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Dershowitz: Trump's Lawyers Correct to Insist on Written Questions

President Donald Trump's attorneys made the right decision to have him answer special counsel Robert Mueller's questions in writing, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz said Monday while responding to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff's call for Mueller to subpoena the president.

"He doesn't even have a basis for casting doubt," Dershowitz told Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime." "No reasonable lawyer would ever allow the president to sit down. President [Bill] Clinton did that and he paid a very heavy price doing that."

By sitting down and answering questions personally, Mueller could have snared Trump in a "perjury trap," which can happen even when a client tells the truth, said Dershowitz.

"If the president gave absolutely truthful testimony and [former Trump attorney] Michael Cohen contradicted him, and the prosecutors decided to believe Michael Cohen, that would be a perjury trap," Dershowitz said. "So, I see no reason for the president to sit down to have a live testimony. He's not going to do it. That was made clear right from the beginning."

However, Dershowitz did say he does not see anything wrong with Schiff and his staff speaking with Cohen before his congressional hearings.

"Congressional staffers and members of Congress meet with favorable witnesses all the time," Dershowitz said. "The only problem would be if it was coaching."

He added he thinks Cohen has "real difficulty giving straight answers," but witness preparation is done "every day."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Smart Tech in New Homes Can Provide Savings, Convenience

Recently released numbers from the U.S. Department of Commerce show that new home sales were up 4.9% this past February, in the midst of a thriving real estate market — and it’s a good time for new property owners. That’s because today’s recent construction is more likely to be fully equipped with smart home technology and that can bring real savings. From smart thermostats to leak detection technology, home ownership is more sustainable and affordable than ever before.

Built-in smart home technology is not only a money saver, but it’s also a purchase incentive. According to research, 81% of homeowners would be more inclined to buy a house with these devices already installed. This is a sign of growing acceptance among American homeowners as such devices become more familiar, as well as being associated with the increase in millennials purchasing their first homes.

Affordable Upgrades

It’s important to be clear: not all smart technology saves homeowners money. Home security, for example, may occasionally earn homeowners insurance credits, but in most cases, it’s a cumulative cost with few financial advantages, while voice-controlled speakers may actually lead to reckless spending. Smart LED lighting and thermostats, on the other hand, are affordable options with sizeable savings potential and wide appeal.

Just how much savings do these basic upgrades promise? According to the property management experts at Green Residential, who manage a variety of homes and apartments across the Houston, Texas area, a basic smart thermostat saves homeowners between $131 and $145 per year. LED lights, on the other hand, save owners more as the number in use grows. Each will save owners $13 a year on average, but the average homeowner has at least five lights that can be converted to LED, and likely many more.

Sensing Serious Risks

While LED lights and smart thermostats are affordable options, even for those seeking to upgrade older homes, new construction offers more advanced and complicated options not ordinarily available. Just recently, Semtech announced new radio frequency technology that monitors changes in humidity and temperature to identify invisible water leaks.

In the past, such leaks could cause serious structural damage before they became visible to the naked eye, as well as fostering mold growth. By identifying leaks before they progress, however, this new technology can save homeowners the cost of major repairs and renovations.

Additional Savings

Smart home technology provides savings through cumulative changes, much as any sustainability efforts do, but having that technology pre-installed is where homeowners achieve the biggest savings.

According to HomeAdvisor, it costs an average of $189 to install a new smart home appliance, which means it will take over a year to recoup the costs of the average device. Depending on how disruptive that installation process is, this can be a deterrent to homeowners.

When smart home devices are preinstalled in new construction, the homes typically don’t cost more — the new technology simply displaces old technology - but the savings begin to accrue immediately. Homeowners are saved the disruption, but also the added cost of purchasing and installing these tools.

Time Is Money

Finally, while smart home devices provide clear financial savings, they’re also tools of convenience and, as the saying goes, time is money. By automating an array of tasks, smart appliances save homeowners time, with an average estimate of thirty minutes a day. While that’s not much on any individual day, over the course of a week, that’s three and a half hours of time that can be committed to other activities, along with added peace of mind, and increased sustainability.

In the next few years, the majority of homes on the market, whether new construction or older, renovated homes, will be expected to contain at least basic smart home devices — it will be the only way to compete. That’s good news for buyers, tech companies, and the environment, a rare advance in which benefits accrue to all participants.

Larry Alton is a professional blogger, writer, and researcher. A graduate of Iowa State University, he's now a full-time freelance writer and business consultant.Currently, Larry writes for Entrepreneur.com, Inc.com, and Forbes.com, among others. In addition to journalism, technical writing and in-depth research, he’s also active in his community and spends weekends volunteering with a local non-profit literacy organization and rock climbing. Follow him on Twitter (@LarryAlton3), at LinkedIn.com/in/larryalton, and on his website, LarryAlton.com. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.

Source: NewsMax America

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Wason Poll: Voters Say Keep Sinking Va. Gov. Northam

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's approval rating has plummeted in the wake of a blackface scandal but the majority of his state's voters want him to stay in office, according to the results of a new poll.

Key results from the survey conducted by Christopher Newport University's Wason Center for Public Policy:

  • Northam's approval rating has lost 19 points since December and now stands at 40% among registered voters.
  • 52% said Northam should remain in office despite the scandal, which involved the unearthing of a decades-old yearbook photo of two college men, one in blackface and one in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. Northam said he was one of the people in the photo, although he would not say which one.
  • 23% said they had not seen, heard, or read anything about Northam in the news recently, which indicates they might not be aware of the racist photo scandal.
  • 12% percent said unrestricted abortion should be legal in all cases. Northam said in January he would support after-birth abortions.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Selling with the enemy: Why rival retailers embrace Amazon.com

FILE PHOTO: A model is seen during a shooting session for Amazon Fashion at an unveiling of its new photo studio in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: A model is seen during a shooting session for Amazon Fashion at an unveiling of its new photo studio in Tokyo, Japan March 15, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

April 9, 2019

By Sonya Dowsett and Melissa Fares

MADRID/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Chico’s FAS Inc warned in January that it would shutter at least 250 stores across its namesake brand, along with its White House Black Market and Soma labels.

    But the U.S. women’s clothing chain is expanding a different storefront – its Chico’s-branded micro site on Amazon.com Inc.

    The world’s largest online retailer now sells around 2,300 Chico’s styles, from crease-proof trousers to fine-knit sweaters, representing nearly six times more product offerings than when it started last May, Chico’s told Reuters.

While that growth should entice any retailer, Chico’s is one of a growing number of clothing brands treading carefully.

From Nike Inc and Under Armour Inc to Lands’ End Inc and Levi Strauss & Co, major brands are distributing clothing and accessories directly through Amazon.com, attracted by more than 100 million members of Amazon’s loyalty club Prime and its advanced delivery network.

The risk in this relationship, according to interviews with retailers and industry analysts, comes if Amazon uses real-time data from customer purchases to help it quickly build out its own private label clothing brands, and ends up stealing market share from its current retail partners.

“The word that’s most commonly used with respect to Amazon from a brand perspective, and also retailers to some extent, is ‘frenemy,'” said Kate Delhagen, an independent retail consultant and former senior director of global digital business development at Nike. She had input into Nike’s decision process to partner with Amazon, but left the shoe company shortly before the deal was finalized in July 2017.

(For a graphic, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2WHcPkH)

Recognizing the concern from retailers, the European Commission has launched a preliminary antitrust investigation into Amazon and whether it might “gain access to competitively sensitive information about competitors’ products which it could use to boost its own retail activities at the expense of third party sellers on its marketplace,” an EU spokesman said.

Amazon declined to comment on the early-stage probe, or say how many private label clothing brands it had and how fast it was churning out new ones. A spokeswoman said Amazon’s private label products account for about 1 percent of its total retail sales.

“Our private brands supplement the great assortment that our selling partners provide,” she added.

A Nike spokeswoman said its business with Amazon continued to perform well, but said the company’s approach was broader than Amazon alone and that it continued to engage with a number of digital marketplaces.

To sell through Amazon, Chico’s and other clothing retailers can either sell product to Amazon in a traditional wholesale relationship or sell directly to consumers as third-party merchants, paying a 17 percent referral fee on clothing and accessories sold.

Retailers pay Amazon extra to store and ship their orders under the ‘fulfillment by Amazon’ model.

Amazon has set a goal of being a leader in the apparel space for around a decade, former Amazon director Mike Pazak told Reuters, and has invested heavily in the sector. It has recently ramped up its own private label apparel brands.

It had 109 of its own brands in clothing, shoes and jewelry categories at the start of 2019, which is more than a five-fold increase over two years, according to TJI Research.

“It’s something we’re aware of and understand the risks,” said George Nahra, senior vice president of strategy, business development and international at Chico’s, which flies executives to Seattle regularly to review the growing Amazon business.

OVERTAKING WALMART

Amazon markets fashion across the world from Brazil to China. It has made its Prime Wardrobe concept, which allows Prime members to order clothing with no upfront charge and free delivery, available in the United States, Britain and Japan.

The online giant has sponsored fashion weeks in the United States, Mexico, Japan and India and has photography studios for fashion shoots in New York, London, Tokyo and New Delhi. It is a patron of the British Fashion Council.

    Following an upheaval of consumer habits, which has led to the shuttering of thousands of small apparel stores, Amazon has overtaken Walmart Inc as the most-shopped clothing retailer in the United States, according to a Coresight Research survey.

    In Britain, Amazon has outpaced Marks and Spencer Group PLC as the most-shopped clothing retailer, according to an HSBC survey.

Amazon Prime member Abby Kidd bought a pair of Silver brand $80 jeans the first time she used the Prime Wardrobe service.

“I doubt I’ll look anywhere else for jeans as long as Amazon keeps expanding their options,” said the 35-year-old private tutor, based in Oak Harbor, Washington who also shops at chain stores Macy’s Inc and Maurices.

    Classic American clothing retailer Lands’ End turned to Amazon more than a year ago when it looked to increase sales after a bruising exit from previous owner Sears.

    “We’d be ostriches sticking our heads in the sand if we didn’t take heed and pay attention to where customers are going,” said Sarah Rasmusen, senior vice president of e-commerce at Lands’ End, founded in the 1960s as a mail-order business.

    Lands’ End started selling core items such as flannel shirts and down coats on Amazon in February last year as part of its strategy to branch out from troubled Sears stores, where it has lost dozens of retail locations.

    Lands’ End’s key swimwear lines compete with Amazon’s Coastal Blue swimwear private label on the site.

    Both Chico’s and Lands’ End declined to say what percentage of their sales were made through Amazon, but said the platform was a useful customer acquisition tool that was not drawing clients away from their own e-commerce sites.

A gripe for retailers is that selling on Amazon loses the direct customer relationship they get from their own website or store.

    “You don’t know where your customer’s coming from, you don’t know what they’re clicking on once they get to the site,” said Melanie Travis, founder of upmarket swimwear brand Andie who has talked to Amazon, but decided against selling on the platform.

Others are satisfied with the limited data they get from Amazon. For instance, Chico’s gets enough to mail catalogs to new Amazon customers, said senior vice president Nahra.

Canadian shoe retailer Aldo, which deepened its 10-year relationship with Amazon to a wholesale model this year, said it receives more information as a result, such as the basket composition of customers who buy Aldo’s products on Amazon. That allows it to adapt its product offering accordingly.

Insights shared by Amazon can influence how the retailer designs collections, Aldo said. Its products compete with Amazon’s footwear private label The Fix on the platform.

    “There’s an interesting partnership you get by selling to Amazon instead of selling through Amazon,” said Justin Cohen, senior director of e-commerce for Aldo North America. “We’re just starting to lean back into that relationship.”

(Reporting by Sonya Dowsett and Melissa Fares; Editing by Vanessa O’Connell and Edward Tobin)

Source: OANN

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USC medical program loses national accreditation

The University of Southern California is losing national accreditation for a medical training program dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education notified USC and Los Angeles County this week that their joint-run fellowship in cardiovascular disease will be stripped of accreditation next year. The decision is final and would effectively shut down the program, which had 15 slots for a three-year curriculum.

USC said it hoped to have a new cardiology fellowship program in place before the current one closes in June 2020.

"We are fully committed to working with the ACGME and USC to take every action necessary to restore our standing for all residency training programs," said Christina Ghaly, director of the county Department of Health Services. "We are determined to deliver an exceptional training environment that is safe and inclusive for every physician completing graduate medical education."

The accreditation council gave no public reason for its decision. However, the Times said USC's medical school dean, Dr. Laura Mosqueda, announced the decision Thursday in a faculty memo that said it was based on concerns about "resident safety and wellness processes."

The school and the county were sued in 2017 by Dr. Meena Zareh, who alleged while she was a resident she was groped by a fellow in the program, Dr. Guillermo Cortes, and that the incident was never properly investigated. Two other women later came forward with similar assault allegations.

Cortes' attorney has said his client denies the allegations.

It's the latest embarrassment for USC's medical school and health services. The Times reported that previous medical school dean Dr. Carmen Puliafito associated with criminals and people who used drugs and had been captured on video apparently smoking methamphetamine. He gave up his post in 2016 but remained a faculty member until USC fired him in 2017.

USC President C. L. Max Nikias resigned last summer amid reports that the school ignored complaints of widespread sexual misconduct by a longtime campus gynecologist.

Source: Fox News National

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Super Bowl LIII referee Parry retires, joins ESPN

Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak talks with Referee John Parry before challenging a Tampa Bay Buccaneers interception in Tampa
Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak talks with Referee John Parry before challenging a Tampa Bay Buccaneers interception during their NFL football game in Tampa, Florida November 13, 2011. REUTERS/Pierre DuCharme(UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

April 1, 2019

Super Bowl LIII referee John Parry has retired and is joining ESPN as an officiating analyst.

He will provide analysis from the broadcast booth on “Monday Night Football” and also will work on NFL studio shows and SportsCenter, the network announced Monday.

“John’s role will be a first for ESPN’s NFL coverage. He will educate our commentators, staff, and, most importantly, millions of fans,” said Jay Rothman, producer of the Monday night telecast, in a network statement. “John will appear on our array of studio shows throughout the season and be part of the Monday Night Football team. With the attention to replay and rules at an all-time high, he is uniquely qualified to teach, add perspective and bring clarity to fans.”

Former NFL officials Gerry Austin and Jeff Triplette previously worked for ESPN.

Parry, who became an NFL official in 2000, worked as a back judge and side judge until his promotion to referee for the 2007 season.

He officiated in the Super Bowls in 2007, 2012 and 2019.

“I will fully embrace this new position,” Parry said in the statement. “We hope to leverage 20 years of NFL officiating experience to our talent and to our great fans. Bringing clarity to a complicated game will be both challenging and rewarding. ESPN is a perfect fit based on their dedication to educating and entertaining fans.”

Al Riveron, the league’s head of officiating, wished Parry well on a league-sanctioned Twitter account on Monday.

“Referee John Parry has announced his retirement after 19 seasons & 3 Super Bowls. Thank you, John, for your dedication to the game. We wish you all the best!” Riveron wrote.

Parry’s retirement follows those of referees Triplette, Walt Coleman, Ed Hochuli, Terry McAulay, Pete Morelli and Gene Steratore over the past few years.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Biden enters White House race without Obama’s endorsement

Former Vice President Joe Biden made his 2020 candidacy official on Thursday, but even his entry into the crowded Democratic primary field isn’t enough to move former President Barack Obama off the sidelines.

Biden announced his run for president in an online video Thursday, after weeks of speculation and anticipation. After his announcement, Biden was asked why his former boss of eight years isn't publicly backing him.

"I asked President Obama not to endorse,” Biden told Fox News on Thursday outside an Amtrak station in Delaware, adding that “whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits.”

JOE BIDEN OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES 2020 PRESIDENTIAL BID

Obama's team released a statement praising Biden on Thursday but didn’t offer an explicit endorsement.

“President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made,” Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill said in a statement Thursday morning. “He relied on the Vice President’s knowledge, insight, and judgment throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency. The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today.”

Meanwhile, sources close to the Obamas have told Fox News that the former president has made clear that he doesn’t plan on endorsing early in the primary process—if at all.

“President Obama is excited by the extraordinary and diverse talent exhibited in the growing lineup of Democratic primary candidates,” a source close to Obama told Fox News Thursday. “He believes that a robust primary in 2007 and 2008 not only made him a better general election candidate but a better president, too. And because of that, it’s unlikely that he will throw his support behind a specific candidate this early in the primary process – preferring instead to let the candidates make their cases directly to the voters.”

BIDEN 2020 ANNOUNCEMENT MET WITH QUICK ENDORSEMENTS, PUSHBACK FROM DEMOCRATS

Republicans have used the non-endorsement to attack Biden, with RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeting that Obama has "chosen *not* to endorse his right-hand man."

But former communications director for the Democratic National Committee and former spokesperson for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign Mo Elleithee said he doesn't view the decision as a snub, saying it is appropriate for Obama to remain on the sidelines.

“I think it’s pretty clear that President Obama wants to play a neutral role in the primary process, and there are a number of candidates in this field that he has a relationship with,” Elleithee, a Fox News contributor and executive director of Georgetown University’s Institute of Politics and Public Service, told Fox News. “I think he wants to focus more on helping set the table for a successful election for the party, rather than necessarily helping to pick the candidate.”

Elleithee said that Obama has praised a number of candidates in the race, but said “he hasn’t put out a statement like he did for Biden today for anyone else.”

“I think Biden holds a special place in Obama’s political heart, and he wanted everyone to know that, without going so far as to put his thumb on the scale one way or the other,” he said.

Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov agreed.

“It’s definitely not a snub at Biden or any reflection of how he feels about his former vice president who he is obviously very close with,” Tarlov told Fox News. “President Obama and Michelle have both made it clear that they want the Democratic process to play out, as it should.”

Despite a lack of an Obama endorsement, Biden was met with support quickly after his official announcement. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Penn. and Chris Coons, D-Del., were among the first to officially get behind his campaign.

Fox News’ Peter Doocy, Kristin Brown and Mike Emanuel contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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FILE PHOTO - Otto Frederick Warmbier is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang North Korea
FILE PHOTO – Otto Frederick Warmbier (C), a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea’s top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States did not pay any money to North Korea as it sought the release of comatose American student Otto Warmbier.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump had approved payment of a $2 million bill from North Korea to cover its care of the college student, who died shortly after he was returned to the United States after 17 months in a North Korean prison.

(Reporting by Makini Brice and Susan Heavey)

Source: OANN

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

Source: OANN

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

Source: OANN

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