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Mexicans up in arms over plan to ban sale of cold beer from stores across capital

Mexicans are being faced with legislation that would ban the sale of cold beer in stores across the nation’s capital.

On Wednesday, local politician Maria de Lourdes Paz Reyes proposed the ban of cold beers and other beverages with 7% or less alcoholic content in Mexico City's convenience and grocery stores. She also outlined a rule for shop owners to display signs warning customers of public drinking penalties.

“In this regard, prevention measures are recommended, including policies aimed at reducing consumption in large quantities or prior to carrying out hazardous activities such as driving,” Paz Rayes told her colleagues.

Paz Reyes states in her proposal that the city’s public intoxication and drunk driving problems would decrease because consumers would be inclined to chill and drink the beer away from the stores and public streets.

BEER TRUCK OVERTURNS IN MEXICO, SPILLING CANS ONTO ROADWAY - AND CAUSING RUSH FOR FREE ALCOHOL

According to the National Victimization and Public Security Perceptions survey, over 75% of Mexico City residents considered “consuming alcohol in the street” as the main source of criminal and antisocial behavior in 2018.

With a country of 52% alcohol drinkers, there has unsurprisingly been a public backlash.

A Twitter campaign was launched just hours after the proposal was presented. Users began targeting the bill with the hashtag #ConLasCervezasNo, translated to ‘Don’t mess with our beers.’

“The brilliant deputies of Morena worry about cold beers or “time” instead of worrying about the insecurity of the country,” said one Twitter user.

BUDWEISER LAUNCHES COMMEMORATIVE APOLLO 11 MOON LANDING BEER

Social media responses to the bill were also quick to discuss how the city’s economy would suffer if beer sales decreased.

“I get angry when the authorities intend to decide what to do and what not to do, in addition to reducing the income of small businesses that already have it difficult competing with commercial chains,” another user tweeted.

Other users joked that the bill was a government-issued diet and that beer should be declared a universal right.

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The capital city known for its lax drinking laws could now face legal charges as the proposal moves forward to the Local Public Administration Commission for analysis and opinion.

Source: Fox News World

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Senator Michael Bennet says has cancer, will have surgery

Senator Michael Bennet, accompanied by Senator Ron Wyden, speaks with reporters following the party luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington
FILE PHOTO - Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), accompanied by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), speaks with reporters following the party luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., August 1, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

April 4, 2019

(Reuters) – United States Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, previously mentioned as a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, said on Wednesday that he will undergo surgery for prostate cancer during the upcoming legislative break.

“Late last month, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. While hearing news like this is never easy, I am fortunate it was detected early, and as a result, my prognosis is good,” Bennet, a Democrat, said in a brief statement released by his office.

“During the upcoming Senate recess, I will have surgery in Colorado and return to work following a brief recovery,” Bennet said in the statement.

An adviser to Bennet told the Denver Post newspaper last month that the 54-year-old former Clinton Administration official had not made a final decision about whether to join the already crowded field seeking his party’s presidential nomination.

Already more than a dozen candidates have jumped into the race, including Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. Several others, including former vice president Joe Biden, are said to be making preparations for a run.

Bennet was appointed to the Senate in 2009 after his predecessor, Ken Salazar, was named secretary of the interior by President Barack Obama.

Bennet, whose father Douglas was a U.S. State Department official, was elected to his first full term in the Senate in 2010. He won re-election in 2016.

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb)

Source: OANN

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U.S. to face Canada, Cuba in CONCACAF Nations League

Soccer: She Believes Cup Women's Soccer-Brazil at USA
FILE PHOTO - Mar 5, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; Team United States pose for a photo before a game against Brazil in a She Believes Cup women's soccer match at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

March 28, 2019

(Reuters) – The United States have been grouped with Canada and Cuba in Wednesday’s draw for the inaugural Nations League organized by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

The region’s top-ranked side Mexico will play Panama and Bermuda, Costa Rica face Haiti and Curacao, and Honduras were drawn alongside Trinidad and Tobago and Martinique in the other League A groups.

The competition, similar to that started by UEFA in 2018 and aimed at cutting down on meaningless friendlies, is part of a broad makeover by a confederation seeking to win back confidence of fans after it was ravaged by the FIFA corruption scandal.

At a gala ceremony in Las Vegas on Wednesday, CONCACAF’s 41 teams were drawn into three leagues, with the winners of the four League A groups competing for the Nations League title.

The top four sides in Leagues B and C will be promoted and the bottom four in A and B relegated for the next edition.

The group matches will be played in September, October and November 2019, with the finals taking place the following year.

(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Source: OANN

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Tiger shrugs off injury scare to stay in the Masters mix

Second round play of the Masters at Augusta National
Golf - Masters - Augusta National Golf Club - Augusta, Georgia, U.S. - April 12, 2019 - Tiger Woods of the U.S. tips his hat on the 18th green during second round play. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

April 13, 2019

By Frank Pingue

AUGUSTA Ga. (Reuters) – Tiger Woods was so determined to claw his way up the Masters leaderboard on Friday that not even a security guard who nearly knocked him over when he crashed into his foot could shake his steely-eyed focus.

Woods was in the midst of a decent second round when, moments after an impressive shot through the trees to reach the 14th green, a security guard who rushed in to control a swarming crowd slipped on the rain-soaked ground and into his right foot.

The former world number one winced and walked gingerly before trying to stretch it out for a few seconds and then got back to work as he fired a four-under-par 68 to sit one shot behind of the five co-leaders.

“I’m fine. It’s all good,” said four-times Masters champion Woods, who has had his remarkable career interrupted by a number of back and knee surgeries. “Accidents happen and move on.”

Woods went on to birdie the 14th and 15th to send familiar roars through the Georgia pines and could very well have grabbed the outright lead but sent an eight-foot birdie putt at 17 just past the hole and left a 14-footer at 18 just short.

Despite the missed opportunities, Woods said he was not going to lose any sleep over the missed putts, which he said were all due to bad reads rather than bad strokes.

“I missed a few putts out there but I’m not too bummed out about it because I hit them on my lines. So I can live with that,” said Woods. “I can live with days when I’m hitting putts on my line and they just don’t go in, that’s the way it goes.”

The 14-times major champion reached the turn at one under on the day and then, right after his tee shot at the par-three 12th stuck five feet from the hole, had to wait out a 30-minute suspension in play due to lightning in the area.

When play resumed Woods, who later said he was a little bit stiff as he started swinging again, failed to convert the birdie as his putt curled around the left edge of the cup.

Woods, who finished the first round four shots back of the co-leaders, had plenty of work to do by the time he teed off in the penultimate group on Friday as several players from the early groups had already moved up the leaderboard.

“I feel like I played my own way back into the tournament,” said Woods, who is seeking his first major victory since 2008. “I was just very patient today, felt very good to be out there doing what I was doing.

“This is now three straight majors that I’ve been in the mix and so it’s good stuff.”

(Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Source: OANN

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StanChart gets approval to open unit in Saudi Arabia

FILE PHOTO - A logo of Standard Chartered is displayed at its main branch in Hong Kong
FILE PHOTO - A logo of Standard Chartered is displayed at its main branch in Hong Kong, China August 1, 2017. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo

February 26, 2019

RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s cabinet approved a license for Standard Chartered to open a unit in the kingdom, the state news agency reported on Tuesday.

Under its strategy to wean economy off oil, the Saudi government is seeking to boost private sector participation and is reforming its financial sector to allow more foreign banks to access the kingdom to meet the private sector’s financing needs.

“This will help provide modern banking technology, create more jobs and meet the increasing financing needs in the sector, especially in light of the ambitious plans of Vision 2030,” central bank chief Ahmed al-Kholifey told state TV on Tuesday.

“The move reflects that the kingdom is open to improve its financial sector and is ready to accept more foreign banks units,” he added.

Saudi currently has 27 banks operating in the kingdom, 15 of which are foreign banks.

In October, Standard Chartered’s chief financial officer said the bank was pressing on with its application for a banking license in Saudi Arabia..

The 150-year-old group’s announced plans earlier on Tuesday to double returns and dividends in three years by cutting $700 million in costs and boosting income.

(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by David Evans)

Source: OANN

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Mrs Watanabe joins activist investors to shake up Japan Inc

FILE PHOTO: An employees of a foreign exchange trading company work next to monitors displaying Japanese yen's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and broadcasting second North Korea-U.S. summit in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: An employees of a foreign exchange trading company works next to monitors displaying Japanese yen's exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and broadcasting a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi, in Tokyo, Japan February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

April 2, 2019

By Tomo Uetake

TOKYO (Reuters) – Foreign activist investors who have long complained about Japanese companies’ cash-hoarding and stingy payouts to shareholders may have found an unusual ally — Japanese retail investors.

Market activism has historically been low-key in Japan but a drive by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to get investors to be more assertive in their demands for shareholder value has slowly changed this.

That push may pick up momentum in May when representatives from some activist funds, both foreign and domestic, meet hundreds of Japanese retail investors in Tokyo at an event organized by an online broker, a month before the peak of Corporate Japan’s annual general meeting (AGM) season.

Such a meeting would have been unheard of in the past, market players say, in a country where offshore activists were seen as “foreign vultures” seeking to pillage precious corporate savings.

“There have always been skeptical views that ‘hostile’ activism can’t be as successful in Japan as it is in the United States,” said Hiroki Tsujimura, chief investment officer (CIO) at Nikko Asset Management. “However, given the rapidly changing environment, we have started to see successful activists’ campaigns recently.”

The country’s retail investors hold about one sixth of domestic shares and are colloquially known as Mrs Watanabe, a reference to the archetypical Japanese housewife and her household investments.

Japan Inc has managed to weather pressure from shareholder activism thanks to still large institutional cross-share holdings. A joint front between foreign activists and domestic retail investors, however, could increase pressure on management.

Already, there are signs of change: the number of companies that had proposals from shareholders at AGMs increased to more than 50 by 2017 from below 30 in 2011, according to Daiwa Institute of Research (DIR).

Those proposals include calls for higher dividend payouts, selling non-core assets, and changing the structures of executive boards.

While such proposals are usually voted down, support for them has increased in recent years, putting pressure on company management, and in some cases, prompting companies to adopt some of the suggestions.

In a recent example, investors in housing products maker Lixil Group last month called for the ouster of top management, citing concerns about corporate governance.

Foreign funds hope the May 19 meeting, hosted by securities broker Monex Group, will help promote the needs of retail investors, who collectively own 1,830 trillion yen ($16.5 trillion) of assets, including 96 trillion yen in listed Japanese stocks.

“The best scenario is that retail shareholders increasingly vote for good shareholder proposals that add value to companies, and increase corporate values across the board,” said Seth Fischer, founder and CIO of Hong Kong-based Oasis Management, who plans to take part in the meeting.

Fischer sees the meeting as a good opportunity to discuss ideas with retail investors.

Zuhair Khan, head of Japan research at Jefferies, thinks activism can help boost the value of Japanese shares, which currently trade at just 1.1-1.2 times their book value.

He expects even modest success in corporate reforms could boost shares to 2-times their book value.

“The upside to the Japanese stock market of improved governance is huge,” Khan said.

Monex Group, the organizer of the meeting, said the response from international activist funds has so far been promising.

Oki Matsumoto, founder and chairman of Monex, said increased co-operation could be a win-win for both retail investors and institutional activists.

“I hope the meeting will have some positive impact on voting at AGMs this year,” Matsumoto said.

(Reporting by Tomo Uetake; Editing by Hideyuki Sano and Sam Holmes)

Source: OANN

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Maersk ‘supertanker’ takes time to turn around: main shareholder

The MV Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, the world's biggest container ship, arrives at the harbour of Rotterdam
The MV Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, the world's biggest container ship, arrives at the harbour of Rotterdam August 16, 2013. REUTERS/Michael Kooren

April 2, 2019

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – A.P. Moller-Maersk is a “supertanker” that takes a long time to turn around, said Ane Maersk Mc-Kinney Uggla, chairwoman of the A.P. Moller Foundation, which owns a controlling stake in the Danish shipping company.

“It’s been a tough year, but there have also been many good things in our transformation,” she told reporters ahead of the shipping company’s annual general meeting in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, writing by Teis Jensen, editing by Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

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

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

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

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has blasted the United State and the European Union for imposing sanctions on his country, describing them as “economic terrorism.”

Bashar Ja’afari made his comments Friday in the Kazakh capital of Astana where Russia, Turkey and Iran held a new round of talks with the Syrian government and the opposition on steps to bring peace to the country.

His comments came as government-held parts of Syria are witnessing widespread fuel shortages that are largely the result of Western sanctions on Syria and its key ally Iran.

Ja’afari says: “This is economic terrorism that is escalating through unilateral economic measures.”

A final statement issued at the end of Astana’s 12th round rejected President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

Source: Fox News World

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