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Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx chided by national attorneys group after Jussie Smollett charges dropped

The decision by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx's office to drop charges that “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist, anti-gay attack has drawn scorn from not only the mayor of Chicago and members of law enforcement, but a national group that claims to represent thousands of prosecutor offices.

The National District Attorneys Association chided the prosecutor's handling of the case, including Foxx's decision to recuse herself before Smollett was charged last month because she had discussed the case with a Smollett family member. The case was then handed to First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats.

"First, when a chief prosecutor recuses him or herself, the recusal must apply to the entire office, not just the elected or appointed prosecutor," the group said in a news release. "This is consistent with best practices for prosecutors’ offices around the country."

The group, which claims to represent roughly 2,700 prosecutors’ offices around the country, also said that prosecutors "should not take advice from politically connected friends of the accused."

SMOLLETT DAMAGE CONTROL SEEN IN INTERNAL EMAIL FROM FOXX'S OFFICE AS SHE DEFENDS 'ALTERNATIVE PROSECUTION MODEL'

"Each case should be approached with the goal of justice for victims while protecting the rights of the defendant," the group said.

Email and text messages provided to the Chicago Sun-Times by Foxx’s office show former first lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff Tina Tchen contacted Foxx a few days after the report of the attack to set up a telephone conversation with a Smollett relative.

Foxx told the Sun-Times the relative expressed concerns over leaked information that media outlets attributed to “police sources.” Foxx then called Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson to ask him to let the FBI investigate the alleged attack. The contacts were cited by Foxx in recusing herself from the case on Feb. 13, well before Smollett was charged.

DOJ, FBI TO REVIEW ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ JUSSIE SMOLLETT CASE, TRUMP SAYS

In an interview with WBBM-TV on Wednesday, Foxx said no one tried to intervene on Smollett’s behalf, despite emails showing that she was contacted by people linked to Smollett about the case.

"There was no attempt, whatsoever, to influence the outcome of this case," she told the television station. "None whatsoever."

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx told FOX32 5,700 people have participated in "alternative prosecution cases" such as Jussie Smollett.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx told FOX32 5,700 people have participated in "alternative prosecution cases" such as Jussie Smollett. (FOX32)

Smollett forfeiting his $10,000 bond and doing community service in return for dropping the charges was also a point of criticism by the district attorney's group.

"Third, when a prosecutor seeks to resolve a case through diversion or some other alternative to prosecution, it should be done so with an acknowledgment of culpability on the part of the defendant," the group said. "A case with the consequential effects of Mr. Smollett’s should not be resolved without a finding of guilt or innocence."

JUSSIE SMOLLETT BOMBSHELL PITS OBAMA CHIEFS OF STAFF AGAINST ONE ANOTHER

Foxx defended her office's actions in a separate interview with FOX32 on Wednesday, saying that the dropping of charges "in no way exonerates" Smollett.

"He was charged with a Class 4 felony. I mean he doesn't have a background. When I look at similarly situated people who are charged with the same level of felony without a background I believe in this case, justice was appropriate," she said. "Again I didn't make that decision, he was availed to alternative prosecution model that anybody else without his riches, without his fame were also availed to."

She also said that 5,700 people have participated in "alternative prosecution cases" with similar outcomes.

"So while it's frustrating, the nature of his offense, we treated Mr. Smollett in the same way we would treat similarly situated folks," Foxx told FOX32.

CHICAGO COPS SHARED DATA ON SMOLLETT'S ICLOUD WITH FBI: REPORT

An internal email from the Foxx's office obtained by Fox News on Wednesday asked assistant state's attorneys to dig for any examples to bolster her claim that the dropped charges in the Smollett case weren’t as uncommon or shocking as they seemed.

The email read in part: “We are looking for examples of cases, felony preferable, where we, in (exercising) our discretion, have entered into verbal agreements with defense attorneys to dismiss charges against an offender if certain conditions were met...”

An internal email from Kim Foxx’s office obtained by Fox News asked workers to dig for examples bolstering Foxx’s claim that the dropped charges in the Jussie Smollett case weren’t as uncommon or shocking as they seemed.

An internal email from Kim Foxx’s office obtained by Fox News asked workers to dig for examples bolstering Foxx’s claim that the dropped charges in the Jussie Smollett case weren’t as uncommon or shocking as they seemed. (Getty/File)

The email added, “Nobody is in trouble, we are just looking for further examples of how we, as prosecutors, use our discretion in a way that restores the victim…”

It was not clear who sent it, and exactly when it was sent. But the email was obtained as Foxx was participating in a series of interviews defending her office's decision. The statement from the group came before President Trump announced Thursday that the FBI and Justice Department will review the “outrageous” decision to drop charges in the Smollett case.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

An attorney for Smollett late Wednesday blasted Chicago officials, saying they have “continued their campaign against Jussie Smollett after the charges against him have been dropped.”

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago.

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Patricia Brown Holmes said the case is closed.

“We should all allow Mr. Smollett to move on with his life as a free citizen,” she said in a statement.

Fox News' Matt Finn in Chicago and Frank Miles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Arizona police release graphic video of deadly officer-involved shooting

Arizona police released a video Wednesday that showed a man throwing a wrench at deputies before they shot him to death while responding to a call from family members concerned for the man’s mental health on Friday.

Juan Torres, 39, could be seen wielding a wrench in one hand and a hammer in another in a body camera video released by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

Officers, who were called to the home by the man’s sister, told him to drop his weapons before Torres threw a wrench at one of them. Officers then open fired at Torres who was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries.

PHOENIX MAN WHO SUSPECTED WIFE OF AN AFFAIR KILLS HER AND 2 KIDS, SPARES YOUNGEST: POLICE

Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone defended the actions of his officers who he said were forced to deploy deadly force when Torres escalated the situation. Penzone refuted claims that officers could have used tasers instead of drawing their guns.

“What you don’t want is one of the deputies actually leaving their partners behind knowing that an escalation and the likelihood of an engagement is high,” Penzone said.

Torres’ sister, Irma, said the family called 911 so that officers could take their brother to an institution to be evaluated for his mental health issues. The family claims deputies could have used other methods to stop Torres and plans to file a lawsuit against the sheriff’s department, CBS 5 reported.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

"I just wish the sheriff's department, and all police, get more training in situations like this to help people instead of going to this extreme," Rick Torres, Juan Torres' father, told CBS 5. "It just shouldn't have happened, plain and simple, overkill, too much. My son didn't have to die like that."

Source: Fox News National

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Maryland newspaper shooting trial delayed until November

A judge has delayed the trial of a man charged with killing five people at a Maryland newspaper office.

Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Michael Wachs pushed back the trial for Jarrod Ramos from June to Nov. 4 on Thursday. Jury selection is set to begin Oct. 30.

Judge Laura Ripken has given the defense until April 29 to change Ramos' plea to not criminally responsible. He pleaded not guilty last year to murder in the attack at the Capital Gazette newsroom.

Ramos' attorney William Davies says they have a mental health expert working with the defense, but they need more time to consider changing the plea due to a "jaw dropping" amount of court material to review.

Source: Fox News National

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Fiat Chrysler to cut nearly 1,400 jobs at Illinois plant

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) headquarters are seen in Turin
FILE PHOTO: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) headquarters are seen in Turin, Italy, July 21, 2018. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca

February 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Tuesday it will cut nearly 1,400 jobs at an Illinois assembly plant where it builds the Jeep Cherokee sport utility vehicle.

The Italian-American automaker will cut one of three shifts at the Belvidere Assembly plant starting May 6, impacting 1,371 jobs, in order to “better align production with global demand,” a spokeswoman said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Fiat Chrysler announced it was investing $4.5 billion in five plants and creating 6,500 jobs in Michigan, including building a new assembly plant in Detroit.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: OANN

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Colorado woman awarded $3.6M in excessive force lawsuit

A jury has awarded $3.6 million to a Colorado woman who claimed that deputies used excessive force when they arrested her and later shocked her with a stun gun while she was restrained.

The Denver Post reports the jury awarded the money to Carolyn O'Neal on Wednesday, finding that Fremont County sheriff's deputies violated her right to privacy, used excessive force and retaliated against her.

The sheriff's office did not immediately return the newspaper's call for comment Wednesday.

O'Neal sued the sheriff's office following the May 2014 arrest at the Canon City sober living facility.

Prosecutors later charged O'Neal with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. A judge dismissed the charges, finding that deputies did not have reason to arrest her.

___

Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com

Source: Fox News National

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Gillibrand the first 2020 Democrat to unveil 2018 tax returns: See what she made

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York disclosed her 2018 tax returns on Wednesday and urged her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination to follow in her footsteps.

“Join me in calling on every presidential candidate to disclose their taxes. This is what transparency and accountability is all about,” Gillibrand said in a video as she challenged the rest of the Democratic 2020 contenders to make their returns public.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND

Gillibrand – the first 2020 presidential candidate to unveil her 2018 returns – reported an adjusted gross income last year of just over $214,000, with nearly $168,000 coming from her Senate salary and most of the remainder from her book deal.

The senator paid $29,710 in federal taxes, for an effective tax rate of 13.6 percent.

Her campaign touted that Gillibrand’s now released 12 years of tax returns – available online – dating back to her first year in Congress in 2007.

“Since my first day in the House, I have prioritized transparency and accountability,” Gillibrand spotlighted.

“For public servants, releasing your tax returns shows the American people that you work only for them, not the powerful,” she added, in an apparent jab at Republican President Donald Trump.

GILLIBRAND AT 2 PERCENT IN LASTEST FOX NEWS 2020 POLL

Democrats have repeatedly slammed Trump for refusing to release his tax returns. In the 2016 campaign, he became the first major party presidential nominee in decades to not release his taxes. Trump claimed he was under an Internal Revenue Service audit.

The president’s continued refusal to unveil his returns has fueled criticism that he’s hiding assets in order to avoid charges of conflicts of interest.

Tax returns paint a fuller picture of a presidential candidate's financial situation, from income and revenues to the effective tax rate they pay to charitable donations and overseas holdings.

Presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren highlighted that she’s released the past decade of her tax returns and like Gillibrand, has urged the other candidates to do likewise.

But the Massachusetts Democrat has yet to release her 2018 returns.

The Warren campaign told Fox News that the candidate has not yet filed her 2018 returns, “but we will release them as well.”

The tax filing season doesn’t end until April 15.

Another White House contender, Sen. Bernie Sanders, has promised to release 10 years of his tax returns, but has yet to follow through.

The independent senator from Vermont recently called the hold up “a mechanical issue” and promised to make the returns public “soon.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx open to outside investigation into Jussie Smollett case

After intense public backlash, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said Friday night that she is open to an outside investigation into her office’s dramatic decision to dismiss all charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.

In an op-ed for The Chicago Tribune, Foxx admitted that a third-party review into the high-profile case would help maintain transparency.

The surprise decision to drop charges on Tuesday, followed by Smollett's claims of innocence and exoneration paired with an immediate rebuke from Chicago's mayor and police superintendent that it was a "whitewash of justice" put pressure on the state's attorney's office to defend its actions.

“I am not perfect, nor is any other prosecutor out there, but ensuring that I and my office have our community’s trust is paramount,” Foxx, who ran on a platform of transparency, wrote.

TRUMP SAYS DOJ, FBI TO REVIEW OUTRAGEOUS DECISION TO DROP CHARGES IN JUSSIE SMOLLETT CASE 

Smollett is accused of staging an anti-gay, racist attack on himself in January in order to promote his career. He has denied the charges from the start and says two men approached him, beat him, threw bleach on him and tied a rope around his neck before shouting, "This is MAGA country," in reference to President Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again."

In order to investigate the hate crime, the city removed 24 detectives from their regular cases, expending up to 1,000 hours to hunt down the truth.

“In determining whether or not to pursue charges, prosecutors are required to balance the severity of the crime against the likelihood of securing a conviction,” Foxx wrote. “For a variety of reasons ... my office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain.”

Foxx said Smollett’s “alleged unstable actions have probably caused him more harm than any court-ordered penance could.” But she added that jails should be reserved for those who commit violent crimes.

Her defense isn't swaying many people.

CHICAGO PROSECUTOR KIM FOXX CHIDED BY NATIONAL ATTORNEYS GROUP AFTER CHARGES DROPPED 

"Foxx could have distanced herself from this blunder given that her own blunder — emailing and texting with people close to Smollett early in the investigation — had prompted her to step away from the case and leave it to underlings," Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn wrote. "But she grabbed ownership of it Wednesday, giving interviews in which she expressed pride and confidence in the way her office had handled the case."

Zorn, like so many others in Chicago, believe Foxx "probably will and arguably should lose her job next year over her office's handling of the Jussie Smollett case."

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Foxx's actions also prompted both the National District Attorneys Association and the Illinois Prosecutors bar Association to sharply criticize her office.

President Trump even waded into the controversy, saying he'd asked federal law enforcement officials to look into Smollett's case.

“I think the case in Chicago is an absolute embarrassment to our country, and I have asked that they look at it,” Trump said.

Source: Fox News National

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

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

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

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad, California, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Amit Dave and Mayank Bhardwaj

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc has sued four Indian farmers for cultivating a potato variety that the snack food and drinks maker claims infringes its patent, the company and the growers said on Friday.

Pepsi has sued the farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, exclusively grown for its popular Lay’s potato chips. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips.

PepsiCo is seeking more than 10 million rupees ($142,840.82) each for alleged patent infringement.

The farmers grow potatoes in the western state of Gujarat, a leading producer of India’s most consumed vegetable.

“We have been growing potatoes for a long time and we didn’t face this problem ever, as we’ve mostly been using the seeds saved from one harvest to plant the next year’s crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the four farmers sued by Pepsi.

Patel did not say how he came by the PepsiCo variety.

A court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of Gujarat, on Friday agreed to hear the case on June 12, said Anand Yagnik, the lawyer for the farmers.

“In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety,” A PepsiCo India spokesman said. “This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefiting from seeds of our registered variety.”

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

The All India Kisan Sabha, or All India Farmers’ Forum, has asked the Indian government to protect the farmers.

The farmers’ forum has also called for a boycott of PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips and the company’s other products.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

PepsiCo is the second major U.S. company in India to face issues over patent infringement.

Stung by a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, which is now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India over a cotton-seed dispute with farmers, Reuters reported in 2017. (reut.rs/2ncBknn)

(Reporting by Amit Dave in AHMEDABAD and Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Martin Howell and Louise Heavens)

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FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shradha Singh

CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co said on Friday it was considering spinning off its ethanol business after slim biofuel margins and Midwestern floods slammed the U.S. grains merchant’s profit, which tumbled 41 percent in the first quarter.

ADM said it was creating an ethanol subsidiary, which will include dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois.

The ethanol subsidiary will report as an independent segment, the company said, allowing options “which may include, but are not limited to, a potential spin-off of the business to existing ADM shareholders.”

Results were hit by the “bomb cyclone” blizzards that devastated the Midwest and Great Plains this year, causing massive flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, washing out rail lines and wreaking havoc in the moving and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat. One-sixth of U.S. ethanol production was halted.

In March, ADM warned Wall Street that flooding and severe winter weather in the U.S. Midwest would reduce its first-quarter operating profit by $50 million to $60 million.

“The first quarter proved more challenging than initially expected,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, with earnings down in its starches, sweeteners and bioproducts unit. Luciano said impacts of the severe weather ultimately “were on the high side of our initial estimates”.

Ongoing problems in the ethanol industry added to the problems and “limited margins and opportunities” for ADM, Luciano said.

The ethanol industry has been in the midst of a historic downswing due to the U.S.-China trade war, excess domestic supply and weak margins.

ADM, which had been an ethanol pioneer, signaled to Wall Street in 2016 that it was hunting for options and considering sales of its U.S. dry ethanol mills. Luciano told Reuters this year that offers ADM had received for the mills were too low.

In addition, ADM said it planned to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota, to produce higher volumes of food and industrial-grade starches.

Other major traders are alsy trying to distance themselves from struggling ethanol businesses. Louis Dreyfus Company BV spun off its Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Biosev in 2013. Rival Bunge sold its sugar book and has sought a buyer for its Brazilian mills since 2013.

ADM, which makes money trading, processing and transporting crops, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, has been looking to strengthen its core business. Last month it said it would seek voluntary early retirements of some North American employees and cut jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

The company expects to lower 2019 capital spending by 10 percent to between $800 million and $900 million.

Net earnings attributable to the company fell to $233 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $393 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $15.30 billion from $15.53 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents per share, while analysts on average had estimated 60 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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