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In sensitive year for China, warnings against ‘erroneous thoughts’

FILE PHOTO: Workers decorate the party activity room next to a portrait of Chinese president Xi Jinping at Tidal Star Group headquarters in Beijing
FILE PHOTO: Workers decorate the party activity room next to a portrait of Chinese president Xi Jinping at Tidal Star Group headquarters in Beijing, China, February 25, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

March 9, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s ruling Communist Party is ramping up calls for political loyalty in a year of sensitive anniversaries, warning against “erroneous thoughts” as officials fall over themselves to pledge allegiance to President Xi Jinping and his philosophy.

This year is marked by some delicate milestones: 30 years since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square; 60 years since the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet into exile; and finally, on Oct. 1, 70 years since the founding of Communist China.

Born of turmoil and revolution, the Communist Party came to power in 1949 on the back of decades of civil war in which millions died, and has always been on high alert for “luan”, or “chaos”, and valued stability above all else.

“This year is the 70th anniversary of the founding of new China,” Xi told legislators from Inner Mongolia on Tuesday, the opening day of the annual meeting of parliament. “Maintaining sustained, healthy economic development and social stability is a mission that is extremely arduous.”

Xi has tightened the party’s grip on almost every facet of government and life since assuming power in late 2012.

Last year parliament amended the country’s constitution to remove term limits and allow him to stay in office for the rest of his life, should he so wish, though it is unclear if that will happen and Xi has not mentioned it in public.

Later in the year the party will likely hold a plenum of its top leadership focused on what China calls “party building”, diplomats and sources with ties to China’s leadership say, a concept that refers to furthering party control and ensuring its instructions are followed to the letter.

In late January the party again stressed loyalty in new rules on “strengthening party political building”, telling members they should not fake loyalty or be “low-level red”, in a lengthy document carried by state media.

“Be on high alert to all kinds of erroneous thoughts, vague understandings, and bad phenomena in ideological areas,” it warned. “Keep your eyes open, see things early and move on them fast.”

LOYALTY FIRST

On March 1, Xi spoke at the Central Party School, which trains rising officials, mentioning the word “loyalty” at least seven times, according to official accounts in state media.

Xi noted that whether an official is loyal to the party is a key gauge of whether they have ideals and convictions. “Loyalty always comes first,” he said.

Duncan Innes-Ker, regional director for Asia at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said China was concerned about resistance at lower levels to following party orders, the slowing economy and also about demands for political reforms as people get steadily richer.

“The desire for control is not something particular to any time period,” he said. “It is a fundamental tenet of autocratic governments that they are constantly paranoid about being overthrown.”

Xi looms large over this year’s session of China’s largely rubber stamp parliament, known as the National People’s Congress, which has always been stacked with people chosen for their absolute fealty to the party.

Government ministers who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of parliament’s opening session on Tuesday peppered their comments with references to Xi – 16 times in all.

Customs minister Ni Yuefeng said that Xi himself “pays great attention to not allowing foreign garbage into the country”, a reference to China’s ban on solid waste imports, part of the country’s war on pollution.

“Ideology comes first this year,” said one Western diplomat who is attending the parliamentary sessions as an observer. “It’s all about the 70th anniversary.”

ROOTING OUT DISLOYALTY

The party has increasingly been making rooting out disloyalty and wavering from the party line a disciplinary offense to be enforced by its anti-corruption watchdog, whose role had ostensibly been to go after criminal acts such as bribery and lesser bureaucratic transgressions.

The graft buster said last month it would “uncover political deviation” in its political inspections this year of provincial governments and ministries.

Top graft buster Zhao Leji, in a January speech to the corruption watchdog, a full transcript of which the party released late February, used the word “loyalty” eight times.

“Set an example with your loyalty to the party,” Zhao said.

China has persistently denied its war on corruption is about political maneuvering or Xi taking down his enemies. Xi told an audience in Seattle in 2015 that the anti-graft fight was no “House of Cards”-style power play, in a reference to the Netflix U.S. political drama.

The deeper fear for the party is some sort of unrest or a domestic or even international event fomenting a crisis that could end its rule.

Xi told officials in January they need to be on high alert for “black swan” events..

That same month the top law-enforcement official said China’s police must focus on withstanding “color revolutions”, or popular uprisings, and treat the defense of China’s political system as central to their work.

The party has meanwhile shown no interest in political reform, and has been doubling down on the merits of the Communist Party, including this month rolling out English-language propaganda videos on state media-run Twitter accounts to laud “Chinese democracy”. Twitter remains blocked in China.

The official state news agency Xinhua said in an English-language commentary on Sunday that China was determined to stick to its political model and rejected Western-style democracy.

“The country began to learn about democracy a century ago, but soon found Western politics did not work here. Decades of turmoil and civil war followed,” it said.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source: OANN

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NFL notebook: Falcons, Jones close to extension

FILE PHOTO: NFL: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers
FILE PHOTO: Dec 23, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) on the sidelines in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports - 11893582

March 23, 2019

The Atlanta Falcons and wide receiver Julio Jones are closing in on an extension that would pay him $20 million per season on a four- or five-year deal, Bleacher Report reported Friday.

According to the report, Jones is expected to get around $50 million-$60 million in new guarantees, though the deal is not done yet.

The league’s highest-paid wideout, recent Cleveland Browns addition Odell Beckham Jr., averages $18 million annually with an additional $1 million per season available via incentives. He got $41 million fully guaranteed at signing and $65 million in injury guarantees.

Jones, 30, has two years and $21 million remaining on his contract. He stayed away from the Falcons throughout the 2018 offseason while seeking further contract guarantees. The team responded by turning $4.4 million of his future salary into a signing bonus while reportedly promising to redo the deal after the 2018 season, a rare concession for a player with multiple years remaining on his deal.

–The attorney of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is firing back against law-enforcement officials in South Florida.

William Burck, who represents Kraft, issued a statement to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Kraft is facing misdemeanor charges of soliciting prostitution at a massage parlor in Jupiter, Fla., but he has pleaded not guilty.

“There was no human trafficking and law enforcement knows it,” Burck told Schefter, who posted the quote on his Twitter account. “The video and the traffic stop were illegal and law enforcement just doesn’t want to admit it. The state attorney needs to step up and do the right thing and investigate how the evidence in this case was obtained.”

–The Houston Texans signed offensive tackle Matt Kalil to a one-year contract, multiple media outlets reported.

Kalil, 29, was released by the Carolina Panthers last week in a salary-cutting move after he missed all of 2018 with a knee injury. He also missed 14 games to injury in 2016, but in his other five NFL seasons, Kalil started all 80 possible games at left tackle.

Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was sacked 62 times last season, easily most in the NFL and equaling the fifth-highest total in NFL history. The Texans re-signed right tackle Seantrel Henderson — who missed all but one game in 2018 — earlier this offseason.

–The Pittsburgh Steelers will release safety Morgan Burnett by April 1, his agent, Kevin Conner, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Burnett asked the team in January to release him before free agency.

Burnett indicated he wants to join a team that will use him in a pure safety role, after playing what he believes was out of position at dime linebacker in Pittsburgh, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported in January.

–The Oakland Raiders signed free agent quarterback Mike Glennon and safety Curtis Riley.

The Raiders released AJ McCarron last week, creating a need for a backup quarterback behind Derek Carr. Glennon, 29, was released by the Arizona Cardinals earlier this month after joining the team on a two-year, $8 million deal last spring.

Riley, 26, started all 16 games for the New York Giants in 2018, nabbing four interceptions and totaling 75 tackles.

–The Los Angeles Rams matched an offer by the Detroit Lions to keep running back Malcolm Brown in the fold. The two-year deal gives Brown a $100,000 signing bonus and is worth $3.3 million total, with $1 million guaranteed.

Brown, 25, has rushed for 514 yards in four seasons in a backup role to Todd Gurley, including 43 carries for 212 yards and five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in 2018.

–Former Broncos first-round pick Shane Ray visited the Indianapolis Colts, according to multiple reports.

Ray, who had eight sacks in 2016 but has battled injuries the last two years, would move from linebacker to defensive end if he joins the Colts. Indianapolis reportedly added pass rusher Justin Houston on Thursday.

–The Buffalo Bills signed former Seahawks safety Maurice Alexander and former Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Jake Fisher, who is making the transition to be a blocking tight end.

Buffalo also reportedly visited with former Titans guard Quinton Spain and former Seahawks defensive back Neiko Thorpe.

–The Lions agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with free agent cornerback Rashaan Melvin, multiple media outlets reported. Detroit also officially re-signed offensive lineman Andrew Donnal.

–Wide receiver Cody Latimer officially re-signed with the New York Giants.

–The Cleveland Browns signed free agent offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann.

–The Kansas City Chiefs re-signed fullback Anthony Sherman, per multiple reports.

–The Bengals signed former Giants defensive end Kerry Wynn, ESPN reported.

–The Texans re-signed special teamer Joe Webb III, who also serves as a backup wide receiver and quarterback.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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North Macedonia police report breaking up firearms ring

Police in North Macedonia have arrested nine people suspected of belonging to a crime ring that converted flare guns into lethal weapons and sold them on the black market.

The arrests followed a series of raids Monday at 13 locations in the capital of Skopje, the western town of Tetovo and the northern town of Kumanovo.

A police news release said the suspects allegedly had a workshop in Skopje and sold the reconfigured weapons for up to 400 euros ($450) each.

The release says officers confiscated 16 handguns, an automatic rifle and ammunition of various calibers during the raids.

If convicted, the suspects face sentences of up to 10 years in prison for breaches of North Macedonia's firearms laws.

Source: Fox News World

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Jurors hear final arguments in opioid bribe scheme case

A federal prosecutor says a wealthy drug company founder put patients at risk to guarantee his business' success by directing a scheme to bribe doctors to prescribe a powerful opioid.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Yeager told jurors in his closing arguments Thursday that John Kapoor and four other former Insys Therapeutics executives who are on trial exploited patients to bring in millions of dollars by bribing doctors and deceiving insurers.

A lawyer for Kapoor sought to poke holes in the government's case and accused prosecutors of targeting the founder just so they can tout a high-profile conviction. Attorney Beth Wilkinson called the government's two star witnesses liars whose stories conflict with one another.

Closing arguments are expected to continue Friday in the trial, which began in January.

Source: Fox News National

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AT&T pulls ads from YouTube over videos exploiting children

FILE PHOTO: An AT&T logo is seen at a AT&T building in New York City
FILE PHOTO: An AT&T logo is seen at a AT&T building in New York City, October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/File Photo

February 22, 2019

By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) – AT&T Inc pulled all its advertising from Alphabet Inc’s YouTube for the second time in two years after a magazine reported the platform displayed ads next to videos that showed the exploitation of children.

“Until Google can protect our brand from offensive content of any kind, we are removing all advertising from YouTube,” an AT&T spokesman said in a statement on Thursday.

The move comes just one month after the U.S. wireless carrier announced it would resume buying advertising on YouTube, after a nearly two-year boycott of the platform. The previous boycott was also due to concerns that its ads could run on videos featuring hate speech or other disturbing material.

The report by Wired magazine that commercials had run alongside offensive videos and comments also prompted food and beverage maker Nestle SA to pause advertising on YouTube earlier this week.

YouTube said it had removed some of the content, which violated its policies against child endangerment, nudity and other behavior it considers inappropriate. YouTube added that it disabled comments on tens of millions of videos that include minors.

“There’s more to be done, and we continue to work to improve and catch abuse more quickly,” YouTube said in a statement.

YouTube derives most of its revenue from advertising, and it has been one of Google’s fastest-growing units as consumers spend an increasing amount of time watching videos online.

Google does not specify its revenue from YouTube. Advertising research firm EMarketer estimates YouTube will net $11.4 billion in worldwide revenue in 2019 after accounting for revenue shared with content producers.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in New York; Additional reporting by Paresh Dave in San Francisco; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: OANN

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NRA sues its main ad agency for allegedly withholding billing information

The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit Friday in Virgina against Ackerman McQueen, the Oklahoma-based ad agency that runs NRATV, accusing the contractor of withholding billing statements and alleging an inappropriate financial relationship between the NRA’s president and the advertising firm

ANDREW CUOMO USING BANKS TO TARGET NRA, FACES MAJOR LEGAL TEST

Ackerman McQueen was first contracted by the NRA in the 1980s. In 2016, the ad agency launched NRATV, which has been “perceived by the public as the voice of the N.R.A.,” according to the lawsuit. The NRA complaint alleges that the ad agency failed to provide adequate information over how Ackerman McQueen spent about $40 million paid by the NRA in 2017.

The lawsuit states that Ackerman McQueen only partially complied or “badly ignored” requests for backing paperwork on bills to the NRA, despite being contractually obligated to share these financial records. The complaint also claims Ackerman McQueen failed to reveal information regarding a separate contract with NRA President Oliver North.

North, who took over as president of the gun rights organization in 2018, allegedly had a contract to host a web series for Ackerman McQueen, The New York Times reported. The NRA claims the ad firm refused to hand over details regarding the contract for six months and raised questions over whether the messaging of the NRA has veered away from solely gun rights.

"This flagrant misrepresentation, along with other false claims, serve as the foundation of malicious intent exemplified by this lawsuit," Ackerman McQueen said in a statement.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP 

Ackerman McQueen said the NRA’s outside attorney William Brewer has a conflict of interest in this case because he is both the son-in-law of Angus McQueen and the brother-in-law of Revan McQueen, who are both executives at the ad firm.

Ackerman McQueen said in a statement Monday that an NRA forensic auditing firm received every piece of information it requested during a three-week review.

“This flagrant misrepresentation, along with other false claims, serve as the foundation of malicious intent exemplified by this lawsuit,” Ackerman McQueen’s statement says.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Feds: man jailed after claim has twice made similar claims

The Latest on the investigation of a man who allegedly claimed to be a long-missing child from Illinois (all times local):

11:15 a.m.

An FBI affidavit says an Ohio man who authorities say falsely claimed to be an Illinois boy missing for eight years has made similar claims twice before.

The affidavit filed in federal court Friday says 23-year-old Brian Rini repeatedly told investigators he was Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in Aurora, Illinois, in 2011 at age 6.

The affidavit says Rini refused to be fingerprinted but submitted to a DNA test after which his true identity was determined.

The affidavit says Rini had watched a TV show about Pitzen and told investigators he wanted to get away from his family.

Investigators determined Rini had twice before falsely portrayed himself as a juvenile sex trafficking victim.

Federal court records don't list an attorney for Rini.

___

8:30 a.m.

A 23-year-old man authorities say falsely claimed to be an Illinois boy missing for eight years is being held in an Ohio jail.

Hamilton County's jail site shows Brian Rini of Medina, Ohio, was jailed Thursday. There were no charges listed Friday and no other information was available immediately.

The FBI announced Thursday afternoon that DNA tests disproved the claim of a person who Wednesday identified himself as Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in Aurora, Illinois, in 2011 at age 6.

Rini was released on probation from Ohio prison last month after serving more than a year on burglary and vandalism charges.

___

1:02 a.m.

A day of false hope has given way to questions about why a man would claim to be an Illinois boy who disappeared eight years ago.

The FBI declared the man's story a hoax Thursday one day after he identified himself to authorities as Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011 at age 6.

Newport Police Chief Tom Collins identified the man to ABC as 23-year-old ex-convict Brian Rini of Medina, Ohio, who was released from prison less than a month ago after serving more than a year.

The man had told police he's Timmothy and escaped from men who held him captive.

___

Follow Dan Sewell at https://www.twitter.com/dansewell

Source: Fox News National

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the inauguration of the newly-elected parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

April 26, 2019

By Rupam Jain and Hameed Farzad

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani encouraged newly-elected lawmakers to participate in the peace process with the Taliban as he opened on Friday the first session of parliament since a controversial election.

Ghani has invited thousands of politicians, religious scholars and rights activists to an assembly known as a loya jirga next week to discuss ways to end the 17-year war.

Several opposition leaders have said they will boycott the four-day assembly in Kabul, saying it was pulled together without their input and is being used by Ghani as he seeks a second term in a September presidential election.

“We have presented the peace plan on a regular basis and we are committed to it,” Ghani said in the first session since parliamentary elections marred by technical problems, militant attacks and accusations of voting fraud last year.

“Based on this plan, there will be no peace deal and negotiation that does not have the green card of the parliament,” he added.

Officials from the United States and the Taliban have held several rounds of talks to end the Afghan war.

U.S. negotiator, Zalmay Khalilzad, has reported some progress toward an accord on a U.S. troop withdrawal and on how the Taliban would prevent extremists from using Afghanistan to launch attacks as al Qaeda did on Sept. 11, 2001.

The insurgents have so far rejected U.S. demands for a ceasefire and talks on the country’s political future that would include Afghan government officials.

The loya jirga, a centuries-old institution used to build consensus among competing tribes, factions and ethnic groups, is an attempt by Ghani to influence the peace talks and cement his position for a second term, Afghan politicians and Western diplomats say.

Amid growing political divisions in Kabul, opposition politicians have demanded that Ghani step down when his mandate ends next month, and give way to an interim government to oversee peace talks with the Taliban. Ghani has ruled that out.

The country’s top court said last week Ghani can stay in office until the presidential election in September.

(Reporting by Hameed Farzad, Rupam Jain, Editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Thursday defended special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation while slamming former President Barack Obama’s administration for being slow to take action on Russian interference in U.S. elections and ex-FBI Director James Comey for telling Congress the agency was investigating collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“Our nation is safer, elections are more secure, and citizens are better informed about covert foreign influence schemes,” Rosenstein said in a speech to the Armenian Bar Association, marking his first public remarks after the Mueller report was released, reports CBS News.

He also pointed out that the investigation revealed a pattern of computer hacking and the use of social media to undermine elections as “only the tip of the iceberg of a comprehensive Russian strategy to influence elections, promote social discord, and undermine America, just like they do in many other countries,” reports The Wall Street Journal.

The Obama administration also made “critical decisions,” including choosing not to publicize the full story about Russian hackers and social media trolling, “and how they relate to a broader strategy to undermine America,” said Rosenstein.

He noted that the Mueller probe began after Comey disclosed during a hearing before Congress that President Donald Trump “pressured him to close the investigation and the president denied that the conversation occurred.”

Rosenstein said two years ago, when he was confirmed, he was told by a Republican senator that he would be in charge of the probe and that he’d report the results to the American people.

However, he said he didn’t promise to do that, because it is “not our job to render conclusive factual findings. We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei's factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is pictured outside its Huawei’s factory campus in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain must get to the bottom of the leak of confidential discussions during a top-level security meeting about the role of China’s Huawei Technologies in 5G network supply chains, British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday.

News that Britain’s National Security Council, attended by senior ministers and spy chiefs, had agreed on Tuesday to bar Huawei from all core parts of the country’s 5G network and restrict its access to non-core elements was leaked to a national newspaper.

The leak of secret discussions has sparked anger in parliament and amongst Britain’s intelligence community. Britain’s most senior civil servant Mark Sedwill has launched an inquiry and written to ministers who were at the meeting.

“My understanding from London (is) that an investigation has been announced into apparent leaks from the NSC meeting earlier this week,” said Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing.

“To my knowledge there has never been a leak from a National Security Council meeting before and therefore I think it is very important that we get to the bottom of what happened here,” he told Reuters in a pooled interview.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday he could not rule out a criminal investigation. The majority of the ministers at the NSC meeting have said they were not involved, according to media reports.

Hammond said he was unaware of any previous leak from a meeting of the NSC.

“It’s not about the substance of what was apparently leaked. It’s not earth-shattering information. But it is important that we protect the principle that nothing that goes on in national security council meetings must ever be repeated outside the room.”

Allowing Huawei a reduced role in building its 5G network puts Britain at odds with the United States which has told allies not to use its technology at all because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

There have been concerns that the NSC’s conclusion, which sources confirmed to Reuters, could upset other allies in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network – the Five Eyes alliance of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

However, British ministers and intelligence officials have said any final decision on 5G would not put critical national infrastructure at risk. Ciaran Martin, head of the cyber center of Britain’s main eavesdropping agency, GCHQ, played down any threat of a rift in the Five Eyes alliance.

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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President Trump on Friday said “no money” was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, after reports that the U.S. received a $2 million hospital bill from Pyongyang for the late American prisoner’s care.

“No money was paid to North Korea for Otto Warmbier, not two Million Dollars, not anything else. This is not the Obama Administration that paid 1.8 Billion Dollars for four hostages, or gave five terroist[sic] hostages plus, who soon went back to battle, for traitor Sgt. Bergdahl!” Trump tweeted Friday.

NORTH KOREA GAVE US $2M HOSPITAL BILL OVER CARE OF AMERICAN OTTO WARMBIER, SOURCES SAY

The Washington Post first reported that North Korean authorities insisted the U.S. envoy sent to retrieve Warmbier, 21, who was a student of the University of Virginia, sign a pledge to pay the bill before allowing Warmbier’s comatose body to return to the United States. Sources confirmed the bill and the amount to Fox News on Thursday.

Sources told the post that the envoy signed an agreement to pay the medical bill on instructions from the president, but a source told Fox News that the U.S. did not ever pay money to North Korea.

The White House declined to comment when asked on the bill, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying in a statement that: “We do not comment on hostage negotiations, which is why they have been so successful during this administration.”

Meanwhile, the president added: “’President[sic] Donald J. Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator that I know of in the history of the United States. 20 hostages, many in impossible circumstances, have been released in last two years. No money was paid.’ Cheif[sic] Hostage Negotiator, USA!”

Warmbier was on tour in North Korea when he allegedly stole a propaganda sign from a hotel. He was arrested in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor in March 2016. Warmbier, for unknown reasons, fell into a coma while in custody and was held in that condition for an additional 17 months.

North Korean officials did not tell American officials until June 2017 that Warmbier had been unconscious the entire time. He died less than a week after he returned to the U.S. North Korean officials, though, have repeatedly denied accusations that Warmbier was tortured, instead claiming that he had suffered from botulism and then slipped into a coma after taking a sleeping pill.

AMERICAN PRISONERS HELD IN NORTH KOREA ON THEIR WAY HOME AFTER POMPEO VISIT, TRUMP SAYS

Fred and Cindy Warmbier sued North Korea over their son’s death and in December were awarded $501 million in damages – money that the Hermit Kingdom will probably never pay.

While the Warmbiers blamed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trump has said he believes Kim’s claims that he did not know about the student’s treatment.

Trump and Kim have met in two separate summits. The most recent, held in February, ended without an agreement on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, told Fox News: “Otto Warmbier was mistreated by North Korea in so many ways, including his wrongful conviction and harsh sentence, and the fact that for 16 months they refused to tell his family or our country about his dire condition they caused.  No, the United States owes them nothing. They owe the Warmbier family everything.”

Last year, the Trump administration was also able to save three American prisoners held by North Korea. Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim, and Kim Hak Song were all detained in North Korea. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought the three Americans home last May, and said they were all in “good health.”

Fox News’ John Roberts, Rich Edson, Nicholas Kalman, and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon
Park Yoo-chun, a K-pop idol singer, arrives at the Suwon district court in Suwon, South Korea, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

April 26, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – K-pop and drama star Park Yu-chun was arrested on Friday on charges of buying and using illegal drugs, a court said, the latest in a series of scandals to hit the South Korean entertainment business.

Suwon District Court approved the arrest warrant for Park, 32, due to concerns over possible destruction of evidence and flight risk, a court spokesman told Reuters.

Park is suspected of having bought about 1.5 grams of methamphetamine with his former girlfriend earlier this year and using the drug around five times, an official at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.

Park has denied wrongdoing, saying he had never taken drugs, and he again denied the charges in court, Yonhap news agency said.

Park’s contract with his management agency had been canceled and he would leave the entertainment industry, Park’s management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, said on Wednesday.

Park was a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.

A scandal involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chat about rape led at least four other K-pop stars to quit the industry earlier this year.

The cases sparked a nationwide drugs bust and investigations into tax evasion and police collusion at night clubs and other nightlife spots.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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