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Rosengren says Fed should adopt target inflation range

FILE PHOTO: File Photo: The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's President and CEO Eric S. Rosengren speaks in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston's President and CEO Eric S. Rosengren speaks in New York, April 17, 2013. REUTERS/Keith Bedford/File Photo

April 16, 2019

The U.S. Federal Reserve should shore up its ability to fight economic downturns by committing to let inflation run above 2% when times are good, a top policymaker said on Monday.

The comments by Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Fed, echoed remarks made earlier in the day by another Fed policymaker who cited the U.S. economy’s falling a bit short on the central bank’s inflation target as a problem. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, is currently at 1.8%.

Rosengren said he supports an approach that would see the Fed, which is “forced to accept” inflation below its 2% target during recessions, commit to achieve above-2% inflation “in good times.” Policymakers, for instance, could target a range of 1.5-2.5%.

“Looking forward, achieving a symmetric inflation target is likely to be that much more difficult in a world where interest rates are low, given the constraint on reducing rates enough to move inflation back toward (or above) the Fed policymakers’ target,” Rosengren said in remarks prepared for delivery at Davidson College in North Carolina. “My own preference is for the Federal Reserve to adopt an inflation range.”

The Fed, which adopted the 2% inflation aim in 2012, calls its current target “symmetric,” meaning it is not a cap.

The remarks come ahead of a broad policy review being conducted by the Fed this year. How the Fed meets its inflation target is one of the key topics.

The president of the Chicago Fed, Charles Evans, said earlier on Monday that the U.S. central bank should embrace inflation above its target half the time and consider cutting rates if prices do not rise as fast as expected. Both Rosengren and Evans are voting members on the Fed’s policy-setting committee this year.

Some policymakers and analysts think the Fed is better equipped to respond to upward spikes in prices than to persistently low readings. That is because interest rate cuts lose their potency as borrowing costs approach zero. The Fed now targets short-term rates between 2.25-2.50%, leaving relatively little room to cut in the face of a recession.

But even though the Fed says its current inflation target is “symmetric,” in practice, people have seen the figure as a “ceiling,” and prices have tended to grow less than 2% each year, Rosengren said. The Fed has kept rates steady this year after raising them four times in 2018, and Rosengren said one reason is policymakers want evidence that inflation will stay around 2%.

Alternatives to the Fed’s current approach, including the one endorsed by Rosengren and others discussed by his colleagues, come with their own risks, including the possibility that the public might not think the Fed will keep up its end of the bargain and keep prices in line with its target growth.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: OANN

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US scientists to climb Everest, collect data on climate

A team of American scientists has flown to the Mount Everest region to study how pollution has impacted the Himalayan mountains and glaciers which are melting due to global warming.

The team led by John All of Western Washington University plans to spend the next two months in the region and climb the world's highest peak in May while they collect samples and study the ice, snow and vegetation.

The team plan to bring the samples and data and study with local university and government agencies in Nepal. They'll compare the current data to data the professor collected on a 2009 visit.

They plan to study the color and mineral content of the snow and ice on the mountains while collecting plans and other vegetation on the foothills.

Source: Fox News World

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House Democrats demand documents on Trump’s DHS purge

FILE PHOTO: White House adviser Miller departs with U.S. President Trump on travel to Michigan from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland
FILE PHOTO: White House adviser Stephen Miller walks across the tarmac to board Air Force One as he departs Washington with U.S. President Donald Trump for travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

April 25, 2019

By Mark Hosenball and Doina Chiacu

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The chairmen of three U.S. House committees sought documents on Thursday related to recent Trump administration firings of top Department of Homeland Security officials, escalating tensions between congressional Democrats and the White House over immigration policy.

U.S. Representatives Elijah Cummings, Bennie Thompson and Jerrold Nadler, Democrats who head the House of Representatives Oversight, Homeland Security and Judiciary committees, said in a statement they were “concerned that the president may have removed DHS officials because they refused his demands to violate federal immigration law and judicial orders.”

The chairmen said they were particularly interested in documents relating to recent moves by President Donald Trump and Stephen Miller, a former congressional aide who has become a top presidential adviser on immigration, to purge DHS of “senior leaders” who “reportedly refused orders to violate the law.”

The committee leaders’ move followed a White House declaration that it was refusing a request from the Oversight Committee for Miller to testify before the panel.

In a letter to the committee on Wednesday, the White House said Miller would not testify about administration immigration initiatives, including Trump’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents and his threat to send immigrants in the country illegally to so-called sanctuary cities.

“In accordance with longstanding precedent, we respectfully decline the invitation to make Mr. Miller available for testimony before the committee,” the White House counsel said in the letter, which was provided to Reuters on Thursday.

The Republican president is pushing back against legal requests from Democratic-led House committees, which are conducting wide-ranging investigations of Trump and his administration, including his tax returns, White House security clearances and possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

DHS DEPARTURES

In their Thursday letter, the Democratic committee chairmen noted that DHS recently announced the departures of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, the department’s undersecretary for management, the director of the U.S. Secret Service and the acting director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

Cummings, whose committee has launched multiple investigations into Trump administration and White House policies, accused Trump on Wednesday of an “unprecedented, and growing pattern of obstruction” after he ordered federal employees not to comply with congressional investigations.

Cummings on April 17 invited Miller to testify voluntarily about why the administration decided to separate immigrant children from their parents at the border.

Cummings also called for an explanation of “transferring asylum seekers to sanctuary cities as a form of illegal retribution against your political adversaries, and firing top administration officials who refuse orders to violate the law.”

Trump has said he is considering sending immigrants in the country illegally to jurisdictions that have adopted some form of “sanctuary city” policies in which they refuse to use their resources to help federal agents enforce deportations.

Miller, a former Senate aide, helped shape some of Trump’s most contentious immigration policies, from a ban on Muslim immigrants proposed shortly after Trump took office in 2017 to the child separation policy, both of which were rejected by courts.

The oversight panel could move to subpoena Miller, but the White House could invoke executive privilege to protect his discussions with Trump.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Roberta Rampton and Mark Hosenball; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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Poland may cancel visit to Israel amid new Holocaust spat

A government official says Poland is considering pulling out altogether from a visit to Israel over a comment made by the acting Israeli foreign minister, the latest in a bitter new Holocaust spat between the two nations.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki already pulled out of the meeting Monday and Tuesday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by leaders from Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz was tapped to go in his place.

On Monday, Michal Dworczyk, the head Morawiecki's office, said Czaputowicz's attendance is now in doubt over comments made by Israel Katz, the acting foreign minister.

Katz said Sunday that Poles "sucked anti-Semitism from their mothers' milk," citing something once said by former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, whose father was murdered by Poles.

Source: Fox News World

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Thailand collects sacred waters for king’s coronation rituals

Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn attends the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony in central Bangkok
FILE PHOTO: Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn attends the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony in central Bangkok, Thailand, May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

April 6, 2019

By Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand began rituals on Saturday for the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn next month, with officials collecting water in ceremonies across the country for use in purification rites.

The elaborate coronation for King Vajiralongkorn will take place over three days, from May 4 to 6, in the capital Bangkok with many Buddhist and Brahmin rituals performed in the month leading up to the event.

The 66-year-old King Vajiralongkorn became Thailand’s constitutional monarch following the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in 2016 following a 70-year reign.

His coronation was delayed until after the mourning period for Bhumibol, who was cremated in October 2017.

Reverence for the monarch, who is also the sworn patron of Buddhism in Thailand, is central to traditional Thai culture.

For most Thais, the coronation will be the first in their lifetimes.

The water gathered on Saturday will be use for ablution of the king in the purification and anointment ceremonies on May 4 before the crowning ritual.

The use of water is based on a Brahmin tradition that dates back to the 18th century coronation ceremonies, since the founding of the Chakri dynasty.

Saturday is Chakri Day in Thailand, which observes the beginning of the dynasty.

King Vajiralongkorn holds the title Rama X, or the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty.

The waters were collected simultaneously between 11.52 a.m. to 12:38 p.m. on Saturday – times deemed especially auspicious in Thai astrology – by senior officials from more than a 100 water sources across 76 Thai provinces.

The ceremony was broadcast on all Thai television channels.

The water, stored in traditional vases, will be blessed in Buddhist ceremonies at major temples around the country on April 8 to 9, before being combined in another consecration rite at Wat Suthat, one of Bangkok’s oldest temples, on April 18.

Vajiralongkorn is the second child of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit’s four children and their only son.

He was educated at private schools in Britain and Australia before attending the Royal Military College Duntroon in Canberra.

According to the official biography, he is a qualified helicopter and fighter pilot, who saw action against communist insurgents in Thailand in the 1970s. He holds the honorary military ranks of general, admiral and air chief marshal.

Vajiralongkorn has spent a significant amount of his adult life abroad, mostly in Germany where he has a home.

(Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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Post-Katrina promise of oil money leaves states shortchanged

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view is seen of the town of Port Fourchon and its surrounding marshes in Louisiana
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view is seen of the town of Port Fourchon and its surrounding marshes in Louisiana, May 11, 2010. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo

March 15, 2019

By Nichola Groom

(Reuters) – In 2006, a year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the U.S. government struck a deal to give states in the region a growing share of offshore drilling revenues to finance projects protecting them from future monster storms.

But revenues have fallen short of forecasts by half, leaving Louisiana with a gap in financing for a $50 billion plan for projects to raise levees, build flood gates, widen evacuation routes and protect its eroding coastline.

The shortfall, which federal officials blame on low oil prices, has forced the state to put off critical projects as Louisiana’s congressional delegation pushes for another increase in its share of federal oil revenues.

The predicament shows how states hosting offshore drilling can get burned by the industry’s boom-and-bust cycles, providing a cautionary tale for other states as the Trump administration proposes to expand offshore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans.

Louisiana’s underfinanced coastal projects also highlight the hefty cost of adapting to rising sea levels in a changing climate – a problem scientists blame on consumption of fossil fuels. Several coastal states including Florida, Massachusetts, California, and Washington have urged the administration to leave them out of its drilling plans, arguing the environmental costs outweigh the promised jobs and income.

The stakes are particularly high for Louisiana, which has lost about 2,000 square miles of land over the last century because of Mississippi River levees that block silt from reaching its swamps, the oil industry’s carving of canals through the marshes, and sea level rise from climate change.

But other states and nations should take notice of Louisiana’s ordeal, said U.S. Representative Garret Graves, a Republican who managed the state’s coastal restoration efforts before joining Congress in 2014.

“What in Louisiana is a $50 or $70 billion problem, you are talking hundreds of billions and trillions of dollars around the United States and around the world,” he said.

FAULTY PROJECTIONS

President George W. Bush signed the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) into law in December of 2006, providing storm-battered Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama a 37.5 percent share of federal oil-and-gas royalties from offshore drilling.

Previously, Gulf Coast states got 27 percent of revenues from federal leases within three miles of their seaward boundaries.

The changes followed national outrage over the administration’s botched emergency response to catastrophic flooding from the systematic failure of the federally constructed levee system in New Orleans.

Six months earlier, the chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers admitted the agency had “missed something” in engineering the system, which collapsed at water levels lower than they were designed to withstand.

For the first ten years, the changes applied to only a fraction of offshore leases. But after that, in larger payouts starting last year, it applied to all offshore leases off the coasts of these states.

In 2013, the Department of Interior told Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas that, under the second phase, they would have at least $375 million to split between them annually through 2055.

But when the states’ first payment came in late last year, the payout totaled $188 million.

“That has a huge impact on our planning efforts,” said Chip Kline, chair of the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which oversees its 50-year, $50 billion coastal restoration plan.

Another GOMESA recipient, Alabama, has also felt the pinch. Its Republican governor, Kay Ivey, wrote a letter to then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in March 2018 urging him to support states seeking more offshore revenues.

“Expanded and enhanced revenue sharing will allow states to more properly address the coastal impacts of offshore production,” she wrote.

An official for the Texas General Land Office said the lower payouts had not impacted its programs because it had budgeted conservatively. Officials in Mississippi did not respond to requests for comment.

Department of Interior officials said the shortfall was due to a sharp drop in oil prices since 2013. It would not provide the underlying oil price or production estimates it used in its 2013 projections, saying they were supplied by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and were confidential.

OMB did not respond to a Reuters request for the data.

In an emailed statement, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the bureau no longer provides long-term projections for state revenue from the program.

OUTSIZED IMPACT

The shortfall had an outsized impact on Louisiana, which receives almost half the GOMESA program’s revenues because of its geographic proximity to the largest number of offshore wells. It received $82 million in its first phase-two payout, compared to the $177 million it had been counting on.

Among the shortfall’s biggest impacts, Kline said, would be a delay in completing the state’s massive “Morganza to the Gulf” hurricane protection project, a system of levees and floodgates to protect 150,000 coastal residents of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes from a so-called 100-year storm, defined as having a 1 percent chance of hitting in any given year.

Lafourche parish is a major seafood and oil industry hub that includes Port Fourchon, the land base for offshore oil and gas services companies. Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes could each lose about 40 percent of their land area in the next 50 years in the absence of effective coastal protection measures, according to state research.

The Morganza project has been in the works for more than a decade and is expected to cost about $2 billion. Local communities have already agreed to tax increases twice to help fund the unfinished project.

“We’ve been piecemealing this,” said Reggie Dupre, executive director of the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District.

The funding gap also forced state officials to cancel a plan to funnel 10 percent of offshore oil revenue to help finance road improvements along hurricane evacuation routes.

St. Bernard Parish, which was devastated by flooding after Hurricane Katrina, has its own $1 billion coastal plan, with $600 million in projects ready to move forward.

It received $781,000 from the 2018 payments, according to John Lane, coastal manager for the parish.

“There just isn’t enough money coming in,” Lane said.

LEGISLATIVE PUSH

While Louisiana officials piece together funding for their projects from other sources, its legislators in Congress are fighting for changes to GOMESA, including increasing the percentage diverted to states from 37.5 percent to 50 percent.

One such bill, sponsored by Congressman Graves, passed a vote in the House Committee on Natural Resources late last year, before the new Congress was seated.

But the idea faces resistance from those who believe the revenues should be used on national instead of state priorities. Both President Donald Trump and President Barack Obama’s administrations had proposed budgets eliminating or reducing GOMESA payments to finance federal programs instead, before being pushed back by Congress.

Graves says increasing the revenue share would be a smart move for an administration promoting more offshore drilling.

“Are you really going to treat (host states) poorly and not reward them, or not keep them happy and healthy so they can continue being productive?” Graves said.

(Reporting by Nichola Groom; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Brian Thevenot)

Source: OANN

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Iconic Salt Lake Temple closing for major 4-year renovation

An iconic temple central to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faith will close for four years for a major renovation to help it withstand earthquakes and be more welcoming to visitors, leaders said Friday.

Authorities said they are also keeping a careful eye on construction plans after a devastating fire this week at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

The Salt Lake Temple will close Dec. 29 to update the stately granite building and surrounding square, including elements that emphasize the life of Jesus Christ, church President Russell M. Nelson said. "We promise that you will love the results," he said.

The building and square at the heart of Utah's capital city is one of the state's top tourist destinations, though only church members in good standing can go inside the building used for marriages and other religious ceremonies.

When the project is done in 2024, the faith widely known as the Mormon church will host an open house to give outsiders the first glimpse of the temple's interior in more than a century.

A new visitors' center and removal of a wall around the square in favor of a fence will also visually open up the flower-lined space to visitors walking by.

"We want to them to think of Salt Lake just as easily as they think of Jerusalem or The Vatican as a place where Christianity really has its heart," said Bishop Dean M. Davies.

The work that will bring scaffolding, cranes and occasional road closures to downtown Salt Lake City also carries increased fire risk. Authorities are taking extra caution in light of the damage to Norte Dame by crafting a plan that includes a 24-hour fire watch, limiting welding and grinding to certain areas, and plenty of fire extinguishers.

Investigators are still determining the exact cause of the fire at Notre Dame, which was under renovation when the blaze started on Monday.

The Salt Lake Temple's earthquake-mitigation project will be a major undertaking, and involve excavating underneath the temple to install a base-isolation system that will prevent damage by largely decoupling the building from the earth.

The area sees some seismic activity, including a series of small quakes that have occurred in recent months. Plans for this project, though, stretch back more than a decade.

Much of the square will remain open during the construction, including the building where the faith's famed Tabernacle Choir sings.

In a nod to the 16-million-member church's increasingly global membership, the project will also allow the temple to serve people in over 86 languages, rather than only English.

Leaders declined to say how much the project will cost.

Temples aren't used for regular Sunday services, but thousands of church members visit every year. It is one of the most popular destinations for weddings. While it's closed, local members will go to a number of other nearby Utah temples.

After it reopens, changes will include a return to a more colorful Victorian-era palette rather than the mostly white style adopted during another extensive renovation in the 1960s.

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said the project will likely bring more congestion downtown, but he's hoping tourists will keep visiting during construction.

"People think of The Church of Jesus Latter-day Saints and most people think of this temple," said Herbert, who is a member of the faith. The renovation "shows the vitality of Salt Lake City. We're not closing things down, we're expanding and growing."

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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Well, Joe Biden didn’t exactly clear the field.

I don’t think it matters much that Biden waited until yesterday to become the 20th Democrat vying for the nomination, even though it exposed him to weeks of attacks while he seemed to be dithering on the sidelines.

A much greater warning sign, in my view, is the largely negative tone surrounding his debut. He is, after all, a former vice president, highly praised by Barack Obama, who has consistently led in the early primary polls, and beating President Trump in head-to-head matchups. Yet much of the press is acting like he’s an old codger and it’s just a matter of time before he keels over politically.

This is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that the vast majority of journalists and pundits know and like Joe Biden and his gregarious personality.

The reason is that Biden, after a half-century in politics, lacks excitement, and the press is magnetically attracted to novel and unorthodox types like Beto and Mayor Pete. You don’t see Biden on the cover of Vanity Fair, and a grind-it-out win by a conventional warrior doesn’t set journalistic hearts racing.

JOE BIDEN ANNOUNCES 2020 PRESIDENTIAL BID: 3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT

For many in the media, Biden isn’t liberal enough, at least not for the post-Obama era. He doesn’t promise free college and free health care and has a history of working with Republicans, such as John McCain (whose daughter Meghan loves him, and Biden will hit “The View” today.)

What’s more, Biden’s campaign style — speak at rallies, rack up union endorsements — seems hopelessly old-fashioned when we measure popularity by Instagram followers. News outlets are predicting he’ll have trouble getting in the online fundraising game, leaving him reliant on big donors, which used to be standard practice.

And then there’s the age thing. Biden would be the oldest president to be inaugurated, at 78, and he looked a step slow in encounters with reporters yesterday and a few weeks ago.

But what if the journalists are in something of a Twitter bubble, and the actual Democratic Party is much more moderate? We saw that with the spate of allegations by women of unwanted touching, which dominated news coverage until polls showed that most Dem voters weren’t concerned. In that wider world, the Scranton guy’s connection to white, working-class voters could help him against Trump in the industrial Midwest.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF OF THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Biden denounced the president’s term as an “aberrant moment” in his launch video, saying four more years would damage the country’s character and “I cannot stand by and watch that happen.”

But first, he’d have to win the nomination in the face of an unenthusiastic press corps.

A New York Times news story said Biden would be “marshaling his experience and global stature in a bid to lead a party increasingly defined by a younger generation that might be skeptical of his age and ideological moderation.”

The Washington Post quoted Democratic strategists as saying that Biden faces an “uphill battle” and “isn’t necessarily the heir apparent to Obama, despite being his No. 2 in the White House for eight years. They argue voters will judge Biden by the span of his decades-long career and are worried the veteran pol hasn’t yet found a winning formula for his own candidacy.”

The liberal Slate said the ex-veep’s rivals view him as a “paper tiger”:

“Biden is something more like a 2016 Jeb Bush: a weak establishment favorite whose time might be past … Biden’s biggest challenge in the primary will be a compromised past spanning nearly 50 years.”

“Compromised” suggests a history of scandal, yet what Slate means is political baggage, such as his backing of a Clinton-era crime bill unpopular with black voters today. Yet I think the rank and file isn’t as concerned about a vote back in 1994, or even the Anita Hill hearings, as the chattering classes.

BIDEN’S SENATE RECORD, ADVOCACY OF 1994 CRIME BILL WILL BE USED AGAINST HIM, EX-SANDERS STAFFER SAYS

One of the few left-leaning pundits to suggest the press is underestimating Biden is data guru Nate Silver at 538:

“Media coverage could nonetheless be a problem for Biden. Within the mainstream media, the story of Biden winning the nomination will be seen as boring and anticlimactic. That tends not to lead to favorable coverage. Meanwhile, some left-aligned media outlets may prefer candidates who are some combination of more leftist, more wonkish, more reflective of the party’s diversity, and more adept on social media.

“If Biden is framed as being out of touch with today’s Democratic Party and that narrative is repeated across a variety of outlets, it could begin to resonate with voters who don’t buy it initially. If he’s seen as a gaffe-prone candidate, then minor missteps on the campaign trail could be blown up into big fumbles.”

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Look, it’s entirely possible that Biden could stumble, get lapped in fundraising and just be outclassed by younger and savvier rivals. He was hardly a great candidate in 1987 and in 2008.

But if the former vice president finds his footing and the field narrows, the press will be forced to change its tune, and we’ll see a spate of stories about how Joe Biden has “grown.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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South Africa's 400m Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk looks on as he attends South African Championships in Germiston
South Africa’s 400m Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk looks on as he attends South African Championships in Germiston, South Africa, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

April 26, 2019

GERMISTON, South Africa (Reuters) – Olympic 400 meters champion Wayde van Niekerk has backed South African compatriot Caster Semenya in her battle with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which now appears to have taken a new twist.

Semenya, a double 800 meters Olympic gold medalist, is waiting for the outcome of her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to halt the introduction of new regulations by governing body IAAF that would require her to take medicine to limit her natural levels of testosterone.

The IAAF wants female athletes with differences of sexual development who run in events from 400 meters to a mile, to reduce their blood testosterone level to below five (5) nmol/L for a period of six months before they can compete, saying they have an unfair advantage.

“She’s fighting for something beyond just track and field, she’s fighting for woman in sports, in society and I respect her for that,” Van Niekerk told reporters.

“I will support her and with the hard work and talent that she’s been putting into the sport. With what she believes in and what she’s dreaming for, I’ve got a lot of respect for her.

“I really hope and pray that everything just goes from strength to strength for her.”

Semenya has sprung a surprise at the on-going South African Athletics Championships though, ditching the 800 meters and instead competing over 1,500 and 5,000-metres – the latter one would not require her to medically lower her testosterone level.

She stormed to victory in the 5,000-metres final in a modest time of 16:05.97, but looked to have lots left in the tank as she passed the finish line.

Semenya beat fellow Olympian and defending national 5,000m champion Dominique Scott in Thursday’s final but the latter admitted she is unsure whether the 800m specialist could be a serious Olympic contender over the longer distance.

“Honestly‚ I have no idea‚” Scott said. “Before today I probably would have said no. It’s hard to compare a 5,000 at altitude to a 5,000 at sea level.

“But I think she’s an amazing runner and I don’t think there’s any limit or ceiling on what she can do.”

Van Niekerk, the 400m world record holder, had to abort his comeback from a knee injury, that had sidelined him for 18 months, following a combination of cold weather and a wet track.

“We are trying to take the correct decisions now early in the year so as not to put myself in any harm,” he said.

“It was a bit chilly this entire week prepping and coming through here as well it was quite cold and it caused bit of tightness in my leg. We decided to not risk it.

“My recovery is going well and I would like to be back in competition this year, but will only do so if I can deliver a good performance.

“I am a competitor and respect my opponents, so I need to be at my best when I return.”

(Reporting by Nick Said, additional reporting by Siyabonga Sishi; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

Source: OANN

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The suspected leader of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka died in the Shangri-La hotel, one of six hotels and churches targeted in the attacks that killed at least 250 people, authorities said.

Police said Mohamed Zahran, leader of the National Towheed Jamaat militant group, had been killed in one of the bombings. The group’s second in command was also arrested, police said.

Zahran amassed an online following for his hate-filled sermons. Some were delivered before a banner depicting the Twin Towers.

Sri Lankan authorities said Friday that Islamic cleric Mohammed Zahran died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel during the Easter Sunday atatcks that killed at least 250 people. 

Sri Lankan authorities said Friday that Islamic cleric Mohammed Zahran died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel during the Easter Sunday atatcks that killed at least 250 people.  (YouTube)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that the attackers responsible for the bombings were supported by the Islamic State group. Around 140 people in Sri Lanka had connections to ISIS, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said.

“We will completely control this and create a free and peaceful environment for people to live,” he said.

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Investigators determined the attackers received military training from someone called “Army Mohideen.” They also received weapons training overseas and at some locations in Sri Lanka, according to authorities.

A copper factory operator arrested in connection with the bombings helped Mohideen make improvised explosive devices, police said. The bombings have led to increased security throughout the island nation as authorities warned of another attack.

Source: Fox News World

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