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The Latest: Man who slipped into California river found dead

The Latest on river dangers in California (all times local):

8:30 p.m.

Authorities say search teams have found the body of a man who fell into a rain-swollen river in Northern California over the weekend.

The Placer County Sheriff's Office says 23-year-old Andy Odon Ortega Fonseca was found dead Monday in the American River northeast of Sacramento.

Investigators believe he was taking photographs along the bank when he slipped and fell Sunday evening.

To the south, crews are searching for a 5-year-old girl who slipped into the Stanislaus River on Sunday afternoon at Knights Ferry in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Authorities are warning of dangers resulting from California's exceptionally wet winter.

___

9:45 a.m.

Authorities have rescued two people from a fast-flowing wash in Los Angeles and are searching a river in the Sierra Nevada foothills for a little girl swept away during the weekend, spotlighting the dangers of California's very wet winter.

The Los Angeles Fire Department says a man and woman were pulled from Pacoima Wash around 12:30 a.m. Monday after being swept miles downstream at 20 mph.

The department says the man was able to call 911 from the water, and rescuers lowered a firefighter in a harness to pluck them from the stream.

In the Sierra foothills, the search goes on for a 5-year-old girl who slipped into the Stanislaus River on Sunday afternoon at Knights Ferry.

Relatives and bystanders tried to reach the girl but she was swept away.

Source: Fox News National

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U.S. envoy says Venezuela oil production dropping steadily

FILE PHOTO: United States diplomat Elliott Abrams takes notes during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council called to vote on a U.S. draft resolution calling for free and fair presidential elections in Venezuela at U.N. headquarters in New York
FILE PHOTO: United States diplomat Elliott Abrams takes notes during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council called to vote on a U.S. draft resolution calling for free and fair presidential elections in Venezuela at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

March 15, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. special representative for Venezuela said on Friday that Venezuela’s oil exports have been dropping steadily by roughly 50,000 barrels per month and production is likely to dip below a million barrels a day within a “month or two.”

“They are heading down toward a million now, and in a month or two will be below a million” barrels per day, U.S. envoy Elliott Abrams told a news briefing, adding that the decline seen in recent days could partly be attributed to the blackouts that had crippled the country. “It’s a steady decline.”

The OPEC member’s oil production has dwindled in the last two decades, from more than 3 million bpd at the beginning of the century to between 1.2 million and 1.4 million bpd by late 2018. Most of the crude it produces now is heavy or extra heavy.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by David Alexander)

Source: OANN

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Arrest Of Assange Is Message To Press: Obey Or Be Broken

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Source: InfoWars

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Venezuelan expats in Florida back Trump's anti-socialism rhetoric, slam 'ignorant' AOC, Dems

DORAL, FLA. - Rosa Viller was living a nightmare in Venezuela. She loved her country but she couldn't take her kids Sharon and Alejandro to the park. In fact, she couldn't take them anywhere without bodyguards for fear they'd be kidnapped and held for ransom.

It was no way to live.

VENEZUELA SEEKS UN SUPPORT AGAINST 'MILITARY AGGRESSION' 

"My husband was very, very afraid of the situation," she told Fox News. "He told me, 'Rose, we have to leave. We have two little kids. We have good jobs... a nice apartment... but how can we raise our kids in a country without safety or laws?"

The only option was to go.

"It was the best decision we've ever taken," she said.

Viller, who now owns a successful dry cleaner in Doral, is among thousands of Venezuelans who have made South Florida their new home.

The economic, political and humanitarian crisis that has engulfed Venezuela under embattled President Nicolas Maduro has set off a staggering exodus in the Latin American nation. According to conservative estimates, more than three million people have fled in the past few years. The lucky ones like the Villers leave in cars and planes. The majority make the trek to neighboring nations on foot. Those who can't afford to leave or physically aren't able to do so are left watching in horror as their country crumbles around them.

DEADLY CRACKDOWN STOKES FEAR AMONG PROTESTERS IN VENEZUELA

"It hurts when I think about it," expat Alejandro Arrage told Fox. "My biggest fear is that it will happen here. They say it might... I hope, no."

Like several people Fox News recently spoke to in Miami and Doral, Arrage is committed to making sure "mini-Venezuela" doesn't turn into the real one.

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tapped into the sentiment. Both made separate visits to the area this month to deliver rousing anti-socialism speeches and have spoken directly to those affected by corrupt regimes.

On Monday, Trump told a large crowd of immigrants at Florida International University that the U.S. is "profoundly grateful to every dissident and every exile," adding that what happened in Venezuela "will never happen to us."

"A new day is coming in Latin America," he added.

"I have to believe him if I want any peace," Arrage said. "The things I have seen happen to my country haunt me every day."

The threat - however small - of the U.S. heading down a Venezuela-like path is enough for Mary Carmen Molero, who moved to Doral in 2014 with her husband and two children, to reevaluate her political leanings. 

The threat - however small - of the U.S. heading down a Venezuela-like path is enough for Mary Carmen Molero, who moved to Doral in 2014 with her husband and two children, to reevaluate her political leanings.  (Barnini Chakraborty/Fox News)

Venezuela's current problems are the result of a toxic mix of political corruption and widespread economic incompetence. Once among Latin America's most prosperous nations, two decades of socialist rule have left the country on the brink. The deepening humanitarian crisis has left millions hungry, without access to adequate medical care and a growing dread that Venezuela's best days are long gone. Even as his country struggles, Maduro and his inner circle have been widely accused of systematically plundering what remains of Venezuela's wealth to this day.

FEDS AUCTION OFF PRIZED HORSES OF EX-VENEZUELA TREASURER WHO GOT RICH AS SOCIALIST COUNTY CRUMBLED 

For his part, Trump has tried to tie domestic foes like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to the hellscape playing out in Venezuela.

"Who the hell do they think they are thinking Maduro is great or that socialism is great? Socialism and communism is fine in books. Karl Marx had wonderful ideas that will never work."

— Manny Sarmiento, president of the Doral Chamber of Commerce

From the early reviews, it seems to be working.

Manny Sarmiento, president of the Doral Chamber of Commerce, told Fox News he was deeply disappointed by the demonstrators in Doral protesting Trump's Monday speech at Florida International University.

"Who are those ignorant people? If you love socialism and think everything is great then why is everyone moving to Miami?", he asked. "(The protesters) aren't walking the streets in Venezuela. Who the hell do they think they are thinking Maduro is great or that socialism is great? Socialism and communism is fine in books. Karl Marx had wonderful ideas that will never work."

Molero owns the Super Arepa Doral in Doral, Florida. Venezuelan expats are now asking why demonstrators would protest Trump's speech Monday when the situation back home is in such disarray

Molero owns the Super Arepa Doral in Doral, Florida. Venezuelan expats are now asking why demonstrators would protest Trump's speech Monday when the situation back home is in such disarray (Barnini Chakraborty/Fox News)

He holds a special brand of contempt for Ocasio-Cortez.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SLAMMED OVER ANTI-AMAZON PUSH IN NEW YORK CITY BILLBOARD: 'THANKS FOR NOTHING'

"I challenge her to step foot in Venezuela," Sarmiento said. "She wouldn't last a day. I challenge her to go to Cuba. Go there - and not just to the beach. It's pure ignorance on her part."

Viller agrees and says that politicians who preach the power of socialism do so without the knowledge of what it's really like.

"You have to know the history of the country and of other countries around the world and know about the effects of socialism and the consequences of socialism," she said.

The threat - however small - of the U.S. heading down a Venezuela-like path is enough for Mary Carmen Molero, who moved to Doral in 2014 with her husband and two children, to reevaluate her political leanings.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

"Right now for us, the Trump situation is changing," she told Fox News. "We saw him one way with the wall but now I see him as a different person. He's playing a role and sending a message that is so important for our country. It's so satisfying to see him... When he was saying that the United States would never be a socialist or communist system, I was like, 'Oh God, am I a Republican now?"

Source: Fox News World

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Schiff 'Pretty Compelling Evidence' of Trump Campaign-Russia Collusion

Schiff 'Pretty Compelling Evidence' of Trump Campaign-Russia Collusion

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Sunday said there’s “pretty compelling evidence” of Trump campaign collusion with Russia during the 2016 election.

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Schiff refuted the findings of  Senate Intelligence Committee chair Richard Burr, R-N.C., that the panel found no evidence of collusion with Moscow.

"You can see evidence in plain sight on the issue of collusion, pretty compelling evidence,” Schiff said. “Now, there's a difference between seeing evidence of collusion and being able to prove a criminal conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt.”

"All of this is evidence of collusion,” he added. “And you either have to look the other way to say it isn't, or you have to have a different word for it, because it is a corrupt dealing with a foreign adversary during a campaign.”

Schiff also said the president’s declaration of a national emergency to build his long-promised border wall is “daring the court to strike this down.”

"This is the first time a president has tried to declare an emergency when Congress explicitly rejected funding for the particular project that the president is advocating,” Schiff said. “He's pretty much daring the court to strike this down. It is going to be a real test for my GOP colleagues in Congress and their devotion to the institution."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Indonesia central bank holds rates; seeks to lift liquidity, domestic NDF market

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Indonesia's central bank, Bank Indonesia, is seen on a window in the bank's lobby in Jakarta, Indonesia
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Indonesia's central bank, Bank Indonesia, is seen on a window in the bank's lobby in Jakarta, Indonesia September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Iqro Rinaldi/File Photo

April 25, 2019

By Maikel Jeffriando and Tabita Diela

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s central bank on Thursday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for a fifth month to contain external pressures, though it is aiming for looser market liquidity and relaxed rules on trading in domestic non-deliverable forwards.

The 7-day reverse repurchase rate was held at 6.00 percent, where it has been since November, as predicted by all 23 analysts in a Reuters poll.

The decision is “in line with efforts to strengthen the external stability of Indonesia’s economy,” Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo said.

BI has said the benchmark’s level is sufficient to help steer the current account deficit down to the targeted 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year while keeping Indonesian assets attractive.

But BI announced other policy changes to support domestic demand, including increasing liquidity for financial markets though its monetary operations.

“We are doing this as a commitment while we keep the policy rate unchanged,” said Perry, adding that BI’s stance on liquidity policy was “loose”.BI will also seek to stoke its domestic non-deliverable forward market by removing a requirement to have underlying assets for transactions below $5 million, he said.

The central bank launched the rupiah-settled onshore NDF market in November in a bid to create a parallel market to offshore NDF markets, which are often blamed for speculation against the rupiah.

Warjiyo said the rule change is aimed at boosting the number of dollar sellers “which we hope will also increase demand”.

Some analysts expect one or more interest rate cuts later this year to bolster economic growth, though others see an extended hold.

DIFFERING VIEWS

Fakhrul Fulvian of Trimegah Sekuritas Indonesia expects a 25 basis point cut in the fourth quarter, and said “it could be earlier if the current account really improves in the second half.”

But Capital Economics said unlike others, “we think it’s too soon to pencil in rate cuts given the country’s large and widening current account deficit.”

Warjiyo said BI now expects the Fed will not raise interest rates this year or next. In March, he anticipated one hike by the end of 2020.

Indonesia posted larger than expected trade surpluses in February and March, creating some expectation of improvement in the current account gap, which widened to 2.98 percent of GDP in 2018 from 1.60 percent in 2017.

The governor said the current account deficit may widen in the second quarter, but would stay below 3 percent.

Thursday was the first policy meeting after Indonesia’s presidential election on April 17. Private pollsters showed that President Joko Widodo won with around 55 percent of the popular vote, but his challenger former general Prabowo Subianto said he had won and complained of widespread cheating.

The official result of the vote will be announced by May 22.

The rupiah showed little reaction to Thursday’s rates decision. The currency and stock index had jumped a day after the election as the market cheered the quick count results, but since then the gains have been erased.

(Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Ed Davies and Richard Borsuk)

Source: OANN

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CBP defends decision to detain girl, 9, for more than 30 hours despite her being US citizen

A mother was left reeling after two of her children -- including her nine-year-old daughter -- were reportedly held for 30 hours by Customs and Border Patrol agents, despite being passport-carrying U.S. citizens, after trying to cross into California from Mexico to attend school.

Thelma Galaxia said she and a friend were each driving their two children from their homes in Tijuana across the border to the children's schools in San Ysidro on Monday. When they reached the Port of Entry, traffic was backed up significantly and Galaxia was worried about the children getting to school on time, so she told 9-year-old Julia and 14-year-old Oscar to walk through the Port of Entry on foot and she would order them an Uber to get to class

When the children attempted to walk across the border, however, Julia and Oscar were stopped by CBP and subsequently detained and separated from each other for 32 hours.

CBP has defended their actions in a statement to Fox News, saying their intent was to "perform due diligence in confirming her identity and citizenship."

Julia gave the officers her U.S. passport card, but said that they told her she didn't look like the girl in the photo, and accused her of being her cousin Melanie. She also said they accused her brother of sex and human trafficking, and said he would face charges if he didn't sign a document saying that Julia was her cousin Melanie.

“I was scared," Julia told NBC 7. "I was sad because I didn't have my mom or my brother. I was completely by myself."

SUPREME COURT HANDS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION A VICTORY IN IMMIGRATION BATTLE

CBP could not clarify why it took more than a day to identify Julia as a U.S. citizen but said that the girl gave "inconsistent information during her inspection."

They added that Oscar was identified as a citizen later in the day on Monday and released, but it wasn't until about 6:30 p.m. that Julia was allowed to reunite with her family.

At least 25,000 people reportedly cross the border legally between Tijuana and San Ysidro on foot every day

At least 25,000 people reportedly cross the border legally between Tijuana and San Ysidro on foot every day (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

MARINE CORPS COMMANDANT WARNS OF DIRE FISCAL SITUATION AFTER FUNDS ARE REROUTED TO TROOPS AT BORDER

Local news was present as Thelma Galaxia was reunited with her children. In the hours since her children were detained, she had reportedly called the Mexican consulate in an attempt to get them back.

According to a 2017 NPR article, at least 25,000 people cross the border between Tijuana and San Ysidro on foot every day. Many of those are students, born in the United States but living in Mexico for various reasons. As U.S. citizens, they have a right to a U.S. education, although their families could technically be fined for not attending a school in their district.

San Ysidro reportedly has the highest rate of homelessness in the country, as the price of living has risen to a staggering rate, which has driven many families across the border to find affordable housing. In some instances, a family member or parent will be deported, so children will accompany them back to Mexico but make the exhausting trip back to the U.S. daily for school.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

CBP has maintained that they prioritize the "safety of the minors we encounter" and that it is critical to "positively confirm the identity of a child traveling without a parent or legal guardian."

Source: Fox News National

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Alex Jones – Info Wars

12:00 pm 4:00 pm



Maria Butina, the Russian woman who was accused of being a secret agent for the Russian government, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday by a federal judge in Washington after pleading guilty last year to a conspiracy charge.

Butina, who has already served nine months behind bars, will get credit for time served and can possibly get credit for good behavior, the judge said. She will be removed from the U.S. promptly on completion of her time, the judge added, and returned to Russia.

MARIA BUTINA, ACCUSED RUSSIAN SPY, PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY

An emotional and apologetic Butina said in court Friday she is “truly sorry” and regrets not registering as a foreign agent.

“I feel ashamed and embarrassed,” she said, adding that her “reputation is ruined.”

Butina has been jailed since her arrest in July 2018. She entered the court Friday wearing a dark green prison jumpsuit and spoke in clear English, with a slight Russian accent.

“Please accept my apologies,” Butina said.

Butina’s lawyer, Robert Driscoll, said after the sentencing they had hoped for a “better outcome,” but expressed a desire for Butina to be released to her family by the fall.

Prosecutors had claimed Butina used her contacts with the National Rifle Association and the National Prayer Breakfast to develop relationships with U.S. politicians and gather information for Russia.

Prosecutors also have said that Butina’s boyfriend, conservative political operative Paul Erickson, identified in court papers as “U.S. Person 1,” helped her establish ties with the NRA.

WHO IS MARIA BUTINA, THE RUSSIAN WOMAN ACCUSED OF SPYING ON US?

In their filings, prosecutors claim federal agents found Butina had contact information for people suspected of being employed by Russia’s Federal Security Services, or FSB, the successor intelligence agency to the KGB. Inside her home, they found notes referring to a potential job offer from the FSB, according to the documents.

Investigators recovered several emails and Twitter direct message conversations in which Butina referred to the need to keep her work secret and, in one instance, said it should be “incognito.” Prosecutors said Butina had contact with Russian intelligence officials and that the FBI photographed her dining with a diplomat suspected of being a Russian intelligence agent.

Fox News’ Jason Donner, Bill Mears, Greg Norman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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An official Sri Lankan police Twitter account was deleted after it misidentified an American human rights activist as a suspect in the country’s Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.

On Thursday, police posted the names and photos of six people that they said were at-large suspects in the bombings that killed more than 250 people.

However, one of the names on the list was Muslim U.S. activist Amara Majeed, who quickly tweeted that she had been falsely identified.

“I have this morning been FALSELY identified by the Sri Lankan government as one of the ISIS terrorists that committed the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka. What a thing to wake up to!” she wrote.

SRI LANKA AUTHORITIES SAY EASTER ATTACK LEADER KILLED IN ONE OF NINE HOTEL BOMBINGS

She wrote in a follow-up tweet that the claim was “obviously completely false” and asked social media users to “please stop implicating and associating me with these horrific attacks.”

“And next time, be more diligent about releasing such information that has the potential to deeply violate someone’s family and community,” she continued.

Later, she wrote an update saying police apologized for wrongly mistaking her as a suspect.

Police said in a statement: “However, although one of the released images was identified as one Abdul Cader Fathima Khadhiya in the information provided by the CID, the CID has now informed that a) the individual whose image was labeled as Abdul Cader Fathima Khadiya is not in fact Abdul Cader Fathima Khadiya b) the individual pictured is not wanted for questioning c) Abdul Cader Fathima is the correct name of the suspect wanted by the CID.”

On Friday, the account, @SriLankaPolice2 was deleted with no explanation. Police did not release more information regarding the mistake.

Majeed, who founded “The Hijab Project” when she was 16 years old, told the Baltimore Sun that it was hurtful to be linked to the attacks.

“Sri Lanka is my motherland,” the Brown University student said. “It’s very painful to be associated with [the bombings].”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Mohamed Zahran, the suspected leader of the attacks which targeted six hotels and churches, killed himself in a suicide bombing at the Shangri-La hotel. Police also said they had arrested the second-in-command of the group, called National Towheed Jamaat. Catholic churches in Sri Lanka canceled all Sunday Masses until further notice over concerns that they remain a top target of Islamic State-linked extremists.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Sri Lankan Special Task Force soldiers stand guard in front of a mosque as a Muslim man walks past him during the Friday prayers at a mosque, days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on Easter Sunday, in Colombo
FILE PHOTO: Sri Lankan Special Task Force soldiers stand guard in front of a mosque as a Muslim man walks past him during the Friday prayers at a mosque, five days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on Catholic churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Tom Lasseter and Shri Navaratnam

KATTANKUDY, Sri Lanka (Reuters) – Mohamed Hashim Mohamed Zahran was 12 years old when he began his studies at the Jamiathul Falah Arabic College. He was a nobody, with no claim to scholarship other than ambition.

Zahran and his four brothers and sisters squeezed into a two-room house with their parents in a small seaside town in eastern Sri Lanka; their father was a poor man who sold packets of food on the street and had a reputation for being a petty thief.

“His father didn’t do much,” recalled the school’s vice principal, S.M. Aliyar, laughing out loud.

The boy surprised the school with his sharp mind. For three years, Zahran practiced memorizing the Koran. Next came his studies in Islamic law. But the more he learned, the more Zahran argued that his teachers were too liberal in their reading of the holy book.

“He was against our teaching and the way we interpreted the Koran – he wanted his radical Islam,” said Aliyar. “So we kicked him out.”

Aliyar, now 73 with a long white beard, remembers the day Zahran left in 2005. “His father came and asked, ‘Where can he go?’.”

The school would hear again of Mohamed Zahran. And the world now knows his name. The Sri Lankan government has identified him as the ringleader of a group that carried out a series of Easter Sunday suicide bombings in the country on April 21.

The blasts killed more than 250 people in churches and luxury hotels, one of the deadliest-ever such attacks in South Asia. There were nine suicide bombers who blew apart men, women and children as they sat to pray or ate breakfast.

Most of the attackers were well-educated and from wealthy families, with some having been abroad to study, according to Sri Lankan officials.

That description does not, however, fit their alleged leader, a man said to be in his early 30s, who authorities say died in the slaughter. Zahran was different.

INTELLIGENCE FAILINGS

Sri Lanka’s national leadership has come under heavy criticism for failing to heed warnings from Indian intelligence services – at least three in April alone – that an attack was pending. But Zahran’s path from provincial troublemaker to alleged jihadist mastermind was marked by years of missed or ignored signals that the man with a thick beard and paunch was dangerous.

His increasingly militant brand of Islam was allowed to grow inside a marginalized minority community – barely 10 percent of the country’s roughly 20 million people are Muslim – against a backdrop of a dysfunctional developing nation.

The top official at the nation’s defense ministry resigned on Thursday, saying that some institutions under his charge had failed.

For much of his adult life, Zahran, 33, courted controversy inside the Muslim community itself.

In the internet age, that problem did not stay local. Zahran released online videos calling for jihad and threatening bloodshed.

After the blasts, Islamic State claimed credit and posted a video of Zahran, clutching an assault rifle, standing before the group’s black flag and pledging allegiance to its leader.

The precise relationship between Zahran and Islamic State is not yet known. An official with India’s security services, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that during a raid on a suspected Islamic State cell by the National Investigation Agency earlier this year officers found copies of Zahran’s videos. The operation was in the state of Tamil Nadu, just across a thin strait of ocean from Sri Lanka.

“LIKE A SPOILED CHILD”

Back in 2005, Zahran was looking to make his way in the world. His hometown of Kattankudy is some seven hours’ drive from Colombo on the other side of the island nation, past the countless palm trees, roadside Buddha statues, cashew hawkers and an occasional lumbering elephant in the bush. It is a town of about 40,000 people, a dot on the eastern coast with no clear future for an impoverished young man who’d just been expelled.

Zahran joined a mosque in 2006, the Dharul Athar, and gained a place on its management committee. But within three years they’d had a falling out.

“He wanted to speak more independently, without taking advice from elders,” said the mosque’s imam, or spiritual leader, M.T.M. Fawaz.

Also, the young man was more conservative, Fawaz said, objecting, for instance, to women wearing bangles or earrings.

“The rest of us come together as community leaders but Zahran wanted to speak for himself,” said Fawaz, a man with broad shoulders lounging with a group of friends in a back office of the mosque after evening prayers. “He was a black sheep who broke free.”

Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed Thaufeek, a friend who met Zahran at school and later became an adherent of his, said the problems revolved around Zahran’s habit of misquoting Islamic scriptures.

The mosque’s committee banned him from preaching for three months in 2009. Zahran stormed off.

“We treated him like a spoiled child, a very narrow-minded person who was always causing some trouble,” said the head of the committee, Mohamed Ismail Mohamed Naushad, a timber supplier who shook his head at the memory.

Now on his own, Zahran began to collect a group of followers who met in what Fawaz described as “a hut”.

At about that time, Zahran, then 23, married a young girl from a small town outside the capital of Colombo and brought his bride back to Kattankudy, according to his sister, Mathaniya.

“I didn’t have much of a connection with her – she was 14,” she said.

Despite being “a bit rough-edged”, Zahran was a skilled speaker and others his age were drawn to his speeches and Koranic lessons, said Thaufeek. He traveled the countryside at times, giving his version of religious instruction as he went.

Also, Zahran had found a popular target: the town’s Sufi population, who practice a form of Islam often described a mystical, but which to conservatives is heresy.

Tensions in the area went back some years. In 2004, there was a grenade attack on a Sufi mosque and in 2006 several homes of Sufis were set afire. Announcements boomed from surrounding mosques at the time calling for a Sufi spiritual leader to be killed, said Sahlan Khalil Rahman, secretary of a trust that oversees a group of Sufi mosques.

He blamed followers of the fundamentalist Wahhabi strain of Islam that some locals say became more popular after funding from Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Wahhabism, flowed to mosques in Kattankudy.

It was, Rahman said, an effort “to convert Sufis into Wahhabis through this terrorism”. Rahman handed over a photograph album showing charred homes, bullet holes sprayed across an office wall and a shrine’s casket upended.

ONLINE RADICAL

It was an ideal backdrop for Zahran’s bellicose delivery and apparent sense of religious destiny.

He began holding rallies, bellowing insults through loudspeakers that reverberated inside the Sufis’ house of worship as they tried to pray.

In 2012, Zahran started a mosque of his own. The Sufis were alarmed and, Rahman said, passed on complaints to both local law enforcement and eventually national government offices. No action was taken.

The then-officer in charge of Kattankudy police, Ariyabandhu Wedagedara, said in a telephone interview that he couldn’t arrest people simply because of theological differences.

     “The problem at the time was between followers of different Islamic sects – Zahran was not a major troublemaker, but he and followers of other sects, including the Sufis, were at loggerheads,” Wedagedara said.

Zahran found another megaphone: the internet. His Facebook page was taken down after the bombings, but Muslims in the area said his video clips had previously achieved notoriety.

His speeches went from denouncing Sufis to “kafirs”, or non-believers, in general. Zahran’s sister, Mathaniya, said in an interview that she thought “his ideas became more radical from listening to Islamic State views on the Internet”.

In one undated video, Zahran, in a white tunic and standing in front of an image of flames, boomed in a loud voice: “You will not have time to pick up the remains of blown-up bodies. We’ll keep sending those insulting Allah to hell.”

“HARD TO TAKE”

Zahran spoke in Tamil, making his words available to young Muslims clicking on their cellphones in Kattankudy and other towns like it during a period when, in both 2014 and 2018, reports and images spread of Sinhalese Buddhists rioting against Muslims in Sri Lanka.

In 2017, Zahran’s confrontations boiled over. At a rally near a Sufi community, his followers came wielding swords. At least one man was hacked and hospitalized. The police arrested several people connected to Zahran, including his father and one of his brothers. Zahran slipped away from public view.

That December, the mosque Zahran founded released a public notice disowning him. Thaufeek, his friend from school, is now the head. He counted the places that Zahran had been driven away from – his school, the Dharul Athar mosque and then, “we ourselves kicked him out, which would have been hard for him to take”.

The next year, a group of Buddha statues was vandalized in the town of Mawanella, about five hours drive from Kattankudy. There, in the lush mountains of Sri Lanka’s interior, Zahran had taken up temporary residence.

“He was preaching to kill people,” said A.G.M. Anees, who has served as an imam at a small mosque in the area for a decade. “This is not Islam, this is violence.”

Zahran went into hiding once more.

On the Thursday morning before the Easter Sunday bombings, Zahran’s sister-in-law knocked on the door of a neighbor who did seamstress work near Kattankudy. She handed over a parcel of fabric and asked for it to be sewn into a tunic by the end of the day.

“She said she was going on a family trip,” said the neighbor, M.H. Sithi Nazlya.

Zahran’s sister says that her parents turned off their cellphones on the Friday. On Sunday, when she visited their home, they were gone.

She does not know if Zahran arranged for them to be taken somewhere safe. Or why he would have carried out the bombing.

But now in Kattankudy, and in many other places, people are talking about Mohamed Hashim Mohamed Zahran.

(Reporting by Tom Lasseter and Shri Navaratnam; Additional reporting by Sanjeev Miglani, Shihar Aneez and Alasdair Pal; Editing by John Chalmers and Alex Richardson)

Source: OANN

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Joe Biden may have just stepped into the 2020 ring, but he’s wasted no time in throwing punches at President Trump.

Former Vice President Biden appeared on “The View” Friday in his first interview since officially announcing he is running for the White House on Thursday.

After batting away a softball opening question from host Joy Behar about why he took so long to enter the race, the ex-VP delivered what is likely to be his campaign’s major message.

Asked about the comment in his announcement that a battle is underway for “the soul of this nation,” Biden replied: “What I mean by that is we are not — this is not who we are the way we’re treating people. It’s not who we are as a nation when we’re talking about things like the reason for your problem is the other.

JOE BIDEN’S SENIOR ADVISER IN 2016: ‘WE DON’T NEED WHITE PEOPLE LEADING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY RIGHT NOW’

“It really is what I said and I really mean it and I wrote an article at the time in “The Atlantic” magazine when Charlottesville happened. This is not who we are. It’s about decency, honor, including everyone. The idea to compare these racists and not condemn them. Neo-Nazis — I don’t ever remember that happening in an administration in well over 100 years.

“I found myself thinking — by the way I travel around the world a lot as vice president and since then I have as well. The rest of the world — I mean, they look at us like my god — what happened to America?”

Behar then asked Biden how he plans to win over “blue-collar voters, a group that Trump won.”

“By making the case that we have to restore dignity to work. Think about this. The way we treat ordinary hard-working Americans who are middle class and working class people fighting to get in the middle class is we treat them like they’re a means to an end as opposed to an ends to themselves,” Biden said.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“Go out. When’s the last time we went out and thanked the guy who kept the sewer from overflowing into your basement. What about the woman up on a bucket reconnecting a connection?

“Think about what we don’t do guys. It’s all been about dividing. There’s a real opportunity, incredible opportunity if we just treat each other with more decency.

“My dad had an expression. He said, ‘Joey, a job is about more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity, it’s about your place in the community, it’s about your place in society and your self-worth. It’s about being able to look your kid in the eye and say it’s going to be okay and mean it.’

“Think about how many people can’t do that today. This president has done nothing to help that group.”

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Biden’s appearance came after President Trump took a swipe at him in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday night.

“I think we are calling him ‘Sleepy Joe’ ’cause I’ve known him for a while. Is he a pretty sleepy guy? He won’t be able to deal with [Chinese] President Xi, I will tell you. That’s a different level of energy and, frankly, intelligence. So I sort refer to him as ‘Sleepy Joe.’ A lot of people wanted me to change the word ‘sleepy’ to something else that rhymes with it,” Trump told host Sean Hannity. “I thought it was too nasty.

“He’s not going to be able to do the job.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden officially announced his candidacy in a video Thursday morning, going directly after Trump.

“If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation, who we are, and I cannot stand by and watch that happen,” Biden said in the video.

Source: Fox News Politics

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A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City
FILE PHOTO: A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

April 26, 2019

By Jessica DiNapoli and Imani Moise

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co’s board has retained executive search firm Spencer Stuart to hunt for a new chief executive, ideally a woman who can tackle its regulatory and public perception issues, two people familiar with the matter said.

Wells Fargo’s ambition to become the only major U.S. bank with a female CEO underscores the need to restore its image with a wide range of constituents, including customers, shareholders, regulators and politicians, after it became mired in a scandal in 2016 for opening potentially millions of unauthorized accounts.

Former CEO Tim Sloan left abruptly last month, becoming the second CEO to leave the bank in the scandal’s fallout.

The board plans to approach Citigroup Inc’s Latin America chief Jane Fraser, one of the sources said. During Fraser’s 15-year tenure at Citigroup, she has gained experience running consumer and commercial businesses as well as its private bank.

Fraser could not be immediately reached for comment.

The board also discussed approaching JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Marianne Lake, but after the bank named her to run JPMorgan’s consumer lending business last week, that option became less viable, the source added. The board wants someone who can convince regulators, employees, investors and customers that the bank has fixed problems underpinning the sales scandal, the sources said.

The bank’s board feels that choosing a woman might please lawmakers in Washington who have been critical not only of Wells Fargo’s misbehavior, but of the broader banking industry for a lack of diversity and gender equality, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

It also believes that such a move could bolster Wells Fargo’s image with the households of customers where women play a leading role in managing finances, one of the sources added.

The new CEO will also have to resolve litigation and regulatory matters. There are 14 outstanding consent orders with government entities, as well as probes by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice.

To be sure, Spencer Stuart will approach and consider several male candidates for the CEO job as well, one of the sources said. The top priority is to find an external candidate who can navigate the bank’s regulatory issues, the source added.

Finding an outsider who meets all those qualifications and wants the job will be difficult, the sources said. There are few people with the necessary experience, even fewer of those who are women, and it is not clear if any of the obvious candidates would be open to taking the role.

The sources asked not to be identified because Wells Fargo’s board deliberations are confidential.

Spokespeople for Wells Fargo and Spencer Stuart declined to comment.

Wells Fargo’s board has not made any public statements about its requirements for a new CEO, beyond Chair Betsy Duke saying the job should attract the “top talent in banking.”

The board wants to complete the search within the next three to six months, one of the sources said.

STALLED SHARES

After Sloan’s ouster, Wells Fargo’s board appointed Allen Parker, who had been general counsel, as interim CEO. The board has said it is looking for an external candidate as a permanent replacement. It is not clear whether Parker will stay at the bank.

Others whose names have been mentioned by analysts, recruiters and industry sources as perspective CEO candidates include Alphabet Inc finance chief Ruth Porat and Bank of America Corp’s chief technology officer Cathy Bessant.

Wells Fargo shares have stalled since Sloan’s departure on March 29th, while the KBW Bank index has rallied more than 7 percent.

Wells Fargo would be “the best stock on earth to buy” if it had the right CEO, said Greg Donaldson, chairman of Donaldson Capital Management in Indiana.

Donaldson held about 50,000 Wells Fargo shares, but sold the stake last year as problems mounted. The CEO change could convince him to re-invest, depending on who it is, he told Reuters.

“It would be very smart for them to get a woman,” he said.

(Reporting by Jessica DiNapoli and Imani Moise in New York; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra, Greg Roumeliotis and Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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