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Spain’s Socialists present climate change strategy ahead of April election

FILE PHOTO: Spain's Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid
FILE PHOTO: Spain's Energy and Environment Minister Teresa Ribera arrives for a cabinet meeting at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, July 6, 2018. REUTERS/Juan Medina

February 22, 2019

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s government presented a draft proposal on how to tackle climate change on Friday, less than two weeks before parliament is due to be dissolved ahead of a general election that may nix its chances of becoming law.

The package includes a draft law and a national plan all EU countries are required to send to Brussels, as well as a strategy to offset job losses in polluting industries. It aims to make Spain carbon neutral by 2050, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this week.

Under the new law, all new cars would need to be emission-free by 2040, Energy Minister Teresa Ribera said, saying this followed a proposal by the European Union.

The ruling Socialists have emphasized their green ambitions since taking power last summer, promising support for renewable energy generation and passing measures aimed at cooling Europe’s fourth-highest electricity prices.

But the long-promised draft has reached parliament two months before an April 28 snap election that Sanchez was forced to call after a spat with his regional separatist partners.

Presenting the package on Friday, Ribera insisted it was worthwhile to forge ahead.

“This is not pie in the sky,” she told a news conference. “There is no reason for us to delay this debate. I am convinced that whoever (is in government) this will be approved and broadly supported by all Spaniards and political forces.”

Ribera said the obligation for cars to be emission-free did not imply a prohibition of any type of vehicle, but did not explain how such a result would be possible without a ban.

A previous draft of the law which said new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars would not be allowed in Spain from 2040 caused some consternation in the industry.

(Reporting by Isla Binnie and Jose Elias Rodriguez; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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Poll: Majority Against National Emergency Declaration

Fifty-one percent of voters oppose President Donald Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency along the southern border in order to allow his administration to shift money to build the wall that Congress refused to fund, according to a new Politico/Morning Consult poll released on Wednesday.

Only 39 percent, back the president’s declaration, while 10 percent were undecided.

The percentage of those who “strongly oppose” Trump’s decision (41 percent) is greater than the combined share of those who “strongly support” (26 percent) or “somewhat support” (13 percent) the declaration of a national emergency.

Other results from the survey show:

  • Seventy-seven percent of Republicans back Trump’s decision, with 18 percent opposing it.
  • Eighty-one percent of Democrats and 52 percent of independents oppose Trump declaring the national emergency.
  • Voters are split over the border wall itself, with 45 percent supporting it and 47 percent against it.
  • Fifty percent say Trump’s emergency declaration to build the wall is “an abuse of power,” while only 37 percent say it isn’t.
  • Trump’s overall approval rating fell three percentage points from last week to 42 percent, with 53 percent disapproving of the job he is doing.

The survey was conducted February 15-19, beginning after the president announced last Friday that he would use the emergency declaration to build the wall. The poll surveyed 1,914 registered voters and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Idaho soldier assigned to Colorado Army post dies in Iraq

The U.S. military says an Idaho soldier assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado, has died in a noncombat incident in Iraq.

The Defense Department said Wednesday that 20-year-old Spc. Michael T. Osorio died Tuesday in Taji, Iraq. No details were released, and the military said an investigation was underway.

Osorio was from Horseshoe Bend, Idaho. He was an intelligence analyst in Fort Carson's 3rd Armored Brigade, part of the 4th Infantry Division.

He enlisted in the Army in July 2017 and was on his first deployment.

His decorations included the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal.

Source: Fox News National

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Senate Republicans enact procedural change to speed confirmation of Trump judicial picks

Senate Republicans used a procedural maneuver on Wednesday to effectively prevent Democrats from using delaying tactics to stall votes on President Trump's nominees to federal district courts and the executive branch, as the White House continues its push to transform the judiciary.

Under rules in place prior to Wednesday, any senator could force 30 hours of debate on a nominee, even after the Senate has voted to halt a filibuster and move forward with a vote on the nominee's confirmation. The GOP's move Wednesday restored a precedent that had been in place during the first few years of President Barack Obama's second term, and limited that debate time to just two hours.

Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court nominations, and appeals court judges are exempted from the new precedent, which will continue indefinitely.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accomplished the change by making a point of order, which was upheld by a 51-48 vote. The change in precedent is not technically a formal change in Senate rules, which would require a 67-vote threshold to end a filibuster.

All Senate Democrats voted to reject McConnell's precedent change, with GOP Sens. Mike Lee and Susan Collins joining them.

McConnell said the situation had gotten out of hand, with the Senate taking 128 votes to end debate on Trump's nominees during his first two years in office, far more than under other presidents.

"The comprehensive campaign by Senate Democrats to delay Senate consideration of presidential nominations is now more than two years old," McConnell said. "It's time for this sorry chapter to end."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks to members of the media alongside Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., from left, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, following a Senate policy luncheon, Tuesday, April 2, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks to members of the media alongside Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., from left, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, following a Senate policy luncheon, Tuesday, April 2, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The move comes as the White House has also sought to speed up the process of installing conservative judges. Trump has aggressively nominated -- and Senate Republicans have confirmed -- several judges to the left-leaning 9th Circuit Court of Appeals without first obtaining the approval of the judge's home-state senators.

"The Senate's advice and consent power is not supposed to be used to slow-walk all of a president's nominees simply because one party doesn't like the president who is doing the nominating," said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the second-ranking Republican.

The point of order votes came following the votes to end debate on the nominations of Jeffrey Kessler for Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Roy Altman for a judgeship on the Southern District of Florida.

"It's time for this sorry chapter to end."

— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Former Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada used the same approach in 2013 to lower the filibuster threshold on most nominations to a simple majority when faced with what Democrats said was GOP obstructionism.

NEARLY HALF OF LEFT-LEANING 9TH CIRCUIT IS NOW REPUBLICAN-APPOINTED, THANKS TO TRUMP'S AGGRESSIVE PUSH

Republicans said at the time that Reid and Democrats would come to regret that rules change, which has given Trump largely free rein to fill numerous judicial vacancies that have piled up over the years.

Many Democrats, who benefited from prior rules changes under Obama, are protesting now. They say the GOP move would enable Trump and future presidents, so long as their party controls the Senate, to run roughshod over the Senate.

They say the hurdles required to win confirmation should be difficult as a way to ensure nominees are ethical, qualified and responsive to requests by senators for information.

"There is no emergency that justifies changing the Senate rules. Sen. McConnell himself admitted the Senate has plenty of time to consider nominees," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "This is all about avoiding close scrutiny for extreme ideological nominees that Republicans want to pack onto the federal courts for lifetime appointments."

But other Democrats, McConnell said, indicated behind the scenes that they could support the rules change provided that it wouldn't take effect until the next administration.

Democrats also say that GOP complaints over their tactics now ring hollow after the obstructionism Obama experienced over his two terms.

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Merrick Garland, a federal appeals court judge nominated to the Supreme Court by Obama, failed to get a Senate hearing, and Republicans stalled numerous other Obama judicial nominees — both when the GOP was in the minority and then after retaking the Senate in 2015.

Armed with the White House and control of the Senate, Trump is now confirming both district and appeals court judges at a dizzying pace and is positioned to reshape the federal judiciary even if he fails to win a second term.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Iran's foreign minister hopes resignation empowers diplomats

Iran's foreign minister has told colleagues he hopes his sudden resignation will reinforce the position of his country's diplomats.

Mohammad Javad Zarif's comments Tuesday come after his surprise resignation the night before.

The state-run IRNA news agency said he told colleagues his resignation would aid in "restoring the ministry to its legal position in foreign relations."

The remark appears to be targeting other bodies within Iran's government. Zarif was not present for a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday.

Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani face increasing criticism as their nuclear deal with world powers unravels.

Iran's powerful parliamentary committee on national security and foreign affairs was scheduled to discuss Zarif's resignation later Tuesday.

Source: Fox News World

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Johnson out after four years as Alabama coach

NCAA Basketball: SEC Conference Tournament-Kentucky vs Alabama
Mar 15, 2019; Nashville, TN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Avery Johnson reacts during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats in the SEC conference tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

March 24, 2019

Alabama and basketball coach Avery Johnson parted ways Sunday, just three days after the Crimson Tide suffered an opening-round defeat on their home court in the NIT.

The two sides had spent the past few days negotiating a buyout of Johnson’s contract, though no terms were announced on Sunday.

“After meeting with Coach Johnson, we made the decision to mutually part ways,” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said in news release issued by both Johnson and the school. “This was not an easy decision, and we thank him for his contributions over the past four seasons. We wish Coach Johnson and his family the very best.”

Alabama will begin the search for its next coach immediately, according to the news release. Assistant coach John Pelphrey will serve as head coach in the interim.

“I would like to thank The University of Alabama, Bill Battle and the Board of Trustees for providing me the opportunity to serve as the head basketball coach,” Johnson said in the release. “I’d also like to thank President Bell and Greg Byrne, our assistant coaches, support staff, the fans and student body for making this such a special experience for me and my family. Finally, and most importantly, I’d like to thank all of the players and parents. It was an honor and privilege to work with these young men and their families. This was an opportunity of a lifetime.”

The SEC now has three openings for a head basketball coach: Alabama, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.

The top-seeded Crimson Tide were stunned 80-79 in overtime at home by Norfolk State on Wednesday night.

Johnson, who turns 54 on Monday, became Alabama’s coach in 2015, but the Crimson Tide have made just one NCAA Tournament in his four seasons at the helm.

Johnson’s contract ran through 2023 and was set to pay him approximately $3 million annually. It called for the school to pay him $8 million if was fired without cause before April 15, but fell to $6 million after that.

In his four seasons at Alabama, Johnson went 75-62, with a 34-38 conference record.

As an NBA coach, Johnson has a 254-186 record over stints with the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets. He was the NBA Coach of the Year following the 2005-06 season, when the Mavericks finished 60-22 and won the Western Conference title.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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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)

Source: OANN

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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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The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration
FILE PHOTO: The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Slack Technologies Inc, operator of the popular workplace instant-messaging app, reported a loss of $140.7 million in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2019, the company said on Friday in a regulatory filing ahead of its planned public market debut.

The company said its daily active users exceeded 10 million in the three months ended Jan. 31, 2019.

Slack expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SK”, it said.

The San Francisco-based company is seeking to go public via a direct listing, making it the second big technology company after Spotify Technology SA to bypass the traditional route of listing shares through an initial public offering.

A direct listing is a cheaper way of becoming a public company as the process requires fewer investment banks and therefore lower fees.

In a direct listing, however, a company does not sell any new shares to raise money. Instead, it gives existing shareholders the opportunity to cash out.

Slack is the latest in a string of high-profile technology companies looking to go public this year. Lyft Inc, Pinterest and Zoom Video Communications have completed IPOs so far in 2019.

The company is hoping for a valuation of more than $10 billion in the listing, Reuters had previously reported. Some early investors and employees have been selling the stock at around $28, valuing the company close to $17 billion, Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge, a brokerage company, told CNBC on Thursday.

Slack set a placeholder amount of $100 million to indicate the size of the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

Its competitors include Microsoft Teams, a free chat add-on for Microsoft’s Office365 users.

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Anil D’Silva)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Candidate Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of an exit poll in Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit poll in a presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Matthias Williams

KIEV (Reuters) – Russia’s decision to make it easier for residents of rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to obtain a Russian passport is meant to test Ukraine’s new leader and the West should not recognize the documents, Lithuania’s foreign minister said on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the order on facilitating passports on Wednesday, three days after comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political novice, won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election.

Linas Linkevicius, whose own country also has strained relations with Moscow, told Reuters in an interview that the West should consider imposing new sanctions on Russia.

“This is a blatant violation of international law. And basically also a kind of test to the new (Ukrainian) leadership, which is also a usual game,” Linkevicius said.

“The least we can do (is) we shouldn’t recognize these passports. How to do that technically, it’s another issue to discuss. Also (we need) to look at additional sanctions,” said Linkevicius, whose small Baltic nation is a member of NATO and the European Union.

Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its support for armed separatists battling Kiev’s forces in eastern Ukraine. Some 13,000 people have been killed in that conflict despite a notional ceasefire signed in Minsk in 2015.

Linkevicius, who in Kiev on Friday became the first minister of an EU country since Ukraine’s election to meet President-elect Zelenskiy, said they had discussed the passport issue.

Zelenskiy also raised the possibility of resetting the Minsk ceasefire agreement without giving any concessions to Russia, Linkevicius said.

“DANGEROUS CANCER” OF GRAFT

The minister urged Zelenskiy to deliver on his electoral promise of tackling corruption, which he described as the “most dangerous cancer” facing Ukraine, which hopes one day to join the EU.

Last month, Lithuania’s own relations with Russia came under renewed strain after a Vilnius court found former Soviet defense minister Dmitry Yazov, in absentia, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in a 1991 crackdown against Lithuania’s pro-independence movement.

Russia branded the verdict “extremely unfriendly and essentially provocative” and opened a probe into the judges involved.

Linkevicius accused Russia of seeking to politicize the judicial process by trying to take revenge on the judges, adding: “This is lamentable.”

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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A Cook County judge recently called out embattled State Attorney Kim Foxx for upholding a double standard by prosecuting a woman for filing a false police report — but dropping similar charges against embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.

Foxx has faced intense criticism over her office’s decision to drop a 16-count indictment against Smollett, just weeks after bringing the charges against the high-profile TV star. Foxx’s deal with Smollett, which did not require him to admit guilt, drew ire from the public, the city’s top cop and the former mayor who called it a “whitewash of justice.”

JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHICAGO PROSECUTOR KIM FOXX CHIDED BY NATIONAL ATTORNEYS GROUPS AFTER JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHARGES DROPPED 

Cook County Judge Marc Martin, who was presiding over an unrelated case, chastised Foxx and her office for creating a situation where anyone charged with filing a false report would expect the same leniency her office afforded Smollett.

Candace Clark, 21, is facing one felony count of making a false report. Prosecutors accused her of giving a friend access to her bank account and then telling authorities the money had been stolen. She denies the charges and claims she’s the victim of Foxx’s double standard — something the judge weighed in on.

“Well, Ms. Clark is not a movie star, she doesn’t have a high-price lawyer, although, her lawyer’s very good. And this smells, big time,” Martin said to prosecutors during a recent hearing, Fox 32 reported. “I didn’t create this mess, your office created this mess. And your explanation is unsatisfactory to this court. She’s being treated differently.”

The judge continued, “There’s no publicity on this case. She doesn’t have Mark Geragos as her lawyer or Ron Safer or Judge Brown. It’s not right. And (if) I proceed in this matter, you’re just digging yourselves further in a hole. (If the) press gets a hold of this, it’ll be in a newspaper. Why is Ms. Clark being treated differently than Mr. Smollett?”

Foxx recused herself from the Smollett case in February but continued to oversee the investigation through text messages with her assistant Joseph Magats.

The text messages revealed Foxx called Smollett a “washed up celeb who lied to cops.” They also show she cautioned Magats about throwing the book at Smollett.

“Sooo……I’m recused, but when people accuse us of overcharging cases…16 counts on a class 4 becomes exhibit A,” Foxx wrote to Magats on March 8.

“Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16. On a case eligible for deferred prosecution I think it’s indicative of something we should be looking at generally. Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should,” she added, referring to the case of R&B singer R. Kelly, who was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with four women, three of whom were underage.

KIM FOXX’S CHIEF ETHICS OFFICER RESIGNS FOLLOWING SMOLLETT CONTROVERSY

President Trump said last month he asked for a federal review of Foxx’s decision to drop the charges against Smollett. He also called the actor “an absolute embarrassment to our country.”

The Smollett case garnered national attention and threatened to tear Chicago apart. It pit the police department and mayor against prosecutors and underscored the idea that wealthy people are somehow above the law.

Smollett told police he was attacked on Jan. 29 around 2 a.m. as he was returning home from a sandwich shop in Chicago. He said two masked men shouted racial and anti-gay slurs, poured bleach on him, beat him and tied a rope around his neck. He claimed they shouted, “This is MAGA country” — a reference to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

CLICK HERE FOF THE FOX NEWS APP

After an intense investigation, police said Smollett staged the entire incident to drum up publicity for his career.

Smollett has strongly denied the accusations.

Source: Fox News National

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