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Policymakers Favor Theory Over What Works

Context is key.

During last week’s Friday Gold Wrap podcast, Mike Maharrey emphasized the importance of understanding sound economic theory.

Without a firm grasp of basic economic principles, it becomes impossible to properly evaluate any observations you make and to properly interpret economic data.

As economist Frank Shostak put it in a recent article published at the Mises Wire, “In order to really make sense of the data one must have a theory, which stands on its own feet, and did not originate from the data. By means of a theory, one could scrutinize the data and could then try to make sense out of it.”


Mike Adams exposes the agenda of the private Fed as a war against the prosperity of Americans that simply want to make America great.

Shostak goes on to explain the most fundamental economic concept and how we can use the framework of “human action” to better understand economic data.

The following article by Frank Shostak was originally published on the Mises WireThe views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Peter Schiff or SchiffGold. 

Could historical data by itself serve as the basis for the factual assessments of the world of economics? It is believed that through the application of statistical methods on historical data, or just by gazing at the data, one could extract the facts of reality regarding the world of economics. But in order to really make sense of the data, one must have a theory, which stands on its own feet, and did not originate from the data. By means of a theory, one could scrutinize the data and could then try to make sense out of it.

The key ingredient of such a theory is that it must originate from something real that cannot be refuted. A theory that rests on the foundation that human beings are acting consciously and purposefully fulfills this.

Contrary to popular thinking, economics is not about GDP, the CPI, or other economic indicators as such, but about human activities that seek to promote people’s lives and well-being. One can observe that people are engaged in a variety of activities. They are performing manual work, they drive cars, and they walk on the street and dine in restaurants. The distinguishing characteristic of these activities is that they are all purposeful.

Thus, manual work may be a means for some people to earn money, which in turn enables them to achieve various goals such as buying food or clothing. Dining in a restaurant could be a means to establishing business relationships. Driving a car could be a means for reaching a particular place. In other words, people operate within a framework of ends and means; they are using various means to secure ends.

Purposeful action implies that people assess or evaluate various means at their disposal against their ends.

At any point in time, people have an abundance of ends that they would like to achieve. What limits the attainment of various ends is the scarcity of means. Hence, once more means become available, a greater number of ends, or goals, can be accommodated — i.e., people’s living standards is going to increase.

Another limitation on reaching various goals is the availability of suitable means. Thus to quell my thirst in the desert, I require water. Diamonds in my possession will be of no help in this regard.

That human beings are acting consciously and purposefully cannot be refuted, for anyone that tries to do this does it consciously and purposefully i.e. he contradicts himself.

Ludwig von Mises, the founder of this approach, labeled it as praxeology. By stating that human beings act consciously and purposefully Mises was able to derive the entire body of economics.

Causes in economics originate from human beings

That man pursues purposeful actions implies that causes in the world of economics emanate from human beings and not from outside factors.

For instance, by looking at the data without a coherent framework of thinking one could fit any theory to provide an explanation of what the heart of economic growth is all about.

However, if we start from the fact that human beings are operating in the means-ends framework then one is likely to establish that without an expansion in the means of sustenance no sustainable expansion in economic growth is going to emerge.

In his framework of thinking, Mises was very precise in presenting the essence of the terms he employed. For Mises defining the terms was the key for successful analyses. For instance, his analysis of money begins by establishing the definition of money. To do that Mises started from the beginning — at the point where the world was in a state of direct exchange.

According to Mises the distinguishing characteristic of money, that it is the general medium of exchange. It has evolved from the most marketable commodity. On this, he wrote,

“There would be an inevitable tendency for the less marketable of the series of goods used as media of exchange to be one by one rejected until at last only a single commodity remained, which was universally employed as a medium of exchange; in a word, money.”

Money is the thing that all other goods and services are traded for. This fundamental characteristic of money must be contrasted with other goods.

For instance, food supplies the necessary energy to human beings. Capital goods permit the expansion of the infrastructure that in turn will permit the production of a larger quantity of goods and services.

Once the definition of money is established, we are now ready to explore the interactions between money and various parts in an economy.

Two Kinds of Economists

In mainstream economics there are two types of economists — in one camp, there are the so-called theoreticians, or “ivory-tower economists,” who generate various imaginary models and use them to form an opinion on the world of economics.

In the other camp, we have the so-called “practical” economists, who derive their views solely from the data.

Whereas the ivory-tower economists are of the belief that the key to the secret of the economic universe is via abstract models, the “practical” economists hold that if one “tortures” the data long enough, it will ultimately confess and the truth will reveal itself.

Economic theory, however, must have only one purpose — to explain the essence of the subject matter of economics. However, statistical methods are of no help in this regard. All that various statistical methods can do is just compare the movements of various historical pieces of information. These methods cannot identify the driving forces of the world of economics.

(Photo by NikolayFrolochkin/Pixabay)

Likewise, models that are based on economists’ imaginations are not of much help either since these theories are not ascertained from the real world.

For example, in order to explain the economic crisis in Japan, the famous mainstream economist Paul Krugman employed a model that assumes that people are identical and live forever and that output is given. Whilst admitting that these assumptions are not realistic, Krugman nonetheless argued that somehow his model could be useful in offering solutions to the economic crisis in Japan.

Using Data Within the Context of Human Action

The knowledge that human actions are conscious and purposeful allows us to make sense out of historical data. According to Murray Rothbard,

One example that Mises liked to use in his class to demonstrate the difference between two fundamental ways of approaching human behavior was in looking at Grand Central Station behavior during rush hour. The “objective” or “truly scientific” behaviorist, he pointed out, would observe the empirical events: e.g., people rushing back and forth, aimlessly at certain predictable times of day. And that is all he would know. But the true student of human action would start from the fact that all human behavior is purposive, and he would see the purpose is to get from home to the train to work in the morning, the opposite at night, etc. It is obvious which one would discover and know more about human behavior, and therefore which one would be the genuine “scientist”.

To undertake the identification of a data, one is required to reduce it to its ultimate driving force, which is purposeful human action. For instance, during an economic slump, a general fall in the demand for goods and services is observed. Are we then to conclude that the fall in the demand is the cause of an economic recession?

We know that people persistently strive to improve their life and well-being. Their demands or goals are thus unlimited. The only way then for general demand to fall is via people’s inability to support their demand. In short, problems on the production side, i.e., with means, are the likely causes of an observed general fall in demand.

Data and Money Production

Alternatively, consider the situation in which the central bank announces that increasing money supply growth while price inflation is low could lift real economic growth. To make sense of this proposition we must examine the essence of money. Money is the medium of exchange. Being the medium of exchange, money can only facilitate existing real wealth. It cannot create more wealth. Money cannot be used in production. It cannot be used in consumption. Hence, we can conclude that printing money is not the right mean to promote economic growth. In other words, the goal — of lifting real economic growth — cannot be achieved by means of printing money. On the contrary, we can establish that printing money is going to set in motion an exchange of nothing for something and thus the weakening in the wealth-generating process.

The knowledge that people are pursuing purposeful actions also permits us to evaluate the popular way of thinking that holds that the “motor” of an economy is consumer spending — i.e., demand creates supply. We know, however, that without means, no goals can be met. However, means do not emerge “out of the blue” — they must be produced first. Hence, contrary to the popular thinking, the driving force is supply and not demand.

The fact that man pursues purposeful actions implies that causes in the world of economics emanate from human beings and not from outside factors. Whilst it is true that people will respond to increases in their incomes, the response is not automatic. Every individual assesses the increase in income against the particular set of goals he wants to achieve. He might decide that it is more beneficial for him to raise his investment in financial assets rather than to raise consumption.

Conclusion

Data by itself cannot produce much information about the facts of reality without a theory that “stands on its own feet” and is not derived from the data.

Gazing at the data cannot assist an analyst in establishing causes in the world of economics. All that gazing will do is to help describe things. To ascertain the underlying causes one requires an explanation that can be made by a logically worked out theory.

The arbitrary nature of mainstream economics has given rise to the view that there is a gulf between theory and practice. There is no such thing as a good-but-not-applicable theory. A good theory is also an applicable one.

Economists and various other financial experts who derive their knowledge of the economy solely from statistical correlations of various historical data or from pure gazing at the data run the risk of misleading themselves and their audiences.

Likewise, economists who base their views on imaginary models are not in a position to say anything meaningful, and whatever they utter is just plain arbitrary.


Words have become redefined by the left over time. Owen Benjamin breaks down how that shapes reality.

Source: InfoWars

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British aid worker killed by Nigerian kidnappers during attack on holiday resort

A British aid worker and a Nigerian man were shot dead after being kidnapped with three other people in an attack at a resort in Nigeria on Friday, officials said.

The British High Commission said in a statement Sunday that Faye Mooney, 29, was killed when gunmen attacked the Kajuru Castle holiday resort in Kaduna state, located in the north-central part of Nigeria.

Mooney worked as a communications specialist for the aid group Mercy Corps, and was one of 12 tourists traveling to Kaduna from Lagos, according to Kaduna state police spokesman Yakubu Sabo.

AMERICAN TOURIST, GUIDE WHO WERE FREED AFTER KIDNAPPING IN UGANDA PICTURED AS TRUMP URGES CAPTORS' CAPTURE

The 29-year-old, who has lived in Nigeria for nearly two years, was attending a party before the incident, Sky News reported.

Faye Mooney, 29, had lived in Nigeria for two years and worked as a communications specialist for Mercy Corps before the deadly attack on Friday.

Faye Mooney, 29, had lived in Nigeria for two years and worked as a communications specialist for Mercy Corps before the deadly attack on Friday. (YouTube)

Mercy Corps said in a statement it was "utterly heartbroken" by the killing.

"Faye was a dedicated and passionate communications and learning specialist who had worked with Mercy Corps for almost two years, devoting her time to making a difference in Nigeria, supporting our teams and the communities we work with to tell their stories of impact, and leading efforts to counter hate speech and violence," the group said.

AMERICAN TOURIST, DRIVER ABDUCTED IN UGANDA RELEASED BY CAPTORS, OFFICIALS SAY

Sabo told reporters the gunmen kidnapped three other people but officials did not release details of their nationalities. Officers have not yet named the other person killed in the incident.

No individuals or groups have claimed responsibility for the killings, and police have yet to identify the kidnappers.

Northern Nigeria has been dealing with violence from Islamic militants affiliated with Boko Haram and ISIS, in addition to clashes between farmers and herders, in which hundreds have died.

The region has seen a spate of kidnappings by armed men in recent months, according to Sky News.

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Earlier this month, an American tourist and her safari guide were kidnapped by gunmen in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. Kimberly Sue Endicott and her guide, Jean-Paul Mirenge Ramezo, were eventually found alive in Congo, where their kidnappers had taken them after abducting them.

The kidnappers had demanded a $500,000 ransom after abducting the two at gunpoint. Ugandan officials say no ransom was paid, but a tourism operator said that money was paid to secure Endicott's release.

Fox News' Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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McCabe says ‘it’s possible’ Trump’s a Russian asset

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said in an interview Tuesday that he believes it is possible that President Trump is a Russian asset and thinks “that’s why we started our investigation.”

McCabe has said in the past that the FBI had a good reason to open up a counterintelligence investigation into whether Trump was working with Russia and a possible national security threat.

The former official was on CNN’s "Anderson Cooper 360" when he was asked if he believes Trump may still be a Russian asset. He said he’s "anxious" to see the conclusion of special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation.

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He was also asked if he believes Trump is fit to serve and said it is not up to him to make the determination.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Serena climbs back to Top 10 in WTA rankings

Serena Williams sits for a portrait in the Manhattan borough of New York City
Serena Williams sits for a portrait in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

February 18, 2019

Serena Williams has made her way back to the Top 10 in the WTA rankings for the first time since the birth of her daughter in September 2017.

Williams is No. 10 in the latest rankings released Monday.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka remained No. 1. Simona Halep of Romania and Sloane Stephens each moved up a spot to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, is next scheduled to play in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., in March – the same tournament that marked her return to the tour last spring.

The 37-year-old has not played since the Australian Open last month, which she exited in the quarterfinals.

Williams first appeared in the Top 10 on April 5, 1999. This is her 793rd career week in the Top 10.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Police seek 2nd site in deaths of 4 in western Michigan

Authorities say evidence at the scene suggests some of the three children and one adult found fatally shot in a house in western Michigan may have been killed somewhere else.

Police and volunteers are searching Tuesday for a second crime scene near the Solon Township home, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Grand Rapids.

Authorities say someone found the bodies of the children and a woman Monday and called 911. Authorities don't believe a shooter is at large.

Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young has said the three children were elementary school-aged and younger. LaJoye-Young did not release the victims' identities or relationships to one another.

Autopsies are expected to be performed Tuesday and possibly Wednesday. Police say the victims will officially be identified once the autopsies are completed.

___

Information from: WOOD-TV, http://www.woodtv.com

Source: Fox News National

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House Dems demand full Mueller report in one week


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On the roster: House Dems demand full Mueller report in one week - Beto taps Obama insider to run campaign - Mueller outcome doesn’t make or break Hogan 2020 - House vote on border emergency veto likely to fail - Up and getaway

HOUSE DEMS DEMAND FULL MUELLER REPORT IN ONE WEEK 
NBC News: “Six Democratic committee chairs in the House sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr on Monday requesting that he submit the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation to Congress by April 2. In a three-page letter to Barr, the lawmakers wrote that his summary of the Mueller report ‘is not sufficient for Congress.’ … The top House Democrats argued that providing the report ‘in complete and unredacted form,’ along with the underlying evidence and materials, would be fully consistent with the Department of Justice's practice and precedent with Congress. … The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., and House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y.”

Will Trump pardon his aides involved in the probe? - WaPo: “Now that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has concluded his investigation, a president who has used his pardon power in un­or­tho­dox ways faces the question of whether to extend it to former aides and advisers charged with crimes in Mueller’s probe. On Monday, a lawyer for George Papadopoulos, a former campaign aide to President Trump who served 12 days in prison for lying to the FBI in the Russia investigation, said she has already submitted an application to the White House requesting a pardon. ‘It would be malpractice not to,’ said Caroline Polisi, Papadopoulos’s attorney. ‘We submitted it prior to the investigation coming to an end, but the results of the investigation only strengthen our arguments.’ On Monday, Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani said he did not believe the president was considering pardoning anyone in connection with the investigation.”

House Dems will drop impeachment proceedings, for now - WaPo: “House Democrats conceded Monday that the possibility of impeachment proceedings against President Trump is over, at least for now — marking a dramatic retreat in the wake of the conclusion by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III that Trump’s campaign did not conspire with Russia in the 2016 election. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and members of her leadership team agreed in a Monday night huddle that the caucus needs to stop talking about collusion with Russia because it was distracting from their legislative agenda, according to three people in the meeting or familiar with the discussion. Notably, two Democrats in the room who brought up concerns about the nationwide focus on their high-profile probes — Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) and House Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) — are from opposite sides of the caucus: one a liberal, the other from a Trump district. Both argued that the House needs to megaphone pocketbook issues that won them the majority.”

Tlaib continues to press for Trump impeachment - Business Insider: “Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan has sent a letter asking her fellow Democrats to sign on to a resolution urging the House Judiciary Committee to investigate whether President Donald Trump committed any impeachable offenses, days after the special counsel Robert Mueller concluded the FBI's Russia investigation. … ‘The actions of President Trump before he was officially sworn in as President of United States is currently being investigated by the Southern District of New York and much of it is part of the completed report by independent investigator, Robert Mueller,’ Tlaib wrote. ‘However, the most dangerous threat to our democracy is President Trump's actions since taking the oath of office.’ In the letter obtained by INSIDER, Tlaib also noted that Trump had been uncooperative with House Democrats' various inquiries of his administration and personal affairs.”

THE RULEBOOK: CASH MONEY 
“It cannot be doubted that [the power of levying and borrowing money] will always be a valuable source of revenue; that for a considerable time it must be a principal source; that at this moment it is an essential one.” – James MadisonFederalist No. 41

TIME OUT: PAINTING WITH WORDS 
Time: “A never-before-seen collection of letters from American artist Georgia O’Keeffe and her husband, photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, sheds light on her artistic process, her quest for independence and her poetic observations about New York City and New Mexico — which became central to her iconic paintings. The Library of Congress announced [on] Thursday [March 21] that it had acquired the collection of letters, written from 1929 to 1947, to the couple’s friend, filmmaker Henwar Rodakiewicz, making them public for the first time. Barbara Bair, a curator in the library’s Manuscript Division, says the letters were written during a period in O’Keeffe’s life when she was spending more time in New Mexico, seeking out independence in her work and her marriage. … ‘It’s also about self-care,’ Bair says. ‘When she is broken, what does she do to regain herself? She goes to beautiful places and feeds herself on the landscape and recovers.’”

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

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval: 
44 percent
Average disapproval: 52 percent
Net Score: -8 points
Change from one week ago: up 4.6 points 
[Average includes: Fox News: 46% approve - 51% disapprove; USA Today/Suffolk: 48% approve - 49% disapprove; CNN: 43% approve - 51% disapprove; Gallup: 39% approve - 57% disapprove; Monmouth University: 44% approve - 52% disapprove.]

BETO TAPS OBAMA INSIDER TO RUN CAMPAIGN 
NYT: “Beto O’Rourke has hired a former top aide to Barack Obama to be his campaign manager, installing a seasoned political strategist to take the helm of what has so far been a skeletal organization effectively overseen by Mr. O’Rourke himself. Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, a data expert who was Mr. Obama’s deputy campaign manager in 2012, said in an interview Monday that she was going to work for the 46-year-old former Texas congressman because he represents ‘a new generation of leadership I think we need.’ Ms. O’Malley Dillon was one of the most sought-after Democratic operatives of this election, and her hiring suggests that Mr. O’Rourke is willing to professionalize his presidential bid in a way he resisted during his electrifying but unsuccessful Senate campaign last year.”

Harris unveils $315 billion teacher raise package - Axios: “2020 Democratic candidate Sen. Kamala Harris has unveiled a teacher pay plan that would give the average teacher a $13,500 raise, after saying at a Houston rally last weekend that she would make the largest-ever federal investment in educators' pay if elected president. Why it matters: Harris is the first 2020 candidate to release a plan like this. This proposal helps her expand her economic message to address one of the public crises we've seen play out over the last two years through teachers' strikes around the country. The plan would cost around $315 billion over a span of ten years, ‘paid for by strengthening the estate tax and cracking down on loopholes’ on tax breaks for wealthy people. The $13,500 pay raise is equivalent to a 23% base pay increase for the average teacher, according to the plan.”

Beto, Booker and Castro to participate in forum for female candidates - NBC News: “A new progressive group is hosting what it's calling the first-ever presidential candidate forum focused on women of color. Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and former Housing Secretary Julian Castro have claimed the first of eight available spots in the April 24 forum hosted by She the People, officials told NBC News. All candidates have been invited to the event at Texas Southern University, a historically black school in Houston. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., the most prominent woman of color in the 2020 field, has not yet told organizers whether she will attend. … ‘No Democrat is winning the nomination, or the White House, without women of color,’ Allison said. The candidates will take questions from an expected audience of more than 1,000 women of color.”

OBAMA CAUTIONS DEMS ON LEFT-WING POLICIES
WaPo: “Former president Barack Obama gently warned a group of freshman House Democrats Monday evening about the costs associated with some liberal ideas popular in their ranks, encouraging members to look at price tags, according to people in the room. Obama didn’t name specific policies. And to be sure, he encouraged the lawmakers — about half-dozen of whom worked in his own administration — to continue to pursue ‘bold’ ideas as they shaped legislation during their first year in the House. But some people in the room took his words as a cautionary note about Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal, two liberal ideas popularized by a few of the more famous House freshmen, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). While the more liberal freshmen have garnered much of the attention in Washington, many first-year Democrats hail from swing- or even red districts and have struggled with how to respond to the emboldened far-left.”

McConnell puts Green New Deal to vote - Fox News: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will put the Green New Deal to a vote on Tuesday in a move that will force Democrats to take an official stand on the measure and thus pit the party’s moderates against its progressive wing.  ‘I could not be more glad that the American people will have the opportunity to learn precisely where each one of their senators stand on the ‘Green New Deal,’’ McConnell tweeted. ‘A radical, top-down, socialist makeover of the entire U.S. economy.’ The resolution, which amounts to an ambitious overhaul of the U.S. to combat climate change, undoubtedly will not pass in the GOP-controlled Senate. But Republicans say that the vote will allow them to better gauge Democrats’ commitment to its radical proposals. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has derided the planned vote as a political stunt and accused Republicans on Saturday of ‘wasting votes in Congress.’”

MUELLER OUTCOME DOESN’T MAKE OR BREAK HOGAN 2020 
WashEx: “Gov. Larry Hogan was still mulling a 2020 bid after special counsel Robert Mueller cleared President Trump of colluding with Russia to defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016, an aide to the Maryland Republican confirmed on Monday. Hogan has been encouraged to challenge Trump for the GOP nomination by opponents of the president inside the Republican Party. The governor has emphasized he would not wage a quixotic primary against Trump. But even though Trump appeared stronger politically post-Mueller, Hogan was still weighing several factors, and did not plan to make a definitive decision about running for president until as late as early fall. ‘It’s not moving the needle one way or the other,’ the Hogan aide said of Mueller’s findings, in an email exchange with the Washington Examiner. … But Hogan appears patient, content to wait and see if other probes into Trump — by House Democrats and possibly the Southern District of New York — net more political trouble for the president.”

Weld will announce Trump primary challenge decision in April - Politico: “Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld says he’s leaning toward challenging President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary, and expects to make a decision in April. Weld gave the clearest sense of his intentions yet, and laid out a path to the GOP nomination during an appearance on the New Hampshire radio talk show Pints & Politics on Monday afternoon. ‘I'm leaning towards doing it unless something changes, and set myself an informal deadline of the month of April to pull the trigger,’ Weld told reporters here during a stop. The former two-term governor said he’ll focus on the early-voting state of New Hampshire… If he runs, Weld said he expects to be competitive across New England and in the mid-Atlantic states. He also expects his challenge could gain traction in California, which votes the first week in March.”

HOUSE VOTE ON BORDER EMERGENCY VETO LIKELY TO FAIL 
Politico: “The House on Tuesday will try — and fail — to overturn President Donald Trump’s veto of a congressional resolution killing his national wall emergency, capping off a months-long congressional battle over the president’s signature campaign issue. But even as some members of the GOP face a backlash for defying Trump, few if any House Republican defectors who supported the disapproval resolution are expected to flip their votes and side with the president in the override vote, according to lawmakers and aides. After the effort to block Trump’s veto fails, the fight over his attempt to use executive action to build a border wall will shift to the courts, where its fate is far less certain. Still, Tuesday’s override vote will hand the president yet another victory this week following the conclusion of special counsel Bob Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, adding a cherry on top of what is undoubtedly the GOP’s best stretch since losing their House majority last fall.”

Pentagon authorizes up to $1 billion to start border wall construction - Fox News: “The Pentagon notified Congress late Monday that it authorized the transfer of up to $1 billion to erect 57 miles of ‘pedestrian fencing’ along the U.S.-Mexico border in direct support of President Trump's national emergency declaration from last month. The fencing, which will be 18 feet high, is to be erected in the Yuma and El Paso sectors, the statement read. The Pentagon's announcement was notable. A reporter from the New York Times tweeted that it is the first time the funds will be transferred under section 284 for the border wall. Section 284 allows the Pentagon to ‘construct roads and fences and to install lighting to block drug-smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States in support of counter-narcotic activities of Federal law enforcement agencies,’ the statement read.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Trump administration backs total overturn of Obamacare, will support states challenging the law Fox News

SupCo will decide Tuesday if partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional LAT

Juan Williams: ‘Democrats must keep their eyes on the prize' - The Hill

Former Rep. Karen Handel, R-Ga., announces comeback bid - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Avenatti, facing multiple federal charges, suggests Los Angeles fraud case has connection to Trump - Fox News

AUDIBLE: RETWEET
“A friend – reacting to the apparent thinness of Robert S. Mueller III’s case against the president – told me: ‘This year, I’m giving up hope for Lent.’ I, in turn, am giving up commenting on documents I have never seen.” – WaPo columnist Michael Gerson in his latest piece, “This Lent, let’s live in the moment.”

FROM THE BLEACHERS
“Chris, Can you recommend the name of a good general American history book? Nothing to deep, not a history major, just an old retired West Virginia boy looking to learn some more. Read your book, excellent.” – Michael Strader, Toccoa, Ga.

[Ed. note: That’s a tough one, Mr. Strader. General histories of topics so large tend to be out of proportion. When you’re covering 500 years in a few hundred pages, things get out of whack. May I suggest a few books that would provide some building blocks for further inquiry? “1776” by David McCullough, “Founders’ Son” by Richard Brookhiser and “American Colossus” by H.W. Brands. That ought to get you up to the modern era in pretty good shape!]

“Chris, Your note yesterday that ‘[AlexanderHamilton was permanently disgraced because of hush money he paid to cover up an affair’ was certainly somewhat true, but a bigger reason that Mr. Hamilton was marginalized after President [George] Washington’s second term was that he opposed John Adams in favor of Thomas Pinckney for president in 1796 and Charles Pinckney over Adams in the 1800 presidential election. Right or wrong, it is a significant political gamble to oppose the leader/President of your own party. Alexander Hamilton was unable to unite the Federalists with him as the head of the party. To succeed, it takes talent, timing, good judgement, wisdom and charisma, all of which Ronald Reagan had when he successfully united his party in opposition to the less conservative Ford Republicans.” – Kent Haldorson, Beaverton, Ore.

[Ed. note: Certainly a factor, Mr. Haldorson. Hamilton’s impetuousness was hardly limited to marital matters! But I think the whole *ahem* affair was what finally rendered him as a political untouchable.] 

“This ‘uncalled for’ statement of opinion on the part of Mueller, has no reason for being, other than to wedge a disparaging observation into a report which was trumpeted to be factual. Of course, nothing can exonerate Trump or anyone else. When one thinks about it, one realizes that it is not possible to prove that something never happened. In this clumsy stretch to restate this manifest axiom, Mueller exposes his hand and panders to the left.” – Brian Kellogg, Derby, N.Y.

[Ed. note: Holy smokes, Mr. Kellogg! As I listen to some Republicans grouse about the best thing that has happened to the Trump presidency so far I get the sense that some folks may have preferred have the issue to gripe about. If you are a Trump supporter, this is the best week yet. Take the win when you can get it.]

“From the ‘Not Quite Never Trump’ wing of the Republican Party, this weekend’s events makes me feel a lot more positive about President Trump and I know I'm not alone. One thing I’ve really taken to heart in the last few years is that people feel personally attacked when you demean/insult their political standard-bearer, even if they don’t personally support that person. As a lifelong Republican, I don’t like Donald Trump. I don’t like his pettiness, lack of self-control or these huge fiscal deficits. But the constant drumbeat of outrageous, over-the-top ‘Russian collusion’ attacks and the sudden demolition of that line of attack in the Mueller Report instinctively makes me want to rally around him. What I take from this is that I myself need to avoid vicious personal attacks on Bernie Sanders, [AlexandriaOcasio-Cortez and the Ilhan Omars of the world. Plenty of my liberal friends might not support these people but if I start insulting those politicians, my liberal friends are more likely to rally round and support them. I know because I can feel it happening to me.” – Brian D. Liddicoat, Watsonville, Calif.

[Ed. note: I am very sure that you are not the only one, Mr. Liddicoat.]

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

UP AND GETAWAY 
UPI: “Sheriff's deputies in Florida said it was an unusual situation when they helped with the recovery of a different type of stolen vehicle -- a hot air balloon. The Marion County Sheriff's Office said it received word from the Bloomington Police Department in Indiana that a hot air balloon reported stolen in the Midwest had been spotted in Florida. The stolen balloon was spotted being used at The Villages Hot Air Balloon Festival, which was held at the Florida Horse Park. Deputies confirmed the balloon was the missing vehicle and it was loaded up to be returned to its owner in Bloomington. The owner declined to press charges against the person in possession of the balloon, stating they just wanted their property returned. The sheriff's office said the recovery of a stolen hot air balloon was a first for the department in all of its 175 years.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
[It’s] required to ‘keep it together’ because, as codified most succinctly by Tom Hanks (in A League of Their Own), ‘There’s no crying in baseball.’ But there can be redemption. And a touch of glory.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the National Review on August 17, 2007.  

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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Kremlin says cyber attacks on Russia often launched from U.S. territory

FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov arrives for the meeting with officials of Rostec high-technology state corporation at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow
FILE PHOTO: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov arrives for the meeting with officials of Rostec high-technology state corporation at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

February 27, 2019

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Wednesday said that U.S. territory was constantly being used to launch cyber attacks against Russia, but said it was unable to confirm a U.S. media report that the U.S. military had disrupted the internet access of a Russian troll farm.

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the U.S. military had disrupted the internet access of a Russian troll farm accused of trying to influence American voters on Nov. 6, 2018, the day of the congressional elections.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters he did not know how much truth there was to that media report.

“But in general I can say that U.S. territory is constantly being used to organize a huge number of cyber attacks against various Russian organizations. That’s the reality with which we live.”

(Reporting by Polina Nikolskaya and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad, California, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Amit Dave and Mayank Bhardwaj

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc has sued four Indian farmers for cultivating a potato variety that the snack food and drinks maker claims infringes its patent, the company and the growers said on Friday.

Pepsi has sued the farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, exclusively grown for its popular Lay’s potato chips. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips.

PepsiCo is seeking more than 10 million rupees ($142,840.82) each for alleged patent infringement.

The farmers grow potatoes in the western state of Gujarat, a leading producer of India’s most consumed vegetable.

“We have been growing potatoes for a long time and we didn’t face this problem ever, as we’ve mostly been using the seeds saved from one harvest to plant the next year’s crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the four farmers sued by Pepsi.

Patel did not say how he came by the PepsiCo variety.

A court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of Gujarat, on Friday agreed to hear the case on June 12, said Anand Yagnik, the lawyer for the farmers.

“In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety,” A PepsiCo India spokesman said. “This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefiting from seeds of our registered variety.”

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

The All India Kisan Sabha, or All India Farmers’ Forum, has asked the Indian government to protect the farmers.

The farmers’ forum has also called for a boycott of PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips and the company’s other products.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

PepsiCo is the second major U.S. company in India to face issues over patent infringement.

Stung by a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, which is now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India over a cotton-seed dispute with farmers, Reuters reported in 2017. (reut.rs/2ncBknn)

(Reporting by Amit Dave in AHMEDABAD and Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Martin Howell and Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shradha Singh

CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co said on Friday it was considering spinning off its ethanol business after slim biofuel margins and Midwestern floods slammed the U.S. grains merchant’s profit, which tumbled 41 percent in the first quarter.

ADM said it was creating an ethanol subsidiary, which will include dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois.

The ethanol subsidiary will report as an independent segment, the company said, allowing options “which may include, but are not limited to, a potential spin-off of the business to existing ADM shareholders.”

Results were hit by the “bomb cyclone” blizzards that devastated the Midwest and Great Plains this year, causing massive flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, washing out rail lines and wreaking havoc in the moving and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat. One-sixth of U.S. ethanol production was halted.

In March, ADM warned Wall Street that flooding and severe winter weather in the U.S. Midwest would reduce its first-quarter operating profit by $50 million to $60 million.

“The first quarter proved more challenging than initially expected,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, with earnings down in its starches, sweeteners and bioproducts unit. Luciano said impacts of the severe weather ultimately “were on the high side of our initial estimates”.

Ongoing problems in the ethanol industry added to the problems and “limited margins and opportunities” for ADM, Luciano said.

The ethanol industry has been in the midst of a historic downswing due to the U.S.-China trade war, excess domestic supply and weak margins.

ADM, which had been an ethanol pioneer, signaled to Wall Street in 2016 that it was hunting for options and considering sales of its U.S. dry ethanol mills. Luciano told Reuters this year that offers ADM had received for the mills were too low.

In addition, ADM said it planned to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota, to produce higher volumes of food and industrial-grade starches.

Other major traders are alsy trying to distance themselves from struggling ethanol businesses. Louis Dreyfus Company BV spun off its Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Biosev in 2013. Rival Bunge sold its sugar book and has sought a buyer for its Brazilian mills since 2013.

ADM, which makes money trading, processing and transporting crops, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, has been looking to strengthen its core business. Last month it said it would seek voluntary early retirements of some North American employees and cut jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

The company expects to lower 2019 capital spending by 10 percent to between $800 million and $900 million.

Net earnings attributable to the company fell to $233 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $393 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $15.30 billion from $15.53 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents per share, while analysts on average had estimated 60 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration
FILE PHOTO: The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Slack Technologies Inc, operator of the popular workplace instant-messaging app, reported a loss of $140.7 million in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2019, the company said on Friday in a regulatory filing ahead of its planned public market debut.

The company said its daily active users exceeded 10 million in the three months ended Jan. 31, 2019.

Slack expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SK”, it said.

The San Francisco-based company is seeking to go public via a direct listing, making it the second big technology company after Spotify Technology SA to bypass the traditional route of listing shares through an initial public offering.

A direct listing is a cheaper way of becoming a public company as the process requires fewer investment banks and therefore lower fees.

In a direct listing, however, a company does not sell any new shares to raise money. Instead, it gives existing shareholders the opportunity to cash out.

Slack is the latest in a string of high-profile technology companies looking to go public this year. Lyft Inc, Pinterest and Zoom Video Communications have completed IPOs so far in 2019.

The company is hoping for a valuation of more than $10 billion in the listing, Reuters had previously reported. Some early investors and employees have been selling the stock at around $28, valuing the company close to $17 billion, Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge, a brokerage company, told CNBC on Thursday.

Slack set a placeholder amount of $100 million to indicate the size of the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

Its competitors include Microsoft Teams, a free chat add-on for Microsoft’s Office365 users.

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Anil D’Silva)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Candidate Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of an exit poll in Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit poll in a presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Matthias Williams

KIEV (Reuters) – Russia’s decision to make it easier for residents of rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to obtain a Russian passport is meant to test Ukraine’s new leader and the West should not recognize the documents, Lithuania’s foreign minister said on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the order on facilitating passports on Wednesday, three days after comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political novice, won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election.

Linas Linkevicius, whose own country also has strained relations with Moscow, told Reuters in an interview that the West should consider imposing new sanctions on Russia.

“This is a blatant violation of international law. And basically also a kind of test to the new (Ukrainian) leadership, which is also a usual game,” Linkevicius said.

“The least we can do (is) we shouldn’t recognize these passports. How to do that technically, it’s another issue to discuss. Also (we need) to look at additional sanctions,” said Linkevicius, whose small Baltic nation is a member of NATO and the European Union.

Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its support for armed separatists battling Kiev’s forces in eastern Ukraine. Some 13,000 people have been killed in that conflict despite a notional ceasefire signed in Minsk in 2015.

Linkevicius, who in Kiev on Friday became the first minister of an EU country since Ukraine’s election to meet President-elect Zelenskiy, said they had discussed the passport issue.

Zelenskiy also raised the possibility of resetting the Minsk ceasefire agreement without giving any concessions to Russia, Linkevicius said.

“DANGEROUS CANCER” OF GRAFT

The minister urged Zelenskiy to deliver on his electoral promise of tackling corruption, which he described as the “most dangerous cancer” facing Ukraine, which hopes one day to join the EU.

Last month, Lithuania’s own relations with Russia came under renewed strain after a Vilnius court found former Soviet defense minister Dmitry Yazov, in absentia, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in a 1991 crackdown against Lithuania’s pro-independence movement.

Russia branded the verdict “extremely unfriendly and essentially provocative” and opened a probe into the judges involved.

Linkevicius accused Russia of seeking to politicize the judicial process by trying to take revenge on the judges, adding: “This is lamentable.”

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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A Cook County judge recently called out embattled State Attorney Kim Foxx for upholding a double standard by prosecuting a woman for filing a false police report — but dropping similar charges against embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.

Foxx has faced intense criticism over her office’s decision to drop a 16-count indictment against Smollett, just weeks after bringing the charges against the high-profile TV star. Foxx’s deal with Smollett, which did not require him to admit guilt, drew ire from the public, the city’s top cop and the former mayor who called it a “whitewash of justice.”

JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHICAGO PROSECUTOR KIM FOXX CHIDED BY NATIONAL ATTORNEYS GROUPS AFTER JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHARGES DROPPED 

Cook County Judge Marc Martin, who was presiding over an unrelated case, chastised Foxx and her office for creating a situation where anyone charged with filing a false report would expect the same leniency her office afforded Smollett.

Candace Clark, 21, is facing one felony count of making a false report. Prosecutors accused her of giving a friend access to her bank account and then telling authorities the money had been stolen. She denies the charges and claims she’s the victim of Foxx’s double standard — something the judge weighed in on.

“Well, Ms. Clark is not a movie star, she doesn’t have a high-price lawyer, although, her lawyer’s very good. And this smells, big time,” Martin said to prosecutors during a recent hearing, Fox 32 reported. “I didn’t create this mess, your office created this mess. And your explanation is unsatisfactory to this court. She’s being treated differently.”

The judge continued, “There’s no publicity on this case. She doesn’t have Mark Geragos as her lawyer or Ron Safer or Judge Brown. It’s not right. And (if) I proceed in this matter, you’re just digging yourselves further in a hole. (If the) press gets a hold of this, it’ll be in a newspaper. Why is Ms. Clark being treated differently than Mr. Smollett?”

Foxx recused herself from the Smollett case in February but continued to oversee the investigation through text messages with her assistant Joseph Magats.

The text messages revealed Foxx called Smollett a “washed up celeb who lied to cops.” They also show she cautioned Magats about throwing the book at Smollett.

“Sooo……I’m recused, but when people accuse us of overcharging cases…16 counts on a class 4 becomes exhibit A,” Foxx wrote to Magats on March 8.

“Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16. On a case eligible for deferred prosecution I think it’s indicative of something we should be looking at generally. Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should,” she added, referring to the case of R&B singer R. Kelly, who was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with four women, three of whom were underage.

KIM FOXX’S CHIEF ETHICS OFFICER RESIGNS FOLLOWING SMOLLETT CONTROVERSY

President Trump said last month he asked for a federal review of Foxx’s decision to drop the charges against Smollett. He also called the actor “an absolute embarrassment to our country.”

The Smollett case garnered national attention and threatened to tear Chicago apart. It pit the police department and mayor against prosecutors and underscored the idea that wealthy people are somehow above the law.

Smollett told police he was attacked on Jan. 29 around 2 a.m. as he was returning home from a sandwich shop in Chicago. He said two masked men shouted racial and anti-gay slurs, poured bleach on him, beat him and tied a rope around his neck. He claimed they shouted, “This is MAGA country” — a reference to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

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After an intense investigation, police said Smollett staged the entire incident to drum up publicity for his career.

Smollett has strongly denied the accusations.

Source: Fox News National

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