March 19, 2019

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan joins board of Fox News' parent company

PUBLISHED 37 MIN AGO

Ashley Turner
@ASHLEY_MTURNER

KEY POINTS

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was appointed to Fox Corp.’s board of directors, the company announced Tuesday.

Fox Corp., which began trading publicly Tuesday morning following the completion of Walt Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox, owns Fox News and Fox Business as well as several sports channels and other holdings.

Ryan, who served as the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives before Democrats regained control, announced early last year that he was retiring from his role to spend more time with his family.

Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was appointed to Fox Corp.’s board of directors, the company announced Tuesday.

Fox Corp., which began trading publicly Tuesday morning following the completion of Walt Disney’s purchase of 21st Century Fox, is now parent company to Fox News and Fox Business as well as broadcast TV stations, several sports channels and other holdings.

Ryan will be joining the board along with Anne Dias, founder of Aragon Global Holdings; Chase Carey, chairman and CEO of Formula 1; and Roland Hernandez, CEO of Hernandez Media Ventures. Previously announced board members include Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch and Jacques Nasser.

Lachlan Murdoch, chairman and CEO of FOX, said in a statement that they are “thrilled” to welcome their new colleagues to the board.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/19/former-house-speaker-paul-ryan-joins-board-of-fox-news-parent-company.html

March 19, 2019

Rod Rosenstein staying at Justice Department 'a little longer'

Source: NBC News



Rod Rosenstein staying at Justice Department 'a little longer'

A Justice Department official declined to comment on whether the delay in Rosenstein's departure means Mueller is still not ready to deliver his report.

March 19, 2019, 10:27 AM EDT

By Julia Ainsley and Pete Williams

WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will stay at the Justice Department "a little longer," according to a senior Justice Department official.

Rosenstein had previously said he would leave in mid-March, noting during a public appearance on March 7 that it would be one of his final speeches.

Rosenstein recently discussed his upcoming planned departure with Attorney General William Barr, after which it was decided that he would stay on a little longer, the official said.

The departure of Rosenstein, who appointed special counsel Robert Mueller in 2017 and oversaw his Russia investigation until Barr was confirmed as attorney general earlier this year, was widely thought to be tied to the completion of Mueller's report. Many speculated Rosenstein would stay on until Mueller completed his investigation and delivered a report on his findings to Barr.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/rod-rosenstein-staying-justice-department-little-longer-n984791?cid=public-rss_20190319

March 19, 2019

Brown: Trump 'finally woke up and acts like he wants to do something' about GM plant closure

By CAITLIN OPRYSKO 03/19/2019 09:42 AM EDT

Sen. Sherrod Brown said Tuesday that President Donald Trump "finally woke up and acts like he wants to do something" regarding the closure of an automotive plant in Ohio, accusing the president of doing little to save the jobs lost by the facility's closure.

The Ohio Democrat, who recently ruled out a run for president in 2020, ripped Trump in an interview on CNN’s “New Day” for failing to heed his warnings about the General Motors plant in Lordstown, Ohio, that began laying off workers in 2016 before shutting down last week, arguing that there’s no way Trump could claim ignorance about the plant being in danger.

“We just finally woke him up. I mean, I've been talking to him about this plant for over a year,” Brown said. “He, I assume, gets briefings about a major auto layoff in a major state. He should know that.”

Brown said that Trump’s defenses for letting the plant close — despite successfully campaigning in the Midwest to revive the region's declining manufacturing sector — are evidence that the president will continue to pass off blame and refuse to accept any responsibility while he keeps railing against the plant’s closure on Twitter.

Trump over the weekend demanded that GM and local union leaders work to reopen the plant, even if that meant selling it. GM last year announced that it would shutter a handful of plants in the U.S. and Canada because of a lack of demand for the Chevrolet Cruze sedans made at the plants.

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https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/19/trump-brown-ohio-gm-1226897

March 19, 2019

Team Biden Braces to Be Clobbered From Both Sides

The former vice president’s supporters seem clear-eyed about the challenges that await him in a presidential primary and think Biden’s record will speak for itself.

Gideon Resnick
03.19.19 4:10 AM ET

DOVER, Delaware—Joe Biden and his allies know the criticism coming their way. The former vice president's brand of politics is too outdated, his ideology too centrist, his career too riddled with bad compromises and even worse votes. And yet, as Biden readies to formally announce his third presidential bid in the coming weeks, they aren’t only prepping for the attacks ahead, they don’t think it will ultimately have much of an impact.

“I don’t think that Joe Biden wrings his hands about his legacy one bit given what he has accomplished as a senator, VP and family man. Regardless of whether he runs or he doesn’t run or if he runs and wins or loses he know who he is,” pollster John Anzalone, who has been advising Biden on a 2020 run, told The Daily Beast. “Joe Biden is a resilient, tough son of a bitch. You can quote me on that.”

Presidential campaigns are uniquely trying crucibles. Few know that better than Biden, who has launched two failed bids, one ending in controversy and the other with not much fanfare at all. Those bids have left some wary that a third run will end in similarly dispiriting fashion, only this time with a sterling reputation built up through decades of public service effectively diminished.

“He operated at a different time and environment and will have a lot to answer for,” a former Obama-Biden aide told The Daily Beast. “Look at Hillary Clinton’s numbers before she got into the 2016 race. The most popular moment is when you're a prospective candidate and a statesman who can shape the field from the outside. Being in presidential campaigns tends to be diminishing for everyone except for the victor.”

But those past runs also have given Biden and his team the type of experience that they believe can suit them well in 2020. Cognizant of the criticisms to come, they have begun the prebuttal process, readying endorsements, pitching him as the man to beat Trump, and stressing not just Biden’s electability but positioning him as instrumental to some of the most important pieces of progressive reform in the past few decades.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/team-biden-braces-to-be-clobbered-from-both-sides-hes-a-resilient-tough-son-of-a-bitch?ref=home

March 19, 2019

Indicted Oligarch Dmytro Firtash Praises Paul Manafort, Says Trump Has Third-Grade Smarts

The Ukrainian mogul, a background presence in the story of Russian influence in U.S. elections, praised Manafort’s savvy but dismissed Trump in an interview with The Daily Beast.

Betsy Woodruff
03.19.19 4:08 AM ET

VIENNA, Austria—An indicted Ukrainian oligarch who faces years in an American prison joked about President Donald Trump’s intellect and distanced himself from Paul Manafort’s business dealings in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with The Daily Beast at his palatial corporate offices in Vienna.

Dmytro Firtash is a Ukrainian oligarch-in-exile who controls much of the country’s natural gas distribution. He also befriended Manafort, did business with Russia’s state-owned gas behemoth, and became a target of Barack Obama’s Justice Department. He’s been a constant presence in the background of the story of Russian influence in the American elections—but now, he says American influence on Ukraine is the real story.

In recent years, Firtash has found himself at the heart of Ukrainian political fights with geopolitical consequences. The mogul, whose estimated net worth was $500 million in 2014, made his fortune after the Soviet Union’s collapse. He told The Daily Beast he moved from Ukraine to Moscow in the early days after the USSR fell to expand his food business. After making a deal with a group of Turkmen he met at the Rossiya Hotel—a now-demolished structure he described as “Soviet nice”—he traveled to Turkmenistan to try to get them to pay up. According to Firtash, the Turkmen told him they had very little cash but lots of gas. And since Moscow was not centrally managing the gas industry, they weren’t sure how to distribute and sell it. Firtash said that’s how he got started as a gas trader—squeezing his foot into a door that opened to fabulous wealth, extraordinary political power, and, ultimately, indictment.

His gas work also resulted in thick business ties with the Kremlin, including a 50-50 partnership with Russia’s state-backed Gazprom to sell gas in Ukraine. Russia-watchers often cite this as evidence Firtash is a Moscow front. Firtash, meanwhile, claimed Gazprom courted his business because they wanted his expertise in the Central Asian gas trade.

Because of his work in the gas industry, Firtash also met a man who would become one of the globe’s most notorious thugs: Semion Mogilevich, a Russian mob boss who has spent years on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. Before he was poisoned in the U.K., ex-Soviet spy Alexander Litvinenko claimed Putin and Mogilevich had a “good relationship,” as Business Insider detailed.

more
https://www.thedailybeast.com/indicted-oligarch-dmytro-firtash-praises-paul-manafort-says-trump-has-third-grade-smarts?ref=home

March 19, 2019

Ref Who Cut Black Teen Wrestler's Dreads Says He's Suffering 'Emotional Distress'

The New Jersey scholastic referee who forced a black teen wrestler to choose between having his dreadlocks cut or forfeiting a match has taken a step toward filing a lawsuit alleging defamation of character and emotional distress. Referee Alan Maloney caused fury when he refused to allow Buena High School wrestler Andrew Johnson to go ahead with his match unless his dreadlocks were cut off. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports Maloney has now sent a notice of tort claim to 12 possible defendants in which he alleges that he has lost $100,000 in income since the incident. The possible suit comes amid two pending investigations into the December match. The notice says Maloney has not been scheduled to officiate since December. “I think he’s just covering his bases,” said Dominic Speziali, a Philadelphia lawyer who represents Johnson and his family. “To the extent that he plans to file a claim as a victim in this incident is outright absurd.”

https://twitter.com/MikeFrankelJSZ/status/1075811774954463235

READ IT AT THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/ref-who-cut-black-teen-wrestlers-dreads-says-hes-suffering-emotional-distress

March 19, 2019

Rosenstein Agrees to Hang On at DOJ 'a Little While Longer,' Fox Reports

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has reached an agreement with Attorney General William Barr to stay on at the Justice Department “a little while longer,” according to Fox News. DOJ officials previously briefed that Rosenstein—who appointed the special counsel to investigate ties between Russia and the Trump campaign—would step down from his role in mid-March, but he’s reportedly yet to hand in his two weeks’ notice. It was thought he would quit as soon as Barr took office. Fox News reports Rosenstein would like to stay in his post until the Mueller investigation concludes, and sources confirmed to the channel that he’s still the primary liaison between department headquarters and Mueller’s office. However, Barr now has ultimate oversight over the Russia investigation. The probe is believed to be entering its final stages before its findings are handed to the DOJ.

READ IT AT FOX NEWS

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/rosenstein-agrees-to-hang-on-at-justice-department-a-little-while-longer-fox-reports?ref=home

March 19, 2019

Records show FBI was investigating Michael Cohen long before raid

Source: PBS/AP



By Associated Press

Mar 19, 2019 9:16 AM EDT

NEW YORK — Newly released documents show the FBI was investigating President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer for nearly a year before agents raided his home and office.

A search warrant released Tuesday shows the federal inquiry into Michael Cohen had been going on since July 2017 — far longer than had previously been known.

The FBI raided Cohen’s Manhattan home and office last April and seized more than 4 million electronic and paper files.

A judge ordered the warrant released with redactions after media organizations including The Associated Press requested it be made public.

Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/records-show-fbi-was-investigating-michael-cohen-long-before-raid

March 19, 2019

ISIS Camp In Baghouz Is Captured, As U.S. Allies Declare Progress In Syria

Source: NPR




March 19, 20198:55 AM ET
BILL CHAPPELL

Twitter

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces are now in control of an ISIS encampment in Baghouz, after weeks of operations and attacks on the village. But isolated gun battles are continuing in the area, seen as ISIS's last remaining redoubt.

"This is not a victory announcement, but a significant progress in the fight against Daesh," said Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF press office. In a tweet, he added, "Clashes are continuing as a group of ISIS terrorists who are confined into a tiny area still fight back."

The last holdouts of ISIS have been largely confined to Baghuoz since last month. The Kurdish-led SDF launched a new offensive on March 10, after slowing its push to allow civilians to flee — and to let thousands of ISIS fighters and their families surrender.

https://twitter.com/mustefabali/status/1107979388484837376

In the final push to control Baghouz, the SDF blew up an ammunition storage area and slowly pried positions away from ISIS. On Tuesday, the SDF captured hundreds of sick or injured ISIS militants and sent them to nearby hospitals, Bali said.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/19/704730563/isis-camp-in-baghouz-is-captured-as-u-s-allies-celebrate-progress-in-syria?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news

March 19, 2019

US ambassador to Germany should be sent home over NATO spending row: Bundestag deputy speaker

Source: Politico-Europe



The top U.S. diplomat in Germany has been no stranger to stirring up controversy.

By LAURENZ GEHRKE 3/19/19, 12:45 PM CET Updated 3/19/19, 12:52 PM CET

The deputy speaker of Germany's Bundestag has called for U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell to be sent home after he criticized Germany over its planned NATO spending.

Wolfgang Kubicki said Germany's foreign minister "should declare Richard Grenell persona non grata immediately," Der Spiegel reported him as telling AFP Tuesday.

Kubicki, who is also vice president of the Free Democratic Party, demanded the U.S. diplomat's expulsion after Grenell criticized the budget of Germany's finance minister and said it was unacceptable that Germany was on track to miss a NATO defense spending target.

According to Germany's latest budget plan, defense spending is set to rise to 1.37 percent of GDP next year but then decline in the medium term. NATO member states are meant to be aiming to spend at least 2 percent of GDP on defense by 2024 — a particular bugbear of U.S. President Donald Trump, who wants to see European allies pick up more of NATO's costs.

Read more: https://www.politico.eu/article/us-ambassador-to-germany-should-be-sent-home-over-nato-spending-row-bundestag-deputy-speaker-richard-grenell-kubicki-budget-defense-spending/