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Abe describes BOJ’s inflation goal as means to spur growth

FILE PHOTO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to media after phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump after second North Korea-U.S. summit, in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to media after phone talks with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) after second North Korea-U.S. summit, at Abe's residence in Tokyo, Japan February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

March 20, 2019

By Leika Kihara

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday he sees the central bank’s inflation target as a means to achieve the more important goal of reviving the economy, in a sign that firing up inflation may no longer be a priority for the government.

The premier’s comments followed those from Finance Minister Taro Aso, who warned the Bank of Japan last week against insisting on hitting its price goal.

Abe defended the BOJ for missing its 2 percent inflation target, telling parliament that the government gives a passing grade to its policies for boosting jobs and economic growth.

“The BOJ’s price target is not only a target but a means to revive the economy,” Abe told parliament, adding the priority for many central banks across the globe, including the BOJ, was to spur growth and create more jobs.

“With monetary policy, you can create jobs and put an end to deflation. In doing so, you need an inflation target of 2 percent,” Abe said.

“In achieving our fundamental goal of spurring growth, (the BOJ’s policies) have had a sufficient effect,” he said.

Abe’s views contrast with remarks by BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who have consistently said achieving the bank’s price target was its priority.

Speaking at the same parliament committee, Kuroda said the central bank was ready to ramp up stimulus if the economy loses momentum for hitting his price target.

With inflation distant from its target, the BOJ is struggling to balance the need to drive up inflation and address the rising cost of prolonged easing such as the hit to bank profits from years of ultra-low interest rates.

As heightening overseas risks such as trade protectionism threaten Japan’s fragile economic recovery, BOJ policymakers disagreed on the next policy move at their January rate review, according to minutes of the meeting released on Wednesday.

Abe reiterated that the government hopes the BOJ keeps up efforts to achieve its inflation target, with an eye on economic, price and financial developments.

The premier said there was no inconsistency between his views and those of Aso, who said last week that “things could go wrong” if the BOJ insisted too much on achieving its price goal.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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Police to release ‘significant information’ in girls’ deaths

Indiana State Police on Monday will release "very significant information" about the 2017 deaths of two teenage girls who were killed during a hiking trip, an agency spokesman said.

No arrest warrants have been issued and no arrests have been made in the killings of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams, Sgt. Kim Riley said. But he said the agency would release new information about the investigation into the unsolved slayings during a news conference in Delphi, the city near where the girls were found dead in February 2017.

State Police Superintendent Doug Carter will discuss how the investigation had gone in a "new direction," according to police. Carter will be joined by a State Police captain but they won't take questions, Riley said.

The teenagers' bodies were found in a rugged, wooded area one day after they went hiking near their hometown of Delphi, a community of about 3,000 people roughly 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis.

Within days of the killings, investigators released two grainy photos of a suspect walking on the abandoned railroad bridge the girls had visited, and an audio recording of a man believed to be the suspect saying "down the hill."

That evidence came from German's cellphone, and police have hailed the girl as a hero for recording potentially crucial evidence.

Investigators have reviewed thousands of leads looking for the man. Police also have released a composite sketch from eyewitnesses who believe they saw the man in Delphi.

___

For the latest developments in this case: https://apnews.com/099ee1da042941dfb96d90377e08dde4

Source: Fox News National

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Austrian leader expects US to raise IS fighters during visit

Austria's leader says he expects U.S. officials to bring up their desire for European countries to take back captured Islamic State group fighters when he visits Washington this week, but he is "very cautious" on the issue.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is to meet President Donald Trump Wednesday. The Austria Press Agency reported that he told reporters in Vienna Tuesday: "I don't think you can really prepare for a meeting with Donald Trump."

However, he said he assumes the Americans will bring up European citizens who fought for IS in Syria after Trump demanded allies take them back and try them. Kurz said there are a few cases that Austria will examine.

He added: "We are very cautious here. For us, protecting the Austrian population of course takes priority."

Source: Fox News National

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2 shot in head, 1 dead in Kentucky home invasion, police say

Authorities in Kentucky are investigating a home invasion and shooting that killed a 21-year-old woman and wounded a 21-year-old man Saturday night.

Kentucky State Police said troopers were called to a home in Scottsville at approximately 10:30 p.m., where they found two victims identified as Charles Hopewell and Alyssia Rodriguez. Investigators said Hopewell and Rodriguez were inside their home when "unknown person(s)" went into the house with a firearm and opened fire.

Rodriguez was struck in the head and was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where she was pronounced dead Sunday morning.

Hopewell was struck "in the head area" and was treated and released from a local hospital. WLEX-TV reported that two other people, including a child, were inside the home at the time of the shooting, but were not injured.

State troopers and police detectives are investigating Rodriguez's murder with the assistance of Scottsville Police.

Scottsville is about an hour's drive northeast of Nashville.

Source: Fox News National

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Getting to Mars may happen only if we can grow food in space

Decades after the last human set foot on the moon, NASA is contemplating setting up a permanent base there or sending astronauts to Mars. Accomplishing those goals, however, will require a few green thumbs.

The cost to send a pound of anything into low Earth orbit is estimated at about $10,000, and much more than that beyond. That makes sending food to feed astronauts for months extremely expensive. However, if they could grow their own food and use closed systems to recycle water and oxygen, trips to the moon and Mars would become much more feasible.

That’s where Purdue’s Cary Mitchell comes in. For more than 40 years, he has led efforts to improve human ability to grow food in space – from improving lighting for crops to testing the ability to grow leafy greens, fruits and vegetables that will keep astronauts nourished and satisfied on their long trips.

Mitchell began his career at Purdue interested in the effects of mechanical stresses on . He noticed that shaking a tomato plant caused it to dwarf, and touching the near side of a plant’s stem caused it to grow toward him. NASA invited him to speak at a symposium in the 1970s and eventually introduced him to the agency’s new space biology program, which funded his research for an extended period.

“We were looking at very basic questions back then. We wanted to know how plants would orient in space, for example. Without gravity, how would roots know to grow down and shoots up?” said Mitchell, a professor of horticulture. “Since then, we’ve spent a lot of time working on how to light plants in space and on particular varieties of plants that are feasible to grow there.”

Soon, Mitchell became involved in more projects through NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) program, which had a goal of closing loops for advanced life support systems and using plants not only for food, but for production of oxygen and reclamation of water. While many scientists were interested in growing grains and protein, Mitchell thought astronauts might enjoy a fresh salad from time to time, so he focused on identifying lettuces that would grow well in the conditions one might find in a space shuttle or on a space station.

In the 1990s and early 2000s, the space agency started NASA Specialized Centers of Research and Training (NSCORT). Mitchell led the university’s efforts and was instrumental in having the first and third NSCORTs led by Purdue. These centers brought together researchers in agriculture, engineering, and science to answer fundamental questions about advanced life support in space.

One of those fundamental questions is about how to light plants in space. The traditional supplemental lights used in greenhouses tend to be hot and consume significant amounts of energy. Plants in space need to be packed closely together since the growing area is at a premium. Mitchell thought there had to be a better way to get light to all parts of the plants, so he experimented with LED, or light-emitting diode, lights that could be placed under plants’ canopies.

“You’re really limited in lighting plants overhead in space. When you have branching plants growing together, you get no light from overhead underneath,” Mitchell said. “We did the first proof of concept with blue and red LED “lightsicles” that could light plants from the side within the canopy. The LEDs were cool enough that you could touch them and they wouldn’t scorch the plants. And they gave us 50 percent to 75 percent energy savings for the same growth.”

Michell is working on LED arrays that focus light in specific places on plants to optimize energy use. Gioia Massa, who did postdoctoral research in Mitchell’s lab and assisted with this project, now works as a life sciences project scientist at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. They are working together with and dwarf tomatoes, and astronauts on the International Space Station are taste-testing the fruits of their labor—literally.

Massa said Mitchell has been instrumental in many of the most important research areas regarding advanced life support and food in space.

“He’s really been there from the beginning of space biology research and horticulture research. He’s kind of the founding father in this area,” Massa said. “His research has changed over the years as new technology has become available, and he has been influential in deciding the direction of the field.”


Roger Stone and Owen Shroyer join Alex Jones to discuss how the mainstream media attacks and Big Tech censorship can’t stop Infowars from telling the truth and won’t stop Alex Jones’ fans from listening to it.

Source: InfoWars

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Power pole impales SUV in Washington state on video, 2 in vehicle survive

Dramatic footage showed the moment a power pole pierced an SUV over the weekend in Washington state -- but the couple inside survived the harrowing incident.

Tukwila Police released footage Tuesday that showed the moment when Tom and Linda Cook’s Ford Edge was struck by the wooden utility pole with live wires.

Police responded to the emergency call Friday at around 3:50 p.m. that the vehicle was struck by a powerline. First responders had to wait about an hour to pull the Cooks from the SUV because they had to wait for the power to be turned off.

FLORIDA KEYS BRIEFLY WITHOUT POWER AFTER SAILBOAT HITS POWER LINE, OFFICIALS SAY

“Just by looking at the damage to the vehicle on scene, it appeared that the injuries would be serious and or even fatal,” Tukwila Police said in a statement.

"Seeing the photos of the vehicle, if I had seen those photos as a bystander or after the fact and I looked at the photos, I would have said somebody died in the car," Tom Cook told KOMO-TV.

Two people were trapped in the SUV for about an hour after several power poles came crashing down on East Marginal Way on Friday, according to Tukwila police. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP)

Two people were trapped in the SUV for about an hour after several power poles came crashing down on East Marginal Way on Friday, according to Tukwila police. (Ellen M. Banner/The Seattle Times via AP)

“The firefighters said... had it hit to the left or the right, it would have come down on one of us."

The two were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were treated for minor cuts and bruises and released that same night.

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Seattle City Light later revealed that 26 utility poles came down on Friday, affecting approximately 16,500 people. Those poles had last been inspected in 2016 and none were identified as “posing a public safety hazard” at the time.

The company has hired a third party to conduct an independent investigation.

Source: Fox News National

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Euro zone headline, core inflation slowdown confirmed for March

FILE PHOTO: The euro sign is photographed in front of the former head quarter of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: The euro sign is photographed in front of the former head quarter of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

April 17, 2019

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone inflation slowed in March and the core figure dipped, the European Union’s statistics office said on Wednesday, confirming its initial estimates and providing an uncomfortable signal for the European Central Bank (ECB).

Eurostat said prices in the 19-nation currency bloc rose 1.4 percent in March on the year, from a 1.5 percent increase a month earlier, confirming the previous reading.

The ECB targets an inflation rate below, but close to 2.0 percent, and last week raised the prospect of more support for the euro zone in the face of an economic slowdown.

On the month, inflation accelerated to 1.0 percent, as markets had expected, from 0.3 percent in February.

The core indicator watched closely by the ECB for its monetary policy decisions, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, dropped to 1.0 percent in March on the year from 1.2 percent in February. That was the weakest reading since April 2018, Eurostat data showed, confirming earlier estimates.

This can add to the pressure on the ECB as it battles an economic slowdown which threatens to undo years of stimulus, while many of its own rate-setters think the bank’s economic projections are too optimistic.

A narrower inflation indicator that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco was also confirmed dipping to 0.8 percent from 1.0 percent a month earlier.

Inflation was held back by a slowdown in price rises of food, alcohol and tobacco, which rose 1.8 percent on the year in March after a 2.3 percent rise in February.

Inflation in the services sector, the largest in the euro zone economy, also slowed to 1.1 percent from 1.4 percent in February.

Energy prices were the only major component of the index that accelerated in March, to a rise of 5.3 percent year-on-year from 3.6 percent in February.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)

Source: OANN

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

Source: OANN

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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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Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has blasted the United State and the European Union for imposing sanctions on his country, describing them as “economic terrorism.”

Bashar Ja’afari made his comments Friday in the Kazakh capital of Astana where Russia, Turkey and Iran held a new round of talks with the Syrian government and the opposition on steps to bring peace to the country.

His comments came as government-held parts of Syria are witnessing widespread fuel shortages that are largely the result of Western sanctions on Syria and its key ally Iran.

Ja’afari says: “This is economic terrorism that is escalating through unilateral economic measures.”

A final statement issued at the end of Astana’s 12th round rejected President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

Source: Fox News World

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