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Rep. Katherine Clark: Dems Serious on Mueller Report Deadline

Lawmakers must get special counsel Robert Mueller's full report, and subpoenas must be authorized before Attorney General William Barr turns over his redacted version of it, Rep. Katherine Clark, vice-chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said Monday while responding to news that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler plans to subpoena the document.

"The way to do it is to be very clear with Attorney General Barr that we're not going to just rely on the Barr report, but we need to see the underlying evidence and the full report from Mr. Mueller," the Massachusetts Democrat told CNN's "New Day. "I think the clear message that the Judiciary Committee is sending is that we're serious about an April 2nd deadline."

There have been concerns that the report could contain grand jury material, but Clark noted that in the past, such items have been waived in the past to allow members of the Judiciary Committee to see it.

"We are able to negotiate keeping classified information, grand jury information, if necessary, out of the public realm," said Clark.

She also commented on President Donald Trump's threat to shut down the Mexican border, calling it another example of a failed policy and priorities.

"This entire presidency is built on the lie that migrant families are the greatest threat to our national security and that Mexico will pay for a wall to keep them out and that will protect American families and our economy," said Clark. "That's the fundamental misrepresentation of this presidency."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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NBA roundup: Jazz top Suns despite Booker’s 59

NBA: Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz
Mar 25, 2019; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) shoots the ball ahead of Phoenix Suns forward Dragan Bender (35) during the first quarter at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

March 26, 2019

Rudy Gobert scored a season-high 27 points and collected 10 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 125-92 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

Devin Booker scored a season-high 59 points for the Suns.

Gobert broke the NBA single-season dunk record with 274 while picking up his 59th double-double of the season. The old dunk mark of 269 was set by Dwight Howard set in 2007-08. Dunks have been an official stat only since 2000.

Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio added 18 points apiece for the Jazz, who won for the seventh time in eight games. Booker hit 19 of 34 field-goal attempts and 16 of 17 from the free-throw line, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Phoenix from losing for the seventh time in the past nine games.

Trail Blazers 148, Nets 144 (2OT)

Jusuf Nurkic scored 32 points and had a game-high 16 rebounds to lead Portland to a double-overtime victory against visiting Brooklyn.

But Nurkic suffered a serious left leg injury with 2:22 left in the second overtime when fouled while going for an offensive rebound. He was taken off on a stretcher and then to a local hospital.

Damian Lillard added 31 points and a game-leading 12 assists for the Blazers, who clinched an NBA playoff spot for the sixth year in a row. In reserve, Seth Curry scored 20 points and Rodney Hood 18 as Portland completed a homestand 4-0.

Magic 119, 76ers 98

Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 11 rebounds, and Orlando took a major step in its push toward the playoffs with a home win over Philadelphia.

The Magic went undefeated during their five-game homestand and are now just a half-game behind the Miami Heat for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The two teams play a pivotal game Tuesday night in Miami.

Evan Fournier chipped in 24 points and seven assists for Orlando. Joel Embiid had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the 76ers. Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons did not play due to a stomach virus.

Grizzlies 115, Thunder 103

Bruno Caboclo scored a career-high 24 points to lift Memphis past visiting Oklahoma City.

Caboclo hadn’t scored more than 16 points in any of his 60 previous NBA games over five seasons. He also tied his career high with 11 rebounds. Jonas Valancuinas added 18 points and 14 rebounds for Memphis, and Delon Wright had 18 points and 13 assists. Tyler Dorsey contributed 21 points.

Paul George led the Thunder with 30 points but was just 10 of 29 from the floor. Dennis Schroder scored 26 points for Oklahoma City, and Russell Westbrook added 16 points and seven assists.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Spring training roundup: Tulowitzki relishes homer against Blue Jays

MLB: Spring Training-Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees
Feb 25, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA;New York Yankees shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (12) celebrates after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

February 25, 2019

Troy Tulowitzki homered in his first spring at-bat with the New York Yankees, the blast coming against the team that released him as part of a 3-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday at Tampa, Fla.

Tulowitzki was let go by Toronto in December and is trying to revive his once-standout career with the Yankees. He delivered a message to the Blue Jays with his shot off right-hander Marcus Stroman as his first-inning swing sent the ball over the wall in the right-field corner.

“No doubt about it, it was definitely extra special,” Tulowitzki told reporters afterward. “It was a team that basically told me I couldn’t play anymore. It is spring training. It is what it is. But it was a big day for myself.”

Braves 9, Nationals 4

Left-hander Patrick Corbin allowed one hit in two innings of his spring debut with Washington but host Atlanta recovered from an early three-run deficit to rout the Nationals at Kissimmee, Fla. Freddie Freeman smacked a two-run homer for the Braves.

Twins 7, Orioles 1

Byron Buxton went 3-for-3 with a homer and five RBIs to lead Minnesota past visiting Baltimore at Fort Myers, Fla. Eric Young Jr. homered for the Orioles.

Phillies 12, Tigers (ss) 7

Maikel Franco had four RBIs and Rhys Hoskins and Shane Robinson drove in two runs apiece as Philadelphia defeated visiting Detroit at Clearwater, Fla. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann struck out four in two perfect innings for the Tigers.

Pirates 4, Red Sox 3

Lolo Sanchez’s run-scoring single capped a three-run uprising in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Pittsburgh edged Boston at Bradenton, Fla. Bryce Brentz’s solo homer was one of four hits for the Red Sox.

Marlins 5, Rays 2

Austin Dean lined a two-run single to help Miami defeat host Tampa Bay at Port Charlotte, Fla. Nathan Lukes and Jake Smolinski drove in runs for the Rays.

Mets 3, Astros 3

Houston’s Justin Verlander and fellow right-hander Noah Syndergaard of visiting New York each tossed two scoreless innings as the teams played to a draw at West Palm Beach, Fla. Nick Tanielu had a three-run triple for the Astros and David Thompson hit a three-run homer for the Mets.

Tigers (ss) 3, Cardinals 3

Tommy Edman singled home the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as St. Louis scored twice in the frame to tie visiting Detroit at Jupiter, Fla. Miguel Cabrera’s RBI single in the fifth gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Barr releases Mueller’s report – and feels the heat

U.S. Attorney General Barr departs after speaking at a news conference on his release of the Mueller report in Washington
U.S. Attorney General William Barr departs after speaking at a news conference to discuss Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, in Washington, U.S., April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

April 19, 2019

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Attorney General William Barr could have buried Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report deep in the recesses of the U.S. Justice Department and simply told the public that President Donald Trump would not face criminal prosecution.

“These reports are not supposed to be made public,” he said at a news conference on Thursday morning.

By releasing a redacted version of the report on Thursday, Barr followed through on a promise he had made months earlier to make as much of Mueller’s findings public as possible.

But that opened Barr up to widespread criticism from Democrats and some legal experts, who questioned his decision not to charge Trump with obstruction of justice, and accused him of acting like the president’s personal defense lawyer.

Mueller’s 448-page report outlined 10 episodes in which Trump tried to get the special counsel fired, limit the scope of his investigation, or otherwise interfere with the probe.

Mueller stopped short of concluding that Trump had committed a crime, but did not exonerate him of wrongdoing either, leaving Barr or Congress the option to take action against the Republican president.

Some experts said Barr should have brought charges.

“To me, they laid out a chargeable obstruction case,” said Shanlon Wu, a former federal prosecutor who represented Rick Gates, the former Trump deputy campaign chairman who has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements and is cooperating with the investigation.

Barr’s news conference, held before the report’s release, provided more fodder for his critics.

Barr praised the White House’s cooperation with the investigation and said Trump’s public and private efforts to interfere with the probe could have been fueled by a “sincere belief” that the investigation was “propelled by his political opponents and fueled by illegal leaks.”

At several points, Barr echoed Trump’s mantra that Mueller had found “no collusion” with Russia.

To some, it was a disappointing performance from a man who had been praised for upholding the Justice Department’s independence during a previous stint as attorney general from 1991 to 1993.

“He’s really shown himself to be principally focused on defending the president,” said Robert Litt, a former federal prosecutor who had supported Barr’s nomination for the job.

A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Barr did not mislead the public because the White House cooperated with the probe despite Trump’s numerous statements criticizing it. The official also said Mueller had a choice to either recommend charges against Trump or not, and he had decided against it.

The top two Democrats in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, accused Barr of deliberately distorting Mueller’s findings.

Representative Eric Swalwell, one of the more than 15 Democrats running for president, called on Barr to resign.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, had a different perspective. “I think Barr is a straight lawyer. He’s an honest man,” he said.

GOING EASY ON THE REDACTIONS

In one area at least, Barr exceeded expectations. Democrats had worried that he might use too heavy a hand when redacting portions of the report that dealt with sensitive material, such as ongoing investigations, confidential legal proceedings and matters of national security.

In the end, 6 percent of the report was blacked out, according to ProPublica.

“The redactions seemed to me to be reasonable,” said Jack Sharman, a lawyer who worked on the impeachment of Democratic President Bill Clinton during the 1990s. “I was a little surprised.”

Starting next week, 12 top lawmakers and their staffers will be able to see a more complete version in a secure reading room.

Still, if Democrats were pleasantly surprised by the extent of the redactions, they were not saying so, and Barr is sure to face pointed questions when he testifies before Congress in May.

Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, compared Barr to Trump’s early mentor Roy Cohn, a political fixer best known for his involvement in Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist scare campaigns of the 1950s.

Trump “may have found his Roy Cohn in Attorney General Barr. But it may be too late, because the truth has come out about how the White House operates in the Mueller report,” Raskin said.

To some in Trump’s camp, the criticism was a sign of a job well done.

“Attorney General Barr knew every step of the way that people are going to unload on him today,” said Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign adviser. “He had a role to play and he played it.”

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld, Sarah N. Lynch, Nathan Layne and David Morgan; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: OANN

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In fresh blow to Monsanto, India cuts GM cotton seed royalty

FILE PHOTO: Monsanto logo is displayed on a screen where the stock is traded on the floor of the NYSE
FILE PHOTO: Monsanto logo is displayed on a screen where the stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S. on May 9, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

March 11, 2019

By Mayank Bhardwaj

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has cut the royalties that local seed companies pay to German drugmaker Bayer AG’s Monsanto unit for the third time in four years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has decided to reduce royalties paid by Indian seed companies to Monsanto for its genetically modified (GM) cotton by 49 percent to 20 rupees for a packet of 450 grams, according to a farm ministry order. Before it was 39 rupees.

The decision could prompt Monsanto and other foreign seed companies to further scale back investment in the sector, said Ram Kaundinya, director general of the Federation of Seed Industry of India.

The decision comes at a time when India’s cotton output is falling and needs a breakthrough to help maintain its leading position in the global cotton market, said Kaundinya.

New Delhi’s cotton output is likely to fall to 32.8 million bales of 170 kg each in the year to September 2019 – the lowest in nine years, triggering higher imports of the fiber, according to industry group Cotton Association of India.

“The order is most disappointing,” said Shivendra Bajaj, executive director of the alliance for Agri Innovation, an advocacy group.

Other than cutting Monsanto’s royalties, the government raised the prices of GM cotton seeds by 1.43 percent to 710 rupees ($10.16) a packet.

New Delhi approved Monsanto’s GM cotton seed trait, the only lab-altered crop allowed in India, in 2003 and an upgraded variety in 2006, helping transform the country into the world’s top producer and second-largest exporter of the fiber.

Monsanto’s GM cotton seed technology went on to dominate 90 percent of India’s cotton acreage.

However, Monsanto became embroiled in a dispute with Indian seed company Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd (NSL), which argued that India’s Patent Act did not allow Monsanto any patent cover for its GM cotton. Monsanto and NSL are engaged in a maze of arbitration proceedings and legal cases.

Last month Reuters reported that Monsanto has won proceedings against NSL in a royalty dispute.

The farm ministry first cut Monsanto’s royalties in 2016, triggering a long-running feud that prompted the U.S. ambassador to India at the time, Richard Verma, to approach Modi’s office.

Hindu nationalist groups close to Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party have opposed both Monsanto and GM technology in India’s agriculture. (https://reut.rs/2p7eIrE)

(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; additional reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in MUMBAI; Editing by Martin Howell and David Evans)

Source: OANN

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SEE IT: Cops, good Samaritan, pull suicidal man, 79, from taking death leap: video

A state trooper driving on the Verrazano Bridge helped save a 79-year-old suicidal man from taking a death leap Sunday afternoon — a dramatic event captured on video.

Cops got a call around 2:30 p.m. that a man was going over the railing on the lower level of the bridge and ready to jump, according to authorities.

Before police arrived, the trooper and a good Samaritan ran to save the man and help pull him to safety, authorities said.

TEXAS POLICE OFFICER, TRUCK DRIVER SAVE TEENAGER THREATENING TO JUMP FROM OVERPASS

In footage of the incident posted to social media, the would-be jumper fights the two from keeping him from going over. At one point, the trooper, with one foot off the ground, can be seen waving frantically for more help. Another man then runs up to grab onto the wannabe jumper.

It eventually takes seven men, a mix of police and good Samaritans, to get the suicidal guy back onto the road.

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New York State Police and the Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority Police responded and transported the man to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.

To read more from The New York Post, click here.

Source: Fox News National

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Pakistan says 'progress' made at Taliban-US talks in Qatar

Pakistan's foreign minister says "progress has been made" at ongoing peace talks in Qatar between the Taliban and the U.S. that have stretched over two weeks.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke on Tuesday at a news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Islamabad.

Qureshi didn't elaborate, though he added: "Pakistan has encouraged all factions within Afghanistan to sit together and have a meaningful intra-Afghan dialogue."

The talks between U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban representatives have gone on days longer than initially expected in Doha, the Qatari capital.

The U.S. had asked Pakistan to assist in its efforts to find a negotiated peace with the Taliban to end the longest war in American history.

The Taliban refuse to negotiate with Kabul, which isn't taking part in the Qatar talks.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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Well, Joe Biden didn’t exactly clear the field.

I don’t think it matters much that Biden waited until yesterday to become the 20th Democrat vying for the nomination, even though it exposed him to weeks of attacks while he seemed to be dithering on the sidelines.

A much greater warning sign, in my view, is the largely negative tone surrounding his debut. He is, after all, a former vice president, highly praised by Barack Obama, who has consistently led in the early primary polls, and beating President Trump in head-to-head matchups. Yet much of the press is acting like he’s an old codger and it’s just a matter of time before he keels over politically.

This is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that the vast majority of journalists and pundits know and like Joe Biden and his gregarious personality.

The reason is that Biden, after a half-century in politics, lacks excitement, and the press is magnetically attracted to novel and unorthodox types like Beto and Mayor Pete. You don’t see Biden on the cover of Vanity Fair, and a grind-it-out win by a conventional warrior doesn’t set journalistic hearts racing.

JOE BIDEN ANNOUNCES 2020 PRESIDENTIAL BID: 3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT

For many in the media, Biden isn’t liberal enough, at least not for the post-Obama era. He doesn’t promise free college and free health care and has a history of working with Republicans, such as John McCain (whose daughter Meghan loves him, and Biden will hit “The View” today.)

What’s more, Biden’s campaign style — speak at rallies, rack up union endorsements — seems hopelessly old-fashioned when we measure popularity by Instagram followers. News outlets are predicting he’ll have trouble getting in the online fundraising game, leaving him reliant on big donors, which used to be standard practice.

And then there’s the age thing. Biden would be the oldest president to be inaugurated, at 78, and he looked a step slow in encounters with reporters yesterday and a few weeks ago.

But what if the journalists are in something of a Twitter bubble, and the actual Democratic Party is much more moderate? We saw that with the spate of allegations by women of unwanted touching, which dominated news coverage until polls showed that most Dem voters weren’t concerned. In that wider world, the Scranton guy’s connection to white, working-class voters could help him against Trump in the industrial Midwest.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF OF THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Biden denounced the president’s term as an “aberrant moment” in his launch video, saying four more years would damage the country’s character and “I cannot stand by and watch that happen.”

But first, he’d have to win the nomination in the face of an unenthusiastic press corps.

A New York Times news story said Biden would be “marshaling his experience and global stature in a bid to lead a party increasingly defined by a younger generation that might be skeptical of his age and ideological moderation.”

The Washington Post quoted Democratic strategists as saying that Biden faces an “uphill battle” and “isn’t necessarily the heir apparent to Obama, despite being his No. 2 in the White House for eight years. They argue voters will judge Biden by the span of his decades-long career and are worried the veteran pol hasn’t yet found a winning formula for his own candidacy.”

The liberal Slate said the ex-veep’s rivals view him as a “paper tiger”:

“Biden is something more like a 2016 Jeb Bush: a weak establishment favorite whose time might be past … Biden’s biggest challenge in the primary will be a compromised past spanning nearly 50 years.”

“Compromised” suggests a history of scandal, yet what Slate means is political baggage, such as his backing of a Clinton-era crime bill unpopular with black voters today. Yet I think the rank and file isn’t as concerned about a vote back in 1994, or even the Anita Hill hearings, as the chattering classes.

BIDEN’S SENATE RECORD, ADVOCACY OF 1994 CRIME BILL WILL BE USED AGAINST HIM, EX-SANDERS STAFFER SAYS

One of the few left-leaning pundits to suggest the press is underestimating Biden is data guru Nate Silver at 538:

“Media coverage could nonetheless be a problem for Biden. Within the mainstream media, the story of Biden winning the nomination will be seen as boring and anticlimactic. That tends not to lead to favorable coverage. Meanwhile, some left-aligned media outlets may prefer candidates who are some combination of more leftist, more wonkish, more reflective of the party’s diversity, and more adept on social media.

“If Biden is framed as being out of touch with today’s Democratic Party and that narrative is repeated across a variety of outlets, it could begin to resonate with voters who don’t buy it initially. If he’s seen as a gaffe-prone candidate, then minor missteps on the campaign trail could be blown up into big fumbles.”

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Look, it’s entirely possible that Biden could stumble, get lapped in fundraising and just be outclassed by younger and savvier rivals. He was hardly a great candidate in 1987 and in 2008.

But if the former vice president finds his footing and the field narrows, the press will be forced to change its tune, and we’ll see a spate of stories about how Joe Biden has “grown.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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South Africa's 400m Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk looks on as he attends South African Championships in Germiston
South Africa’s 400m Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk looks on as he attends South African Championships in Germiston, South Africa, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

April 26, 2019

GERMISTON, South Africa (Reuters) – Olympic 400 meters champion Wayde van Niekerk has backed South African compatriot Caster Semenya in her battle with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which now appears to have taken a new twist.

Semenya, a double 800 meters Olympic gold medalist, is waiting for the outcome of her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to halt the introduction of new regulations by governing body IAAF that would require her to take medicine to limit her natural levels of testosterone.

The IAAF wants female athletes with differences of sexual development who run in events from 400 meters to a mile, to reduce their blood testosterone level to below five (5) nmol/L for a period of six months before they can compete, saying they have an unfair advantage.

“She’s fighting for something beyond just track and field, she’s fighting for woman in sports, in society and I respect her for that,” Van Niekerk told reporters.

“I will support her and with the hard work and talent that she’s been putting into the sport. With what she believes in and what she’s dreaming for, I’ve got a lot of respect for her.

“I really hope and pray that everything just goes from strength to strength for her.”

Semenya has sprung a surprise at the on-going South African Athletics Championships though, ditching the 800 meters and instead competing over 1,500 and 5,000-metres – the latter one would not require her to medically lower her testosterone level.

She stormed to victory in the 5,000-metres final in a modest time of 16:05.97, but looked to have lots left in the tank as she passed the finish line.

Semenya beat fellow Olympian and defending national 5,000m champion Dominique Scott in Thursday’s final but the latter admitted she is unsure whether the 800m specialist could be a serious Olympic contender over the longer distance.

“Honestly‚ I have no idea‚” Scott said. “Before today I probably would have said no. It’s hard to compare a 5,000 at altitude to a 5,000 at sea level.

“But I think she’s an amazing runner and I don’t think there’s any limit or ceiling on what she can do.”

Van Niekerk, the 400m world record holder, had to abort his comeback from a knee injury, that had sidelined him for 18 months, following a combination of cold weather and a wet track.

“We are trying to take the correct decisions now early in the year so as not to put myself in any harm,” he said.

“It was a bit chilly this entire week prepping and coming through here as well it was quite cold and it caused bit of tightness in my leg. We decided to not risk it.

“My recovery is going well and I would like to be back in competition this year, but will only do so if I can deliver a good performance.

“I am a competitor and respect my opponents, so I need to be at my best when I return.”

(Reporting by Nick Said, additional reporting by Siyabonga Sishi; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

Source: OANN

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The suspected leader of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka died in the Shangri-La hotel, one of six hotels and churches targeted in the attacks that killed at least 250 people, authorities said.

Police said Mohamed Zahran, leader of the National Towheed Jamaat militant group, had been killed in one of the bombings. The group’s second in command was also arrested, police said.

Zahran amassed an online following for his hate-filled sermons. Some were delivered before a banner depicting the Twin Towers.

Sri Lankan authorities said Friday that Islamic cleric Mohammed Zahran died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel during the Easter Sunday atatcks that killed at least 250 people. 

Sri Lankan authorities said Friday that Islamic cleric Mohammed Zahran died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel during the Easter Sunday atatcks that killed at least 250 people.  (YouTube)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that the attackers responsible for the bombings were supported by the Islamic State group. Around 140 people in Sri Lanka had connections to ISIS, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said.

“We will completely control this and create a free and peaceful environment for people to live,” he said.

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Investigators determined the attackers received military training from someone called “Army Mohideen.” They also received weapons training overseas and at some locations in Sri Lanka, according to authorities.

A copper factory operator arrested in connection with the bombings helped Mohideen make improvised explosive devices, police said. The bombings have led to increased security throughout the island nation as authorities warned of another attack.

Source: Fox News World

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