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Assad meets Khamenei in first Iran visit since Syrian war began

FILE PHOTO: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a meeting with heads of local councils, in Damascus
FILE PHOTO: Syria's President Bashar al-Assad speaks during a meeting with heads of local councils, in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on February 17, 2019. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

February 25, 2019

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al Assad made his first public visit to his closest regional ally Iran since the start of Syria’s war in 2011, meeting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Monday and championing their alliance, state media reported.

Syrian and Iranian state television showed Assad and Khamenei smiling and embracing. Syrian television said the two leaders agreed “to continue cooperation at all levels for the interests of the two friendly nations”.

Khamenei was quoted as saying the two countries’ military victories in Syria had dealt “a harsh blow” to U.S plans in the region.

Assad regained the upper hand in Syria’s war with the help of Russian air power and Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces, retaking all main cities from rebels and militants backed variously by Western powers and Gulf Arabs.

Sitting next to Assad was Major General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force – an overseas arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He has appeared on frontlines across Syria, where his presence has infuriated Sunni-led insurgents who oppose what they view as Shi’ite Iran’s expansion in the region.

It was Assad’s first known foreign visit other than to Russia since the war began and his first to Tehran since 2010

Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias have expanded their control over mainly Sunni areas around Damascus, southern and eastern Syria that bore the brunt of the heaviest bombardment and led to mass displacement or emigration to neighboring countries.

Iran’s growing influence in Syria, where it has struck economic and trade deals, has also raised the prospect of a military confrontation with its arch-enemy Israel.

Israel, regarding Iran as its biggest threat, has repeatedly attacked Iranian targets in Syria and those of allied militia, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to escalate its fight against Iranian aligned forces in Syria after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.

Assad was quoted by Syrian state television as saying that

any escalation by Western powers would not stop Iran and Syria from defending their own interests.

Iranian state media said Khamenei praised Assad as a hero who had strengthened the alliance between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran sees helping Syria’s government and nation as support for the resistance movement (against Israel) and is deeply proud of doing it,” Khamenei said.

Assad was also briefed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about efforts by Russia, Iran and Turkey – supporters of the main sides in the Syrian civil war – to end the conflict.

Syria wants Turkey, which has backed Sunni rebels and carved a sphere of influence in the northwest of the country, to remove its troops from Syrian territory and end its support for rebels.

Efforts have so far failed to make progress toward a political settlement to end a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced about half of Syria’s pre-war population of 22 million.

(Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi.; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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Hungary’s Orban: We need a fresh start for Europe at EP elections

Hungary's National Day celebrations in Budapest
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during Hungary's National Day celebrations, which also commemorates the 1848 Hungarian Revolution against the Habsburg monarchy, in Budapest, Hungary, March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

March 15, 2019

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday said that in upcoming European Parliament elections he wanted a new beginning for Europe, “ending the nightmares of a United States of Europe, so Europe once again belongs to Europeans.”

Orban, a nationalist whose political platform is mostly built on an anti-immigrant message, has been at the center of a conflict that has threatened to erode the support of the mainstream conservative group in the European Parliament.

(Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: OANN

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Biden blows away the field despite bad week


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On the roster: Biden blows away the field despite bad week - I’ll Tell You What: The Goat - Senate GOP digs in against Trump’s homeland purge - Indictment expected for Obama’s White House counsel - Walmart --> Waffle House 

BIDEN BLOWS AWAY THE FIELD DESPITE BAD WEEK 
St. Anselm College: “Joe Biden, who has not yet entered the race, leads the ballot test with 23%. Bernie Sanders comes in second at 16%, followed by Pete Buttigieg at 11%, Elizabeth Warren at 9%, Kamala Harris at 7%, and Beto O’Rourke at 6%. Buttigieg has shown more growth than any other candidate since the February poll. In just two months, his name recognition has skyrocketed 33% among New Hampshire voters, with 31 of those points adding to his favorable image. … Biden’s lead is driven by universal name recognition, and he continues to carry a strong favorability rating of 70%. … Sanders is at 67% favorable and 25% unfavorable, which is almost exactly where his numbers stood in February. This static trend is also true for the third universally known candidate, Warren, who is at 58% favorable and 30% favorable. Harris, Booker, and O’Rourke were slightly less favorable than they were in the February poll. On the other hand, [JohnDelaney and [Tulsi] Gabbard’s name recognition and favorable impressions increased.”

Harris running third in her home state - Quinnipiac University: “Former Vice President Joe Biden is the leader of the pack with 26 percent of California Democrats and voters leaning Democratic, according to a Quinnipiac University Poll released today. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont takes 18 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners, with 17 percent for native daughter, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg have 7 percent each, with no other Democratic contender topping 4 percent, the independent Quinnipiac University Poll finds. … Being a great leader is more important in a presidential candidate than having great policy ideas, all voters say 50 - 39 percent. Democrats and Democratic leaners agree 52 - 38 percent. The issue of Biden touching women is not serious, 66 percent of all California voters say, including 67 percent of women and 71 percent of Democrats.”

Buttigieg, loud and proud gay Christian, roils values voters - NYT: “As a religious gay man who believes his party has ceded discussion of religion and spirituality to Republicans, Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic candidate for president, is talking about God and sexuality in an unconventional way: He is using the language of faith to confront the Christian right on territory they have long claimed as their own. Mr. Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., has provoked a backlash from conservatives in the last few days after questioning the moral authority of evangelicals like Vice President Mike Pence who remain silent about President Trump’s personal conduct yet disapprove of same-sex marriages and oppose gay rights. Though many conservatives were initially reluctant to engage Mr. Buttigieg because they feared it would only add to his growing stature as a 2020 contender, they jumped on his latest comments. Some suggested he was attacking the vice president to further raise his profile.”

Warren releases new corporate tax plan - Axios: “2020 candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) released a new corporate tax proposal on Thursday that would create a new 7% tax on corporations' profits over $100 million. Details: Warren's proposal estimates that her ‘Real Corporate Profits Tax,’ which targets the profits reported by companies on their financial statements and would come in addition to existing tax liabilities, could bring in $1 trillion over 10 years. She used Amazon as a prominent example, arguing her proposal would have caused the tech giant to pay $698 million in taxes in 2018 instead of $0, despite its record profits.”

DNC prepares hyper-local effort to bracket Trump - NBC News: “Voters in hundreds of small and medium-sized towns across America are about to be targeted with digital ads, press conferences and billboards featuring neighbors and friends who say they’ve been ‘betrayed’ by President Donald Trump. The effort is the main feature of the Democratic National Committee’s ‘war room’ that launches on Thursday and is focused on defeating Trump in 2020, according to officials who briefed NBC News. Responding to criticism that Democrats were too focused on Trump’s temperament and personal attributes during Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, the party’s main organizing arm says it’s making a major expansion of its opposition research team that will be ‘hyper-focused’ on the impact of Trump’s policies on local communities.”

THE RULEBOOK: PREACH
“The important truth … is that a sovereignty over sovereigns, a government over governments, a legislation for communities, as contradistinguished from individuals, as it is a solecism in theory, so in practice it is subversive of the order and ends of civil polity, by substituting VIOLENCE in place of LAW, or the destructive COERCION of the SWORD in place of the mild and salutary COERCION of the MAGISTRACY.” – Alexander Hamilton and James MadisonFederalist No. 20

TIME OUT: PLAY (STICK)BALL
Smithsonian: “On April 30, 1828, a Cherokee stickball team stepped into the underworld to ask for help. Carrying river-cane torches, the men walked into the mouth of Manitou Cave in Willstown, Alabama, and continued nearly a mile into the cave's dark zone, past impressive flowstone formations in the wide limestone passageway. They stopped inside a damp, remote chamber where a spring emerged from the ground. … Here, in private, the stickball team could perform important rituals—meditating, cleansing and appealing to supernatural forces that might give their team the right magic to win a game of stickball, a contest nicknamed ‘the little brother of war.’ This spiritual event, perhaps ordinary for the time but revelatory now, only recently became known because of a set of inscriptions found on the walls of the cave. A group of scholars have now translated the messages, left by the spiritual leader of the stickball team, and describe them in an article published today in the journal Antiquity.”

Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval:
 42 percent
Average disapproval: 52.4 percent
Net Score: -10.4 points
Change from one week ago: down 0.2 points 
[Average includes: GU Politics/Battleground: 43% approve - 52% disapprove; IBD: 41% approve - 52% disapprove; NPR/PBS/Marist: 44% approve - 50% disapprove; NBC/WSJ: 43% approve - 53% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 39% approve - 55% disapprove.]

I’LL TELL YOU WHAT: THE GOAT
This week Dana Perino and Chris Stirewalt discuss Attorney General Barr's testimony regarding the Mueller report thus far, the ingredients for a comprehensive immigration solution and why black holes matter. Plus, Dana has some mailbag questions and fires off trivia for Chris. LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE HERE

SENATE GOP DIGS IN AGAINST TRUMP’S HOMELAND PURGE
WaPo: “Senate Republicans are pressuring President Trump not to fire any more Homeland Security officials, warning that the department can’t function properly if the White House continues to oust key members of its leadership team. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is leaving the agency on Wednesday after submitting her resignation following a private meeting with Trump on Sunday. She is being replaced on an acting basis by Kevin McAleenan, the former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The White House announced Monday that Randolph ‘Tex’ Alles, the director of Secret Service, would be leaving his position ‘shortly.’ And both U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Lee Francis Cissna and DHS’s general counsel, John Mitnick, could be the next to go, according to department officials.”

Another departure due Friday - Politico: “Top immigration official Ronald Vitiello will leave his post Friday amid President Donald Trump’s homeland staff shakeup, an agency spokesperson confirmed to POLITICO. Vitiello is a former long-term Border Patrol official who's been acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since June. Whether Vitiello will remain in government remains unclear, and ICE declined to comment further. The agency has not announced a replacement, although Matthew Albence, acting deputy director, would be next in line. Trump on Friday clawed back Vitiello’s nomination to become ICE director on a permanent basis, saying he preferred to move in a ‘tougher direction.’”

INDICTMENT EXPECTED FOR OBAMA’S WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL
NYT: “Lawyers for Gregory B. Craig, a White House counsel in the Obama administration, expect him to be indicted in the coming days on charges related to his work for the Russia-aligned government of Ukraine. The case against Mr. Craig, 74, stemmed from an investigation initiated by the office of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. An Ivy League-educated lawyer who held prominent positions in the Clinton and Obama administrations, Mr. Craig would become the first person who made his name in Democratic Party politics to be charged in a case linked to the special counsel’s investigation. … The case against Mr. Craig is related to the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, which the Justice Department is prioritizing in part because of scrutiny related to Mr. Mueller’s investigation. The law requires Americans to disclose detailed information about lobbying and public relations work for foreign governments and politicians, and it has been the basis for charges brought against several people investigated by the special counsel.”

Pelosi rips Barr - AP: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday questioned Attorney General William Barr’s independence from President Donald Trump, arguing Barr’s pursuit of Trump’s claims about ‘spying’ during the 2016 campaign undermines his position as the nation’s top law enforcement officer. In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, the California Democrat said she was ‘very concerned’ about Barr’s handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian meddling in the campaign and accused Barr of doing Trump’s political bidding in his testimony at a Senate hearing. ‘He is not the attorney general of Donald Trump. He is the attorney general of the United States,’ Pelosi told AP. ‘I don’t trust Barr, I trust Mueller.’ … Pelosi said it’s only a ‘matter of time’ before the full report is made public. ‘We will see it,’ she said.”

The Judge’s Ruling: Who sees the full Mueller report? - This week Fox News Senior Judicial Analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano explains his disappointment towards those who assumed no collusion or obstruction from Mueller report: “In his letter, Barr did not write that Mueller found no evidence of a conspiracy. … As well, Barr did not write that Mueller found no evidence of obstruction of justice. Obstruction is not a crime that requires completion, only a serious attempt. … The reason for my criticism of the no collusion and no obstruction bandwagon riders is because we know that Mueller must have found some evidence of conspiracy and some evidence of obstruction -- just not enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Barr tipped his hand to this when he wrote in his letter that the DOJ could not ‘establish’ these crimes. That's lawyer-speak for ‘could not prove them beyond a reasonable doubt.’ … Where does all this leave us? In the hands of Bill Barr.” More here.

JULIAN ASSANGE ARRESTED IN LONDON
AP: “WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was forcibly bundled out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and into a waiting British police van on Thursday, setting up a potential court battle over attempts to extradite him to the U.S. to face charges related to the publication of tens of thousands of secret government documents. British police arrested Assange after the South American nation decided to revoke the political asylum that had given Assange sanctuary for almost seven years. Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno said he took the action due to ‘repeated violations to international conventions and daily life.’ … Assange took refuge in the embassy in 2012 after he was released on bail in Britain while facing extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations that have since been dropped.… Assange had not come out of the embassy for almost seven years because he feared arrest and extradition to the United States for publishing classified military and diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.”

How Ecuador decided to dump Assange - Daily Beast: “His dramatic expulsion from the embassy follows a year of ratcheting tension between Assange and his Ecuadorian hosts, culminating in Wikileaks publicizing a leak of hundreds of thousands of hacked emails mysteriously stolen from the inboxes of Ecuador’s president and first lady. … The escalating clash between Assange and the government protecting him likely sent U.S. officials scurrying in preparation, said attorney Christopher Ott, a former Justice Department prosecutor who worked on Russia’s election-hacking investigation prior to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. ‘They’re five hours ahead of us,’ Ott said. ‘You don’t want to wake up in the morning and all of a sudden have two hours to get the whole packet done.’”

TEAM TRUMP RESCUE MISSION FOR BELEAGUERED W. VA. GOV
Politico: “With the president by his side, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice made a dramatic announcement… He was bolting a Democratic Party that had ‘walked away’ from him to join Donald Trump’s GOP. Two years later, Trump is now repaying the favor. A pair of the president’s top lieutenants, Bill Stepien and Justin Clark, are joining Justice’s campaign as advisers as the governor tries to navigate a treacherous 2020 reelection bid. The move illustrates how Republicans up and down the ballot are hitching themselves to Trump’s ever-expanding and newly professionalized 2020 political machine. With the president lining up a team of experienced political strategists, deploying an ambitious national field program, and exercising nearly universal control over the party apparatus, Republicans are eager to exploit his organization for their own benefit.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Poll: Wisconsin voters’ view of president is little changed after Mueller probe - Marquette University Law School

Treasury will miss deadline for turning over Trump tax returns WaPo

Trump boosts fossil fuel production with executive orders - WaPo

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito announces 2020 reelection campaign W. Va. Metro News

AUDIBLE: SHAPING THE DISCOURSE  
“We have a round table, which is actually a square table.” – President Trump said during roundtable event in Texas. 

FROM THE BLEACHERS
“This is a plea from a loyal follower of both the Halftime Report and I'll Tell You What. We regular folk who could only pre-order Accidental Presidents and wait expectantly for Amazon to drop it in our outstretched hands YESTERDAY must beg for more time. Next week being Holy week leading into Easter will only allow us the two days following to finish this rather weighty tome. Would you please so kindly approach Ms. Perino for an extension for the rest of us? My family and priest thank you!” – Cathrine McLaren, Danbury, Conn.

[Ed. note: I will take your case to the head prefect. Rule follower though she may be, her heart is certainly inclined toward mercy for those forced to choose between spiritual and intellectual preparations.]

Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.

WALMART --> WAFFLE HOUSE 
WKRN: “A woman pulled over by Crossville [Tenn.] officers while riding an electric shopping cart stolen from Walmart claimed she was just on her way to get a cup of coffee, investigators say. Police responded around 5 a.m. Friday to a report of a woman driving an electric scooter in the slow lane on Highway 127. When officers were able to get her to stop, they said the driver, identified as Sally Selby, claimed she took the cart from Walmart and was driving it to Waffle House to get a cup of coffee. Police watched surveillance footage from Walmart and said Selby was observed entering the store at 4:15 a.m. and driving the electric scooter as she shopped. Around 4:40 a.m., officers advised she exited the business, drove around the Walmart parking lot and then rode the shopping cart onto Highway 127.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“As the romance of manned space exploration has waned, the drive today is to find our living, thinking counterparts in the universe.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Dec. 29, 2011.

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Kansas DOT’s official Twitter account calls Trump a ‘delusional communist’

A tweet from the Kansas Department of Transportation on Sunday called President Trump a “delusional communist” and apparently cost the unknown worker a job.

“You’re a delusional Communist. You know it’s Communist countries that try to control media, right?” the tweet from the DOT's south central account read. The tweet remained up until about 3:50 p.m. The tweet was in response to Trump’s earlier tweet that criticized Fox News anchors, The Witchita Eagle reported.

RNC CRITICIZED OVER BETO TWEET

The agency announced on Twitter that the tweet was deleted and does not reflect the views of the agency. “The person who sent the tweet is no longer an employee of KDOT,” the tweet read.

The Kansas Republican Party sent out a statement questioning Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's possible influence in the agency.

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"Governor Kelly campaigned on bipartisanship but she refuses to negotiate with Republicans in the legislature, and her staff is too busy attacking President Trump on the Kansas taxpayer’s dime,” their statement read.

Source: Fox News Politics

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U.S. Mideast plan will not include land transfer from Egypt’s Sinai: envoy

FILE PHOTO: Jason Greenblatt, U.S. President Trump's Middle East envoy, arrives to visit Kibbutz Nahal Oz, just outside the Gaza Strip
FILE PHOTO: Jason Greenblatt (C), U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, arrives to visit Kibbutz Nahal Oz, just outside the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel August 30, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

April 19, 2019

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan will not involve giving land from Egypt’s Sinai peninsula to the Palestinians, an American envoy said on Friday.

Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s Middle East envoy, apparently sought to deny reports on social media that the long-awaited plan to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would involve extending Gaza into the northern Sinai along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

“Hearing reports our plan includes the concept that we will give a portion of Sinai (which is Egypt’s) to Gaza. False!”, Greenblatt, one of the architects of the proposal, tweeted on Friday.

The American plan is expected to be unveiled once Israel’s newly re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forms a government coalition and after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ends in June.

Trump’s senior advisor Jared Kushner said on Wednesday the plan would require compromise by all parties, a source familiar with his remarks said.

It is unclear whether the plan will propose outright the creation of a Palestinian state, the Palestinians’ core demand.

The Palestinians have long sought to set up a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East War, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The last round of U.S.-broke‮‮re‬‬d peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in 2014.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Frances Kerry)

Source: OANN

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Moscow feels vindicated in the wake of “no collusion”

A sense of victory and vindication emanated from the Kremlin on Monday, following the revelation that the special counsel concluded there was no evidence that Trump team had colluded with Russia for a 2016 presidential victory.

“It is hard to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if it is not there,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov – who has long dismissed any allegations of connivance – in a call with journalists on Monday, referencing a Chinese philosopher. “Centuries have passed, but unfortunately there has been no understanding of this on the other side of the ocean.”

In a four-page letter to Congress released Sunday, Attorney General William Barr said “the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russia-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.”

“The agents of conspiracy theory have been discredited,” wrote Alexey Pushkov, a foreign affairs specialist in the upper house of parliament, tweeted – pointing to Democratic and media attempts to push a theory of collusion. “From now on, only an idiot can believe them.”

FORMER CLINTON ADVISER SAYS DEMOCRATS RISK BACKLASH IF THEY DON’T ACCEPT MUELLER FINDINGS AND MOVE ON

He also contended that the “biased, artificial, provocative, conspiratorial, designed-to-fuel hatred toward Trump campaign” had a second objective, which was to “demonize Russia and prevent any U.S. moves towards better relations with Moscow.”

The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom also took aim at those who maintained the narrative that Trump’s campaign did indeed conspire with Russia for election victory.

“That awkward moment when another anti-Russian fake crumbles to dust,” the official tweet said. “Excuses, anyone?

And for Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of parliament, it was both an “I told you so” moment and a moment of regret over two withered years of deteriorating Russia-U.S. ties.

“Mueller’s long-awaited report proved what was known in Russia from the very beginning,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “Two years of unceasing lies. Two years of the highest-level policy built on the allegation of collusion. A conspiracy explaining the allegedly pro-Russian position of Trump, because of which he was essentially forced to impose more and more stringent measures against our country."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with U.S. National security adviser John Bolton during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with U.S. National security adviser John Bolton during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Kosachyov also sought some kind of reconciliation.

"That is why two years were not just lost for Russian-American relations, but simply crushing for them,” he continued. “Someone will answer for this damage? Someone apologize? Someone will adjust something?"

Moreover, Russian media, which is mostly owned or overseen by authorities, didn’t waste any time in boasting about the report.

According to Vitali Shkliarov, an expert in U.S.-Russian relations and former senior adviser to Russian opposition presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak, the news about the Mueller report was “received with great enthusiasm’ in the former Soviet nation.

“This is a topic that has garnered a great deal of interest and attention there,” he told Fox News. “There was wide coverage about the announcement of the results, much of it tinged with sarcasm. Even liberal politicians seem pleased with the results and are critical of the length and cost of the investigation.”

One anchor of the popular Moscow daytime political show “Time Will Tell” stated on Monday that “the investigation was useless” and “its results proved that it was useless.”

Nonetheless, scores of political pundits, analysts and anti-Trump advocates in the United States still beg to differ on the summary. Many have voiced skepticism of Barr’s findings, while also emphasizing the fact that the attorney general’s summary said Mueller had reached no explicit resolution on whether or not Trump had attempted to obstruct justice.

HOLLYWOOD STARS APOPLECTIC OVER MUELLER PROBE FINDINGS: 'YOU CAN’T INDICT A HAM SANDWICH'

But that, too, became fodder for laughs among the Moscow media.

A "Russia Today" headline on Monday was titled “Mueller meltdown: #Resistance licks wounds, MAGA camp enjoys salty popcorn & meme.”

The Moscow-funded outlet crowed that as the “Russiagate conspiracy theory disintegrates in the wake of the Mueller report’s conclusions, resistance (on) Twitter is struggling to cope, while Trump supporters are basking in the foes’ suffering.”

“The reality-based community could only look on in amazement. And laugh,” the article continued, underscoring those who “screeched about a cover-up.”

Putin and Trump souvenirs for sale in Moscow

Putin and Trump souvenirs for sale in Moscow (Fox News/Hollie McKay)

According to data exclusively obtained by Fox News from Sc2 Corp, a private analytics firm that combs online and social media data for the Special operations and national security community-based in Clearwater, Fla., the overall analogy was that few in Russia expressed surprise over the Mueller findings. The news prompted a spike in user engagement in Russia, with "positive sentiment" towards the news outweighing negative sentiment, but much of the engagement on the issue was relatively neutral.

"Russians are more concerned about internal 'Troll Farms' fomenting dissension and division at home and abroad," one of the firm's data experts noted.

Trump, who has from the very beginning framed the Mueller probe as a “witch hunt,” also claimed a triumph over the weekend, and questions have since swirled as to what that means for the Washington-Moscow accord in the near future.

“Russia is celebrating. There may not have been coordination with the campaign, but the U.S. intelligence community had documented extensive influence operations,” said Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat who previously served as Director of Global Engagement at the White House. “I am very worried that Moscow will interpret this report as a bright green light to accelerate their influence operations. The Mueller report is the perfect tool to try and further divide Americans who have dramatically opposing interpretations of his decision.”

Nonetheless, other experts see a positive path for a genuine relationship reset.

“No one in Russia expects immediate changes, especially in respect to sanctions, but most believe that by the end of this year there will be more constructive dialogue and a real potential for improvement in our bilateral relations,” observed Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney, and lawyer in foreign affairs. “Trump’s original goal of exploring ways to improve Russia relations has been paralyzed by the investigative processes. While political resistance will remain, he is now able to focus his efforts on what is best for the United States.”

NO TRUMP MEETING THIS TRIP, BUT PUTIN'S STAGE-MANAGING ALWAYS A FACTOR

But Luke Coffey, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation cautioned there are many more obstacles impeding diplomatic ties beyond the Mueller matter.

“Russia invaded and occupies a large section of Ukraine, and continues to occupy a large section of Georgia. Both of these countries are U.S. partners. Russia also continues to prop up Assad, which allows the civil war in Syria to continue,” he noted. “Moscow is also showing support for the Maduro regime in Venezuela, thus prolonging the suffering there. Until Russia stops its regional aggression and malign activity, U.S.-Russia relations can never get back on track.”

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Yet others predict the worst may be yet to come.

“In the larger context, those who lean against Trump will continue to destabilize the presidency,” added one source closely connected to the investigation. “This will only fuel efforts of Democrats to mess with the President.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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The Latest: Jury deadlocked on officer who shot caretaker

The Latest on a police officer accused of shooting and wounding a severely man's caretaker (all times local):

5 p.m.

A jury is deadlocked on three charges against a Florida police officer accused of shooting and wounding a severely autistic man's caretaker. The officer was acquitted on one misdemeanor count.

The Miami Herald reports that the six-person jury found North Miami police officer Jonathan Aledda not guilty Friday on a misdemeanor count of culpable negligence. A second negligence charge and two attempted manslaughter counts resulted in a hung jury.

The jury foreperson said the vote was 5-1 to acquit Aledda of the other charges. Prosecutors must decide whether to retry Aledda on those counts.

Aledda testified this week that he thought Arnaldo Rios Soto had a gun and was holding his caretaker, Charles Kinsey, hostage. It turned out Rios was holding a toy truck. Aledda insisted he never heard another message on police radio that it wasn't a gun.

Prosecutors say Rios had left his nearby group home and sat down in the road to play with his toy. A motorist called 911, saying the man was holding what may be a gun and appeared suicidal. Kinsey was trying to coax him back into the home when police arrived and surrounded them.

____

12:30 p.m.

The fate of a police officer accused of shooting and wounding a severely autistic man's caretaker is now in the hands of a Miami jury.

North Miami police officer Jonathan Aledda is accused of attempted manslaughter. He testified this week that he thought Arnaldo Rios Soto had a gun and was holding his caretaker, Charles Kinsey, hostage. It turned out Rios was holding a toy truck. Aledda insisted he never heard another message on police radio that it wasn't a gun.

The Miami Herald reports the six-person jury got the case Thursday night. Miami-Dade Chief Assistant State Attorney Don Horn told jurors that Aledda's gunshots were not a misfire but intentional, as he tried to kill Rios but wounded Kinsey.

Defense attorney Douglas Hartman blamed faulty radios and poor supervision.

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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