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Acting ICE boss Ron Vitiello, passed over for permanent job, to resign in days

The shakeup within the Department of Homeland Security’s leadership continued on Wednesday after it was announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Ron Vitiello would be stepping down on Friday.

Outgoing DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen issued a statement Wednesday announcing Vitiello’s departure and thanked him for his “unwavering” leadership.

“For over three decades, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Ron Vitiello has protected our homeland with courage and conviction,” the statement read. “Ron’s knowledge and expertise as a seasoned law enforcement professional has been invaluable to DHS, and he has left a legacy of excellence as our Department has expanded and refined our efforts to curb illegal immigration and secure our borders.”

NIELSEN RESIGNS AS DHS SECRETARY AFTER WHITE HOUSE MEETING WITH TRUMP

“On behalf of DHS I want to thank Ron for his service and dedication, and I wish him the very best in this next chapter of his career.”

An ICE official told Fox News that Vitiello’s last day will be Friday.

His departure was the latest in a string of resignations coming as President Trump has aimed to take a tougher stance against immigrants at the southern border.

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After Nielsen’s resignation last Sunday, officials said Monday that Secret Service Director Randolph “Tex” Alles was stepping down, and DHS’ acting deputy secretary Claire Grady - who was technically next in line to replace Nielsen - resigned on Tuesday.

Trump over the weekend named Kevin McAleenan, the head of Customs and Border Protection, to serve as acting secretary.

Fox News' Gregg Re and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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AG Barr has power to overrule immigration judges’ mistakes: John Yoo

John Yoo, former deputy assistant attorney general to the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, has defended Attorney General William Barr's authority to overrule immigration judges in his recent decision regarding asylum seekers.

Barr ruled on Tuesday that asylum seekers coming to the United States will no longer have a chance to be released from custody on bail, and will remain in detention centers until hearings to determine the legitimacy of their claims. Yoo, now a law professor at UC-Berkeley, argued during an appearance on "The Daily Briefing With Dana Perino" on Wednesday that Barr's ruling was "correct on the merits."

"I think the attorney general's critics are overblowing what this is," Yoo said. "This is not part of some grand scheme against immigrants coming into the United States. It's a very narrow thing the attorney general has done. He has the power to overrule immigration judges. Immigration judges have been making mistakes -- they've been allowing bail to be granted to people seeking asylum who are caught past the border."

He went on to discuss the difference between migrants arriving at the border to seek asylum, and those attempting to enter and remain as citizens.

"It may not actually apply to that many people," he continued. "I'd be very surprised to see a court overturn it."

Those fleeing areas of Central America, Yoo said, often don't see their asylum claims approved because they don't meet the legal threshold to qualify under United States law.

REP. PETER KING: KEEPING ASYLUM SEEKERS IN CUSTODY UNTIL HEARINGS IS WHAT 'WHAT HAS TO BE DONE'

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI: TRUMP CAN TACKLE IMMIGRATION CRISIS BY PROVIDING FUNDING IN CENTRAL AMERICA

"Asylum seekers have to show what they call a well-founded fear of persecution back in their home countries," he said. "The problem for all these people coming from Central America, they're fleeing for economic reasons. They're not fleeing because the government is persecuting them."

Apart from economic purposes, many people are fleeing Central America due to gang violence, which Yoo said still isn't likely to secure asylum status. U.S. courts typically recognize such activity as "private violence," and only grant asylum to those being persecuted by the government, such as religious minorities or political dissidents.

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"Central American migrants don't fit in that category," Yoo continued. "That's why I think Attorney General Barr is correct."

A number of prominent figures have come to Barr's defense, including Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who told "America's Newsroom" hosts on Wednesday that keeping asylum seekers in custody until their hearings is "what has to be done."

Source: Fox News Politics

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Armed groups planned attack on Colombia’s Duque: attorney general

Colombia's President Ivan Duque attends the Prosur summit of South American leaders at La Moneda palace in Santiago
FILE PHOTO - Colombia's President Ivan Duque attends the Prosur summit of South American leaders at La Moneda palace in Santiago, Chile, March 22, 2019. Marcelo Segura/Courtesy of Chilean Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

April 9, 2019

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Armed groups had planned an attack on Colombian President Ivan Duque when he meets on Tuesday with leaders of indigenous communities, the country’s attorney general said.

Duque is set to meet with the leaders following the negotiated end to a 27-day blockade by indigenous groups that caused food and gasoline shortages in some cities in Colombia’s southwest.

The government reached a deal on Saturday to invest more than $250 million in indigenous communities and end the protest, which is referred to as a “minga” in Colombia.

“We have trustworthy information that on the occasion of his meeting with the leaders of the Cauca minga, some organized armed groups which have infiltrated this social and indigenous movement wanted to carry on a terrorist act that could have affected the security of the president,” Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez told journalists late on Monday.

“We are corroborating all of the evidence in a criminal investigation,” Martinez said. “The information that we have obtained is about a high-precision weapon.”

He did not elaborate on the suspected plot or if the conspirators had been apprehended.

Duque’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but local media reported that the president would go ahead with the meeting.

The government has said the protests were being infiltrated by members of the ELN rebel group and former members of the FARC guerrillas who did not demobilize under a 2016 peace deal.

Indigenous communities blocked a section of the Pan-American highway in Cauca province to demand the government comply with previously agreed social investment.

A police officer and an indigenous protester were killed during the blockade, while eight other people in the area died in an explosion that security sources said was caused by bomb-making materials.

(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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VW to launch Tesla X rival for China in 2021

The logo of Volkswagen carmaker is seen at the entrance of a showroom in Nice
The logo of Volkswagen carmaker is seen at the entrance of a showroom in Nice, France, April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

April 14, 2019

BERLIN (Reuters) – Volkswagen said on Sunday it will build a fully electric sports utility vehicle for the Chinese market from 2021, entering a segment dominated by Tesla’s Model X.

The new SUV is the latest in Volkswagen’s aggressive roll-out of electric cars in China, where zero emissions vehicles are given preferential treatment by authorities.

VW said its ID ROOMZZ will have three rows of seats and an operating range of up to 450 kms.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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Julia Ruth Stevens, Daughter of Babe, Dies at 102

Julia Ruth Stevens, the last surviving daughter of Babe Ruth, died Saturday after a brief illness, her family announced. She was 102.

She died at an assisted living facility in Henderson, Nev., but until just a few years ago had spent an active life sharing the legacy of her father.

Ruth adopted Stevens shortly after he married her mother, Claire Hodgson, in 1929. Stevens was 12 years old at the time.

She was a fan of her father's first team - the Boston Red Sox - but also celebrated the New York Yankees. She served as an ambassador for the Ruth family, appearing at special events.

Stevens threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the final game played at Yankee Stadium - "the House that Ruth built" - in 2008. And on July 9, 2016, she threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park on her 100th birthday.

She also traveled to various Babe Ruth League World Series tournaments to meet young players and share stories of her father.

"Julia was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother who lived a wonderful, full life during the 102 years that she was with us. As the daughter of Babe Ruth, she had many amazing experiences, which she was pleased to share with eager reporters and fans alike," the family wrote on Facebook.

"Until the very end, she was very proud to call him ‘Daddy' and she particularly loved recalling events from 1934 when she went on a ‘round the world' tour with her parents. The tour began with a series of 15 exhibition baseball games played in Japan."

Until relocating to Nevada, she was a longtime resident of New Hampshire and will be buried there, her son, Tom Stevens, told The Boston Globe. The burial will take place in Conway, N.H., when the ground thaws, fittingly closer to the start of baseball season.

She is survived by her son, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Source: NewsMax America

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OxyContin maker Purdue agrees to settle Oklahoma opioid case: source

FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin made by Purdue Pharma LP on a counter at a local pharmacy in Provo
FILE PHOTO: Bottles of prescription painkiller OxyContin pills, made by Purdue Pharma LP sit on a counter at a local pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S., April 25, 2017. REUTERS/George Frey/File Photo

March 26, 2019

By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) – Purdue Pharma LP has agreed to settle a lawsuit by the state of Oklahoma accusing the OxyContin painkiller maker of helping fuel an opioid abuse epidemic, a person familiar with the matter said.

It is the first settlement to result from a wave of recent lawsuits over the drugmaker’s marketing of painkillers.

The settlement with Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter came just weeks before Purdue, owned by members of the wealthy Sackler family, was set to face the first trial to result from around 2,000 lawsuits nationally against opioid manufacturers.

Hunter’s 2017 lawsuit accuses Purdue, Johnson & Johnson & Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd of engaging in deceptive marketing that downplayed the risks of addiction associated with opioid pain drugs while overstating their benefits.

The companies deny wrongdoing. They had sought to delay the May 28 trial to Sept. 16, citing the need to review records the state belatedly turned over that could be critical to their defense. The state had been seeking over $20 billion in damages.

But a trial judge earlier this month rejected the companies’ efforts to delay the trial, and on Monday, Oklahoma’s Supreme Court rejected their appeal of that decision.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue had been exploring filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to address potential liabilities stemming from the lawsuits, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

Hunter is scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday to announce a “breaking development” in the lawsuit. A spokesman for Hunter declined to comment. A lawyer for Purdue did not respond to a request for comment.

Opioids, including prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl, were involved in a record 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017 in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The epidemic has prompted lawsuits by state and local governments accusing various drugmakers of contributing to the crisis. Those companies include Purdue, which introduced the painkiller OxyContin to the market in 1996.

More than 1,600 lawsuits have been consolidated before a federal judge in Ohio, who has pushed for a settlement ahead of the trial before him in October. Other cases, including Oklahoma’s, are pending in state courts.

Purdue has held discussions to resolve the litigation with plaintiffs’ lawyers, who have often compared the cases to widespread lawsuits against the tobacco industry that resulted in a $246 billion settlement in 1998.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: OANN

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Exclusive: Venezuela oil exports stable in March despite sanctions, blackouts -data

FILE PHOTO: Isla Oil Refinery PDVSA terminal is seen in Willemstad on the island of Curacao
FILE PHOTO: Isla Oil Refinery PDVSA terminal is seen in Willemstad on the island of Curacao, February 22, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo

April 2, 2019

By Marianna Parraga

(Reuters) – Venezuela’s state-run energy company, PDVSA, kept oil exports near 1 million barrels per day in March despite U.S. sanctions and ongoing power outages that crippled its main export terminal, according to PDVSA documents and Refinitiv Eikon data.

The OPEC member stabilized exports in March after shipments fell about 40 percent in February from the month before, in the immediate aftermath of the United States announcing it would impose sanctions on oil sales to choke off main source of revenue for the government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

The United States and many Western governments have recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country’s rightful leader, after Maduro won an election last year that was widely considered a sham.

March’s exports of 980,355 barrels per day (bpd) of crude and fuel were only slightly less than February’s shipments of 990,215 bpd, according to the documents seen by Reuters and the Refinitiv Eikon data.

U.S. restrictions on Venezuelan exports will tighten further in May, when the grace period for winding down purchases expires for importers of Venezuelan oil who use U.S. subsidiaries or the U.S. financial system for transactions.

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering imposition of sanctions on companies from other countries that do business with Venezuela, White House national security adviser John Bolton told Reuters TV on Friday.

Most oil shipments in February and March were destined for Asia. Until the sanctions, the United States was Venezuela’s largest crude buyer.

“Given the new set of challenges that landed on PDVSA’s lap, we were surprised to see a rebound in exports amid the nationwide power blackouts,” said Samir Madani, co-founder of TankerTrackers.com, a service that tracks oil shipments and storage.

Exports dipped below 650,000 bpd during the blackouts, TankerTrackers estimates.

Two massive power outages in March caused Jose port, the country’s largest crude terminal, to shut for at least six full days, according to the Eikon data.

PDVSA was able, however, to offset delays caused by blackouts by loading larger vessels bound for Asia. Shipping data shows the company plans to do the same again in April.

Cargoes sent to India, China and Singapore – a hub for storage and re-exports – made up 74 percent of total exports in March, compared with almost 70 percent in February.

Exports to Europe accounted for 17 percent of the total, versus 22 percent the previous month.

PDVSA also continued exporting oil to Maduro’s ally Cuba. At least seven small cargoes were sent from its ports in March, totaling 65,520 bpd of crude and fuel, according to the data.

Guaido last month said shipments to Cuba should be halted. But PDVSA, controlled by a military leadership loyal to Maduro, has continued exports to the island.

The state-run company did not respond to a request for comment.

Venezuela’s oil production once surpassed 3 million bpd, but years of mismanagement and corruption caused that output to dwindle to barely 1 million bpd. The reduction in oil revenue has led the once-prosperous nation of 30 million into years of recession and created conditions that led to hyperinflation. Millions have fled the country and many who remained cannot afford food or basic goods.

Sanctions have made it difficult for PDVSA to take payment for its exports, said a PDVSA source, who did not want to be identified for fear of retaliation.

“The largest problem is not to load and ship the vessels,” the source said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. “It is to get paid.”

INDIA REMAINS TOP DESTINATION

India was once again Venezuela’s main destination for exports in March with a third of total cargoes sent to refineries operated by Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy.

U.S. imports of Venezuelan oil have dropped to zero since mid-March due to sanctions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The largest individual recipient of Venezuelan barrels last month was China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) and its subsidiaries with some 234,000 bpd, followed by Russia’s Rosneft, which received 214,000 bpd, according to the data. New customers including trading firms Sahara Energy and MS International also received access to Venezuelan crude.

Rosneft has increased its share of Venezuelan oil shipments since sanctions mainly for reselling to refiners. Venezuela’s oil minister, Manuel Quevedo, last month traveled to Moscow to negotiate larger sales of Venezuelan oil to Russian companies.

The Russian company has also boosted fuel supplies to Venezuela, according to the data. Venezuela imported 184,500 bpd of fuel last month, with the largest portion provided by Rosneft, followed by cargoes sent by Reliance and Spain’s Repsol.

Following U.S. pressure, Reliance turned to selling fuel to Venezuela from India and Europe to circumvent sanctions. Repsol in March swapped gasoline and other fuel for Venezuelan crude as part of an agreement to collect on dividends owed it by PDVSA.

GRAPHIC: Venezuela’s exports by destination in 2018, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2HU81FY

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by David Gaffen, Simon Webb and Steve Orlofsky)

Source: OANN

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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.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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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