# Progressive Ousts 20-Year Incumbent in MA Primary Upset


The tide of scandal from inside the Trump administration is continuing to build as the president and his allies struggle  and fail  to avoid accountability for their actions. The president has sought to escape the Russia scandal, for instance, only to have it crash down upon his administration, with Special Counsel Robert Mueller so far having brought charges against four former associates of the president.

Theres now a new report about yet another scandal building inside the White House. Evidently, the fact that neither the president nor some of his closest allies had any experience with public service upon assuming their present positions isnt paying off, since they keep running afoul of ethics laws.

It has come to light that the office of the White House counsel is looking into the question of whether or not meetings that Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner had with the heads of a pair of financial institutions violated government ethics laws.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi was told as much by acting director of the Office of Government Ethics David Apol, whom Krishnamoorthi had pressed about the issue of the meetings in question.

I have discussed this matter with the White House Counsels Office in order to ensure that they have begun the process of ascertaining the facts necessary to determine whether any law or regulation has been violated and whether any additional procedures are necessary to avoid violations in the future. During that discussion, the White House informed me that they had already begun this process. I have asked the White House to inform me of the results of that process.

The meetings that Apol is referring to as possibly having facilitated a law or regulation being violated both took place last year. Kushner, who has taken on an array of roles within the White House, met with Joshua Harris, who co-founded the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, last year. In November, Apollo lent $184 million to the Kushner family business, which Jared himself formerly led.

Kushner also met with Citigroups chief executive Michael Corbat last year, and the firm consequently lent Kushner Companies $325 million.

Corbat has claimed to have had no knowledge of his bank being in the process of closing a real estate loan to the Kushner family business when he met with the presidents son-in-law last year. He is apparently the one to have requested the meeting in the first place, having sought to discuss U.S. trade policy.

As for Apollo, the company has similarly claimed that Harris had nothing to do with the massive loan to the Kushner family business.

News of the White House counsel looking into the question of whether or not Kushners meeting comes at an already perilous time for the presidents son-in-law and the Trump administration as a whole.

Kushner recently lost his temporary security clearance in the midst of a reshuffling of the entire process by which security clearances are granted inside the White House. That loss means that the real estate owner turned political leader had his work cut out for him.

Hanging over the entire administration is a cloud similar to the one hanging over Kushner in particular  that of the Russia scandal. Although the House Intelligence Committee has winded down its inquiry, Special Counsel Muellers investigation is still proceeding full steam ahead.

BREAKING Jared Kushner Put Under Intense White House Investigation DETAILS


The EUs chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said he is ready to come forward with an improved proposal on the Irish border in an attempt break the deadlock in the Brexit talks.

After briefing EU foreign ministers in Brussels, he insisted the EU offer would fully respect the territorial integrity of the UK.

He said the next full summit of EU leaders on October 18, would be the moment of truth when it would become clear whether it was possible for the two sides to reach a deal.

It is then we shall see whether agreement we are hoping for is in our grasp, he told a news conference.

The issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic has emerged as the main obstacle to an agreement ahead of the UKs withdrawal in March 2019.

The EU is insisting on a backstop proposal which would see Northern Ireland remain in the customs union in the event of the two sides failing to reach an agreement in order to avoid the return of a hard border.

But Theresa May has rejected the plan as unacceptable, arguing that it would effectively create a border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Barnier said he was working on a plan to de-dramatise the controls that would be necessary in the event of the backstop coming into play.

We are ready to improve this proposal. Work on the EU side is ongoing.

We are clarifying which goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK would need to be checked and where, when and by whom these checks could be performed, he said.

We can also clarify that most checks can take place away from the border at the company premises or in the markets. We need to de-dramatise the checks that are needed.

He reminded the British, however, that the checks were the result of their decision to leave not only the EU but also the single market and the customs union.

What we need in the withdrawal agreement is a legally operational backstop which fulls respects the territorial integrity of the UK.

It is a backstop that will only apply unless a better solution is found, he said.

His comments came as EU leaders prepare to gather in Salzburg on Wednesday for an informal summit - the first time they have met together since May published her Chequers blueprint for Brexit in July.

The Prime Minister is expected to brief the other 27 leaders on proposals over dinner and they will then have a separate discussion on Thursday after she has left.

Ahead of the meeting, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said it was time for the compromises made by the UK to be matched on the EU side.

In an interview with European newspapers, he said that there had to be movement on the Irish border issue.

What Im not going to do is to say that I would refuse to entertain any further proposals that the EU comes up with but theyve got to be respecting the equities that weve set out, he said.

While Barnier highlighted the October summit as the moment of truth, European Council president Donald Tusk confirmed that a further summit could be held in November to finalise an agreement.

In a letter to EU leaders ahead of the Salzburg meeting, he said he wanted to avoid the catastrophe of a no-deal Brexit.

He said the meeting should also reconfirm the need for a legally operational backstop on Ireland to avoid a hard border.

Tusk, who will chair the talks, also urged the leaders to work on limiting the damage caused by the UKs withdrawal.

Unfortunately, a no-deal scenario is still quite possible. But if we all act responsibly, we can avoid a catastrophe, he said.

EU To Offer Compromise On Irish Border Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier Says


After months of promising supporters that theyd magically be allowed to say MERRY CHRISTMAS again now that Trump has won the presidency because apparently, Christmas had been outlawed at some point, he now makes a point to exclude every other religious holiday in favor of saying the phrase at every opportunity, even if its a month too early.

Trump remembered for once to include his wife and family in his sentiments, but no one really cares. Do you?

Of course, Trumps Christmas wishes only extend to some people. For instance, hes not wishing peace to the hearts of any migrant woman who walked a thousand miles with a baby on her back to get her family to a better life. Transgender soldiers are also excluded this holiday season, as are Muslims, journalists, anyone from a sh*thole country, and Hillary Clinton. Hes offered no joy to the soldiers actively fighting in war who will get no visit from the president this Christmas, no cheer to the veterans going bankrupt waiting on VA payments for their housing and education, and no warmth to the haters and losers.

Its as if Trump just doesnt understand that he cant serve as the Twitter-troll-in-chief for 364 days a year and then play the statesman on social media when it suits him. There are few more xenophobic acts than insisting that white Christianity is superior to every other religion and that one group of people who celebrate a holiday are more important and deserve special recognition every year while ignoring everyone else.

Twitter wasnt exactly in the holiday spirit after reading Trumps tweet. Read some of their comments below:

Trump Tries To Tweet A Holiday Message After Being A Grinch All Day


She was renowned for her bel canto technique and her interpretations of the roles of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, as well as her 1987 collaboration with Freddie Mercury .

Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballe has died at the age of 85.

Frank Hoensch via Getty Images Montserrat Caballe has died at the age of 85

A spokesperson for the Hospital Sant Pau confirmed her death early on Saturday.

Montserrat had been staying in the Barcelona hospital since September after entering because of a gall bladder problem.

However, spokesman Abraham del Moral said the singers family had requested her cause of death not be released.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has paid tribute, saying: A great ambassador of our country has died. Her voice and tenderness will remain with us forever.

During her carrer, Montserrat starred in 90 opera roles with nearly 4,000 stage performances.

Montserrat Caballe Dead Spanish Opera Singer And Freddie Mercury Collaborator Dies Aged 85


She fell in her office.

BREAKING RUTH BADER GINSBURG HOSPITALIZED 85-year-old Justice Broke 3 Ribs


MINNEAPOLIS  John Gagliardi, who won more games than any other college
football coach with his unconventional methods at a small Minnesota school,
has died. He was 91.

St. Johns University said Gagliardi died Sunday. A cause of death was not
immediately known.

Gagliardi retired in 2012 after a record 64 seasons as a head coach, with 60
of those at St. Johns, an all-male private school in Collegeville, Minnesota.
Gagliardi finished with 489 victories, 138 losses and 11 ties, winning four
national championships with the Johnnies. But he drew as much national
attention to a school with fewer than 2,000 students with his laid-back
approaches to the sport. His policy was to not cut any players from the roster
and guide nonstrenuous practices that never exceeded 90 minutes.

John Gagliardi was not only an extraordinary coach, he was also an educator
of young men and builder of character, St. Johns President Michael Hemesath
said in a statement. John inspired deep and enduring loyalty and passion
among his players across the decades because he taught them lessons through
the medium of football that served them well in their personal and
professional lives long after graduating from St. Johns University. His is a
legacy any educator would be extremely proud of.

Gagliardi passed Gramblings Eddie Robinson for all-time coaching victories
with No. 409 in 2003 and again for all-time games coached with No. 588 in
2008. The major-college leader in wins is the late Joe Paterno, who finished
with 409 at Penn State.

The journey for Gagliardi began at Carroll College in Montana in 1949 when
three conference titles in four years changed that schools mind about
dropping the sport. He then moved east to St. Johns, a Catholic institution
founded in 1857 by Benedictine monks who came to minister to the influx of
German immigrants in central Minnesota. Though Gagliardi  born in the mining
town of Trinidad, Colorado  knew little about the school when he showed up,
he soon found his niche.

During the hiring process, the monks asked him if he could beat rival St.
Thomas and another conference foe, Gustavus.

I had never heard of them, Gagliardi said. But I said, Sure.'

St. Johns went 6-2 and won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
in his first season, his first of 27 MIAC titles.

When I came to Minnesota ... Id never seen television, Gagliardi said in a
2003 interview with The Associated Press. I was unmarried at the time, living
in the dorms. I asked them if I could have a TV set. They werent so sure at
first. But after we beat St. Thomas and Gustavus, they were like, You still
want that TV?'

Gagliardi is survived by his wife, Peg, two daughters, two sons and numerous
grandchildren.

John Gagliardi dies at 91 Colorado native was college footballs winningest coach


Melania Trump is not exactly a rocket scientist, the woman has been in the country for decades and her English is still hard to make out. Needless to say, shes not a master of anything, nor does she seem to have anything that interests her at all outside of buying clothes and accessories, and getting her hair and nails done.

No hobbies, and no pride in anything in particular. The woman barely even interacts with her own son. She has loneliness written all over her tightly-pursed face, but if you were going by her immigration record, youd think Melania Trump was a total genius.

Thats because the practically mute first lady is in the country on a Visa for people with extraordinary abilities. Also known as the Einstein Visa, the EB-1 program is designed for renowned academic researchers, multinational business executives or those in other fields, such as Olympic athletes and Oscar-winning actors, who demonstrated sustained national and international acclaim.'

The year that Knauss  now first lady Melania Trump  got her legal residency, only five people from Slovenia received green cards under the EB-1 program, according to the State Department. In all, of the more than one million green cards issued in 2001, just 3,376  or a fraction of one percent  were issued to immigrants with extraordinary ability, according to government statistics. Melania Trumps ability to secure her green card not only set her on the path to U.S. citizenship, but put her in the position to sponsor the legal residency of her parents, Viktor and Amalija Knavs. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that the couple is now close to obtaining their own citizenship.

Melanias track record isnt exactly impressive. Her resume reads like a middle-aged failed models resume should. Shes done very little, yet laughable work. WaPo reported that Melanias credentials included runway shows in Europe, a Camel cigarette billboard ad in Times Square and  in her biggest job at the time  a spot in the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, which featured her on the beach in a string bikini, hugging a six-foot inflatable whale.

Melania is also a college dropout, despite the proven lie on her website. Melania left school in Slovenia to come to New York to find the old man that would fund the rest of her life. And thats exactly what she did.

Dont forget the presidents tweet last November about chain migration; the program Melanias parents used to retain residency in the United States:

So apparently, Trump is allowed to lie on federal immigrations documents, and nothing is really done about it. This is why the man thinks he can say and do anything he wants with no regard for others. Hes been getting away with it for 71 years, and it doesnt look like that will be stopping any time soon.

Melanias Immigration Status Revealed What It Says Has Einstein Rolling Over In His Grave


Actor Sadie Frost is in talks with a young, up-and-coming actor to star in her next film. And who is the lucky leading man in the making? Her son, Rafferty.

Frost, who starred in Shopping, The Krays and Bram Stokers Dracula, started a career in film production in 2013, launching Blonde to Black Pictures with friend Emma Comley.

Their companys latest film, Two For Joy, stars Samantha Morton and Billie Piper and received critical acclaim. Now Frost is planning her next steps.

It felt empowering to let the whole thing go and to figure out whats next, she says of the film.

I am thinking about featuring him [Rafferty] in one of the films Im working on, Frost tells The Londoner.

Were currently having talks with him about it.

Rafferty, 22, is Frosts son with actor and ex-husband Jude Law.

He has no professional acting experience. He has, however, worked as a model, taking to the catwalk for a DKNY show and appearing in high-profile campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana and Timberland.

He also sings: he debuted a single, State Your Name, at the start of this month with his new band, London-based indie group Outer Stella Overdrive and previously released a solo single, Support Network, under the name Raff Law.

His 18-year-old sister, Iris Law, is pursuing modelling and has starred in campaigns for Burberry. Rafferty, though, may need some guidance from his famous parents, having once described his talent in the acting department as slightly lacking.

I did feel a bit of pressure when I joined my first boarding school [Bedales in Hampshire].

In my drama lesson, I think everyone thought: Oh God, hes going to be so brilliant. he recalls.

Then they realised that I wasnt that good, so they just let me get on with it.

Jacob Rees-Mogg has told an Australian media company  that there is a risk of an accidental departure from the European  Union without any agreement  having been made.

The comments were published yesterday, on the same day that  the Conservative MP for North East Somerset was writing in The Mail on Sunday, arguing for a No Deal Plus.

This plan will cost money, he  wrote, but finally dispel the crash out Project Fear nightmare scenarios. Nightmare scenarios such as accidentally departing from the EU without an agreement, for example?

Reporters Without Borders brought its press freedom awards to London for the first time last week. Channel 4s Lindsey Hilsum, hosting, introduced the BBCs Lyse Doucet as her journalism twin. Fact check, Doucet responded drily. Lindsey is, in fact, four months older than me.

Chiwetel Ejiofor lives between London and the US, so has been keeping an eye on the mid-term elections. Its sad times in America but the mid-term elections were exciting, the Twelve Years a Slave star tells us. It was great to see the numbers go up so high, and it really broke the mould with the electing of more black women and a Muslim woman. The tide is changing.

Rupert Everett has been enjoying a new round of success of late, starring in and directing Oscar Wilde biopic The Happy Prince. But the film world hasnt always been so kind. While making Spanish film Finding Altamira in 2016, the only way to get him out to the set in Santander was the daily Ryanair flight. Darling, he told apologetic producers. I know I once counted for something in the world. But spending ones morning in the Stansted Wetherspoons has convinced me otherwise.

Actor Haley Bennett and British director Joe Wright, whose divorce from sitar player Anoushka Shankar was finalised in May, celebrated their forthcoming bundle of joy this weekend. Bennett shared a photo of their celebration of divine creation and the wonder-filled flow into motherhood. AKA: a baby shower.

Dita dresses up for a dual celebration at the Connaught

The Connaught Hotel in Mayfair made for an old-school Hollywood-themed backdrop last night for a dual celebration.

Fashion designer Jenny Packham was marking her lines 30th anniversary while partygoers were also welcoming the arrival of burlesque star Dita Von Teeses Art of the Teese revue in London as part of its European tour.

The show, which is coming to the London Palladium this week, displays Von Teese in various states of elegant undress but last night she wore a plunging blue gown, specially made by Packham.

The designer is a hit with the aristocracy, both real and imagined. Packham, whose clothes are a particular favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, was joined at the dinner by Michelle Dockery. The Downton Abbey actor has just finished filming for the  feature film of the period drama.

Also in attendance at last nights dinner was the designers brother, Autumnwatch presenter Chris Packham, as well as actor Olivia Grant and comedian Harry Hill.

Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire from a Nicaraguan citizens group  for being deafeningly silent on the anti-government crisis that has engulfed the Central American country since April SOSNicaragua has written an open letter pointing out that the Labour leader has mentioned the country in Parliament 210 times but has failed to take a position.

Corbyn was also criticised for wearing a casual raincoat at the Cenotaph yesterday. He once turned up  to a GQ shoot similarly attired. Sighed editor Dylan Jones: (His people) didnt really seem to understand that he couldnt just turn up in his anorak.

You should never be without a plectrum, Education Secretary Damian Hinds tells Nick Robinson. Hinds once saw a rock star decline to play a song for a fan because no one had a guitar pick. Which one? Either the guy from Green Day or Noel Gallagher.

Quote of the Day

"Brexit can be stopped" --  Keir Starmer contradicts his party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who last week said Brexit cant be stopped

The Londoner Sadie Frost takes Law in her own hands


Donald Trump has described Emmanuel Macron's call for an EU army to protect
itself from the US as "very insulting".

The US president touched down in Paris on Friday evening ahead of a weekend of
events commemorating the end of the First World War but did not take long to
hit out at his French counterpart.

Mr Trump tweeted a response to **[an idea floated by Emmanuel
Macron](https://news.sky.com/story/emmanuel-macron-calls-for-real-european-
army-to-defend-against-russia-and-us-11546376) ** for the European bloc to
have its own dedicated military, designed to defend Europe from China, Russia
and the US.

Image: President Trump's hand is given a good squeeze by President Macron

"President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own
military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia," Mr Trump
wrote.

"Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO,
which the US subsidises greatly!"

The frosty air had not thawed when the pair met in Paris this morning.

Sitting down in front of cameras at the Elysee Palace, Mr Trump reiterated his
complaint, saying: "Different countries have to also help and it's only
fair... and the president (Mr Macron) and I very much agree on that."

While Mr Trump looked straight ahead, seemingly angry, Mr Macron responded: "I
do agree... But it's unfair to have the European security today being assured
just by the United States... I do believe that we need more European
capacities - more European defence - in order to take this part of the
burden."

A smiling Mr Macron finished by patting the US president on the knee.

Image: Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have appeared to get on well during
previous meetings

The two leaders are holding wide-ranging talks expected to delve deeper into
European security, Syria and Iran.

Mr Macron's suggestion of a European army was pitched during an interview with
radio station Europe 1 before a meeting of defence ministers from nine
European countries to discuss how such a force would operate.

![Trump rips into reporter.](https://e3.365dm.com/18/11/320x180/skynews-
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Video: Trump blasts reporter's 'stupid question'

He told the station that Europe needed to be less reliant on the US,
especially in light of Mr Trump's decision to **[pull out of a Cold War-era
nuclear treaty](https://news.sky.com/story/trump-confirms-us-to-pull-out-of-
nuclear-treaty-with-russia-11531257)[ with Russia](http://news.sky.com/story
/trump-confirms-us-to-pull-out-of-nuclear-treaty-with-russia-11531257).**

"We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the US,"
Mr Macron said.

"When I see President Trump announcing that he's quitting a major disarmament
treaty which was formed after the 1980s Euromissile crisis that hit Europe,
who is the main victim? Europe and its security.

"We will not protect the Europeans unless we decide to have a true European
army.

"We need a Europe which defends itself better alone, without just depending on
the US."

Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the amount of money European nations commit
to NATO compared to the US.

Earlier this year, [**during a private meeting with NATO leaders in
Brussels**](https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trump-nato-allies-should-double-
defence-spend-goal-11433650), he suggested allies double their targeted 2024
spending commitment from 2% of their GDP to 4%.

Trump hits out at Macrons very insulting call for EU army


It was a bad day in court for former associates of President Donald Trump on Tuesday, and it could foreshadow hard days ahead for the president.

In a New York courtroom, Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to campaign-finance violations. Cohen said Trump directed him to arrange the payment of hush money to two women who claimed they had affairs with Trump, porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, acknowledging the payments were made to influence the election.

In Virginia, a jury found former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort guilty of eight financial crimes unrelated to the campaign. It was the first trial victory for prosecutors in the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, whose investigation Trump has derided as a witch hunt.

What do the developments mean for the president? Some questions and answers:

Q: Does Cohens guilty plea mean Trump violated the law?

A: Cohen said in court that he made one payment in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office and the other under direction of the same candidate. The amounts and dates all line up with the payments made to Daniels and McDougal.

Prosecutors did not go as far as Cohen did in open court in pointing the finger at the president, saying Cohen acted in coordination with a candidate or campaign for federal office for purposes of influencing the election.

Daniel Petalas, former prosecutor in the Justice Departments public integrity section, said the issue of whether Trump violated the law comes down to whether Trump tried to influence an election, whether he knew and directed it and whether he knew it was improper.

Petalas said Cohens plea brings Trump closer into the criminal conduct.

But Trumps attorney Rudy Giuliani said in a statement, There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the President in the governments charges against Mr. Cohen.

Trump denied to reporters in April that he knew anything about Cohens payments to Daniels, though the explanations from the president and Giuliani have shifted multiples times since.

The president has certain protections while a sitting president, but if it were true, and he was aware and tried to influence an election, that could be a federal felony offense, Petalas said. This strikes close to home.

Q: Does Cohens plea mean Trump could be forced to submit to questions?

A: Trumps lawyers have been negotiating with Mueller about whether the president would submit to an interview as part of Muellers Russia investigation. Now Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti says hell renew efforts to get Trump to submit to a deposition in a lawsuit Daniels filed to invalidate a nondisclosure agreement she signed ahead of the 2016 election.

Avenatti tweeted that the Cohen pleas should permit us to proceed with an expedited deposition of Trump under oath about what he knew, when he knew it, and what he did about it.

Daniels case is currently on hold, but Avenatti said hell be looking to get that hold lifted.

The Supreme Court in 1997, ruling in a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by Paula Jones against President Bill Clinton, held that a sitting president could be made to answer questions as part of a civil lawsuit. But that ruling did not directly address whether a president could be subpoenaed to testify in a criminal investigation, a question the Supreme Court may have to confront if Mueller tries to compel Trumps testimony in his probe.

Q: If there is evidence of wrongdoing, can Trump be indicted?

A: The Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel, which provides legal advice and guidance to executive branch agencies, has held that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Trumps lawyers have said that Mueller plans to adhere to that guidance, though Muellers office has never independently confirmed that. There would presumably be no bar against charging a president after he or she leaves the White House.

Sol Wisenberg, who conducted grand jury questioning of Clinton as deputy independent counsel during the Whitewater investigation, said he still wanted to see more details of Cohens plea deal, but said obviously its not good for Trump. The stuff on Stormy Daniels is not good for Trump.

Im assuming hes not going to be indicted because hes a sitting president, said Wisenberg. But it leads him closer to ultimate impeachment proceedings, particularly if the Democrats take back the House.

Q: How does Cohens plea relate to the Mueller investigation?

A: While the Manafort case was part of Muellers investigation, the Cohen case was not. It was handled by prosecutors in New York. Still, it could give Mueller a boost.

Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, argued that Cohens plea knocks back the argument that the investigations swirling around Trump are a witch hunt, as the president has called Muellers Russia investigation.

No longer can you say Mueller is on a witch hunt when you have his own lawyer pleading guilty to things that were designed to impact the election, she said.

A: Trump has already shown hes not afraid to use his pardon power, particularly for those he has viewed as unfair victims of partisanship. He pardoned Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who clashed with a judge on immigration, and I. Lewis Scooter Libby, a Bush administration official convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice in a leak case.

As for whether a president can pardon himself, not surprisingly, courts have never had to answer that question. Giuliani, Trumps lawyer, has said it wont come to that anyway.

Pardoning himself would be unthinkable and probably lead to immediate impeachment, Giuliani told NBCs Meet the Press in June. And he has no need to do it, hes done nothing wrong. Still, Giuliani argued that Trump probably does have the power to pardon himself.

Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko, Jonathan Lemire, Catherine Lucey, Michael Sisak and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

Q A Presidents former allies took a beating But how bad was it for Trump


Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk joined the Joe Rogan Experience to talk about artificial intelligence, Google, the Singularity, and simulated reality.

During the podcast Thursday, Musk confirmed many of the same claims made by Alex Jones, including the elites desire to merge with AI machines and Googles real purpose of functioning as a techno-biological interface using humans as nodes to program its AI learning.

Elon Musk Confirms Alex Jones Right About AI Google Transhumanism


Minister for Health Simon Harris has said the Scally report showed there were huge failings that needed to be addressed in the cervical cancer screening programme but insisted the programme was safe.

Mr Harris said the report into CervicalCheck found a system-wide failing and that the audit of the programme was clearly utterly botched in how the information produced by the audit was handled.

Speaking to reporters at Government Buildings before the unveiling of the report, Mr Harris particularly welcomed the findings that the laboratories being used for the screening programme meet quality management processes and that there was no reason that they cannot continue to be used.

I have been asked the question - is it safe to use the labs? . . . Today Dr Scally answers the question clearly. And that message cannot get lost, he said.

The Minister said it wasnt about cancer misdiagnosis - he does find that the labs were safe to use, but he acknowledged the additional pain and suffering caused to women and their families by the non-disclosure of the results of the audits.

However, Mr Harris said the widespread non-disclosure of the results of screening audits was a substantial breach of trust for the women and families involved.

The Minister said he would bring forward proposals next month for an independent patient safety council, adding there would be two patient representatives on the new board of the HSE.

He said the Government would legislate for a new duty of candour requiring mandatory disclosure of serious reportable events and said the new laws would impose an individual duty of disclosure on healthcare professionals, not just on the hospital they work in.

Mr Harris said the Government would recruit new leadership for the screening programme.

He said the report found blame could not be ascribed to individuals. Its the easiest thing in the world to say this person did it or that person did it, and when individuals fail, individuals should be held to account. But sometimes the truth is more complex, Mr Harris said.

Sometimes the truth is that people who set out in the words of Dr Scally to do something laudable had systems and structures in place that [make] an absolutely botched job of it, that caused pain and hurt and suffering that Im sure was not intended, he said.

Simon Harris says screening programme audit utterly botched


MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has decorated
four citizens of Pakistan with the Order of Friendship for rescuing a Russian
mountain climber who found himself trapped on a largely inaccessible mountain
slope.

The four Pakistani rescuers are Qazi Muhammed, Abid Rafiq, Muhammad Anjum
Rafiq and Fakhar-e-Abbas.

Climbers Alexander Gukov from St Petersburg and Sergei Glazunov from Irkutsk
found themselves blocked on a steep slope of Mount Latok I in Pakistan.
Glazunov fell down and died while Gukov got stuck at the height of 6,200
meters without foodstuffs or access to mobile telephony and also practically
without any equipment, most of which had been lost during his partners
downfall.

Bad weather made it impossible for Pakistani rescuers to approach him for
several days.

Rescuer works coordinator Anna Piunova said Gukov had been rescued and taken
to hospital in the town of Skardu.

Latok I is broadly viewed as one of the most challenging mountains in the
7,000+ meters category in terms of climbing.

In other media

Putin decorates 4 Pakistanis with Friendship Order for rescuing Russian climber


The Trump administration officially levied tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese products at the start of a major trade battle predicted to exact significant costs on consumers and businesses. China was expected to announce its own comparable tariffs on $34 billion of U.S. goods Friday. Chinese officials had said they would not announce the tariffs until after the U.S. did so. The Chinese tariffs, including a 25 percent charge on soybeans, are expected to hit U.S. farmers particularly hard, since the country currently buys nearly two-thirds of the soybeans exported by U.S. farmers.

But Trump, who has attacked Harley-Davidson for plans to move some production to its overseas plants to avoid retaliatory European tariffs, is looking to save my farmers from the trade war he launched. Rural support was critical to his presidential victory. Unhappy farmers could spell trouble for midterm elections.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said last month at a Chicago convention that the Commodity Credit Corporation is a tool hes considering to comply with Trumps instructions to craft a strategy to support our farmers against retaliatory tariffs. The program, which was started to help farmers during the Great Depression, allows the Agriculture Department to borrow as much as $30 billion from the U.S. Treasury that could be used to buy crops from farmers that would go unsold in a trade war.

Its a whole lot easier not to wreck the car in the first place than it is to think about what a repair might look like.

I am against a one-time bailout of a situation created by the administration, Peterson said earlier this year. Farmers want their markets left intact and not screwed up by some policy. Giving them money isnt necessarily going to buy them off.

Even Republican farm state Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said last month in a call with reporters that subsidies are not what farmers in Iowa want  help from the federal Treasury, the Des Moines Register reported.

Critics say that spending the massive fund is a waste of public money to mitigate a Trump bungle. It would also be a significant expenditure just as the U.S. debt is on track to be the biggest in history due to corporate tax cuts and spending hikes.

Former USDA chief economist Joseph Glauber told The Financial Times earlier this month that many farmers already have some safeguards from government-backed price and income supports and insurance.

As for using CCC money, Glauber added: I just dont like the idea of the government coming up with some balm to spread over wounds that are self-inflicted. It seems to be a huge moral hazard problem.

Even those who support using the funds say they wont be enough to save farmers grappling with decreasing demand triggered by retaliatory foreign tariffs. Farmer also risk losing key markets in the long term even as theyre subsidized. Farmers in Brazil are boosting soybean production to scoop up the Chinese market.

Its a whole lot easier not to wreck the car in the first place than it is to think about what a repair might look like, a spokesman for the American Soybean Association told The New York Times earlier this year.

As Trade War Begins Feds Eye 30 Billion Bailout Fund For Farmers Facing Losses


Former mayor Rudy Giuliani blew a big hole in Donald Trumps legal defense. Did he do it intentionally, or was this the result of being well past his prime and not ready for prime time, as Stormy Daniels attorney, Michael Avenatti, said? The real problem for Donald Trump is the former mayor may have admitted the president committed four felonies.

There has been a recent, substantial turnover in 45s legal team. Giuliani just came aboard to serve in a public relations role. He may have been trying to divert attention away from the special counsel, Robert Mullers investigation into Russias attack on the 2016 presidential election and possible Trump campaign conspiracy.

Possibly, the presidents legal team believed that there was a strong advantage in focusing the public on the adult entertainment actress and directors case. She sued for defamation of character and for release from an unsigned nondisclosure agreement.

Congressman Ted Lieu is an Air Force Reserve colonel and represents California. He also serves on the House Committee on the Judiciary. He tweeted about those possible felonies:

Another heavyweight chimed in on the situation. Senior fellow at the highly respected Brookings Institute and CNN commentator, Norm Eisen, tweeted a powerful  response. Eisen also served as President Barack Obamas White House Ethics Czar and the former ambassador to Prague.

Eisen is also chair of CREW, an:

Aggressive legal action, in-depth research, and bold communications to reduce the influence of money in politics and help foster a government that is ethical and accountable. We highlight abuses, change behavior, and lay the groundwork for new policies and approaches that encourage public officials to work for the benefit of the people, not powerful interests.

The Twitter world went wild. Check out some of our favorite tweets below:

US Congressman Makes 4 Potential Felony Charges Against Trump Announcement


France will not accept a European Commission proposal to exclude French ports from a re-routed trade corridor between Ireland and mainland Europe after Brexit, the government has said.

At the moment much of Irelands trade with the continent goes via Britain in trucks. But with less than eight months to go until Britain leaves the European Union there is still little clarity on its future trade relations with the bloc, or the Republics Border with Northern Ireland.

The new route advanced by the commission would connect Ireland by sea with Dutch and Belgian ports, including Zeebrugge and Rotterdam. French ports such as Calais and Dunkirk would be bypassed.

France and Ireland maintain important trade channels, both overland via Britain and via direct maritime routes. The geographical proximity between Ireland and France creates an obvious connection to the single market, wrote French minister for transport Elisabeth Borne to the EUs transport commissioner on August 10th.

Surprisingly, the Commission proposal in no way takes this into account. This proposal therefore is not acceptable to France, noted Ms Borne.

At stake are jobs, millions of dollars worth of port revenues and possibly EU infrastructure funding.

Ms Borne said that French ports had the necessary resources to ensure they could handle the likely increase in trade flows, hinting at concerns of congestion in ports such as Calais, Frances busiest passenger port.  Reuters

Brexit France to veto re-routed trade plan between Ireland and Europe


What Happened to that 'Blue Wave'?

What Happened to that Blue Wave


While the right-wing failure to be moved by either teenage survivors of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead or the parents and families of 20 murdered elementary school children and six school officials at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, has been stunning, it will be difficult for them to ignore the dangers police officers face because of the easy access to guns in this country.

Two police officers and one civilian were shot near a Home Depot in northeast Dallas, Texas on Tuesday. Sources confirm that one officer has died. The other is currently listed in critical condition, although the civilians injuries or medical status has not yet been reported.

Officers were searching for the suspected shooter near the wooded area and along the creek behind the store. Dallas police were helping an off-duty officer working with store security to make an arrest when shots were fired, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reported.

An NBC affiliate in Dallas-Ft. Worth issued a photo of 29-year-old Armando Juarez, who is wanted for questioning in relation to the shooting, although law enforcement says he is not a suspect at this time.

A statement issued by the Dallas Police Department on Twitter also said:

We can confirm that two Dallas PD officers have been shot and critically wounded. We will provide updates as we get them. Please pray for our officers and their families.

Further details will be reported as they are made available.

BREAKING Shooter Hits Home Depot Leaving Multiple People Victims Including A Cop


The Christmas lights have gone up on Oxford Street dividing Londoners as some react with exasperation and others with joy.

An array of hundreds of baubles and a sign which reads 'Christmas is calling' have been erected over the last week and a half along the bustling central London shopping street.

The decorations, which are the same as last year's, started going up on September 26, a full 90 days before Christmas Day.

Some Londoners have taken to social media in surprise and disappointment, while others embraced the festive spirit.

One tweeted "too soon" while another pointed out "it's not even Halloween yet".

The news comes despite particularly un-Christmassy weather in the capital with temperatures forecast to reach 24C in London this week.

"I've only just accepted that summer is over," another person said.

While some people are clearly having their trouble wrapping their heads around such scenes, others aren't struggling quite so much.

The Oxford Street light switch-on is expected to take place next month.

Too soon Londoners divided as Christmas lights go up on Oxford Street


Just before he was inaugurated, President Donald Trump was busy trying to get a Democrat to switch parties, just like he once did.

While courting Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) for a potential Cabinet position in December 2016, Trump asked her if shed consider joining the Republican Party, according to The Washington Post.

When I visited him in Trump Tower before he was sworn in, he asked me to switch parties, Heitkamp told the Post on Tuesday. He says, You should switch parties. ... I said You should give me and Ex-Im bank.

Heitkamp was referencing the Export-Import Bank, which, at the time, she was a vocal advocate for.

Heitkamp, a moderate Democrat, also suggested that last December was not the only time the President had asked her to switch sides. When he asked her to join him while he pitched his tax plan in North Dakota last September, Trump might have asked me on that trip to become a Republican, she said.

Hes always ribbing me a little bit about being too conservative to be a Democrat, she said. I think he knows its not going to happen.

Heitkamp, who will likely face a Trump-backed conservative in her reelection bid this fall, said she has often found middle ground with Trump and even agrees with his policy on issues like deregulation and fighting for working people, she told the Post.

Read the Posts full report on Heitkamp here.

WaPo Before Inauguration Trump Asked Heitkamp To Switch Parties


Toronto Mayor John Tory says municipalities across Ontario have offered to help handle the influx of asylum seekers that has caused a housing crisis in the city.

Tory met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this morning to discuss the issue as well as Torontos escalating gun violence.

Tory says many mayors in the province have told him they have jobs available for refugee claimants and asylum seekers.

Trudeau says he will support Torontos efforts to help refugees and to combat the gun and gang violence that is currently gripping the city.

The Ontario government says the province will face a crisis next month if Ottawa doesnt help find space for refugees and asylum seekers currently sheltered in university dorms.

Lisa MacLeod, provincial minister in charge for immigration, urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to commit federal resources to relieve overcrowding in Torontos shelter system.

About 800 refugee claimants and asylum seekers are staying in Toronto college residences that must be vacated on Aug. 9 before students return to campus.

MacLeods comments come a day after Premier Doug Ford said Trudeau had put a strain on local and provincial services by encouraging foreigners to come to Canada illegally.

Ford issued a statement just before his first meeting with Trudeau on Thursday, saying the federal government should foot 100 per cent of the bill for resettling the newcomers.

Ford said the prime minister had put a strain on local and provincial services by encouraging asylum seekers to come to Canada illegally, and that Trudeaus government should foot 100 per cent of the bill for resettling the newcomers.

Trudeau said after the meeting that hed explained to Ford how the asylum-seeking system works and what Canadas obligations are.

In a radio interview Friday morning, the prime minister condemned leaders who engage in anti-migrant rhetoric.

Unfortunately conservative politicians here and around the world are playing a very dangerous game with something that shouldnt be fodder for division, Trudeau said on CBC Radios Metro Morning.

Canadians are supportive of immigration and accepting refugees. They need to be reassured, as they can be, that we have a system in place that is going through all the processes.

Tory has said all three levels of government must work together to address local gun crime, after a string of shootings left three people dead and at least eight injured over the past week.

The mayor spoke to federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale on Tuesday about ways their respective governments could co-operate on the issue.

A spokesperson for Goodale said the threat to public feelings of safety is a deep concern.

Other mayors offered to help with influx of asylum seekers Toronto mayor


Firsthand take on the latest example of YouTube censorship.

Fulcrum News Is Erased From YouTube


A Muslim food cart vendor in Portland, Oregon admitted to attacking a Black woman customer on Wednesday, and calling her the n word, but he blamed the stress of fasting for Ramadan, as well as family and business stress, for the outburstpart of which was recorded on video by the customer. The vendor, Islam R. El Masry, subsequently posted two videos to YouTube talking about the attack.

Willamette Week first reported on the food truck incident, which was allegedly the result of the vendor getting violently angry when the Black female customer tried to pay for her order with quarters.

The owner of a downtown food cart was arrested on misdemeanor assault charges this afternoon after hurling a Gatorade bottle at a black customer and then allegedly spraying her with Sriracha. A video taken by the alleged victim, Carlotta Washington, was provided to Willamette Week by an eyewitness. It shows Islam El Masry, owner of the Small Pharoahs halal cart, arguing with Washington, who claims that El Masry called her the n-word after she attempted to pay for her lunch with quarters The video shows El Masry telling her to get the (f***) away from the cart, then throws a Gatorade bottle at her, causing her to drop her phone...

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Friday on the videos posted by El Masry with the headline, Portland food cart owner admits to using racial slur and dousing woman in Sriracha in videos

A food cart owner accused of a racist attack on a customer earlier this week released two rambling videos Friday, defending himself, blaming fasting for the incident and the media for blowing it out of proportion, and saying he hopes to go back to Egypt, his home country. He also talks about using the racial slur and dousing the woman, who is African American, in Sriracha sauce. Islam R. El Masry, the owner of Small Pharoahs Egyptian and New Yorker Food at Southwest Fifth Avenue and Stark Street in downtown Portland, was arrested Wednesday after being filmed throwing a Gatorade bottle at customer Carlotta Washington. ...Washington told KGW in an interview that she never threw anything at El Masry. El Masry says that after the bottle broke on the grill, he had to throw everything he was cooking in the garbage. Then, he says, he started insulting her really bad, got the Sriracha sauce and put it in her face. He says he was in a bad mood because of pressure on his business and fasting for Ramadan. I was fasting at that day, and you know Ramadan, he says, we fast for like 18 hours now, and its really hard like to be in a hot place, no water and no food, and youre cooking the food right in front of you. ... plus also Im a smoker, and I cant smoke during the fasting. El Masry says even before the incident his main concern is selling his business so he can go home. My mom is sick, he said. My fathers sick.

El Masry also said the victim threw a bottle at him, which the victim denied in an interview with KGW-TV.

Washington, who is a regular at the food cart on Southwest 5th Avenue and Stark Street, said El Masry appeared to be agitated with the customer before her and became more infuriated when he found out she was trying pay for her $7 lunch, in part, with quarters. Washington said she thought El Masry was going to count her money when he it took it from her hands but he instead threw it underneath the counter. At that point, Washington realized he wasnt going to count it and asked for the money back because she was confident it was more than $7. Thats when he started getting angry, talking about, I dont have time for this, Washington said. I really wasnt putting two in two together. It was crowded and I just wasnt really thinking and even considering how angry he was. El Masry told KGW he was extremely busy during the lunch rush and told Washington he didnt have time to count the change and asked her to take her business elsewhere. Washington said El Masry called her the n-word and ended up throwing the money back at her. She said thats when she began crying, took out her cellphone and started filming. ...She said she never threw bottles at El Masry but shoved the bottles on his counter after he threw the Gatorade at her. After she stopped filming, Washington said El Masry sprayed her with Sriracha hot sauce. El Masry said he has a lot going on in his private life and his emotions got the best of him. He also said hes not a racist. My father is black, Im African too, he said.

The national news media has ignored this story of racial hate and violence. A news search shows only Portland media reporting on it, with the exception of the African-American focused site, The Root.

UPDATE: The New York Daily News reported on June 7; Raw Story late on June 6 and NewsOne on June 7.

The story never broke through nationally thougheven with videolikely because the perp did not fit the medias narrative of who is racist in America.

Muslim Food Cart Vendor Blames Ramadan Fasting for Violent Racist Attack on Black Customer


(Natural News) What does it mean to be organic, anyway?

In the U.S., food can only be labeled as organic after undergoing certification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Main requirements for products to be labeled as organic include the absence of any genetic engineering, ionization, and sewage sludge procedure in the creation of the product. In addition to this, processes that are undertaken for the product must also be certified as organic.

As organic labels are taking over the supermarket, and possibly other areas as well, a lot of questions need to be answered. What exactly does it mean to be organic? How does it differ from others? How is it better than other types of food?

This is exactly what the researchers from Cornell University set out to learn with their study You taste what you see: Do organic labels bias taste perceptions? In the study, they examined the effects of labeling products to be organic, especially when it came to the consumers. What they found was astonishing: the organic label greatly affects how the product is perceived. The organic label led consumers to believe that these products were healthier than others, thus altering their perception of the foods calories, taste, and value. Researchers call this the health halo effect.

For the study, 115 people were asked to evaluate three pairs of products: two yogurts, two cookies, and two potato chip portions. An item from each pair was labeled as organic, while the other one was labeled regular. Participants then had to evaluate the food: rating the taste and caloric content of each, as well as giving an amount that they will shell out to pay for it. Questions about the participants shopping habits and environmental practices were also asked.

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However, the researchers didnt tell the group that both products were organic and identical.

The results of the study indicated that the organic label attached to the products skewed the perception of the participants regarding it. The group estimated the caloric content of the cookies and yogurt to be fewer, and they were willing to pay up to 23.4 percent more for them. This shows that labeling a product to be organic already creates a health halo around it. This effect is not limited to perception alone. People reported that the organic and chips were more delicious and that they believe these are lower in fat than the regular kind. Even the taste was affected by the label. People reported that organic chips were more mouth-watering, and yogurt was more flavorful compared to its regular counterparts.

The university had already delved into the study of how perceptions are skewed with the use of food. In an earlier study, the health halo effects were also studied by scientists in relation to low-fat foods. In this study, they discovered that people tend to eat more if a snack carries the low-fat label. A key factor in understanding the results of the study would be how the participants perceived low-fat food, with people stating that they initially surmised the calorie content to be lower than 50 percent of the regular snack.

With all this mix-up regarding organic labels, how do we become more aware? The study found that consumers who regularly check the labels of their food, have a pro-environmental outlook, and those who practice buying organic food as part of their lifestyle were found to be less likely to fall victim of the health halo surrounding organic food.

Most importantly, the organic label does not indicate health benefit, rather, it is a way to know that your product was made using natural methods.

So before you choose from the two pair of cookies on the shelf, its best to read them first. After all, cookies, organic or not, are still cookies at the end of the day.

To learn more about the food we consume every day, go to FoodScience.news.

Reminder Organic cookies are still cookies organic on the label isnt a free pass


This time, the President called out Obama directly.

Trump took it straight to Obama Sunday afternoon.

Trump tweeted: Why didnt President Obama do something about the so-called Russian Meddling when he was told about it by the FBI before the Election? Because he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win, and he didnt want to upset the apple cart! He was in charge, not me, and did nothing.

The simple answer is any attempts by the Russians to influence the 2016 election was so infinitesimal, Obama didnt act.

Very few people saw social media posts by Russian troll farms. The notion that the Russians tipped the election in favor of Donald Trump is laughable at best. The majority of the Russian ads were posted after the election and they didnt favor any particular candidate.

The bottom line is Trump wasnt supposed to win.

What we are seeing is an attempted coup by the Deep State simply because Trump is a threat to business as usual in DC.

The Russian collusion hoax was the insurance policy the Trump-hating FBI agents were discussing in McCabes office; it was created by Obama and Hillary.

Earlier Sunday, President Trump slammed the phony Russian collusion witch hunt, accurately stating Mueller has devastated and destroyed many peoples lives.

POTUS Trump Rips Obama For Doing Nothing About So-Called Russian Meddling He Thought Crooked Hillar


The President of the Palm Beach Country Police Union urged NFL fans to boycott the Miami Dolphins NFL team during his interview on FOX and Friends on Monday.

This comes after several Miami Dolphins players took a knee during their preseason game to protest police brutality in black communities.

John Kazanjian told Brian Kilmeade the Palm Beach Police Union is breaking ties with the Dolphins after the continued anti-police protesters.

Kazanjian also urged NFL fans to boycott the Dolphins games.

Palm Beach County Police Union Breaks Ties with Miami Dolphins Urges Fans to Boycott Their Games VI


A fierce backlash over Theresa Mays handling of the Brexit negotiations is growing after she offered the idea of extending the transition phase.

The firestorm within her Tory party deepened further last night, with former leader Iain Duncan Smith saying an extension would mean falling into the next EU budget.

Former Brexit Secretary David Davis is also reportedly "on manoeuvres," calling ministers yesterday to try to urge a change of course in the negotiations.

Mr Duncan Smith said this would mean the UK would pay tens of billions of pounds extra to the bloc, money he said has been promise for domestic programmes.

"I couldn't understand why we would offer to extend the transition period when we still haven't got anything back in return, he told BBC2's Newsnight.

"By extending the backstop we are likely to fall straight into the next budget of the EU which will mean tens of billions of pounds extra to be paid across to the EU.

"It would be very hard to tell the British people that we are extending another year or more into the implementation phase, and we're then going to pay tens of billions of pounds over when we actually say we need it for other domestic programmes.

"We are in a negotiation but at the moment it begins to look more like a capitulation than a negotiation. We have got to get some steel in our backbone and do something about actually negotiating, rather than saying 'what would you like?"'

It comes after EU chiefs said they are prepared to extend the post-Brexit transition period if the UK asks. And shortly before the Prime Minster gave a news conference in Brussels, European Commission president Jean-Claude Junker said an extension to the transition period "probably will happen".

Tory MP Nick Boles, who backed Remain in the EU referendum, told Channel 4 News that he would oppose moves by Mrs May to extend the deadline.

He said: "I think that so many of the things that she has told us about what she was proposing have turned out either not to be true, or she hasn't stuck to them, so when the Prime Minister first suggested this transition, and remember what this transition is, we stay in the EU in effect, bound by all of its rules, in all of its institutions, paying our normal contribution for two years.

"We have no vote. It's actually worse than being a member of the EU. She said, we are going to be in there until December 2020, not to negotiate a deal, to implement a free trade deal that would already have been negotiated.

"Now, what we hear, is that, actually, no, that's not enough time, and, no, we are not going to be implementing.

"We are going to be negotiating that long term relationship, and now we might need a third year.

"That third year would not cost an additional ten billion euros, it might cost 18 billion euros because we'd be in the new budget cycle of the EU where all of the contributions go up.

"That is just an absolute mile from what we were originally told was necessary."

Meanwhile, in a fresh blow to Mrs May's authority, prominent Tory MP Johnny Mercer, who has been seen as a rising star of the party, branded the Government a "shit show".

In response, Mr Duncan Smith said: "It's not the language I would use - but I can understand his frustration.

"I think what we've seen over the last 24 hours has really made people quite concerned - not only in the party, but in the country."

Britain had originally sought a transition period ending in December 2020 after it formally exited the EU in March 2019.

Fierce backlash over Theresa Mayaposs move to extend Brexit transition phase grows as EU ready to


(Natural News) According to unnamed sources and as reported by The Hill, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have been meeting with pharmaceutical companies as of late to ask them to voluntarily cut drug prices. If the negotiations are successful and these companies do decide to cut prices (which is extremely unlikely), then it would mean that the Trump administration could tout the benefits of the Presidents drug pricing plan instead of waiting for regulatory actions to be implemented and take effect.

Towards the end of last month, Trump announced that in two weeks drug companies would announce voluntary massive drops in prices. But as that two-week deadline draws closer, officials still have not provided many details regarding what the president meant with those remarks.

We are working with stakeholders across the spectrum including drug companies, [pharmacy benefit managers], distributors, patients, health care professionals, physicians, insurers, etc., to respond to President Trumps call to action and help patients pay less for their prescription drugs, said a spokesperson for the department of Health and Human Services in an interview with The Hill. The statement came following a question regarding the meetings that have been taking place in recent weeks with drug companies.

But even though Donald Trump and his administration are at least trying to bring down costs of pharmaceutical drugs, the fact of the matter is that voluntary price cuts will never be enough to solve the problem. At the end of the day, Big Pharma is a business that is out to make as much money as they can possibly make, just like every other company in the United States and abroad. To ask pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily cut prices simply doesnt make any sense for them, and to be frank, most of the ones that the Trump administration have met with thus far have most likely laughed it off.

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Natural News has been reporting on Big Pharmas efforts to prevent you from purchasing cheaper alternatives for quite some time now. As Natural News contributor J.D. Heyes explained in an article published in 2016, even though there are currently provisions in place for Americans to buy drugs at cheaper costs, Big Pharma is working day and night to block them. What ends up happening is that pharmaceutical companies essentially team up with Internet intermediaries in order to prevent Americans from buying alternative options from other countries, even though they have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (Related: Big Pharma conspired to destroy a supply of life-saving cancer drugs by putting profit before people.)

However, these alternative drugs are not as dangerous as the pharmaceutical companies say that they are. As the FDAs senior associate commission for policy planning and legislation William Hubbard put it, Discretionary guidelines developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and enforced by the [Customs and Border Protection] allow American consumers to import a 90-day supply of some prescription medications for personal use, including by bringing them across border checkpoints in personal luggage, or by mailing them from overseas.

Donald Trump should be commended for at least trying to address the problem of pharmaceutical drug costs, and for keeping the promises that he made out on the campaign trail in 2016. However, he and his team at the department of Health and Human Services need to understand that asking pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily cut the costs of drugs is never going to solve the problem in the long run, and further action will inevitably have to be taken in order to stop Big Pharmas oppressive campaign.

Trump officials sit down with Big Pharma to negotiate voluntary drug price reductions Drug gia


A 68-year-old man in Turnhout, Antwerp had his face broken in 11 places after receiving a vicious beating from migrants who were offended by how the victims dog smelled.

Belgian broadcaster RTV reports that the man, Lucas Claes, was walking his dog in a park when it ran over to the group of migrants.

After disagreeing with the gang that his dog smelled, Claes was subjected to a brutal assault and lost consciousness.

I woke up when a woman said: Sir, are you alright, said Claes, who described his attackers as foreigners.

Claes was rushed to hospital, where he was treated for 11 breakages in his facial bones.

Claes said that despite being traumatized by the incident, he wouldnt let it affect his routine, commenting, What else can you do? The dog needs to be walked, theres no other option.

Only one of the five suspects has been arrested by police.

This is by no means the first instance of migrants assaulting an elderly person in Antwerp.

Back in July, an elderly handicapped woman was approached by a gang of a dozen migrant youths, pelted with large stones and called a dirty, stinking Belgian.

Like Molenbeek, Antwerp is notorious for parts of it being migrant-populated ghettos where crime and physical attacks are commonplace.

Last year, the Mayor was forced to slap a ban on public gatherings in the city after riots between Turkish and Kurdish migrants. Antwerp was also hit by widespread rioting in migrant areas in 2002.

Statistics show that around 75% of children in Belgiums second largest city have migrant backgrounds.

Paul Joseph Watson is the editor at large of Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com.

Belgium Migrants Viciously Beat Up 68-Year-Old Man Because His Dog Smelled


BEIJING  Dont mess with China and its growing cadre of powerful luxury consumers.

Dolce&Gabbana learned that lesson the hard way when it faced a boycott after Chinese expressed outrage over what were seen as culturally insensitive videos promoting a major runway show in Shanghai and subsequent posts of insulting comments in a private Instagram chat.

The company blamed hackers for the anti-Chinese insults, but the explanation felt flat to many and the damage was done. The Milan designers canceled the Shanghai runway show, meant as a tribute to China, as their guest list of Asian celebrities quickly joined the protests.

Then, as retailers pulled their merchandise from shelves and powerful e-commerce sites deleted their wares, co-founders Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana went on camera  dwarfed against the larger backdrop of an ornate red wall-covering  to apologize to the Chinese people.

We will never forget this experience, and it will definitely never happen again, a solemn-looking Gabbana said in a video statement posted Friday on social media.

The apology video, and the sharp public backlash that demanded it, shows the importance of the Chinese market and the risks of operating in it. More broadly, it highlights the huge and still-growing influence of China, a country that cannot be ignored as it expands economically, militarily and diplomatically.

These trends are intertwined in frequent outbursts of nationalist sentiment among consumers who feel slighted by foreign brands or their governments. Its not the first time a company has apologized, and it surely wont be the last. Mercedes-Benz did so in February for featuring a quote by the Dalai Lama on its Instagram account.

For Dolce&Gabbana, it could be mark the end of its growth in China, a crucial market for global luxury brands that it has cultivated since opening its first store in 2005 and where it now has 44 boutiques.

I think it is going to be impossible over the next couple of years for them to work in China, said Cary Cooper, a professor of organizational psychology and health at Manchester University in England. When you break this kind of cultural codes, then you are in trouble. The brand is now damaged in China, and I think it will be damaged in China until there is lost memory about it.

That could shake Dolce&Gabbanas financial health. The privately held company does not release its individual sales figures. But Chinese consumers are responsible for a third of all luxury spending around the globe, according to a recent study by Bain consultancy. That will grow to 46 percent of forecast sales of an estimated 365 billion euros ($412 billion) by 2025, fueled by millennials and the younger Generation Z set, who will make a growing percentage of their purchases online.

Without China, the hinterland for growth, D&G will obviously be in a weak competitive position and in danger of being eliminated, the Chinese business magazine New Fortune said in a social media post Sunday. This is one of the major reasons why D&G finally lowered its head. They really cannot survive without the Chinese market.

While Dolce&Gabbana has displayed a knack for social media engagement, inviting millennial influencers with millions of collective followers to sit in their front rows or walk in their shows, that engagement has been a double-edged sword. Pop idol Karry Wang, who has drawn hundreds of screaming Chinese fans to the designers Milan showroom for season runway shows, was one of the first to disavow the brand, saying he was ending his role as Asia-Pacific brand ambassador.

Dolce found himself on the defensive several years ago after Elton John lashed out for comments that suggested he did not support gay couples using surrogate mothers to have children. At the time, more than 67,000 tweets urged #boycottdolcegabbana, while Courtney Love vowed to burn her Dolce&Gabbana garb and Martina Navratilova pledged to trash her D&G shirts.

Gabbana, who has 1.6 million Instagram followers, faced a more contained backlash earlier this year when he responded to a collage of Selena Gomez photos on Instagram with the comment, Shes really ugly.

Celebrities took to social media Wednesday to blast Dolce&Gabbana and said they would boycott the show, which was canceled. By Thursday, the companys goods had disappeared from major e-commerce websites. The prevailing sentiment was captured by an airport duty-free shop that posted a photo of its shelves emptied of D&G products: We have to show our stance. We are proud to be Chinese.

The rapid escalation into a public relations disaster was fueled by social media. Individuals posted videos of themselves cutting up or burning their Dolce&Gabbana clothes, or picking them up with chopsticks and putting them in the trash. A parody of the offending Dolce&Gabbana videos, which featured a Chinese woman using chopsticks to eat pizza and an oversized cannoli, shows a white man trying to eat Chinese food with a fork and knife. At least three rap bands took up the cause with new songs.

Companies that dont respect us dont deserve our respect, Wang Zixin, team leader of CD Rev, a nationalist rap band, said by phone from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. Its new song had been viewed more than 850,000 times on Weibo.

We hope people will remember companies that have ever insulted China, and not forget about them when the fallout passes, Wang said.

That sense of pride reflects a nationalism that has been encouraged by the government, often in disputes China has with other countries over other foreign products.

Sales by Japanese automakers plunged in 2012 amid tensions between islands both countries claim in the East China Sea. The clash also illustrated the complexity of Chinese sentiment: Industry analysts said buyers didnt want to be seen in Japanese auto showrooms but went ahead with planned purchases once tensions had passed.

More recently, several foreign companies ran afoul of Beijings insistence that they explicitly refer to Taiwan, a self-governing territory, as part of China. Many complied, showing how important the Chinese market has become.

Delta, American and other airlines agreed to refer to Taiwan as part of China, and Zara now says Taiwan, China on its website after regulators criticized the fashion brand for calling Taiwan a country. Marriott announced it respects and supports Chinas sovereignty after it was ordered to shut its China website for a week.

Actor Richard Gere, a supporter of the Dalai Lama, has told The Hollywood Reporter that movie studios balk at hiring him for fear of an official or public backlash that might affect ticket sales in China.

It remains unclear whether the D&G mea culpa video will stop the backlash  or if it will have implications for Made-in-Italy at large. The scandal erupted as Italys high-end furniture and design companies were making an annual presentation in Shanghai and as Miu Miu, the Prada Groups little sister line, showed its cruise line in Shanghai.

Italian designers have so far refrained from comment.

Italian commentators mused whether the Dolce&Gabbana protests were truly spontaneous or if there was some level of government control behind them. The government has publicly said the spat had no diplomatic element and would not comment.

Anywhere in the world, an entrepreneur can make a mistake, use inappropriate language. Usually it is the consumers and the market to decide the seriousness of the offense, the Milan daily Corriere della Sera wrote in a commentary. Only in China is one forced to produce a humiliating video with public self-criticism, like in the time of Maos revolution. Now China feels powerful and is applying re-education on a global scale.

Barry reported from Milan. AP journalists Joe McDonald and Dake Kang and researchers Henry Hou and Jiawei Chen contributed to this report.

DolceGabbana fiasco shows importance risks of China market


A giant animated spider Ariane moves from the roof of the Hotel-Dieu in Toulouse, southern France, on Nov. 1, 2018, during the show "Le Gardien du Temple" performed by the theater performance company La Machine. (Photo by ERIC CABANIS / AFP)ERIC CABANIS/AFP/Getty Images

PHOTOS A giant mechanical spider descends on France


A 19-year-old man has died after falling ill at a music festival in Co Meath.

The man had been attending the Boxed Off festival at Fairyhouse Racecourse, Ratoath, when he became ill.

He received medical attention at the scene and taken to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown where he was pronounced dead on Sunday morning.

A Garda spokesman said a file would be prepared for the local coroner.

The festival organisers said the young man became unwell as people were leaving the festival site on Saturday night.

The onsite medical team including an emergency doctor and advanced paramedics treated the man on site. He was then transferred to James Connolly Hospital by one of the onsite ambulances. Despite the efforts of all medical teams the young man tragically passed away early this morning, the organisers said in a Facebook post.

They expressed their condolences to the mans family and friends.

The whole festival team is devastated by the news. We will continue to work closely with An Garda Siochana on this matter.

Boxed Off bills itself as Irelands largest one-day electronic music festival and this is the fourth year it has taken place.

Festival organisers devastated as man 19 dies after falling ill at event


Not sure if anyones mentioned it, but Strictly heads to Blackpool this weekend. While Kate Silverton declared she would be swimming in the sea upon arrival (if you believe that, youll believe anything), the dancers are more excited to let loose on the huge sprung dance floor of the Tower Ballroom.

The space tends to dwarf the couples so expect backing dancers, props and various examples of faffing around (we miss you, Len), which either adds to the spectacle or detracts from the actual dancing, depending on your point of view. And stand by for many, many mentions of Blackpool being the home of ballroom dancing, a veritable temple for dancers, the place where Kevin Clifton and AJ Pritchard won their titles etc. This episode is always ideal for drinking games.

Away from the cliches, were at the stage in the competition where we can expect some sensational dancing. With a perfect 40 still up for grabs, theres real incentive for the couples to give it some welly.

Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice promise a fierce paso doble, Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev are bound to excel with an exuberant jive and the judges will surely coo over Stacey Dooleys salsa-based homage to Eurovision Queen Gina G.

Joe Sugg, who is delighted to be taking his nan with him to Blackpool (she danced there in her twenties), will be simultaneously quickstepping and playing a walking piano, the kind shown in the film, Big. Could be fun!

Dance-off veterans Charles Venn and Graeme Swann will really need to impress if theyre going to avoid the bottom two this week. Its Graemes turn to take on a couples choice number, and hell be waving those the jazz hands for a theatrical routine, while Charles is bringing the party to Blackpool with a samba to La Bamba (Im so excited, Im rhyming...).

Aficionados will know that Blackpool always offers up a show-stopping group number too. Seriously, if you think Strictly proper is camp and glitzy, wait until you see this. Its even fronted by Gloria Estefan, singing a medley of her greatest hits. This, my friends, is what November Saturday nights were made for.

Strictly Come Dancing has landed in Blackpool hereaposs what to expect for tonightaposs episod


(Natural News) Tortillas are an important food for Mexicans and their neighbors, but maize lacks vital proteins. Looking for natural ways of fortifying the grain, researchers chose flour made from nontoxic Jatropha curcas (J. curcas) plants. The resulting fortified maize tortillas looked, felt, and tasted like ordinary ones while also packing more proteins.

Maize is rich in calories, but it lacks lysine and trytophan. It also lacks micronutrients like iron, zinc, and various important vitamins.

The combination of poverty and burgeoning population forced many Mexicans to adopt less healthy diets that rely on tortillas. To fix this, maize dough was fortified with flours from more nutritious crops.

Jatropha curcas is a widespread plant that originated in Central America. Its seeds are rich in protein and oil that are used for biofuels. (Related: Adding ginger powder to wheat pasta found to boost nutrition.)

The production process leaves behind cake residues that retain more than half of its protein. The cake from the nontoxic ecotype is safe for use by humans and is easily digested.

Furthermore, J. curcas meal contains all the essential amino acids except for lysine. Its amino acid levels are close to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/ World Health Organization (WHO) requirements.

Earlier studies have looked at soybean and amaranth flours to fortify maize flour and improve the protein content and quality of tortillas. But there are no earlier studies about the use of J. curcas flour in fortified foods.

The researchers acquired the seeds of nontoxic Jatropha curcas plants, milled them into flour, and removed the oil through a defattening process. The maize flour was a commercial brand. The two flours were mixed with J. curcas flour constituting five percent, 10 percent, 15 percent, or 20 percent of the total amount. Pure maize flour was set aside as a control.

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The research team measured the protein, ash, moisture, and fiber in all flours and tortillas. The team also analyzed the dough textures and the quality, characteristics, color, and taste of the tortillas.

They reported that maize flour contained more moisture than either J. curcas flours. The former also had far fewer proteins, especially when compared to defatted J. curcas flour.

Fortified tortillas have slightly more lipids than pure maize ones, looked smoother, and lasted longer. Defatted J. curcas meal contained high levels of ash rich in minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and iron.

The dough made from the different flour mixtures showed altered properties. Adding J. curcas flour made the dough softer, less sticky, and stretchier.

The higher protein levels may have increased moisture content. However, the levels are acceptable and in the same range as tortillas fortified with white beans in earlier studies.

The mixture with 20 percent J. curcas flour showed the best protein increase. It matched mixtures with four percent soybean or five-20 percent whole chia seeds. Increases in ash and minerals are comparable to 20 percent amaranth flour.

Fiber went down with defatted J. curcas. However, it still matched mixtures with four percent soybean flour. The researchers concluded that the best percentage for boosting the nutritional value of tortillas is 20 percent.

Tortillas made from flour with 15 percent J. curcas flour are softer, easier to roll, inflate less, and break more often. While amaranth and bean flour-fortified tortillas have darker colors, J. curcas flour tortillas are only slightly more yellow.

People who inspected and tasted the tortillas could barely tell the difference between fortified ones and pure maize ones. They looked at the color and smell and didnt notice any change in taste.

In sum, fortifying maize flour with nontoxic Jatropha curcas flour made the tortillas much healthier while barely affecting the foods appearance or taste.

Nutritionists find a way to boost the nutritional profile of maize tortillas naturally


I worked for the House of Commons for 12 years, and have contributed to the Cox Inquiry and the BBC Newsnight reports about harassment and bullying in Parliament.

When the Cox Report described the House of Commons as having a culture, cascading from the top down, of deference, subservience, acquiescence and silence it sparked some outrage, but little surprise. That politicians have abused their privilege, as they did in the expenses scandal, and that senior public servants were powerless and/or unwilling to do anything about it, has shocked no one. It was ever thus.

For those of us who have worked in Parliament and have witnessed, and been subject to, these abuses, the Cox Report has confirmed what we have always known and have been trying to vocalise for a long time.

Parliament does a good job of normalising all sorts of anachronistic rituals, and poor conduct and bad behaviour by politicians and senior public servants has become another.

We have long expected no better, and so it lurks in plain sight. Some commentators have almost prided themselves in their lack of surprise about the findings of this report  because who wants to appear naive  but those of us that experienced bullying and harassment in Parliament and worked in that culture of deference, subservience and silence, cynicism acts as little comfort.

During my time in the House of Commons I reported two harassment cases: one against a manager and one against a Member of Parliament. Both complaints were upheld, but no sanctions were brought against either.

I know dozens of former colleagues and friends who have been bullied, assaulted and abused during their time working for the House, all of whom submitted their stories to the Cox Inquiry but many are still too traumatised to talk about it publicly. Many of them, like me, left the House because they did not feel safe and they had no trust in, or support from, House management after reporting abuse or harassment.

There has been a haemorrhage of talent from Parliament because of this issue alone and some of the brightest, most capable people I worked with are no longer there because of the treatment they received. This is not only bad for public service, but it turns the patriarchy into a self-fulfilling prophesy in one of the most high profile organisations in the country.

The Cox Report should be a pivotal moment in Parliaments evolution into a modern workplace and those of us that contributed to the inquiry felt relieved and vindicated that we had finally been believed when we read the report and recommendations. But there is already talk that the report could get kicked into the long grass and the tribal warfare surrounding the Speaker, and Brexit, have meant that this issue that has affected so many lives and careers, is in danger of being drowned by politics again.

Margaret Becket said that Brexit trumps bad behaviour, which begs the question  what else would trump bad behaviour? Is there a list of constitutional crises of varying severity that would be more important than victims of abuse?

The moral compass inside the House of Commons has been stuck pointing at its own navel for centuries. The notion that nobody quite understands the unique challenges of the political environment, and just how terribly important and stressful it all is, has consistently been used as an excuse for abuses of power and privilege and lack of transparency. But there are people who know about the challenges of the political environment  the staff of the House  who write the reports, who do the research, who martial proceedings, who cook the food and empty the bins. Some of them are even experts on Brexit. They know all about that environment, they work tirelessly and invisibly in public service and continue to provide a world class service, even to their abusers.

Laura Cox wrote in her report: I find it difficult to envisage how the necessary changes can be successfully delivered, and the confidence of the staff restored, under the current senior House Administration and I have a similar lack of faith in the current top tier of the House of Commons. My experience of senior management in the House was that they were generally oblivious to pressures put on staff by Members, and were often unapproachable, and sometimes blatantly dismissive of concerns raised about bullying until they reached crisis point. The House of Commons Commission will have a large role in what happens next. The Commission is made up of some of these senior managers along with the Speaker who, when he was just a regular backbencher, once screamed at me and called me a little girl simply because he had been unable to find an envelope (which was exactly where I said it was, for the record).

These are not people who even know what the problem looks like, let alone capable of examining whether they are part of that problem. They are not trained in HR, they have limited experience of other workplaces where employees are not protected by parliamentary privilege and while their procedural knowledge may be exemplary, they are part of a self-serving culture that has normalised abusive behaviour and othered those that have dared to speak out.

Unlike the expenses scandal, this story has relied on the personal testimonies of people who have been bullied, abused and harassed. It is not the same as finding a box of receipts and doing the sums. This is the story of people putting their careers on the line, of people dredging up painful, traumatic memories and people who have been repeatedly dismissed and disbelieved finally feeling that their truth is being heard.

The staff of the House are incredibly discreet and professional and have always run the risk of becoming victims of their own stoicism. If the House of Commons pulls the strings of self-regulation and buries their truth, it will once again be reducing them to the human collateral of a toxic tradition.

Libby Bradshaw worked for 12 years in the House of Commons from 2000-2012. After being contacted by HuffPost, a spokesperson for the Speakers Office said: The Speaker has absolutely no recollection of this alleged incident.

I Left Parliament Over Bullying MPs Must Not Bury The Truth


WASHINGTON  When the Obama administration used its authority under a Depression-era law to give struggling farmers some extra help, Congress got mad and passed another law to prevent that from happening again.

Earlier this year, the legislators changed their minds and restored the U.S. Department of Agricultures ability to use the financing authority  just in time for President Donald Trump to dish out billions to farmers harmed by his trade agenda.

Its a reflection of the Congress hopefully understanding and appreciating that restricting the Secretary of Agricultures capacity to deal with unforeseen circumstances is probably not the best policy, Tom Vilsack, who served as President Barack Obamas agriculture secretary, told HuffPost.

American farmers export a lot of crops, so they are particularly vulnerable to Trumps trade policies, which are supposedly designed to reduce the nations trade deficit with the rest of the world. To that end, Trump slapped tariffs on imported aluminum and steel earlier this year and has also targeted a range of Chinese imports. Just as predicted, other countries have responded with retaliatory levies on U.S. agricultural exports, which has sent commodity prices down the tubes.

The Trump administration announced in July that it would create a one-time aid package worth as much as $12 billion to tide farmers over while the trade wars drag on. This is a temporary measure to help farmers in the meantime whove been affected by the trade disruption, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said.

The program will be ready in September, according to the USDA, and farmers will learn how to apply for the aid this month. The agency said it will use its authority under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to pay farmers directly and to buy surplus crops. The Commodity Credit Corporation dates back to the 1930s, when the federal government first started buying up surplus crops in order to give farmers money and mitigate falling prices.

Vilsacks USDA had used its Commodity Credit Corporation authority in 2010 to help farmers hurt by heavy rains in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. The agency spent $348 million on commodity purchases and payments to farmers that year, according to the Congressional Research Service.

From the beginning, I questioned whether USDA had the legal authority to do this, and I stand by that, Rep. Frank Lucas (Okla.), a top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, said that September. Other Republicans assailed the payments as an effort to help vulnerable Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) win re-election. (She lost anyway.)

Im not suggesting that USDA would take action in every instance where a commodity sector or group of producers is hurting, Perdue testified, but it would be helpful for the secretary to have authority to evaluate the needs of U.S. agriculture and use these tools when appropriate.

Not only did they lift the constraint, but they are utilizing it at a time when its not about market dynamics, its not about weather, Vilsack said. Its about the impact of a policy the administration itself put in place that has detrimentally impacted farmers.

Dale Moore, a former USDA official and current executive with the American Farm Bureau Federation, pointed out that Congress didnt stop Vilsack from spending that extra $348 million in 2010. And he said it would be unfair to call the currently planned assistance a bailout because farmers havent done anything wrong.

The $12 billion will be doled out on top of the roughly $17 billion the U.S. already spends each year supporting agribusiness. The latter subsidies mostly take the form of help with crop insurance payments and compensation for price drops or crop losses.

The Trump administration should take steps to ensure that wealthy farmers dont take advantage of the new program, said Scott Faber, a policy expert with the Environmental Working Group, which advocates for stricter limits on existing farm subsidy programs. As part of the latest farm bill, which reauthorizes farm subsidies and nutrition assistance, he noted that Republicans are currently pushing for tighter eligibility standards for food stamp recipients.

Congress Hated Obamas Aid To Farmers Seems OK With Trumps