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Pinterest steps up planning for IPO, aims to list shares on NYSE in April: WSJ

A portrait of the Pinterest logo in Ventura
FILE PHOTO: A portrait of the Pinterest logo in Ventura, California December 21, 2013. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

March 22, 2019

(Reuters) – Image-search company Pinterest Inc has sped up the timing of its initial public offering, as it looks to tap into a red-hot market for new issues, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company is preparing to make the filing public as early as Friday and debut on the New York Stock Exchange in mid-April, according to the WSJ report on Thursday.

Pinterest monetizes its website through advertisements, which it places among the “pins” that users put on the site.

The company is among a host of technology startups, including Uber, Lyft, AirBnB and Slack, gearing up for multi-billion IPOs in 2019.

Lyft Inc’s IPO is oversubscribed based on commitments made so far by investors and the ride-hailing company expects its valuation to exceed $23 billion, Reuters reported https://reut.rs/2TSyaux on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

Source: OANN

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Live Coverage of New Zealand Mosque Shooting

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Warren calls for scrapping U.S. electoral college in 2020 televised town hall

FILE PHOTO: Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks to supporters in Memphis
FILE PHOTO: Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks to supporters in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. March 17, 2019. REUTERS/Karen Pulfer Focht/File Photo

March 19, 2019

By Amanda Becker

GREENVILLE, Miss. (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of more than a dozen Democrats vying for the 2020 presidential nomination, on Monday called for the scrapping of the electoral college, the method used to elect U.S. presidents.

It was the first time Warren has explicitly called to eliminate the system established by the U.S. constitution, in which each state is allotted a set number of “electors” based on the combined total of the state’s representation in Congress.

Warren was participating in a televised CNN town hall in Jackson, Mississippi, when she was asked how, if elected, she would expand access to voting, including for those convicted of felonies.

Warren, 69, said there should be an amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing all citizens the right to vote, and called for the repeal of laws that make it more difficult to cast ballots.

She then lamented that White House candidates do not spend much time in places like Mississippi, which is conservative, and therefore not considered a swing state in U.S. presidential elections.

“Well, my view is that every vote matters. And the way we can make that happen is that we can have national voting. And that means get rid of the electoral college and everybody counts,” Warren said, eliciting some of the most enthusiastic applause of the night.

The electoral college has 538 electors and 270 are needed to win the presidency. Democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election but Republican Donald Trump won the electoral college.

Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee introduced a constitutional amendment this year to eliminate the electoral college, but it has not been brought up for a vote in the House, which is controlled by Democrats.

(Reporting by Amanda Becker; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Source: OANN

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Saudi visit highlights Pakistan’ search for investment

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accompanies Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a carriage to the President House in Islamabad,
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accompanies Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a carriage to the President House in Islamabad, Pakistan February 18, 2019. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via REUTERS/

February 18, 2019

By James Mackenzie

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The lavish welcome for visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Islamabad this weekend could hardly have made more clear Pakistan’s dependence on foreign investments to prop up its stumbling economy and plug its depleted reserves.

Fighter jets escorted the prince’s plane across Pakistani airspace and television stations devoted hours of live coverage to the royal motorcade and ceremony, where officials signed memoranda of understanding in energy, minerals and agriculture valued at about $20 billion.

With foreign exchange reserves now only enough to cover two months of imports and an economy dogged by weaker growth and rising debt, Pakistan needs investment badly as bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund are moving slowly.

President Arif Alvi bestowed Pakistan’s highest award, the “Nishan-e-Pakistan”, on the prince, while the head of the Senate presented him with a gift of a gold-plated submachine gun.

“The MOUs reflected the enhanced relationship but what I feel is that this is just a beginning,” Prime Minister Imran Khan told his guest.

For Saudi Arabia, itself in need of friends after prompting global outrage over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year at its consulate in Istanbul, the fulsome tributes were no doubt welcome but officials said the accords were economically significant. Riyadh denies the prince was involved in Khashoggi’s killing, which has strained ties with the West.

“This is not charity, this is an investment. There is benefit for both sides,” said Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir.

Under its Vision 2030 strategy, Saudi Arabia is looking to diversify investments in addition to its crude oil reserves and develop as a “global investment powerhouse”.

“HUGE OPPORTUNITY”

The largest deal signed on Sunday, a $10 billion refinery to be developed in the port of Gwadar by Saudi Aramco, will take up to five years to develop. But smaller deals, including the acquisition of two liquefied natural gas plants, alternative energy projects and food and agriculture investments should bear fruit more quickly.

“We believe in Pakistan’s future, we believe Pakistan has a huge opportunity,” Prince Mohammed said on Monday.

Details on many of the investments remain vague but the package was the largest since the $60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, hailed as the centerpiece of Beijing’s mammoth Belt and Road global infrastructure project when it was announced in 2014.

“The interesting thing about this trip is that the relationship has taken another dimension. From strategic military-to-military, it has taken the dimension of economic cooperation,” said Zahid Hussain, a writer and analyst on regional issues.

“China will remain a major, key partner in Pakistan,” he said. “But the Saudis will be supplementing that. I don’t think it’s a zero-sum game.”

Prince Mohammed’s visit coincides with a ratcheting up of tensions between Pakistan and India following last week’s suicide attack in Kashmir, claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e Mohammad, which killed 44 Indian police.

The issue was only briefly alluded to in public but Prince Mohammed’s next stop on his first official Asian tour is New Delhi, where officials are also eyeing billions of dollars in investments.

Iran – Saudi Arabia’s arch foe – has also stepped up pressure on Pakistan over an attack near their shared border claimed by another militant group, Jaish-e Adl.

While Pakistan’s powerful military has long been a reliable ally of Saudi Arabia, Islamabad is wary about being drawn into the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is battling the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. Pakistani officials say the investment package is not linked to support for the coalition.

(Additional reporting by Drazen Jorgic and Asif Shahzad; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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Trump to present Medal of Honor to late Army staff sergeant

An Army staff sergeant killed in Iraq while trying to subdue a suicide bomber will receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award for battlefield valor.

President Donald Trump will present the medal to Travis Atkins's son, Trevor, and other family members at a White House ceremony on March 27.

According to the White House, Atkins was trying to subdue the suspected insurgent in June 2007 when he realized the man was trying to detonate a bomb that was strapped to him. Atkins, 31, of Bozeman, Montana, then used his body to shield fellow soldiers from the explosion near a mosque in Al Yusufiyah.

Atkins' heroic sacrifice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom saved the lives of three fellow soldiers, the White House said.

Atkins was a member of the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, New York, and was on his second tour of duty in Iraq at the time of his death. He oversaw a squad of 15 soldiers.

Atkins deployed to Iraq in 2003 and was later honorably discharged as a sergeant. He re-enlisted in the Army in 2005 after attending the University of Montana and deployed to Iraq again in 2006. He was promoted to staff sergeant in May 2007, a month before he was killed.

Source: Fox News National

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Two years and 448 pages later, some Mueller fans ask: was he tough enough?

FILE PHOTO: FBI Director Mueller testifies at a security threat hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington
FILE PHOTO: Robert Mueller, as FBI director, testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington March 12, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/File Photo

April 24, 2019

By Nathan Layne and Ginger Gibson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Many left-leaning Americans regarded Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a paragon of courage and toughness, an unflinching prosecutor who would stop at nothing to ensure justice was served to President Donald Trump.

A decorated Marine platoon commander in the Vietnam War, Mueller burnished his credentials by bringing charges against former Trump aides even while under attack from the White House.

Now, after reading the 448-page report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, some are asking whether the former FBI director was tough enough.

In interviews with more than 20 Mueller supporters, former prosecutors and legal experts, Reuters found that criticism has centered on two decisions: declining to make a call on whether Trump committed a crime by obstructing justice, which allowed Attorney General William Barr to intercede in Trump’s favor, and failing to compel the president to answer questions under oath.

“The most critical thing is he didn’t insist on an interview with President Trump,” said Melanie Sloan, a senior adviser with the American Oversight, an ethics watchdog which has filed more than 70 public-records lawsuits against the administration since Trump was inaugurated in January 2017.

Trump claimed victory after Barr said last month that Mueller had not established a conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia, and went further by declaring there was no prosecutable crime on obstruction.

Supporters said Mueller’s full report released on Thursday was actually more damaging than Barr’s summary led them to believe, documenting a pattern of lies by Trump and laying the foundation for Congress to take up a possible obstruction case.

And while Mueller adhered to Justice Department policy not to indict a sitting president, he specifically said his investigation “does not exonerate him” and noted that a president could face criminal liability after leaving office.

“What he gave us is a blueprint for a future prosecutor to go to a grand jury and indict,” said Jennifer Taub, a professor at Vermont Law School, though she pointed out that such a move could be subject to a pardon. “I think he did an excellent job.”

A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.

A LET DOWN?

Still, many Mueller devotees who were sure Mueller’s probe would end Trump’s presidency made it clear they felt let down.

“There was a little flinching at the end of the day,” David Brock, founder of Media Matters for America, a media watchdog known for its criticism of conservative news sites.

In particular, a face-to-face interview could have yielded new evidence on intent and caught Trump lying, some legal experts said.

“If Trump lies and those lies were exposed in the report, I think it would have been much harder for Barr to exonerate him,” said Lawrence Robbins, a Washington-based trial and appellate litigator.

In the report Mueller explained that he was concerned about a lengthy court battle if he subpoenaed Trump, who had declined to be interviewed voluntarily. Mueller also said he had secured substantial information from other sources.

But if time was such a big consideration, he could have sought a subpoena early on, said Nelson Cunningham, a White House lawyer under President Bill Clinton.

In the Whitewater investigation in the 1990s, independent counsel Kenneth Starr obtained a subpoena to compel Bill Clinton’s grand jury testimony about his relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton agreed to testify and was later accused of perjury and obstruction. He was impeached by the House of Representatives but acquitted in the Senate.

“Trump is the central figure in this entire matter and not to have sought his testimony like Starr did in 1998 – it just seems to leave a giant hole in Mueller’s two years of work,” Cunningham said.

Mueller’s failure to declare whether Trump committed the crime of obstructing justice is another key point of contention.

Mueller said in the report that his stance was warranted because Trump would not have the normal recourse of a speedy and public trial to clear his name.

“I think that is why he was appointed – to see if there were crimes – and I think that is a major inexplicable failure,” said Matthew Jacobs, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defense lawyer based in San Francisco.

By declining to make that call, Mueller effectively handed the decision to Barr despite knowing that the future attorney general had argued against the legitimacy of Mueller’s obstruction case in a memo to the Justice Department.

Mueller must have known what the consequences of his inaction would be, said Jimmy Gurule, a former assistant attorney general who served under Barr in the early 1990s.

“Now we are in this legal black hole,” said Gurule, now a law professor at the University of Notre Dame.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne, Ginger Gibson, Andy Sullivan, Katanga Johnson, John Whitesides, Sarah N. Lynch and Noeleen Walder; Editing by Kieran Murray and Sonya Hepinstall)

Source: OANN

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Pennsylvania jury clears white cop in fatal shooting of black teen; defense attorney's office struck by bullets

A former Pittsburgh-area white police officer on trial for fatally shooting a black teenager fleeing from a traffic stop was acquitted Friday of murder and manslaughter charges.

An Alleghany County Court jury found former East Pittsburgh officer Michael Rosfeld was justified when he killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose last June following less than four hours of deliberation in a four-day trial.

Hours after the verdict, two shots were fired into the office of Rosfeld's attorney Pat Thomassey in Monroeville, Penn., WTAE-TV reported. Police showed up Saturday morning to investigate the incident which occurred around 12:30 a.m., according to Thomassey.

Earlier, Rose's mother, Michelle Kenney, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "I hope that man [Rosfeld] never sleeps at night. I hope he gets as much sleep as I do, which is none."

EX-COP SAYS HE THOUGHT HE SAW A GUN WHEN HE SHOT BLACK TEEN

Kenney said she was upset but unsurprised by the verdict, given other cases in which police officers have either avoided charges or won acquittals in similar shootings.

"It isn't what I hoped for, but it's what I expected," she said, adding she feels her son ended up dead because he was black.

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019. 

Supporters of Antwon Rose II, stand on the steps of Allegheny County Courthouse after hearing the verdict of not guilty on all charges for Michael Rosfeld, a former police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pa., Friday, March 22, 2019.  (AP)

The high-profile killings of black men and teens by white police officers across the U.S. in recent years has become a flashpoint in fueling racial tensions.

The verdict sparked small demonstrations in downtown Pittsburgh where the case was tried. Pittsburgh police tweeted the “peaceful demonstration” resulted in rolling, temporary road closures.

Rose had been riding in the front seat of the cab when another occupant, Zaijuan Hester, in the back, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. A few minutes later, Rosfeld spotted their car, which had its rear windshield shot out, and pulled it over. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger jumped out and began running away. Rosfeld, sworn in just hours before the fatal shooting after only a few weeks on the job, fired three times in quick succession.

WITNESS SAYS OFFICER QUESTIONED TEEN'S ACTIONS IN SHOOTING

Rose was struck three times in the back, arm and side, the jury was told.

Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations and admitted being the shooter.

The former officer told jurors that he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun pointed at him, insisting he fired his weapon to protect himself and the community. Neither was armed.

Former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld earlier this month. 

Former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld earlier this month.  (AP)

Two guns were found in the car.

A defense expert told the jury, which included three black jurors, that Rosfeld was justified in using deadly force to stop suspects he thought had been involved in a shooting.

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Rose's mother has filed a federal lawsuit that accuses Rosfeld and the small town of East Pittsburgh of violating the teen's civil rights.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of
Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of “Avengers: Endgame” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 26, 2019

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Marvel Studios superhero spectacle “Avengers: Endgame” hauled in a record $60 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices during its Thursday night debut, distributor Walt Disney Co said.

Global ticket sales for the film about Iron Man, Hulk and other popular characters reached $305 million for the first two days, Disney said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Funeral of journalist Lyra McKee in Belfast
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn attends the funeral service for murdered journalist Lyra McKee at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland April 24, 2019. Brian Lawless/Pool via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Friday he had turned down an invitation to a state dinner which will be part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Britain in June.

“Theresa May should not be rolling out the red carpet for a state visit to honor a president who rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric,” Corbyn said in a statement.

He said maintaining the relationship with the United States did not require “the pomp and ceremony of a state visit” and he said he would welcome a meeting with Trump “to discuss all matters of interest.”

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg)

Source: OANN

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Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli
Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli, Libya April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

April 26, 2019

By Ulf Laessing

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s U.N.-recognized government has budgeted up to 2 billion dinars ($1.43 billion) to cover costs of a three-week-old war for control of the capital, such as treatment for the wounded, to be funded without new borrowing, the economy minister said.

Ali Abdulaziz Issawi suggested the government hoped for business to continue more or less as usual despite the assault on Tripoli, in the country’s northwest, by forces tied to a parallel administration based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Once Africa’s third largest producer of oil, Libya has been riven by factional conflict since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with the country now broadly split between eastern-based forces under Khalifa Haftar and the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, in the west, under Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

Still, with Haftar’s Libyan National Army forces unable so far to pierce defenses in Tripoli’s southern suburbs, normal life and business activities continue in much of the capital and western coastal towns.

Issawi, in an interview with Reuters in his Tripoli office, also said Libya’s commercial ports and wheat imports were still functioning normally, although some roads have been blocked.

He said the Serraj government estimates it will spend up to 2 billion dinars extra on medical treatment for wounded, aid for displaced people and other “emergency” war costs.

He said this was not military spending but analysts believe that the sum will also cover expenditures such as pay for allied armed groups or food for fighters.

“We could actually spend less,” he added, in comments that gave the first insight into the economic impact of the fighting.

Issawi said the Tripoli government, which controls little territory beyond the greater capital region, would not incur new debt to fund the war costs, sticking to a plan to post a 2019 budget without a deficit.

Tripoli derives revenue largely from oil and natural gas production, interest-free loans from local banks to the central bank, and a 183 percent surcharge on foreign exchange transactions conducted at official rates.

But with centralized tax collection greatly diminished, public debt has piled up – to 68 billion dinars in the west, including unpaid state obligations such as social insurance.

Some analysts expect Serraj’s government will be forced to raise new debt if the war for control of Tripoli drags on.

With much of Libya dominated by armed factions that also act as security forces, the public wage bill for both the western and eastern administrations has soared as fighters have been made public employees in efforts to buy their loyalty.

The east has sold bonds worth 35 billion dinars outside the official financial system as the Tripoli central bank does not fund the parallel government apart from some wages.

Despite its limited reach, the Tripoli government still runs an annual budget of around 46.8 billion dinars, mainly for public salaries and fuel subsidies.

“This year we cannot finance via debt…we will not borrow (by agreement with the central bank),” Issawi said.

According to International Monetary Fund data, Libya’s central government debt-to-GDP ratio is 143 percent, making it one of the most heavily indebted in the world on that measure.

Issawi declined to say what parts of the budget would be trimmed to support the extra outlay for war costs.

However, with some 70 percent of the budget allocated to public wages, fuel subsidies and other welfare benefits, a portion devoted to infrastructure is most likely to be axed.

Widespread lawlessness has meant there have been no major infrastructural projects since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising overthrew dictator Muammar Gaddafi, leaving schools, hospitals and roads in acute need of restoration.

FOREX SURCHARGE

Issawi said the government planned to raise as much as 30 billion dinars by the end of 2019 from hard currency deals after imposing in September a 183 percent surcharge on commercial and private transactions done on the official rate of 1.4 to the U.S. dollar. That fee has effectively devalued the official rate to 3.9, much closer to the black market equivalent.

Some 17 billion dinars have been raised since then, with hard currency allocated for import credit letters now issued without delays, Issawi said. The forex fee has helped the government forecast a budget in the black for 2019.

Despite the narrowing spread between the two rates, the black market continues to thrive. Dozens of traders remained at their favorite spot behind the central bank headquarters in Tripoli when Reuters reporters visited it last week.

But traders said it could take time for the Serraj government to register the extra forex receipts as official banking channels were taking up to six months to approve import financing, keeping the black market in play for dealers.

Issawi said authorities planned to lower the forex fee from 183 percent, without saying when. The black market rate has dropped from 6 to around 4.1 since September but it has hardly moved of late as demand for black market cash remains high.

The Tripoli government has stopped subsidizing food and bread, which used to be cheaper than drinking water in Libya. Wheat imports are now being arranged by private traders and there are surplus stocks of flour at the moment, Issawi said.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing in Tripoli with additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., threatened possible jail time for White House officials refusing to comply with subpoenas to testify before the House Oversight Committee.

Connolly, a member of the House panel, made his comments during an interview on CNN on Thursday. He said that “if a subpoena is issued and you’re told you must testify, we will back that up.”

He added: “And we will use any and all power in our command to make sure it’s backed up — whether that’s a contempt citation, whether that’s going to court and getting that citation enforced, whether it’s fines, whether it’s possible incarceration.”

“We will go to the max to enforce the constitutional role of the legislative branch of government.”

His comments came after three officials have refused to comply with congressional requests to testify, CNN noted.

Trump told The Washington Post that his staff should not testify on Capitol Hill, explaining that the White House cooperated fully with special counsel Robert Mueller and “there is no reason to go any further, especially in Congress where it’s very partisan.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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“Outdated laws” need fixing to deal with the surge in illegal immigrant families crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, a top Border Patrol official said Friday.

Migrant families face no consequences if apprehended trying to cross the border illegally under present law, Border Patrol chief of Operations Brian Hastings claimed during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

“We need a change in the current outdated laws that we’re dealing with for this current demographic and this crisis that we have,” he said.

Hastings said as of Thursday there have been 440,000 apprehensions along the southwest border. There were 396,000 apprehensions all of last year.

SOUTHERN BORDER AT ‘BREAKING POINT’ AFTER MORE THAN 76,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TRIED CROSSING IN FEBRUARY, OFFICIALS SAY

And those numbers continue to rise, he said.

Historically 70 to 90 percent of apprehensions at the border were quickly returned to Mexico, Hastings said.

Now, 83 percent of those apprehended have come from the Central American northern triangle which includes Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and of those 63 percent are “family units” and children who cannot be returned, he said.

“There are no consequences that we can apply to this group currently,” Hastings said. “We’re overwhelmed. If you look at agents there doing a tremendous job trying to deal with the flow.”

The law dictates children have to be released after 20 days of detention.

FLORIDA SHERIFF ON BORDER CRISIS AFTER MAJOR DRUG BUST: ‘IT MAKES ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says that has forced immigration officials to release entire families because “you don’t want to separate families.”

Recently, he said he is drafting legislation that would allow children to be detained for more than 20 days.

Hastings said agents are frustrated with the situation but are doing the best they can with the resources they have.

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“Up to 40 percent of our agents are processing at any given time,” he said. “That should say that in and of itself is pulling from those border security resources.”

Source: Fox News National

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