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Indian companies squeezed as inflation falls but interest rates remain high

FILE PHOTO: Reserve Bank of India logo is seen at the gate of its office in New Delhi
FILE PHOTO: A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) logo is seen at the gate of its office in New Delhi, India, November 9, 2018. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain/File Photo

April 3, 2019

By Manoj Kumar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian businesses are getting squeezed. As economic growth slows and inflation sinks they have little ability to raise prices without losing sales, and yet they are getting almost no relief from borrowing costs with lending rates remaining high.

The result: profit margins get crushed. And that helps to explain why companies are not confident enough to significantly boost capital spending or hire at a robust pace.

The rise in India’ real interest rates – the comparison between the inflation rate and the rate people pay to borrow – will be a major headache for whoever wins India’s general election which lasts from April 11 to May 19. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party are expected to get a second term.

It is also an immediate problem for the monetary policy committee of India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as it decides whether to cut its official benchmark interest rate, and by how much, at a meeting on Thursday.

“Had the borrowing costs declined by 3-4 percentage points along with inflation, we would have made investments and created thousands of new jobs,” said Sudarshan Sareen, president of the All India Manufacturers Organisation.

HANDICAPPED ON GLOBAL STAGE

Indian manufacturers pay 12-14 percent bank lending rates annually, he said, the highest among the emerging market economies. The government pays a subsidy of 3-4 percentage points to banks to lower the costs for farmers.

The facts are simple. India’s retail inflation rate has dropped to below 3 percent from more than 10 percent in 2013. In the same six-year period, bank borrowing costs for manufacturers and retailers have declined only marginally by about one percent from over 13 percent, business leaders say.

That means real interest rates have gone up in last five years. Many economists, including Ravinder Dholoakia, a member of the RBI’s MPC, have said that real rates in India are too high.

For a graphic on India’s CPI inflation, RBI repo rates, see – https://tmsnrt.rs/2WH5xNQ

India is also suffering in comparison to international rivals.

World Bank data shows that real interest rates in India went up to 6.2 percent in 2017 from 2.5 percent in 2012, while real rates fell in many other Asian countries, including China.

India’s economy lost momentum in the October-December quarter, reducing the annual rate of growth to 6.6 percent, the slowest pace in five quarters.

New investment proposals declined to 14-year low of $138.72 billion in 2018/19, falling for the fourth straight year, according to data collected by the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, a Mumbai-based think tank.

Modi has announced an increase in the state interest rate subsidy on bank loans for small businesses, while pushing the central bank and state-run banks to cut rates.

The RBI is expected to cut its benchmark lending rate, the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 6.0 percent this week, a Reuters poll of economists showed. It has cut policy rates by less than 2 percentage points since April 2012.

CALLS FOR BIGGER CUTS

A substantial cut in the repo rate and bank lending rates are needed to boost manufacturing and domestic demand, and bolster economic growth, said Ashwani Mahajan, an official of the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayemsewak Sangh (RSS), a group close to Modi’s BJP, Mahajan said that the RBI’s forecasts for the inflation rate had been consistently too high.

“The forecasts of the RBI on inflation have become a joke as they usually go wrong. The economy is paying a heavy price due to its high-interest rate policy in the name of inflation targeting,” said Mahajan, a member of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch. Mahajan said the RBI should cut the policy rate on Thursday by up to 1.75 bps, bringing the repo rate down to about 4.5 percent. The government, RSS and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch all agreed there needed to be sharp rate cuts, he said, while adding the timing and specific size of the moves was unclear.

There is also concern among government and central bank officials that commercial banks are not automatically passing through the RBI’s repo rate cuts to borrowers. India’s dominant state-owned banks are saddled with massive bad debt and weak deposit growth, restricting their ability to lend.

“Interest rates will remain elevated in India as the gap between deposits and lending is widening due to falling saving rates in the economy,” said Devindra Pant, chief economist at India Ratings, an arm of Fitch.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar; Editing by Martin Howell & Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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House rebukes Trump on Saudi, backs war powers resolution

U.S. President Trump speaks at the National Republican Congressional Committee Annual Spring Dinner in Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the National Republican Congressional Committee Annual Spring Dinner in Washington, U.S., April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

April 4, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution on Thursday to end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the war in Yemen, rebuffing President Donald Trump’s policy toward the kingdom.

Because the resolution had already passed the Senate, the 247-175 vote in the Democratic-led House sends the resolution to the White House, which said last month Trump would issue a veto.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: OANN

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Russian aircraft to fly over U.S. as part of Treaty on Open Skies obligations

Russian reconnaissance aircraft will fly over parts of the United States this week through Saturday as part of obligations for the Treaty on Open Skies, U.S. officials said.

It will mark the first Russian flights over the U.S. this year.

“The flight will be conducted with their treaty-certified Tu-154 aircraft equipped with electro-optical cameras, “Johnny Michael, a Pentagon spokesman, said in an email to Fox News. “The observation flight is expected to be completed and depart the United States around March 30, per Treaty timelines.”

MARINE CORPS COMMANDANT WARNS OF DIRE FISCAL SITUATION AFTER FUNDS ARE REROUTED TO TROOPS AT BORDER

Russian officials said the flights will begin at an Air Force base in Montana, home to nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Russian observation aircraft can fly anywhere in a 3,000-mile radius from Montana under treaty obligations.

“The United States has conducted three treaty missions over Russia so far in 2019,” Michael added. “Per treaty procedures, the United States will inspect the aircraft and U.S. observers will be on board the Russian aircraft to monitor all phases of the observation flight over U.S. territory, to ensure Treaty compliance.”

The Treaty on Open Skies was established in 1992 to allow unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its 34-signatories to gather information about military forces and activities. The signatories include the U.S. and Russia.

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Officials said the timing of the flights has been “long-planned,” and is not meant to coincide with the results of the Mueller report. Special Counsel Robert Mueller did not find that President Trump’s campaign “conspired or coordinated” with the Russian government to influence the 2016 presidential election, knocking down arguments from Democrats who have claimed there was evidence of such collusion.

Source: Fox News National

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Donald Trump: Illegal Immigrants Met by Democrat Lawyers at the Border

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Vermont woman, 84, heading to Poland to compete in pole-vaulting championship

Most would agree that it's important to stay active in the later years of life, but 84-year-old Florence "Flo" Fillion Meiler is taking that to a new level.

The Vermont native is heading to Poland next Thursday for the World Masters Athletics Championship Indoor where she will compete in events including the long jump, 60-meter hurdles, 800-meter run, pentathlon and her specialty, the pole vault.

Her favorite events are the hurdles and the pole vault - the sport which sees competitors launch themselves over a high bar with a fiberglass pole.

"You really have to work at that," she said. "You have to have the upper core and you have to have timing, and I just love it because it's challenging."

In that particualr category, she will literally have no competition - because she's the only woman in her age group of 80-84 year olds. Despite her easy win, she's not slowing down her exercise.

"You know, I do train five days a week," she said. "And when I found out I was going to compete at the Worlds, I've been training six days a week because I knew I would really get my body in shape."

Meiler grew up on a dairy farm, working hard manual jobs like feeding cattle and raking hay. She was always active in sports throughout school, playing basketball and taking tap and ballroom dancing classes. Professionally, she went on to work as a sales representative for Herbalife nutritional supplements for 30 years.

WWII VET TURNING 100 WANTS BIRTHDAY CARDS FROM 'AROUND THE WORLD'

When she met her husband, Eugene, a military pilot turned financial analyst, the two competed together in water skiing. It wasn't until she was 65 that she picked up pole-vaulting at the encouragement of a friend with whom she played competitive doubles tennis.

Staying active has helped Meiler and her husband persevere through hard times, she said, as they adopted three children after losing two of their babies prematurely, and one at the age of three. Two years ago, her adopted son died at the age of 51.

TEXAS HOUSE PASSES BILL LEGALIZING LEMONADE STANDS RUN BY KIDS; NEXT STOP IS SENATE

Sadly, Meiler also says she misses her training partner - a good friend who began having health problems about five years ago and can no longer train. She's now hoping to find a new partner to hit the gym with, since it can be harder to train alone.

Her coach, however, testified to her strength and committment to her sport.

"She's incredibly serious about what she does," coach Emmaline Berg said. "She comes in early to make sure she's warmed up enough. She goes home and stretches a lot. So she pretty much structures her entire life around being a fantastic athlete, which is remarkable at any age, let alone hers."

"She was like a local celebrity," she continued.

Meiler already set a record at the age of 80 after clearing a 6-foot pole vault at the USA Track and Field Adirondack Championships in Albany, New York.

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"I was screaming, I was so happy," she said.

As she embarks to Poland next week, she hopes to set more records and continue being a role model for other seniors.

The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this article.

Source: Fox News National

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Bernie Sanders’ evolution: Democratic socialist rises from party gadfly to front-runner

Sen. Bernie Sanders is on a tear.

The independent senator from Vermont burst out of the gates on Feb. 19, as he launched his second straight bid for the Democratic presidential nomination -- and he hasn’t slowed down yet.

WATCH THE BERNIE SANDERS TOWN HALL ON FOX NEWS CHANNEL ON MONDAY AT 6:30 PM ET. 

The self-proclaimed ‘democratic socialist’ is drawing huge crowds on the campaign trail and racking up big bucks. He hauled in $18.2 million in fundraising in the first 41 days of his campaign, becoming the overwhelming leader of the pack in the fundraising race among the large roster of White House hopefuls.

The senator consistently registers in second place -- in double digits -- in 2020 polling, trailing only former Vice President Joe Biden. But until Biden officially jumps in, as is widely expected, Sanders for now is the front-runner among declared candidates. This status marks an incredible ascension from the start of the last cycle.

“We have come a long way in the last four years,” Sanders said recently on the campaign trail.

He’s not kidding.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BERNIE SANDERS

When the senator first launched his 2016 White House bid, he was considered a far-left fringe candidate who would be a longshot against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. He was barely taken seriously as he made multiple trips to the early voting states in 2014 and the first half of 2015.

But Sanders caught lightning in a bottle in the summer of 2015, after officially declaring his candidacy. Along with Republican Donald Trump, he tapped into the anger among the electorate with a system that many felt was failing them. And he launched his White House bid at a time when the Democratic Party was moving further to the left.

Whether Sanders sensed this and rode the wave, or whether he is largely responsible for the party's shift since that time, remains to be seen. But the 77-year-old politician is seemingly in the right place at the right time -- at last, after decades in the political wilderness. Today, policies he espouses are virtual litmus tests for the field. Even his presidential primary rivals scrambled to co-sponsor his latest "Medicare for All" bill last week.

Veteran political scientist Dante Scala says that since President George W. Bush’s administration, more and more Democrats “have been willing to identify themselves as liberal.”

HOW DID BERNIE SANDERS MAKE HIS MONEY?

“What we’ve seen over the past decade or so is this decline in moderate and conservative Democrats. A lot more Democrats are willing to say to survey researchers and pollsters that ‘I’m liberal and I’m proud.’ In some way, Sanders was able to capitalize on a trend that was occurring with the Democratic Party,” explained Scala, a political science professor at the University of New Hampshire.

“Sanders capitalized – in 2016 in particular – with a growing sense among both young voters, white working-class voters, that the system was broken and that radical change was necessary to fix it. And I think a lot of that comes out of the great recession,” Scala added. “They wanted a politician who would go big and Bernie was happy to oblige on that.”

Sanders’ crushing defeat of Clinton in 2016 in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary launched a political juggernaut, sending him into a marathon battle with the eventual nominee that didn’t end until after the primary and caucus calendar.

As he runs a second time, the stridently liberal candidate doesn’t appear to have a problem standing out from the rest of the pack and resonating with younger voters – even with rivals that are four decades younger. And he’s changed the conversation, with many of his fellow White House hopefuls pushing the same proposals that Sanders highlighted on the presidential campaign trail four years earlier.

But Democrats not feeling the ‘Bern’ argue that Sanders was expected to start strong, thanks to his strong name recognition and the extensive nation-wide organization that he built in 2016 and maintained in the ensuing years.

“He starts with a leg up because of running previously but I don’t think it’s an insurmountable advantage by any means,” longtime Democratic strategist Judy Reardon said.

But Scala says Sanders will be successful again because he’s “kind of married liberalism and populism.”

“I think that’s what makes him such a danger to the other 2020 candidates in that he could be what Trump was in 2016. That is, it could be the case that a strong minority bloc of voters who are married to Bernie and they’re not interested in dating,” he said.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Romanian court delays appeal decision in graft conviction

A Romanian court has postponed until May 20 its decision on an appeal by the country's most powerful politician against his 3 ½ year prison sentence for official misconduct in a graft case.

A few supporters of Social Democratic Party leader Liviu Dragnea scuffled with police Monday outside the courthouse as he entered.

Critics fear the delay endangers Dragnea's 2018 conviction, linked to the employment of two party members at a public agency, because the anticipated June 1 retirement of one the five judges hearing the appeal could potentially lead to a re-trial.

Also, a decision by the Constitutional Court due May 19 may invalidate Dragnea's conviction if it finds that the three-judge panel involved did not meet certain legal conditions.

Dragnea was convicted of vote-rigging in 2016.

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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