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Australian senator censured for blaming Muslim victims

An Australian senator has been censured by his colleagues for seeking to blame the victims of last month's mosque shootings and vilify Muslims.

Sen. Fraser Anning was the target of widespread condemnation for blaming the attack in New Zealand on immigration policies. He faced more criticism later for physically striking a teenager who cracked a raw egg on his head in a viral incident in Melbourne.

Government and opposition lawmakers moved the censure motion against Anning on Wednesday for divisive comments "seeking to attribute blame to victims of a horrific crime and to vilify people on the basis of religion, which do not reflect the opinions of the Australian Senate or the Australian people."

Anning has dismissed the censure motion as a "blatant attack on free speech."

Source: Fox News World

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Maryland House Speaker Busch dies, a Chesapeake Bay defender

Michael Busch, a champion of the Chesapeake Bay and progressive causes during his record-tenure as Maryland's Democratic House speaker, battled for the environment up until the end of his life. He died Sunday at age 72.

His environmental policies were especially high-profile in his final days as he sponsored a bill to permanently protect five oyster sanctuaries under Maryland law. The measure drew a veto from Gov. Larry Hogan, but the House overrode the veto Friday, and the Senate was expected to vote on an override Monday — the last day of the legislative session.

Bush died after developing pneumonia arising from a follow-up procedure to a 2017 liver transplant after being diagnosed with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, a liver disease. He also had heart bypass surgery in September, after experiencing shortness of breath. Chief of staff Alexandra Hughes said Busch died surrounded by loved ones.

EX-MARYLAND GOV. HARRY R. HUGHES DIES AT 92; SERVED 2 TERMS

Alison Prost, the Maryland executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, praised Busch's legacy of defending the waterway's fragile ecosystem.

"The Chesapeake Bay lost a champion today," Prost said. "While there were many issues that were near and dear to Speaker Busch, he elevated saving the Bay to a priority for the General Assembly, and legislators followed his lead."

"The Chesapeake Bay lost a champion today. While there were many issues that were near and dear to Speaker Busch, he elevated saving the Bay to a priority for the General Assembly, and legislators followed his lead."

— Alison Prost, Maryland executive director, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Busch also fought for expanded health care, educational improvements and other issues as Maryland's longest-serving House speaker. He was elected to the speakership in 2003.

"Nobody has done more to expand health care access and improve public health in Maryland than Speaker Mike Busch," said Vincent DeMarco, president of Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative.

A progressive Democrat, Busch as speaker oversaw Maryland's approval of same-sex marriage and the repeal of the death penalty. Legislation raising the state's minimum wage was passed twice under his House leadership.

Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller called Busch a model delegate who cared for every corner of the state.

"My heart is broken for Mike Busch's family, the State of Maryland, and the Speaker's extended family — elected officials and staff that he has been a mentor and coach to over his time in public service," said Miller, a Democrat who has been battling prostate cancer. "Mike has been a friend for years, and has led the state to new heights of environmentalism and education."

Hogan, a Republican, ordered flags flown at half-staff for Busch, calling him "a giant in our government."

"Speaker Busch and I came from different sides of the aisle, but we often came together in the best interests of the people of Maryland," Hogan said. "He served with the decency and good nature of a teacher, a coach, and a family man. I was honored to ... work closely with him."

It's unclear when the House will choose Busch's successor. The speaker is elected by the 141 House members. Since Busch's absence last month, Del. Adrienne Jones has presided as speaker pro tem.

Busch was first elected to the House in 1986. His district included the state capital of Annapolis, making him a frequent presence in the State House — even when the General Assembly wasn't in session.

He was known as a consensus builder and good listener, qualities that helped him manage the diverse chamber.

Busch had a strong commitment to equal rights that resulted from growing up in the 1960s during the height of the civil rights movement against racial segregation.

"That was ingrained in me from my grandparents to my parents and through the '60s," he told The Associated Press in 2002.

At the time, he recalled two pictures on his grandparents' mantel — Jesus and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Both sets of grandparents "believed that Roosevelt gave average people a piece of the American dream," he said. "I really believe government is there to give people opportunity."

Busch, a Catholic, was born in Baltimore, and lived in Anne Arundel County from age 10 until he left for college.

He was a record-setting running back at Temple University in 1969, peaking in his junior year when he ran for 185 yards in a game. But for a leg injury, he might have pursued a pro career. The Dallas Cowboys sent him a letter telling him "you are being considered by our ball club as one of our top draft choices," but the team didn't know his career was already over.

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After getting a degree in education, he returned home and taught in public and parochial schools. He was a football and basketball coach at St. Mary's High School in Annapolis before quitting teaching in 1979.

His interest in politics was whetted in 1982 when he was a driver for Robert Pascal, an unsuccessful Republican candidate for governor. Busch finished fifth among 12 Democrats running for three House seats that year, then won in 1986.

Funeral arrangements weren't immediately disclosed.

Source: Fox News Politics

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European shares struggle to shrug off growth pessimism

The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

March 26, 2019

(Reuters) – European shares were subdued on Tuesday after four days of losses amid concerns about a softening global economy and uncertainty over Britain’s exit from the European Union.

The pan-region STOXX 600 index edged higher, a day after hitting a 12-day low. Germany and Madrid slipped while Paris and London’s FTSE 100 were slightly higher.

Investors’ concern over the health of global economy intensified on Friday after disappointing German and U.S. factory data that led to an inversion of the U.S. Treasury yield curve, which some see as a leading indicator of recession.

On Tuesday, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields recovered slightly from 2017 lows hit in the previous session. [US/]

A survey showed German consumer morale deteriorated unexpectedly heading into April, suggesting that household spending could weaken in the second quarter of this year.

Airbus rose 1.2 percent, providing the biggest boost to the main European index after the planemaker signed a deal worth tens of billions of dollars to sell 300 aircraft to China.

Leading gains on STOXX was ConvaTec Group Plc, up 6.3 percent after Swedish business daily Dagens Industri said private equity firm EQT could be one of the parties interested in buying the company.

Meanwhile, Ferguson Plc was among the biggest weights, falling 8.7 percent after the world’s largest heating and plumbing equipment supplier’s half-year ongoing trading profit missed analyst expectations.

Europe’s retail sector and personal and household goods sector were the biggest boosts to the market but their gains were offset by losses in banks and tech stocks.

British online supermarket Ocado rose 3.5 percent on partnering with Australia’s Coles Group, its fifth major overseas deal in less than 18 months.

Dublin stocks, typically sensitive to Brexit news, slipped 0.6 percent.

British lawmakers on Tuesday wrested control of the parliamentary agenda from the government for a day in a highly unusual bid to find a way through the Brexit impasse after Prime Minister Theresa May’s EU divorce deal was rejected again.

Lawmakers will now vote on a range of Brexit options on Wednesday, giving parliament a chance to indicate whether it can agree on a deal with closer ties to Brussels – and then try to push the government in that direction.

Nearly three years after the 2016 EU membership referendum, and four days before Britain was supposed to leave the bloc, it remains still unclear how, when or even if Brexit will take place, with parliament and the nation still bitterly divided.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: OANN

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UK economy grows as factories get boost from pre-Brexit stockpiling

A worker at perforating company Bion uses a machine at the factory in Reading
A worker at perforating company Bion uses a machine at the factory in Reading, Britain September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/Files

April 10, 2019

LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s economy unexpectedly grew in February, helped by clients of manufacturers rushing to stockpile goods ahead of Brexit, official data showed on Wednesday.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.2 percent from January, the Office for National Statistics said.

Economists taking part in a Reuters poll had expected zero growth.

Britain’s economy has held up better than many economists expected since the 2016 Brexit referendum although it has slowed ahead of its departure from the European Union and as the world economy loses momentum.

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that Britain would grow by 1.2 percent in 2019 — as long as it avoids the shock of a no-deal Brexit. That would be faster than Germany’s 0.8 percent and only a touch slower than France’s 1.3 percent.

However, Britain still looks set for its weakest growth in a decade this year, according to forecasts from the IMF and the Bank of England which assume a Brexit deal will be done.

Prime Minister Theresa May will seek a new delay to Brexit when she meets EU leaders on Wednesday, just two days before Britain is due to leave the bloc without the cushion of a transition deal.

Wednesday’s data showed that over the three months to February, the economy grew by 0.3 percent, holding at the same pace as in January — which was revised up from a previous estimate — and stronger than a forecast of 0.2 percent in the Reuters poll.

Manufacturing output jumped by 0.9 percent in February from January, stronger than all forecasts in the Reuters poll and accounting for about half of the overall economic growth rate.

The ONS said it seen signs that clients of manufacturers were stockpiling goods to get ahead of any border delays in the event of a no-deal Brexit which was scheduled for March 29 but was subsequently delayed.

An ONS official said orders were being brought forward to beat the Brexit schedule, suggesting a likely drag on the numbers for coming months.

The statistics office said it could not quantify the impact of stockpiling on the data.

Britain’s dominant services sector grew by 0.1 percent in monthly terms in February, held back by the 12th fall in a row in the financial services sector – the longest such run on record — while construction rose by 0.4 percent.

There were signs that the slowdown in the global economy was also weighing on Britain’s economy.

Export volumes fell by 0.4 percent in the three months to February from the three months to November while imports jumped by 6.8 percent.

So far, Britain’s exporters have shown no sign of being helped by the fall in the value of the pound caused by the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The ONS said it could not say whether the increase in imports was driven by pre-Brexit stockpiling.

(Reporting by William Schomberg and Andy Bruce)

Source: OANN

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Schiff: No ‘Regret’ in Calling Out Trump For ‘Unethical’ ‘Improper’ Conduct

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Sunday was unapologetic about charges of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, despite findings of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation,, saying “we should hold our elected officials to a higher standard.”

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the lawmaker said “there is a different standard between Republicans and the Democrats.”

“The Republicans seem to think as long as you can't prove it's a crime, all is fair in love and war, that it's all okay, what the Trump administration, what the Trump campaign does,” he said. “I don't feel that way. I don't think most Americans feel that way.”

“I’m not going to stop making the point that we should hold our elected officials to a higher standard,” he said.

“I don't regret calling out this president for deeply unethical and improper conduct,” he added. “Not a bit… you've asked the question many times, is there risk of doing too much oversight. There is a risk when you have an immoral president, a president lacking in basic character who violates the norms of office, an even greater risk of doing too little oversight. I make no apologies for that. I'll continue holding this administration accountable.” 

Source: NewsMax Politics

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To many voters, Mueller hasn’t mattered


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On the roster: To many voters, Mueller hasn’t mattered - For Biden, campaign headaches without a campaign - Buttigieg passes $7 million in first quarter fundraising - House Dems will vote to subpoena Mueller report - No one likes a road hog

TO MANY VOTERS, MUELLER HASN’T MATTERED
Well, the first benchmark of success for Special Counsel Robert Mueller has already been met. Both sides are absolutely infuriated.

We know that when Mueller’s work is revealed in fuller form, there will be plenty more unhappy people. And having watched the gyrations on both sides when the Justice Department was only tracers and not live rounds, we’re ready for anything.

But as a matter of political consequence so far, it’s been a dud. Not that the narratives aren’t being shaped for longer-term consequences. And not that the narrative can’t be exploded if the final report due later this month has something really shocking.

But for now we are still in the rain shadow that followed the sheltering peaks of ‘no collusion’ that Attorney General William Barr generously provided for the president. For Republicans to do anything but feel the sunshine on their hindquarters and generally be still is a mystification.

And yet, here we are.

The truth here is that Republicans already succeeded in their work of discrediting Mueller to those who were persuadable to that end. That is not a small number of people! It would take John Delaney times John Hickenlooper to the power of Elizabeth Warren equal these numbers.

But just 10 percent of respondents in the latest WSJ/NBC News poll said that they had a more favorable attitude toward Trump’s innocence as a result of Barr’s letter characterizing Mueller’s findings as politically non-lethal to the Trump presidency.

That should seem low to you.

This is a consequential matter. No one will remember what camera-starved back benchers in Congress of both parties have to say, or who voted on the dead-end legislation in what is guaranteed to be a do-nothing Congress. Such things are blights upon every age. But the question before the court of public opinion — did the sitting president obtain his office by corrupt means — is no small matter.

And yet, only 10 percent saw their confidence in the president’s innocence increase after the announcement of his non-collusion. And that’s less than the 12 percent who were actually more suspicious.

We certainly understand why that number is so static, relatively speaking.

For everybody paying attention, this hasn’t just been a big story, it’s been the background music for everything going on in Washington for two years. It’s “House of Cards” meets “Veep” with “The Americans” thrown in for good order.

And for everybody paying attention, attitudes about Trump and Russia and Mueller and collusion and the deep state and everything else pollsters can think of to ask about the subject have been quite steady.

There’s some broad agreement in the electorate about big issues. People generally disapprove of hostile foreign powers interfering in our politics. People generally think Mueller is a good egg. People generally don’t want the president impeached unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Those aren’t the numbers to pay attention to here, though.

Cast your eyes instead of the 61 percent of the electorate which said it had not heard “a lot” about the story. Holy croakano!

It surely is not for lack of trying on the part of the political press. We have been knee-deep in Russia stories and counter-Russia stories and shady lawyers and hostile witnesses and ostrich-skin costs for years.

So when you are tempted to overstate the importance of what has transpired so far in the investigation into the 2016 campaign and election, just remember that the rest of the country, outside the 39 percent that’s deeply invested, is now treating this like a typical Washington issue: Assume both sides are lying to some degree and do their best to ignore it.

Manage your expectations for political consequences accordingly.

THE RULEBOOK: TERRIBLE TWOS?
“Have we any reason to infer, from the spirit and conduct of the representatives of the people, prior to the Revolution, that biennial elections would have been dangerous to the public liberties?” – Alexander Hamilton or James Madison, Federalist No. 52

TIME OUT: A DUTCH MASTER IN THE NUTMEG STATE
AP: “A painting at a Connecticut museum that has long been thought to be by Vincent van Gogh has been authenticated by Dutch researchers. The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford announced Friday that ‘Vase With Poppies,’ a still life oil painting, has been verified by researchers at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam as having been made by the Dutch artist in 1886, just after he moved to Paris. … The painting’s authenticity was called into question in 1990 by the art historian Walter Feilchenfeldt, who raised concerns about many purported van Goghs around the world, the Hartford Courant reported. The artwork was taken out of museum displays and shelved. Years later… It was examined initially at the Atheneum, where a digital X-ray revealed an underpainting that looked like a self-portrait, which added to confidence about its authenticity. The museum in Amsterdam analyzed the artwork’s paint, materials and style to conclude it was indeed done by van Gogh.”

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

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval: 
42.6 percent
Average disapproval: 52.8 percent
Net Score: -10.2 points
Change from one week ago: down 2.2 points 
[Average includes: NBC/WSJ: 43% approve - 53% disapprove; Pew Research Center: 41% approve - 55% disapprove; NPR/PBS/Marist: 44% approve - 50% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 39% approve - 55% disapprove; Fox News: 46% approve - 51% disapprove.]

FOR BIDEN, CAMPAIGN HEADACHES WITHOUT A CAMPAIGN
NYT: “Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. scrambled on Sunday to contain a quickly growing crisis for his likely presidential bid, putting forward several former female aides and allies to praise his treatment of women after Lucy Flores, a former Nevada legislator, accused Mr. Biden of kissing and touching her. Mr. Biden also issued a sweeping statement acknowledging that he had shown ‘expressions of affection’ to people during his years on the campaign trail, but said, ‘not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately.’ It was the second damage-control statement to come from his team since Ms. Flores made her allegation on Friday… [S]ome of the former vice president’s would-be rivals in the 2020 Democratic field and some allies said that Ms. Flores’s claim should be taken seriously. … Mr. Biden’s advisers indicated on Sunday that the accusation would not dissuade him from entering the 2020 campaign, which they suggest he still intends to do at the end of April or just after.”

Warren fundraiser quits prompting new worries - NYT: “…Senator Elizabeth Warren began a swing through the South by proclaiming that [her campaign would] not include high-dollar fund-raisers but was entirely reliant on grass-roots contributions. … [S]he defied the pleas of her longtime finance director and declared that she would stop pursuing big donations altogether, leading to his resignation. But as the first fund-raising deadline arrives at midnight on Sunday, Ms. Warren — who last year was widely considered a would-be front-runner — finds herself in a political vise. Her rivals on either ideological flank will raise substantially more money in the first quarter than she does, and her focus on policy has not yet translated in the polls. Ms. Warren’s early troubles reflect the broader challenges confronting the vast Democratic field…”

Dems’ invisible primary is ‘truly invisible’ - NYT: “Publicly, the 2020 hopefuls are all about attracting low-dollar donors, trying to prove their grass-roots appeal and populist bona fides by touting large numbers of small donations — an ascendant force in Democratic politics. But privately, most Democrats also badly need the big checks and are still going behind closed doors to woo the wealthy, whose money is critical to pay for campaign staff, travel and advertising. As a result, a traditional part of presidential races early on — candidates trumpeting big-money and well-connected contributors as a show of political strength — has gone virtually underground, the invisible primary turning truly invisible. The jockeying for major donors remains as intense as ever, but the usual campaign announcements of powerhouse finance committees and boldfaced bundler lists have all but disappeared.”

Harris’ past catches up with her - AP: “Within months of [Kamala Harris’] swearing-in, she sponsored a bill urging states to eliminate cash bail, denouncing the system as a scourge on the poor and communities of color. That position would become a key part of her criminal justice reform platform. … Now a presidential candidate, Harris is casting herself as a progressive who consistently leveraged her power in the justice system to further civil rights causes and advocate for the disadvantaged. She has pledged a wholesale overhaul of the country’s fractured criminal justice system, arguing for marijuana legalization, bail reform and a moratorium on the death penalty. But when she had a chance to take a bold stand on these issues as a top law enforcement officer, Harris often opted for a careful approach or defended the status quo. Observers of her career note some of her key positions, like her opposition to cash bail, came at politically opportune moments, after public views had shifted on race, inequality and bias in the justice system.”

Beto’s Lone Star candidacy - Real Clear Politics:Beto O'Rourke officially launched his presidential campaign Saturday, heavily focusing on a Texas narrative that he's used to rise from El Paso council member to Senate candidate to contender in the Democratic race for the White House. From his El Paso hometown, O'Rourke drew a stark contrast with President Donald Trump, telling Americans that the nation can do better on many fronts, including developing a compassionate immigration system that secures the border. [He said:] ‘This is a campaign for America, for everyone in America. Like so many of you here, like so many more across the country at this defining moment, Amy and I want to know that we've done everything within our power for this country.’”

BUTTIGIEG PASSES $7 MILLION IN FIRST QUARTER FUNDRAISING
Bloomberg:Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Indiana mayor whose stock and poll numbers have risen in the last weeks following a breakout performance in a CNN town hall, will report more than $7 million raised in the first quarter for his presidential bid. Buttigieg announced the preliminary total on Twitter, where he said his campaign was ‘out-performing expectations at every turn.’ Presidential candidates will release their first quarter fundraising totals for the period between January 1 and March 31 no later than April 15. For most of them, this will be the first key test of their ability to raise money at a presidential campaign level. Beyond mere viability to continue a campaign operation, and test of organizational strength, fundraising will also be a criteria for inclusion in the first Democratic presidential debates.”

Buttigieg grows in fame, his campaign needs to catch up - Politico: “Pete Buttigieg has the mojo. Now he needs a campaign. The South Bend, Ind., mayor is earning glowing press coverage and enjoying a polling spike after a fiery rebuke of Vice President Mike Pence during a CNN town hall. But, so far, he’s got almost no on-the-ground operation in the early states, as he has to figure out how to convert his Twitter-trending bid into a sustained national campaign. ‘Up to now, I haven’t seen or heard of anything he’s built here in Iowa,’ said Jerry Crawford, a longtime Iowa Democratic operative. … The challenge for Buttigieg goes beyond teaching America how to pronounce his last name. Local operatives said the 37-year-old lags behind the rest of the sprawling pack of 2020 candidates in building infrastructure in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — a problem Buttigieg’s campaign is racing to correct as money starts rolling in.”

Does he really have a chance? - NBC News: “He was described as ‘the longest of long shots’ when he decided to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, and for good reason. … Larry Agran from Irvine, California, the last candidate before Buttigieg to attempt the audacious leap from a midsize City Hall to the White House. Agran ran in 1992, a generation ago, when the media ecosystem was far narrower and more constricting. To compare what he endured as a candidate then to what Buttigieg has already experienced now is to recognize just how drastically that ecosystem has been revolutionized — and what that revolution has made possible. Two months after announcing his bid, Buttigieg has already attained something akin to political celebrity status, at least with a slice of the public. … To call his '92 campaign ‘forgotten’ would be a misnomer; few ever knew he was running in the first place.”

HOUSE DEMS WILL VOTE TO SUBPOENA MUELLER REPORT
WaPo: “The House Judiciary Committee plans to vote Wednesday to authorize subpoenas to obtain the full report of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, escalating a feud with the Justice Department over a lengthy document detailing findings about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on Monday announced plans for the panel’s vote, which would take place a day after a deadline the committee set for Attorney General William P. Barr to share the report. Barr pledged last week to release a redacted version by mid-April, well after Nadler’s deadline. Nadler’s committee is seeking to obtain the ‘full and complete report,’ which spans nearly 400 pages, as well as underlying evidence. ‘As I have made clear, Congress requires the full and complete Special Counsel report, without redactions, as well as access to the underlying evidence,’ Nadler said in a statement Monday, in which he urged Barr to reconsider meeting his Tuesday deadline.”

Ross Douthat: ‘The Mick Mulvaney Presidency’ - NYT: “So why revive the Obamacare debate? Why set yourself up for ‘Trump Defunds Special Olympics’ headlines? The answer is that there are effectively two Trump presidencies. One offers something like what the president promised on the campaign trail — a break with Paul Ryan’s green-eyeshade approach to entitlement reform, a more moderate tack on health care, an indifference to Obama-era conservative orthodoxies on fiscal and monetary policy. The other offers a continuation of the Tea Party’s insistence on spending cuts and Obamacare repeal, and appropriately its present leader is a former Tea Party congressman — Mick Mulvaney, the Zelig of the administration, whose zeal is apparently the main reason that the Obamacare lawsuit now has administration support.”

VIRGINIA DEMS TEST THE WATERS AFTER SCANDAL
WaPo: “Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has begun doing something normal for most politicians but risky for him: appearing in public and taking questions from reporters. Tarnished by a blackface admission and a racist photo on his page in an old yearbook, Northam defied widespread calls to resign and spent weeks in a cocoon of private meetings and tightly controlled events. But the glare of national attention has faded. Northam dismissed his outside crisis management team when its two-week contract expired. And, with increasing confidence, he has begun exercising the power of his office. His reemergence coincides with the General Assembly’s return to Richmond on Wednesday for a one-day session to tie up loose ends. … Northam isn’t going away… And neither is Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D), who denies two separate allegations of sexual assault, nor Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D), who admitted wearing blackface during his college days.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Graham begins re-election campaign in S.C. with help of Vice President Pence - WaPo

McConnell: ‘Time to stop the Democrats' obstruction’ - Politico

AUDIBLE: HEAR, HEAR
“The only conclusion anybody should draw right now is they shouldn’t draw any conclusions. …  I can’t think of a Democratic field comparable to this.” – Joel Benenson, a top strategist for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, told the WaPo.

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

NO ONE LIKES A ROAD HOG
KMSP-TV: “Officials in Chisago County, Minnesota are sharing a strange encounter to warn others about distracted driving. … [Sergeant Jason Foster] was responding to a complaint about someone driving north on I-35 near Harris having a tough time staying in their lane. But, when he stopped and approached the pickup, he learned the distracted driving wasn't being caused by a cell phone ‘hogging’ the driver's attention as he suspected. ‘It was kind of shocking. He had this 250 pound pig on his lap. In fact, it was leaning against the steering wheel he was muscling the steering wheel to keep it in its lane,’ he said. Sgt. Foster said there was not one, but two pigs in the picture. … Rather than roast the driver, Sgt. Foster gave him a warning and sent them on their way, but even though this passenger was a bit of a ham…”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Here's the central question: if you thought this was obstruction of justice when Trump was asking [James Comey] to drop the Flynn thing, why didn't [he] resign? … Anyway, this is a man, I don't know if cowardly is the right word. But he sure has post-facto integrity.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) on “Special Report with Bret Baier” on June 8, 2017.

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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The Latest: Storm system sets rainfall record in Little Rock

The Latest on severe weather in the South (all times local):

10:15 a.m.

Storms roaring through the South have smashed a daily record for rainfall in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The National Weather Service says more than 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain fell in the capital city Thursday.

Thursday's downpour caused flash flooding and prompted the closure of several schools in Pulaski and Saline counties. The storm system that drenched central Arkansas also killed two Mississippi drivers and a woman in Alabama and left more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

It's now rumbling through Georgia.

___

9:40 a.m.

Forecasters say the area at highest risk of severe storms and tornadoes Friday is home to 9.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia and includes the Charlotte, North Carolina metro area.

The national Storm Prediction Center says that area will be at moderate risk of severe weather and tornadoes will be possible Friday.

The National Weather Service in Raleigh, North Carolina, says that "torrential downpours," large hail and a few tornadoes are among the hazards.

Strong storms were rumbling through Georgia on Friday, after killing two Mississippi drivers and a woman in Alabama and leaving more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

___

9 a.m.

Strong storms are roaring across the South on Friday, after killing two Mississippi drivers and a woman in Alabama and leaving more than 100,000 people without power across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

The threat Friday shifted to Georgia, where multiple tornado warnings covered parts of northeast Georgia. There were no immediate reports of any damage from those storms, but the tornado threat was expected to continue well into the day in the Carolinas and Virginia.

National Weather Service forecasters said they believe multiple tornadoes hit southwest and central Mississippi on Thursday, although they won't be sure until the damage is surveyed. Heavy winds also were reported in Louisiana earlier in the day and in central Alabama as the system quickly pushed eastward.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei’s factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain must get to the bottom of the leak of confidential discussions during a top-level security meeting about the role of China’s Huawei Technologies in 5G network supply chains, British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday.

News that Britain’s National Security Council, attended by senior ministers and spy chiefs, had agreed on Tuesday to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country’s 5G network and restrict its access to non-core elements was leaked to a national newspaper.

The leak of secret discussions has sparked anger in parliament and amongst Britain’s intelligence community. Britain’s most senior civil servant Mark Sedwill has launched an inquiry and written to ministers who were at the meeting.

“My understanding from London (is) that an investigation has been announced into apparent leaks from the NSC meeting earlier this week,” said Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing.

“To my knowledge there has never been a leak from a National Security Council meeting before and therefore I think it is very important that we get to the bottom of what happened here,” he told Reuters in a pooled interview.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday he could not rule out a criminal investigation. The majority of the ministers at the NSC meeting have said they were not involved, according to media reports.

Hammond said he was unaware of any previous leak from a meeting of the NSC.

“It’s not about the substance of what was apparently leaked. It’s not earth-shattering information. But it is important that we protect the principle that nothing that goes on in national security council meetings must ever be repeated outside the room.”

Allowing Huawei a reduced role in building its 5G network puts Britain at odds with the United States which has told allies not to use its technology at all because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

There have been concerns that the NSC’s conclusion, which sources confirmed to Reuters, could upset other allies in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network – the Five Eyes alliance of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

However, British ministers and intelligence officials have said any final decision on 5G would not put critical national infrastructure at risk. Ciaran Martin, head of the cyber center of Britain’s main eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, played down any threat of a rift in the Five Eyes alliance.

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon, South Korea, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

April 26, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop and drama star Park Yu-chun was arrested on Friday on charges of buying and using illegal drugs, a court said, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the South Korean entertainment business.

Suwon District Court approved the arrest warrant for Park, 32, due to concerns over possible destruction of evidence and flight risk, a court spokesman told Reuters.

Park is suspected of having bought about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former girlfriend earlier this year and using the drug around five times, an official at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.

Park has denied wrongdoing, saying he had never taken drugs, and he again denied the charges in court, Yonhap news agency said.

Park’s contract with his management agency had been canceled and he would leave the entertainment industry, Park’s management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said on Wednesday.

Park was a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.

A scandal involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chat about rape led at least four other K-pop stars to quit the industry earlier this year.

The cases sparked a nationwide drugs bust and investigations into tax evasion and police collusion at night clubs and other nightlife spots.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight taxis after landing at Reagan National Airport in Washington
FILE PHOTO: An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight from Los Angeles taxis after landing at Reagan National Airport shortly after an announcement was made by the FAA that the planes were being grounded by the United States over safety issues in Washington, U.S. March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc cut its 2019 profit forecast on Friday, saying it expected to take a $350 million hit from the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX planes after cancelling 1,200 flights in the first quarter.

The company said it now expects its 2019 adjusted profit to be between $4.00 per share and $6.00 per share.

Analysts on average had expected 2019 earnings of $5.63 per share, according to Refinitiv data.

The No. 1 U.S. airline by passenger traffic said net income rose to $185 million, or 41 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, from $159 million, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total operating revenue rose 2 percent to $10.58 billion.

(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru)

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

April 26, 2019

By James Oliphant

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (Reuters) – Four years ago, Donald Trump campaigned in small towns like Marshalltown, Iowa, vowing to restore economic prosperity to the U.S. heartland.

In his bid to replace Trump in the White House, Pete Buttigieg is taking a similar tack. The difference, he says, is that he can point to a model of success: South Bend, Indiana, the revitalized city where he has been mayor since 2012.

The Democratic presidential contender has vaulted to the congested field’s top tier in recent weeks, drawing media and donor attention for his youth, history-making status as the first openly gay major presidential candidate and a resume that includes military service in Afghanistan.

But Buttigieg’s main argument for his candidacy is that he is a turnaround artist in the mold of Trump, although the Democrat does not expressly invoke the comparison with the Republican president.

“I’m not going around saying we’ve fixed every problem we’ve got,” Buttigieg, 37, said after a house party with voters in Marshalltown. “But I’m proud of what we have done together, and I think it’s a very powerful story.”

Critics argue improving the fortunes of a Midwestern city of 100,000 people does not qualify Buttigieg, who has never held national office, for the presidency of a country of 330 million. Others say South Bend still has pockets of despair and that minorities, in particular, have failed to benefit from its growth.

Buttigieg has told crowds in Iowa and elsewhere that his experience in reviving a struggling Rust Belt community allows him to make a case to voters that other Democratic candidates cannot. That may give him the means to win back some of the disaffected Democratic voters who turned their backs on Hillary Clinton in 2016 to vote for Trump.

Watching Buttigieg at a union hall in Des Moines last week, Rick Ryan, 45, a member of the United Steelworkers, lamented how many of his fellow union workers voted for Trump. The president turned in the best performance by a Republican among union households since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Ryan said he hoped someone like Buttigieg could return them to the Democratic fold.

“He’s aware of the decline in the labor force in America, not just in Indiana or Des Moines or anywhere else,” Ryan said. “Jobs are going overseas. We need a find to way to bring that back.”

Randy Tucker, 56, of Pleasant Hill, Iowa, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said Trump appealed to union members “desperate for somebody to reach out to them, to help them, to listen to their voice.”

Buttigieg could do the same, he said. “In my heart right now, he’s No. 1.”

PAST VS. FUTURE

Buttigieg stresses a key difference in his and Trump’s approaches.

Trump, he tells crowds, is mired in the past, promising to rebuild the 20th century industrial economy. Buttigieg argues the pledge is misleading and unrealistic.

Buttigieg says his focus is on the future, and he often talks about what the country might look like decades from now.

“The only way that we can cultivate what makes America great is to look to the future and not be afraid of it,” Buttigieg said in Marshalltown.

Buttigieg knows his sexual preference may be a barrier to winning some blue-collar voters. But he notes that after he came out as gay in 2015, he won a second term as mayor with 80 percent of the vote in conservative Indiana.

Earlier this month, he announced his presidential bid at the hulking plant in South Bend that stopped making Studebaker autos more than 50 years ago. After lying dormant for decades, the building is being transformed into a high-tech hub after Buttigieg and other city leaders realized it would never again attract a large-scale industrial company.

“That building sat as a powerful reminder. We hoped we would get back that major employer that would fix our economy,” said Jeff Rea, president of the regional Chamber of Commerce.

Buttigieg is praised locally for spurring more than $100 million in downtown investment. During his two terms, unemployment has fallen to 4.1 percent from 11.8 percent.

But a study released in 2017 by the nonprofit group Prosperity Now said not all of the city’s residents had shared in its rebound. The median income for African-Americans remained half that of whites, while the unemployment rate for blacks was double.

Regina Williams-Preston, a city councilor running to replace Buttigieg as mayor, credits him for the revitalized downtown. But she said he had a “blind spot” when it came to focusing on troubled neighborhoods like the one she represents and only grew more engaged after community pressure.

“He understands it now,” she said. “The next step is figuring out how to open the doors of opportunity for everyone.”

‘ONE OF US’

Trump touts the fact that the United States added almost 300,000 manufacturing jobs last year as evidence he made good on his promise to restore the industrial sector. But that growth still left the country with fewer manufacturing jobs than in 2008.

The robust U.S. economy is likely the president’s greatest asset in his re-election bid, particularly in states he carried in 2016 such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He won Buttigieg’s home state by 19 points over Clinton in 2016.

Sean Bagniewski, chairman of the Democratic Party in Polk County, Iowa, said Buttigieg would be well positioned to compete with Trump in the Midwest.

“People love the fact that he’s a mayor,” said Bagniewski, who has not endorsed a candidate in the nominating contest. “If you can talk about a positive future, and if you actually have experience that can do it, that’s a compelling vision in Iowa.”

Nan Whaley, the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, which faces many of the same challenges as South Bend, agreed.

“He’s one of us,” Whaley said. “That helps.”

(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)

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A man looks out at a flooded residential area in Gatineau
A man looks out at a flooded residential area in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

April 26, 2019

MONTREAL/OTTAWA (Reuters) – Rising waters were prompting further evacuations in central Canada on Thursday, with the mayor of the country’s capital, Ottawa, declaring a state of emergency and Quebec authorities warning that a hydroelectric dam was at risk of breaking.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared the emergency in response to rising water levels along the Ottawa River and weather forecasts that called for significant rainfall on Friday.

In a statement on Twitter, Watson asked for help from the Ontario provincial government and the country’s military.

He warned that “flood levels are currently forecasted to exceed the levels that caused significant damage to numerous properties in the city of Ottawa in 2017.”

Spring flooding had killed one person and forced more than 900 people from their homes in Canada’s Quebec province as of 1 p.m. on Thursday, according to a government website.

Ottawa has received 80 requests for service related to potential flooding such as sandbagging, a city spokeswoman said.

The prospect of more rain over the next 24 to 48 hours triggered concerns on Thursday that the hydroelectric dam at Bell Falls in the western part of Quebec could be at risk of failing because of rising water levels.

Quebec’s provincial police said 250 people were protectively removed from homes in the area as of late afternoon in case the dam on the Rouge River breaks.

The dam is now at its full flow capacity of 980 cubic meters per second of water, said Francis Labbé, a spokesman for the province’s state-owned utility, Hydro Quebec. He said Hydro Quebec expected the flow could rise to 1,200 cubic meters per second of water over the next two days.

“We have to take the worst-case scenario into consideration, since we`re already at the maximum capacity,” Labbé said by phone.

The dam is part of a power station that no longer produces electricity, but is regularly inspected by Hydro Quebec, he said.

(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Ljunggren and Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by James Dalgleish and Peter Cooney)

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