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(CNN)Demetrius Anderson walked out of a Connecticut state prison in 2006 thinking he was ready to leave behind his criminal past and build a new life as an upstanding citizen.

Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/29/us/connecticut-man-fighting-prison-return/index.html

Judge Bates said that the final rule issued by Mr. Trump and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta “creates absurd results under the Affordable Care Act.” For example, he said, two business owners who have no employees would be treated as both employers and employees.

Likewise, he said, a group of 51 individuals, none of whom employ anyone, would be treated as 52 employers (counting the association as an employer) and 51 employees and would be free from many requirements of the Affordable Care Act that apply to health insurance in the individual and small-group markets.

The Trump administration’s attempt to squeeze self-employed individuals into the definition of employer is “a magic trick,” and the rationale offered by the Labor Department is a sleight of hand, Judge Bates said.

Moreover, he said, in issuing its rule for small business health plans, the Trump administration ignored the language and purpose of both the Affordable Care Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, known as Erisa.

The final rule, he said, illegally “expands the definition of ‘employers’ to include groups without any real commonality of interest and to bring working owners without employees within Erisa’s scope.”

“Because the final rule stretches the definitions of ‘employer’ beyond what the statute can bear, the final rule is unlawful” under the Administrative Procedure Act, which sets the standards for federal rule-making, the judge said.

Republicans in Congress have been trying for two decades to promote association health plans through legislation. Using his regulatory authority, Mr. Trump tried to do what Congress could not accomplish.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/us/politics/trump-judge-health-care.html

Special counsel Robert Mueller after attending church on March 24, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

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Special counsel Robert Mueller after attending church on March 24, 2019, in Washington, D.C.

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Days after Attorney General William Barr released his four-page summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report, overwhelming majorities of Americans want the full report made public and believe Barr and Mueller should testify before Congress, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.

Only about a third of Americans believe, from what they’ve seen or heard about the Mueller investigation so far, that President Trump is clear of any wrongdoing. But they are split on how far Democrats should go in investigating him going forward.

“People clearly want to see more about the report,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll. “They want it released publicly, are eager to see the principals — Mueller and Barr — testify, because they want to see how the sausage was made. They want to see how we got to this point.”

At the same time, 56 percent said Mueller conducted a fair investigation, and 51 percent said they were satisfied with it. That included 52 percent of independents who said they were satisfied with the investigation. It’s one of the rare questions in the first two years of the Trump presidency in which a majority of independents sided with Republicans instead of Democrats on a subject.

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The other prominent area where independents have sided with Republicans is on impeachment. An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll last year found that pushing impeachment would not be a winning issue for Democrats.

The summary “could be somewhat of a blessing in disguise for Democrats,” Miringoff said, “because there’s no massive pressure saying, ‘Look at this report, look at this summary — we have to move forward with impeachment.’ “

Americans: The Barr letter is not enough

Overall, three-quarters said the full Mueller report should be made public. That included a majority of Republicans (54 percent). Just 18 percent overall said Barr’s summary is enough.

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Two-thirds (66 percent) also said they want Mueller to testify before Congress, and 64 percent said the same for Barr.

Trump not in the clear with the public

President Trump speaks to supporters during a rally Thursday in Grand Rapids, Mich.

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President Trump speaks to supporters during a rally Thursday in Grand Rapids, Mich.

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Almost six in 10 (56 percent) said that questions still exist, with just 36 percent saying Trump is clear of any wrongdoing. That latter figure is close to where Trump’s approval rating has been throughout his presidency.

In this poll, Trump’s approval rating is 42 percent. That’s up slightly (but within the margin of error) from January, when it was 39 percent and unchanged from December.

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But that doesn’t mean the public wants Democrats to go far down the collusion or obstruction-of-justice rabbit hole of investigations.

On the issue of obstruction, the Mueller report, as summarized by the Barr letter, noted that Mueller did not come to a conclusion on whether charges should be brought against the president. But Mueller said his report did not “exonerate” the president either. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided against charging the president.

The country was split 48 to 46 percent on whether Barr’s decision not to charge the president should stand or if Congress should continue to investigate obstruction of justice by the president.

What’s more, the country was similarly split, 48 to 45 percent, on whether Democrats should hold hearings to further investigate the Mueller report or end their investigations.

“I think they’re on safe footing to want the full report released” and to bring in Barr and Mueller, Miringoff said, adding, “But don’t start saying there’s still collusion, don’t go for obstruction of justice, because then they’re barking up the wrong tree.”

Views of Mueller spike with Republicans

Mueller enjoys an overall positive rating among Americans, with 38 percent favorable, 25 percent unfavorable and roughly a third (37 percent) unsure or never heard of him.

That’s a big change from December, when Mueller was viewed more negatively (33 percent) than positively (29 percent).

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That change is largely due to Republicans viewing him far more favorably now, after Barr’s letter was released. In December, just 8 percent of Republicans viewed him favorably, while 58 percent viewed him negatively. After the Barr letter, the proportion of Republicans viewing Mueller positively jumped to 32 percent.

Overall, views of Trump are generally where they have been. In addition to the consistency of his approval rating, about the same percentage of people compared to last July think he did something either illegal or unethical in his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin — 57 percent now compared to 53 percent then.

What’s more, 54 percent of registered voters said they are definitely voting against him in 2020. That is about where it was in January, when 57 percent of registered said so. And, remember, in the 2016 election, 54 percent of people voted for someone other than Trump.

Of Trump’s standing and the political climate, Miringoff put it this way: “Despite the two years of attention, focused on Russia and the convictions and all that, it pretty much is exactly where it was.”

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll was conducted March 25 through March 27, surveyed 938 adults and has a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points. There were 834 registered voters surveyed. Where they are referenced, there is a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percentage points.

Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/03/29/707713994/poll-after-barr-letter-overwhelming-majority-wants-full-mueller-report-released

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    Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/29/africa/ethiopian-airlines-stall-control-feature-intl/index.html

    LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May scrambled on Thursday for a way to secure a new delay to Brexit in the face of parliamentary deadlock by setting out plans for a watered-down vote on her EU divorce deal to be held on Friday.

    Lawmakers will vote on May’s withdrawal agreement at a special sitting but not on the framework for future relations with the EU she negotiated at the same time, a maneuver which sparked confusion among lawmakers.

    Britain agreed with the EU last week to delay Brexit from the originally planned March 29 until April 12, with a further delay until May 22 on offer if May could get her divorce package ratified by lawmakers this week after two failed attempts.

    “The European Union will only agree an extension until May 22 if the withdrawal agreement is approved this week,” House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom told lawmakers. “Tomorrow’s motion gives parliament the opportunity to secure that extension.”

    May’s Brexit package, comprising the legally binding withdrawal agreement and a more general political declaration on the future relationship with the EU, has been overwhelmingly rejected by lawmakers on two previous occasions.

    It remains uncertain how, when or even whether the United Kingdom, the world’s fifth-biggest economy, will leave the EU. The risks that it could crash out as early as April 12 without a transition deal to soften the shock to its economy, or be forced into a long delay to the departure date to hold a general election, have increased as other options have faded.

    May’s struggles to pass her deal have thrown the process into chaos, resulting in Brexit being put off and even a pledge from the premier to quit if that is what it takes to win over eurosceptic opponents in her Conservative party to the plan.

    Although it cannot clinch approval of May’s deal in legal terms, Friday’s vote now dares Conservative eurosceptics to vote against the government on the very day that Britain was due to leave the bloc, a goal they have cherished for decades.

    Parliament’s speaker said he would allow the vote to go ahead as it would be on the withdrawal deal only and so did not break rules against bringing the same package back more than once in the same session of parliament.

    CONFUSION AT MAY’S NEW GAMBIT

    But angry and confused lawmakers from the opposition Labour Party demanded to know whether the government’s motion was legal. Lawmaker Stephen Doughty said: “This just looks to me like trickery of the highest order.”

    On Wednesday, May offered to resign if her Brexit package was passed, securing support from some high-profile critics in her party. But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up her minority government, said it still opposed the deal, denying her votes she desperately needs to pass it.

    “Things change by the hour here but I’m not expecting any last minute rabbits out of the hat,” DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds told the BBC on Thursday.

    May’s deal means Britain would leave the EU single market and customs union as well as EU political bodies. But it requires some EU rules to apply unless ways can be found in the future to ensure no border posts need to be rebuilt between British-ruled Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

    Many Conservative rebels and the DUP object to this “Irish backstop”, saying it risks binding Britain to the EU for years.

    A bid on Wednesday by lawmakers to seize control of the Brexit process in the face of government disarray with a series of “indicative votes” on alternatives to May’s deal yielded no majority for any of them.

    However the option calling for a referendum on any departure deal, and another suggesting a UK-wide customs union with the EU, won more votes than May’s deal did two weeks ago. Lawmakers will have another go at the more popular options on Monday.

    Labour Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said that May’s vow to resign if her deal was passed meant Britain was headed to a “blindfold Brexit”, which would be exacerbated by a vote which did not encompass the political declaration on future relations.

    “We would be leaving the EU, but with absolutely no idea where we are heading,” Starmer said. “That cannot be acceptable and Labour will not vote for it.”

    With May floundering in her effort to get her Brexit package approved, EU officials and diplomats said on Friday Britain was more likely than ever to tumble chaotically out of the EU.

    They said the bloc would push ahead with contingency preparations next week and was gearing up for an emergency Brexit summit the week after, probably on April 10.

    Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, William James Kylie MacLellan and Michael Holden; Writing by Alistair Smout; Editing by Mark Heinrich

    Source Article from https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu/may-plans-watered-down-brexit-vote-to-secure-departure-delay-idUSKCN1R92IT

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    (CNN)A federal district court judge Thursday blocked another Trump administration effort to undermine Obamacare.

      Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/28/politics/trump-obamacare-courts/index.html

      It’s amusing that every Democrat in the Senate was too scared to vote for the Green New Deal. They are, in Margaret Thatcher’s language, “frit.”

      The fright is ironic because nearly every candidate for the 2020 Democratic nomination has lauded the Green New Deal as the next big thing, and some of those praising it are even in the Senate.

      This shows what a gulf there can be between what the party activists want and what the nation does, which is fortunate. There’s also that gaping gulf between what the party activists want and what we really should be doing. Yea, even on climate change, even the Green New Deal.

      The Green New Deal’s central conceit is that climate change is such an imminent and catastrophic problem that we’ve got to mobilize the entire resources of society to avert it. I happen to think that there is a problem here, one we should do something about, yet it’s neither looming nor a catastrophe. But then, that’s because I’m informed on the subject, having read the reports and the studies and even understood them. Green New Deal proponents then tell us that the way to mobilize the entirety of society is through government bureaucracy, though there isn’t anyone who can honestly say that committees are an effective way of getting something done.

      But then, that’s just being sensible and adult when there’s a deeper misunderstanding by the Green New Deal’s proponents. They seem to think that government beats markets, and that’s simply not true.

      Look at Turkey right now. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thinks the value of the lira is different from what the markets think. It’s the latter who will win, as it was George Soros and others who beat the Bank of England in 1992. And it was the markets that beat global governance in the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s. Markets work. Government, not so much.

      Governments can influence markets, most certainly, but they can’t abolish them, ignore them, or refute their messages. Looking east from the Brandenburg Gate in 1989 proved that for generations to come. And that’s the problem with the Green New Deal: It thinks the larger the problems, the more we must use governance. Instead, the greater the problems, the more we should influence markets as our tool. They are the only thing we’ve got strong or fast enough to work.

      An example of this is a report from the Manhattan Institute. We simply don’t yet have the technologies necessary to live without fossil fuels. We certainly can’t run a grid, for example, that relies on such intermittent supplies. We lack not the political will or the money, but the know-how. We face uncertainty, that is, as to how we should even try to achieve that goal.

      Uncertainty is something for which you can’t plan. We do know what our goal is: less or, if possible, no fossil fuel use. How we get from here to there is the problem. And if we do want to mobilize the entire society to work on the problem, then we need to do so. Changing prices in markets will help.

      As I pointed out before, there are possible new technologies such as space solar. We don’t know whether it’s going to be economic, but let’s experiment. Or maybe to reduce gasoline usage we should move houses, have a smaller car, or get a smaller engine. Why not all of those? That’s the very thing that changed prices do for us. Everyone faces those incentives; thus, everyone is influenced by them.

      Think on it. The Green New Deal is giving Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a $93 trillion checkbook and hoping she gets it right. That would not work out well.

      If you change prices with a carbon tax, however, all 320 million of us gnaw away at the bone of this problem. Many of the things we try won’t work, but some will. And we humans aren’t quite monkey see, monkey do. We’re a type of ape, but we do copy what works and drop what doesn’t.

      So, what actually works in mobilizing the entire society to solve a problem? Here, obviously, it’s the carbon tax. And the more urgent you think climate change is, the more you should support that, rather than bureaucrats writing environmental impact statements.

      You see, there is a reason why 78 percent of economists think prices, not regulations, are the way to beat climate change, and why more than 3,300 economists, including 27 Nobel laureates, signed up to endorse such a plan. You know, it’ll work. And guess what? They’re not also asking for control of that $93 trillion, either.

      Tim Worstall (@worstall) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’ s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a senior fellow at the Adam Smith Institute. You can read all his pieces at the Continental Telegraph.

      Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-green-new-deals-misguided-plan-to-combat-climate-change

      President Trump returned to a favorite campaign theme at his rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday night, mocking Democrats’ Green New Deal as “an extreme, $100 trillion government takeover” of the economy.

      “I’d rather not talk about it tonight, Trump told his audience, “because I don’t want to talk them out of it too soon. Because I love campaigning against the Green New Deal. I want them to make that a big part of their platform.”

      The plan, championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., calls for the U.S. to shift away from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and replace them with renewable sources such as wind and solar power. It also calls for virtual elimination by 2030 of greenhouse gas emissions that have been tied to climate change. Opponents of the plan have seized on background materials briefly published on Ocasio-Cortez’s website, which included a promise that the proposal would include guaranteed economic security even for those “unwilling to work” and a line that noted, “We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast.”

      GREEN NEW DEAL FAILS SENATE TEST VOTE AS DOZENS OF DEMOCRATS VOTE ‘PRESENT’

      “No more airplanes, no more cows,” Trump said. “One car per family … You know, I don’t think one car per family in Michigan plays too well, do you agree? Not too well.

      “And it’s got to be, of course, an electric car,” the president went on as the crowd jeered the Green New Deal. “Even if it only goes, what? 160 miles? What do you do? It’s 160 miles. Darling, where do I get a charge? Where do I get a charge?”

      CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

      Trump’s jabs came days after 42 Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., voted “present” on a non-binding resolution that would have begun debate on the Green New Deal. Not a single senator voted to break the filibuster, while 57 senators — including three Democrats and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine — voted “no.” In addition to Sanders, five Democratic presidential candidates who have previously backed the Green New Deal voted “present”: Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

      Democrats described the vote, orchestrated by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as a “sham vote” meant to avoid a genuine debate on the effects of climate change.

      The Associated Press contributed to this report.

      Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-mocks-green-new-deal-pokes-fun-at-electric-cars-during-michigan-rally

      <!– –>

      The U.S. and China have no choice but to conclude ongoing trade negotiations, most likely in the next month or so, former U.S. ambassador to China Max Baucus said Thursday.

      “The talks will conclude. They have to,” Baucus told CNBC’s Martin Soong at the Boao Forum for Asia in the Hainan province of China. “U.S, China, we’re so closely joined at the hip economically, we got to get this thing done.”

      “There’s some feeling here maybe — by the end of April, maybe a little longer — but we’ll get it done,” Baucus said, noting that otherwise, U.S. stock markets and China’s already slowing economy would be negatively impacted.

      President Donald Trump has often compared his political success with the U.S. stock market, which has pushed higher over the last 10 years in the longest bull market in history. Meanwhile, official figures showed China’s economy grew at its slowest pace last year since 1990, and authorities expect the rate to slow further this year.

      For those reasons, Baucus said there is greater impetus for the U.S. to make a deal with China.

      He also said the near-term fallout of nuclear talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February should not be used as an example for how trade negotiations between the world’s two largest economies might end.

      The question for Beijing is whether Trump will live up to his side of the deal, said Baucus, who was the U.S. ambassador to China from 2014 to 2017 under President Barack Obama.

      The Trump administration is also looking for ways to ensure enforcement on China’s side.

      A meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, originally expected for the end of this month, has been delayed.

      For now, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to hold trade talks in Beijing beginning Thursday. The Chinese delegation under Vice Premier Liu He is expected to lead a team to the U.S. next week.

      Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/28/us-china-trade-talks-must-conclude-former-ambassador-says.html

      In his first major rally since Special Counsel Robert Mueller cleared him of any collusion with Russia, President Trump took the stage before a boisterous full house at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Thursday night — and proceeded to tear into Democrats and the FBI as unintelligent “frauds” who tried desperately to undermine the results of the 2016 election.

      “The Democrats have to now decide whether they will continue defrauding the public with ridiculous bullsh–,” Trump said to thunderous applause, “– partisan investigations, or whether they will apologize to the American people.”

      Trump continued to unload on his opponents: “I have a better education than them, I’m smarter than them, I went to the best schools; they didn’t. Much more beautiful house, much more beautiful apartment. Much more beautiful everything. And I’m president and they’re not.”

      Addressing counterprotesters outside the arena and progressives in general, Trump asked: “What do you think of their signs, ‘Resist?’ What the hell? Let’s get something done.”

      EXCLUSIVE: FBI TEXTS OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS SHOW DOJ WARNED OF ‘BIAS’ IN KEY SOURCE USED TO SPY ON TRUMP AIDE

      Later, Trump vowed to “close the damn border” unless Mexico halts two new caravans he said have been approaching the United States rapidly. Trump also hit at fraudulent asylum applicants, saying liberal lawyers often have coached them in a “big fat con job” to claim they’ve feared for their lives when they make it to the border.

      The economy, Trump said to sustained cheers, “is roaring, the ISIS caliphate is defeated 100 percent, and after three years of lies and smears and slander, the Russia hoax is finally dead. The collusion delusion is over. … The single greatest political hoax in the history of our country. And guess what? We won.”

      “I love campaigning against the Green New Deal,” Trump remarked at one point. “One car per family — you’re going to love that in Michigan.”

      Trump predicted that the former DOJ and FBI officials who pushed the collusion theory and authorized secret surveillance warrants against members of his campaign — whom he incidentally called “major losers” — would soon have “big problems.”

      Trump also characterized the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee as “little pencil-neck Adam Schiff, who has the smallest, thinnest neck I’ve ever seen,” and someone who is “not a long-ball hitter.”

      Schiff, D-Calif., who fiercely pushed collusion claims, has vowed to continue investigating Trump despite Mueller’s findings — even as Republicans have called for his resignation.

      Trump’s rally prompted thousands of supporters to line the streets hours beforehand in a festive atmosphere that included vendors selling “Make America Great Again” hats and holding supportive signs.

      People waiting for President Donald Trump to speak at the rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

      The evening was something of a homecoming: Trump became the first Republican in over two decades to win Michigan in the 2016 presidential election, edging out Hillary Clinton thanks, in part, to his decision to cap off his campaign with a final rally in Grand Rapids shortly after midnight on Election Day. “This is our Independence Day,” Trump told roaring attendees then.

      FOX NEWS EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP VOWS TO RELEASE FISA DOCS THAT KICKSTARTED RUSSIA PROBE

      Thursday night’s event, though, was a mixture of homecoming and all-out victory parade, in the wake of Mueller’s conclusions. Enthusiastic fans — including many who stood by Trump amid a torrent of unproven allegations that he conspired with Russia to sway the 2016 election — began to encircle the Van Andel Arena as early as 3:30 a.m.

      Trump relived the Election Day rally on Thursday, telling the crowd that he got home at 4 a.m. in the morning and told Melania Trump that he had an “incredible crowd” late into the evening and thought, “How the hell can I lose Michigan? And guess what: We didn’t lose Michigan.”

      President Donald Trump speaking at the rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

      Trump also dropped what he called “breaking news” for locals, promising, “I’m going to get full funding of $300 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which you’ve been trying to get for over 30 years. It’s time.”

      Trump noted that MSNBC and CNN’s ratings “dropped through the floor last night,” while Fox News’ ratings were “through the roof.”

      Retired cabinet maker Ron Smith, 51, was one of the supporters who arrived to Thursday’s rally early. He told the Detroit News outside the arena that although “Republicans in Congress are trying to put stumbling blocks in his path,” nevertheless, “Donald Trump comes in here and gets stuff done.”

      FOX NEWS DOMINATES CNN, MSNBC IN RATINGS AFTER FALSE RUSSIA COLLUSION NARRATIVE IS TOTALLY DISCREDITED

      Separately, Trump called the Jussie Smollet case an “embarrassment” both to Chicago and to the U.S. and vowed to continue border wall construction.

      Trump also decried Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat who seemingly endorsed the practice of killing some infants after birth earlier this year.

      “In recent months, the Democrat Party has also been aggressively pushing extreme late-term abortion, allowing children to be ripped from their mother’s womb up until the moment of birth,” Trump said. “In Virginia, the governor stated he would even allow a newborn baby to be executed.”

      Senate Democrats blocked a GOP-led effort after Northam’s remarks that would have established the standard of care owed to infants who survive failed abortions.

      In remarks to reporters before he left the White House earlier in the day, Trump previewed a wide-ranging rally on everything from the economy to health care and border security. But there was little doubt the president would devote a good deal of time to a victory lap on Russia.

      Trump also promised to save the Special Olympics, after the Education Department proposed cuts to the program in its latest budget.

      “The Special Olympics will be funded. I just told my people, I want to fund the Special Olympics and I just authorized a funding of the Special Olympics,” Trump said. “I’ve been to the Special Olympics. I think it’s incredible and I just authorized a funding. I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people. We’re funding the Special Olympics.”

      In a fiery, exclusive interview with Fox News’ “Hannity” Wednesday night, Trump vowed to release classified documents that could shed light on the Russia probe’s origins. He also accused FBI officials of committing “treason” — slamming former FBI Director James Comey as a “terrible guy,” former CIA Director John Brennan as potentially mentally ill, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as a criminal.

      President Donald Trump arriving at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich., for his rally. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

      Redacted versions of FISA documents already released have revealed that the FBI extensively relied on documents produced by Christopher Steele, an anti-Trump British ex-spy working for a firm funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee, to surveil Trump aide Carter Page. At least one senior DOJ official had apparent concerns Steele was unreliable, according to text messages exclusively obtained last week by Fox News.

      The leaked dossier, and related FBI surveillance, kickstarted a media frenzy on alleged Russia-Trump collusion that ended with a whimper on Sunday. Trump, on Thursday, told the crowd in Michigan that the dossier was “dirty.”

      Michigan Democrats, meanwhile, organized a counter-rally nearby, with the party saying it wanted to issue a “call for action and solutions on the fundamental issues facing us all, like health care, education, clean water, equality, immigrant rights, support for our military veterans, jobs, the economy and more.”

      A handful of protesters separately waved “socialist alternative” flags and yelled, “No Trump, no KKK, no fascists, USA,” according to local reports.

      Republicans have maintained that Trump has a good chance to win Michigan again in 2020, although changing demographics could present some headwinds. In November, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer defeated a Trump-backed candidate to claim the state’s governorship.

      CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

      “Democrats are in a pickle and they put themselves here” by trumpeting the investigation, said Brian “Boomer” Patrick, communications director for GOP Michigan Rep. Bill Huizenga. “All the eggs were in one basket on the Mueller report.”

      At the end of the rally, Trump remarked, “the Democrats took the people of Michigan for granted. With us, you will never be forgotten again.”

      Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-in-first-rally-since-mueller-vindication-draws-huge-crowds-on-streets-of-grand-rapids

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      (CNN)Tensions are escalating between President Donald Trump and Puerto Rico’s governor over disaster relief efforts that have been slow in coming for the still-battered island after Hurricane Maria.

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        President Trump slammed the Jussie Smollett case in Chicago on Thursday, calling it an “embarrassment” to both the city and the country.

        “How about in Chicago?” Trump said. “He said he was attacked by MAGA country.”

        Trump did not name Smollett by name, but referenced Smollett’s January police report, in which the “Empire” actor said he had been attacked by two men who shouted, “This is MAGA country.”

        Smollett had been accused of staging a hate crime and filing a false police report, but this week the charges against him were dropped.

        The city of Chicago however, still wants $130,106.15 in the next seven days from Smollett, to cover the cost of the investigation into claims he was attacked.

        Trump added that this is “maybe the only time I ever agreed with the Mayor of Chicago.” (Rahm Emanuel has called the decision to drop charges an “abomination of justice.”)

        Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-rally-michigan-march-2019/index.html

        Media captionPresident Trump: “I want to fund the Special Olympics”

        President Donald Trump has said he is reversing a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics.

        His remarks came a day after education secretary Betsy DeVos was criticised for defending a proposed $17.6m (£13.5m) cut to the organisation, which is designed for disabled children.

        The request was included in Mr Trump’s $4.75tn federal budget, which was not expected to pass Congress.

        Mrs DeVos responded she had pushed for funding “behind the scenes”.

        “I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people. We’re funding the Special Olympics,” Mr Trump said of the world’s largest sport organisation for people with intellectual disabilities.

        Mrs DeVos rushed to clarify the contradiction on Thursday, tweeting: “I am pleased and grateful the President and I see eye-to-eye on this issue and that he has decided to fund our Special Olympics grant.”

        She had earlier told Congress the US Department of Education had to make “tough choices” following a 10% cut to her agency’s budget, adding that the nonprofit group should be funded through private donations.

        Image copyright
        Getty Images

        Image caption

        Education Secretary Betsy DeVos rushed to clarify her own support for the Special Olympics

        What was proposed?

        The cuts came as part of the administration’s proposed budget for the 2020 fiscal year, which totals $4.75tn, the largest in federal history.

        The budget request slashed $17.6m in for the Special Olympics, about 10% of the nonprofit organisation’s overall revenue.

        Majority of the group’s support comes from individual and corporate donations as well as fundraising campaigns.

        The spending plan also included more than $1tn in cuts to the Medicaid health programme for the poor and disabled, while allotting $8.6bn for the US-Mexico border wall.

        But the budget proposal is not expected to pass Congress, which much approve it.

        Who would the cuts affect?

        Andrea Cahn, the Senior Director of Unified Champion Schools for Special Olympics who runs the Unified Champion programmes in the United States says the budget cuts would have affected programmes in 6,500 schools.

        “The funding we receive from the US Department of Education is specifically for our Unified Champion schools programming,” says Ms Cahn though the budget cuts would not impact any state games, world games, or any ongoing competitions that are scheduled.

        Media captionMiddlesbrough gymnasts at Special Olympics World Games

        Raymond S Kellis High School in Arizona is one of the schools that has adopted this type of programme. It has enabled children with intellectual disabilities to be more outgoing says Michael Wakeford, a special education teacher and Unified Sports coach at the school.

        “It helps our society bring faith back to humanity in a divisive world in a place where it’s easy to fear what we don’t know and to fear what we don’t understand,” Mr Wakeford adds.

        What are the Special Olympics?

        The Special Olympics, founded in 1968 in Washington DC, provides year-round training, health education, community building and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. It currently serves over five million athletes across 190 countries.

        The sports organisation is separate from the Paralympics, which are mostly for elite athletes who have physical disabilities. Both groups are recognised by the International Olympics Committee.

        The US Special Olympics chapter provides trainings and competitions in 18 sports, including soccer, swimming, equestrian and basketball.

        The Special Olympics World Games, which took place in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, are held every two years.

        Reporting by Sarah Shaath

        Source Article from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47741015

        New York on Thursday sued the billionaire Sackler family behind OxyContin, joining a growing list of state and local governments alleging the family’s company, Purdue Pharma, sparked the nation’s opioid crisis by putting hunger for profits over patient safety.

        Jessica Hill/AP


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        Jessica Hill/AP

        New York on Thursday sued the billionaire Sackler family behind OxyContin, joining a growing list of state and local governments alleging the family’s company, Purdue Pharma, sparked the nation’s opioid crisis by putting hunger for profits over patient safety.

        Jessica Hill/AP

        New York state Attorney General Letitia James leveled the fiercest legal broadside yet against the Sackler family, owners of the privately-held Purdue Pharma which makes the powerful prescription painkiller Oxycontin.

        A civil suit filed Thursday accuses eight members of the family of personally contributing to the deadly opioid epidemic, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans over the last two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

        At a press conference, James described the Sacklers as “masterminds” of an illegal scheme that “literally profited off of the suffering and death” of New Yorkers and others around the US.

        “This lawsuit contains detailed allegations about the Sackler family and their attempt to hide the vast fortunes they collected at the expense of actual lives,” she added.

        State officials hope to force the Sacklers to forfeit some of that wealth — estimated as high as $13 billion, according to Forbes — to help pay the cost of curbing the addiction epidemic that still claims more than 130 lives every day.

        In a statement sent to NPR, the Sackler family “strongly” denied the allegations and declared that they would fight them in court.

        “Expanding this baseless lawsuit to include former directors of Purdue Pharma is a misguided attempt to place blame where it does not belong for a complex public health crisis,” the statement read.

        But New York’s 251-page suit claims to offer new details of how the Sacklers serving on Purdue’s board pushed year after year to boost the sale and consumption of their powerful opioid medications, reaping huge profits even as evidence mounted that the drugs posed a deadly risk.

        State officials claim they then squeezed the company, funneling billions of dollars out of its coffers into a complex network of trusts, subsidiaries and private off-shore accounts.

        “We allege that the family has illicitly transferred funds from Purdue to personal trusts, so that they are potentially outside the reach of law enforcement and our efforts to seek restitution,” James said.

        This suit is the latest indication of a profound reversal of fortune for the Sacklers, who once ranked among the wealthiest and most respected families in America. Known primarily as first-rank philanthropists, they supported institutions ranging from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to the Louvre in Paris.

        In recent months, however, legal documents made public in Oklahoma, Massachusetts and now New York have focused unprecedented scrutiny on the Sacklers and their controversial business practices.

        With Purdue executives now telling NPR that a bankruptcy filing is one of the options being considered, those attempting to sue Big Pharma over the opioid crisis have increasingly targeted the Sacklers’ vast private holdings. A January court filing by the Massachusetts attorney general also singled out eight of the family’s members who served on Purdue’s board.

        Just this week, the Sacklers agreed to donate $75 million of their personal wealth to help fund an opioid treatment and research facility in Oklahoma, as part of an agreement with that state’s attorney general. In a statement, the family described the funds as a “voluntary” donation, while Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter characterized it as the product of lengthy, combative negotiations.

        Source Article from https://www.npr.org/2019/03/28/707722556/new-york-lawsuit-claims-sackler-family-illegally-profited-from-opioid-epidemic

        The Senate soundly rejected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal 0-57 on Tuesday after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., allowed the resolution, co-sponsored by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., to come to the floor. In protest of the political move, Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., encouraged Senate Democrats to vote “present” on the resolution instead of “yes,” which all but three of them did.

        This week’s vote is the latest defeat for what has been a tumultuous rollout of the Green New Deal. In February, the plan was widely mocked in the media after the publication of a FAQ demanding policymakers “fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes” and “upgrade or replace every building in U.S.,” among other gems. The FAQ was quickly taken down from Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional website after the public embarrassment, but the Internet is forever.

        Conservatives may be tempted to laugh off the Green New Deal’s outlandish proposals. However, history suggests this would be unwise. As I warned last month, the Overton window of political possibilities teaches us that today’s punchline could be tomorrow’s policy.

        My personal experience as a recent master’s in public policy graduate of George Washington University underlies this point. The Green New Deal is not the singular brainchild of a millennial socialist. Rather, respected academics have taken seriously some of the zaniest ideas of the plan.

        To give one example, a sociology class I attended assigned a 2012 article by Stephen M. Wheeler, a landscape architecture and environmental design professor at University of California, Davis, that imagines a future society where many of the Green New Deal’s proposals are a reality.

        First, on reducing the use of airplanes, Wheeler’s green utopia has a universal cap on how much citizens can travel by plane, as other transportation options such as high-speed rail have supplanted the “wasteful” 20th-century mode of transportation:

        As for upgrading or replacing every building in the U.S., the green utopia of the future has not only done that, but gone further by demolishing almost all of them:

        What’s most telling from my experience was not the reading itself, but rather how my graduate classmates reacted to this vision of a world where world travel, thriving cities, and free trade were drastically curtailed: not with horror, but wonder.

        Ocasio-Cortez may seem like an anomaly today, but she is part of a generation of college graduates like myself who have been regularly fed such environmental fantasies where human civilization has sacrificed technology to become an inconsequential element of the earth. And unless America’s thought leaders stand up for human ingenuity, outlandish ideas such as the Green New Deal will be more likely to become a reality as young voters potentially embrace policymaking by make-believe.

        Casey Given (@CaseyJGiven) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner ‘s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the executive director of Young Voices.

        Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/academia-bolsters-the-green-new-deals-policymaking-by-make-believe

        <!– –>

        Warren Buffett doesn’t use an iPhone, despite the fact that the firm he founded and runs, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 5.5% of Apple.

        Instead, he uses a $20 flip phone: the Samsung SCH-U320, which is currently selling for between $20 and $30 on Ebay.

        Although Apple is Berkshire’s largest investment, its founder and leader lacks hands-on experience with the product that accounts for the majority of the company’s revenue. However, Buffett does use an iPad to check stock prices and do research.

        Buffett showed off his vintage technology during a during a talk Thursday at The Gatehouse’s Hands Up for Success luncheon.

        “Here’s my phone, incidentally. Alexander Graham Bell lent it to me and I forgot to return it,” Buffett joked.

        On Thursday, Buffett said that Apple can “afford a mistake or two” when breaking into new markets, including entertainment. Buffett has previously said that his interest in Apple shares is not because of the company’s short-term finances, but because he believes it has a strong brand and ecosystem.

        Buffett’s had his older phone for a while, and he even has an iPhone X — he just hasn’t set it up yet.

        “A fellow sent me a ’10’ the other day, but I’m not using it yet,” Buffett said. “Very nice fellow. He even explained it. I think he pretended he was writing to a three-year-old child. He wrote me this very nice letter and explained what to do with it — how it wouldn’t bite me or anything like that. I’m kind of screwing up my courage here and one of these days, I’ll move.”

        Apple CEO Tim Cook has said he would fly to Omaha to help Buffett set a new iPhone up.

        “I told him I’ll personally come out to Omaha and do tech support for him,” Cook said in an interview last year.

        Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

        Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/28/billionaire-warren-buffett-a-major-apple-investor-uses-a-20-flip-phone.html

        A newly enforced federal ban on firearm bump stocks will stay in place for the time being, after the Supreme Court again rejected efforts by gun-rights groups to delay its implementation.

        The devices allow semi-automatic weapons to fire with greater rapidity, like machine guns.

        An order issued Thursday was the second one from the high court. Chief Justice John Roberts turned aside a similar request earlier this week as litigation over the government’s new policy continues in federal court.

        President Trump signed an order on Feb. 20, 2018, directing the Justice Department to ban “bump stocks” and other gun modifiers that make semi-automatic firearms fire faster. The Trump administration’s ban went into effect Tuesday, and follows calls for action after the 2017 massacre in Las Vegas, where 58 people were killed by a gunman who modified his weapons with bump stocks.

        BUMP-STOCK BAN HAS GUN-RIGHTS ADVOCATES UP IN ARMS

        The case — Gun Owners of America, Inc. v. Barr — puts the Trump administration in an unusual position of arguing against gun-rights groups.

        “We must move past clichés and tired debates and focus on evidence-based solutions and security measures that actually work,” Trump previously said during a ceremony to honor the 17 victims of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

        Semi-automatic rifles with bump stocks could fire hundreds of rounds per minute, according to experts. They were originally created to make it easier for people with disabilities to fire a gun.

        The device essentially replaces the gun’s stock and pistol grip and causes the weapon to buck back and forth, repeatedly “bumping” the trigger against the shooter’s finger.

        WHAT ARE BUMP STOCKS?

        Since the Las Vegas shooting, states and cities increasingly pushed for legislation to ban the devices.

        Massachusetts became the first state to pass legislation banning the device after the incident. The state law, which went into effect Feb. 1, 2018, prohibits possession of the device under all circumstances. It also bans the possession of trigger cranks.

        CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

        The National Rifle Association (NRA) even called for an immediate review of bump stocks after the Vegas shooting.

        “The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations,” the NRA said in a statement at the time.

        Fox News’ Jennifer Earl and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

        Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-refuses-to-block-temporary-ban-on-gun-bump-stocks

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        Washington (CNN)US Attorney Jessie Liu has withdrawn herself from consideration for the No. 3 spot at the Justice Department, spokesperson Kerri Kupec said Thursday.

        Source Article from https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/28/politics/justice-department-jessie-liu/index.html

         

        WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on a proposal to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics (all times local):

        4:30 p.m.

        President Donald Trump says he is backing off a budget request to cut funding for the Special Olympics, after days of criticism.

        Trump told reporters at the White House Thursday, “I’ve overridden my people for funding the Special Olympics.”

        The Trump administration’s education budget proposal calls for the elimination of $17.6 million in funding for the Special Olympics, roughly 10 percent of the group’s overall revenue.

        RELATED: Athletes prepare for the Special Olympics




        Democrats pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on the topic during a Senate budget hearing Thursday, just days after House Democrats grilled her on the proposal and sparked criticism online.

        DeVos said she “wasn’t personally involved” in pushing for elimination of the funding, but she defended it as her agency seeks to cut $7 billion from the 2020 budget.

        __

        11:50 a.m.

        Education Secretary Betsy Devos is facing a new round of scrutiny over a proposal to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, a cut that lawmakers say is unlikely to be approved.

        Senate Democrats are pressing DeVos on the topic during a budget hearing, just after House Democrats grilled her on the proposal and sparked a wave of criticism online.

        DeVos says she “wasn’t personally involved” in pushing for elimination of the funding, but she is defending it as her agency seeks to cut $7 billion for the 2020 budget.

        Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin says “someone has to accept responsibility for a bad decision.”

        Source Article from https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/03/28/trump-backs-off-special-olympics-funding-cut/23702114/

        MAGNA, Utah — Democrats have mixed feelings about the results of the Mueller investigation.

        Attorney General William Barr’s summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report finding no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election has elicited a range of responses.

        Democratic lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are demanding that Barr release the full report and testify before a congressional panel. Meanwhile, in Magna, Utah, a group of Democratic voters gathered early Tuesday at the Brew Monkey Coffee House and Deli to discuss the report.

        The general consensus among the men, who asked that their names not be used to speak candidly, was that the Justice Department’s findings were far from the “complete and total exoneration” that President Trump claims.

        “I think it’s a cover-up,” one man said. “I’m going to tell you why. We have learned, Trump doesn’t pay his taxes. He doesn’t do anything legal. But yet, they think he’s going to be a legal president? I don’t think so. I disagree with that.”

        A group of Democratic voters gathered March 26 in Magna, Utah, to discuss the Mueller report.

        Another man said he always knew the report would come to nothing because Mueller is a registered Republican.

        “No collusion?” asked another. “First [Trump] stands up and holds up the emails and says, ‘Are you listening, Russia?’ Then he fires [Comey] and doesn’t have the balls to fire him in person because he’d kick [Trump’s] ass.”

        I asked the group whether, now that the report has been released, it was time for Democrats to move on. The general feeling was that they should not.

        “Let’s see the report and what comes out,” said one of the men.

        “What they really need to do is subpoena Mueller,” said another. “I want to hear from him. I don’t trust Barr. How can you go over that many days of testimony and come to a conclusion in a day and a half. Bullshit.”

        Shortly after our discussion at the coffee shop ended, Barr announced that the full Mueller report would be publicly released within weeks.

        My focus group consisted of eight men, all Democrats in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, including the mayor of Magna. Their friendships with one another stretch back to childhood, and they mixed political talk with reminiscences from high school basketball games and other events from their youth.

        A close-knit working class community, Magna is a former copper mining town a few miles west of Salt Lake City. It is represented by Republicans in the U.S. House and state Senate, and by a Democrat in the state House. “Make no mistake,” one man said. “This is a Democratic community, without a doubt.”

        Later, two other men joined our discussion, with one questioning Mueller’s impartiality. “He’s a lifelong Republican, don’t forget that,” he said. “And all these Republicans are telling him, ’You’re going to make America look bad if the president of the United States is a crook. We only have another year and a half left. We need to let this go.’ That’s what I think happened.”

        The group also offered their opinions on a variety of other topics — from the new tax law (“a scam”), to the strong economy (credit: former President Barack Obama), to the border wall (“a waste of money”) — before turning to Trump’s character and which Democrat has the best chance to beat him in 2020.

        “I served in the Army and the president is commander in chief,” one guy announced. “And I’m a good Democrat. There’s a lot of presidents I didn’t care for, but they’re still commander in chief. This has been the first one that I am ashamed of. Some of the things he’s done, the things he’s said. I wasn’t a Ronald Reagan fan, but I bet when [Trump] walked into the Oval Office the first time, Ronald Reagan spun in his grave like a windmill.”

        “He’s shameless in his lying,” another said of Trump. “They think Reagan was the Teflon president. They should look at Trump. Nothing sticks to him.”

        “We’re even loving Mitt Romney at this point,” one man said of the Utah Republican senator who at times has acted as a foil to Trump. “Didn’t think we’d ever say that!”

        “But at least he’s civil,” another added. “We’d take George W. Bush in a heartbeat.”

        “Didn’t think we’d ever say that!” the first repeated.

        “It’s so bad. I think Nixon would be better than Trump,” a third man said.

        Some of the men seemed nervous about Democrats’ chances of beating Trump in 2020.

        “Who can beat him?” I asked.

        California Sen. Kamala Harris and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke were mentioned. But the consensus seemed to be former Vice President Joe Biden, whose name elicited the following responses:

        “I like Joe.”

        “Joe’s a class act.”

        “I like Joe.”

        “He’s a damn good person. He’s had disasters in his life. He never goes after people personally.”

        “He’s a hell of a contrast to that idiot in there, and he’s the right guy.”

        We returned to the Mueller report near the end of our discussion. I asked the group whether they’d support further investigations by Democrats.

        “I don’t think so,” one man said. “It’ll hurt them because it’ll look like sour grapes.”

        “If they want to call for another report or call another investigation, fine, but don’t focus everything on it,” another man cautioned. “Don’t let everything else go.”

        Daniel Allott (@DanielAllott) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner ‘s Beltway Confidential blog. He is the author of Into Trump’s America and former deputy commentary editor at the Washington Examiner .

        Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/its-a-cover-up-democratic-voters-in-utah-react-to-mueller-findings