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The Latest: Nigeria calls off search at collapsed school

The Latest on Nigeria school building collapse (all times local):

1:35 p.m.

A Nigerian official says search efforts have been halted a day after a school building collapsed in Lagos with an unknown number of children inside.

National Emergency Management Agency official Ibrahim Farinloye tells The Associated Press that workers have reached the foundation of the collapsed three-story building and don't expect to see any further bodies.

He declines to give an updated toll of dead and rescued. Officials late Wednesday said eight had died and 37 had been rescued.

___

9:55 a.m.

Search and rescue work continues in Nigeria a day after a building containing a school collapsed with scores of children said to be inside.

A National Emergency Management Agency spokesman late Wednesday said 37 people had been pulled out alive, with eight bodies recovered from the ruins.

An unknown number remain missing.

It is not yet known what caused the collapse of the three-story building in a densely crowded neighborhood at the heart of Nigeria' commercial capital, Lagos.

Building collapses are all too common in the West African nation, where new construction often goes up without regulatory oversight.

Lagos state Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode has said the building, which had been marked for demolition, was classified as residential and the school was operating illegally on the top two floors.

Source: Fox News World

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Exotic cat on the loose in Virginia, Animal Control working with owner to capture it

An exotic cat native to Africa has been spotted roaming around a coastal city in Virginia, officials said Wednesday.

The Virginia Beach city government said Animal Control responded to a sighting of long-legged cat, that is believed to weigh about 25 pounds and stand 25 inches tall at the shoulders. The agency was unable to locate and capture the cat.

TEXAS FAMILY FINDS CAT THAT VANISHED OVER 10 YEARS AGO

The wild cat, sporting a yellow coat with black spots, is a serval named Rocky, its owner Brian Hankins told WVEC-TV. Hankins said he had been trying to capture Rocky since he went missing in October.

Hankins lives in Kitty Hawk, N.C., about 86 miles south of where his pet serval was spotted in Virginia Beach Wednesday. Haskins told the station that the African cat can walk up to 20 miles a day.

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Rocky was wearing two collars onto which a GPS tracker was fitted, but the batteries have since died, Hankins said. Rocky is known as an escape artist who has broken out of his owner’s home several times, according to the Outer Banks Voice.

Hankins is traveling to Virginia Beach to help Animal Control locate his lost pet, WVEC reported.

Source: Fox News National

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Top Iditarod mushers, 41 minutes apart, near final push to Nome

FILE PHOTO: Aliy Zirkle and her dogs head out at the ceremonial start of the 47th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage
FILE PHOTO: Aliy Zirkle and her dogs head out at the ceremonial start of the 47th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. March 2, 2019. REUTERS/Kerry Tasker/File Photo

March 12, 2019

By Yereth Rosen

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a topsy-turvy slog this year marked by heavy wet snow, occasional rain, dwindling ice and a dog rebellion, was expected to conclude early on Wednesday with either an Alaskan or Norwegian musher crowned the winner.

Pete Kaiser of Bethel, Alaska, was out in front early on Tuesday, but only narrowly, with a 41-minute lead over defending champion Joar Leifseth Ulsom of Norway. The two front-runners led a field of 42 remaining mushers, after 10 teams dropped out during the contest.

Kaiser and Liefseth Ulsom both arrived in the morning at the native Inupiat village of White Mountain, a checkpoint 77 miles (124 km) from the finish line at the Gold Rush town of Nome. Rules require an eight-hour stop at White Mountain before the final push to Nome. The two contenders were expected to leave the village late Tuesday afternoon.

If he wins, Kaiser, who is Yupik, will be the first Alaska Native Iditarod champion since 2011, when Inupiat John Baker claimed victory. Should Liefseth Ulsom cross the finish line first, he would become only the second Norwegian champion, following two previous victories by his countryman Robert Sorlie in the 1,000-mile (1,600-km) Alaska race.

The winner this year will be awarded a new truck and about $50,000 in cash, the top prize from a total $500,000 purse. The world’s best-known dog-sled race commemorates a rescue mission that used a dog-team relay to deliver lifesaving medicine to Nome during a 1925 diphtheria outbreak.

FRENCH MUSHER

Until Monday, French-born musher Nicolas Petit of Girdwood, Alaska, had appeared to be en route to victory – until his dogs stopped along a stretch of the Bering Sea coastline, about 200 miles (320 km) from Nome, and refused to go farther. Petit sent his dogs off the trail by snowmobile and officially dropped out of the race on Monday night.

In third and fourth place on Tuesday were the Iditarod’s top women: Jessie Royer of Fairbanks, Alaska, and Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers, Alaska.

The Iditarod speed record is eight days, three hours and 40 minutes, set by Mitch Seavey in 2017. This year’s race, which began on March 2 in Anchorage, has been significantly slower.

Higher-than-normal temperatures created soft conditions, bogging down the teams. The Bering Sea, usually coated with a layer of ice on the northern section, is almost entirely free of ice, so race officials made course alterations that slightly lengthened part of the route. Racers also had to detour around some spots of open river water.

Many contestants timed their runs for after dark to take advantage of cooler weather favored by their dogs.

(Reporting by Yereth Rosen in Anchorage; Editing by Steve Gorman and Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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Cancun club shooting leaves 5 dead, 5 wounded, authorities say

At least five people were killed and another five were wounded Saturday after four gunmen opened fire inside a club in Cancun, Mexico, authorities said.

The men, armed with a long gun and three handguns, opened fire inside La Kuka, a club located on a main avenue in central Cancun about 4 miles away from the seaside tourist hotel zone, Quintana Roo state prosecutors said.

Two of the five wounded in the shooting remains in critical condition on Sunday.

Cancun and Quintaroo have seen an uptick in violence in the last year, with federal authorities reporting 774 people killed in the state last year, compared to the recorded 359 killings in 2017.

The violence may be due to reports of the Jalisco New Generation cartel moving into the Caribbean resort city and fighting other local gangs to gain control of the area.

MEXICO MURDER RATE BREAKS RECORD WITH MORE THAN 33,000 CASES OPENED IN 2018, STATISTICS SHOW

In January, three gunmen in Cancun shot and killed seven people at a home. The deadly shooting was due to an apparent dispute and ordered by a suspected gang leader who has been linked to the Jalisco cartel.

At least five people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a club in Cancun, Mexico.

At least five people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a club in Cancun, Mexico. (iStock)

Homicide cases in Mexico rose by 33 percent in 2018, shattering the country’s record for the second consecutive year, government statistics show. The U.S. State Department’s travel advisory in November urged people to “exercise increased caution” when traveling to Mexico due to crime.

“Violent crime, such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery, is widespread,” the advisory stated.

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Cancun remains one of the most popular travel destinations in Mexico and in the world.

Fox News' Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Former Pennsylvania governor calls Biden bid ‘spectacular,’ says he can beat Trump

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell on Thursday praised Joe Biden's video announcement he was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination and said he believes the Maryland politician is the first candidate who can realistically beat President Trump at the polls.

"I thought his video was spectacular," Rendell told Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime."

 JOE BIDEN OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES 2020 PRESIDENTIAL BID

Biden entered the crowded Democratic field as the frontrunner but questions remain on how he would fare against a very diverse group of challengers and whether his centrist brand is out of step with the Democratic Party.

Rendell believes Biden's message strikes the perfect note and will resonate well with all Democrats.

"The polls almost uniformly show that 70 percent of Democrats want someone who is moderate or left of center.... and 90 percent of Democrats say the most important thing for them is someone who can beat Donald Trump, who can stand up to Donald Trump," Rendell said. "I think the message that Joe Biden was delivering is 'look, polls show I'm the best candidate to run against Donald Trump and I'm not afraid to take him on.''

Rendell says that while Trump is "excellent at putting opponents on the defensive" by accusing them of being socialists who are trying to kill capitalism, he says the strategy won't work on Biden.

Biden kicked off his third bid for the presidency Thursday morning by releasing a video in which he takes Trump to task over his handling of the 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The video starts with Biden highlighting the violence at a gathering where white nationalists were protesting the city's plan to take down a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

"In that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I'd seen in my lifetime," Biden said, adding that, "history will look back on four years of this president and all he embraces as an aberrant moment in time."

Biden said if Trump is re-elected, "he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation."

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Following Biden's announcement, Trump took to Twitter to mock the former vice president.

"Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe. I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign. It will be nasty - you will be dealing with people who truly have some very sick & demented ideas. But if you make it, I will see you at the Starting Gate!"

Source: Fox News Politics

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Trump put more women in top roles than Obama, Bush, Clinton

It’s no secret that President Trump can be brash about women. He described porn star Stormy Daniels as a “Horseface,” and mocked Rosie O’Donnell as a fat pig and “total loser.”

Trump also fessed up to “locker room talk” about how he likes to “grab them by the pussy.”

But the president’s actions speak much louder than his words.

Despite a few crude comments, Trump put more women in top advisory roles in his administration than any of the last three presidents, a powerful statement some believe is overshadowed by the media’s relentless focus on vilifying the president’s every move.

“I don’t think it’s gotten as much attention as the fact that he’s said things that are sexist,” Augusta University professor Mary-Kate Lizotte, an expert on women in politics, told The Washington Examiner. “It might not have as much of an effect because of negative coverage.”

The Examiner reports:

At the beginning of the third year of his first term as president, Trump has seven female top advisers, as compared to five for Obama, three for Bush, and five for Clinton at that point. He had eight as of December 2018, when United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley departed the administration.

The top advisers are White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway; CIA Director Gina Haspel, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, senior adviser Ivanka Trump, Director of Legislative Affairs Shahira Knight, and Director of Strategic Communications Mercedes Schlapp.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry gave a statement on the current power of corporations and what may lie ahead for Big Tech. Gerald Celente joins Alex to discuss solutions as America wakes up to Big Tech tyranny.

Those in Trump’s inner circle are only some of the women that have served in the administration, with others including Haley and former communications director Hope Hicks playing key roles early on.

Last May, the president appointed Gina Haspel as the head of the CIA, the first woman to ever hold that post, Fox News reports.

There’s also women serving in important cabinet positions, such as Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, as well as women moving up through the ranks.

“Trump reportedly will also nominate more women to powerful positions soon, such as U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft for U.N. ambassador and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jessie Liu for associate attorney general, a key post currently held by Rod Rosenstein,” according to the Examiner.

Schlapp said it’s obvious Trump “surrounds himself with very strong women with strong voices” and he respects their opinions on all types of issues.

An unnamed former senior White House official contends the president cares more about results than gender.

“He treats people equally,” the official said. “He values merit and quality of work, regardless of any other attributes including gender.”

Schlapp dismissed the relentless allegations Trump is a misogynist as “outrageous.”

“I have always felt respected by the president,” she said. “He is someone who values my opinion and insight. Those of us who work with him get to see his compassion.”

Despite the progress for women, some of the president’s critics remain devoted to spinning the issue into a negative and allege Trump’s female advisors are nothing more than “tools for his benefit.”

Boston University professor Tammy Vigil, a self-professed expert on gender in politics, told the Examiner it belittles women to work for the president because they’re allegedly forced to “work around the truth.”

“It compromises their integrity,” she said. “They have to sort of give up their own honesty and integrity in order to serve the male president, which is not a good look for women, even if they are in positions of power.”

“Why is he hiring these women?” she questioned. “He’s getting something out of it.”

Source: InfoWars

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Donors step up to replace tattered American flags before procession for soldier killed in Afghanistan

When slain Army Specialist Joseph Collette is remembered at a procession in Ohio, he'll be honored with the streets of his hometown lined with brand new American flags thanks to generous donors.

Collette, 29, of Lancaster, Ohio, was assigned to the 242nd Ordnance Battalion, 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, before he was killed in an attack in Afghanistan last Friday, according to the Pentagon.

Officials in his hometown were planning for a procession to honor the fallen soldier when some local residents raised concerns over tattered American flags.

Vicki Vaughn, a veteran from Lancaster, emailed WSYX/WTTE concerned with the condition of the flags, saying they were "a disgrace to the fallen soldier."

‘DUCK DYNASTY’ STAR PHIL ROBERTSON EXPLAINS HOW HE FOUND FAITH BEFORE FAME: ‘GOD SPEAKS THROUGH HIS PEOPLE’

The mayor of Lancaster, David Scheffler, took to Facebook saying the city maintains 3 sets of flag poles, plus various other ones on its buildings around the downtown area.

"The flags are replaced every six months, right before Memorial Day (May) and right before Veterans Day (November)," he wrote. "Some seasons, dependent upon the frequency of high winds and other weather events, the flags can get rather worn as their retirement approaches."

He acknowledged to WSYX/WTTE that the flags were in rough shape after a very stormy March.

"We've had two periods just recently of very heavy winds, up to 50 mph," he told the television station.

GIRL'S SPECIAL DOLL HONORING HER DEPLOYED ARMY DAD FOUND, RETURNED AT AIRPORT AFTER VIRAL FACEBOOK CAMPAIGN

The mayor added that the city's budget is tight and that officials are facing a deficit with reduced fire and police personnel. So he took to Facebook, calling for anyone who could offer up to $1,200 for a new set of flags.

"It didn't take long for the downtown rotary club, the Sherman Rotary Club, to step up and offer $1,200," he told the televisions station.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

The mayor is now looking to use the money for the flag fund to refresh the American symbol quarterly instead of twice a year. He added that while he can't pay attention to every social media controversy because he could "soon have an ulcer," the campaign for new flags on his post proved to be a success.

“Facebook is a good way to get someone’s attention and it got our attention," he said.

Fox News' Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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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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