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NHL notebook: Knights acquire Stone at deadline

NHL: Ottawa Senators at Winnipeg Jets
FILE PHOTO - Feb 16, 2019; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone (61) reacts after a goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period at Bell MTS Place. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports

February 26, 2019

The Vegas Golden Knights agreed to a contract extension with Mark Stone on Monday, shortly after they acquired the right winger from the Ottawa Senators.

The contract will be for eight years and worth an average of $9.5 million per season, Bob McKenzie of TSN reported. Stone confirmed with the network that he and the team have agreed to a deal but declined to confirm the terms.

The Senators received highly regarded defensive prospect Erik Brannstrom (the No. 15 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft), forward Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round draft pick that originally belonged to the Dallas Stars.

Stone, 26, has 28 goals and 34 assists (62 points) in 59 games this season. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent following the season.

–The Pittsburgh Penguins made two deals for defensemen, acquiring Erik Gudbranson from the Vancouver Canucks for forward Tanner Pearson, and netting Chris Wideman from the Florida Panthers for forward Jean-Sebastien Dea.

–The Winnipeg Jets acquired forward Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers for forward Brendan Lemieux and a 2019 first-round draft pick.

The Jets then closed out trade-deadline day with five more moves, bringing back forward Matt Hendricks from the Minnesota Wild for a seventh-round pick in 2020, landing forward Par Lindholm from the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Nic Petan, getting defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from the Buffalo Sabres for a sixth-round selection in 2019 and acquiring defenseman Bogdan Kiselevich from the Panthers for a seventh-round selection in 2019.

In the Jets’ final move of the day, they acquired forward Alex Broadhurst from the Columbus Blue Jackets for future considerations.

–The Philadelphia Flyers traded veteran forward Wayne Simmonds to the Nashville Predators for forward Ryan Hartman and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2020. Simmonds, 30, had 16 goals and 11 assists in 62 games for Philadelphia this season.

–The Predators also traded forward Kevin Fiala to the Wild for veteran winger Mikael Granlund in a swap of former first-round draft picks.

–The Blue Jackets acquired veteran defenseman Adam McQuaid from the Rangers for AHL defenseman Julius Bergman and two 2019 draft picks. New York received fourth- and seventh-round selections.

Columbus also acquired goaltender Keith Kinkaid from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

–The St. Louis Blues added defenseman Michael Del Zotto from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.

–Prior to Colorado’s Monday night contest against Florida, the Avalanche acquired forward Derick Brassard and a reported conditional 2020 sixth-round draft pick from the visiting Panthers in exchange for a third-round pick in 2020.

–The Montreal Canadiens acquired center Jordan Weal from the Arizona Coyotes on for center Michael Chaput. Both players turn 27 in April, and both were selected in the third round of the 2010 NHL Draft.

–The Carolina Hurricanes acquired forward Tomas Jurco from Florida and dealt forward Cliff Pu to the Panthers in separate trades Monday. In both transactions, the teams are receiving future considerations in return.

–The Boston Bruins acquired forward Marcus Johansson from the Devils in exchange for a second-round pick in 2019 and a fourth-rounder in 2020.

–The Calgary Flames acquired defenseman Oscar Fantenberg from the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional 2020 fourth-round draft pick.

–The Canucks acquired 19-year-old forward Linus Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for 21-year-old forward Jonathan Dahlen.

–The Wild and center Eric Staal agreed to a two-year, $6.5 million deal shortly after the trade deadline. Staal, 34, had been slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

–The Rangers signed forwards Boo Nieves and Steven Fogarty to one-year extensions. Terms were not released, but TSN reported the value of Nieves’ deal at $700,000. Nieves was set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

–Buffalo right winger Kyle Okposo cleared concussion protocol and played in the Sabres’ Monday road game against the Maple Leafs. Okposo had been sidelined since being punched in the chin by Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo on Feb. 15. It was his third diagnosed concussion in three years.

–Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, who has recovered from a concussion, was activated by the team. Crawford, 34, was sidelined more than two months after his second concussion in less than a year. Chicago removed Crawford from injured reserve and assigned goaltender Collin Delia to Rockford of the AHL.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Alaska Native servicemen finally honored as Code Talkers

Army veteran Richard Bean Sr. died without anyone knowing that he and four other long-deceased Alaska Natives had used their Tlingit language to outsmart the Japanese during World War II.

Now, they are finally being hailed in their home state for their lifesaving efforts as servicemen.

Earlier this month, legislators passed a formal citation honoring the Tlingit Code Talkers. State flags were flown at half-staff and later presented to the men's families.

Bean and the others had been forbidden to speak Tlingit as schoolchildren in their southeast Alaska villages. Later, they used it to provide the military with unbreakable codes, as did their more well-known peers, Navajo Code Talkers.

The language of the Alaska Natives had been suppressed by missionaries and teachers trying to "civilize" them, said Rosita Worl, president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute. The Juneau nonprofit works to preserve and enhance the cultures of southeast Alaska's Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribes.

Punishments for students who spoke Tlingit included having their mouths washed out with soap and their hands struck with rulers, Worl said.

"We're finally ecstatic that there is this recognition that our people served this country, even served this country that wasn't always good to them," she said.

The men's contributions went undisclosed for decades because the U.S. military had kept the unbroken codes secret in case they were needed in future wars.

"Their orders were not to talk about it," Ozzie Sheakley, an Army veteran and Tlingit leader, said about the five Alaska Natives. "They took those orders seriously."

Even their closest relatives had no clue about the wartime endeavors of Richard Bean Sr. of Hoonah and Robert "Jeff" David Sr. of Haines; Sitka brothers and Navy men Mark Jacobs Jr. and Harvey Jacobs; and Sitka resident George Lewis Jr., who served in the Army.

Bean's wife died before Congress posthumously recognized the men. His 85-year-old nephew, Ron Williams, never knew either, even though the two were close.

Williams said there was only one hint. His uncle told him a platoon leader had overheard him speaking Tlingit with Jeff David while the two served together in the Philippines. They were in the same company but different platoons.

The Army official asked how the men would like to handle communications then gave each a walkie-talkie.

That was all Bean said, and Williams never pushed for more, sensing his uncle didn't want to talk about it. Richard Bean died in 1985.

"Even the guys that knew him all his life, you know, they didn't know what he did either because he never said anything about it," Williams said.

David never said anything about the wartime duties to his son, Jeff David Jr., either.

"He just said he was in special services," the son said.

The military declassified the Navajo Code Talker program in 1968. But it was decades before recognition came to the Tlingit servicemen, after the passage of the Code Talkers Recognition Act of 2008.

Sheakley, commander of the Southeast Alaska Native Veterans, got a call from Department of Defense officials.

They told him the five Alaskans had been identified as Code Talkers from the Tlingit tribe, along with others from 32 Lower-48 tribes. Soon they would get the recognition long afforded the Navajos, who made up the largest group of Code Talkers.

In 2013, Congress recognized the Code Talkers, who were posthumously awarded silver medals. Sheakley also received a Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of the entire Tlingit tribe.

Alaska state Rep. and Tlingit Vietnam veteran Bill Thomas thought state recognition would soon follow.

"I just waited and waited and waited," Thomas said. "I finally said, 'Hey, it's time to pay tribute to these men.'"

State lawmakers agreed after Thomas and the Sealaska Heritage Institute pushed the idea.

The role the men played in history was a stunning discovery for the family of George Lewis Jr.

His son, Ray Lewis, was born after the war and never knew his father was in the military.

"I'm very proud of it," Ray Lewis said of the new recognition. "My father was instrumental in saving a lot of lives out there."

___

Follow Rachel D'Oro at https://twitter.com/rdoro .

Source: Fox News National

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‘I’m an Aussie’: refugee footballer Araibi granted Australian citizenship

Refugee footballer Hakeem Al Araibi receives his Australian citizenship during a ceremony at Federation Square in Melbourne
Refugee footballer Hakeem Al Araibi receives his Australian citizenship during a ceremony at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia, March 12, 2019. AAP Image/David Crosling/via REUTERS

March 12, 2019

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A refugee footballer who fled Bahrain and was held in a Thai prison for months during a tense extradition stand-off between Australia and the Gulf state was granted Australian citizenship on Tuesday.

Hakeem Al Araibi, 25, left Bahrain in 2014 after he was accused of crimes committed during the Arab Spring protests of 2011, which he denied. He was granted refugee status in Australia but after an Interpol notice requesting his arrest was made by Bahrain, he was apprehended by Thai authorities in November when he flew to Bangkok for a honeymoon.

“I’m an Aussie now,” he told reporters in Melbourne after a citizenship ceremony on the banks of the Yarra River that flows through the city. “I’m very happy to be safe.”

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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Trump to give Israel’s Netanyahu an election boost

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a Likud election campaign billboard depicting U.S. President Trump shaking hands with Israeli PM Netanyahu, in Jerusalem
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a Likud election campaign billboard, depicting U.S. President Donald Trump shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem February 4, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo

March 25, 2019

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump was set to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a boost for his re-election campaign on Monday as Netanyahu’s chief political opponent sought to position himself as a better alternative to lead Israel.

During a White House visit by Netanyahu, Trump was expected to sign a proclamation officially granting U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. Israel seized the strategic land from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

The recognition, which Trump had announced in a tweet last Thursday, appeared to be the most overt gesture by the Republican president to help Netanyahu, who had been pressing Trump for the move.

The Israeli prime minister, who faces an election on April 9, on Monday cut short his U.S. visit after a rocket fired from Gaza injured seven people near Tel Aviv. He arrived in Washington on Sunday, originally for a four-day visit.

The attack in central Israel came as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel group, held its annual meeting in Washington with speaker after speaker expressing U.S. support for strong ties with Israel.

“We stand with Israel because her cause is our cause, her values are our values, and her fight is our fight,” Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday.

Pence also talked tough against Iran, saying that under Trump, “America will never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.”

Netanyahu’s strongest election challenger, Benny Gantz, appeared before the gathering on Monday, and vowed to protect Israel against threats from Iran and Syria. He called for unity in Israel.

“We must remember if that we want hope, we must have unity,” he said.

With election day approaching, opinion polls put Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud and Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party neck and neck.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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Brothers Who Helped Jussie Smollett Stage Hoax Sue His Lawyers for Defamation

The brothers who were allegedly paid by Empire star Jussie Smollett to stage a hate crime hoax are suing the actor’s lawyers for defamation, claiming his legal team continues to drag their names through the mud despite charges being dropped against the actor.

Brothers Abimobola and Olabinjo Osundairo claim they were paid by Smollett to help perpetrate the hoax, in which they wore red hats before attacking him on the streets of Chicago. The actor then blamed the attack on supporters of Donald Trump claiming his attackers yelled, “This is MAGA country.”

After Cook County prosecutors made the unusual move of dropping 16 felony counts against the actor, the brothers – who confessed to police Smollett had paid them to carry out the hoax – claim Smollett’s attorneys have been emboldened and are doubling down on claims against them.

At a press conference Tuesday, the brother’s lawyers accused Smollett of not only destroying their reputations, but that of the City of Chicago, as well.

“These lies are destroying our character and our reputation in our personal and professional lives,” one of the brothers’ attorneys, Gloria Schmidt, read from a prepared statement. “Those who know us personally know that we don’t have hate for anyone… That is not who we are.”

“The Chicagoan brothers told the truth,” Schmidt said. “They could have remained silent. But instead they told the truth to the police, and with their right hand in the air, they told the truth to the grand jury. We’re going to make sure that the lies and malice attacking our city, our Police Department and my two clients are met with truth and healing.”

Additionally, Abimobola claims Smollett’s attorney “inferred” during a radio interview he and Smollett had “engaged, at least briefly, in homosexual acts together,” which the brother denied vehemently saying he is heterosexual and in a relationship with a woman. The statement was particularly damaging, according to the federal lawsuit, because he still has family in Nigeria where homosexual activity is illegal and not tolerated.

The brothers, who are both aspiring actors, say they’re the real victims of Smollett’s case and that they merely helped him hoping to advance their careers.

Smollett, the brothers claim, “directed every aspect of the attack, including the location and the noose.”

“In short, Mr. Smollett used his clout as a wealthy actor to influence (the Osundairo brothers), who were in a subordinate relationship to him and were aspiring to ‘make it’ in Hollywood,” the suit reads.

Watch the brothers’ attorney’s press conference below:

Read the brothers’ lawsuit:


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adan.salazar.735

Source: InfoWars

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NFL notebook: Patriots owner Kraft faces solicitation charges

FILE PHOTO: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft raises the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
FILE PHOTO: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft raises the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., February 3, 2019. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

February 23, 2019

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft faces two counts of solicitation of prostitution in Florida as one of 25 individuals facing similar charges in connection with an investigation into a Florida spa allegedly tied to an international human trafficking ring.

Kraft, 77, is alleged to have paid for sex at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla., one of 10 shut down in the region after a long investigation showed the women in the spas were sex servants, according to authorities. Kraft allegedly visited the spa on two occasions, according to law enforcement.

He has not been arrested on the charges, both classified as misdemeanors. NFL Network reported that an arrest warrant will be issued on Monday with possibility of Kraft facing 60 days in jail.

Kraft, who also owns the New England Revolution MLS franchise, denied the accusations on Friday afternoon. The NFL also released a statement, saying it “is aware of the ongoing law enforcement matter and will continue to monitor developments.”

–After a difficult season culminated by a crucial missed attempt on a potential game-winning field goal in the NFC playoffs, kicker Cody Parkey will be released by the Chicago Bears when the new league year begins in March.

According to multiple reports, the team intends to cut ties with Parkey once the NFL free agency period begins on March 13.

Parkey, who turned 27 on Tuesday, endured an inconsistent season in Chicago after inking a four-year, $15 million contract last winter following the team’s release of Robbie Gould, the Bears’ all-time leading scorer who moved on to the San Francisco 49ers.

–The Philadelphia Eagles announced the release of defensive back Chris Maragos after five seasons with the franchise, missing all of last season with a knee injury he suffered during the 2017 campaign.

Maragos was one of the Eagles’ top special-teams players. The Eagles said he made 49 special teams’ tackles in 53 games with the club and was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2014.

Philadelphia also re-signed kicker Jake Elliott and long snapper Rick Lovato to one-year deals. Elliott has made 52 of 62 field goals in two seasons with the Eagles. Lovato served as long snapper for the past two seasons and has spent parts of the last three campaigns with the Eagles.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Deutsche Bank CEO and chair to stay in top roles after possible merger: Spiegel

FILE PHOTO: Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank AG, addresses the media during the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: Christian Sewing, CEO of Deutsche Bank AG, addresses the media during the bank's annual news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach -/File Photo

April 12, 2019

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank’s current Chief Executive Christian Sewing and Chairman Paul Achleitner would continue to lead the bank if it merges with Commerzbank, a German magazine reported on Friday.

Der Spiegel, citing no sources, reported that Commerzbank’s CEO Martin Zielke would serve as deputy CEO of the combined group in charge of private and corporate banking.

Both banks declined to comment.

If the banks merge, Garth Ritchie of Deutsche Bank would continue to lead the investment bank, Spiegel reported.

Frank Strauss, who heads Deutsche’s retail bank would have to leave his position, the report said.

Achleitner would hold his post as chair of Deutsche Bank at least for a transition phase, Spiegel said.

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Andreas Framke; editing by Thomas Seythal and David Evans)

Source: OANN

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

April 26, 2019

By Rupam Jain and Hameed Farzad

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani encouraged newly-elected lawmakers to participate in the peace process with the Taliban as he opened on Friday the first session of parliament since a controversial election.

Ghani has invited thousands of politicians, religious scholars and rights activists to an assembly known as a loya jirga next week to discuss ways to end the 17-year war.

Several opposition leaders have said they will boycott the four-day assembly in Kabul, saying it was pulled together without their input and is being used by Ghani as he seeks a second term in a September presidential election.

“We have presented the peace plan on a regular basis and we are committed to it,” Ghani said in the first session since parliamentary elections marred by technical problems, militant attacks and accusations of voting fraud last year.

“Based on this plan, there will be no peace deal and negotiation that does not have the green card of the parliament,” he added.

Officials from the United States and the Taliban have held several rounds of talks to end the Afghan war.

U.S. negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, has reported some progress toward an accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal and on how the Taliban would prevent extremists from using Afghanistan to launch attacks as al Qaeda did on Sept. 11, 2001.

The insurgents have so far rejected U.S. demands for a ceasefire and talks on the country’s political future that would include Afghan government officials.

The loya jirga, a centuries-old institution used to build consensus among competing tribes, factions and ethnic groups, is an attempt by Ghani to influence the peace talks and cement his position for a second term, Afghan politicians and Western diplomats say.

Amid growing political divisions in Kabul, opposition politicians have demanded that Ghani step down when his mandate ends next month, and give way to an interim government to oversee peace talks with the Taliban. Ghani has ruled that out.

The country’s top court said last week Ghani can stay in office until the presidential election in September.

(Reporting by Hameed Farzad, Rupam Jain, Editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Thursday defended special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation while slamming former President Barack Obama’s administration for being slow to take action on Russian interference in U.S. elections and ex-FBI Director James Comey for telling Congress the agency was investigating collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Our nation is safer, elections are more secure, and citizens are better informed about covert foreign influence schemes,” Rosenstein said in a speech to the Armenian Bar Association, marking his first public remarks after the Mueller report was released, reports CBS News.

He also pointed out that the investigation revealed a pattern of computer hacking and the use of social media to undermine elections as “only the tip of the iceberg of a comprehensive Russian strategy to influence elections, promote social discord, and undermine America, just like they do in many other countries,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Obama administration also made “critical decisions,” including choosing not to publicize the full story about Russian hackers and social media trolling, “and how they relate to a broader strategy to undermine America,” said Rosenstein.

He noted that the Mueller probe began after Comey disclosed during a hearing before Congress that President Donald Trump “pressured him to close the investigation and the president denied that the conversation occurred.”

Rosenstein said two years ago, when he was confirmed, he was told by a Republican senator that he would be in charge of the probe and that he’d report the results to the American people.

However, he said he didn’t promise to do that, because it is “not our job to render conclusive factual findings. We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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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)

Source: OANN

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President Trump on Friday said “no money” was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, after reports that the U.S. received a $2 million hospital bill from Pyongyang for the late American prisoner’s care.

“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else. This is not the Obama Administration that paid 1.8 Billion Dollars for four hostages, or gave five terroist[sic] hostages plus, who soon went back to battle, for traitor Sgt. Bergdahl!” Trump tweeted Friday.

NORTH KOREA GAVE US $2M HOSPITAL BILL OVER CARE OF AMERICAN OTTO WARMBIER, SOURCES SAY

The Washington Post first reported that North Korean authorities insisted the U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier, 21, who was a student of the University of Virginia, sign a pledge to pay the bill before allowing Warmbier’s comatose body to return to the United States. Sources confirmed the bill and the amount to Fox News on Thursday.

Sources told the post that the envoy signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions from the president, but a source told Fox News that the U.S. did not ever pay money to North Korea.

The White House declined to comment when asked on the bill, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying in a statement that: “We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration.”

Meanwhile, the president added: “’President[sic] Donald J. Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator that I know of in the history of the United States. 20 hostages, many in impossible circumstances, have been released in last two years. No money was paid.’ Cheif[sic] Hostage Negotiator, USA!”

Warmbier was on tour in North Korea when he allegedly stole a propaganda sign from a hotel. He was arrested in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor in March 2016. Warmbier, for unknown reasons, fell into a coma while in custody and was held in that condition for an additional 17 months.

North Korean officials did not tell American officials until June 2017 that Warmbier had been unconscious the entire time. He died less than a week after he returned to the U.S. North Korean officials, though, have repeatedly denied accusations that Warmbier was tortured, instead claiming that he had suffered from botulism and then slipped into a coma after taking a sleeping pill.

AMERICAN PRISONERS HELD IN NORTH KOREA ON THEIR WAY HOME AFTER POMPEO VISIT, TRUMP SAYS

Fred and Cindy Warmbier sued North Korea over their son’s death and in December were awarded $501 million in damages – money that the Hermit Kingdom will probably never pay.

While the Warmbiers blamed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump has said he believes Kim’s claims that he did not know about the student’s treatment.

Trump and Kim have met in two separate summits. The most recent, held in February, ended without an agreement on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told Fox News: “Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused.  No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything.”

Last year, the Trump administration was also able to save three American prisoners held by North Korea. Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim, and Kim Hak Song were all detained in North Korea. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the three Americans home last May, and said they were all in “good health.”

Fox News’ John Roberts, Rich Edson, Nicholas Kalman, and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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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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