embattled al-Bashir’s rule.

LIBYA SPEAKER: NO DEALS WHILE ARMED GROUPS 'KIDNAP' TRIPOLI

The protests gained momentum last week after Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in power for 20 years, resigned in response to similar demonstrations.  The mass protests bear striking resemblances to the popular uprisings in 2011 that swept across several Arab nations and ousted leaders in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen.

"We are not leaving. We urge the revolutionaries not to leave the sit-in," the Sudanese Professionals Association, one of the main organizers, said Thursday, warning against attempts to "reproduce the old regime."

Protesters pray during a demonstration near the military headquarters, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in the capital Khartoum, Sudan. Activists behind anti-government protests in Sudan say security forces have killed at least seven people, including a military officer, in another attempt to break up the sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum. A spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, said clashes erupted again early Tuesday between security forces and protesters who have been camping out in front of the complex in Khartoum since Saturday. (AP Photo)

Protesters pray during a demonstration near the military headquarters, Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in the capital Khartoum, Sudan. Activists behind anti-government protests in Sudan say security forces have killed at least seven people, including a military officer, in another attempt to break up the sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum. A spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, said clashes erupted again early Tuesday between security forces and protesters who have been camping out in front of the complex in Khartoum since Saturday. (AP Photo)

The Sudanese government responded with an increased crackdown. Security forces tried repeatedly to break up the sit-in since Saturday, in violence that killed at least 22 people.

Armored vehicles and tanks were parked in the streets and near bridges over the Nile River, they said, as well as in the vicinity of the military headquarters where the sit-in was taking place. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals. There were also unconfirmed reports that the airport in the Sudanese capital had been closed.

AMERICAN TOURIST, GUIDE WHO WERE FREED AFTER KIDNAPPING IN UGANDA PICTURED AS TRUMP URGES CAPTORS' CAPTURE

Ahead of the expected army statement, Sudanese radio played military marches and patriotic music. State TV ceased regular broadcasts, showing only the statement promising the statement and urging the public to "wait for it."

Protesters rally in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 8, 2019. Organizers behind anti-government demonstrations in Sudan said security forces attempted to break up a sit-in outside the military headquarters. A spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association told The Associated Press that clashes erupted early Monday between security forces and protesters, who have been camped out in front of the complex in Khartoum since Saturday. (AP Photo)

Protesters rally in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 8, 2019. Organizers behind anti-government demonstrations in Sudan said security forces attempted to break up a sit-in outside the military headquarters. A spokeswoman for the Sudanese Professionals Association told The Associated Press that clashes erupted early Monday between security forces and protesters, who have been camped out in front of the complex in Khartoum since Saturday. (AP Photo)

But the hours without an army statement raised fears among protesters that the military was seeking to keep its control. Some feared that the delay would allow al-Bashir to go into exile.

"Is there an attempt to get around the anger of the Sudanese people after they failed to end the protests by violence? If so, the revolution will continue," said Mariam al-Mahdi, of the opposition Umma Party.

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Al-Bashir came to power in a 1989 coup, leading an alliance of the military and Islamist hard-liners. Since then, the military has stuck by him, even as he was forced to allow the separation of South Sudan and as he became a pariah in many countries, wanted by the international war crimes tribunal for atrocities in Darfur that led to the death of an estimated 300,000 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Man cited for aiming laser at Brady in AFC title game

FILE PHOTO: NFL: AFC Championship Game-New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs
FILE PHOTO: Jan 20, 2019; Kansas City, MO, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates while leaving the field after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs during overtime in the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

April 10, 2019

A 64-year-old Missouri man was cited for allegedly aiming a laser pointer at New England quarterback Tom Brady’s face during the AFC Championship game at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.

Dwyan Morgan of Lee’s Summit was ticketed for disturbing the peace and faces up to a year in jail or a fine up to $1,000, Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said Tuesday in a news release.

The incident happened in the fourth quarter of the Patriots’ 37-31 overtime win against the Chiefs on Jan. 20.

A photographer for KMBC in Kansas City recorded evidence of a green laser shining in Brady’s face. Prosecutors did not say how investigators were able to determine that Morgan was allegedly involved.

Morgan has already been banned for life from the stadium, ESPN reported in February.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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EU watchdog closes probe into regulators over Danske Bank

FILE PHOTO: General view of the Danske Bank building in Copenhagen
FILE PHOTO: General view of the Danske Bank building in Copenhagen, Denmark, September 27, 2018. REUTERS/Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen/File Photo

April 17, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – The European Banking Authority has closed its probe into Danish and Estonian regulators in relation to a money-laundering scandal at Danske Bank, saying its board rejected a proposal to find the watchdogs in breach of European Union law.

“At a vote at its meeting on 16 April 2019 the EBA’s Board of Supervisors rejected a proposal for a breach of Union law recommendation,” the EBA said in a statement.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Rachel Armstrong)

Source: OANN

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Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.

The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.

But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. …  I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”

— Joe Biden

But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.

It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.

An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.

Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.

“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”

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Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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