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AOC Backs Bernie on Allowing Prison Inmates Right to Vote

Rep. Alejandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Thursday said she backs Sen. Bernie Sanders', I-Vt., controversial idea of allowing federal prison inmates to vote.

The firebrand lawmaker tweeted:

"To avoid looking completely + utterly out of touch w/ the reality our prison system: Instead of asking, “Should the Boston Bomber have the right to vote?” Try, “Should a nonviolent person stopped w/ a dime bag LOSE the right to vote?” Bc that question reflects WAY more people."

Sanders, a Democratic presidential contender, first floated the idea during a CNN town hall when he said every prisoner, including domestic terrorists such as the Boston Marathon bomber, should have the right to vote while they are jailed.

"I do believe that even if they are in jail, they're paying their price to society, but that should not take away their inherent American right to participate in our democracy," Sanders said.

Sanders reiterated his support Thursday, noting he had been "criticized for saying this, so let me say it again: Every American citizen should have the right to vote, even if they're in jail."

Source: NewsMax America

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Dems outraged over Mueller report before its expected release today; Trump facing more battles ahead

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Developing now, Thursday, April 18, 2019

OUTRAGE BREWS OVER MUELLER REPORT BREWS BEFORE ITS RELEASE: Amid high anticipation, the Justice Department on Thursday is expected to release a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, and Democrats have already cried foul ... Attorney General William Barr is set to hold a 9:30 a.m. ET news conference, accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the Mueller investigation after the special counsel's appointment in May 2017. Neither Mueller nor other members of his team will attend, according to special counsel spokesman Peter Carr.

Congressional Democrats have criticized the timing of the news conference, accusing Barr of trying to spin the report and conducting a media campaign on behalf of Trump before Congress and the public see it. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the panel was expected to receive a copy of the report between 11 a.m. and noon. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tweeted that Barr "has thrown out his credibility & the DOJ’s independence with his single-minded effort to protect @realDonaldTrump above all else. The American people deserve the truth, not a sanitized version of the Mueller Report approved by the Trump Admin."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP.

TRUMP SEEKS VINDICATION, BUT FIGHT OVER MUELLER REPORT ONLY BEGINNING: Although Attorney General Barr has already revealed that Mueller's report absolved the Trump team of illegally colluding with Russia, Democrats have signaled that the release will be just the beginning of a no-holds-barred showdown with the Trump administration over the extent of report redactions, as well as whether the president obstructed justice during the Russia investigation ... Trump’s legal team is preparing to issue a comprehensive rebuttal report on Thursday, to challenge any allegations of obstruction against the president, Fox News has learned. The lawyers originally laid out their rebuttal in response to written questions asked by Mueller’s team of the president last year, according to a source close to Trump's legal team.

60 PEOPLE CHARGED IN OPIOID STING: Federal authorities said Wednesday they have charged 60 people, including a doctor accused of trading drugs for sex and another of prescribing to his Facebook friends, for their roles in illegally prescribing and distributing millions of pills containing opioids and other drugs ... U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman of Cincinnati described the action, with 31 doctors facing charges, as the biggest known takedown yet of drug prescribers. Robert Duncan, U.S. attorney for eastern Kentucky, called the doctors involved "white-coated drug dealers."

Authorities said the 60 includes 53 medical professionals tied to some 350,000 prescriptions and 32 million pills. The operation was conducted by the federal Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, launched last year by the Trump administration. - The Associated Press

NORTH KOREA TEST-FIRES TACTICAL WEAPON: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Wednesday watched as his country test-fired a new tactical guided weapon, state-run media reported ... The Academy of Defense Science launched the weapon, The Associated Press reported, citing the Korean Central News Agency. The rogue regime’s leader reportedly spoke about the implication of the test-fire, saying that “the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People's Army."

DEMS AVOIDING REP. OMAR? - It appears some Democrats may already perceive controversial freshman lawmaker Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as potentially toxic to their careers ... At least two Democrats have reimbursed the campaign contributions made by Omar, who has been at the center of numerous controversies since she was sworn in last January. North Carolina’s 9th congressional district candidate Dan McCready refunded $2,000 to Omar in March after she donated to his campaign last November ahead of the 2018 midterms, WSOC reported Wednesday. A spokesman for McCready told the news station he'd refunded Omar’s contribution because “he believes there is no place for divisiveness in politics, and McCready did not feel it is appropriate to accept the donation.” A winner still has not been declared in the 9th congressional district race, which became ensnared in accusations of absentee ballot fraud after Election Day. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., also rejected Omar’s $2,000 donation that was made March 27.

THE SOUNDBITE

A QUESTION OF FAIRNESS AND BALANCE - "The concern, that I think, is a fair concern is, is the report going to be written in a fair and balanced way? It's a concern. Now why the concern? Because of Bob Mueller, who I hold in very high regard, his choice of staff. So many questions have been raised about that staff and their leanings and so forth. And they've had the opportunity, without any kind of cross-examination, any kind of check, any kind of balance, to write whatever they want to write. And that, I think, legitimately raises concern of fairness and balance."– Ken Starr, former independent counsel, on "America's Newsroom," giving his take on the upcoming release of the Mueller report. (Click the image above to watch the full video.)

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Pinterest, Zoom IPOs: What to know.
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STAY TUNED

Stay with Fox News on all platforms for coverage of the release of the Mueller report!

On Fox News:

Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Special coverage of the Mueller report's release with guests that include: Byron York, Washington Examiner chief political correspondent; Andrew McCarthy, Fox News contributor and contributing editor at the National Review; Dan Bongino, Fox News contributor and former Secret Service agent; Dana Loesch, host of "The Dana Show," Corey Lewandowski, former Trump campaign manager, and David Bossie, former deputy Trump campaign manager.

Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4 p.m. ET: Special guests include: Herman Cain, President Trump’s prospective nominee for the Federal Reserve Board.

Hannity, 9 p.m. ET: fallout from the Mueller report's release with the following guests: Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow; U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee; Mark Levin, host of "Life, Liberty & Levin"; Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary

On Fox Business:

Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: An exclusive interview with Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase; Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush; Andrew McCarthy, Fox News contributor and contributing editor at the National Review.

Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Ken Starr, former independent counsel; attorney Victoria Toensing; "Special Report" host Bret Baier.

Making Money with Charles Payne, 2 p.m. ET: Bruce Linton, CEO and chairman at Canopy Rivers Inc.

On Fox News Radio:

The Fox News Rundown podcast: "Bill Weld, Republican Opponent to Trump" - Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld explains why  he is running against President Trump as a Republican primary challenger in 2020. Plus, as lawmakers try to address the nationwide opioid crisis, some of their answers are having unintended impact on patients and doctors. Fox News' Elizabeth Llorente breaks down the crisis and what one senator is doing to address it. Plus, commentary by Deroy Murdock, contributing editor with the National Review and Fox News contributor.

Want the Fox News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: Coverage of the Mueller report's release with the following guests: Tom Dupree, former deputy assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush; Chris Stirewalt, Fox News digital politics editor; Shannon Bream, "Fox News @ Night" host; former U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

The Todd Starnes Show, Noon, ET: Todd dives into the Mueller report with former Navy SEAL Jonathan Gilliam.

Benson & Harf, 6 p.m. ET: Dana Perino, host of "The Daily Briefing," and Andrew McCarthy, Fox News contributor and contributing editor at the National Review, will discuss the Mueller report.

#TheFlashback
1938: Superman, AKA "The Man of Steel," makes his debut as the first issue of Action Comics (bearing a cover date of June) goes on sale for 10 cents a copy.
1934: The first laundromat (called a "washateria") opens in Fort Worth, Texas..
1775: Paul Revere begins his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts, warning colonists that British Regular troops are approaching.

Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Have a good day! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Friday morning.

Source: Fox News National

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Tourists who plunged to deaths at Vietnam waterfall were 'not adequately warned' of dangers, coroner report says

Three British tourists who plunged to their deaths on a Vietnam waterfall in 2016 were not adequately warned of the dangers they faced, according to a coroner’s report released Wednesday.

Izzy Squire, 19, and Beth Anderson, 24, died along with friend Christian Sloan, 24, during a trip in the Datanla waterfalls region in February 2016 after they slid down a natural water slide into a pool where they were meant to climb out.

Instead of getting out the pool, the group then continued to the next tier of the river complex and died when they went over a 50-foot waterfall.

US MAN ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STABBING WIFE AT TOKYO COURT

"They were not adequately warned of the risks to be found at the bottom of the slide and, in particular, that there was a potentially lethal hazard of a further waterfall which they could be swept in from only 14 meters further on," Coroner Chris Dorries told the Sheffield Coroner's Court, according to Sky News.

LION AIR BOEING 737 MAX 8 WAS REPORTEDLY SAVED BY OFF-DUTY PILOT DAY BEFORE DEADLY CRASH IN INDONESIA

The group's guide, Dang Van Si, claimed that he had warned them about how to get out of the pool safely. But a range of witnesses who were found through a Facebook appeal by Sloan's family contradicted the guide's story, according to Sky News.

Three tourists died after plunging 50 feet in the Datanla Waterfall area of Vietnam in 2016.

Three tourists died after plunging 50 feet in the Datanla Waterfall area of Vietnam in 2016. (iStock)

Dorries said he did not accept the guide's account, ruling that he had not given a warning at all or not ensured it was properly understood.

The coroner added that the tourists did nothing to compromise their safety, and had booked the tour with a recognized agency after being told the waterfall tour wasn't an adventurous activity.

"I am satisfied that there was a careful and conservative approach by the group to the choice of tour and to their own actions that day," he said.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

David Squire said there were "individual failings and persistent breaches of Vietnamese laws and regulations" that led to the deaths of his daughters when speaking to members of the media after the hearing.

"To be clear, the events and circumstances that led to their deaths were wholly preventable," he said.

Squire added that he did not know how the criminal investigation into the deaths was progressing in Vietnam, the BBC reported.

Source: Fox News World

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Insurers face large claims after second Boeing 737 MAX crash

Relatives and friends of Sara Gebremichael, a senior hostess and a crew leader on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane that crashed, mourn at her house in Addis Ababa
Relatives and friends of Sara Gebremichael, 38, a senior hostess and a crew leader on the Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 plane that crashed, mourn at her house in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Maheder Haileselassie

March 11, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain, Carolyn Cohn and Suzanne Barlyn

(Reuters) – Boeing Co’s insurers face big claims from families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, coming less than six months after the crash of the same type of Boeing aircraft in Indonesia, insurance and aviation sources said.

An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet bound for Nairobi crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board, raising questions about the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, a new model that also crashed in Indonesia in October.

While the initial insurance payments will be made by Ethiopian Airlines’ insurers, they may look to recoup their money from Boeing’s insurers if they can prove that the aircraft was faulty, the sources said.

Initial payments to the passengers’ families are bound by the Warsaw and Montreal conventions, but those payouts could be much higher if families pursue legal claims, particularly through U.S. courts, said Clive Garner, head of law firm Irwin Mitchell’s travel litigation group in London.

“If there were to be anything defective in terms of the plane or any of its components, then it would be possible to bring a claim against the manufacturer as well as the airline,” he added.

Insurers typically form a consortium to share the risks of large claims, with the lead insurer taking a larger proportion of the risk. The insured value of the plane itself was likely around $50 million, according to industry sources.

Willis Towers Watson was the insurance broker for Ethiopian Airlines, while Chubb was the lead insurer, a Willis spokeswoman said on Monday. A Chubb spokesman declined to comment.

Britain’s Global Aerospace was the lead insurer for Boeing and also for Lion Air, which operated the plane that crashed in October, said Global Aerospace Chief Executive Nick Brown.

Marsh was Boeing’s insurance broker, two sources told Reuters. None of the sources gave financial details of the policies.

Boeing shares fell 5.6 percent on Monday.

U.S. LAWSUITS POSSIBLE

Boeing self-insures an initial layer of coverage before the Global Aerospace coverage kicks in, said Justin Green, a New York-based aviation lawyer who has represented families in cases against Boeing. Boeing declined comment on its insurance cover.

It is not uncommon for the planemaker, which is headquartered in Chicago, to face lawsuits in the United States, where legal compensation payments for the crash victims could run around $2 million to $3 million per person, depending on the law applied, compared to about $200,000 in Ethiopia, said Green.

U.S. courts often throw out such lawsuits, given the difficulty of finding witnesses overseas, but the fact that eight U.S. citizens were killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash increases the likelihood that litigation on behalf of all victims’ families could be heard by a U.S. court, Green said.

Initial compensation costs for all 157 passengers who died on the flight could be around $25 million, according to Reuters calculations based on the terms of the Montreal convention.

The Montreal convention provides for a maximum of 113,100 special drawing rights, currently worth $1.39, for death or injury of each passenger, although not all countries are joined up to the convention.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Carolyn Cohn in London and Suzanne Barlyn in New York; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Bill Rigby)

Source: OANN

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Utah teacher apologizes for Ash Wednesday incident

A Utah teacher on administrative leave apologized Monday for making 9-year-old Catholic student William McLeod wash off the Ash Wednesday cross from his forehead, saying it was a misunderstanding.

Fourth-grade teacher Moana Patterson said Monday she thought the cross was dirt, and she gave William a wet wipe to clean off not knowing it was a religious symbol. She said that she hopes everyone can move forward and build understanding together. Patterson was surrounded by parents and students who support her at a news conference held at Utah state capitol in Salt Lake City.

"My entire life has been centered around respecting diversity," Patterson said. "I would never intentionally disrespect any religion or any sacred symbol."

The incident occurred last week at Valley View Elementary School in Bountiful, Utah.

"This is something that happens when people aren't necessarily exposed to other cultures other religions. It's not always necessarily mean spirited," said Republican Utah Sen. Todd Weiler, who represents the area.

Patterson left the news conference without taking questions after she read from a prepared statement. It's unknown if she has a religious affiliation. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, account for about two-thirds of Utah residents. The faith doesn't observe Ash Wednesday.

Karen Fisher, William's grandmother, said she's not quite ready to accept the apology because Patterson pressed the boy to remove the symbol even after he explained its significance twice. "It's kind of hard to swallow, a little, for me," she said.

Fisher doesn't want Patterson to lose her job or for any harm to come to her, but said a break is warranted to ensure she and others in the community are aware of other faith traditions. "There needs to be training for all religions, all beliefs," she said.

In Utah, Catholics are the minority. The 330,000 Catholics in the state account for about 10 percent of the population, said Jean Hill at the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City.

William had just returned to the school after attending Catholic mass when Patterson called the ash marking "inappropriate" and gave him a hand wipe to clean it off in front of his classmates, Fisher said.

Patterson was called into a meeting with the principal and the school board about the incident and called Fisher to apologize, Davis School District spokesman Chris Williams said last week. The Davis School District opened an investigation into Patterson's action and placed her on paid administrative leave.

Williams said there were no updates about the ongoing investigation about Patterson's actions.

Tiffany Ivan Spence, who said she's a parent of one of William's classmates, said she also thought the cross on the boy's forehead was dirt. She said it was a misunderstanding and not an attack against religion.

"He came into my home and to me it looked just like a smudge," Ivan Spence said. "When I first saw Will, my instinct was to also hand him a wipe. It would have been common sense for any person who cares about children to help them if they didn't know they had that on their head."

Source: Fox News National

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Herman Cain Blackmailed With Political Revenge Porn By Gloria Allred Client

A woman who claims to have had an affair with former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain got her wishes after threatening to publicly depict his genitals if he didn’t withdraw his name from consideration for the Federal Reserve Board.

“I ask Herman Cain, if I never had a sexual relationship with you, how would I be in a position to describe parts of your body that are not visible?” Cain’s accuser Ginger White asked on Thursday.

“It’s time for you, Herman, to quit,” White continued. “You are a liar and you don’t deserve the public’s confidence in such an important position.”

The comments were made during a Manhattan press conference with White’s high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred, who frequently represents women accusing men of sexual misconduct.

Allred also called for Cain’s withdrawal, saying, “We call on Mr. Cain to do the right thing and spare all of us another bruising and painful confirmation hearing.”

Monday, Cain officially withdrew from Federal Reserve consideration after realizing he didn’t want to take a massive pay cut, according to a blog post he published at Western Journal.

“Without getting too specific about how big a pay cut this would be, let’s just say I’m pretty confident that if your boss told you to take a similar pay cut, you’d tell him where to go,” Cain explained.

“It was an honor to be considered,” he wrote. “Under different circumstances, I would like to have served.”

However, the timing of Cain’s withdrawal is suspicious at best as Fox News’ Tucker Carlson highlighted on his Monday night broadcast.

“To me, it looks like blackmail,” Carlson stated. “She’s saying ‘We’re going to depict your genitals if you don’t do what we want you to do, which is pull your name.’ And he clearly caved, understandably.”

Even Democrat strategist and University of Maryland professor Jason Nichols agreed that a dangerous precedent is being set by accepting a society where people can be blackmailed in this fashion.

“Do you want to live in a society where people can be blackmailed like that?” Tucker asked, to which Nichols replied, “No, and I would agree with that.”

Source: InfoWars

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Pipe tomahawk given by Washington in 1792 returned to tribe

A long-missing peace pipe tomahawk President George Washington gave to a Seneca leader in the late 18th century has been returned to the tribe in western New York.

Washington gave the combination tobacco-smoking pipe and weapon to Cornplanter as the United States negotiated a peace treaty with the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.

The artifact eventually wound up at the State Museum in Albany, where it remained until being stolen in the late 1940s.

Last year, an anonymous collector returned the artifact to the museum. Officials there decided to give it back to the Senecas.

Cornplanter's pipe tomahawk was presented Thursday to the Seneca Nation of Indians, who have put the artifact on display in the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca, near the Pennsylvania border 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Buffalo.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO - Otto Frederick Warmbier is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang North Korea
FILE PHOTO – Otto Frederick Warmbier (C), a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea’s top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States did not pay any money to North Korea as it sought the release of comatose American student Otto Warmbier.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump had approved payment of a $2 million bill from North Korea to cover its care of the college student, who died shortly after he was returned to the United States after 17 months in a North Korean prison.

(Reporting by Makini Brice and Susan Heavey)

Source: OANN

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

Source: OANN

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

Source: OANN

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