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Utah teacher apologizes for Ash Wednesday incident

A Utah teacher on administrative leave apologized Monday for making 9-year-old Catholic student William McLeod wash off the Ash Wednesday cross from his forehead, saying it was a misunderstanding.

Fourth-grade teacher Moana Patterson said Monday she thought the cross was dirt, and she gave William a wet wipe to clean off not knowing it was a religious symbol. She said that she hopes everyone can move forward and build understanding together. Patterson was surrounded by parents and students who support her at a news conference held at Utah state capitol in Salt Lake City.

"My entire life has been centered around respecting diversity," Patterson said. "I would never intentionally disrespect any religion or any sacred symbol."

The incident occurred last week at Valley View Elementary School in Bountiful, Utah.

"This is something that happens when people aren't necessarily exposed to other cultures other religions. It's not always necessarily mean spirited," said Republican Utah Sen. Todd Weiler, who represents the area.

Patterson left the news conference without taking questions after she read from a prepared statement. It's unknown if she has a religious affiliation. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, account for about two-thirds of Utah residents. The faith doesn't observe Ash Wednesday.

Karen Fisher, William's grandmother, said she's not quite ready to accept the apology because Patterson pressed the boy to remove the symbol even after he explained its significance twice. "It's kind of hard to swallow, a little, for me," she said.

Fisher doesn't want Patterson to lose her job or for any harm to come to her, but said a break is warranted to ensure she and others in the community are aware of other faith traditions. "There needs to be training for all religions, all beliefs," she said.

In Utah, Catholics are the minority. The 330,000 Catholics in the state account for about 10 percent of the population, said Jean Hill at the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.

William had just returned to the school after attending Catholic mass when Patterson called the ash marking "inappropriate" and gave him a hand wipe to clean it off in front of his classmates, Fisher said.

Patterson was called into a meeting with the principal and the school board about the incident and called Fisher to apologize, Davis School District spokesman Chris Williams said last week. The Davis School District opened an investigation into Patterson's action and placed her on paid administrative leave.

Williams said there were no updates about the ongoing investigation about Patterson's actions.

Tiffany Ivan Spence, who said she's a parent of one of William's classmates, said she also thought the cross on the boy's forehead was dirt. She said it was a misunderstanding and not an attack against religion.

"He came into my home and to me it looked just like a smudge," Ivan Spence said. "When I first saw Will, my instinct was to also hand him a wipe. It would have been common sense for any person who cares about children to help them if they didn't know they had that on their head."

Source: Fox News National

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Model in Silvio Berlusconi ‘bunga bunga’ trial had high levels of heavy metals in body when she died, prosecutors say

A model who was a witness in Silvio Berlusconi’s “bunga bunga" sex parties trial in 2012 had high levels of heavy metals cadmium and antimony in her body when she died under mysterious circumstances this month, Italian prosecutors said Monday.

Imane Fadil, 34, had a level of cadmium — generally found in batteries or nuclear reactors — in her blood that was seven times higher than the norm, Milan prosecutor Francesco Greco said Monday, according to the Telegraph. The level of antimony — a heavy metal used in batteries, paint, ammunition, glass and plastic — in her body was three times higher than the norm.

Greco said officials were taking extra precautionary steps because they fear Fadil was exposed to radioactive substances. The prosecutor said although authorities believe Fadil may have been poisoned, they are not ruling out the possibility that she may have died of a rare disease.

DEAD MODEL LINKED TO SILVIO BERLUSCONI 'BUNGA BUNGA' TRIAL SHOWED 'SYMPTOMS OF POISONING': REPORT

Fadil was admitted to a Milan-area hospital in late January after exhibiting “symptoms of poisoning.” She reportedly also told her lawyer and family that she feared she had been poisoned before her death on March 1.

Imane Fadil died on March 1 and reportedly told her lawyer and family prior to her death that she feared she had been poisoned.

Imane Fadil died on March 1 and reportedly told her lawyer and family prior to her death that she feared she had been poisoned. (AP)

The Moroccan model was afraid for her safety ever since she testified in 2012 against the former Italian prime minister, who was accused of paying for sex with an underage woman at sex-fueled “bunga bunga” parties and wielding his power in an attempt to cover it up.

Berlusconi was found guilty, but the conviction was overturned on an appeal.

He was ultimately convicted on tax fraud charges and sentenced to community service. He still faces charges in connection with alleged witness tampering.

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On Saturday, Berlusconi denied knowing Fadil but said it was always sad when a young person died.

"I've never known this person and never spoke to her. What I read were her declarations that made me always think these were always invented and absurd things,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News World

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On South America’s largest solar farm, Chinese power radiates

Guillermo Giralt, technical director of Cauchari Solar, stands next to solar panels at a solar farm, built on the back of funding and technology from China, in Salar de Cauchari
Guillermo Giralt, technical director of Cauchari Solar, stands next to solar panels at a solar farm, built on the back of funding and technology from China, in Salar de Cauchari, Argentina, April 3, 2019. Picture taken April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Miguel Lobianco

April 23, 2019

By Cassandra Garrison

JUJUY, Argentina (Reuters) – In an arid, lunar-like landscape in the sunny highlands of northern Argentina, South America’s largest solar farm is rising, powered by funding and technology from China.

Local officials said they had sought help at home, the United States and Europe without success. Potential lenders and partners, they said, were spooked by the project’s size and the fiscal woes of Jujuy province, one of the poorest in the country.

The Import-Export Bank of China saw it differently. The state-funded institution financed 85 percent of the project’s nearly $400-million pricetag. At 3 percent annual interest over 15 years, it is “cheap money” for Jujuy, a person familiar with the terms said. The catch: the province had to purchase nearly 80 percent of the materials from Chinese suppliers.

Those companies include Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecom giant under fire from U.S. President Donald Trump. Some in his administration have concluded, without presenting evidence, that Huawei’s equipment provides the Chinese military with a “backdoor” to spy on users or cripple their networks. In Jujuy, the company is supplying inverters, technology that turns power from solar panels into useable current and serves as a critical gateway to the electrical grid.

The project, known as Cauchari, is a testament to the rising clout of Beijing as a backer of big projects in cash-strapped emerging markets. And it is helping China cement its standing as the world’s leader in clean-energy technology.

At a time when Trump is doubling down on fossil fuels and withdrawing the United States from global partnerships, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s sprawling “Belt and Road” initiative aims to put Chinese companies and innovation at the center of infrastructure development worldwide, including next-generation power sources.

“It is a way of expanding China’s growing global presence and dominant economic force, and it progressively reorients the world from the U.S. and European-centric view of the last fifty years,” said Tim Buckley, director for the U.S-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

(For a graphic on China’s solar strength, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2IBwZJD)

The trend is rattling Trump administration officials.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking April 12 in Santiago, Chile on a tour of South America, slammed China’s “predatory” lending practices, which critics say leave borrowers beholden to Beijing.

He warned repeatedly that Chinese technology, including equipment made by Huawei, poses a security risk that could affect information sharing by the United States.

“It is not okay to put technology systems in with latent capability to take information from citizens of Chile or any other country and transfer it back to President Xi’s government,” Pompeo said.

But in hardscrabble Jujuy province, home to around 750,000 people, officials are in no mood for a scolding. Argentina has set ambitious renewable energy targets. It is China, they say, not the United States, that is stepping up with money and technology to assist them.

“China…was the one that more generously opened its doors to finance this project,” Carlos Oehler, president of Jujuy’s energy agency JEMSE, told Reuters in an interview in the provincial capital of San Salvador.

Goodwill from the solar deal has led Jujuy to make purchases from other Chinese vendors, including a contract for surveillance equipment. Governor Gerardo Morales told Reuters that Jujuy and the southern Chinese province of Guizhou have established a “brotherhood” relationship that he is optimistic will lead to more tie-ups.

“We have received visits from many Chinese companies,” Morales said.

Huawei, the world’s biggest supplier of solar inverters, has repeatedly denied it poses any security risks. The company said in a statement it would continue to provide its customers with “innovative, trusted and secure solutions.”

POWERED BY CHINA

At more than 4,000 meters above sea level, Cauchari is one of the highest solar farms in the world. Reuters is among the few media outlets ever to see it. Rows of panels stretch toward the horizon, while boxes of still-packed equipment wait to be installed. Visitors check in at an on-site clinic to have their blood pressure and heart rates monitored because of the risk of altitude sickness.

Expected to begin sending current to the grid in August, the facility will generate up to 300 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 120,000 homes. A planned expansion to 500MW would boost that to 260,000 homes and bring the project’s total cost to $551 million, provincial officials said.

On the windy dirt track leading to the construction site, signs in Spanish and Mandarin proclaim the involvement of state-owned PowerChina construction company and equipment manufacturer Shanghai Electric.

It is yet another indicator of Beijing’s rising influence in the region. China is the top buyer of South American soybeans, iron ore and other commodities, while Chinese investors are snapping up stakes in key sectors such as energy.

In Argentina alone, China has financed hydroelectric dams and wind farms, and the government is in talks for a Beijing-bankrolled nuclear power project, potentially using China’s own Hualong One reactor design. China has invested some $5.7 billion in energy projects in Argentina since 2000, according to data compiled by the Global Development Policy Center at Boston University. 

Argentina’s U.S.-educated President Mauricio Macri attended China’s first Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in 2017, a signal of the tightening embrace between the two nations. A number of Latin American officials are expected to be at the second forum later this month in the Chinese capital.

China has spent more than $244 billion on energy projects worldwide since 2000, a quarter of that in Latin America, according to the Global Development Policy Center data. While the vast majority of that capital has flowed to oil, gas and coal assets, China has been the largest investor in clean energy globally for nine straight years, according to the Chinese embassy in Buenos Aires.

China is the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels and inverters, dominance that has seen European and U.S. producers struggle to compete. The Trump administration last year slapped steep tariffs on imported panels, citing unfair competition. But many renewable energy experts credit falling prices for speeding global adoption of solar.

So has China’s willingness to finance clean-energy projects in the developing world, opening doors for other Chinese firms. In Jujuy province, for example, the local government inked a deal with Chinese tech giant ZTE to supply it with fiber optic telecommunications systems and hundreds of surveillance cameras in the wake of the solar project.

“(Cauchari) paved the way – a highway – for all other projects,” a person familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Jujuy’s pivot to China underscores the challenge for the United States, whose warnings about the pitfalls of Chinese backing are no match for Beijing’s outreach and resources.

Jujuy Governor Morales recently traveled to China to discuss the Cauchari expansion with PowerChina and the Import-Export Bank of China, one of several trips local officials have made to the Asian nation over the past few years.

Jujuy, with its soon-to-be launched clean power and low seismic risk, is trying to position itself as an attractive location for companies to place their data centers. Morales said Chinese universities in Guizhou are helping Jujuy scale the learning curve, attention for which the long-ignored province is grateful.

“Suddenly Jujuy is recognized in China,” Morales said. “We have a path open there.”

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Marla Dickerson)

Source: OANN

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Vans employee fired for allegedly cursing at MAGA hat-wearing teen

A Vans shoe store employee was fired after he allegedly cursed at a 14-year-old customer because the teen was wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat.

The unidentified employee, working at a store in Overland Park, Kansas, seemingly said "f--k you" to the teen as he appeared to be shopping with his family, an encounter that was filmed and uploaded to social media.

"He did nothing to you — what did you say to my son? To my 14-year-old son?" an unidentified woman asked the employee in the video. The worker didn't deny he was the source of the comment.

WARNING: VIDEO MAY CONTAIN PROFANITY

"I'm sure he's heard it before," the employee then told the woman, who headed to another area of the store in search of a manager.

HOWARD KURTZ: MAGA CAPS UNDER FIRE AT TRUMP-HATERS BLAME HIS SUPPORTERS

"My son walked into this store. That gentleman [appearing to point at the employee] cursed and told him, 'Take off your hat,'" the woman told another Vans employee. "He said nothing to him, 14-year-old child, then he said, 'F you' to my son. My son said nothing to him, did nothing."

Vans, in a statement to Fox News, confirmed that the employee involved in the interaction "is no longer with the company," and added the company's "primary focus is to provide the best customer service experience."

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"The actions and comments from one employee in our Oak Park location are in contrast with our company's values and belief in personal expression," the statement continued.

Source: Fox News National

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Fed could soon announce plan to stop shrinking balance sheet: Pimco

The corner stone on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the financial district in New York
The corner stone on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the financial district in New York City, U.S., March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

March 14, 2019

(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve could announce plans to stop shrinking its bond stockpile as early as next week and as late as June, Pacific Investment Management Co (Pimco), which oversees more than $1.66 trillion in assets, said on Thursday.

The U.S. central bank meets on March 19-20 and is expected to again signal its intention to be patient before deciding whether to hike rates again. The Fed has been reducing the size of a bond portfolio it built up to stimulate the economy in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

(Reporting By Jennifer Ablan and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Source: OANN

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Children feared dead, trapped inside in Nigeria after 3-story school collapses

Scores of children are feared dead or trapped inside after a three-story school building collapsed during school hours in Lagos, Nigeria, prompting frantic rescue efforts.

Some children were rescued from the rubble by the first-responders, with hundreds of onlookers cheering the efforts as they stood in narrow streets and on rooftops of rusted, corrugated metal.

In this image taken from video rescue workers and emergency teams work at the scene of a building collapse in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday March 13, 2019. A three-story building has collapsed in Lagos, and rescuers rush to pull out scores of children thought to be inside. There was no immediate official word on numbers of casualties.

In this image taken from video rescue workers and emergency teams work at the scene of a building collapse in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday March 13, 2019. A three-story building has collapsed in Lagos, and rescuers rush to pull out scores of children thought to be inside. There was no immediate official word on numbers of casualties. (AP)

Others volunteered in the rescue operations, jumping into the rubble with hacksaws and mallets in their hands.

MAN NARROWLY AVOIDS FALLING BRICKS AS HE WALKS PAST COLLAPSING BUILDING

So far it remains unclear how many children exactly have died or are still trapped.

“For now we don’t have any word on casualties as we are still busy with rescue work,” said Sani Datti, a spokesman with Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency.

“It is believed that many people including children are currently trapped in the building,” another spokesperson for the agency told the BBC.

RESCUE OPERATION IN ISTANBUL AFTER 8-STORY BUILDING COLLAPSES, KILLING ONE, TRAPPING OTHERS UNDER RUBBLE

Emergency services attend the scene after a school building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday March 13, 2019. Rescue efforts are underway in Nigeria after a three-storey school building collapsed while classes were in session, with some scores of children thought to be inside at the time.

Emergency services attend the scene after a school building collapsed in Lagos, Nigeria, Wednesday March 13, 2019. Rescue efforts are underway in Nigeria after a three-storey school building collapsed while classes were in session, with some scores of children thought to be inside at the time. (AP)

The school was on the top floor of the building in Ita Faji on Lagos Island, Nigeria’s commercial capital and a city of some 20 million people.

Nigeria has been suffering from frequent building collapses due to lack of building regulations that would ensure the safety of the buildings.

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Over 100 people died in 2016 after a church roof collapsed in south of Nigeria.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Exclusive: UniCredit to pay over $1 billion to settle U.S. sanctions probes – source

FILE PHOTO: Unicredit bank logo is seen in the old city centre of Siena
FILE PHOTO: Unicredit bank logo is seen in the old city centre of Siena, Italy June 29, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo

April 15, 2019

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) – UniCredit, Italy’s biggest lender, will pay over $1 billion to U.S. authorities to settle probes of violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran and other countries, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The settlement will be with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, the Manhattan District Attorney and the New York Department of Financial Services.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld)

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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