Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am


Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

House Dems demand full Mueller report in one week


**Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.**

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

0 0

Watch Anthony Pettis Defeat Stephen Thompson At UFC Fight Night 148

Anthony Pettis lit up Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 148.

Pettis rocked Thompson late Saturday night in impressive fashion, and the video is downright incredible. (SLIDESHOW: These UFC Women Really Hate Wearing Clothes)

The Wisconsin-native put Thompson on the ground, and followed that up with a ton of brutal shots as the ref rushed in to stop the fight. (SLIDESHOW: These Are The Greatest Ronda Rousey Photos On The Internet)

Watch the incredible video below.

My friends, that’s what we call getting annihilated. Pettis just absolutely destroyed his opponent, and there’s no other way to describe it. (SLIDESHOW: These Are The Sexiest Paige VanZant Photos On The Internet)

I can remember the last time I saw a UFC fight that ended in such a dominating fashion. There are people who get rocked all the time, but that was on a different level.

Thompson looked like he was dead by the time Pettis stopped.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Anthony Pettis (@showtimepettis) on

Well done, Pettis. That’s the kind of action UFC fans are craving. It’s always good to remind the world that you’re not the man to step into the octagon with.

Follow David Hookstead on Twitter

Source: The Daily Caller

0 0

Tour operator Tui warns on profit after 737 MAX grounding

Two workers walk under the wing of a 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing factory in Renton
Two workers walk under the wing of a 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson

March 29, 2019

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Tour operator Tui AG on Friday warned it would take a 200 million euro ($225 million) profit hit in 2019 due to the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircrafts in the wake of two deadly crashes of the model.

The group said it now expects underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA) to fall by 17 percent, having previously expected it to be flat compared with 2018.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; editing by Thomas Seythal)

Source: OANN

0 0

EU eyes June to begin membership talks with North Macedonia

The European Union's top diplomat says the bloc aims to begin membership talks with North Macedonia in June, after the country lifted the biggest obstacle to joining by changing its name last month.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Tuesday that "our joint objective is to have a green light in June to start negotiations."

The former Yugoslav republic formally changed its name from Macedonia to address concerns from Greece, which has a large province of the same name, opening the way to likely EU and NATO membership.

But North Macedonia remains locked in fierce political rivalry as EU officials urge it to keep up political and justice reforms, and to fight corruption.

Macedonia was granted EU candidate status in 2005 but the name dispute stopped the launch of membership talks.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

EU hopes for 'significant pledges' at Syria donor meet

The European Union's top diplomat says the EU expects "significant pledges" for Syria at a donor conference, as the bloc seeks to keep the 8-year conflict in the international spotlight.

Speaking ahead of Thursday's donor conference in Brussels, foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that Syrians must "not to be forgotten in a moment where the international community seems to care a little bit less about this."

Around 55 countries and 80 delegations are expected to attend.

The U.N. says $3.3 billion is needed to help meet Syria's aid needs, plus a further $5.5 billion to support countries like Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where many Syrians have sought refuge.

About 11.7 million Syrians still depend on aid and some 6 million people have fled the country.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Iran to ‘resist’ Trump decision on Israel’s hold over Golan

Iran's president says his country will resist the Trump administration's acceptance of Israel's control over the Golan Heights.

Hassan Rouhani said on Friday that President Donald Trump's decision this week is "trampling on international regulations about the Golan."

Rouhani says Iranians too "should resist and that way gain victory" over the U.S. and Israel.

Israel seized the Golan in the 1967 Mideast war after Syria had for years used the strategic plateau to shell northern Israel. Syria and many Arab states have denounced Trump's move.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Thursday the U.S. decision is a reminder to Arab and Muslim countries that U.S. and Israel "will steal your lands."

Iran doesn't recognize Israel and supports Syria and anti-Israeli militant groups like Hamas and Lebanese's Hezbollah.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Florida State overwhelms Morant, Murray State in rout

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-Second Round- Florida State vs Murray State
Mar 23, 2019; Hartford, CT, USA; Florida State Seminoles center Christ Koumadje (21) dunks and scores against the Murray State Racers during the first half of a game in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

March 24, 2019

Florida State’s depth and height proved way too much for upstart Murray State and star guard Ja Morant on Saturday night, as the fourth-seeded Seminoles reached the West Region semifinals of the NCAA Tournament with a 90-62 rout in Hartford, Conn.

Senior guard Terance Mann paced Florida State’s starters (29-7) with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Mfiondu Kabengele came off the bench to net 22 points, going 10 of 12 from the field, and Raiquan Gray chipped in 11 to go along with five steals.

The Seminoles, who will meet either Gonzaga or Baylor in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Anaheim, Calif., canned nearly 51 percent of their field-goal tries and were 11 of 27 on 3-pointers. They also dominated the much smaller Racers on the glass, earning a 45-33 advantage.

Morant, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard who would likely be a lottery pick if he declares for the NBA Draft this summer, poured in a game-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. But he made just 8 of 21 shots from the field after a hot start, as Florida State’s length appeared to bother him.

Shaq Buchanan scored 12 points, and Darnell Cowart added 11 for 12th-seeded Murray State (28-5), which converted just 33.3 percent of its field-goal tries. The Racers also couldn’t cope with the Seminoles’ superiority off the bench. At one point in the second half, Florida State owned a 30-0 advantage in points off the pine.

Morant, who dropped a triple-double on Marquette in Murray State’s emphatic first-round win on Thursday, looked capable of doing it again early in this one. He scored 10 points — with three 3-pointers — and assisted on a Buchanan layup as the Racers took a 14-7 lead less than five minutes in.

But the Seminoles promptly rattled off a 15-4 run, taking the lead for good on a Kabengele layup with 13:09 left in the half. The margin gradually grew, hitting double figures on a Trent Forrest layup with 7:20 remaining and reaching 50-34 at the half as Mann dunked with 42 seconds on the clock.

The Racers never got closer after the break.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Liberty #MAGAOne Mix

Via MAGA One Mix

6:00 am 8:00 am



Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist