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Train swapping: North Korea’s Kim reliant on Chinese for summit transport

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un arrives by train at the border town with China in Dong Dang, Vietnam
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un arrives by train at the border town with China in Dong Dang, Vietnam, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

February 26, 2019

By Ju-min Park and Josh Smith

HANOI (Reuters) – When North Korean leader Kim Jong Un rolled into the Vietnamese border station of Dong Dang early on Tuesday, his vaunted specialized train was pulled by a red-and-yellow locomotive emblazoned with China’s national railway logo.

It was the second time Kim had arrived for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in transport provided by the Chinese, underscoring just how much the young leader’s sudden flurry of international engagements has depended on his larger, more powerful neighbor.

When Kim arrived in Singapore last year for his first, historic summit with Trump, it was in an Air China jumbo jet bearing the Chinese flag.

With the exception of two summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the border between the two Koreas, every one of Kim’s unprecedented summits with China’s Xi Jinping and now the second summit with Trump have depended on trains provided by the Chinese.

“This is a full service from Xi,” said Nam Sung-wook a former South Korean intelligence official. “Kim couldn’t travel without China’s special treatment.”

To travel to his four summits with Xi, Kim’s specially equipped string of train carriages has usually been hauled by matching green DF11Z locomotives, Chinese-made engines sporting the emblem of the state-owned China Railway Corporation, with at least three different serial registration numbers, according to a review of media images.

At the time of his first trip to Beijing in March 2018, South Korean media reported that the locomotives were usually used for carrying top Chinese officials, and were connected to Kim’s carriages in the city of Dandong, on the Chinese side of its border with North Korea.

The red-and-yellow DF4 engine used when Kim arrived in Vietnam was of a different, older type than the more typical green DF11Z spotted by media pulling the train when it entered China from North Korea on Saturday.

It’s not clear when China provided the train engines to North Korea, or under what conditions.

Asked about the apparent change in locomotives and whether China had provided them, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he not paid much attention to that issue.

“I don’t know whether changing the train has any particular meaning toward your appraisal of the situation,” he told a daily news briefing on Tuesday.

China, however, provided a “transport guarantee” for Kim’s train travel, Lu said, without elaborating, likely referring to ensuring his train was able to proceed smoothly across China.

SLOW TRAIN THROUGH CHINA

Kim’s long, slow journey from North Korea and thousands of kilometers across China to Vietnam is the longest he has taken as leader, with state media running photos of school children studying globes and asking “where is the Dear Leader now?”

Media outlets captured images of Kim in a rare private moment smoking a cigarette during a break on a station platform in China.

His train is believed to be armored, and state media images have shown an interior decked out with pink leather chairs and big-screen televisions.

That wasn’t enough to impress some Chinese internet users who took to social media to crack jokes about the relative poverty and backwardness of their awkward neighbor, the diesel locomotive lent to Kim a stark contrast to the network of high speed trains in China.

“Traveling like this from Pyongyang to Hanoi?” wrote one user on China’s Weibo social media platform, above a picture of an old steam train.

“Under sanctions by the Americans for 50 years and poverty-struck North Korea can’t even afford to buy a plane,” wrote another Weibo user.

A third called complained of a brief period of gridlock around the railway lines in the northeastern Chinese city of Jinzhou as police shut off roads, likely to ensure security as Kim’s train passed through.

Kim Han-tae, a South Korean former train engineer who published a book last year on North Korea’s railways, said the Chinese had put in a lot of work to facilitate Kim’s trip.

The decision to have the North Korean carriages hauled by Chinese engines was likely a logistical one, he said.

“The bottom line is when the train comes from North Korea via China, it has to be run by Chinese to get it operate on China’s rail system, and of course the engine car has to be Chinese,” Kim said.

One of the DF11Z engines used when Kim traveled to Beijing in January is seen in a photograph on a rail spotting website from June 2017, pulling a double-decker passenger train in Beijing.

Images on North Korean state media, meanwhile, have shown Kim arriving with different engines than those spotted in Beijing, suggesting the DF111Z trains now commonly associated with his trips are only used in China.

(Reporting by Josh Smith and Ju-min Park; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Hyonhee Shin in Hanoi; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: OANN

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Two out of three hotels accidentally leak guests’ personal data: Symantec

FILE PHOTO - A hand is silhouetted in front of a computer screen in this picture illustration taken in Berlin
FILE PHOTO - A hand is silhouetted in front of a computer screen in this picture illustration taken in Berlin May 21, 2013. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski

April 10, 2019

By Angela Moon

(Reuters) – Two out of three hotel websites inadvertently leak guests’ booking details and personal data to third-party sites, including advertisers and analytics companies, according to research released by Symantec Corp on Wednesday.

The study, which looked at more than 1,500 hotel websites in 54 countries that ranged from two-star to five-star properties, comes several months after Marriott International disclosed one of the worst data breaches in history.

Symantec said Marriott was not included in the study.

Compromised personal information includes full names, email addresses, credit card details and passport numbers of guests that could be used by cybercriminals who are increasingly interested in the movements of influential business professionals and government employees, Symantec said.

“While it’s no secret that advertisers are tracking users’ browsing habits, in this case, the information shared could allow these third-party services to log into a reservation, view personal details and even cancel the booking altogether,” said Candid Wueest, the primary researcher on the study.

The research showed compromises usually occur when a hotel site sends confirmation emails with a link that has direct booking information. The reference code attached to the link could be shared with more than 30 different service providers, including social networks, search engines and advertising and analytics services.  

Wueest said 25 percent of data privacy officers at the affected hotel sites did not reply to Symantec within six weeks when notified of the issue, and those who did took an average of 10 days to respond.

“Some admitted that they are still updating their systems to be fully GDPR-compliant,” Wueest said, referring to Europe’s new privacy law, or the General Data Protection Regulation, which took effect about a year ago and has strict guidelines on how organizations should deal with data leakage.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: OANN

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Trump says George P. Bush, Texas Land Commissioner, is ‘the only Bush that likes me’

President Trump apparently made clear on Wednesday during a visit to Texas who his favorite member of the Bush family is.

Speaking in Crosby, the president introduced Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush to the crowd, and asked him to meet him on stage.

TRUMP REACTS TO BARBARA BUSH CRITICISM: 'LOOK WHAT I DID TO HER SONS'

“Come here, George! This is the only Bush that likes me. This is the only one,” Trump called out. “Come here, I want to meet you!”

Bush is the oldest child of former Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and the nephew of former President George W. Bush.

President Trump on Thursday said George P. Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was a "great guy" as they met on stage in Crosy, Texas.

President Trump on Thursday said George P. Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, was a "great guy" as they met on stage in Crosy, Texas. (AP Photo/Juan DeLeon)

Trump said that Bush is a friend of his son, “and he’s a great guy.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Truly, this is the Bush that got it right,” the president said, as the two met on stage and chatted briefly. Bush, according to Trump, “is going far, he’s going places.”

While in Crosby, a city roughly 25 miles northeast of Houston, Trump signed two executive orders that he said will accelerate the approval of energy infrastructure projects in the U.S.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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U.S. oil prices hit three-month high amid OPEC-led output cuts

FILE PHOTO: A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport
FILE PHOTO: A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, U.S. June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Richard Carson/File Photo

February 19, 2019

SYDNEY (Reuters) – U.S. oil prices hit a three-month high on Tuesday, buoyed by production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $55.95 per barrel at 0034 GMT, up 36 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last settlement. Earlier in the session, they marked their strongest since Nov. 20 at $56.33 a barrel.

Prices had risen 2.2 percent on Friday, the last trading session due to a U.S. public holiday on Monday.

International Brent crude oil futures had yet to trade. They closed Monday up 0.4 percent, after touching their highest since Nov. 20 at $66.83 a barrel.

“OPEC and other major producers have done their part to stabilize prices by limiting output,” said Alfonso Esparza, senior market analyst, OANDA.

“Disruptions in crude supply have also taken prices higher despite the United States ramping up production levels and softer global demand.”

Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports in Dec fell to 7.690 million barrels per day (bpd) from 8.235 million bpd in Nov, official data showed on Monday.

U.S. energy companies last week increased the number of oil rigs looking for new supply by three to a total of 857, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in a report on Friday.

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Joseph Radford)

Source: OANN

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3 men shot dead at California home in upscale, gated community; homicide investigation launched

Authorities are investigating the deaths of three men who were shot and killed inside a California home located in a gated community Monday.

Los Angeles fire officials discovered the men’s bodies inside the Porter Ranch house after someone “associated with the people inside the house” called 911 and alerted police, Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Alan Hamilton said.

The shooting occurred just before 4 p.m. at the two-story home in Renaissance, an upscale gated community in the Porter Ranch neighborhood in Los Angeles County, FOX11 reported.

CALIFORNIA WOMAN CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY AFTER ALLEGEDLY DRAGGING DOG WHILE RIDING SCOOTER

"At this time, it looks like someone entered the residence and there were some shots fired. There are multiple victims of gunshot wounds down inside of the residence and we do not have any suspect information that is available at this time," Hamilton said.

Police did not identify a possible suspect in the deadly shooting.

Police did not identify a possible suspect in the deadly shooting. (FOX11 LA)

The motive of the shooting is under investigation and no arrests have been made.

Video of the crime scene showed shattered glass near the back door. Hamilton said investigators were combing through a “large crime scene” and looking for clues to piece together the events leading up to the men’s deaths.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

California Rep. Brad Sherman, who lives in Porter Ranch, told reporters Monday that he was at dinner when the incident occurred.

"Things can happen anywhere and at the same time, I think it's a very safe neighborhood," he said.

Los Angeles police urged anyone who has information related to the incident to come forward.

Source: Fox News National

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Japan’s Takeda no longer an IOC member: IOC

FILE PHOTO: Japanese Olympic Committee President Takeda looks on while addressing media in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda looks on while addressing the media after JOC board of directors meeting in Tokyo, Japan, March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

March 26, 2019

By Karolos Grohmann

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) chief Tsunekazu Takeda, who is under investigation in France for suspected corruption and will step down from his role in June, is no longer an International Olympic Committee member, the IOC said on Tuesday.

Takeda said last week he would step down from the JOC when his term ends and would also resign from the IOC. The Olympic body, however, said his membership ended on Tuesday.

“The IOC Executive Board recognized the resignation of Tsunekazu Takeda,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a news conference after a meeting of the executive board.

“With this recognition and in accordance with IOC regulation his secession of IOC membership takes immediate effect.”

French prosecutors have questioned Takeda in Paris and placed him under formal investigation in December for suspected corruption in Tokyo’s successful bid to host the 2020 Summer Games.

Takeda, who was president of the 2020 bid committee, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Takeda had been head of the JOC since 2001 and his resignation leaves a cloud hanging over both the national committee and the organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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Judge to consider new trials for 2 in pizza delivery killing

A state judge will consider new trials for two men convicted of killing a Louisiana high school student.

The Advocate reports Judge Brenda Bedsole Ricks on Monday set a timetable for arguments on the cases of James Skinner and Darrell Hampton.

Skinner and Hampton have long claimed they didn't kill Eric Walber. The 16-year-old, who delivered pizza, was found robbed, beaten and run over on a Tangipahoa Parish road in 1998.

In March 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Michael Wearry, the accused ringleader in the killing. The court found prosecutors violated Wearry's rights when they withheld evidence undercutting two witnesses.

Lawyers for Skinner and Hampton argue their clients' second-degree murder convictions rely on the same witnesses called by the same prosecutors who withheld the same information.

___

Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad, California, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Amit Dave and Mayank Bhardwaj

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc has sued four Indian farmers for cultivating a potato variety that the snack food and drinks maker claims infringes its patent, the company and the growers said on Friday.

Pepsi has sued the farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, exclusively grown for its popular Lay’s potato chips. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips.

PepsiCo is seeking more than 10 million rupees ($142,840.82) each for alleged patent infringement.

The farmers grow potatoes in the western state of Gujarat, a leading producer of India’s most consumed vegetable.

“We have been growing potatoes for a long time and we didn’t face this problem ever, as we’ve mostly been using the seeds saved from one harvest to plant the next year’s crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the four farmers sued by Pepsi.

Patel did not say how he came by the PepsiCo variety.

A court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of Gujarat, on Friday agreed to hear the case on June 12, said Anand Yagnik, the lawyer for the farmers.

“In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety,” A PepsiCo India spokesman said. “This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefiting from seeds of our registered variety.”

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

The All India Kisan Sabha, or All India Farmers’ Forum, has asked the Indian government to protect the farmers.

The farmers’ forum has also called for a boycott of PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips and the company’s other products.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

PepsiCo is the second major U.S. company in India to face issues over patent infringement.

Stung by a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, which is now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India over a cotton-seed dispute with farmers, Reuters reported in 2017. (reut.rs/2ncBknn)

(Reporting by Amit Dave in AHMEDABAD and Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Martin Howell and Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shradha Singh

CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co said on Friday it was considering spinning off its ethanol business after slim biofuel margins and Midwestern floods slammed the U.S. grains merchant’s profit, which tumbled 41 percent in the first quarter.

ADM said it was creating an ethanol subsidiary, which will include dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois.

The ethanol subsidiary will report as an independent segment, the company said, allowing options “which may include, but are not limited to, a potential spin-off of the business to existing ADM shareholders.”

Results were hit by the “bomb cyclone” blizzards that devastated the Midwest and Great Plains this year, causing massive flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, washing out rail lines and wreaking havoc in the moving and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat. One-sixth of U.S. ethanol production was halted.

In March, ADM warned Wall Street that flooding and severe winter weather in the U.S. Midwest would reduce its first-quarter operating profit by $50 million to $60 million.

“The first quarter proved more challenging than initially expected,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, with earnings down in its starches, sweeteners and bioproducts unit. Luciano said impacts of the severe weather ultimately “were on the high side of our initial estimates”.

Ongoing problems in the ethanol industry added to the problems and “limited margins and opportunities” for ADM, Luciano said.

The ethanol industry has been in the midst of a historic downswing due to the U.S.-China trade war, excess domestic supply and weak margins.

ADM, which had been an ethanol pioneer, signaled to Wall Street in 2016 that it was hunting for options and considering sales of its U.S. dry ethanol mills. Luciano told Reuters this year that offers ADM had received for the mills were too low.

In addition, ADM said it planned to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota, to produce higher volumes of food and industrial-grade starches.

Other major traders are alsy trying to distance themselves from struggling ethanol businesses. Louis Dreyfus Company BV spun off its Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Biosev in 2013. Rival Bunge sold its sugar book and has sought a buyer for its Brazilian mills since 2013.

ADM, which makes money trading, processing and transporting crops, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, has been looking to strengthen its core business. Last month it said it would seek voluntary early retirements of some North American employees and cut jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

The company expects to lower 2019 capital spending by 10 percent to between $800 million and $900 million.

Net earnings attributable to the company fell to $233 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $393 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $15.30 billion from $15.53 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents per share, while analysts on average had estimated 60 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration
FILE PHOTO: The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Slack Technologies Inc, operator of the popular workplace instant-messaging app, reported a loss of $140.7 million in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2019, the company said on Friday in a regulatory filing ahead of its planned public market debut.

The company said its daily active users exceeded 10 million in the three months ended Jan. 31, 2019.

Slack expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SK”, it said.

The San Francisco-based company is seeking to go public via a direct listing, making it the second big technology company after Spotify Technology SA to bypass the traditional route of listing shares through an initial public offering.

A direct listing is a cheaper way of becoming a public company as the process requires fewer investment banks and therefore lower fees.

In a direct listing, however, a company does not sell any new shares to raise money. Instead, it gives existing shareholders the opportunity to cash out.

Slack is the latest in a string of high-profile technology companies looking to go public this year. Lyft Inc, Pinterest and Zoom Video Communications have completed IPOs so far in 2019.

The company is hoping for a valuation of more than $10 billion in the listing, Reuters had previously reported. Some early investors and employees have been selling the stock at around $28, valuing the company close to $17 billion, Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge, a brokerage company, told CNBC on Thursday.

Slack set a placeholder amount of $100 million to indicate the size of the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

Its competitors include Microsoft Teams, a free chat add-on for Microsoft’s Office365 users.

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Anil D’Silva)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Candidate Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of an exit poll in Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit poll in a presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Matthias Williams

KIEV (Reuters) – Russia’s decision to make it easier for residents of rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to obtain a Russian passport is meant to test Ukraine’s new leader and the West should not recognize the documents, Lithuania’s foreign minister said on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the order on facilitating passports on Wednesday, three days after comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political novice, won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election.

Linas Linkevicius, whose own country also has strained relations with Moscow, told Reuters in an interview that the West should consider imposing new sanctions on Russia.

“This is a blatant violation of international law. And basically also a kind of test to the new (Ukrainian) leadership, which is also a usual game,” Linkevicius said.

“The least we can do (is) we shouldn’t recognize these passports. How to do that technically, it’s another issue to discuss. Also (we need) to look at additional sanctions,” said Linkevicius, whose small Baltic nation is a member of NATO and the European Union.

Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its support for armed separatists battling Kiev’s forces in eastern Ukraine. Some 13,000 people have been killed in that conflict despite a notional ceasefire signed in Minsk in 2015.

Linkevicius, who in Kiev on Friday became the first minister of an EU country since Ukraine’s election to meet President-elect Zelenskiy, said they had discussed the passport issue.

Zelenskiy also raised the possibility of resetting the Minsk ceasefire agreement without giving any concessions to Russia, Linkevicius said.

“DANGEROUS CANCER” OF GRAFT

The minister urged Zelenskiy to deliver on his electoral promise of tackling corruption, which he described as the “most dangerous cancer” facing Ukraine, which hopes one day to join the EU.

Last month, Lithuania’s own relations with Russia came under renewed strain after a Vilnius court found former Soviet defense minister Dmitry Yazov, in absentia, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in a 1991 crackdown against Lithuania’s pro-independence movement.

Russia branded the verdict “extremely unfriendly and essentially provocative” and opened a probe into the judges involved.

Linkevicius accused Russia of seeking to politicize the judicial process by trying to take revenge on the judges, adding: “This is lamentable.”

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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A Cook County judge recently called out embattled State Attorney Kim Foxx for upholding a double standard by prosecuting a woman for filing a false police report — but dropping similar charges against embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.

Foxx has faced intense criticism over her office’s decision to drop a 16-count indictment against Smollett, just weeks after bringing the charges against the high-profile TV star. Foxx’s deal with Smollett, which did not require him to admit guilt, drew ire from the public, the city’s top cop and the former mayor who called it a “whitewash of justice.”

JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHICAGO PROSECUTOR KIM FOXX CHIDED BY NATIONAL ATTORNEYS GROUPS AFTER JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHARGES DROPPED 

Cook County Judge Marc Martin, who was presiding over an unrelated case, chastised Foxx and her office for creating a situation where anyone charged with filing a false report would expect the same leniency her office afforded Smollett.

Candace Clark, 21, is facing one felony count of making a false report. Prosecutors accused her of giving a friend access to her bank account and then telling authorities the money had been stolen. She denies the charges and claims she’s the victim of Foxx’s double standard — something the judge weighed in on.

“Well, Ms. Clark is not a movie star, she doesn’t have a high-price lawyer, although, her lawyer’s very good. And this smells, big time,” Martin said to prosecutors during a recent hearing, Fox 32 reported. “I didn’t create this mess, your office created this mess. And your explanation is unsatisfactory to this court. She’s being treated differently.”

The judge continued, “There’s no publicity on this case. She doesn’t have Mark Geragos as her lawyer or Ron Safer or Judge Brown. It’s not right. And (if) I proceed in this matter, you’re just digging yourselves further in a hole. (If the) press gets a hold of this, it’ll be in a newspaper. Why is Ms. Clark being treated differently than Mr. Smollett?”

Foxx recused herself from the Smollett case in February but continued to oversee the investigation through text messages with her assistant Joseph Magats.

The text messages revealed Foxx called Smollett a “washed up celeb who lied to cops.” They also show she cautioned Magats about throwing the book at Smollett.

“Sooo……I’m recused, but when people accuse us of overcharging cases…16 counts on a class 4 becomes exhibit A,” Foxx wrote to Magats on March 8.

“Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16. On a case eligible for deferred prosecution I think it’s indicative of something we should be looking at generally. Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should,” she added, referring to the case of R&B singer R. Kelly, who was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with four women, three of whom were underage.

KIM FOXX’S CHIEF ETHICS OFFICER RESIGNS FOLLOWING SMOLLETT CONTROVERSY

President Trump said last month he asked for a federal review of Foxx’s decision to drop the charges against Smollett. He also called the actor “an absolute embarrassment to our country.”

The Smollett case garnered national attention and threatened to tear Chicago apart. It pit the police department and mayor against prosecutors and underscored the idea that wealthy people are somehow above the law.

Smollett told police he was attacked on Jan. 29 around 2 a.m. as he was returning home from a sandwich shop in Chicago. He said two masked men shouted racial and anti-gay slurs, poured bleach on him, beat him and tied a rope around his neck. He claimed they shouted, “This is MAGA country” — a reference to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

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After an intense investigation, police said Smollett staged the entire incident to drum up publicity for his career.

Smollett has strongly denied the accusations.

Source: Fox News National

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