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Powerball jackpot estimated at $625M before Saturday drawing

An estimated $625 million jackpot is on the line in Saturday's Powerball drawing.

It would be the seventh-highest U.S. lottery jackpot ever. The estimated lump sum payout would be $380.6 million before taxes. The odds of winning are roughly 1 in 292.2 million.

No one has won the Powerball jackpot since the day after Christmas. Twenty-four drawings since then have failed to produce a winner, including the drawing on Wednesday.

The buyers of three tickets shared the country's largest jackpot. It was a nearly $1.59 billion Powerball prize drawn on Jan. 13, 2016. A South Carolina purchaser won a $1.54 billion Mega Millions jackpot. That was the nation's second-largest lottery prize ever.

Source: Fox News National

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How to create connections at work in the age of isolation

FILE PHOTO: Workers are seen in an office tower in the Canary Wharf financial district at dusk in London
FILE PHOTO: Workers are seen in an office tower in the Canary Wharf financial district at dusk in London, Britain, November 17, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

April 12, 2019

By Lauren Young

NEW YORK (Reuters) – If an overflowing inbox is killing your productivity at the office, you are not alone.

Well, maybe you are, but not in the way you think.

A recent survey of more than 2,000 managers and employees in 10 different countries found that employees increasingly depend on technology to communicate with their colleagues, including email (45 percent), text messaging (15 percent) and instant messaging (12 percent).

Of those who cited email, more than 40 percent said they felt lonely always or often, were not engaged and had a high need for social connection.

Dan Schawbel, author of “Back to Human: How Great Leaders Create Connection in the Age of Isolation,” offered Reuters these tips on working remotely, managing technology and building a collaborative workplace.

Q. Is there a dark side of working remotely?

A. One-third of workers in the U.S. often work remotely. The number of remote workers is up 115 percent in the past decade. But just 5 percent of these workers see themselves staying at the same company for their entire career.

While we want flexibility so much, there is a tradeoff. Our research shows that remote workers are more likely to quit because of loneliness as well as low engagement. The reason why (co-working space) WeWork exists is because people want the human connection. Otherwise, people would just work from home.

Q. Is there a “right way” to work offsite and keep remote workers engaged?

A. These employees will work harder if they have a sense of connection. For managers, it is important to let a remote worker lead the meeting. It’s so simple and brilliant at the same time. It also makes sense to fly remote workers in once a year for an offsite or social event.

And be sure to use video conferencing often for meetings – you get to see and hear someone, which is much better than an email. It also forces you to dress like you are in the office. If you dress the part, you act the part.

Q. How can we maximize our time when we are in the office?

A. When you are working, you need time to focus, think deeply and pay attention to your words, thoughts and ideas. You also need collaborative time to share those ideas.

The actual work is important. But it’s also crucial to cultivate friendships. The workplace survey I led, which was conducted by my company Future Workplace, an HR advisory firm, and Virgin Pulse, a digital health company, found that 7 percent of all employees globally have no friends at work and over half have five or fewer total friends.

The majority of people (60 percent) said they would be more likely stay with their company longer if they had more friends.

This was especially true for younger employees. Gen Z (74 percent) and millennials (69 percent) say they would be inclined to stay with their company longer if they had more friends than Gen X (59 percent) and baby boomers (40 percent).

You will never be able to replace face-to-face interactions at work. Once you are in a room – at a meeting, event, or even celebrating a birthday at work – be present. Put down your phone and actually talk to people.

Q. People spend so much time at work. What is the best way to avoid burnout?

A. Even if you love your job, everyone needs a break. That is why some interesting things are happening around the world to combat burnout. For example, in Finland and in the United Kingdom, they are looking at a four-day work week. In France, you actually have the right to disconnect – workers there don’t have to answer email on the weekends or after work hours.

In Japan, every Japanese citizen gets the right to take Monday mornings off.

Overall, it is about what you do, and who you do it with. The people you choose to work with are more important than the work you do. Even if you love your work, and it gives you purpose, toxic co-workers will make it unbearable.

(Editing by Beth Pinkser and Bernadette Baum)

Source: OANN

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MLB notebook: Bathroom incident sends Snell to IL

MLB: Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays
Apr 13, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Blake Snell (4) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

April 17, 2019

The Tampa Bay Rays placed ace left-hander Blake Snell on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday due to a broken right toe.

Snell said he broke his toe when a decorative granite stand in his bathroom fell on his right foot as he was getting out of the shower Sunday night, the Tampa Bay Times reported. His IL placement is retroactive to Sunday.

On the season, the reigning American League Cy Young winner is 2-1 in four starts with a 2.16 ERA. In 25 innings, he has struck out 36 batters, tied for the major league lead entering Tuesday’s games.

Snell, 26, was 21-5 last season with a 1.89 ERA.

–The St. Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Tyler O’Neill and right-handed reliever Mike Mayers on the injured list one day after both players were injured during a loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

O’Neill sustained an ulnar nerve subluxation to his right elbow after making a throw home from center field in the bottom of the second inning Monday. He was pulled for a pinch hitter in the top of the third inning.

Mayers sustained a lat strain in his pitching shoulder. He felt cramping just before Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich blasted a three-run homer off of him in the sixth inning.

–Major League Baseball is investigating racist social media posts aimed at Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Carl Edwards, a league spokesman told The Athletic.

Edwards received racist messages on Instagram, according to the report, drawing the attention of the league as well as the players’ union.

The Cubs demoted Edwards to Triple-A Iowa earlier this month to iron out his woes to start the season. Edwards had a 32.40 ERA in four relief appearances this season, allowing six earned runs in just 1 2/3 innings.

–The Boston Red Sox designated former first-round pick Blake Swihart for assignment and recalled catcher Sandy Leon and right-hander Erasmo Ramirez from Triple-A Pawtucket.

Swihart, primarily a catcher, was batting .231 with one homer and four RBIs in 12 games this season. The 27-year-old also saw playing time at first base and left field. He batted .256 with nine homers and 58 RBIs in 202 games over parts of five seasons for Boston.

Leon, 30, has a .226 average with 20 homers and 104 RBIs over parts of seven major league seasons. He spent three seasons with the Washington Nationals (2012-14) before playing the last four for Boston.

–First baseman Greg Bird joined an overflowing injured list for the New York Yankees.

Bird is out with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot and was placed on the 10-day IL retroactive to April 14. The Yankees have 12 players on the injured list, including catcher Gary Sanchez (calf), third baseman Miguel Andujar (shoulder), shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (calf), second baseman Didi Gregorius (elbow) and Bird.

Replacing Bird on the roster is first baseman Mike Ford, who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and joined the Yankees as they opened a series with Boston.

–Major League Baseball is gearing up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with the announcement that the 2026 All-Star Game will be played in Philadelphia.

Commissioner Rob Manfred delivered the news in front of Independence Hall, sharing the stage with All-Stars past and present including Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and new Philadelphia outfielder Bryce Harper.

This will be the fifth Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia, which was hosted at Shibe Park in 1943 and 1952 and at Veterans Stadium in 1976 and 1996, but will mark the first All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, which opened in 2004. Cleveland will host this year’s 90th All-Star Game on July 9, and Los Angeles will host the 2020 game at Dodger Stadium. Sites for 2021-25 have not been named.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Democrats Want Their Say on Mueller's Probe

Attorney General William Barr has made his determination about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation . Now Democrats want to make their own.

The delivery Sunday of Barr's summary to Congress about Mueller's conclusions has opened a new chapter in the battle over the two-year investigation that is likely to consume Capitol Hill in the coming weeks and months. Democratic lawmakers are demanding a full look at Mueller's findings and dismissing Barr's summary as incomplete, at best, and biased, at worst.

They have seized on a line in the summary that says Mueller's report "does not exonerate" President Donald Trump on obstruction of justice — even though Barr concluded the evidence of obstruction is insufficient to find Trump committed a crime.

"The fact that Special Counsel Mueller's report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement. "Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the Special Counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report."

Given the report, Democrats seemed more likely to focus on their ongoing investigations, calls for transparency and frustrations with Barr, rather than engaging with the talk of impeachment that has been amplified on Pelosi's left flank. As the release of Mueller's report loomed, Pelosi recently tried to scuttle that talk by saying she's not for impeachment, for now.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, who would lead any impeachment effort, said he would call Barr to testify soon "in light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department."

Yet while Democrats focused on the obstruction piece, Barr's summary report dealt their investigative efforts an undeniable blow by concluding that Trump's campaign never conspired with Russia. Top Democrats, now leading broad investigations of Trump in the House majority, had long suggested just the opposite.

"After 22 months of a special counsel and 2 years of congressional investigations, it's over," tweeted North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, a close ally of Trump. "The clock has finally struck midnight on the 'Russian collusion' fantasy."

In a joint statement, Nadler, House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., almost seemed to concede that collusion had not been found, saying they have confidence in Mueller, "notwithstanding the very public evidence of Trump campaign contact with and willingness to receive support from Russian agents."

Still, they said, "it will be vital for the country and the Congress to evaluate the full body of evidence collected by the special counsel, including all information gathered of a counterintelligence nature."

Democrats discussed strategy in a flurry of calls over the weekend. Pelosi and Schumer talked repeatedly, including several calls Sunday from her home in San Francisco. As soon as Barr's letter arrived, Pelosi quickly convened a call Sunday with Cummings, Schiff and Nadler to go over its main points. They were on the same page with their response, according to a person familiar with the call. Nadler later held a conference call with Democratic members on the Judiciary panel and reiterated calls for transparency.

People familiar with the calls requested anonymity to discuss them freely.

Republicans unified to call for Congress to move on. "This case is closed," said House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy in a statement.

Trump celebrated the findings but did not appear ready to let the matter drop, calling the investigation "an illegal takedown that failed." He said that, "hopefully somebody's going to look at the other side," an apparent reference to Democrats.

Democratic calls for transparency on the Mueller report could set up a court battle with the Trump administration that could take months or years to resolve.

It's unclear what else is coming from Barr, though he states in the letter that he is working to make more information public. He said he will be consulting with Mueller to determine what else can be released. But whatever is provided is unlikely to be enough for Democrats, who have said they want all of Mueller's underlying evidence — including interviews, documents and material turned over to the grand jury.

Democrats have said they are willing to subpoena Mueller and Barr, if needed, to push for disclosure.

Though Trump himself has said the report should be made public, it's not clear whether the administration would fight subpoenas for testimony or block the transmission of grand jury material.

If the administration decides to fight, lawmakers could ask federal courts to step in and enforce a subpoena. A court fight could, in theory, reach the Supreme Court.

In the meantime, Democrats will keep the focus on full transparency.

"I don't want a summary of the Mueller report," tweeted Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democratic presidential candidate. "I want the whole damn report."

Source: NewsMax America

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Hamas cracks down on Gaza protests over cost of living

Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip have forcibly dispersed hundreds of Palestinians protesting dire living conditions in the blockaded territory.

Videos circulated on social media Thursday showed police firing live rounds in the air, beating protesters and hauling them into police vehicles. Hamas says it is restoring order after demonstrators burned tires and blocked roads.

Rights groups say Hamas arrested a dozen activists this week who were organizing the rally under the slogan: "We want to live." The protests were centered in the northern Jebaliya refugee camp, with smaller gatherings across the territory.

Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power in 2007, and the closures have devastated the local economy. Hamas tax hikes have sparked further outrage.

Source: Fox News World

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Media Matters President Under Fire for Racist Blog Posts

The president of Media Matters is under fire after old blog posts he wrote containing racial slurs and other forms of hate resurfaced this week.

The Daily Caller published portions of the posts written by Angelo Carusone. In them, he made several anti-Semitic comments, referred to Japanese people with a racial slur, and made fun of Bangladeshis.

Carusone also appeared to make fun of cross-dressers and said the late Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who was a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, was one of his favorite public figures.

Fox News host Tucker Carlson criticized Carusone and Media Matters on his show Tuesday and Wednesday night. The organization took aim at Carlson over the weekend by publishing derogatory comments he made on a radio show between 2006 and 2011.

According to Fortune, Carlson has already lost a handful of sponsors because of his past remarks that were made public on Sunday. Media Matters claims Carlson has lost a total of 34 sponsors in recent months because of comments he has made.

In one of Carusone's posts, he commented on a news story about a women's basketball coach in Japan who was accused of sexually and physically abusing his players.

"Lighten up j*ps," Carusone wrote.

Carusone also referred to his boyfriend as "jewry," adding in another post that his boyfriend had "several bags of Jewish gold."

Source: NewsMax America

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Man gets life in prison for Michigan workplace shooting

A man convicted of murder for killing a man at a trucking business before allegedly fatally shooting another man in a different suburban Detroit community has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Forty-six-year-old Vernest Griffin of Sterling Heights was sentenced Monday. A Wayne County jury earlier found him guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the February 2018 fatal shooting in Taylor of 60-year-old Keith Kitchen. Griffin declined to address the court.

Authorities said Griffin had lost his job at the company in November 2017.

Griffin also is awaiting trial in Oakland County on first-degree murder and gun charges in the slaying of 58-year-old Eriberto Perez at an aluminum stamping firm in Pontiac. Griffin was captured after a shootout with officers.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: Naqvi Founder and Group Chief Executive of Abraaj Group attends the annual meeting of the WEF in Davos
FILE PHOTO: Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group Chief Executive of Abraaj Group attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Tom Arnold

LONDON (Reuters) – A London court case to extradite Arif Naqvi, founder of collapsed private equity firm Abraaj Group, to the United States on fraud charges was adjourned until May 24, a court official said on Friday.

Naqvi was remanded in custody until that date, the official said. A former managing partner of Dubai-based Abraaj, Sev Vettivetpillai, was released on conditional bail to appear again at Westminster Magistrates Court on June 12, the official said.

Under the U.S. charges, both men are accused of defrauding U.S. investors by inflating positions held by Abraaj in order to attract greater funds from them, causing them financial loss, the official said.

Vettivetpillai could not be reached for a comment.

Naqvi, in a statement released through a PR firm, has pleaded innocent.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that Naqvi and his firm raised money for the Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund, collecting more than $100 million over three years from U.S.-based charitable organizations and other U.S. investors.

Naqvi and Vettivetpillai were arrested in Britain earlier this month. Another executive, Mustafa Abdel-Wadood was arrested at a New York hotel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Griswold said at a hearing in Manhattan federal court on April 11.

Abdel-Wadood appeared at the Manhattan hearing and pleaded not guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges.

(Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: OANN

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Former Vice President Joe Biden announces his 2020 candidacy
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in this still image taken from a video released April 25, 2019. BIDEN CAMPAIGN HANDOUT via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By James Oliphant

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, in his first interview as a Democratic presidential candidate, said on Friday that he does not believe he treated law professor Anita Hill badly during the 1991 confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Biden had joined the burgeoning 2020 Democratic field a day earlier.

Biden’s conduct during those hearings, when he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, became a renewed subject of controversy after the New York Times reported that Biden had called Hill earlier this month in the run-up to his presidential bid and that Hill was dissatisfied with Biden’s expression of regret.

Appearing on ABC’s “The View,” Biden largely defended his actions as a senator almost 30 years ago, saying he believed Hill’s allegations of sexual harassment levied at Thomas and tried to derail his confirmation.

Activists have long been unhappy that Hill was questioned in graphic detail by the all-white, all-male committee chaired by Biden.

“I’m sorry she was treated the way she was treated,” Biden said, but later, he asserted, “I don’t think I treated her badly. … How do you stop people from asking inflammatory questions?”

“There were a lot of mistakes made across the board and for those I apologize,” he said.

Biden praised Hill as “remarkable” and said she is “one of the reasons we have the #MeToo movement.”

Asked why he had not reached out to Hill earlier, Biden said he had previously publicly stated he had regrets about her treatment and that he “didn’t want to quote invade her space.”

That seemed to be a reference to another controversy that looms over Biden’s presidential run: allegations by several women that he made them uncomfortable by touching them at political events.

Biden also addressed that criticism, saying he was now more “cognizant” about a woman’s “private space.” But he maintained that he had been “trying to bring solace.”

He suggested he was still trying to sort out the guidelines for his conduct going forward.

“I should be able to read better,” he said. “I have to be more careful.”

Pressed by the show’s panel for an apology to his accusers, Biden would not entirely capitulate.

“So, I invaded your space,” he replied. “I mean, I’m sorry this happened. But I’m not sorry in a sense that I think I did anything that was intentionally designed to do anything wrong or be inappropriate.”

Biden, 76, served as former President Barack Obama’s vice president for two terms. He is competing with 19 others for the Democratic presidential nomination and the chance to likely face President Donald Trump next year in the general election.

His first public event as a presidential candidate is scheduled for Monday in Pittsburgh.

(Reporting by James Oliphant; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Tesla is seen in Taipei, Taiwan August 11, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noel Randewich

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s stock slumped over 4% on Friday to its lowest price in two years, rounding out a rough week that included worse-than-expected quarterly results and a pitch by Chief Executive Elon Musk on autonomous cars that failed to win over investors.

With investors betting Tesla will soon raise capital, the stock has fallen 13% for the week to its lowest level since January 2017, before the launch of the Model 3 sedan aimed at making the electric car maker profitable.

One positive development for Tesla: a U.S. District Court judge on Friday granted a request by Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commission for a second extension to resolve a dispute over Musk’s use of Twitter.

On Wednesday, Tesla posted a worse-than-expected loss of $702 million for the March quarter. Musk said Tesla would return to profit in the third quarter and that there was “some merit” to raising capital.

Musk is still battling to convince investors that demand for the Model 3, the company’s first car aimed at the mass consumer market, is “insanely” high, and that it can be delivered efficiently to customers around the world.

Tesla ended its first quarter with $2.2 billion, down from $3.7 billion in the prior quarter, and the company is planning expansions including a Shanghai factory, an upcoming Model Y SUV, and other projects.

(GRAPHIC: Tesla’s cash – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DyJjX6)

On Monday, Musk hosted a self-driving event, where he predicted Tesla would have over a million autonomous vehicles by next year. Some analysts perceived the presentation as a way to deflect attention from questions about demand, margin pressure, increasing competition and even Musk’s ongoing battle with U.S. regulators.

Tesla’s stock has now fallen 29 percent in 2019 and the company’s market capitalization has declined to $41 billion from $63 billion in mid-December.

(GRAPHIC: Tesla’s declining market cap – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dwd62r)

Analysts now expect Tesla’s revenue to expand 19% in 2019, compared with 83% growth in 2018 and 68% growth in 2017, according to Refinitiv.

Following Tesla’s quarterly report, 12 analysts recommend selling the stock, while 11 recommend buying and eight are neutral. The median analyst price target is $275, up 16% from the stock’s current price of $236. Berenberg analyst Alexander Haissl has the most optimistic price target, at $500, while Cowen and Company’s Jeffrey Osborne has the lowest, at $160, according to Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said Friday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s rare public criticism of the Obama administration was a “soft” way of accusing the previous administration of covering up Russia’s attempts at hacking the 2016 presidential election.

While speaking Thursday in New York at the Public Servants Dinner of the Armenian Bar Association, Rosenstein said that the Obama administration “chose not to publicize the full story about Russian computer hackers and social media trolls and how they relate to Russia’s broader strategy to undermine America.”

During an appearance on “America’s Newsroom” Friday morning, Huckabee called the comments an “unusually candid moment for Rosenstein.”

“I thought it was a soft way of him saying there was a cover-up,” Huckabee said. “They knew the Russians were attempting to influence the election and attempting to hack the election but they didn’t fully disclose that to the American people and certainly didn’t disclose it to the Trump campaign.

SWALWELL NOT CERTAIN TRUMP ISN’T A ‘RUSSIAN ASSET’

“Instead they tried to set a trap for them. It failed. The Trump team did not take the bait. And that’s the one conclusion that we can certainly come away with from the $35 million worth of investigation,” Huckabee continued.

Next week, Attorney General William Barr will testify before Congress and is expected to answer questions about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Trump, which found that there was not adequate evidence to conclude that President Trump and his administration colluded with Russia, though the president could not be exonerated in terms of the possibility that he obstructed justice.

Barr will testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee next Wednesday and to the House Judiciary Committee the following day.

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

“It is going to be a theater, an absolute show,” Huckabee said of the hearings. “Just like the Kavanaugh hearings were and like everything else is in Congress. We ought to close the curtain on them and can’t come back until after the election. They aren’t doing their job anyway. We aren’t paying them because they’re doing a wonderful service to the country and spare us the hypocrisy of thinking they’re interested in getting to the bottom of the facts,” he continued.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Ultimately, Huckabee argued, if Americans “took their partisan hats off,” they would see that President Trump was exonerated by the investigation.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Sri Lanka's former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa greets his supporters after his return from the United States, in Katunayake
Sri Lanka’s former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa greets his supporters after his return from the United States, in Katunayake, Sri Lanka April 12, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

April 26, 2019

By Sanjeev Miglani and Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s former wartime defense chief, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said on Friday he would run for president in elections this year and would stop the spread of Islamist extremism by rebuilding the intelligence service and surveilling citizens.

Gotabaya, as he is popularly known, is the younger brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the two led the country to a crushing defeat of separatist Tamil rebels a decade ago after a 26-year civil war.

More than 250 people were killed in bomb attacks on hotels and churches on Easter Sunday that the government has blamed on Islamist militants and that Islamic State has claimed responsibility for.

Gotabaya said the attacks could have been prevented if the island’s current government had not dismantled the intelligence network and extensive surveillance capabilities that he built up during the war and later on.

“Because the government was not prepared, that’s why you see a panic situation,” he said in an interview with Reuters.

Gotabaya said he would be a candidate “100 percent”, firming up months of speculation that he plans to run in the elections, which are due by December.

He was critical of the government’s response to the bombings. Since the attacks, the government has struggled to provide clear information about how they were staged, who was behind them and how serious the threat is from Islamic State to the country.

“Various people are blaming various people, not giving exactly the details as to what happened, even people expect the names, what organization did this, and how they came up to this level, that explanation was not given,” he said.

On Friday, President Maithripala Sirisena said the government led by premier Ranil Wickremesinghe should take responsibility for the attacks and that prior information warning of attacks was not shared with him.

Wickremesinghe said earlier he was not advised about warnings that came from India’s spy service either, presenting a picture of a government still in disarray since the two leaders fell out last October.

Gotabaya is facing lawsuits in the United States, where he is a dual citizen, over his role in the war and afterwards.

The South Africa-based International Truth and Justice Project, in partnership with U.S. law firm Hausfeld, filed a civil case in California this month against Gotabaya on behalf of a Tamil torture survivor.

In a separate case, Ahimsa Wickrematunga, the daughter of murdered investigative editor Lasantha Wickrematunga, filed a complaint for damages in the same U.S. District Court in California for allegedly instigating and authorizing the extrajudicial killing of her father.

Gotabaya said the cases were baseless and only a “little distraction” as he prepared for the election campaign. He said he had asked U.S. authorities to renounce his citizenship and that process was nearly done, clearing the way for his candidature.

‘DISMANTLE THE NETWORKS’

He said that if he won, his immediate focus would to be tackle the threat from radical Islam and to rebuild the security set-up.

“It’s a serious problem, you have to go deep into the groups, dismantle the networks,” he said, adding he would give the military a mandate to collect intelligence from the ground and to mount surveillance of groups turning to extremism.

Gotabaya said that a military intelligence cell he had set up in 2011 of 5,000 people, some of them with Arabic language skills and that was tracking the bent towards extremist ideology some of the Islamist groups were taking in eastern Sri Lanka was disbanded by the current government.

“They did not give priority to national security, there was a mix-up. They were talking about ethnic reconciliation, then they were talking about human rights issues, they were talking about individual freedoms,” he said.

President Sirisena’s government sought to forge reconciliation with minority Tamils and close the wounds of the war and launched investigations into allegations of rights abuse and torture against military officers.

Officials said many of these secret intelligence cells were disbanded because they faced allegations of abuse, including torture and extra judicial killings.

Muslims make up nearly 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 22 million, which is predominantly Buddhist.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Frances Kerry)

Source: OANN

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