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Nicaragua: Hefty prison terms for farm leaders in protests

A Nicaraguan judge has given lengthy prison terms to three farmers' leaders who participated in protests against President Daniel Ortega's government.

Defense lawyer Julio Montenegro says the penalties are 216 years for Medardo Mairena, 210 years for Pedro Mena and 159 years for Luis Orlando Pineda.

Mairena was convicted in the death of four police officers and a civilian during last year's unrest, when large demonstrations demanded Ortega quit. Mairena was also accused of "terrorism."

Montenegro rejected the charges and the sentences, calling Mairena's sentence "the most exaggerated." Prosecutors had sought far lesser sentences for all three — in Mairena's case, 73 years.

Nicaraguan law caps prison time actually served at 30 years.

Source: Fox News World

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French Billionaires Pledge Hundreds of Millions to Rebuild Notre Dame

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Source: InfoWars

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Ilhan Omar: I’ve experienced more ‘direct threats on my life’ since Trump tweet of 9/11 video

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said Sunday night she's received an influx of death threats since President Trump tweeted a video that combined comments from the congresswoman -- which critics said were dismissive of the Sept. 11 attacks -- with footage from Ground Zero.

"I have experienced an increase in direct threats on my life—many directly referencing or replying to the President's video," Omar tweeted in a statement. "I thank the Capitol Police, the FBI, the House Sergeant at Arms, and the Speaker of the House for their attention to these threats."

In her statement, Omar continued: "Violent crimes and other acts of hate by right-wing extremists and white nationalists are on the ride in this country and around the world. We can no longer ignore that they are being encouraged by the occupant of the highest office in the land."

The president tweeted the video out last Friday. It included a snippet from a recent speech Omar gave to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). She had said, in her defense of the organization, that CAIR was founded after Sept. 11, 2001 "because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties." CAIR had been formed in 1994.

The video also included news footage of the hijacked planes hitting the Twin Towers in Lower Manhattan. The video concluded with: "September 11, 2011 — we remember."

"Counties that hosted a 2016 Trump rally saw a 226 percent increase when cities host Trump rallies," Omar said, apparently citing Washington Post research.

Omar said "this is particularly concerning" because Trump is scheduled to visit Minnesota on Monday. The White House said the president will take part in a roundtable discussion on tax reform and the economy.

"Violent rhetoric and all forms of hate speech have no place in our society, much less from our country's Commander in Chief," the freshman congresswoman also said. "We are all Americans. This is endangering lives. It has to stop."

Fox News' David Aaro contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Spurs retire Ginobili’s No. 20

NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers at San Antonio Spurs
Mar 28, 2019; San Antonio, TX, USA; Former San Antonio Spurs player Manu Ginobili addresses the crowd during his jersey retirement ceremony at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

March 29, 2019

The San Antonio Spurs retired the jersey of guard Manu Ginobili in a ceremony that recognized both his contribution to the Spurs and his Argentinian heritage.

Former teammates returned to San Antonio to take part in the emotional ceremony Thursday night at AT&T Center, where a full house had to wait until 25 minutes after the Spurs 116-110 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to celebrate Ginobili. Fans had lined up outside the arena more than four hours before game time to make sure they didn’t miss a minute of the festivities.

Former longtime teammates Tony Parker and Tim Duncan spoke, as did coach Gregg Popovich and Fabricio Oberto, a fellow Argentinian who was a Spurs teammate from 2005-09.

“I’m telling you, I’m one of the lucky ones,” Ginobili, 41, said during his words to the crowd. “I’ve been dealt amazing cards. I just had to play them OK. That was all I had to do.”

Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan wore Nikes in the color of Argentina’s flag – light blue with a gold swoosh – during the game, and the country’s national anthem also was played. At halftime, seven of Ginobili’s former teammates from Argentina’s national team took part in a roundtable discussion about his career.

“I would not be the player I became without you being my teammate,” Parker told Ginobili during the ceremony. “You were such an inspiration to me every day that it was just contagious. You helped me become a better player just playing with you.”

In 16 seasons with the Spurs before retiring last summer, Ginobili captured four NBA championships (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) while posting a career winning percentage of .721 (762-295). According to the Spurs, that is the best winning percentage in NBA history among players who have been in at least 1,000 games.

Selected by San Antonio with the 57th overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft, Ginobili appeared in 1,057 career games, averaging 13.3 points, 3.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.32 steals in 25.4 minutes. He is the Spurs all-time leader in three-pointers made (1,495) and steals (1,392).

He is credited with introducing the Eurostep to the NBA and won an Olympic gold medal in 2004 and a bronze in 2008, representing Argentina.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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McConnell Deploys ‘Nuclear Option’ to Speed Approval of Trump Nominees

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell deployed the so-called 'nuclear option' Wednesday by changing the Republican-controlled chamber’s rules to speed approval of President Donald Trump’s nominees who have been slow-walked by Democrats.

'It is time for this sorry chapter to end,' said the Kentucky Republican, who noted the new rules will apply to future nominees by the president. 'It’s time to return this body to a more normal and reasonable process for fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities, no matter which party controls the White House.'

Under the new rule approved 51-48, debate time on the Senate floor for lower-level administration nominees will be cut to two hours from 30 hours. The Senate plans to vote later Wednesday to adopt the same rule for U.S. district court judges.

McConnell said the move is needed to allow Trump to staff his government. It will help McConnell fill scores of open judgeships -- a top priority -- without having to use months of the Senate calendar.

The GOP is leaving unchanged the requirement of 30 hours’ debate for Cabinet-level appointments, other senior appointments and higher court nominees.

Democrats called the rule change another power grab by McConnell, who used obstruction tactics numerous times himself when Barack Obama was president. McConnell refused to hold a hearing for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland and blocked numerous other lower court nominees in the final two years of Obama’s presidency. The Supreme Court seat ultimately went to Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch.

Democrats suggested there isn’t a real problem in confirming presidential nominees. They point to statements by McConnell and Trump bragging about setting records for court confirmations, and to Trump appointees who have either left under ethical clouds or been blocked on the Senate floor.

'It’s going to make it easier to rush unqualified and extreme Trump nominees to the Senate before anybody notices,' said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon.

McConnell’s blockade of key Obama nominations prompted then-Democratic Leader Harry Reid to deploy the nuclear option to eliminate the 60-vote threshold to advance most nominations. At the time, McConnell was livid. Now, he’s echoing Reid’s arguments about the need to prevent a minority from obstructing a president, and using the same tool Reid used to overturn Senate precedent.

McConnell also used the procedure -- which effectively breaks the Senate rules to change the rules -- in 2017 to eliminate the 60-vote threshold for Supreme Court nominations.

Still, a number of Republicans insist on keeping the legislative filibuster, which allows the minority party to demand a 60-vote threshold to advance a bill. McConnell himself made clear Wednesday he still opposes getting rid of the legislative filibuster.

'The legislative filibuster is central to the nature of the Senate,' McConnell said. 'It always has been and must always be the distinctive quality of this institution.'

Source: NewsMax Politics

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NBA roundup: Turner’s triple-double leads Blazers

NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at Minnesota Timberwolves
Apr 1, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Rodney Hood (5) shoots the ball over Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) during the third quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

April 2, 2019

Rodney Hood scored 21 points, and Evan Turner came off the bench for a triple-double as the Portland Trail Blazers pulled away for a 132-122 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in Minneapolis.

Turner went 5-for-5 from the field while collecting 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in only 24 minutes for the Trail Blazers, who have won 10 of their past 12 contests.

Enes Kanter contributed 20 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Seth Curry scored 19 points for Portland, which shot 54.9 percent from the field and made 15 of 30 3-point attempts.

Andrew Wiggins had 21 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 17 points with 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight of their past 10. Tyus Jones had 14 points and 10 assists.

Bucks 131, Nets 121

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, 14 of them in the fourth quarter, to lead Milwaukee to a win over Brooklyn in New York.

With the win, the Bucks’ magic number for clinching home-court advantage throughout the playoffs is one. The Toronto Raptors kept pace with the Bucks in the race for the best record in the league by beating the Orlando Magic.

The Nets remained a half-game ahead of the Pistons in seventh place in the Eastern Conference as Detroit lost to Indiana. All five Bucks starters scored in double figures, led by Eric Bledsoe with 29 points. D’Angelo Russell paced the Nets with 28 points.

Raptors 121, Magic 109

Danny Green scored a season-best 29 points and added five rebounds to help Toronto defeat visiting Orlando, which had won seven of its eight previous games.

The Raptors gained a split in the four-game season series with the Magic, who are still trying to get into the playoffs. Orlando remains a half-game back of the Miami Heat, who also lost Monday, for the final spot in the East.

Kawhi Leonard added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors. Serge Ibaka scored 15 points. Evan Fournier scored 21 points for the Magic, and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Celtics 110, Heat 105

Al Horford’s second career triple-double led host Boston over Miami in the opener of a home-and-home as the Heat narrowly held onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

Horford had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double since 2015. Kyrie Irving added 25 points and eight rebounds, Jayson Tatum scored 19, and Marcus Smart had 16 points as the Celtics maintained a share of fourth place in the Eastern Conference, along with Indiana.

Goran Dragic scored 30 to lead the Heat, while Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Dwyane Wade chipped in 17 points in his last regular-season game in Boston.

Jazz 111, Hornets 102

Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points to lead a balanced attack that propelled Utah over Charlotte Hornets in Salt Lake City despite a 47-point night from the Hornets’ Kemba Walker.

Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Jazz while Ricky Rubio chipped in 20 points and 13 assists. Five players scored in double figures to help the Jazz win for the 10th time in 11 games.

Jeremy Lamb added 23 for Charlotte, which dropped their third straight game on their current four-game road trip.

Mavericks 122, 76ers 102

Justin Jackson scored 24 points to carry host Dallas past Philadelphia. Trey Burke added 16 points for Dallas while Salah Mejri contributed 16 points to go along with a season-best 14 rebounds.

Dwight Powell scored 14 points and rookie Jalen Brunson had 13 for the Mavericks, who won handily despite the fact that Luka Doncic wasn’t available because of a thigh injury.

JJ Redick led the Sixers with 26 points while Tobias Harris added 25. Ben Simmons scored 17. The Sixers, who played without center Joel Embiid (load management) and guard Jimmy Butler (back), had their brief two-game winning streak snapped. Philadelphia is 7-8 without Embiid this season.

Pacers 111, Pistons 102

Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic led a balanced attack with 19 points apiece and host Indiana topped Detroit in Indianapolis.

Young also had nine rebounds and five assists, while Bogdanovic racked up seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Domantas Sabonis delivered 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench before fouling out.

Wayne Ellington led the Pistons with a season-best 26 points. Reggie Jackson supplied 22 points, six rebounds and four assists while Andre Drummond contributed 18 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Thon Maker added 14 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

Knicks 113, Bulls 105

Luke Kornet scored a career-high 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and New York pulled away for a win over visiting Chicago. Kornet hit 5 of 7 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, pulled down six rebounds and blocked three shots as part of one of the best performances of his two-year career.

His previous high was 23 points, which he reached once as a rookie and twice this season. New York snapped a six-game losing streak and won for only the second time in its past 16 games. The Knicks’ most recent victory had been March 17 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Robin Lopez scored a game-high 29 points for Chicago, which lost its fifth game in a row. JaKarr Sampson added 22 points off the bench in his Bulls debut after appearing in 169 games with three teams over parts of the past four seasons.

Suns 122, Cavaliers 113

Devin Booker, who scored 25 points and handed out 13 assists, was one of four Phoenix players with double-doubles as the Suns ended a six-game losing streak by beating visiting Cleveland.

Josh Jackson came off the Phoenix bench for 19 points, 10 rebounds, a career-high five blocks and four assists. Richaun Holmes had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Dragan Bender contributed 12 points and 10 boards.

Collin Sexton led the Cavaliers with 21 points, one more than Jordan Clarkson. Tristan Thompson and Ante Zizic each scored 15, and Brandon Knight had 10 as Cleveland lost its sixth game in a row.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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No majority in British parliament for second Brexit referendum: Reuters analysis

FILE PHOTO: British and EU flags flutter outside the Houses of Parliament in London
FILE PHOTO: British and EU flags flutter outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

March 11, 2019

By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) – There is no majority in Britain’s parliament in favor of holding a second Brexit referendum, according to a Reuters analysis of public comments made by lawmakers.

Britain is due to leave the European Union at the end of this month, and with parliament yet to approve Prime Minister Theresa May’s exit deal, calls for a second referendum to break the deadlock, often dubbed a ‘people’s vote’, have intensified.

Last month, the opposition Labour Party broke new ground for one of the major parties by saying it would support a new referendum on May’s deal after parliament defeated its alternative Brexit plan.

Labour’s position could face its first test on Tuesday when May’s deal is brought back to parliament. Labour indicated on Sunday it would not put forward its own proposal for a second referendum at that time, but other lawmakers could force a vote on the issue.

While a majority of lawmakers voted to remain in the bloc in the 2016 referendum, a Reuters analysis of public comments found that only 219 have expressed a willingness to support another vote, and a further 65 have not made their views known.

This is well short of the 318 votes needed to guarantee approval of the amendment if there are no absences or abstentions.

A referendum would need to be approved by parliament and May has ruled out proposing one, saying it would deepen already ugly divisions over Britain’s biggest decision since World War Two and betray the 52 percent – 17.4 million people – who voted to leave the EU.

POLITICAL STATEMENT

While Tuesday’s votes on amendments are not binding on the government, they would be politically hard to ignore.

Those in favor of a new referendum include many Labour lawmakers, seven of May’s Conservatives, the newly formed Independent Group and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats. The Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party has also backed the idea of another vote, although at least one of his lawmakers has voiced concern.

In contrast, 245 lawmakers openly oppose the idea, 15 are deeply skeptical and a further 94 government ministers and whips, or parliamentary enforcers, would be required to vote in line with the government’s position against another referendum.

So far, 24 of Labour’s 245 lawmakers have said publicly they do not support another referendum, while a further 13, many of whom represent areas that voted strongly in favor of leaving the EU, have expressed reservations.

“I will not, shall not and cannot vote for a second referendum, regardless of how much lipstick is put on it and what it is called,” Labour lawmaker Gareth Snell told parliament after his party announced its backing for another vote.

“That is a distraction from the main purpose of our job, which is to find a deal.”

Labour lawmaker Caroline Flint has said as many as 60 or 70 of her colleagues oppose a referendum.

It is unclear what conditions Labour might attach to supporting a second referendum, and there is disagreement within the party over whether any referendum should include an option to remain in the EU.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who voted against joining the EU in 1975, has said his party would support a referendum to “prevent a damaging Tory (Conservative) Brexit or disastrous ‘no deal'” – leaving open the possibility that it would back a different deal without a popular vote.

BRITAIN STILL DIVIDED

Some lawmakers may yet change their minds, particularly if any referendum was a confirmatory vote on whether to back May’s deal, much as Corbyn suggests, rather than a re-run of the 2016 vote. But the numbers suggest it is likely to have difficulty getting through parliament.

Opinion polls indicate Britons are still deeply divided over Brexit. While most voters would stick to their 2016 choice, some surveys have shown a swing towards remaining in the EU.

A YouGov poll last month found that, when asked to choose between accepting May’s deal and having another referendum, 51 percent favored a fresh vote and 49 percent – the deal.

Lawmakers across parties cite worries about prolonging uncertainty and increasing division as reasons for opposing a vote, while the most common argument is that it would be undemocratic to seek to overturn the result of a vote in which more than 30 million people took part.

But pro-referendum campaigners say voters did not know what kind of Brexit was available when they were offered a binary choice between “Remain” and “Leave” in the 2016 referendum.

“Now we know what Brexit looks like, now we know the cost, and now we know how badly Brexit compares to our current deal in the EU, the only way forward is to put it to the people,” said Labour lawmaker and People’s Vote campaigner David Lammy.

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper and William James; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

By Rupam Jain and Hameed Farzad

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: NewsMax Politics

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FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei’s factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain must get to the bottom of the leak of confidential discussions during a top-level security meeting about the role of China’s Huawei Technologies in 5G network supply chains, British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday.

News that Britain’s National Security Council, attended by senior ministers and spy chiefs, had agreed on Tuesday to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country’s 5G network and restrict its access to non-core elements was leaked to a national newspaper.

The leak of secret discussions has sparked anger in parliament and amongst Britain’s intelligence community. Britain’s most senior civil servant Mark Sedwill has launched an inquiry and written to ministers who were at the meeting.

“My understanding from London (is) that an investigation has been announced into apparent leaks from the NSC meeting earlier this week,” said Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing.

“To my knowledge there has never been a leak from a National Security Council meeting before and therefore I think it is very important that we get to the bottom of what happened here,” he told Reuters in a pooled interview.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday he could not rule out a criminal investigation. The majority of the ministers at the NSC meeting have said they were not involved, according to media reports.

Hammond said he was unaware of any previous leak from a meeting of the NSC.

“It’s not about the substance of what was apparently leaked. It’s not earth-shattering information. But it is important that we protect the principle that nothing that goes on in national security council meetings must ever be repeated outside the room.”

Allowing Huawei a reduced role in building its 5G network puts Britain at odds with the United States which has told allies not to use its technology at all because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

There have been concerns that the NSC’s conclusion, which sources confirmed to Reuters, could upset other allies in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network – the Five Eyes alliance of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

However, British ministers and intelligence officials have said any final decision on 5G would not put critical national infrastructure at risk. Ciaran Martin, head of the cyber center of Britain’s main eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, played down any threat of a rift in the Five Eyes alliance.

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News Politics

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Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon, South Korea, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

April 26, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop and drama star Park Yu-chun was arrested on Friday on charges of buying and using illegal drugs, a court said, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the South Korean entertainment business.

Suwon District Court approved the arrest warrant for Park, 32, due to concerns over possible destruction of evidence and flight risk, a court spokesman told Reuters.

Park is suspected of having bought about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former girlfriend earlier this year and using the drug around five times, an official at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.

Park has denied wrongdoing, saying he had never taken drugs, and he again denied the charges in court, Yonhap news agency said.

Park’s contract with his management agency had been canceled and he would leave the entertainment industry, Park’s management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said on Wednesday.

Park was a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.

A scandal involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chat about rape led at least four other K-pop stars to quit the industry earlier this year.

The cases sparked a nationwide drugs bust and investigations into tax evasion and police collusion at night clubs and other nightlife spots.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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