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Florida Sen. Rick Scott says Dems are out to ruin health care, touts bill focused on drug costs

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Tuesday that Democrats want to ruin health care, as President Trump touted Republican efforts to replace the Obama-era Affordable Care Act -- after the 2020 elections.

“They want Medicare for all,” Scott told Fox News’ “The Daily Briefing” with Dana Perino, referring to the Democrats. “They want to ruin, first off, Medicare, and second, kill everybody’s private insurance.”

Trump tweeted Monday that Republicans were working on a “really great replacement” for the Affordable Care Act, but added that it would not happen until after next year’s presidential election.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BACKS TOTAL OVERTURN OF OBAMACARE, WILL SUPPORT STATES CHALLENGING THE LAW

Scott said even if Trump wanted to replace the Affordable Care Act now, it would still have to get past House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The Justice Department told an appeals court last week that it supported a judge's ruling abolishing the Affordable Care Act. Pelosi on Tueday said that those were "fighting words."

Scott said that what everyone should talk about is reducing health costs. He just introduced legislation to do that.

“I did a bill last Friday that says you are not going to be able to charge, if you are a drug company, you can’t charge Americans more than you charge Europeans,” he said. His measure is called the “Transparent Drug Pricing Act.”

Separately, Scott accused Democrats of playing politics after voting Monday to block a $13.5 billion disaster relief bill in the Senate for victims of hurricanes, floods and western wildfires.

TRUMP, GOP FIRE BACK AFTER DEMS BLOCK DISASTER RELIEF BILL: 'WASHINGTON HAS REACHED A NEW LOW'

The bill contains $600 million in nutritional assistance for Puerto Rico but Democrats say the U.S. territory needs more in Hurricane Maria recovery aid.

Asked his opinion, Scott said “they’re all steps,” then accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of killing the bill.

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“Why don’t we do what we know we can do that the president will sign and then if we need to do more, keep doing more?” he said.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Death toll in South Africa rains approaching 70, official says

Cleaning crew picks up plastics from debris in the harbour after massive flooding in Durban
Cleaning crew picks up plastics from debris in the harbour after massive flooding in Durban, South Africa, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Rogan Ward

April 25, 2019

DURBAN/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Almost 70 people have been killed in South Africa after torrential rains along the eastern coast, an official said on Thursday, and rescuers are still recovering bodies.

KwaZulu-Natal province, where most of the deaths occurred after the downpours led to flooding and mudslides, has heavy rain every year, but they rarely kill so many people in such a short space of time.

The number of people killed was “approaching 70”, Lennox Mabaso, a spokesman for the provincial Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs department, said by phone.

“I don’t recall that in history,” he said, attributing the severity of the storm and its impact on the population to climate change.

A Reuters witness saw rescuers come to collect the body of a woman who had been dug out of the mud by locals. Mabaso said a more precise death toll would be given later on Thursday.

Eye witnesses recounted on Wednesday how flood waters and mudslides crashed through houses, many with people inside, and destroyed roads and other infrastructure.

The rains carved chunks out of hills and roads in the region, with cars, tin roofs and other rubble swept into the deep muddy trenches left behind.

In other places, people buried their dead on muddy hillsides churned up by the storm, marking their resting place with simple wooden crosses.

Vanetia Phakula, a senior forecaster at the South African Weather Service, said the storm was not currently seen as unusual, though the level of rainfall might have been higher than normal.

Over 100 millimeters of rain was recorded as falling at numerous stations within the area between Monday morning and Tuesday, she said.

Phakula said the high death toll could instead be explained by the flooding and mudslides occurring in more highly populated areas.

“Hence the death toll is what it is today,” she said.

While more rain was expected on Thursday it was not expected to be heavy, and the service was forecasting dry weather in most areas by Friday, she added.

(Reporting by Rogan Ward in Durban and Emma Rumney in Johannesburg; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: OANN

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OH Predictive Insights Poll: Romney Tops Trump in Utah

If the Utah primary were held today, President Donald Trump would lose to the state’s Republican senator, Mitt Romney, according to a poll released Thursday.

OH Predictive Insights, which is based in Arizona, found most Republicans in Utah prefer Romney to Trump:

  • Romney: 55 percent.
  • Trump: 37 percent.
  • Undecided: 8 percent.

"Republican-base voters around the country back President Trump survey after survey shows," said Mike Noble, OH Predictive Insights' chief of research, in a press release. "But Beehive State voters buck that trend, giving the state’s junior senator a wide margin of victory in a matchup."

Although Romney beats out Trump among Republicans and those who think of themselves as somewhat conservative, Trump holds more sway with those who consider themselves very conservative.

  • Somewhat conservative: Romney 56 percent, Trump 34 percent.
  • Very conservative: Romney 41 percent, Trump 52 percent.

"Just seven years ago, Romney won a bitter primary battle to carry the mantle for the GOP but lost to President Obama," Noble added. "If he wants to take on President Trump in a primary, he can count on Utahns to have his back."

Trump came in third in the 2016 Utah GOP primary, behind Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, garnering only 14 percent of the vote. He won the state in the general election with 45 percent of the vote, with 21 percent going to independent candidate, and Utah native, Evan McMullin. Romney has said he would not challenge Trump for the Republican nomination in 2020.

OH Predictive Insights polled 275 Republicans in Utah by phone and online from March 15 to 27, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.9 percentage points.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Sudan’s protesters hope cheerful staying-power will oust army

Sudanese protesters march outside the defence ministry compound in Khartoum
Sudanese protesters march outside the defence ministry compound in Khartoum, Sudan, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

April 24, 2019

By Michael Georgy and Khalid Abdelaziz

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – They come from all walks of life, of all ages and many political persuasions. But the thousands of protesters sitting outside the Sudanese Defense Ministry in Khartoum all share one thing: the cheerful conviction that, if they can just stay there long enough, democracy will come about.

Already, their sit-in has prompted the military to topple Omar Hassan al-Bashir, autocratic president of 30 years. Now they believe their good-natured rainbow of resistance can push those same generals to hand over power swiftly to civilians.

A woman in a black full-face Islamic veil discusses the merits of democracy as a man smoking a marijuana joint listens rather vaguely. A vendor sells corn at a discount, making a fortune. One couple mount a podium to take their marriage vows.

“We are lions!” intones a rapper, his audience swaying to the beat.

Unfocused and eclectic it may be, but it only took the crowd – whose numbers swell in the cool of the evening into the hundreds of thousands – five days to bring down Bashir, who was detained by the army on April 11 to the delight of millions.

Now those protesters, spread over about 2 sq km (0.8 square miles) of central Khartoum, want the generals’ Transitional Military Council to bring forward the elections that it promises to hold within two years.

Opposition groups and the military may have been trading threats over the transition, but that has not dampened the cheerful determination of the protesters.

Women outnumber men in the throng, which is a mix of teenagers and older people, conservatives and liberals, doctors, lawyers and artisans.

Designers apply their skills to making banners and placards.

“The motifs are to send a message to the people to support democracy,” said Khalid Ehab, 24, who specializes in banners of fierce-looking people carrying flags.

One young boy sits on a man’s shoulders and sings a song condemning Islamists, who were Bashir’s main support base. Teenagers bang stones against a bridge in solidarity with calls for democracy, and fling water down at passers-by.

STREET FOOD AND FREE SPEECH

Others are more earnest, holding posters of civilians and army officers who were allegedly tortured and killed in Bashir’s prisons.

Osay Awad, 22, used to sell a cob of corn from his battered wooden stall for 15 Sudanese pounds, but out of enthusiasm for the revolution slashed the price to 10.

Business is booming; he sells 500 a day, compared to 170 before the sit-in began, and he hasn’t left the spot since the day after Bashir was toppled.

Like many others, he sleeps on the dusty pavement. Asked what type of leader he would like to see run his country, he says: “I have no candidate. I’m just here to sell corn and support people.”

All the protesters want the old-guard generals out, but many are keen to get the support of young officers; a traditional army song competes with the sound of an opposition figure trying to fire up crowds with promises of a brighter future.

The protesters do want to assert some control. Teenagers frisk anyone entering the area to make sure weapons stay out.

The military leaders have offered some concessions, sacking some officials and announcing the arrest of others, including two of Bashir’s brothers.

But they insist that, while they are willing to accept a civilian transitional government, ultimate authority will remain in their hands until elections are held.

Wejd Mohammed, a medical student covered from head to toe in a niqab, says that “democracy will bring economic prosperity” – getting more attention from her two younger sisters with Sudanese flags painted on their faces than from a man nearby dragging on a joint.

In a scene that would have been unthinkable under Bashir, a member of a rebel group that fought his forces in the desert province of Darfur stands on a makeshift podium and speaks his mind.

“The previous regime took all of our money and made us poor,” he says. “Sudan needs to be one nation.”

(Reporting by Michael Georgy; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: OANN

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New Silk Road critics are ‘prejudiced’, China’s top diplomat says

Munich Security Conference in Munich
FILE PHOTO: China's Political Bureau member Yang Jiechi speaks during Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany February 16, 2019. REUTERS/Andreas Gebert

March 30, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has never forced debt upon participants of its new Silk Road project as “prejudiced” critics have suggested, the country’s top diplomat said on Saturday in a strongly worded defense of a key policy platform of President Xi Jinping

Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative, as it is formally called, envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with massive infrastructure spending.

But it has proved controversial in many Western capitals, particularly Washington, which views it as merely a means to spread Chinese influence abroad and saddle countries with unsustainable debt through nontransparent projects.

The United States has been particularly critical of Italy’s decision to sign up to the plan this month, during Xi’s visit to Rome, the first for a G7 nation.

Speaking to the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, Yang Jiechi, who runs the party’s foreign affairs committee, said he had noted that some in the international community believed this was a geopolitical tool and would only bring debt traps for participating countries.

“This obviously shows a lack of objectivity and fair understanding of the Belt and Road initiative. It is a misunderstanding, misjudgment and is even prejudiced,” wrote Yang, a former foreign minister and ambassador to Washington.

China has stressed many times that the Belt and Road is to promote joint development, he added.

“The Belt and Road is open, inclusive and transparent. It does not play little geopolitical games. It does not engage in the exclusion of exclusive small circles.”

Yang noted that many countries, companies and ordinary people participating in the Belt and Road project had “publicly refuted rumors” about it being a debt trap.

Belt and Road projects, from their selection to their financing, go through careful risk assessments and the initiative’s principles stress sustainable development, he said.

“For cooperative partners who have debt difficulties, China’s principle is to appropriately resolve this through friendly consultations, and has never pushed or forced debt” on anyone, Yang added.

To date no participating country has faced a debt crisis – to the contrary many countries have been able to escape the “no development trap”, he wrote.

China will hold its second Belt and Road summit in Beijing in late April.

Yang said almost 40 foreign leaders would take part, but did not name them.

Some of China’s closest allies have already confirmed they will come, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

Source: OANN

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California car chase suspect breakdances before being taken into custody, video shows

A Southern California driver apparently couldn’t help but dance after reportedly leading authorities in a car chase Tuesday night.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) started tailing the suspect in the Calabasas area and ultimately followed until they got off the freeway in the San Fernando Valley, according to The Associated Press.

POLICE SHOOTOUT WITH SUSPECT IN OREGON AFTER CAR CHASE CAPTURED IN DRAMATIC VIDEO

The individual behind the wheel was sought for reckless driving, Fox 11 reported, citing CHP.

Aerial video from the scene showed the moment when authorities managed to bump the car from behind and ultimately got the driver to stop.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

The suspect soon emerged with their hands in the air as authorities surrounded the vehicle. But after moving a distance across the road, video showed the driver erupt into a brief breakdance-style routine.

Officers were later seen on the video taking the suspect into custody.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Scaramucci: Mr. Trump, Media Is Not ‘Enemy of the People’

Breaking from his former boss and President Donald Trump's most ardent backers, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci called on President Trump to end his assault on the media, denouncing the president's label of the media as "enemy of the people."

"I believe I have some standing when I say: The press, Mr. President, is not the enemy of the people," Scaramucci, who himself has been subjected to "fake news," wrote in an opinion column for The Hill.

"In many ways, the press is the savior of the republic and one of the cornerstone ingredients that has led the great American experiment to prosperity and power over its 243 years. The press may be flawed, it may offer bias, it may be self-righteous and sanctimonious and highly critical, but it is serving the exact purpose that the country's Founders wanted.

"The press, and I mean all of it, is the guardian of individual liberty."

Scaramucci admits the "media's image" has been damaged by its own "biases against the president," adding "the media needs a course correction, too," President Donald Trump needs "a little less anger . . . a little more objectivity" to make "the discourse less coarse."

"Mr. President, if you want to win again — and I am certain you do, and likely will — you need to stop calling reporters the enemy," Scaramucci's missive read. "It is a turnoff to moderates and independents and constitutionally-minded Republicans who would like to vote for you."

President Trump "knows better" and "should stop punching down," Scaramucci added.

"President Trump is the leader of the free world and controls the bully pulpit and most of the news cycle, both foreign and domestic," he wrote. "He serves at the top of the longest-standing democratic republic on Earth. He knows better, and he should stop punching down with his ire and, instead, start using his rhetoric the way he did in his State of the Union: to be inclusive, optimistic and aspirational."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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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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