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Donna Brazile: Dems must 'stop yelling at each other'

Former Democratic National Party chairwoman Donna Brazile made her Fox News contributor debut Monday, saying Democrats within the party must “stop yelling at each other.” She also called former first-daughter Chelsea Clinton a leader and a healer for handling a confrontation this past weekend.

“I think we have to lower the temperature, lower the rhetoric.  We need to stop yelling at each other,” Brazile said on “The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino” in response to a video of Clinton being confronted by an angry activist.

“This right here is the result of a massacre stoked by people like you and the words that you put out into the world,” Activist Leen Dweik told Clinton, blaming her in part for the massacre of 50 Muslims by a white nationalist in New Zealand last week.

“I’m so sorry that you feel that way, certainly it was never my intention, I do believe words matter,” Clinton said calmly.

DONNA BRAZILE: WHY I AM EXCITED TO JOIN FOX NEWS AND TAKE PART IN A CIVIL - AND SENSIBLE - DEBATE

Dweik, along with Rose Asaf who filmed the confrontation, were upset that Clinton condemned Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for anti-Semitic comments.

“There’s no question that we’re a big tent party but we do not in any way tolerate any forms of bigotry, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, racism,” Brazile added. “We’re not going to allow these ‘ism’s’ to divide us and distract us from what we’d like to accomplish as Americans.”

Brazile praised Clinton for her composure during the tense video.

"Chelsea Clinton is a woman of valor and I admire her courage and the way that she was composed during that entire process. But she is a leader and I also believe that she is a healer," Brazile said.

Brazile also told Perino that 2020’s crop of Democratic presidential hopefuls offers a new path for an America that is looking for leadership.

THIS IS CNN? PRIMETIME SHOWS FILLED WITH LIBERAL OPINION, NOT STRAIGHT NEWS AS NETWORK CLAIMS

“I think the American people… they want leadership. They want someone who’s not only compassionate but who empathize with their plight,” Brazile said. “One of the things that President Trump was able to do in 2016 was to reach those voters who felt like they belong on the outskirts of hope.  And he said ‘I will fight for you, I’m going to bring you jobs back.’”

“But I think what Democrats will offer is a new path, a new direction with policies that will lift everybody up and give everyone whether you’re poor, part of the middle-class a fair shot and a fair chance,” Brazile added.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Netanyahu plays pre-election Trump card: settlement annexation

A general view shows the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
A general view shows the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 7, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

April 7, 2019

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Palestinians voiced alarm while Israelis weighed the gravity on Sunday of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sudden election promise to annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Some Israeli commentators saw the right-wing leader’s pledge on Saturday, as Tuesday’s national ballot approaches, as mainly a bid to siphon votes from ultranationalist rivals long advocating annexation.

But after years of resisting far-right calls to formally put West Bank land captured in the 1967 Middle East war under permanent Israeli hold, Netanyahu could be counting on support for a dramatic shift from his close ally, U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Who says that we won’t do it? We are on the way and we are discussing it,” Netanyahu, asked why he had not extended Israeli sovereignty to large West Bank settlements, told Israel’s Channel 12 News.

In March, Trump broke with decades of international consensus by recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory Israel captured from Syria. That followed his December 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the U.S. embassy’s move to the holy city last May.

Asked in an interview on Friday on Israel’s Channel 13 why he wasn’t pressing Trump now to approve a West Bank settlement status change, Netanyahu replied: “Wait until the next term.”

Taking Netanyahu at his word, Palestinians seeking statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem called his settlement annexation remarks a violation of international law regarding occupied territory.

“His declaration is not just in the heat of … electioneering campaigns,” said Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestine Liberation Organization official. “This is the end of any chances of peace.”

A spokesman for Hamas, the Islamist militant group that runs the Gaza Strip, said “the response to (Israeli) crimes and foolishness will be met by popular resistance, armed resistance and by all our might”.

But Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the New Right party and author of a plan to annex parts of the West Bank, suggested Netanyahu was simply trawling for votes.

“For the past 10 years, Netanyahu has blocked applying Israeli law to even a centimeter of land,” Bennett tweeted.

In the settlement of Karnei Shomron, spice shop owner Yehezkel Shaul said he believed Netanyahu’s annexation pledge, calling him “the most reliable and honest person”.

At the local high school, Harel Levi, 18, was not so sure.

“It’s an election promise and he’ll find some excuse later,” Levi said.

HEATED ISSUE

Settlements, which Israel’s B’Tselem rights group said cover about 10 percent of the West Bank, are one of the most heated issues in efforts to restart peace talks, frozen since 2014.

After decades of settlement-building, more than 400,000 Israelis now live in the territory, according to Israeli figures. The West Bank is home to some 2.9 million Palestinians, the Palestinian Statistics Bureau says.

A further 212,000 Israeli settlers live in East Jerusalem, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The Palestinians and many countries consider settlements to be illegal under the Geneva conventions, which ban settling on territory occupied in war. Israel disputes this, arguing that the status of the West Bank is still disputed. But unilateral annexation would be far harder to justify, even among allies.

Trump’s predecessors as president publicly discouraged the expansion of settlements, arguing that they made it harder to negotiate a viable Palestinian state, viewed by administrations from both U.S. parties as Israel’s likeliest route to peace.

Palestinians argue that Washington did not do enough in practice to press for settlements to be curbed.

Most peace plan scenarios foresee Israel negotiating to keep some settlements in return for giving other land to the Palestinians. Annexation could take that off the table.

Netanyahu’s annexation promise was met with scepticism by Shaqued Morag, director of Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlements group that closely monitors their expansion.

“So we must ask, why has Netanyahu said this now?” Morag said. The answer, she told Reuters, was that Netanyahu feared for his political survival and “the times dictate he makes these extreme declarations that he has no intention to follow through on”.

Israel Katz, the acting foreign minister and a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, said its “great fear” was a split in the right-wing vote that would result in a second-place finish behind the centrist Blue and White faction.

Katz said Likud had to ensure it emerges as the biggest party, to put Netanyahu in the best position to get the nod from Israel’s president to try to put together a governing coalition. No one party has ever won a ruling parliamentary majority on its own in an Israeli election.

(Additional reporting by Ron Bousso in Karnei Shomron, West Bank, Ali Sawafta in Ramallah, West Bank and Maayan Lubell and Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: OANN

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McCarthy on Green Bay firing: ‘It stunned me’

FILE PHOTO: NFL: Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers
FILE PHOTO: Dec 2, 2018; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy walks off the field after the Packers lost to the Arizona Cardinals at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

April 3, 2019

Former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy was surprised to be fired before the end of the 2018 season.

McCarthy addressed the situation in his first sit-down interview since the Packers fired him Dec. 2

“If we missed the playoffs, I expected change might happen,” McCarthy told ESPN in the conversation four months after his dismissal. “But the timing surprised me. Actually it stunned me. But time provides the opportunity for reflection and clarity, and that’s where I’m at now. And it’s clear to me now that both sides needed a change.”

McCarthy was fired immediately after his team’s 20-17 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He was in his 13th season with the Packers, which included a Super Bowl victory in 2011.

“It couldn’t have been handled any worse. Anytime you lose a close game, it’s a difficult time emotionally afterward, but when you lose a home game at Lambeau Field in December, it’s really hard,” McCarthy said of the loss, which moved the Packers to 4-7-1 on the season. “And that hasn’t happened very often. I walked out of my press conference, and I’m thinking about the game, thinking about how our playoff shot was now minimal. That’s where my head was at. And when I was told (team president) Mark Murphy wanted to see me — and the messenger was cold and the energy was bad. Mark said it was an ugly loss, and it was time to make change. He said something about the offense and the special teams, and he didn’t think it was going to get any better. There was no emotion to it. That was hard.”

McCarthy, 55, said he has spent the past four months “shifting from humiliation to reflection” but was buoyed by the support he received.

“When we won the Super Bowl, I received over 200 texts. That week, I had over 500. I got more than twice as many messages for getting fired than I did when I won the damn Super Bowl. It’s remarkable,” he said.

McCarthy’s record with the Packers was 125-77.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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When it comes to disclosing sponsors, your Google Assistant may be mute

FILE PHOTO: An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich
FILE PHOTO: An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

April 1, 2019

By Paresh Dave

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – On stage at an investor conference last month, Google’s Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler identified a vexing challenge for the company’s most prized app: its virtual assistant.

Responding to user searches out loud through Google Assistant is not ideal for generating revenue, Schindler suggested.

When results are visible, not merely oral, “you have room for advertising, of course,” said Schindler, whose company grosses an estimated $70 billion annually through ads above search results.

The Alphabet Inc company declined to elaborate on Schindler’s remarks. But Google’s conundrum is one facing several big tech companies whose users increasingly seek help from voice-enabled speakers and gadgets: how to deliver greater convenience while still generating the ad revenue that traditionally has funded free searches.

The question is most acute for Google, which holds the world’s biggest search advertising business.

So far, consumers generally get a brief answer from virtual assistants without the disturbance of ads. And tech companies have not shown how they would include the “Sponsored” or “Ad” disclaimers that regulators in the United States and elsewhere require with paid-for search results.

One Google Assistant feature already is close to violating disclosure rules, according to five advertising attorneys contacted by Reuters. Google contends it is in compliance.

The feature recommends plumbers and other local home service providers without disclosing that the results draw from a curated database mainly composed of companies that joined a Google marketing program.

“It’s not a completely clean recommendation,” said Michelle Cohen, an attorney with expertise in marketing rules at Ifrah Law in Washington, D.C. “If there’s a financial commitment, you’re supposed to disclose it.”

Conversing with assistants is routine for millions of people globally, whether on bedside alarm clocks, car audio systems or even high-end headphones. More than 1 billion such devices have Google Assistant, 100 million Amazon.com Inc’s Alexa and at least 1 billion Apple Inc’s Siri, according to the companies and estimates.

Regulators avoid stifling new technologies, said Richard Lawson, partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and former consumer protection director in Florida’s attorney general’s office. But he said, authorities will still ask, “How do you convey meaningful disclosures?”

At the conference, Schindler said ads on Google Assistant would be more “interesting” when responses are shown on a nearby screen, like a TV, smartphone, laptop or smart speaker with a display.

“Then we’re exactly in the world that we deeply understand,” Schindler said, with moneymaking options “very similar” to traditional search.

NEW SEARCH TECHNOLOGIES

The Federal Trade Commission, which regulates deceptive business practices in the United States, has long required search engines to inform users in a “noticeable and understandable” fashion when results are connected to financial relationships. That is why consumers see “Ad” or “Sponsored” labels next to the first few Google results on screens.

New search services that “talk” to consumers are not exempt from “the long-standing principle of making advertising distinguishable,” the FTC said in letters to Google and other companies in 2013.

Consumers often complain to the commission about potential violations, and it prods companies into changing practices by threatening fines if the issues persist.

The FTC has not received complaints about ads on Google Assistant, according to results from a Freedom of Information Act request. And the agency declined to comment on whether it is scrutinizing any virtual assistants, though last year it charged a small search engine for prospective college students that included paid results without warning.

GOOGLE’S CHALLENGE

Google users have come to expect results from any relevant source on the web, except when using specialized tools like Google News or Google Flights that have a narrowed set of sources.

In 2017, Google Assistant adopted a specialty tool, Local Services, which offers only vetted businesses when U.S. users search for domestic help such as plumbers and locksmiths.

Results come from a marketing program, known as Google Guarantee, in which members are licensed, insured and clear of legal issues, according to Google. It refunds consumers up to $2,000 if members botch a job.

Membership is free, but businesses need it to buy Local Services search ads from Google. And guaranteed businesses largely do buy those for queries like “plumber,” Reuters found.

Google gets paid when users contact providers through the ads, which are labeled “Sponsored” on Google.com.

But when Google Assistant responds to “plumber” queries with the same “Google Guaranteed” options, the assistant does not offer any disclaimer or further explanation.

Google said in a statement that the results are not labeled as ads “because Google isn’t paid for these results” when delivered on the Assistant rather than Google.com.

The advertising attorneys said users should be informed that Google Assistant results, even if not paid for, stem from a filtered database in which many businesses landed because they wanted to buy ads.

“Disclosing ‘many of the recommended providers may participate in our referral network’…would be relevant and appropriate,” said Cohen, the Washington, D.C., attorney.

In some cities, Google Assistant includes businesses vetted by partner search services HomeAdvisor and Porch. It does not mention that those services charge some businesses for customer leads.

Disclaimers vary in other types of searches, depending on how they are delivered. Google.com answers “flight to Los Angeles” with upcoming flights labeled as “Sponsored,” and users who click on the label would learn that Google “may be compensated” by some of its data sources.

But Google Assistant’s “Sponsored” label does not link to additional information. On smart speakers, the assistant reads only the lowest price without naming an airline.

It says nothing about sponsors.

(Reporting by Paresh Dave; Editing by Greg Mitchell, Marla Dickerson and Julie Marquis)

Source: OANN

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Ex-Trump campaign worker files lawsuit to kill non-disclosure pacts

U.S. President Donald Trump waves as Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz departs at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump waves as Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz departs at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Young

February 20, 2019

By Ginger Gibson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A former campaign worker for President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to invalidate all of the non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements that campaign workers were required to sign before joining the president’s 2016 election campaign.

If the suit is successful, more campaign workers could feel free to speak publicly about the inner workings of the 2016 campaign apparatus, which has been the subject of immense public scrutiny after accusations that top campaign aides sought to work with Russia to influence the outcome of the election.

Jessica Denson has already attempted to sue the Trump campaign once before, over alleged gender discrimination. The new challenge, filed with the American Arbitration Association, seeks class action status and may be open to all former and current campaign employees.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment about the suit from Denson, who was a phone bank and outreach organizer in the 2016 campaign.

Denson’s attorney David Bowles told Reuters his client is asking to invalidate all of the agreements, “because they are wrong, and because they are sloppy.”

He added, that the agreements “are retaliatory, unconscionable and … suppress the free speech of campaign workers. They are sloppy because they would fail as a first-year law student drafting assignment.”

The complaint alleges that the campaign only sought to enforce Denson’s non-disclosure agreement because she filed a gender discrimination suit, which would be retaliation. Successful enforcement of the agreement could result in the former campaign worker being forced to pay large fines to the campaign.

The non-disclosure agreements have already been contested. Earlier this month, Cliff Simms, a former White House employee who wrote a book about his time working in the administration, filed suit after the Trump campaign tried to enforce the non-disclosure agreement he had signed.

The Trump campaign also sought to enforce a non-disclosure agreement last year when former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman penned a book about her time inside the administration.

Anyone who worked for the campaign and then entered the government or remained in the private sector could face “grievous financial penalty” for simply “criticizing the sitting President of the United States,” the complaint says.

(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Tom Brown)

Source: OANN

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China’s January home price growth slips to nine-month low

FILE PHOTO - Apartment blocks are pictured during sunset on the outskirts of Tianjin
FILE PHOTO - Apartment blocks are pictured during sunset on the outskirts of Tianjin, China February 2, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

February 22, 2019

By Yawen Chen and Philip Wen

ZHENGZHOU, China (Reuters) – Growth in China’s new home prices eased slightly in January from December, in initial signs the property market is cooling as the economy slows, but price gains in annual terms accelerated.

Weaker economic momentum and the government’s drive to dampen speculation have hurt buyer sentiment but price growth has stayed relatively resilient as policymakers avoid triggering financial risks with a sharp slowdown in the key sector.

Average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities rose 0.6 percent in January, the weakest pace since April 2018, according to Reuters calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.

That was slower than December’s 0.8 percent monthly growth but marked 45 straight months of price increases, Reuters calculations showed.

Still, on an annual basis, home prices increased 10 percent in January, accelerating from a 9.7 percent pace in December. Fifty-eight of the total 70 cities surveyed by the NBS reported higher prices in January, down from 59 in December.

China’s economy grew at its weakest pace in 28 years last year due to trade frictions and Beijing’s multi-year campaign to crack down on debt risks, weighing on consumer sentiment and the outlook for the country’s residential property market.

Some smaller cities have quietly loosened property policies to stabilize market sentiment. In December, Heze, a city in eastern China, reversed a rule designed to curb real estate flipping.

Price growth in China’s tier-1 cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou – rose 0.4 percent from a month earlier, compared with an increase of 1.3 percent in December, the statistics bureau said in a statement accompanying the data.

For tier-2 provincial capitals and smaller tier-3 cities, the official survey showed monthly price gains of 0.7 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

China’s biggest developer by sales, Country Garden, China Vanke and China Evergrande all posted lower contract sales in January compared with a year earlier.

New household loans, mostly mortgages, increased by 989.8 billion yuan in January, accounting for 30.6 percent of total new loans in January, central bank data showed last week.

Cooling China’s property market: https://tmsnrt.rs/2rL5vat

(Reporting by Yawen Chen and Philip Wen in ZHENGZHOU; Min Zhang in BEIJING; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Source: OANN

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China can use reserve requirements, interest rates to support economy: premier

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks at a news conference following the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks at a news conference following the closing session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

March 15, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – China can use reserve requirements and interest rates to support economic growth, Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday, promising efforts to prevent a sharper deceleration as the world’s second-biggest economy expands at its slowest pace in almost three decades.

Li’s comments suggest Beijing will roll out more stimulus measures to ease the strain on businesses and consumers. China has already flagged billions of dollars in planned tax cuts and infrastructure spending, as economic momentum is expected to cool further due to softer domestic demand and a trade war with the United States.

The central bank has cut banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR) five times in the past year, with a two-stage RRR cut in January releasing a total of 1.5 trillion yuan ($223.23 billion) into the financial system.

Further cuts in the RRR had been widely expected this year, after fresh data pointed to persistently soft demand in the Asian economic giant, raising fears of a sharper slowdown.

Tax and fee cuts announced by the government will take effect from April 1, while social security fees will be reduced from May 1, Li told reporters at a news conference at the conclusion of the annual parliament meeting.

Value-added tax (VAT) for the manufacturing sector will be cut to 13 percent from 16 percent. VAT for the transport and construction sectors will be reduced to 9 percent from 10 percent.

Li also sought to soothe concerns that the tax cuts soon rolled out by the government will weigh on local finances, promising the central government will offer support to provinces in central and western China via payment transfers.

China is targeting a GDP growth range of 6 to 6.5 percent this year, down from 6.6 percent in 2018 – the slowest pace in 28 years.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Kevin Yao; Writing by Yawen Chen and Stella Qiu; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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.”

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

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

Source: Fox News Politics

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News World

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