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Breakdancing among sports given provisional green light for Paris 2024

Bach President of the IOC attends a news conference after an Executive Board meeting in Lausanne
Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) attends a news conference after an Executive Board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

March 27, 2019

By Karolos Grohmann

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Breakdancing was among four sports given a provisional green light for inclusion in the Paris 2024 Games by the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday, IOC President Thomas Bach said.

The Paris 2024 organizing committee in February proposed surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing as well as breakdancing for inclusion in the Games.

“We decided to recommend the four sports (for ratification) to the IOC session in June in Lausanne,” Bach told a news conference. “It is a provisional inclusion because the final decision should only be taken at the end of 2020.”

Surfing, climbing and skateboarding will be part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and their performance as new sports there will be key for their final inclusion in Paris.

“There will be a meeting in November 2020 and a board meeting in December where the final decision should be taken. In the meantime there is a monitoring program… to see how they perform, to look at governance, integrity of competitions, refereeing and judging system,” Bach said.

The Paris Games organizers have said they want to deliver a program that will be “in keeping with the times and inspire new audiences and attract young people … and which can be played anywhere and anytime in urban and other environments.”

Under new IOC rules first introduced for the Tokyo Games, Olympic host cities can hand-pick sports and propose them for inclusion in those Games if they are popular in that country and add to the Games’ appeal.

The IOC is eager to refresh the Games’ sports program to remain relevant to sponsors, broadcasters and fans.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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Street cannabis contaminated by fecal matter, E. coli, study claims

Cannabis sold by street dealers in Spain has been found to be contaminated with feces by scientists.

The study was conducted by scientists at Universidad Complutense in Madrid, including pharmacologist José Manuel Moreno Pérez, and will be published in the journal Forensic Science International in May.

Pérez collected 90 samples from street dealers, according to the BBC, because he was curious if the drugs were safe to use. In those samples, he found traces of E. coli and the Aspergillus fungus. He also found fecal matter.

NEW JERSEY DRUG BUSTS TURN UP POT-LACED KIDS’ CEREAL

He determined that 88.3 percent of the samples were not safe to be consumed.

The samples Pérez bought were wrapped in two kinds of containers — “acorns” and “ingots” or blocks, according to the study. The “acorns” are reportedly smuggled into Spain.

Pérez and his colleagues found that 93 percent of the “acorn” samples and 29.4 percent of the “ingot” samples were contaminated by high levels of E. coli. They also found that 10 percent of the samples had the Aspergillus fungus.

The “acorn” type also reportedly ended up having the most contaminants and even smelled like fecal matter.

ENTERPRISE EMPLOYEE, 19, PUT LSD IN CO-WORKERS’ DRINKS BECAUSE THEY HAD ‘NEGATIVE ENERGY,’ POLICE SAY

He explained to El País that the extra contaminants and the smell were a result of how the drug is smuggled into Spain, where cannabis is illegal. Pérez said dealers in Morocco wrap small amounts of the drug in plastic “acorns” and swallow them alongside something to neutralize their stomach acids.

“When they get to Spain, they take a laxative and expel the bellotas,” he told the outlet. “And then they’re put on sale.”

Because they found such high numbers of contaminants, Pérez and his co-authors said their study proves that selling street cannabis is bad enough to be a “public health issue.”

“There are no filters on joints,” Pérez told El País. “You are not just breathing in smoke, but also particles.”

Source: Fox News World

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Ex-NBA player Glen Davis avoids jail time in marijuana bust

Former NBA player Glen "Big Baby" Davis has agreed to pay $15,000 to avoid jail time on drug charges.

News outlets report the forward had faced up to five years in jail. He was arrested at a Maryland hotel with 126 grams (4 ounces) of marijuana and a briefcase containing $92,000 last February, and indicted on seven counts of drug possession and distribution.

Davis' attorney Brandon Mead says prosecutors will dismiss the charges after the 33-year-old pays the fine. Mead says nothing indicates Davis was selling drugs.

Davis was a star player at Louisiana State University who also played for the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Clippers. His NBA career ended in 2015.

Davis was also charged with felony assault in an April altercation outside a West Hollywood, California, club.

Source: Fox News National

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Mom Ensnared in College Admissions Scam Hosted Gillibrand Fundraiser

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The battle for Citgo: How Venezuela opposition leaders seized control

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The corporate logos of the state oil company PDVSA and Citgo Petroleum Corp are seen in Caracas
FILE PHOTO: The corporate logos of the state oil company PDVSA and Citgo Petroleum Corp are seen in Caracas, Venezuela April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

February 22, 2019

By Marianna Parraga

(Reuters) – Asbrubal Chavez, chief executive of Houston-based Citgo Petroleum Corp, boarded the Venezuelan-owned firm’s corporate jet in Caracas on Jan. 30, after meeting with top officials of the embattled administration of socialist President Nicolas Maduro about the latest U.S. oil sanctions.

Upon landing in the Bahamas – where Chavez has worked for about a year after being denied a U.S. visa – he had received word from Houston that it would be his last trip on a company plane and that his Citgo email account had been shut off.

Day-to-day control of the company had passed to Citgo’s top U.S. executive, Rick Esser, who with the backing of Venezuela’s rising political opposition and the U.S. government would begin clearing the way for a new, anti-Maduro board of directors at Citgo. Esser oversaw the moves to isolate Chavez – a cousin of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez – and would soon start ousting other Citgo executives close to the Maduro administration.

The house-cleaning at the prized U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), marked a crucial early victory for the country’s rising opposition government – led by self-declared president Juan Guaido – as it struggles to remove Maduro from office and break his grip on the OPEC nation’s oil assets. The account of the transition of power at Citgo is based on Reuters interviews with more than a dozen current and former Citgo and PDVSA executives, employees, and U.S. and Latin American advisors.

Guaido, head of the nation’s congress, announced he would seize the presidency on Jan. 23 because Maduro’s re-election last year was a sham, rendering the socialist leader illegitimate under Venezuela law. Guaido’s claim to interim leadership, until fair elections can be held, was quickly backed by the United States and dozens of other nations.

But Maduro remains in control of the nation’s military and PDVSA – making Citgo the obvious first target among national asset for Guaido’s opposition movement to claim, with the help of the U.S. government. The battle for Citgo could prove pivotal in the effort to unseat Maduro because full control of a major U.S. refiner would provide a crucial source of revenue to a post-Maduro administration.

Citgo, with more than $23 billion in annual sales and operations that supply about 4 percent of U.S. fuels, may be the last remaining asset owned by PDVSA with a healthy balance sheet. As PDVSA’s oil production and revenue have plummeted amid crippling debt, mismanagement and international political pressure, Citgo’s U.S. location and financial independence have shielded the firm from the worst of its parent company’s meltdown.

At the end of September, Citgo had net income of about $500 million, according to a creditor with access to financial statements that are not public. The company had almost $500 million in cash and an available credit line of $900 million.

(Graphic: An interactive look at Venezuela’s crude exports to the United States – https://tmsnrt.rs/2S4YIXB)

Inside Citgo’s Houston headquarters, many employees weary of operating under the control of a failing socialist state eagerly await an expected official announcement of the appointments of new company directors, who were chosen by Venezuela’s congress.

The new board met together for the first time in Houston on Thursday and named executives to replace those who were ousted, according to two Citgo employees with knowledge of the board actions, which the company has not publicly disclosed.

“We are not expecting any resistance” to the new board inside the company, said one manager who spoke on condition of anonymity. “On the contrary, we are waiting for directions to lay out the red carpet.”

Spokespeople for Citgo and Esser did not respond to requests for comment or declined comment. PDVSA did not respond to requests for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request Friday morning.

(graphic: Citgo’s Louisiana refinery was 2018’s top U.S. consumer of Venezuela’s crude – https://tmsnrt.rs/2t4ullS.)

SHIFTING ALLEGIANCES

As U.S. sanctions on Jan. 28 shifted the balance of power to Citgo’s anti-Maduro faction of executives, Maduro loyalists scrambled to find their place in the emerging corporate structure.

Two of four senior executives appointed by Chavez openly pledged support for the incoming board of directors in meetings with employees, said two sources who attended the meetings.

But all four – Frank Gygax, Nepmar Escalona, Simon Suarez and Eladio Perez – were escorted out of the building on Monday, according to four people with knowledge of their departures. Gygax declined to comment and the others did not respond to requests.

It’s unclear whether Chavez has yet been formally terminated, an action that can only be taken by company directors, but he has been effectively shut out of the firm, Citgo employees said. Chavez did not respond to a request for comment.

Esser has essentially run the company since Chavez’ ouster, in close consultation with U.S. government officials, according to three Citgo employees and two people close to the incoming company board.

A Jan. 30 meeting between White House National Security Advisor John Bolton and Citgo executives thrust the low-key Esser into the spotlight after Bolton tweeted a photo of the meeting, calling it “very productive.”

U.S. officials have voiced concern that Guaido and his supporters had been too slow in seizing control of Citgo and also have pushed for a say in choosing members of the refiner’s new board – a request Guaido’s team declined, according to two people familiar with the talks.

Since clearing Citgo’s upper ranks of Maduro allies, Esser has focused on securing alternatives to the Venezuelan oil that feeds its refineries. Recent U.S. sanctions prevent the firm from importing Venezuelan crude after April 28, which could cripple the company unless it can ensure it has the cash, credit and contracts for alternate supplies.

Advisors to the incoming Citgo board have separately urged U.S. officials to exempt Citgo from sanctions and protect its assets from creditors once it is officially controlled by Guaido’s team.

Esser saw this crisis coming two years ago and put together a group to find new suppliers and test their oils in the event Venezuelan crudes were restricted by sanctions, according to a person familiar with the effort. The firm’s efforts to sustain operations face a threat from creditors owed money by Venezuela and PDVSA, who could try to use that leverage to hamstring Citgo’s finances, said Carlos Jorda, a former Citgo chairman and now a Houston business consultant. The U.S. government could help the company hold off that threat, he said.

“The U.S. Treasury could say, ‘Hold your horses, you’ll get paid – but not paid by Citgo, but by Venezuela – when the Maduro regime exits,'” Jorda said.

Esser and Citgo finance executive Curtis Rowe traveled to Washington this week to meet with U.S. government officials for at least the second time in three weeks, according to two Citgo employees.

‘FROGS AND SNAKES’

Opposition leaders had difficulty recruiting candidates willing to join the new Citgo board, according to three people familiar with the recruitments.

“There are many risks,” one of the people said, “and if these people have family members in Venezuela, they could be putting them at risk, too.”

In late 2017, six Citgo executives were called to Caracas and jailed amid a graft probe over a failed debt refinancing. Their detention led to Chavez’s appointment as CEO and the arrival of several Maduro loyalists at Citgo’s Houston headquarters.

New Citgo Chairwoman Luisa Palacios – appointed by the Venezuelan congress last week – has been huddling with newly appointed directors and legal advisers to guard against the threat of a potential U.S. court challenge by PDVSA to the new board’s legitimacy, according to two sources close to her team.

Palacios and other board members, which include former Citgo and PDVSA executives living in the United States, did not respond to requests for comment.

One of their priorities will be to audit the finances of a refinery project in Aruba, said the two people close to Palacios. PDVSA and Citgo agreed to a $685 million overhaul of the idled facility in 2016, causing some Citgo executives to resign in protest, arguing the deal made no business sense.

On Monday, Citgo Aruba Refining officially put the money-losing venture on hold and laid off workers, citing the impact of U.S. sanctions on PDVSA. The project has been clouded by corruption allegations, according to four former and current Citgo employees and two people close to the new Citgo board.

“There is also worry about the audits to come. We are expecting ‘frogs and snakes’ to come from there,” said a Citgo employee, using a Venezuelan figure of speech similar in meaning to the opening of a Pandora’s box.

REDECORATING

Since Esser took over Citgo operations, the company has sent clear signals of a return to its century-old American roots.

“We the people of Citgo have a story to tell you” read an advertisement in Tuesday’s Washington Post, borrowing language from the U.S. constitution. The text emphasized the firm’s 6,000 U.S. workers, fiscal strength and U.S. charity work.

Workers at the company’s Houston headquarters also have purged the company website and marketing materials of references to PDVSA and stripped the building of the symbols of Venezuela’s socialist government.

For years, the hallways have been decorated with renderings of a controversial painting of Latin American independence leader Simon Bolivar that had been commissioned by former president Hugo Chavez – and looked more like Chavez than any historical Bolivar painting.

The portraits began to disappear, Citgo employees said, soon after Venezuela’s congress appointed the company’s new board of directors.

(Graphic: Venezuela in 2017 was the world’s second-largest producer of heavy crude – https://tinyurl.com/y2dzohtq)

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; additional reporting by Gary McWilliams, Matt Spetalnick and Luc Cohen; writing by Gary McWilliams; editing by Brian Thevenot)

Source: OANN

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FedEx partners with Walmart, Pizza Hut to test last-mile delivery robot

A handout photo of a FedEx SameDay bot, an autonomous same-day delivery robot which will be tested this summer in Memphis and other cities
A FedEx SameDay bot, which will be tested this summer by FedEx and partners such as Pizza Hut, Target and Walmart for same-day delivery in some cities including Memphis, Tennesse, U.S., is shown in this handout photo provided February 26, 2019. Courtesy FedEx/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVE

February 27, 2019

By Lisa Baertlein

(Reuters) – FedEx Corp this summer plans to begin testing a robot to handle home deliveries for partners ranging from Walmart Inc to Pizza Hut.

Shippers, retailers and restaurants are experimenting with robots, drones and self-driving cars in a bid to use automation to drive down the high cost of delivering gadgets, groceries and even cups of coffee the “last mile” to consumer doorsteps.

FedEx is teaming up with DEKA Development & Research Corp, whose founder Dean Kamen invented the Segway stand-up scooter and iBot stair-climbing wheelchair, for its project. The delivery company said the robots could become part of its SameDay service that operates in 1,900 cities around the world.

The battery-powered robots look like coolers on wheels. Cameras and software help them detect and avoid obstacles as they roam sidewalks and roadways at a top speed of 10 miles (16 km) per hour.

The project must win approval in test cities, including the shipper’s hometown of Memphis, and the first deliveries will be between FedEx office stores.

On average, more than 60 percent of merchants’ customers live within three miles of a store location. FedEx said it is working with its partners, which also include AutoZone Inc and Target Corp, to determine if autonomous delivery to them is a viable option for fast, cheap deliveries.

The “last mile” to the home accounts for 50 percent or more of total package delivery costs. Restaurants pay third-party delivery companies like Uber Eats, DoorDash and GrubHub commissions of 10-30 percent per order.

Investors and companies are pouring millions of dollars into projects aimed at lowering those costs and overcoming regulatory hurdles. For safety reasons, many states want autonomous vehicles to have humans as emergency backup drivers.

Starship Technologies, which has raised more than $40 million in venture funding, last year deployed robots to deliver packages in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In January, it teamed up with French food service company Sodexo to take Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Blaze Pizza orders to the 40,000 students at George Mason University’s Fairfax, Virginia, campus. That service costs $1.99 per order.

Amazon.com is testing its own delivery robot dubbed “Scout”.

FedEx rival United Parcel Service Inc is not testing robots – but like FedEx and Amazon, it is experimenting with drone deliveries.

Other tests include tie-ups between grocery seller Kroger Co and self-driving car startup Nuro, as well as DoorDash and General Motors Co’s Cruise Automation.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

Source: OANN

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Despite setbacks, Hamas’ grip on Gaza has never been tighter

Over the weekend, Gaza's Hamas rulers marked a year of bloody, weekly protests that have failed to break the Israeli blockade. Rocket attacks brought a wave of Israeli airstrikes and unprecedented protests broke out against the Islamic militants' increasingly unpopular rule.

And yet Hamas' control over Gaza is tighter than ever.

The militants' rule has been strengthened by an unlikely overlap of interests with Israel's right-wing government. Neither wants to see an independent state established in all the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, as the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And Hamas' refusal to give up power — the asking price of its West Bank-based Palestinian rival for reconciliation — aligns with Israel's long-standing policy of maintaining a separation between the West Bank and Gaza.

So even though Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and dozens of skirmishes, and even though Hamas remains committed to Israel's eventual destruction, the two are once again meeting with Egyptian mediators and working to keep things quiet.

Under an emerging arrangement, Hamas would halt rocket fire and keep border protests peaceful in exchange for Israel easing its border blockade and allowing $30 million a month in Qatari aid into the territory. On Sunday, Israel reopened Gaza crossings to limited traffic.

Egypt has brokered short-lived deals in the past, and it is not clear if the current arrangements will last beyond Israel's April 9 election. In a close race, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under fire for what his challengers say is a Gaza policy that exposes Israel to Hamas blackmail.

For Gaza residents, open-ended Hamas rule is a bleak prospect. Gaza's 2 million people have endured rising poverty and unemployment, undrinkable ground water and frequent electricity outages since Israel and Egypt closed Gaza's borders after Hamas seized power in 2007.

In recent weeks, hundreds dared to protest Hamas policies, such as new tax hikes, chanting "We want to live." Many were jailed and beaten. Protester Amer Balousha, a 27-year-old unemployed law school graduate, said he and others were mistreated in Hamas detention but will not be deterred.

"If the situation does not improve, the protests will continue," he said.

___

HAMAS OVER ABBAS

Hamas has demonstrated that it prefers an understanding with Netanyahu over reconciling with its Palestinian rival, President Mahmoud Abbas.

A deal with Israel would help keep Hamas in power. By contrast, Abbas — who presides over autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank — wants Hamas to hand control of Gaza to him, a demand the group has repeatedly rejected.

Hamas and Netanyahu both oppose Abbas' goal of Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, lands Israel captured in 1967. Hamas seeks to establish an Islamic state in the area encompassing Israel and the war-won lands, while a majority in Netanyahu's Cabinet and Likud Party reject a two-state solution along the 1967 lines.

Last month, Netanyahu was quoted as saying that those who oppose Palestinian statehood should back his policy of allowing Qatari aid into Gaza and maintaining the separation between the rival Palestinian governments.

"There is a great confluence of interests" between Israel and Hamas, said Tareq Baconi, an analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank. "Netanyahu prefers to deal with Hamas because clear dynamics have been established and Hamas will not seek a final resolution (of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) from Israel."

___

MANAGING THE CONFLICT

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars, most recently in 2014. In between, there have been repeated cross-border skirmishes and periods of calm brokered by Egypt, which has close security ties with Israel and controls part of the Gaza border.

Israel's stated reason for the blockade is to contain Hamas and prevent it from rearming, while rights groups denounce the restrictions as collective punishment.

Last summer, amid weekly mass protests along the frontier in which scores of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire and thousands wounded, Egypt started new cease-fire talks. Hamas hoped they would lead to an easing of the blockade.

Early on, Israel consented to Qatari cash shipments and Hamas pledged to halt rocket fire, but then the talks stalled. In March, with Israel's election campaign heating up, Hamas sensed an opportunity to apply pressure on Netanyahu to resume negotiations, twice firing rockets into central Israel.

It worked. Two Hamas officials, speaking Sunday on condition of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the renewed truce talks, relished in the group's apparent leverage. But they also expressed concern any new deal could quickly unravel.

___

A NEW GAZA POLICY?

Netanyahu's main challenger, former army chief Benny Gantz, has said he would handle Gaza differently. His party's platform pledges a "powerful response to any provocation and violence," while improving the lives of Gaza civilians and driving a wedge between them and Hamas.

But the plan is short on specifics.

Gantz and two other ex-military chiefs in his team held top command roles in the last three wars with Hamas, exacting a heavy price for rocket fire but coming up against the limits of military action. A consensus has emerged in Israel that Hamas cannot be brought down by force, short of a bloody reoccupation of Gaza.

Yet any easing of the blockade, meant to bring relief to Gaza's residents, would also prolong Hamas rule.

___

ODD MAN OUT

Abbas has given up on reconciliation with Hamas after years of failed efforts. He has stepped up financial pressure on Gaza, including cutting in half salaries for tens of thousands of ex-civil servants who were replaced by Hamas in 2007 but remained on the Abbas government payroll.

Such cutbacks worsened Gaza's economic deterioration. But instead of stoking a popular uprising against Hamas, anger turned toward Abbas.

Abbas is also suspicious of multi-million-dollar Gaza development projects proposed by the U.N. and Qatar, with U.S. and Israeli backing. He fears it's a plot to turn the territory into a Palestinian mini-state and undercut Palestinian political claims to the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Baconi, the analyst, said that Abbas' policies are counterproductive, even if his concerns are understandable. "Putting more sanctions on Gaza or trying to break the Hamas government will further entrench the division," he said.

___

Laub reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writer Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah contributed reporting.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past the Debenhams department store on Oxford Street in London
FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk past the Debenhams department store on Oxford Street in London, Britain December 15, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Ailing British retailer Debenhams said two proposed company voluntary arrangements (CVA) could see all its stores remaining open during 2019, with 22 closures planned for next year, putting about 1,200 jobs at risk.

Debenhams’ lenders took control of the retailer earlier this month in a process designed to keep its shops open at the expense of shareholders.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Xiaomi branding is seen on a carrier bag at a UK launch event in London
FILE PHOTO: Xiaomi branding is seen on a carrier bag at a UK launch event in London, Britain, November 8, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville

April 26, 2019

BENGALURU (Reuters) – Chinese brands controlled a record 66 percent of Indian smartphone market in the first quarter, led by Xiaomi Corp, a report showed, with volumes rising 20 percent on the back of popularity for brands like Vivo, RealMe and Oppo.

Xiaomi’s India shipments fell by 2 percent over last year, but the Beijing-based company was still the biggest smartphone brand in the country, followed by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, according to Hong-Kong based Counterpoint Research.

Shipment volumes for Vivo jumped 119 percent, while those of Oppo rose 28 percent.

“Vivo’s expanding portfolio in the mid-tier range ($100 to $180) drove its growth along with aggressive Indian Premier League cricket campaign,” Counterpoint analysts said.

India is the world’s fastest growing market for smartphones, where affordable pricing coupled with features like “selfie” cameras and big screens have popularized Chinese brands.

Video streaming services like Netflix Inc and Hotstar, as well as heavy usage of messaging apps like Facebook Inc’s WhatsApp have further spurred demand.

“Data consumption is on the rise and users are upgrading their phones faster as compared to other regions,” Counterpoint’s Tarun Pathak said.

“As a result of this, the premium specs are now diffusing faster into the mid-tier price brands. We estimate this trend to continue leading to a competitive mid-tier segment in coming quarters.”

(Reporting By Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

Source: OANN

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EXCLUSIVE: Trump says ‘Sleepy Joe’ Biden doesn’t have what it takes

President Trump, in a wide-ranging, exclusive phone interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, dismissed the launch of former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, nicknaming him “Sleepy Joe” and saying he’s “not the brightest bulb.” Biden, the president said, has name recognition but he won’t “be able to do the job.” When asked about Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Trump criticized his record, saying Sanders had “misguided energy” and asserted that Sanders “talks a lot” but hasn’t accomplished anything. The president referred to former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas as “a fluke” who had lost much momentum and outright dismissed Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg — although he said he was “rooting” for Buttigieg. (Trump could address Biden and the other Democratic presidential candidates when he speaks today before the National Rifle Association.)

The Democratic Party’s youth movement: Biden’s biggest challenge?
Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Howard Dean warned Joe Biden about the troubles he may face in his presidential campaign, especially from the “35-year-olds” who Dean says have been running the party — a clear nod to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and fellow freshmen Democrats. “This is a very different party than even the party Joe Biden ran in in 2012. Very different,” Dean continued. “A lot of people could win this race. There’s 20 people in there. I think it’s going to take $20 million to get to the starting line. If you can’t raise $20 million, you’re gone, and I think that’s going to take care of about six or eight of these folks. … But it is not the same party that it was five years ago.” A progressive political group that boosted Ocasio-Cortez’s bid for Congress last year vowed to oppose Biden and blasted him as part of the “old guard.”

More tales from the FBI texts
Text messages between former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page indicate they discussed using briefings to the Trump team after the 2016 election to identify people they could “develop for potential relationships,” track lines of questioning and “assess” changes in “demeanor” – language one GOP lawmaker called “more evidence” of irregular conduct in the original Russia probe. Fox News has learned the texts, initially released in 2018 by a Senate committee, are under renewed scrutiny, with GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley and Homeland Security Committee chair Ron Johnson sending a letter Thursday night to Attorney General Bill Barr pushing for more information on the matter. President Trump, speaking on Fox News’ “Hannity” Thursday night, responded to this report by accusing Strzok and Page of an attempted “coup.” “They were trying to infiltrate the administration,” he said.

Kim accuses US of acting in ‘bad faith’
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, fresh off his summit with  Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the U.S. has been acting in “bad faith” since his Hanoi meeting with President Trump over the stalemated issue of North Korean denuclearization. The North Korean leader told the Korean Central News Agency that, “the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the region is now at a standstill and has reached a critical point,” the Straits Times of Singapore reported. Kim warned that the situation “may return to its original state as the U.S. took a unilateral attitude in bad faith at the recent second DPRK-US summit talks,” the Korean Central News Agency added.

NFL Draft 2019: It’s all about defense
The first round of the 2019 NFL Draft saw a run on defensive players, with eight of the top 12 picks in Nashville coming from that side of the ball. After Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray was taken first overall by the Arizona Cardinals, the San Francisco 49ers started a run of four straight front-seven players by taking Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa with the second overall pick — the highest draft slot for any Buckeye since left tackle Orlando Pace went No. 1 overall to the St. Louis Rams in 1997.

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TODAY’S MUST-READS
Fox News’ Ed Henry recalls spending time with Celtics great John Havlicek.
Massachusetts judge accused of helping illegal immigrant evade ICE pleads not guilty.
Rosenstein slams Obama administration for choosing ‘not to publicize full story’ of Russia hacking.
F.H. Buckley: What Democrats have forgotten about citizenship.

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Amazon crushes earnings expectations, but revenue growth slows.
Low-tax states among best places to make a living in 2019.
Construction job market booming: These states are hiring.

#TheFlashback
2018: Bill Cosby is convicted of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004; it is the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.
1986: An explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine causes radioactive fallout to spew into the atmosphere. (Dozens of people are killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands.)
1977: Notorious nightclub Studio 54 opens in New York.

SOME PARTING WORDS

Watch the “Special Report” panel take a look at former Vice President Joe Biden’s decision to run for president a third time and the battle for the “soul” of America.

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

Source: Fox News National

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Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.

The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.

But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. …  I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”

— Joe Biden

But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.

It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.

An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.

Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.

“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”

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Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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German carmaker Daimler endured a weak start to the year, echoing troubles at other major manufacturers, as sales in the big Chinese market stuttered.

The company said Friday that its net income fell to 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in the first quarter from 2.3 billion euros during the same period a year earlier, while revenue dipped to 39.7 billion euros from 39.8 billion euros.

Vehicle sales fell 4% to 773,800 units, with a double-digit percentage drop in China offsetting gains in other markets like the U.S. and Europe.

The company said there were also problems with high inventories and bottlenecks in the supply chain.

Chairman Dieter Zetsche said that “we cannot and will not be satisfied with this — as expected — moderate start to the year.”

Source: Fox News World

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