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US bristles at Germany's defense budget plans after it falls short

The United States is bristling at the suggestion Germany might miss its own defense spending target, which is already short of the NATO goal, prompting comments from officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell.

NATO countries have pledged to move toward spending 2 percent of GDP on defense and Chancellor Angela Merkel's government had pledged to increase spending to 1.5 percent by 2024. Last year, at the NATO summit in Brussels, Trump criticized Germany's contribution to the NATO and Merkel countered that the European country is the organization's "second largest providers of troops," according to The Guardian.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz's budget plan, which was presented to the nation's cabinet on Wednesday, foresaw Germany's defense spending rising to 1.37 percent of national income in 2020, but decline to 1.25 by 2023, according to the dpa news agency, which reviewed a copy of the proposal.

NATO PLEDGES TO BOOST DEFENSE SPENDING AFTER STERN WORDS FROM TRUMP

Following the news of Germany's expected contributions to NATO, U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell said, "NATO members clearly pledged to move towards, not away, from 2 percent by 2024. That the German government would even be considering reducing its already unacceptable commitments to military readiness is a worrisome signal to Germany’s 28 NATO Allies."

Following his comments, Wolfgang Kubicki, the deputy chairman of the left-leaning Free Democrats (FDP) said Foreign Minister Heiko Mass should declare the ambassador "persona non grata" saying Grenell interfered in the country's sovereign affairs.

"Any U.S. diplomat who acts like a high commissioner of an occupying power must learn that our tolerance also knows its limits," Kubicki said, according to Deutsche Welle.

There is another cabinet meeting on Thursday which is expected to address the defense spending budget. Merkel said her government "could still hit the 1.5 percent target in budgets down the road," The New York Times reported.

US AMBASSADOR GRENELL BLASTS GERMANY FOR CELEBRATING IRANIAN ISLAMIC REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY

Criticism of Grenell comes just weeks after he called on Berlin to scrap Nord Stream 2, “a gas pipeline being laid across the Baltic Sea to deliver gas from Russia to Germany, and threatened firms involved in the project with sanctions” Deutsche Welle reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Starved infants, wounded women crowd Syrian hospitals after IS defeat

A wounded girl sits at a clinic at al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate
A wounded girl sits at a clinic at al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate, Syria April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

April 7, 2019

By John Davison

HASAKA, Syria (Reuters) – The paramedics’ log at al-Hol camp in eastern Syria lists the injuries and ailments of infants rushed from the battlefield to its crowded, dirty clinic: malnourishment, stunted growth, broken leg.

Those in critical need – mostly emaciated babies born in war to the wives of dead Islamic State militants – are taken to the nearest hospital, a bumpy two-hour drive away. Other people cram into a waiting room with a tin roof in a growing queue for basic medical treatment.

At the hospital, staff have had to build two portacabins on the roof that serve as a makeshift ward for the treatment of malnourished babies, crammed sometimes two or three to a cot.

Lower floors are filled with teenagers missing limbs and women with shrapnel and bullet wounds.

The exodus during intense fighting of more than 60,000 people from Islamic State’s final redoubt of Baghouz is overwhelming medical staff in eastern Syria who struggle to cope at the camp and ill-equipped hospitals.

Scores of people, mostly children, have died on the 150-mile (240-kilometer) journey to al-Hol or soon after arriving, aid groups say.

“My son has a dislocated hip. He needs an operation urgently,” said Umm Mohammed, a veiled 33-year-old woman holding an expressionless six-month-old boy at the camp.

“Medics keep saying they have more urgent cases to deal with – wounds and shrapnel injuries.”

In the waiting area, dozens of people who mostly left Baghouz during a brief truce last month, arranged for civilians and surrendering militants to evacuate, sit on wooden benches or the concrete floor. Children in wheelchairs watch while babies scream as they are bandaged or given injections.

U.S.-backed forces declared the defeat in March of Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate – the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria – after militants were driven out of the village of Baghouz where they made a months-long last stand.

The intense bombardment and fighting to dislodge the Sunni Islamist extremist group cost countless lives and wounded many more people, including the wives of fighters, their children, IS supporters and other civilians trapped by the militants in the enclave.

Those who evacuated in recent weeks have strained healthcare in Kurdish-run areas of eastern Syria beyond capacity.

In the clinic at al-Hol, which is hosting more than 70,000 people displaced by violence, many people wore crude casts. One woman said she did not have enough painkillers for a wound to her hand – a long metal rod from the explosion that wounded her and killed three relatives was still lodged in her knuckle.

“I just want an X-ray at the hospital,” she said, giving her name as Umm Ahmed.

STARVING CHILDREN OF ISLAMIC STATE

But local hospitals can take only the most severe cases.

In one room at the hospital in the nearby town of Hasaka, 19-year-old Baraa al-Kurdi, the wife of a Syrian Islamic State member, lay motionless next to a boy with third-degree burns covering his head.

“I was hit in the head by shrapnel,” Kurdi said quietly. “We were next to a car packed with ammunition and explosives, including suicide belts ready for fighters to use.

“My husband was killed. My daughter is one month old – she’s upstairs in the babies’ ward.”

Kurdi’s daughter was one of the few non-foreign infants in the ward.

Others, many blond or with Asian features, lay quietly in their cots with cheekbones showing and eyes sunken into their sockets from malnutrition. The patients’ register listed the names their mothers gave the hospital – Ali Azerbaijani, Ali al-Uzbeki, Mohamed Skramo, a Norwegian name.

Many who remained in Baghouz until the end of the fighting were die-hard supporters of Islamic State who flocked from all over the world to support its violent interpretation of Islam.

A number of European countries have refused to take back citizens who joined IS, putting additional strain on local authorities to deal with prisoners and patients.

“Children from the camp are arriving night and day. We currently have more than 70 babies being treated for malnutrition,” a nurse in the ward said.

She and other hospital staff declined to be named or for the hospital to be identified, fearing reprisals for treating the children of IS fighters.

“Most cases are treated and then returned to the camp. A few have died. We’re doing out best but had limited resources even before this influx.”

More than 200 people have died on their way to al-Hol or after arriving in the camp in recent months, according to the International Rescue Committee. It said this week that around 30 to 50 cases every day were referred to local hospitals.

“We get 30 ambulances arriving each day,” a local health official said, also declining to be named.

“There’s aid from international organizations for those from Baghouz. They’re mostly foreign. We can barely provide healthcare for our own.”

(Reporting by John Davison; Editing by Tom Perry/Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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Accrediting board rejects appeal from North Carolina school

Officials at a historically black private women's college in North Carolina have lost their appeal to have its accreditation restored.

News outlets report The Southern Association of Schools Commission on Colleges announced Friday that a panel had rejected Bennett College's appeal, which was heard earlier this week.

The decision leaves Bennett without accreditation for now. There was no immediate reaction from the school.

School leaders have said previously that they will sue the agency. In previous instances, the commission has responded to lawsuits by agreeing to extend accreditation to let the legal process develop.

Bennett embarked on a fundraising campaign to maintain its accreditation and raised nearly $10 million. Nearby High Point University President Nido Qubein announced earlier this month that his school would donate $1 million to Bennett.

Source: Fox News National

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Ex-Obama Campaign Manager: Bernie Can’t Defeat Trump

The former campaign manager for Obama’s 2012 campaign warned Democrats that socialist candidate Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) can’t beat President Trump in the 2020 election, especially on the economic issues.

In a radio interview on ABC’s Powerhouse Politics, Jim Messina outright dismissed Sanders as a serious contender for Trump.

“Can Bernie Sanders beat [President] Donald Trump?” host Jonathan Karl asked.

“No,” Messina replied.


(Start at 6:45)

“I think if you look at swing voters in this country they are incredibly focused on the economy,” Messina said. “The winner of the economic argument in the last five Presidential elections with swing voters has won the presidency.”

“I think today you look at it and say that Bernie Sanders is unlikely going to be able to stand up to the constant barrage that is Donald Trump on economic issues,” he added.

(Jim Messina. Photo: Douglas Graham/Roll Call/Getty Images)

However, Messina believes Sanders could still clinch the nomination in the Democratic primaries due to the far-left’s growing influence within the caucus.

“If nothing else, he will definitely be one of the final two or three candidates who has a shot at the nomination,” Messina said.

In a show of delight, Trump said Tuesday he believes “Crazy” Bernie will be one of the Democrat finalists.

“I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)! I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!” he tweeted.


Bernie Sanders appears to be ok with the possible physical attacks on Kaitlin Bennett due to his rhetoric and characterization of Kaitlin and Infowars. Alex exposes this false narrative smear from the left.

Source: InfoWars

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Departures from Rome’s Ciampino airport blocked by tiny fire

Passengers who were evacuated due to a fire at Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, February 19, 2019 gather outside the teminal building
Passengers who were evacuated due to a fire at Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, February 19, 2019 gather outside the teminal building. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

February 19, 2019

ROME (Reuters) – Departures from Rome’s Ciampino airport, which is used by budget airlines Ryanair and Wizz Air, were blocked for much of Tuesday after a small fire broke out in the terminal basement, airport authorities said.

Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), which manages the site, said the early morning fire was put out “in less than a minute” and photographs from the scene suggested that only some cardboard had been burnt, with no significant damage reported.

While the arrivals hall was swiftly reopened, the departures area remained sealed off hours after the event, causing an unspecified number of flights to be canceled.

A source at ADR, who declined to be named, said that the smell of smoke was lingering in the building and that the local health authority had not yet ruled that the air was safe.

Passengers were evacuated to a nearby carpark, with many left there for hours awaiting news of their trips. Some flights were diverted to Rome’s main airport Fiumicino.

ADR said they believed the fire had been started deliberately, adding that they had filed a complaint with local magistrates.

(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei; editing by John Stonestreet and Crispian Balmer)

Source: OANN

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Former U.S. interior secretary Zinke joins mine exploration firm’s board

FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke arrives at the US Capitol prior to the service for former President George H. W. Bush in Washington, DC, USA
FILE PHOTO: US Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke arrives at the US Capitol prior to the service for former President George H. W. Bush in Washington, DC, USA, 03 December 2018. Shawn Thew/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

April 16, 2019

By Valerie Volcovici

(Reuters) – Former U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, who stepped down in December amid ethics investigations, has joined the board of junior mining exploration company U.S. Gold Corp, the company said on Tuesday.

Zinke, who ran the Interior Department, which oversees America’s vast public lands, aggressively pursued President Donald Trump’s agenda to promote oil drilling and coal mining by expanding federal leasing, cutting royalty rates, and easing land protections despite environmental protests.

“Zinke has a lot of credibility in the mining industry. We think his credibility and gravitas will give us visibility, which we need to advance the company and benefit our shareholders,” U.S. Gold Corp CEO Edward Karr told Reuters.

The company has a gold exploration project on Wyoming state land at the Copper King deposit and is going through state environmental reviews and regulations. It also has the Keystone project, which has 650 mining claims on a major gold trend on federal land managed by Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Nevada.

Karr said the company wants to prove that there is a world class deposit there to attract interest from mining company Barrick Gold, which owns property to the north of the Keystone project.

“Where Zinke could provide value is being on the ground and interacting with BLM’s Nevada office,” he said.

In a statement, Zinke said his work at Interior “can add tremendous value to the company.”

“I am excited to work closely with management and the Board to help make mining great again in America,” he said.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Susan Thomas and Alistair Bell)

Source: OANN

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Nadler vows to subpoena full Mueller report, does not rule out impeachment

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said on Thursday that he plans to issue a subpoena for the full, unredacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, while blasting Attorney General Bill Barr for not giving Congress such a copy from the start.

Nadler said even the redacted version released earlier in the day "outlines disturbing evidence" that President Trump engaged in misconduct and possibly obstructed justice.

“The attorney general deciding to withhold the full report from Congress is regrettable, but not surprising,” Nadler said during a press conference. “Even in its incomplete form, the Mueller report shows disturbing evidence that President Trump obstructed justice.”

SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT MUELLER'S RUSSIA PROBE REPORT RELEASED BY JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Trump and his allies have declared victory in the wake of the report's release, based on Mueller not finding evidence of collusion with Russia and not reaching a conclusion on the obstruction issue. But Nadler is among the key Democrats sure to pick up where Mueller left off.

Nadler would not speculate on whether or not congressional Democrats would file articles of impeachment against Trump, but added that he was not taking the option off the table.

“Congress must get the full, unredacted report along with all the underlying materials from Special Counsel Mueller,” Nadler said. “We have to get to the bottom of this and we’ll see what happens.”

Nadler also noted that Barr will be testifying before the House Judiciary Committee next month and he has requested that Mueller also appear before the committee to testify on his findings.

“I have been and continue to be prepared to make every effort to work with the Attorney General to find a solution that allows Congress to review the entire record—and not merely the fragments he chose to share with us today,” Nadler said in a statement.

Barr on Thursday said that a version of Mueller's report with fewer redactions will be made available to a small group of lawmakers.

In a letter to Congress, Barr noted the second version of the report would be given to the "Gang of Eight," the top-ranking House and Senate lawmakers from both parties who can view sensitive classified information. The chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate judiciary committees will also receive it.

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Barr said all redactions would be removed from that version of the report except those relating to grand-jury information.

The attorney general said, "I do not believe that I have discretion to disclose grand-jury information to Congress. Nevertheless, this accommodation will allow you to review the bulk of the redacted material for yourselves."

The Mueller report is most heavily redacted in its first section, which covers Russia's meddling in the 2016 election and examines contacts between Russian representatives and the Trump campaign. The report concluded there was no criminal culpability by Trump aides.

Several pages in that first section are almost entirely blacked out. The report's second section, examining possible obstruction by Trump, appears more lightly redacted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

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But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has blasted the United State and the European Union for imposing sanctions on his country, describing them as “economic terrorism.”

Bashar Ja’afari made his comments Friday in the Kazakh capital of Astana where Russia, Turkey and Iran held a new round of talks with the Syrian government and the opposition on steps to bring peace to the country.

His comments came as government-held parts of Syria are witnessing widespread fuel shortages that are largely the result of Western sanctions on Syria and its key ally Iran.

Ja’afari says: “This is economic terrorism that is escalating through unilateral economic measures.”

A final statement issued at the end of Astana’s 12th round rejected President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

Source: Fox News World

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