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Jon Stewart calls on Congress to step up and help 9/11 heroes, their families

Jon Stewart isn’t joking when it comes to getting the proper funding to help 9/11 responders and their families who continue to deal with the lingering damage from America’s most horrific terrorist attack.

The former “Daily Show” host told “America’s Newsroom” those still suffering for their heroic actions “deserve our attention.”

“We don’t want the 9/11 community and the first responders to have their issue be swept under the rug or be ignored,” Stewart said.

9/11 FUND RUNNING OUT OF MONEY FOR THOSE WITH ILLNESSES

“These are men and women who have suffered great illnesses because of their heroic work down on ‘Ground Zero’ during 9/11 and during the months that passed and they deserve our attention.”

Stewart is in Washington, D.C. with John Feal, a 9/11 demolition supervisor, to support the “Never Forget the Heroes” Fund Act.

The bipartisan legislation would make sure that all first responders and survivors who were injured or are suffering illnesses from that day receive their full compensation.

The 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund announced earlier this month that they were running out of money and were cutting payments by as much as 50 and 70 percent.

“I’ve been to 181 funerals. The pain, the struggle, the fight is real,” Feal told co-host Sandra Smith.

FLASHBACK: AS 9/11 VICTIMS CONTINUE TO COME FORWARD, OFFICIALS AND ADVOCATES FEAR COMPENSATION FUND MAY DRY UP

“When this went into effect the conversations are, 'Now do I put gas in the car or do I put food on the table? Do I keep a roof over my head or do I pay the utilities?'

“This is real and this policy effect is devastating to the 9/11 community.”

“This has been a fight.  It’s not something they’re unaccustomed too but it’s something that I find… It’s unconscionable.  It cannot continue,” Stewart added.

“We cannot force the men and women that so heroically went down to ‘Ground Zero’ and stayed there for 9, 10 months disrupting their lives as well. We can’t force them to have to fight for this anymore.”

Both men took the opportunity to express to Congress that this was their opportunity to turn one of America’s horrific moments into a positive.

“Congress has a chance… I think Congress and the Senate need this more than anything to come together like we did 18 years ago,” Feal said.  “They can take our worst day, our worst weeks and our worst months. Especially our worst 18 years since and come together and make Congress’ finest hour.”

“This is a national embarrassment and crisis,” Stewart said.  “They’ve got to step up.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Kyle Busch continues winning ways with Martinsville victory

NASCAR: Daytona 500
FILE PHOTO: Feb 17, 2019; Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch prior to the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

March 23, 2019

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — A week after locking up his 200th NASCAR national series victory at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Kyle Busch took the first step toward the next century mark.

Holding off challenges from Ross Chastain and runner-up Ben Rhodes, Busch survived a late restart in winning Saturday’s TruNorth Global 250 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway.

The race ended under a last-lap caution, after Reid Wilson’s No. 44 Chevrolet spun in Turn 4 and nosed toward the inside wall. Rhodes was running second when the yellow flag waved, with reigning series champion Brett Moffitt third and Chastain fourth.

The victory was Busch’s second at the .526-mile short track in his own Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. Busch has won each of his three starts this season and now has 54 victories in Trucks, extending his series record.

“These guys worked really, really hard this weekend,” Busch said of crew chief Rudy Fugle and the No. 51 team. “We unloaded, and I didn’t like where we were at. We made wholesale changes to this thing all weekend long and just tried to keep improving this Cessna Beechcraft Tundra and make it faster…

“All these guys kept trying to make it turn the center (of the corner) better. At Martinsville, you have to turn the center without getting too loose in or too loose off. … And we had enough tire at the end to hold them all off.”

Busch led 174 of the 250 laps, including the final 66. He passed Chastain for the top spot on Lap 185 and held it the rest of the way through four subsequent cautions before the final restart with three circuits remaining.

“Today we just kind of let the race play out and come to us,” Busch said.

Rhodes had a second-place car but not a race winner — and he knew it.

“It was a good day at Martinsville,” Rhodes conceded. “It was the best finish I’ve had here yet. I was surprised — qualifying 16th. We had a fast Ford F150, but we just needed a little more. We got beat by the best in the business. He knows what he’s doing here.

“It was fun following him and seeing how he was pacing himself. That’s something I’ve struggled with in the past… Anytime you restart next to that guy, I try to log it in my memory banks so I can just try and get him next time.”

Pole winner Stewart Friesen finished fifth after leading 19 laps, third most behind Busch and Chastain (53). Myatt Snider, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter and Bubba Wallace completed the top 10.

French Canadian driver Raphael Lessard finished 14th in his first start in the Truck Series.

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race — 21st Annual TruNorth Global 250

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville, Virginia

Saturday, March 23, 2019

1. (2) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 250.

2. (16) Ben Rhodes, Ford, 250.

3. (5) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 250.

4. (10) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 250.

5. (1) Stewart Friesen, Chevrolet, 250.

6. (15) Myatt Snider, Ford, 250.

7. (19) Grant Enfinger, Ford, 250.

8. (6) Matt Crafton, Ford, 250.

9. (8) Johnny Sauter, Ford, 250.

10. (13) Bubba Wallace(i), Chevrolet, 250.

11. (18) Harrison Burton #, Toyota, 250.

12. (21) David Gilliland, Toyota, 250.

13. (12) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 250.

14. (7) Raphael Lessard, Toyota, 250.

15. (3) Todd Gilliland, Toyota, 250.

16. (9) Austin Hill, Toyota, 250.

17. (4) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 250.

18. (11) Derek Kraus, Toyota, 250.

19. (14) Tyler Ankrum #, Toyota, 250.

20. (24) Spencer Davis, Ford, 249.

21. (23) Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, 249.

22. (26) Austin Theriault, Ford, 248.

23. (20) Tyler Dippel #, Chevrolet, 248.

24. (27) Reid Wilson, Chevrolet, 247.

25. (30) Korbin Forrister, Toyota, 246.

26. (29) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 246.

27. (25) Spencer Boyd, Chevrolet, 244.

28. (32) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, 240.

29. (28) Brennan Poole, Toyota, 239.

30. (31) Daniel Sasnett, Chevrolet, 238.

31. (22) Cory Roper, Ford, Rear End, 225.

32. (17) Gus Dean #, Chevrolet, Oil Line, 61.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 70.175 mph.

Time of Race: 1 hours, 52 minutes, 26 seconds. Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds.

Caution Flags: 7 for 50 laps.

Lead Changes: 8 among 4 drivers.

Lap Leaders: S. Friesen 1-8;K. Busch(i) 9-74;A. Hill 75-79;K. Busch(i) 80-120;S. Friesen 121-130;R. Chastain(i) 131-180;K. Busch(i) 181;R. Chastain(i) 182-184;K. Busch(i) 185-250.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Busch(i) 4 times for 174 laps; Ross Chastain(i) 2 times for 53 laps; Stewart Friesen 2 times for 18 laps; Austin Hill 1 time for 5 laps.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 51, 52, 13, 4, 45, 88, 24, 16, 8, 46

Stage #2 Top Ten: 45, 99, 51, 52, 24, 18, 13, 16, 27, 4

–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.

Source: OANN

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Canadian ex-attorney general releases secret tape recording

Canada's former attorney general on Friday made public a conversation she secretly recorded with Canada's top civil servant that she took as a veiled threat that she'd lose her job if she didn't intervene to avoid criminal prosecution of a Canadian company.

The recording shows Trudeau aide Michael Wernick telling the Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould that Trudeau "is determined, quite firm," in finding a way to avoid a prosecution that could put 9,000 jobs at risk.

It also shows Wilson-Raybould, who was also attorney general, saying she regards the pressure as "inappropriate."

The furor over the case has threatened Trudeau's chances in the fall election and led to the resignation of two Cabinet ministers as well as Trudeau's top aide Gerry Butts and the early retirement of Wernick

In the tape released via a Parliament justice committee, Wernick is heard saying it's is not a good for Wilson-Raybould to be at "loggerheads" with the prime minister, who was urging a legal option known as deferred prosecution under which the company would pay a fine but avoid a possible criminal conviction.

"I think he is going to find a way to get it done one way or another. He's in that kind of mood. I wanted you to be aware of that," Wernick is heard saying.

He also says Trudeau feels the government has to do everything it can to save 9,000 jobs at a signature Canadian firm. Conviction would bar the company from government contracts.

Wilson-Raybould is heard saying the conversation is "entirely inappropriate and it is political interference."

Wernick is heard saying Trudeau is thinking about bringing in a former chief justice to consult with her on the issue. He also says it's not interference.

Wilson-Raybould was demoted from her role as attorney general and justice minister in January as part of a Cabinet shuffle by Trudeau. She has testified that she believes she lost the justice job because she did not give in to "sustained" pressure to instruct the director of public prosecutions to negotiate a remediation agreement with SNC-Lavalin.

Wilson-Raybould said in a written submission that she took the "extraordinary and otherwise inappropriate step" of secretly recording a phone call with the country's top public servant in December because she feared the conversation would cross ethical lines and she wanted an exact account.

"This is something that I have never done before this phone call and have not done since," she wrote.

Source: Fox News World

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Turkey denies Aegean dolphin deaths linked to navy drill

Turkey's military has sought to defend itself against accusations from a Greek marine conservation group that its naval exercises have been behind a recent spike in the number of dolphin deaths.

The military posted on Twitter on Tuesday a video and photographs of dolphins happily accompanying vessels during naval exercises.

On Monday, Greece's Archipelagos Institute said that 15 dead dolphins have washed up on Greece's Aegean coastlines since late February. While it couldn't prove any link it said the spike came in the wake of the Feb. 27-March 8 Turkish military drills that made use of sonar and practiced with live ammunition.

The Turkish military said the armed forces "maintain their sensitivity to the environment even during operations" and "acted with the consciousness of protecting our friends at sea."

Source: Fox News World

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Trump touts success in battling opioid epidemic during Atlanta speech

President Trump on Wednesday touted his administration’s success in combating the opioid epidemic in the United States, while acknowledging that there is still more work to do.

Speaking at the Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in Atlanta, the president’s remarks noted the steps his administration has taken to battle the epidemic, but also veered into his frequent critique of drugs coming over the U.S.’s southern border into the country.

“We will not solve this epidemic overnight,” Trump said to an audience of elected leaders and health and law enforcement officials gathered in the Georgia capital. “But we will never stop until the job is done.”

Trump added: “We will succeed and we’re making tremendous progress.”

NEW YORK SUES MAKERS OF OXYCONTIN DAYS AFTER COMPANY AGREES TO $270M SETTLEMENT

The president has declared opioids a national health emergency, while First Lady Melania Trump, who also spoke at the conference, focuses on the issue in her national "Be Best" child welfare campaign.

“I’m proud of this administration’s historic progress,” the first lady said before introducing her husband.

Opioid abuse claimed a record nearly 48,000 American lives in 2017. An estimated 2 million people are addicted to the drugs, which include both legal prescription pain medications and illegal drugs like heroin.

There have been signs of progress.The number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers filled in the U.S. fell substantially in 2017. Still, it's unclear whether the opioid problem is on the decline.

Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump's top advisers, said at a White House gaggle Wednesday that Twitter and Google have helped the administration combat the opioid and drug crisis. So far, the administration has helped collect 3.7 million pounds of unused and expired medications — enough to fill seven Air Force One planes, she said.

The next "National Prescription Drug Take Back Day" is Saturday.

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Conway said she met Tuesday with drug enforcement and officials from Google, which is helping the administration by displaying links to about 5,500 locations where people can drop off unused and expired pills.

Trump also hit Mexico for allowing heroin and other opioids to come into the country, and promised that his much-touted border wall will help stem the flow of drugs into the U.S.

“Heroin alone kills 300 Americans, 90 percent of which enter the Southern Border,” Trump said.

While it’s true that the vast majority of heroin in the U.S. comes from Mexico, virtually all of it makes its way into the country through legal ports of entry and not by traffickers sneaking it across the border unnoticed.

“A small percentage of all heroin seized by CBP along the land border was between Ports of Entry (POEs),” the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a 2018 report.

There is also contention over Trump’s claims of progress in combating the opioid epidemic.

Keith Humphreys, a drug policy adviser in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations who now is at Stanford University, said some states are making progress in combating opioids abuse, but not because of Trump's actions. Humphreys cited Rhode Island and Vermont as examples. He also said some states have regressed.

Humphreys said the president's declaration of opioids addiction as a public health emergency in 2017 failed to translate into significant concrete action. Members of Congress, he said, "figured out they were going to have to do it themselves and they did."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Denver Post says it ‘was a mistake’ to endorse Sen. Cory Gardner after he votes to support Trump's border emergency

The Denver Post published an op-ed Thursday declaring it “was a mistake” for them to endorse Sen. Cory Gardner -- hours after the Colorado lawmaker sided with President Trump's border security declaration rather than joining 12 fellow Republicans in voting against it.

The newspaper wrote it endorsed the Republican senator in 2014 “because we believed he’d be a statesman.”

“We knew he’d be a conservative voice in Congress, to be certain, but we thought his voice would bring ‘fresh leadership, energy and ideas,’” the op-ed read.

However, the paper said Gardner “has been too busy walking a political tight rope to be a leader.”

“We no longer know what principles guide the senator and regret giving him our support in a close race against Mark Udall,” the op-ed said.

REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED AGAINST TRUMP’S BORDER EMERGENCY DECLARATION

The Denver Post noted Gardner did not join the 12 Republicans who, with Senate Democrats, voted 59-41 to block Trump's national emergency declaration. Such a declaration would allow the president to move government money to fund a wall across the U.S.-Mexico border. The Senate Republicans who voted against the declaration included Sen. Mike Lee of Utah,  Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

The paper noted that they did “expect to disagree with our lawmakers from time to time” but “these were extraordinary times.”

“This is a bogus emergency that takes executive over-reach to an extreme not seen even under President Barack Obama,” the op-ed stated. “Trump’s declaration is an abuse of his power, a direct overturning of Congress’ deliberate decision to pass a federal budget without funding for a wall.”

The Post said it was “surprised by Gardner’s vote” and called it “inconsistent with every stance he has taken on Trump’s presidency.”

Gardner released a statement Thursday explaining his vote.

SENATE VOTES TO BLOCK TRUMP’S BORDER EMERGENCY DECLARATION, IN BIPARTISAN REBUKE TEEING UP VETO

"There is a crisis at the border and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have prevented a solution. As a result, the president has declared a national immigration emergency, legal authority which he clearly has under the 1976 law, a law invoked 56 times by every previous president since Jimmy Carter. Between October and February, border patrol apprehensions were up nearly 100 percent and since 2012, border patrol methamphetamine seizures are up 280 percent. It should never have come to this, but in the absence of Congressional action, the president did what Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer refused to do," Gardner’s statement read.

The Post asked why Gardner didn’t lobby with his “fellow Republicans to pass a budget in December prior to the shutdown that included Trump’s requested $5.7 billion for a wall?”

“In Gardner’s defense, he said he voted to open the government because he opposes shutdowns as a matter of principle, a position we lauded him for at the time. But we’re surprised he doesn’t feel the same twinge of principle when it comes to an executive order that is so blatantly a repudiation of Congress’ will,” the Denver Post wrote.

The paper said the lawmaker “could still prove to be a great senator for Colorado” who puts his state above party -- something the paper said is “rare” these days.

Gardner is expected to face a competitive race when he is up for reelection next year. He recently endorsed Trump’s reelection despite opposing Trump during the 2016 GOP primary. Later, he endorsed Trump but rescinded it following the “Access Hollywood” tape.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Credit Suisse loses bid to dismiss lawsuit in U.S. over writedowns

FILE PHOTO: Switzerland's national flag flies next to the logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Luzern
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Switzerland's national flag flies next to the logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse at a branch office in Luzern, Switzerland October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

February 20, 2019

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge has rejected Credit Suisse Group AG’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing the Swiss bank of defrauding shareholders about its risk appetite and risk management before taking $1 billion of writedowns on souring debt.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan was made public on Wednesday.

Schofield said investors who lost money in Credit Suisse’s American depositary receipts could pursue claims that the bank, Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam and other defendants intended to mislead them, by touting its “comprehensive” risk controls and “binding” limits on its exposure to risky and illiquid debt.

Credit Suisse took two writedowns in early 2016 on $4.3 billion of collateralized loan obligations and distressed debt, contributing to its first full-year loss since the 2008 global financial crisis.

The bank’s share price fell 11 percent after news of the first writedown. Other defendants included Chief Financial Officer David Mathers, and Thiam’s predecessor Brady Dougan.

Credit Suisse had no immediate comment. A lawyer for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The lead plaintiffs are four pension and retirement plans in suburbs of New York City and Chicago, and in Birmingham, Alabama. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Since becoming chief executive in 2015, Thiam has repositioned Credit Suisse as a bank for ultra-wealthy and entrepreneurial customers, while shrinking its investment bank.

Though Schofield dismissed some claims in the lawsuit, she cited Thiam’s own statements about the bank’s rising risk appetite in explaining why the case should proceed.

“Thiam himself stated that continually raising the internal risk limits led to larger exposures to illiquid CLO and distressed debt investments and resulted in the writedowns,” Schofield wrote. “Thiam stated to the Wall Street Journal, ‘A limit that keeps moving is not a limit.'”

Schofield said statements such as these could suggest that investors “were lulled into believing that the risk levels were contained and acceptable.”

The defendants had said there was no fraud or intent to defraud, and that prior courts had found no liability for similar actions by other banks and corporate officers.

The case is City of Birmingham Firemen’s and Policemen’s Supplemental Pension System v Credit Suisse Group AG et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 17-10014.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Source: OANN

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Cyprus police on Friday widened their search for more victims of a suspected serial killer after the 35-year-old national guard captain told investigators he killed four more people that he previously admitted to on the small Mediterranean nation.

The count now has climbed to seven.

CYPRUS FEARS POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLER AFTER BODIES OF TWO WOMEN ARE DISCOVERED IN MINESHAFT

Authorities said they are focusing on a military firing range, a man-made lake and an abandoned mine about 20 miles west of the capital Nicosia.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed “deep sorrow and concern” at the slayings and said he shared the public’s revulsion at “murders that appear to have selectively targeted foreign women who are in our country to work.”

“Such instincts are contrary to our culture’s traditions and values,” he said in a statement from China, where he was on an official visit. He urged calm so police can complete their investigation.

The scale of the alleged crimes by a Cypriot National Guard captain has horrified the small nation of over a million people, where multiple killings are rare. Five British law enforcement officials — including a coroner, a psychiatrist and investigators who specialize in multiple homicides — have been dispatched to help with the investigation.

On Thursday, the 35-year-old suspect, who can’t yet be named because he hasn’t been formally charged, told investigators that he had killed four more people than he had previously admitted to. Police said the suspect will appear in court Saturday for another custody hearing.

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week's discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims. 

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week’s discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims.  (AP)

The victims — all foreigners— include Marry Rose Tiburcio, 38, from the Philippines, whose bound body was found April 14 in a flooded mineshaft. She and her six-year-old daughter had been missing since May of last year.

The girl remains missing and authorities believe she was also slain by the suspect. Divers have entered the reservoir to search for her but have not found her body yet.

CYPRUS: GROUND NOT YET READY FOR PEACE TALKS RESUMPTION 

Authorities tracked down the officer last week by scouring Tiburcio’s online messages.

Six days later, police discovered another body April 20 in the same mineshaft, identified by Cypriot media as 28-year-old Arian Palanas Lozano, also from the Philippines.

A third alleged victim, also of Filipino descent, is 31-year-old Maricar Valtez Arquiola, who had been missing since December 2017. The suspect initially denied killing Arquiola but reversed himself after a court hearing Thursday, a police official said.

The suspect on Thursday also pointed investigators to a military firing range, where they discovered another unidentified body, which according to the suspect belongs to a woman of either Nepalese or Indian descent.

SERIAL KILLER WHO MAY HAVE COMMITTED 90 MURDERS IS LINKED TO YET ANOTHER KILLING 

Cypriot police are also looking for a Romanian mother and daughter. Cypriot media identified them as Livia Florentina Bunea, 36, and eight-year-old Elena Natalia Bunea, who are believed to have been missing since September 2016.

The man-made lake remains off-limits to a manned search because of high levels of toxic heavy metals from the copper pyrite mine, Fire Service Chief Marcos Trangolas said, adding that authorities will use other means to scour the lake.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus police have faced criticism from immigrant activists who said they didn’t act fast enough to investigate the whereabouts of some of the victims, many of them domestic workers. The island nation has 80 unsolved missing persons cases, going back to 1990.

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Police chief Zacharias Chrysostomou said a three-member panel has been assigned to probe whether police followed all the correct protocol in recent missing persons cases.

According to the state-run Cyprus News Agency, an investigator had told the court at an earlier hearing that the suspect admitted to killing one woman he met online after having sex with her.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury's store in Redhill
FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury’s store in Redhill, Britain, March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) – With Sainsbury’s dream of creating Britain’s biggest supermarket group in tatters, its chastened CEO Mike Coupe needs to reassure investors he has the plan to arrest a sales decline when he presents annual results next week.

Britain’s competition regulator blocked Sainsbury’s 7.3 billion pound ($9.4 billion) takeover of Walmart’s Asda on Thursday, saying the deal would increase prices. Sainsbury’s shares fell 5 percent and are down 22 percent over the last three months.

For Sainsbury’s fourth quarter to March 9 analysts are on average forecasting a 1.6 percent fall in like-for-like sales, which would follow 1.1 percent decline over the Christmas period.

Monthly industry data from researcher Kantar has also shown Sainsbury’s as the weakest performer of the big four grocers this year and this month it lost its status as Britain’s No. 2 supermarket group by market share to Asda.

While Sainsbury’s has struggled, market leader Tesco has gained momentum, this month reporting a 34 percent jump in full year profit.

Prohibition of the deal was a major blow to Coupe, its architect and Sainsbury’s boss since 2014.

Martin Scicluna became Sainsbury’s chairman last month and when bedded-in may decide that if the group needs a major shake-up it is best carried out by a new leader.

Much will depend on the attitude of 22 percent shareholder the Qatar Investment Authority, which has so far declined to comment, as well as Coupe’s own appetite to continue after 15 years at the group.

THE RIGHT STRATEGY?

Coupe said on Thursday he was confident Sainsbury’s was pursuing the right strategy.

That was a clear indication that Wednesday’s results statement will not include radical changes to the group’s plans, such as a big margin reset — sacrificing profit to drive sales.

However, sources connected to Sainsbury’s said Coupe would likely acknowledge that more needs to be done on prices, so the supermarket business can better compete with its big four rivals – Tesco, Asda and No. 4 Morrisons – as well as German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Coupe’s strategy is based on differentiating Sainsbury’s food offer, growing its general merchandise, clothing business and bank, while investing in convenience and online channels.

Some analysts believe major change is needed.

HSBC analyst David McCarthy reckons Sainsbury’s needs a margin reset, should allocate more space for core lines and needs to drive better store standards. He said Sainsbury’s might consider closing down space in some of its larger stores and reducing its non-food offer.

For the full 2018-19 year analysts are on average forecasting a pretax profit of 626 million pounds, up from 589 million pounds in 2017-18 – a second straight year of profit growth. A full year dividend of 10.5 pence per share is forecast versus 10.2 pence last time.

Bank and lawyer fees related to the proposed combination with Asda were 17 million pounds in the first half and have reportedly jumped to around 50 million pounds.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey rejected demands from a secular group to remove posts on social media where he sent Easter greetings and cited a Bible verse, offering to provide copies of the Constitution to his critics.

Ducey, who’s a practicing Catholic, has been bombarded with calls from Secular Communities for Arizona to remove the post, which included a cross, a Bible verse, and the phrase, “He is risen.”

ARIZONA’S GOP GOVERNOR WAGING WAR AGAINST OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING LAWS

The group argued the posts crossed a line into government sponsorship of religious messages and was unconstitutional.

The governor fired back at the group, saying in a tweet that he will never remove the posts or other religious ones.

“We won’t be removing this post. Ever. Nor will we be removing our posts for Christmas, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Palm Sunday, Passover or any other religious holiday,” he tweeted. “We support the First Amendment, and are happy to provide copies of the Constitution to anyone who hasn’t read it.”

Dianne Post, an attorney for the secular group, told the Arizona Republic “elected officials should not use their government position and government property to promote their religious views.”

LICENSE REQUIRED TO REPAIR DOORS? REGS SPARK HEATED DEBATE IN ARIZONA

She added the courts have repeatedly “struck down symbolism that unites government with religion,” adding that Ducey’s office must “represent and protect the rights of all residents of Arizona, including those who do not believe in a monotheistic God or any gods at all.”

Many congratulated Ducey for not backing down amid the pressure, though some Facebook users sided with the secular group and criticized the governor on his original post.

“Why do you use a government platform to bring up your personal religion?” asked one person. “Are there no citizens in your jurisdiction that believe differently from you?”

Another stipulated that the post was somewhat discriminatory. “Great sensitivity, Doug. That’s the last time this Jew votes for you,” one person wrote.

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Ducey wished in a statement Arizonans last week a “blessed and joyful Easter and Passover weekend.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A Canadian dollar coin commonly known as the
FILE PHOTO: A Canadian dollar coin, commonly known as the “Loonie”, is pictured in this illustration picture taken in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada posted a budget surplus in the first 11 months of the 2018/19 fiscal year compared to a deficit the year earlier as revenues increased mostly on higher tax incomes, the finance department said on Friday.

The surplus for April-February was C$3.1 billion, compared to a deficit of C$6 billion in the same 2017/18 period. Revenues climbed by 8.5 percent, mainly due to higher tax receipts, while program expenses rose by 4.8 percent.

The surplus for February was C$4.3 billion compared with C$2.8 billion in February 2018. Revenues jumped by 12.2 percent while program expenses posted a more modest 6.9 percent gain.

Last month, the Liberals unveiled their new budget, projecting a C$14.9 billion deficit in 2018/19, with the deficit rising to C$19.8 billion in fiscal 2019/20.

(Reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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President Trump said Friday he would beat Joe Biden “easily” in the 2020 presidential election, suggesting the former vice president could not have enough “energy” to hold the post—taking an apparent swipe at his age.

The president, departing the White House, was asked about Biden’s entrance into the Democratic primary field. Biden announced his presidential bid early Thursday morning, marking his third attempt at the White House.

JOE BIDEN OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES 2020 PRESIDENTIAL BID

“I think we’d beat him easily,” Trump told reporters Friday.

Trump, 72, said he feels “young” and is ready for 2020, and another term for his administration.

“I feel like a young man. I am a young, vibrant man,” Trump said. “I look at Joe, I don’t know about him.”

The president’s comments seemingly were a shot at the age of Biden, who is 76.

BIDEN ENTERS WHITE HOUSE RACE WITHOUT OBAMA’S ENDORSEMENT

“I would never say anyone’s too old,” Trump said. “I know they’re all making me look very young both in terms of age and in terms of energy.”

Biden became the 20th candidate to join the crowded Democratic primary field Thursday. But Biden is not the oldest in the pack. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is 77 and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is 69.

Should Trump be re-elected, he would be 74 on Jan. 20, 2021—Inauguration Day. Should the presidency go to one of the elder Democrats in the field—Biden would be 78; Sanders would be 79; and Warren would be 71.

Meanwhile, in a wide-ranging interview on “Hannity” Thursday night, Trump dismissed Biden’s candidacy, nicknaming him “Sleepy Joe,” and saying he’s “not the brightest bulb.” Trump also said that while the former vice president has name recognition, he won’t “be able to do the job.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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