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London climate-change protesters vow to continue blockades

Protesters who have blocked London roads and bridges for more than three days say they will escalate their civil disobedience campaign if the British government doesn't step up action against climate change.

Hundreds of demonstrators have blocked sites including Waterloo Bridge over the River Thames and the Oxford Circus and Marble Arch intersections since Monday.

The protest sites have sprouted tents, sound systems and even an ice cream van. Traffic is snarled and bus routes have been disrupted, to the frustration of commuters.

Police have made more than 420 arrests.

Gail Bradbrook of protest group Extinction Rebellion said Thursday that "more people are joining us all the time."

Home Secretary Sajid Javid says protesters "do not have the right to break the law and significantly disrupt the lives of others."

Source: Fox News World

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U.S. House approves net neutrality bill but legislation faces long odds

FILE PHOTO: Net neutrality advocates rally in front of the Federal Communications Commission in Washington
FILE PHOTO: Net neutrality advocates rally in front of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ahead of Thursday's expected FCC vote repealing so-called net neutrality rules in Washington, U.S., December 13, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

April 10, 2019

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill on a 232 to 190 vote to reinstate landmark net neutrality protections adopted in 2015, but the effort faces an uphill battle to become law.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday the bill overturning a Federal Communications Commission December 2017 repeal would be “dead on arrival” in the Senate. The White House said Tuesday aides would recommend President Donald Trump veto the bill, which would reinstate rules barring providers from blocking or slowing internet content or offering paid “fast lanes.”

The reversal of net neutrality rules has been a win for internet service providers (ISPs) such as Comcast Corp, AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc, but was opposed by companies like Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc.

Republicans have said the bill would open the door to the FCC imposing rate regulations or adding taxes to internet service similar to levies on cable or phone bills. Democrats say the bill is essential to ensuring the government enforces rules that prohibit improper conduct by internet providers and guarantee Americans access to an open internet.

Representative Mike Doyle, a Democrat, said Wednesday that after repealing net neutrality protections the FCC had replaced them with “nothing, nada, zip, crickets. They did nothing. It’s the wild, wild west — let the ISPs do anything they want and consumers be damned.”

Under FCC chairman Ajit Pai, the commission voted 3-2 to hand ISPs sweeping powers to recast how Americans use the internet, as long as they disclose changes.

In a statement Wednesday, Pai called the House bill a “big-government solution in search of a problem.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Tom Brown)

Source: OANN

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Dillashaw suspended two years for positive test

FILE PHOTO: MMA: UFC 217-Garbrandt vs Dillashaw
FILE PHOTO: Nov 4, 2017; New York, NY, USA; T.J. Dillashaw (blue gloves) reacts after defeating Cody Garbrandt (red gloves) during UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

April 9, 2019

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has suspended former UFC champion TJ Dillashaw for two years for a positive drug test, the agency announced Tuesday.

Three weeks ago, Dillashaw surrendered the UFC bantamweight belt, announcing he was informed by the New York State Athletic Commission and USADA of an “adverse finding in a test taken for my last fight.”

He tested positive for the banned substance recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO) before the flyweight title fight against Henry Cejudo on Jan. 19 in New York.

“We all know the pressures to win at all levels of all sport are real and intense,” said USADA CEO Travis T. Tygart in a released statement. “It is exactly why strong anti-doping efforts are necessary to protect clean athletes’ rights, health and safety and to ensure that those who do succumb to these pressures and decide to break the rules will be held accountable in a real and meaningful way, as in this case.”

The New York governing body already had suspended him for one year and issued a $10,000 fine, citing “violations relating to use of a prohibited substance.” That suspension will be served concurrently.

The 33-year-old had held the bantamweight title since November 2017, his second title reign, claiming the belt in a knockout of Cody Garbrandt at UFC 217.

In the January fight, Dillashaw was knocked out in the first round of the flyweight title fight by Cejudo. Dillashaw dropped down in weight in an attempt to capture a second belt.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Washington, Beijing Hope To Finish Trade Deal During Next Round Of Talks

We hadn’t heard much on the US-China trade talks in recent days as the Trump administration appeared content to sit back and watch stocks rip to fresh all-time highs.

But after Larry Kudlow told a reporter during a public appearance on Tuesday that talks were making progress and that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospects for a deal, a flurry of reports out overnight affirmed that the next – and hopefully final – round of negotiations will begin in Beijing next week.

According to Bloomberg, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer will travel to Beijing on Tuesday as both sides hope to hammer out a final deal by the end of May.

Talks starting next Tuesday “will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases and enforcement,” the White House said in a statement.

Answering a question from a reporter during an appearance at the National Press Club, Kudlow said the final deal would be more sweeping in scope than “anything in the history of US-China trade.”

“We’re not there yet, but we’ve made a heck of a lot of progress,” Kudlow said.

“We’ve come further and deeper, broader, larger-scale than anything in the history of U.S.-China trade.”

“We’ve gotten closer and we’re still working on the issues, so-called structural issues, technology transfers,” Kudlow added. “Ownership enforcement is absolutely crucial. Lowering barriers to buy and sell agriculture and industrial commodities. It’s all on the table.”

The following week, Chinese officials led by Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington for discussions set to begin on May 8. By the end of that week, officials on both sides reportedly hope to have a deal in hand that could potentially be signed in Japan later in May during President Trump’s visit to the country to meet new emperor Crown Prince Naruhito.

Officials hope to announce that a deal has been reached, as well as plans for a signing summit, during Liu’s visit to Washington.

Still, one Chinese official noted that the US must still agree to some concessions before a deal can be finalized.

The intense meetings indicated that the two sides have the pressure and willingness to reach a deal,” said Zhou Xiaoming, a former Chinese Ministry of Commerce official and diplomat. “But whether a deal can be reached or not, depends on both sides needing to show understanding and make concessions.”

American and Chinese officials have reportedly been in regular contact via teleconference since Liu’s last visit to Washington in early April. The two biggest obstacles to a deal remain an agreement on enforcement – Mnuchin had previously said the two sides had agreed to open ‘enforcement bureaus’ and reports said Trump was considering leaving the issue to his successor by setting a target of 2025 for China to fulfill its pledges. The fact that they haven’t been ironed out means the Trump Administration hasn’t entirely caved, at least not yet.

Another enforcement plan would involve an agreement for China and the US to unilaterally impose sanctions over suspected violations after a bilateral consultation. That might involve both sides foregoing their rights to retaliate and bring up challenges with the WTO.

Also, the issue of the US removing some or all of the trade war tariffs remains a problem for Beijing.

Despite these longstanding obstacles, analysts remain optimistic that a deal will be reached in the near future.

“The cake is almost baked, so this should be the final back-and-forth. There is relatively little left to tie down substantively, and the optics look better for the Chinese if these visits look reciprocal,” said Leland Miller, chief executive officer of China Beige Book, an economics consulting firm.

Miller added that the deal has largely already been priced in by markets, which means that while stocks might not see any more upside once a deal is struck, the agreement could trigger a ‘sell the news’-type reaction. Or worse, if it does ultimately fall through, or if the can is kicked down the road, stocks could throw a tantrum.



Sometimes art imitates real life.

Source: InfoWars

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2 suspects in North Korea embassy attack in Madrid have CIA ‘connections:’ reports

Spanish intelligence officials said have suggested the CIA was involved in a break-in at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid last month where diplomatic staff members were bound and held hostage, reports claim.

Local newspaper El Pais reported Wednesday that investigators have identified two of the 10 assailants who broke into the embassy and said they have connections to the CIA – a claim the intelligence agency has denied.

“Although most of the [attackers] were Korean, at least two of them have been identified by Spanish intelligence services as having links to the U.S. CIA,” the newspaper reported.

The paper said Spanish authorities raised the matter with the CIA, which reportedly denied involvement, “but not in a very convincing matter.

A woman walks past North Korea's embassy in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Spanish authorities said police were investigating an incident last week at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid in which a woman was hurt and, according to a North Korean government's aide, computers and cellphones also were stolen. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

A woman walks past North Korea's embassy in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. Spanish authorities said police were investigating an incident last week at the North Korean Embassy in Madrid in which a woman was hurt and, according to a North Korean government's aide, computers and cellphones also were stolen. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain’s El Confidencial, which broke the news of the incident, also reported Wednesday that Spanish officials have linked two assailants to the CIA.

SPANISH POLICE INVESTIGATE INCIDENT AT NORTH KOREAN EMBASSY IN MADRID THAT LEFT WOMAN HURT

National police in Madrid launched an investigation into the Feb. 22 incident after officers assisted a North Korean woman with unspecified injuries.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said at the time that neither North Korean diplomats nor other government officials had filed a complaint.

El Confidencial reported that the woman was one of the workers who was bound and gagged by the unidentified assailants.

According to officials, the assailants bound and gagged eight people, beat them and interrogated them before the woman managed to escape from a window. Her screams for help were heard by neighbors, who called the police.

VIETNAM URGES MALAYSIA TO RELEASE SECOND SUSPECT IN KIM JONG NAM NERVE AGENT KILLING

The assailants, with a number of computers on hand, fled in two luxury vehicles that belonged to the diplomatic mission and were later abandoned in a nearby street.

At least two of the diplomatic workers required medical attention, El Pais reported.

Investigators have said the attack was not the work of common criminals.

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The incident, still under investigation, occurred five days before President Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Fox News' Katherine Lam and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Whatever it takes, Part 2?: Five questions for the ECB

FILE PHOTO: ECB President Draghi delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Euro, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Euro, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, January 15, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler/File Photo

April 8, 2019

By Dhara Ranasinghe, Ritvik Carvalho and Abhinav Ramnarayan

LONDON (Reuters) – Just a month after the European Central Bank halted plans to normalize policy and delayed a rate increase into 2020, further signs of weakness in the economy and a whiff of panic among investors is putting the central bank back in the spotlight.

No policy changes are expected at Wednesday’s ECB meeting, especially since some board members are traveling to Washington for the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings.

But talk of tiered rates to ease pressure on banks, global recession fears and a sense of alarm that pushed 10-year German bond yields below zero percent for the first time since 2016 suggest the ECB news conference may prove lively.

We look at five key questions on the radar for markets:

1. How close is the ECB to action to offset the impact of negative interest rates on banks?

A debate on whether to “tier” the negative interest rates that banks pay on the idle cash they park at the ECB is now underway, judging by recent ECB comments and the minutes from the March meeting.

“It’s not an obvious next step, but one that the ECB will have to face at some point,” said James Rossiter, senior global strategist at TD Securities. “We don’t expect anything official in the ECB’s statement, but it will be difficult for (ECB chief Mario) Draghi to avoid questions on this.”

Dutch central bank Governor Klaas Knot has said he would need to see clear evidence that negative rates were hurting lending to the real economy. ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said last week that while the bank is studying ways to cut its charge on banks’ deposits, euro zone lenders should look closer to home for the causes of their meager profits.

The debate is important because if the ECB introduces tiered rates, that might suggest it is preparing to keep interest rates low, below zero percent, for longer than anticipated. No surprise then, that money markets have scaled back expectations of a rate rise and even started to factor in the risk of a rate cut this year.

(Graphic: When will the ECB raise interest rates? – https://tmsnrt.rs/2WMPcao)

2. What about TLTRO III, can we expect more details?

In March, the ECB offered some details of what TLTRO III will look like: the loans will have a two-year maturity and be offered on a quarterly basis from September until March 2021.

The ECB’s March meeting minutes showed the bank is still ironing out details.

Key questions for investors now are what interest the banks will have to pay on the loans and where the funds can be deployed. Barclays analysts, for example, expect banks will be given an incentive to take up the loans through better borrowing rates than the main refinancing operations (MRO), which provide the bulk of liquidity to the euro zone banking system.

Euro zone bank stocks and government bonds are sensitive to any TLTRO news. Yields on short-dated Southern European bonds have dropped, suggesting investors expect Italian banks in particular to take up the loans.

(Graphic: Euro zone bank stocks cheer signs of multi year loans – https://tmsnrt.rs/2WKE3H0)

3. Does the ECB see any green shoots for the economy?

The ECB is not expected to change its assessment that risks to the economy are tilted to the downside but officials are worried about the downside risks to the growth and inflation forecasts.

Unexpectedly weak manufacturing activity data from Germany rattled markets last month, and a brief inversion of the U.S. bond yield curve fueled concerns about global recession risks.

Germany’s leading economic institutes last week slashed their 2019 forecast for growth in Europe’s biggest economy and warned growth might be even lower if there is a no-deal Brexit.

Not all the data have been bad, and economists point out a pick-up in data from China — the world’s number two economy — and signs of strength from the euro zone services sector.

(Graphic: Euro zone economic data – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Vq73DG)

4. How concerned is the ECB that ultra-loose policy has failed to lift inflation expectations?

Even after last month’s unexpectedly dovish tone from the central bank, inflation and inflation expectations remain low.

Draghi has long predicted a rise in underlying inflation, only for the data to disappoint him and force the ECB to ask for even more time to lift prices.

A closely watched underlying inflation figure that excludes volatile food and energy prices slowed to 1.0 percent in March, its weakest reading since April 2018.

Economists note the timing of Easter distorts the inflation numbers and that the April data should prove more encouraging.

“It might not feel or look like it, but inflation has been delayed rather than derailed,” said Jefferies senior European economist Marchel Alexandrovich.

The ECB will be hoping that’s the case, especially since inflation expectations have tumbled. A key market gauge of long-term inflation expectations tracked by the ECB is near its lowest level since 2016. It is down 20 basis points this year — more than it fell the whole of 2018.

(Graphic: Below target inflation – https://tmsnrt.rs/2WLvvQ1)

5. Is the ECB ready for a no-deal Brexit?

Draghi told European Union leaders recently that the ECB, the Bank of England and the European Commission have made all the necessary preparations for a no-deal Brexit, according to a recent report.

But Draghi and other officials have also stressed that markets are not fully pricing in the risk of Britain’s exit from the EU without a deal — a warning the ECB chief may repeat this week.

A no-deal Brexit might also affect market liquidity, the EU commissioner in charge of financial services said last week.

Any clarity on Brexit is likely to be met with relief by investors and boost sentiment. The ECB is no doubt paying close attention.

For an interactive version of the below chart, click here https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ua88yG.

(Graphic: No deal Brexit probabilities – https://tmsnrt.rs/2CPfG3j)

(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; additional reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; graphics by Ritvik Carvalho; editing by Larry King)

Source: OANN

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Frenchman dies as boat capsizes off Sardinia; partner safe

A Frenchman has died after his sailboat capsized off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia but his female companion has survived.

Italian news agency ANSA said strong winds Sunday turned the boat over in waters off the southern end of the Mediterranean island. The woman and the couple's dog were rescued and were quickly plucked to safety.

ANSA said the Italian coast guard found the Frenchman's body on a nearby rocky reef.

The sailboat capsized as it was apparently heading back to port after conditions worsened.

Elsewhere in southern Italy, wind-whipped waters caused the cancellation of ferry runs between Sicily and the Aeolian islands, isolating residents and tourists on the archipelago.

Source: Fox News World

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An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, Britain December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

April 26, 2019

LONDON, April 26 – British factories stockpiled raw materials and goods ahead of Brexit at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they were increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey of the manufacturing industry showed expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.

The record pace of stockpiling recorded by the CBI was mirrored by the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index published earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)

Source: OANN

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo

April 26, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Fewer than half of Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as concerns over rising costs and racial matters plague his administration nearly a year after taking office.

The survey, conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center, showed that only 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a stunning election victory in May 2018, ending the previous government’s more than 60-year rule.

But his administration has since been criticized for failing to deliver on promised reforms and protecting the rights of majority ethnic Malay Muslims.

Of 1,204 survey respondents, 46 percent felt that the “country was headed in the wrong direction”, up from 24 percent in August 2018, the Merdeka Center said in a statement. Just 39 percent said they approved of the ruling government.

High living costs remained the top most concern among Malaysians, with just 40 percent satisfied with the government’s management of the economy, the survey showed.

It also showed mixed responses to Pakatan Harapan’s proposed reforms.

Some 69 percent opposed plans to abolish the death penalty, while respondents were sharply divided over proposals to lower the minimum voting age to 18, or to implement a sugar tax.

“In our opinion, the results appear to indicate a public that favors the status quo, and thus requires a robust and coordinated advocacy efforts in order to garner their acceptance of new measures,” Merdeka Center said.

The survey also found 23 percent of Malaysians were concerned over ethnic and religious matters.

Some groups representing Malays have expressed fear that affirmative-action policies favoring them in business, education and housing could be taken away and criticized the appointments of non-Muslims to key government posts.

Last November, the government reversed its pledge to ratify a UN convention against racial discrimination, after a backlash from Malay groups.

Earlier this month, Pakatan Harapan suffered its third successive loss in local elections since taking power, which has been seen as a further sign of waning public support.

Despite the decline, most Malaysians – 67 percent – agreed that Mahathir’s government should be given more time to fulfill its election promises, Merdeka Center said.

This included a majority of Malay voters who were largely more critical of the new administration, it added.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 26, 2019

By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh

(Reuters) – European shares slipped on Friday after losses in heavyweight banks and Glencore outweighed gains in healthcare and auto stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic data for the first quarter.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0935 GMT, eyeing a modest loss at the end of a holiday-shortened week. Banks-heavy Italian and Spanish indices were laggards.

The banking index fell for a fourth day, at the end of a heavy earnings week for lenders.

Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled after posting lower first quarter profit, hurt by intensifying competition and Brexit uncertainty, while its investment bank also registered poor returns.

Weakness in investment banking also dented Deutsche Bank’s quarterly trading revenue and sent its shares lower a day after the German bank abandoned merger talks with smaller rival Commerzbank.

“The current interest rate environment makes it challenging for banks to make proper earnings because of their intermediary function,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist eurozone, at Rabobank.

Since the start of April, all country indexes were on pace to rise between 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent, their fourth month of gains, while Germany was strongly outperforming with 6 percent growth.

“For now the current sentiment is very cautious as markets wait for the first estimates of the U.S. GDP growth which could see a surprise,” Mevissen said.

U.S. economic data for the first-quarter is due at 1230 GMT. Growth worries outside the United States resurfaced this week after South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted at the start of the year and weak German business sentiment data for April also disappointed.

Among the biggest drags on the benchmark index in Europe were the basic resources sector and the oil and gas sector, weighed down by Britain’s Glencore and France’s Total, respectively.

Glencore dropped after reports that U.S authorities were investigating whether the company and its subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the commodity exchange act.

Energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs.

Chip stocks in the region including Siltronic, Ams and STMicroelectronics lost more than 1 percent after Intel Corp reduced its full-year revenue forecast, adding to concerns that an industry-wide slowdown could persist until the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, healthcare, which is also seen as a defensive sector, was a bright spot. It was helped by French drugmaker Sanofi after it returned to growth with higher profits and revenues for the first-quarter.

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES led media stocks higher after it maintained its full-year outlook on the back of the company’s Networks division.

Automakers in the region rose 0.4 percent, led by Valeo’s 6 percent jump as the French parts maker said its performance would improve in the second half of the year.

Continental AG advanced after it backed its outlook for the year despite reporting a fall in first-quarter earnings.

Renault rose more than 3 percent as it clung to full-year targets and pursues merger talks with its Japanese partner Nissan.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: OANN

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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 26, 2019

By Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan

(Reuters) – The “i word” – impeachment – is swirling around the U.S. Congress since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted Russia report, which painted a picture of lies, threats and confusion in Donald Trump’s White House.

Some Democrats say trying to remove Trump from office would be a waste of time because his fellow Republicans still have majority control of the Senate. Other Democrats argue they have a moral obligation at least to try to impeach, even though Mueller did not charge Trump with conspiring with Russia in the 2016 U.S. election or with obstruction of justice.

Whether or not the Democrats decide to go down this risky path, here is how the impeachment process works.

WHAT ARE GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT?

The U.S. Constitution says the president can be removed from office by Congress for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Exactly what that means is unclear.

Before he became president in 1974, replacing Republican Richard Nixon who resigned over the Watergate scandal, Gerald Ford said: “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”

Frank Bowman, a University of Missouri law professor and author of a forthcoming book on the history of impeachment, said Congress could look beyond criminal laws in defining “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings.

HOW DOES IMPEACHMENT PLAY OUT?

The term impeachment is often interpreted as simply removing a president from office, but that is not strictly accurate.

Impeachment technically refers to the 435-member House of Representatives approving formal charges against a president.

The House effectively acts as accuser – voting on whether to bring specific charges. An impeachment resolution, known as “articles of impeachment,” is like an indictment in a criminal case. A simple majority vote is needed in the House to impeach.

The Senate then conducts a trial. House members act as the prosecutors, with senators as the jurors. The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides over the trial. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president from office.

No president has ever been removed from office as a direct result of an impeachment and conviction by Congress.

Nixon quit in 1974 rather than face impeachment. Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were impeached by the House, but both stayed in office after the Senate acquitted them.

Obstruction of justice was one charge against Clinton, who faced allegations of lying under oath about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Obstruction was also included in the articles of impeachment against Nixon.

CAN THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURN?

No.

Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if Democrats tried to impeach him. But America’s founders explicitly rejected making a Senate conviction appealable to the federal judiciary, Bowman said.

“They quite plainly decided this is a political process and it is ultimately a political judgment,” Bowman said.

“So when Trump suggests there is any judicial remedy for impeachment, he is just wrong.”

PROOF OF WRONGDOING?

In a typical criminal court case, jurors are told to convict only if there is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” a fairly stringent standard.

Impeachment proceedings are different. The House and Senate “can decide on whatever burden of proof they want,” Bowman said. “There is no agreement on what the burden should be.”

PARTY BREAKDOWN IN CONGRESS?

Right now, there are 235 Democrats, 197 Republicans and three vacancies in the House. As a result, the Democratic majority could vote to impeach Trump without any Republican votes.

In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach Clinton, a Democrat.

The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would requires 67 votes. So that means for Trump to be impeached, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him.

WHO BECOMES PRESIDENT IF TRUMP IS REMOVED?

A Senate conviction removing Trump from office would elevate Vice President Mike Pence to the presidency to fill out Trump’s term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2021.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes
FILE PHOTO: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft attends a conference at the Cannes Lions Festival in Cannes, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s lawyers on Friday are set to ask a Florida judge to toss out hidden-camera videos that prosecutors say show the 77-year-old billionaire receiving sexual favors for money inside a Florida massage parlor.

The owner of the reigning Super Bowl champions plans wants the video to not be used as evidence against him as he contests two misdemeanor counts of soliciting prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Spa in Jupiter, Florida, along with some two dozen other men.

His legal team is fresh off a win on Tuesday, when they successfully persuaded Palm Beach County Judge Leonard Hanser to block prosecutors from releasing the hidden-camera footage to media outlets, which had requested copies under the state’s robust open records law.

Kraft, who has owned the franchise since 1994, pleaded not guilty, but has issued a public apology for his actions.

His attorneys have argued in court papers that the surreptitious videotaping of customers, including Kraft, inside a massage parlor was governmental overreach and the result of an illegally obtained search warrant.

The warrant, Kraft’s lawyers claim, was secured under false pretenses because police officers cited human trafficking as a potential crime in their application. Prosecutors have since acknowledged that the investigation yielded no evidence of trafficking.

Palm Beach County prosecutors in a court filing on Wednesday said Kraft’s motion should be rejected because he could not have had any expectation of privacy while visiting a commercial establishment to engage in criminal activity.

That prompted an indignant response from Kraft’s attorneys, who said the prosecution’s position on privacy was “unhinged.”

“It should go without saying that Mr. Kraft and everyone else in the United States have a reasonable expectation that the government will not secretly spy on them while they undress behind closed doors,” they wrote.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax, editing by G Crosse)

Source: OANN

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