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2nd South Dakota diocese publishes list of accused priests

A second South Dakota diocese has released the names of clergy members with substantiated allegations of sexual abuse against a minor.

The Sioux Falls Diocese posted the names of 11 clergy members on its website Wednesday. The website says the allegations were substantiated by law enforcement or the diocese, or in some cases by both. Nine of the priests are dead.

A letter posted on the website by Bishop Paul Swain says he hopes the list will encourage any victim who has been harmed to report it to authorities or the diocese. Swain says he wants bishops from around the country to toughen accountability measures when they hold their semi-annual meeting in June.

The Rapid City Diocese last week published a list of 21 priests credibly accused of sexual abuse.

Source: Fox News National

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Left will continue to ‘believe in Russia collusion’ even after Mueller report release, Byron York says

The Russia collusion narrative is unlikely to go away even after the Robert Mueller report is released later today, Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York predicts.

“A lot of Democrats have invested the last two years of their life in believing that there was collusion between Russia to fix the 2016 election. Don’t think they gonna give it up just because of this,” York told “Fox and Friends”.

“A lot of Democrats have invested the last two years of their life in believing that there was collusion between Russia to fix the 2016 election. Don’t think they gonna give it up just because of this.”

— Byron York

The prediction comes as Washington, D.C. is bracing for the release of the Mueller report that according to Attorney General William Barr didn’t establish collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

IN MUELLER REPORT'S RELEASE, TRUMP LOOKS FOR VINDICATION, BUT NEW FIGHTS LOOM

York pointed out that after Barr outlined the report’s conclusions in a letter and quoted Mueller stating that the evidence didn’t establish a conspiracy or coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, many Democrats began doubling-down on the collusion charges.

“Immediately people on the left said maybe he couldn't prove a criminal conspiracy but maybe there was some other sort of conspiracy. Or maybe he couldn't prove to beyond a reasonable doubt but maybe there is evidence that the rest of us can believe,” York said.

“I really think we have already seen and they already tipped their hands that they are going to continue to believe in collusion.”

“I really think we have already seen and they already tipped their hands that they are going to continue to believe in collusion.”

— Byron York

On the obstruction of justice charges, York says those opposing President Trump will have even more to talk about after the report release as Mueller himself didn’t reach a conclusion about obstruction charges.

“If the Barr summary is pretty accurate, Mueller did not reach a conclusion about obstruction. That's a question right there. He is a prosecutor. He has all the evidence. Why didn't he reach some sort of conclusion?” he said.

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP POPULARITY HOLDING STEADY AFTER MUELLER SUMMARY RELEASE

“There will be a lot of ammunition, we know that already for Trump's critics who say that firing James Comey or the Lester Holt interview or something else was proof of obstruction right there in front of our eyes. So I don't think that argument is going to go away at all.”

Lastly, even if the Mueller report doesn’t find wrongdoing by Trump, it’s unlikely to end the talk of impeachment by Democrats even as the 2020 election nears.

“If you believed in impeachment before the Mueller report, why would you stop believing in it now?,” York said, pointing that there’s a conflict within the Democratic Party on how to proceed with this.

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“You have a lot of the leadership like Nancy Pelosi wanting to move on, these are the more senior people wanting to move on, wanting to focus on the legislative agenda,” he continued.

“But you are going to have the investigative committees, the judiciary committee, the intelligence committee investigating this stuff all the way until the next election.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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2 NYPD officers suspended due to alleged slow response during horrific ax attack, report says

Two NYPD officers were reportedly suspended for allegedly not taking “appropriate action” during a gruesome ax attack that left one woman dead and another seriously injured.

The officers, neither of whom were identified, allegedly waited too long before going into the Brooklyn apartment where the hacking took place, NBC New York reported Tuesday. The cops didn’t immediately take action because the scene was outside their jurisdiction, the New York Post reported, citing a claim under NYPD review.

EX-BOYFRIEND OF VICTIM ARRESTED IN AX ATTACK THAT LEFT ONE WOMAN DEAD AND ANOTHER FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE

Jerry Brown, 34, was charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly chopping his girlfriend Angela Valle, and her pregnant friend Samantha Rivera, with an ax Saturday.

Jerry Brown, 34, has been charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly chopping his girlfriend, Angela Valle (right), and her pregnant friend Savannah Rivera, with an ax at an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday (Facebook)

Jerry Brown, 34, has been charged with murder and attempted murder after allegedly chopping his girlfriend, Angela Valle (right), and her pregnant friend Savannah Rivera, with an ax at an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday (Facebook)

Police found Rivera partially decapitated with her fingers severed at the grisly scene. Valle called an Uber to take her to the hospital after the attack left gashes on her head, chest, arms, stomach and throat, according to the New York Post. The Uber driver then called 911, and Valle, 21, informed medics before losing consciousness that her boyfriend was the attacker.

Brown is said to suffer from mental health issues and told PIX 11 News before being arrested that he is schizophrenic, bipolar and paranoid. He said he was trying to get medication from a hospital, and that he did not remember the attack. When he learned that his girlfriend was fighting for her life, he began to cry while speaking to reporters over the phone.

Brown allegedly purchased the ax at a Florama Hardware store about two weeks ago, employees said. They added that he asked 39-year-old worker Udi Amrussi if he could sharpen the ax for him, but the man refused.

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Police found the ax covered in blood and tossed in a trash compactor at the Bushwick Houses, where the attack took place.

Fox News' Anna Hopkins contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Court strikes down school dress code rule that kept girls in skirts

The traditional-values dress code policy of a North Carolina charter school was tough.

Now, it's also unconstitutional, based on the ruling of a federal judge.

Charter Day School in Leland had a dress policy that forced girls to wear skirts, skorts or jumpers that are knee length or longer, WECT reported. Failure to comply could have meant discipline or expulsion for the young students.

According to WECT, the parents of three children, ages 5, 10 and 14, filled a lawsuit along with the Civil Liberties Union against Charter Day.

STATE LAWMAKER WANTS A SCHOOL DRESS CODE FOR PARENTS: 'YOU'D BE SURPRISED AT SOME OF THE STUFF WE SEE'

"All I wanted was for my daughter and every other girl at school to have the option to wear pants so she could play outside, sit comfortably and stay warm in the winter," Bonnie Peltier, the mother of a former Charter Day School student, told WECT. “We’re happy the court agrees, but it’s disappointing that it took a court order to force the school to accept the simple fact that, in 2019, girls should have the choice to wear pants.”

Students play outside Charter Day. The school's dress code was  deemed unconstitutional

Students play outside Charter Day. The school's dress code was  deemed unconstitutional (WECT)

The lawsuit also maintained that skirts restricted the students’ movement, inhibited their participation in play and made it tough to sit on the floor.

U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard found the policy in violation of violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

STUDENTS STAGE WALKOUT TO PROTEST SCHOOL'S DRESS CODE BAN ON DO-RAGS

The school's founder and the architect of the dress policy, Baker A Mitchell Jr., said in an email that the policy was intended to promote "chivalry" and "traditional values." Mitchell wanted "to preserve chivalry and respect among young women and men," and offered the 1999 Columbine High School massacre as a motivation for a return to simpler times.

Source: Fox News National

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Colorado sheriffs who won't enforce anti-gun 'red flag' law should 'resign,' state AG says

Colorado's attorney general testified said week that country sheriffs vowing not to enforce the state's proposed anti-gun "red flag" bill should "resign" -- a challenge that threatened to ramp up tensions between state officials and local leaders who were already creating droves of so-called Second Amendment "sanctuary counties" to resist the legislation.

Democrat Phil Weiser made the remarks, which were first reported by The Colorado Sun, while testifying before a state committee on Friday. Weiser has said that the red flag legislation, which would permit a court to the seizure of weapons from people determined to be a threat to others or themselves, would save lives, particularly in domestic violence situations.

“If a sheriff cannot follow the law, the sheriff cannot do his or her job,” Weiser said. “The right thing to do for a sheriff who says, ‘I can’t follow the law’ is to resign.”

Phil Weiser, seen here in October 2018, said sheriffs unwilling to enforce Colorado's "red flag" bill should resign.

Phil Weiser, seen here in October 2018, said sheriffs unwilling to enforce Colorado's "red flag" bill should resign. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

The proposed state law, House Bill 1177, is expected to secure passage in the Colorado legislature and be approved by the state's Democrat governor, Jared Polis. It says petitioners, under oath, must establish by a "preponderance of the evidence" -- a relatively lax legal standard essentially meaning that something is "more likely than not" -- that a person "poses a significant risk to self or others by having a firearm in his or her custody or control or by possessing, purchasing or receiving a firearm."

An emergency hearing must then be held within 24 hours, and if an "extreme risk protection order" (ERPO) is issued by a judge, an individual will be barred from "possessing, controlling, purchasing or receiving a firearm for 364 days," and must "surrender all of his or her firearms and his or her concealed carry permit."

CALIFORNIA'S GUN SEIZURE PROGRAM HITS HURDLES

Defendants can successfully override the ERPO only by establishing by "clear and convincing evidence" -- a legal standard even more strict than guilt beyond a reasonable doubt -- "that he or she no longer poses a significant risk of causing personal injury to self or others."

“Because ERPO will be constitutionally upheld, every sheriff will be required and, I believe, will follow through to uphold an act under that law," Weiser told the state Senate panel.

Several other states are considering similar red flag laws, and counties in states as far apart as New Mexico and Illinois have responded by creating Second Amendment sanctuaries, leading to court challenges. But Weiser's comments were perhaps the most direct repudiation by state officials of local leaders who have resisted their gun control efforts.

Similar red flag laws have passed since 2018 in Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Connecticut, California, Indiana, Oregon and Washington had versions of red flag laws prior to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February 2018.

Weiser did not respond to Fox News' request for clarification on his remarks.

A man wears a patriotic-themed cowboy hat during a pro gun-rights rally at the state capitol, Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Austin, Texas. Gun rights supporters rallied across the United States to counter a recent wave of student-led protests against gun violence. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A man wears a patriotic-themed cowboy hat during a pro gun-rights rally at the state capitol, Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Austin, Texas. Gun rights supporters rallied across the United States to counter a recent wave of student-led protests against gun violence. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Conservatives have said Colorado's legislation should focus more on providing mental health services, and they warn that the bill would only discourage distressed individuals from seeking help. Legislators, critics say, should focus instead on expanding and improving the state's existing provisions for 72-hour mental health holds.

"The criteria for a 72-hour hold is you are a danger to yourself and others,” Assistant State Senate Minority Leader John Cooke, a Republican and former sheriff, told The Colorado Times. “Well, that’s what this bill is saying, too — to come in and take your guns. But the problem is you leave the person at the house. It’s gun confiscation, and it’s really short on mental health. So, if you’re going to take the gun, you ought to take the person instead if they are that dangerous.”

Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams told Fox News that Weiser, effectively, could take a hike.

NRA'S DANA LOESCH RIPS CNN'S AWARD FOR TOWN HALL IN WHICH SHE WAS HECKLED, RUBIO WAS COMPARED TO SERIAL KILLER

“If you pass an unconstitutional law, our oaths as commissioners or myself as the sheriff — we’re going to follow our constitutional oath first,” Reams, whose county commissioners recently voted to become a Second Amendment "sanctuary," told Fox News. “And we’ll do that balancing act on our own.”

On Wednesday afternoon, commissioners in Logan County, Colo., became the latest officials to pass such a sanctuary measure. The vote among commissioners was unanimous.

"It's time we quit trying to put lipstick on a pig and start funding our mental health facilities, instead of trying to take the rights from our people," Logan County Sheriff Brett Powell said in public remarks prior to the vote.

He added that law enforcement searches are traditionally only acceptable during criminal investigations.

"In Colorado, it's not a crime to harm yourself," Powell said.

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According to a list compiled by Rally for Our Rights, a nonprofit, 22 Colorado counties have become "Second Amendment sanctuaries" in the last month, including El Paso County, among the state's largest.

El Paso last week vowed to fight the Colorado measure in court if needed, and pledged not to “appropriate funds, resources, employees, or agencies to initiate unconstitutional seizures in unincorporated El Paso County." The country affirmed its "support for the duly elected Sheriff of El Paso County, Colorado and collaborate with the Sheriff to refuse to initiate unconstitutional actions against citizens."

El Paso Commissioner Stan VanderWerf called on the state's Democrat leaders to change course.

“I would ask Governor Polis to refuse to sign it,” VanderWerf said, “because of the unconstitutionality of the bill as presently written. No governor or senate should willfully sign into law or pass legislation that are violations of a set of documents that protect our rights.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Tiny Japanese baby is ready to go home after 5 months

A tiny Japanese baby who weighed just 258 grams (9 ounces) when he was born five months ago is going home from the hospital.

Ryusuke Sekino was shown on Japanese TV on Friday sitting in his mother's arms, looking somberly around at media cameras.

His mother told reporters she was worried and cried a lot at first because he was so fragile and had transparent skin. She said she now is able to breastfeed him and is looking forward to taking him home on Saturday and giving him a bath.

The University of Iowa keeps a Tiniest Babies Registry, which shows the previous smallest surviving boy weighed 268 grams (9.5 ounces) when he was born last year in Japan. A German girl born in 2015 weighed 252 grams (8.9 ounces).

Source: Fox News World

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Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas
Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s foreign minister and a Venezuelan judge, according to a statement on the department’s website.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and a judge, Carol Padilla, were targeted over the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, the Treasury Department said, the latest in a list of officials blacklisted by U.S. authorities for their role in President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Makini Brice and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of
Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of “Avengers: Endgame” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 26, 2019

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Marvel Studios superhero spectacle “Avengers: Endgame” hauled in a record $60 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices during its Thursday night debut, distributor Walt Disney Co said.

Global ticket sales for the film about Iron Man, Hulk and other popular characters reached $305 million for the first two days, Disney said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Funeral of journalist Lyra McKee in Belfast
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn attends the funeral service for murdered journalist Lyra McKee at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland April 24, 2019. Brian Lawless/Pool via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Friday he had turned down an invitation to a state dinner which will be part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Britain in June.

“Theresa May should not be rolling out the red carpet for a state visit to honor a president who rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric,” Corbyn said in a statement.

He said maintaining the relationship with the United States did not require “the pomp and ceremony of a state visit” and he said he would welcome a meeting with Trump “to discuss all matters of interest.”

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg)

Source: OANN

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A bedridden 67-year-old woman and more than a dozen animals were rescued Thursday after a welfare check found that they were living in a home filled with trash, urine, and feces, Florida police said.

Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies said when they arrived at the home in Dunedin around 7:20 p.m. Thursday, they could smell the odor of rotting trash and animal feces as they walked up to the driveway.

“Inside the residence, the odor of feces and urine was so overwhelming that deputies had to don masks,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.

FLORIDA SHERIFF ON BORDER CRISIS AFTER MAJOR DRUG BUST: ‘IT MAKES ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’

Walking throughout the residence, the deputies found 10 emaciated dogs and puppies living in bins filled with their own feces, five large Macaw birds flying freely, rats, bugs and overall squalor.

Puppies discovered living in their own feces inside a Florida home that was filled with trash, urine, and feces.

Puppies discovered living in their own feces inside a Florida home that was filled with trash, urine, and feces. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

Deputies said due to the large amounts of trash in the home, they had to clear a path to reach the victim’s bedroom.

“None of the home’s toilets were working and all were found to be overflowing with feces,” deputies said. “The only working sink was located on the opposite end of the house from the victim’s bedroom.”

They said there was no food or water for the victim or the animals.

FLORIDA MAN IN EASTER BUNNY COSTUME CAUGHT IN VIRAL BRAWL IS WANTED IN NEW JERSEY, HAS HISTORY OF ARRESTS

The victim was transported to a local hospital for injuries that were non-life threatening, while the animals were transported to shelters.

The woman’s caretaker, Richard Lawrence Goodwin, 65, was arrested and charged with abuse and neglect of an elderly person, disabled person, and cruelty to animals.

Richard Goodwin, 69, was arrested for abuse and neglect of an elderly and disabled person after deputies found she was living in deplorable conditions.

Richard Goodwin, 69, was arrested for abuse and neglect of an elderly and disabled person after deputies found she was living in deplorable conditions. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

The sheriff’s department said this was Goodwin’s second arrest for abuse and neglect of the same victim. He was previously arrested in May 2018.

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Neighbor Victoria Muenzerbeer told FOX 13 that Goodwin and the victim were hoarders and the conditions inside the home were horrible years ago when she visited once.

“I went in and it was absolutely, a human being couldn’t live there,” she said. “The kitchen wasn’t usable and part of the wall was falling in.”

Source: Fox News National

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Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli
Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli, Libya April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

April 26, 2019

By Ulf Laessing

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s U.N.-recognized government has budgeted up to 2 billion dinars ($1.43 billion) to cover costs of a three-week-old war for control of the capital, such as treatment for the wounded, to be funded without new borrowing, the economy minister said.

Ali Abdulaziz Issawi suggested the government hoped for business to continue more or less as usual despite the assault on Tripoli, in the country’s northwest, by forces tied to a parallel administration based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Once Africa’s third largest producer of oil, Libya has been riven by factional conflict since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with the country now broadly split between eastern-based forces under Khalifa Haftar and the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, in the west, under Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

Still, with Haftar’s Libyan National Army forces unable so far to pierce defenses in Tripoli’s southern suburbs, normal life and business activities continue in much of the capital and western coastal towns.

Issawi, in an interview with Reuters in his Tripoli office, also said Libya’s commercial ports and wheat imports were still functioning normally, although some roads have been blocked.

He said the Serraj government estimates it will spend up to 2 billion dinars extra on medical treatment for wounded, aid for displaced people and other “emergency” war costs.

He said this was not military spending but analysts believe that the sum will also cover expenditures such as pay for allied armed groups or food for fighters.

“We could actually spend less,” he added, in comments that gave the first insight into the economic impact of the fighting.

Issawi said the Tripoli government, which controls little territory beyond the greater capital region, would not incur new debt to fund the war costs, sticking to a plan to post a 2019 budget without a deficit.

Tripoli derives revenue largely from oil and natural gas production, interest-free loans from local banks to the central bank, and a 183 percent surcharge on foreign exchange transactions conducted at official rates.

But with centralized tax collection greatly diminished, public debt has piled up – to 68 billion dinars in the west, including unpaid state obligations such as social insurance.

Some analysts expect Serraj’s government will be forced to raise new debt if the war for control of Tripoli drags on.

With much of Libya dominated by armed factions that also act as security forces, the public wage bill for both the western and eastern administrations has soared as fighters have been made public employees in efforts to buy their loyalty.

The east has sold bonds worth 35 billion dinars outside the official financial system as the Tripoli central bank does not fund the parallel government apart from some wages.

Despite its limited reach, the Tripoli government still runs an annual budget of around 46.8 billion dinars, mainly for public salaries and fuel subsidies.

“This year we cannot finance via debt…we will not borrow (by agreement with the central bank),” Issawi said.

According to International Monetary Fund data, Libya’s central government debt-to-GDP ratio is 143 percent, making it one of the most heavily indebted in the world on that measure.

Issawi declined to say what parts of the budget would be trimmed to support the extra outlay for war costs.

However, with some 70 percent of the budget allocated to public wages, fuel subsidies and other welfare benefits, a portion devoted to infrastructure is most likely to be axed.

Widespread lawlessness has meant there have been no major infrastructural projects since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising overthrew dictator Muammar Gaddafi, leaving schools, hospitals and roads in acute need of restoration.

FOREX SURCHARGE

Issawi said the government planned to raise as much as 30 billion dinars by the end of 2019 from hard currency deals after imposing in September a 183 percent surcharge on commercial and private transactions done on the official rate of 1.4 to the U.S. dollar. That fee has effectively devalued the official rate to 3.9, much closer to the black market equivalent.

Some 17 billion dinars have been raised since then, with hard currency allocated for import credit letters now issued without delays, Issawi said. The forex fee has helped the government forecast a budget in the black for 2019.

Despite the narrowing spread between the two rates, the black market continues to thrive. Dozens of traders remained at their favorite spot behind the central bank headquarters in Tripoli when Reuters reporters visited it last week.

But traders said it could take time for the Serraj government to register the extra forex receipts as official banking channels were taking up to six months to approve import financing, keeping the black market in play for dealers.

Issawi said authorities planned to lower the forex fee from 183 percent, without saying when. The black market rate has dropped from 6 to around 4.1 since September but it has hardly moved of late as demand for black market cash remains high.

The Tripoli government has stopped subsidizing food and bread, which used to be cheaper than drinking water in Libya. Wheat imports are now being arranged by private traders and there are surplus stocks of flour at the moment, Issawi said.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing in Tripoli with additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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