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Utah closer to joining national alcohol levels for beer

Utah lawmakers moved closer Tuesday to adopting alcohol levels for beer that are in line with most production-line brews sold around the country, despite opposition from the influential Mormon church.

The state Senate overwhelming passed the measure to raise low alcohol limits on Tuesday, though it's expected to face more opposition at the state House of Representatives.

"We still have a ways to go," said Kate Bradshaw, a lobbyist with the Responsible Beer Choice Coalition, a group of manufacturers, distributers and sellers who support the change.

The proposal would increase the alcohol limit from 3.2 percent to 4.8 percent by weight, which would allow most standard beers to be sold in the state.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has expressed concern that the increase is too high. Most lawmakers are members of the faith that teaches abstinence from alcohol, and church positions can hold outsized sway. Many local microbreweries also oppose the change.

Still, supporters have included businesses like Wal-Mart, and the change overwhelmingly passed the state Senate. Republican sponsor Sen. Jerry Stevenson has argued the bill is about commerce rather than alcohol.

"It's a reminder that it is possible to overstate the influence the church has on politics," said Damon Cann, a political science professor at Utah State University. "The church, while clearly formidable as a political foe, is not invincible."

As other states like Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas shed similar limitations, large brewers have begun to stop making lower-alcohol products, leaving shelves emptier and hurting rural Utah stores that depend on beer revenue, Stevenson has said.

"I'm just excited to see us normalize our alcohol a little bit and I think this will be good for the state of Utah," said Sen. Derek Kitchen, a Democrat who identified himself as one of the handful of state senators who drink.

The state also hosts an active microbrewery community, many of whom call the measure a narrow change that would unfairly force them to quickly change their recipes.

The Utah Brewer's Guild would support a larger increase, but fears the legislation would favor larger breweries like Anheuser-Busch, said executive director Nicole Dicou. Most beer in Utah is sold at grocery and convenience stores.

Other critics worry the new limits are too high and could open the door to wine being sold in grocery stores rather than state-owned liquor outlets.

Republican Sen. Lyle Hillyard, a Mormon and an attorney who has worked in criminal defense, said he's opposed to the proposal because it poses an increased risk of drunken driving and other issues for college students.

"Most of these kids who have never drunk before don't understand the impact," he said.

Source: Fox News National

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NFL notebook: Kraft charged with soliciting prostitute

FILE PHOTO: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes
FILE PHOTO: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo

February 26, 2019

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with first-degree solicitation of a prostitute in Florida on Monday. Kraft has a court date scheduled for April 24. He doesn’t need to appear, and a lawyer can represent him instead.

Kraft, 77, is facing two counts of misdemeanor solicitation connected to a sting at a massage parlor in Jupiter, Fla. If convicted of the misdemeanor charges, Kraft would face a maximum of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine as a first-time offender.

According to court documents, one of Kraft’s visit to Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter was on Jan. 20, hours before the Patriots played the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game in Missouri. Kraft allegedly visited the spa on two occasions, according to law enforcement.

Earlier Monday, the NFL released an updated statement on Kraft, saying that the league’s “personal conduct policy applies to everyone in the NFL. … We will take appropriate action as warranted based on the facts,” read the NFL statement.

–The Baltimore Ravens released veteran wide receiver Michael Crabtree after he spent one year with the team.

The team owed Crabtree a $2.5 million roster bonus next month and $7.5 million for the 2019 season, according to ESPN. His release will give Baltimore $4.67 million in additional salary cap space. Crabtree, 31, signed a three-year, $21 million contract last March.

Last season, Crabtree started 16 games and caught 54 passes — his fewest in a full season since 2010 — for 607 yards and three scores. He caught 19 passes in just five games in 2013, when he missed time due to a torn Achilles tendon.

–Looking to get younger and faster in the secondary, the Carolina Panthers cut cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and told safety Mike Adams that he won’t be re-signed.

Munnerlyn, a 10-year veteran who turns 31 in April, had two years remaining on a four-year contract he signed before the 2017 season. He played all 16 games with five starts in 2018.

Adams, a 15-year NFL veteran who turns 38 next month, signed a two-year deal in 2017 and was set to become a free agent in March. He started all 16 games last season.

–Former Florida offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor, a projected first-round draft pick, won’t take part in various drills at the NFL Scouting Combine this week under the advice of renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted a copy of the letter Andrews sent to NFL teams earlier this month to inform them of Taylor’s mild distal hamstring strain, saying Taylor “should be able to return to normal activity in the near future.”

In three seasons at Florida, Taylor, listed at 6-foot-5, 328-pounds, played in 37 games, starting 35 of them, and worked at both the left and right tackle spots.

–Running back Elijah Hood has signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers, the team announced. Contract terms were not announced.

The Panthers claimed Hood, a Charlotte native, off waivers last May, but he tore an ACL in the final preseason game and spent the season on injured reserve. He was a seventh-round draft pick by Oakland in 2017.

“Obviously it’s a blessing. I’m excited. I thank God that I’ll get the opportunity to keep playing here,” Hood, who turns 23 in April, said per the team’s website.

–The Cleveland Browns re-signed offensive tackle Greg Robinson, the team announced.

Terms of the deal weren’t announced but spotrac.com lists the contract as a one-year deal.

Robinson, 26, the No. 2 overall pick in 2014 by the then-St. Louis Rams, wasn’t affiliated with any NFL organization when the Browns signed him last June.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Trump calls Russia probe 'an illegal takedown that failed' after Mueller report summary released

President Trump told reporters Sunday that the release of a summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe findings represented a "complete and total exoneration," calling it "an illegal takedown that failed."

This is a developing story; please check back for updates.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Nicaragua opposition leaves talks until prisoners released

The opposition Civic Alliance said Sunday that it will not return to talks with Nicaragua's government unless President Daniel Ortega's administration makes goodwill gestures like freeing prisoners.

The coalition of student, business and civic groups said in a statement that it was demanding "the freeing of political prisoners, an end to repression and kidnappings."

The alliance did not specify whether the demand was for the release of some or all of the estimated 770 people jailed by the Sandinista government following protests that started last April. Since the latest round of talks began in late February, the government has freed about 112 people on a form of conditional release.

The opposition also said it wants an end to the harassment of protesters' families and "cruel and inhuman treatment" of prisoners.

The government did not immediately respond to the statement. It has rejected previous demands to move up the 2021 elections.

The statement came a day after the government announced its own agenda for the talks, which are aimed at resolving the nearly year-old political standoff.

A Foreign Ministry statement spelled out several points including the strengthening of electoral institutions, justice and reparations, and negotiations about the suspension of international sanctions.

It said the government is "committed to the strengthening of democracy and respect for the constitutional order of Nicaragua," but pointedly noted that the date for the next general election is "established" for 2021.

During last year's protests, opponents of Ortega demanded that he leave office and allow an early and fair election. The government cracked down on demonstrations, and at least 325 people died in the unrest, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Of the 770 people the opposition considers political prisoners, the government said Saturday that it would consider freeing both those awaiting judgment and others already convicted. But it added that it would "review their case files, a situation that does not imply impunity."

Source: Fox News World

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Bobcat survives deadly wildfire, has 4 kittens in California

Wildlife officials say a young bobcat captured, collared and released a day before a massive, deadly wildfire has given birth to four kittens.

Officials with the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area said Friday that biologists recently found the bobcat's den in dense vegetation in a large residential backyard in Thousand Oaks.

While their mother was away, the biologists weighed, measured and tagged one male and three female kittens.

Their mother, B-362, was tagged the day before the start of last year's Woolsey Fire, which destroyed 1,600 structures and left three people dead.

Biologist Joanne Moriarty says in a statement that it's been a stressful time for wildlife, "but we're happy to see her thriving."

Another female bobcat being studied has remained in the burn area but hasn't reproduced.

Source: Fox News National

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EU to grant Brexit delay but may demand a longer extension and conditions

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May leave after a meeting to discuss Brexit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May leave after a meeting to discuss Brexit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

April 10, 2019

By Elizabeth Piper and Gabriela Baczynska

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union will grant Prime Minister Theresa May a second delay to Brexit at an emergency summit on Wednesday but the bloc’s leaders are likely to demand she accepts a longer extension with conditions.

In a sign of just how far the Brexit crisis has sapped British power, May dashed to Berlin and Paris on the eve of the summit to ask Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to allow her to put off the departure date to June 30 from April 12

But in Brussels, a “flextension” until the end of the year or until March 2020 was shaping up to be the most likely option, EU diplomats said. Such an option would allow Britain to leave earlier if the Brexit deadlock in London could be broken.

While it was not immediately clear what Merkel and Macron, Europe’s two most powerful leaders, agreed with May, an advance draft of conclusions for Wednesday’s emergency EU summit said Britain would be granted another delay on certain conditions.

“The United Kingdom shall facilitate the achievement of the Union’s tasks and refrain from any measure which could jeopardize the attainment of the Union’s objectives,” read the draft seen by Reuters.

As a full member state of the EU, Britain could in theory exercise a veto on any major policy decision.

The draft left the end-date blank pending a decision by the other 27 national leaders on Wednesday evening in Brussels.

“In my view, a short extension would not bring much,” said Detlef Seif, deputy EU spokesman for Merkel’s parliamentary group. “There is no appetite to return to a new European Council every six weeks to decide whether to renew the extension.”

In European capitals there was weariness and exasperation with Britain’s tortuous Brexit divorce after 46 years of membership.

“People are tired and fed up (with Britain’s indecision) – but what to do?” one EU diplomat said. “We won’t be the ones pushing the UK off the cliff edge.”

BREXIT CRISIS

Another EU official involved with Brexit said no European power wanted the chaos that they fear a “no-deal” exit would sow through financial markets and the EU 27’s $16 trillion economy.

Nearly two weeks after Britain was originally supposed to leave the EU, May, the weakest British prime minister in a generation, has said she fears Brexit might never happen as she battles to get a divorce deal ratified by a divided parliament.

After her pledge to resign failed to get her deal over the line, she launched crisis talks with the opposition Labour Party in the hope of breaking the domestic deadlock.

But when she arrives in Brussels, May will is unlikely to be able to trumpet any breakthrough with Labour. After Tuesday’s round of talks, Labour said it had not yet seen a clear shift in May’s stance.

The Northern Irish party which props up her government said May was embarrassing the United Kingdom.

“Nearly three years after the referendum the UK is today effectively holding out a begging bowl to European leaders,” Democratic Unionist Party deputy leader Nigel Dodds said.

An official in Macron’s office said that “in the scenario of an extended delay, one year would seem too long for us”.

He added that if Britain did delay its exit, it should not take part in EU budget talks or in choosing the next president of the EU’s executive commission – and that the other 27 member states should be able to review its “sincere cooperation”.

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Source: OANN

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Russian lawmakers approve second reading of ‘sovereign’ Internet bill

The coat of arms of Russia is reflected in a laptop screen in this picture illustration
The coat of arms of Russia is reflected in a laptop screen in this picture illustration taken February 12, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

April 11, 2019

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s lower house of parliament on Thursday approved the second reading of draft legislation that aims to increase Moscow’s sovereignty over its Internet segment and defend against foreign meddling.

Critics of the bill warn it could disrupt Russia’s Internet and be used to stifle dissent.

(Reporting by Andrey Kuzmin; Wriging by Polina Nikolskaya; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

OIL PRICES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

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

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

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News World

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