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Murray meeting again with Cardinals: report

NCAA Football: Oklahoma Pro Day
Mar 13, 2019; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray participates in positional workouts during pro day at the Everest Indoor Training Center at the University of Oklahoma. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

April 9, 2019

Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray reportedly headed to Phoenix on Tuesday for another meeting with the Arizona Cardinals, who hold the No. 1 pick in this month’s draft.

The NFL Network reported that the former Oklahoma quarterback and his agent are visiting the team on Wednesday. Murray previously met with the Cardinals at the NFL Combine and again last month at his campus workout in Norman, Okla.

Murray’s agent, Erik Burkhardt, also represents Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

Arizona has met with other potential top picks, including Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa and Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

Murray passed for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns and rushed for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns in 14 games last season for the Sooners.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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White House says Mexico working to deal with immigration issue

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent cast his shadow on a plaque marking the boundaries of Mexico and United States, at Paso del Norte international border crossing bridge, in Ciudad Juarez
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent cast his shadow on a plaque marking the boundaries of Mexico and United States, at Paso del Norte international border crossing bridge, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

April 2, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House said on Tuesday that Mexico was taking more responsibility for dealing with illegal immigration and urged it to continue to address the issue so Washington does not need to move ahead with a threat to close the southern U.S. border, a spokeswoman said.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told Fox News that President Donald Trump’s administration had seen Mexico “stepping up and taking a greater sense of responsibility in the process.”

“We need them to continue to do that so that we aren’t forced to take drastic action like closing the ports of entry at our border,” she added.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Steve Holland; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Tim Ahmann)

Source: OANN

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South African opposition party vows to create jobs, fight graft in manifesto

Leader of South African opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Mmusi Maimane arrives for the party's election manifesto launch in Johannesburg
Leader of South African opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Mmusi Maimane arrives for the party's election manifesto launch in Johannesburg, South Africa, February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

February 23, 2019

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), launched its manifesto for May’s general elections on Saturday with pledges to create jobs and set up an anti-corruption unit.

The DA faces a resurgent ruling African National Congress (ANC) under new President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has also vowed to root out graft and boost growth in Africa’s most industrialized economy..

The ANC has comfortably won every parliamentary election since it swept to power under Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid in 1994 and the DA has made ruling South Africa a long-term ambition.

Still, corruption is perceived as a weakness for the ANC after years of rule by former President Jacob Zuma, who was removed from the presidency last year by the ANC after years of corruption probes. He denies any wrongdoing.

“The South Africa I want to build will have no place for corruption and corrupt politicians,” DA leader Mmusi Maimane told supporters at the party’s manifesto launch in Johannesburg.

He said his party would have “zero tolerance for corruption” and wanted to see corrupt politicians spend 15 years in jail.

The DA, which has roots among white liberals from the anti-apartheid era, elected its first black leader in 2015 to widen its appeal among voters, and improved its national credentials by winning control of three major cities in 2016.

Maimane also outlined manifesto pledges to create jobs by offering tax incentives to encourage new business and maximize the manufacturing, agriculture and tourism sectors to build the economy.

“If we can put a job in every home we can transform our society,” said Maimane

The unemployment rate, which is at more than 27 percent, is a politically sensitive issue in South Africa especially ahead of national elections this year.

(Writing by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Helen Popper)

Source: OANN

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Myanmar’s top court rejects final appeal by jailed Reuters journalists

FILE PHOTO: Detained Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo arrive at Insein court in Yangon
FILE PHOTO: Detained Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo arrive at Insein court in Yangon, Myanmar, Aug. 27, 2018. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File Photo

April 23, 2019

By Shoon Naing and Simon Lewis

NAYPYITAW (Reuters) – Myanmar’s top court on Tuesday rejected the appeal of two Reuters reporters sentenced to seven years in jail for breaking the Official Secrets Act, in a landmark case that has raised questions about the country’s transition to democracy.

“They were sentenced for seven years and this decision stands, and the appeal is rejected,” Supreme Court Justice Soe Naing told the court in the capital, Naypyitaw, without elaborating.

Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, have spent more than 16 months in detention since they were arrested in December 2017 while working on an investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys.

Lawyers for the reporters had appealed to the Supreme Court citing lack of proof of a crime and evidence that the pair were set up by police. A policeman told a lower court last year that officers had planted secret documents on the two reporters.

A district court judge in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, found the two journalists guilty under the Official Secrets Act last September and sentenced them to seven years in prison. The Yangon High Court rejected an earlier appeal in January.

The reporters’ imprisonment has sparked an outcry from press freedom advocates, Western diplomats, and world leaders, adding to pressure on Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate who took power in 2016 amid a transition to military rule.

U.N. investigators have called for high-ranking military officials to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity and genocide over a 2017 crackdown on the Rohingya in response to militant attacks in the western part of the country.

The investigation that the journalists were working on, which uncovered security forces’ involvement in killings, arson and looting, was completed by colleagues and published in 2018. Last week it was awarded the Pulitzer prize for international reporting.

Both men are being held at Yangon’s Insein prison, separated from young families. Wa Lone’s wife, Panei Mon, gave birth to their first child last year.

(Reporting by Shoon Naing and Simon Lewis; Editing by Neil Fullick)

Source: OANN

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Voter fraud means new election in North Carolina


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On the roster: Voter fraud means new election in North Carolina - Klobuchar’s horrible boss stories pile up - N.H. poll: 40 percent of GOP voters want primary fight - Vilsack won’t challenge Ernst - ‘Love you! Bye, bye!’

VOTER FRAUD MEANS NEW ELECTION IN NORTH CAROLINA  
Raleigh News & Observer: “After a stunning reversal by Republican Mark Harris, North Carolina election officials Thursday unanimously ordered a new election in the 9th Congressional District, which has gained national attention as the last unresolved House race for the 2018 election. The state elections board’s vote came after four days of testimony about what the board’s staff called ‘a coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme’ in Bladen and Robeson counties. And it came less than an hour after a startling announcement by Harris, who had been fighting to have his apparent victory certified. … The state board will set dates for a new election in the district with election officials outlining a possible May primary and October general election. A new state law requires a primary election, though legal challenges are expected. It is not certain whether Harris will run again. [Democrat Dan McCready] already has raised more than $500,000 toward a new election.”

State Republicans in a quandary - WCNC: “Charlotte-area Republican leaders are now plotting their strategy following the North Carolina’s Board of Elections decision to have a new election in the 9th congressional district. …Union County GOP chair Dan Barry said, in retrospect, the party was wrong to push for certification of the race before the evidence came out. Barry said it’s too premature to consider possible candidates to run in the special election.”

THE RULEBOOK: NO ONE LIKES A BAD NEIGHBOR 
“The interfering and unneighborly regulations of some States, contrary to the true spirit of the Union, have, in different instances, given just cause of umbrage and complaint to others…” – Alexander HamiltonFederalist No. 22

TIME OUT: HUMAN SIZED DINOSAUR DISCOVERED 
Atlantic: “In 2012, Lindsay Zanno was searching for dinosaur fossils in the hillsides of eastern Utah when she found a bone protruding from the hillside. … It took several years … to work out that they were once the right leg of a tyrannosaur—a cousin of the famed Tyrannosaurus rex. But at just 170 pounds and six feet long from nose to tail, this new human-size dinosaur was much smaller than its more famous relative. … Its discovery means that 96 million years ago, North American tyrannosaurs were still pretty small. That dramatically narrows the timing of their eventual ascension to a much shorter 15-million-year span. … ‘This doesn’t completely solve the mystery of why the tyrannosaurs took over from allosaurs, but like a partial fingerprint at a crime scene, it provides important context and helps rule out some theories,’ [Steve Brusatte] says.”

Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval: 
41.8 percent
Average disapproval: 54.4 percent
Net Score: -12.6 points
Change from one week ago: no change  
[Average includes: Fox News: 46% approve - 52% disapprove; Gallup: 44% approve - 52% unapproved; CNN: 42% approve - 54% disapproval; IBD: 39% approve - 57% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve - 57% disapprove.]

KLOBUCHAR’S HORRIBLE BOSS STORIES PILE UP 
NYT: “Senator Amy Klobuchar was hungry, forkless and losing patience. An aide, joining her on a trip to South Carolina in 2008, had procured a salad for his boss while hauling their bags through an airport terminal. But once onboard, he delivered the grim news: He had fumbled the plastic eating utensils before reaching the gate, and the crew did not have any forks on such a short flight. What happened next was typical: Ms. Klobuchar berated her aide instantly for the slip-up. What happened after that was not: She pulled a comb from her bag and began eating the salad with it… The moment … encapsulates the underside of life on the Minnesota senator’s team… [M]any of these former aides say she was not just demanding but often dehumanizing — not merely a tough boss in a capital full of them but the steward of a work environment colored by volatility, highhandedness and distrust.”

Dems team up against Bernie over his stance on Maduro - Politico: “Florida Democrats are denouncing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders for refusing to call Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro a dictator — a politically explosive issue in the nation’s biggest swing state. Sanders also would not say whether he considered Venezuela’s assembly leader, Juan Guaidó, as the nation’s interim president, which is the position of the United States and a majority of Latin American countries European countries. Both of Sanders’ positions play into the hands of President Trump and the GOP, say Democrats. … Democrats, already alarmed that Trump’s inroads with Venezuelans could help him peel off an otherwise-reliable Democratic voting bloc in a toss-up state, were quick to denounce Sanders’ comments. ‘He is not going to be the nominee of the Democratic Party. He has demonstrated again that he does not understand this situation,’ Rep. Donna Shalala, a Miami Democrat who represents Venezuelan exiles and, told POLITICO.”

Continetti: ‘Why Kamala Harris may be her own worst enemy’ - Free Beacon:“As Democrats search for someone new to lead them against President Trump, [Kamala Harris] has distinguished herself from the field. … In these early weeks of what is certain to be a seemingly endless and certainly vitriolic campaign, Harris has demonstrated both strengths and weaknesses. Her strength is that she seems a perfect fit for the current shape of the Democratic Party. Her weakness is a blithe and insouciant manner that is sure to cause her trouble. … What trips up Kamala Harris is an evident desire to please her audience. She wants no enemies to her left, no identity politics left untouched. She can't run as a prosecutor—crime fighting is so 1990s—but she can run as brash, bold, and woke. Her verbal miscues are possible evidence that this latest political fashion doesn't quite fit. She has made a habit of making unforced errors, and the game is only in its first month.”

N.H. POLL: 40 PERCENT OF GOP VOTERS WANT PRIMARY FIGHT 
UMass Amherst: “With nearly 40 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire saying they would welcome a primary challenger to President Trump, a new poll by the University of Massachusetts Amherst could highlight potential problems for the president. Thirty-nine percent of likely Republican voters in the Granite State said they think that President Trump should be challenged in the 2020 primary, according to poll results released today by the UMass Poll. … ‘While nearly 40 percent of all likely Republican voters believe President Trump should face a primary challenge, almost half of college-educated Republican voters believe that Trump should be ‘primaried,’’ said Tatishe Nteta, associate professor of political science and director of the UMass Poll. … Asked if the Mueller report would make them reconsider their vote for Trump, just 22 percent said it would affect their support for Trump if the report concludes that Trump conspired with the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.”

Hogan attacks RNC for protecting Trump from primary battle - Politico: “Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said Thursday he expects to make a springtime trip to New Hampshire as he weighs a 2020 challenge to Donald Trump — and accused the Republican National Committee of going to extraordinary lengths to shield the president from a potentially draining primary. ‘Typically they try to be fair arbiters of a process and I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been involved in the Republican Party for most of my life. It’s unprecedented. And in my opinion it’s not the way we should be going about our politics,’ Hogan, a popular two-term Maryland governor, said in an interview with POLITICO. ‘It’s very undemocratic and to say, ‘We’re in some cases not going to allow a debate, we may not have a primary…’’ ‘And the question is, what are they afraid of?’ he added.”

VILSACK WON’T CHALLENGE ERNST
Des Moines Register: “Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will not run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. Joni Ernst in 2020. Iowa operative Matt Paul confirmed the decision to the Register on behalf of Vilsack Friday. He had downplayed speculation that he might enter the race but has not sworn off the possibility completely. … In a Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll this month a majority of Iowans — 53 percent — said they have a favorable view of Vilsack, who has a long history in the public eye. Vilsack also was U.S. secretary of agriculture under President Barack Obama and currently is the CEO and president of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.”

Steve King re-election run means more headaches for GOP - Des Moines Register: “A defiant Rep. Steve King confirmed Thursday that he will run for a 10th term as an Iowa congressman, despite controversies over his history of caustic remarks, including about race and immigration. The Kiron Republican has been criticized by national and state leaders of his own party, has been stripped of committee assignments in Congress and has drawn three primary challengers for the 2020 race. In a Thursday taping of Iowa Public Television’s ‘Iowa Press’ program, host David Yepsen asked him: ‘Are you sorry for anything that you’ve said?’ The congressman replied: ‘I have nothing to apologize for, Dave.’ King confirmed that he will run for re-election in 2020, despite drawing three challengers for the Republican nomination.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee wore Confederate Army uniform in college yearbook photo - Tennessean  

Zinke said to face grand jury for lying to investigators about casino deal WaPo

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson concerned over Trump’s emergency declaration - Politico

Cohen will testify to Senate Intel Committee on Tuesday - WSJ

Historians worry as Obama ditches precedent, accountability with presidential library NYT

The curious case of Nomiki Konst - Politico

AUDIBLE: PLEASE CLAP
“The president of the United States is declaring a national emergency to honor an applause line in a rally.” – Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on a conference call with reporters on Friday morning. Pelosi announced that the House will vote Tuesday on a resolution to try to block the president’s emergency declaration.

ANY GIVEN SUNDAY
This weekend Mr. Sunday will sit down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and DNC Chairman Tom Perez. Watch “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace.” Check local listings for broadcast times in your area.

#mediabuzz - Host Howard Kurtz has the latest take on the week’s media coverage. Watch #mediabuzz Sundays at 11 a.m. ET.

FROM THE BLEACHERS
“Thank you for your editorial on civics education. I am an old lady, so I really don’t know what they are teaching in schools today. I am shocked by my grandchildren’s ignorance on certain things I thought all students learned. I am afraid voting by a lot of people is done by popularity and personality and not by policy. I doubt if they ask ‘is this good America.’” – Jean Farrell, Fleming Island, Fla.

[Ed. note: I don’t know what you consider an “old lady,” Ms. Farrell. But you most certainly seem to be a wise one.]

“For my entire life presidents have been declaring national emergencies and paying for them with monies that have been allocated elsewhere. I fail to see how anyone can suddenly conclude that this wall building action is suddenly any more constitutional than any of the previous actions. Our tax dollars have gone to build border walls in multiple other countries and no one ever said a thing. Now someone has the courage to try to protect the very citizens that they were elected to serve and everyone gets all shocked and dismayed and cries foul. I do see a problem and it starts and ends with term limits, not with some construction project!” – Brian J. Steiner, Fargo, N.D.

[Ed. note: I’m not sure how old you are, Mr. Steiner, but only twice that I’m aware of have American presidents re-allocated congressionally appropriated dollars on domestic projects. Once was after 9/11 and the other was for reprogramming health funds in the face of the 2009 swine flu outbreak. In this case, the president repeatedly asked Congress to fund his project, even when both chambers were under his party’s control, and Congress repeatedly refused him. The will of Congress here is not ambiguous in any way. There have been nearly 60 emergency declarations in total since the law was passed aiming at reining in presidential overreach on the subject in 1975. The vast majority relate to things like foreign sanctions, arms trading etc. Whatever you may think about this bit of imperial execution, it is at the least different than the ones that came before it.]   

“I took several of the sample citizenship tests and consistently answered all 20 questions correctly. For one test, I answered 19 correctly. Above the average yes, but what concerns me most is the one question that I got wrong. The question was, ‘Why did the colonists fight the British?’ Is one of the correct answers really ‘because the British army stayed in their houses?’ If that was the case, maybe we could have just asked them to leave!  Didn’t ‘taxation without representation’ play a part in it?  Just saying.” – Paul K. Schnier, Shoreham, N.Y.

[Ed. note: It was a very big deal, indeed, Mr. Schnier. I give you the Third Amendment: “No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” The quartering of British soldiers was a huge vexation for the colonists. Imagine you and your family are at home on your farm in Shoreham and British troops marching out Long Island suddenly present themselves at your door. You and your family are forced out of your beds and watch helplessly as your house gets trashed and the redcoats eat and drink up all of your stores. In the morning, after you’ve provided them with a hearty breakfast, they march on. Maybe you get paid back by the governor, maybe you don’t. Never forget the degree to which he French and Indian war and the costs, disruptions and frictions it created gave birth to our own revolution.] 

Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.

‘LOVE YOU! BYE, BYE!’
WJZY: “Another Ring video is getting a lot of attention after a little boy used the home security and surveillance system to ask his father to help find his favorite TV channel. In the video that's now gone viral, the smart little boy from Haslett, Michigan is seen telling his dad that he couldn’t find the ‘Kid Channel’ on his television. So, he went outside to the doorbell surveillance camera to ask his dad for help in a hilarious and cute video that's now been seen more than six million times. In the video, the boy, called ‘Baby Gracie,’ by his dad, explained that his mom was across the street and said he could come home and watch ‘the Kid Channel.’ The boy's father is heard in the video walking through how to turn on the TV and use the remote. ‘Baby Gracie’ is seen bouncing off the screen with an enthusiastic ‘Love you! Bye bye!’”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Where do Republicans get that special talent for turning gold to dross? They score an electoral ‘massacre’ (the Economist) in 2014 and, a year later, what do they have to show for it other than another threat to shut down the government?” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Nov. 5, 2015.

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Trump threatens Mexico border closure if Congress doesn’t act on immigration

U.S. President Trump speaks at the National Republican Congressional Committee Annual Spring Dinner in Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the National Republican Congressional Committee Annual Spring Dinner in Washington, U.S., April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

April 3, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to close the U.S. border with Mexico if Congress does not take steps immediately to deal with immigration and security loopholes that he says are creating a national emergency in the region.

“Congress must get together and immediately eliminate the loopholes at the Border!” Trump said in a post on social media. “If no action, Border, or large sections of Border, will close. This is a National Emergency!”

(Reporting by David Alexander)

Source: OANN

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McDonald’s pulls Signature Crafted burgers, doubles down on Quarter Pounders

The logo of a McDonald's Corp restaurant is seen in Los Angeles
FILE PHOTO: The logo of a McDonald's Corp restaurant is seen in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

April 18, 2019

(Reuters) – McDonald’s Corp said it would remove costlier, premium burgers from its menus in favor of its more popular Quarter Pounders, shifting its focus to simpler and quickly-served burgers.

The burger chain added the Signature Crafted burgers to its menu two years ago to keep up with competition from Wendy’s and Shake Shack, which serve more premium burgers using fresh ingredients.

But putting together the burgers took time, slowing down service lines at drive-thrus and at stores.

These premium beef, grilled or crispy chicken burgers came with condiments like pico guacamole, sweet BBQ bacon or maple bacon dijon, compared with the Quarter Pounders, which are beef patties served with ketchup, pickles and onions.

The company said its new deluxe and bacon Quarter Pounders received good feedback and it would continue to focus on such items.

“It (the removal) probably has more to do about the process of cooking the burger in McDonald’s than it does what the consumer is saying about the food,” said Howard Penney, a managing director at Hedgeye Risk Management.

Big franchisees also did not buy into the idea of McDonald’s pricier burgers initially, mindful of the cooking time required for these made-to-order burgers.

“It makes it easier for the people running the stores and operating the stores … simple is good,” Penney said.

The move is seen as a positive, coming at a time when quick service restaurants are moving away from customization and focusing more on transparency in the ingredients used.

This is the second time McDonald’s has tweaked its menu this month, after trimming down its late-night menu to keep only eights items.

Shares of the Dow component have risen nearly 18 percent in the past year, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Index’s 6.7 percent rise.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Source: OANN

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

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A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

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