'Hung jury': A look at Trump's approval Los Angeles

Former Vice President Joe Biden's assertion that he is the only "real Irishman" running for president has led a fellow candidate to suggest they settle the matter over a pint of Guinness. Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, made the remark during a campaign stop in South Carolina on Friday, according to Demetri Sevastopulo, the Washington bureau chief at the Financial Times. As Biden prepared to leave in an SUV, Sevastopulo asked, "Can an Irishman get a question?" in a video shared on Twitter. Sevastopulo said he brought up that he is an Irish national because Biden "is always talking about being Irish." The tactic worked, and Biden paused to field the question from Sevastopulo, who asked how he had changed as a candidate over the years. "I'm still the same guy," Biden said. Sevastopulo said he had stopped recording when Biden rolled down the window moments later and joked, "The Irish guy? There's only one real Irishman running for president and it's me." "I'm sure there's a civil way to figure this all out," former Maryland Rep. John Delaney – who has said his father was "very proud of his Irish descent" – tweeted Tuesday in response to Biden's boast. He suggested they discuss it "over a pint of Guinness." Delaney and Biden are not the only people in the race who are of Irish descent. Irish Central reports that former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke "has undeniable Irish roots." "His great-great-grandfather Bernard O'Rourke was born in Glencar, North Leitrim on November 30, 1830, and he died in a buggy accident on August 28, 1896, in Talmadge, Otoe County Nebraska. He is buried in Saint Benedict's Cemetery there," according to the site. Among the other candidates with Irish background are Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, whose mother was an Irish immigrant, Irish Central reported. Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/05/07/election-2020-joe-biden-jokes-hes-only-real-irishman-running/1129588001/

Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg's campaign tried to clarify his position on vaccines Wednesday, walking back earlier comments that indicated he supported exemptions based on personal or religious beliefs. In a "clarifying statement" to BuzzFeed News early Wednesday, a Buttigieg spokesperson said the South Bend, Indiana, mayor thinks "only medical exemptions should be allowed." BuzzFeed had contacted the campaign for an article summing up the 2020 candidates' positions on vaccinations amid a rise in measles cases, which some attribute to an increase in the number of parents choosing not to have their children vaccinated. BuzzFeed asked the candidates three questions: Their thoughts on vaccines, whether they thought they were linked to autism and whether they supported an end to personal and religious exemptions. "The law of the land for more than a century has been that states may enforce mandatory vaccination for public safety to prevent the spread of a dangerous disease. Pete does support some exceptions, except during a public health emergency to prevent an outbreak," Buttigieg's spokesperson initially told BuzzFeed News in a statement. "These exemptions include medical exemptions in all cases (as in cases where it is unsafe for the individual to get vaccinated), and personal/religious exemptions if states can maintain local herd immunity and there is no public health crisis," the statement read. The statement clarifying the mayor's position was sent to BuzzFeed after the article containing the initial statement was published and some on social media had expressed alarm at his apparent endorsement of "personal/religious exemptions." On Wednesday, Buttigieg's spokesperson made clear to BuzzFeed News that "Pete believes vaccines are safe and effective and are necessary to maintaining public health." "There is no evidence that vaccines are unsafe, and he believes children should be immunized to protect their health," the clarifying statement said. "He is aware that in most states the law provides for some kinds of exemptions. He believes only medical exemptions should be allowed." Only nine of the more than 20 presidential candidates responded to BuzzFeed's questions on vaccines. In addition to Buttigieg (after his clarifying statement), six other Democratic candidates explicitly indicated support for removing religious and personal exemptions: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, California Rep. Eric Swalwell and entrepreneur Andrew Yang. Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/05/01/pete-buttigieg-clarifies-position-vaccines-after-buzzfeed-report/3637641002/

President Donald Trump reportedly lost more than $1 billion over a ten-year period -- and he avoided paying taxes for eight years during that time due to the losses. The revelation comes amid a brewing battle between Democrats in Congress and the Trump administration about lawmakers' access to the president's tax returns for 2013-2018. In 1985, Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his businesses, which included his casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings, according to a report from the New York Times. The majority of his losses came between 1990 and 1991, when he lost more than $250 million each year, the Times reported. In all, between 1985 to 1994, Trump lost $1.17 billion, according to the Times. As a result of his losses, the New York businessman did not have to pay taxes for eight of the 10 years, the Times also reported. The newspaper did not analyze Trump's official tax returns, but transcripts of those documents. The White House did not respond to request for comment. Representatives for Trump repeatedly pushed back on the bombshell report. A senior official in a statement initially told the Times that Trump "got massive depreciation and tax shelter because of large-scale construction and subsidized developments" and claimed that is why Trump has called for changes to the tax laws. However, Trump's lawyer, Charles Harder, in a statement issued to the Times Saturday criticized the paper's characterization of Trump's tax information, saying it was "demonstrably false" and the paper's reporting was "highly inaccurate." On Tuesday, Harder issued another statement claiming that IRS transcripts "particularly before the days of electronic filing are notoriously inaccurate." The president's lawyer, however, did not provide any specific errors in the information reported by Times. A former director of research, analysis and statistics at the IRS, Mark Mazur, told the Times that the transcripts are "handy" summaries of tax returns that have been used to analyze economic trends and set national policy and had gone through quality control for decades. In addition, the Times reported that its source provided transcripts of the tax returns of Fred Trump, the president's father, which the newspaper was able to verify against the father's actual tax returns because of its previous investigation and reporting. The report comes amid a fight between the Trump administration and Democratic lawmakers in the House who are seeking to obtain the president's 2013-2018 tax returns. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday rejected a request from House Democrats to obtain Trump's tax returns from the IRS, which is part of the Treasury Department. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, last month requested the president's tax returns since 2013. Mnuchin called the request "unprecedented" and claimed it "presents serious constitutional questions." He denied the request per guidance from the Department of Justice, and contended that "the Committee's request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose." Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/05/07/report-trump-lost-more-than-1-billion-decade/1135982001/

Japanese internet company SoftBank has reported a 36% increase in profit for the fiscal year through March from the previous fiscal year, partly on gains from its Vision Fund. After the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, SoftBank has said it will diversify its funding source for investments. Much of the Vision Fund money had come from Saudi Arabia. SoftBank Group Corp., whose mobile subsidiary is boosting its stake in Yahoo Japan to 45% from 12%, said Thursday annual profit totaled 1.4 trillion yen ($12.8 billion). SoftBank Group, which has invested in British IoT company ARM, and U.S. wireless company Sprint, offers internet and solar electricity services, and developed Pepper, the talking companion robot. Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/softbank-profits-rise-party-on-gains-from-saudi-tied-fund

As a journalist, the accepted method of asking for comment from the North Korean mission to the United Nations is to call or email their office. But, for years, they have yet to return a phone call or answer an email. So when I saw Kim Jong Un's ambassador to the United Nations, Kim Song, leaving the U.N. Secretariat building and taking a shortcut to walk to his office on Second Avenue one block away, I thought that his sudden appearance presented an opportunity for Fox News to ask the questions his government has long seen fit not to answer. Only in the encounter, Kim Jong Un's top diplomat in our country did not act terribly diplomatic. He pushed my Fox News microphone away when I asked him about Otto Warmbier. Otto was the 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Ohio who, while on an educational tour of Ambassador Song's homeland, was brutally tortured, beaten and basically murdered by the regime. A federal judge in Washington, D.C. recently ruled that Otto was forced to make a false confession to a crime that he did not commit, and for the offense of being an American, was arrested for Kim's propaganda purposes against the United States. When he finally was sent home after 17 months in captivity, doctors discovered that he had suffered severe brain damage, was in a vegetative state, deaf and blind. He died in a Cincinnati hospital shortly after his return. With Otto in mind, I first asked Ambassador Song about the New York City Council proposal to name the block of Second Avenue in front of the building that houses his office, as "Otto Warmbier Way." The proposal, from City Council Members Keith Powers, D-Manhattan, and Joe Borelli, R-Staten Island, would forever keep Otto's memory alive and serve as a pointed reminder to the North Koreans, and other U.N. diplomats, of the true nature of the regime. When he was given an opportunity to express any sense of compassion, the ambassador passed. I asked if he had any reaction if New York City names his street "Otto Warmbier Way?" "No." I asked if had any reaction for the Warmbier family, and wanted to say anything to them? "I have nothing to comment." No kind words, no words of apology, nothing. It is no wonder then that Otto's mother, Cindy Warmbier, said this last week in Washington, D.C. at a Hudson Institute symposium on North Korea: "North Korea, to me, is a cancer on the Earth, and if we ignore this cancer, it is not going to go away. It's going to kill all of us." "Otto was all about love and goodness... My gorgeous boy, who every girl had an immediate crush on, looked like a monster. I swear. The look in his eyes, which I didn’t know he was blind at the time, was absolute horror, horror, like he'd seen the devil. And he had." "There's a charade going on right now. It's called diplomacy. How can you have diplomacy with someone that never tells the truth? That's what I want to know. I am all for it, but I'm very skeptical. They only care about themselves, they do not care about all the people in the concentration camps. They are not gulags to me, they are concentration camps. The only difference between Hitler and him, is he is doing going it to all of his people, and to other people, too." Otto's father, Fred, will appear at the United Nations on Friday. He will be attending a "Symposium on the Human Rights Situation in the DPRK" (North Korea), sponsored by the Japanese Mission to the U.N. and Japan Ambassador Koro Bessho. The meeting will focus on the plight of countless Japanese abductees who were snatched by North Korea over the decades. Japanese family members of missing relatives will attend the event, as will the representative of another American family. James Sneddon will raise the plight of his brother, David Sneddon. David was a 24-year-old Mormon missionary who had just graduated from Brigham Young University when he disappeared while hiking in China in 2004. Unconfirmed reports say that he was abducted by the North Koreans and has not been heard from since. The families will pose the hard questions to the North Koreans, but just like my sidewalk talk with Ambassador Kim, will yield little from those who rule Pyongyang. Kim Jong Un's diplomat had chosen not to answer, and what he did say was terse and dismissive. His defiant silence belied any dignity, grace or compassion, just like the regime that he represents. Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-korea-ambassador-otto-warmbier-silent

President Trump announced Wednesday night his administration would allocate $448 million in federal aid to communities in Florida affected by last year's Category 5 Hurricane Michael, all while blasting Democrats standing in the way of his policies, at a raucous "Make America Great Again" rally in Panama City Beach. "In the wake of the terrible storm, this extraordinary community pulled together and showed the world your unbreakable spirit," Trump told supporters. "Today, I'm doing the most allowed by law to support the people of Florida. Because of the severity of the storm -- Category 5 -- we will have the federal government pay for 90 percent of the cost in many circumstances." The White House has blamed "Democrat obstruction" for a stoppage in recovery work, with about 120 projects being deferred. The president's opposition to more hurricane aid for Puerto Rico has sparked a standoff with congressional Democrats that has blocked some assistance to the island and elsewhere, including the Florida Panhandle. "The money is coming immediately," the president added. "No games, no gimmicks, no delays, we're just doing it." The president repeated his claim that Puerto Rico had received $91 billion to help it recover from 2017's Hurricane Maria, which he called "the most money we've ever given to anybody. We've never given $91 billion to a state. We gave Puerto Rico $91 billion ... and they don't like me." Producing a bar graph printout from his suit coat pocket, Trump showed the amount of aid given to Puerto Rico compared to other disaster-hit states. "I didn't want to spend on a big board because that costs the government too much money," he joked before complaining that leaders on the island territory "want more money. They got $91 billion, the largest amount of money ever given for a hurricane to a state ... and that's the way it is." "I think that the people of Puerto Rico are very grateful to Donald Trump for what we've done for them," the president said. "That was a bad storm." The White House has said the $91 billion figure includes about $50 billion in expected future disaster disbursements that could span decades, along with $41 billion already approved. Actual aid to Puerto Rico has amounted to about $11 billion so far. DONALD TRUMP JR. SUBPOENAED BY SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE In response to the president's remarks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued a statement accusing Senate Republicans of being "more committed to hurting our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico than healing communities everywhere. "Meanwhile, the President has doubled down on Republicans’ callousness, deliberately delaying assistance payments to Puerto Rico and inflicting more needless suffering on the Americans who are still reeling from his Administration’s disastrous response to the hurricanes," Pelosi added. "And so, hard-hit communities from the Florida panhandle to the Midwest are stuck waiting for the GOP-controlled Senate to pass a bill to help them. We are now just weeks away from another hurricane season and Republicans continue to delay and play politics. When disaster strikes, all Americans deserve to know that their government is there for them." The rally, the fourth held by the Trump campaign this year, began hours after the House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress. That vote came after the president invoked executive privilege in order to prevent lawmakers from seeing the full unredacted report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian activities during the 2016 election. Trump slammed Democrats in his speech for wasting time and resources on the Russia investigation, which he said led to nothing. HOUSE DEMS SUBPOENA FULL MUELLER REPORT FOLLOWING VOTE TO HOLD BARR IN CONTEMPT “Instead of wasting time, energy, taxpayer dollars on partisan stunts, hoaxes and witch hunts, Democrats should be focused on building up our country," the president said. "No collusion, no obstruction, no anything ... Two years on a witch hunt, almost $40 million, 20 Trump haters … after two years, nothing!” Mueller’s report concluded that the two-year-long investigation into the Trump campaign found no evidence of collusion between Trump’s associates and the Russian government. The report did not, however, come to a conclusion on the separate question of whether Trump obstructed justice as president. House Democrats have subpoenaed the full unredacted report, as well as the underlying evidence Mueller used to come to his conclusions, but the Department of Justice has denied those requests. “It is a disgrace. We have to focus on infrastructure, we have to focus on lowering medical prices and medicine, always focus on our military and our vets, which we’ve done,” the president said. “It's time to stop this nonsense.” SESSIONS SIDES WITH BARR OVER FBI 'SPYING' ON TRUMP CAMPAIGN Trump has said the Democrats' attempts to see the full report were merely an effort to damage him politically ahead of next year's election. The administration also has rejected efforts by Democrat-led House committees to investigate Trump's business dealings or tax returns as well as the West Wing's security clearance procedure. The president took several shots at rival Democrats in the 2020 White House race Wednesday night, calling them "some real beauties" and mock-pleading: "Let's just pick somebody, please, and let's start this thing." He joked that he would like to see South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg negotiating trade deals with China, saying, "That will be great." "We have a choice between Sleepy Joe [Biden] and Crazy Bernie [Sanders], and I'll take any of them," said Trump at another point in the rally, before adding: "Democrats are now the party of high taxes, high crime, open borders, late-term abortion, witch hunts and delusions. The Republican Party is the party for all Americans. We want to make America great again, that's what we're doing." Trump also highlighted the American economy, calling it “the envy of the world.” TOP DEM CLAIMS MUELLER REPORT SHOWS RUSSIA 'ARTIFICIALLY' PLACED TRUMP IN WHITE HOUSE “Our growth number came in for the first quarter, which is almost always the lowest quarter of the year historically, 3.2 percent, crushing expectations,” he said. The president added that since the election, his administration has created nearly 6 million new jobs, including 500,000 manufacturing jobs and nearly 700,000 construction jobs. Trump said had he promised those numbers during the 2016 campaign, the mainstream media would say he exaggerated them. Trump also noted the unemployment rate has reached its lowest point in 49 years and told supporters not to worry about this week's talks between U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators, including his threat to increase tariffs on nearly all Chinese imports at the end of the week. "They [China] broke the deal" in talks meant to de-escalate a year-long trade war, he said. "We won't back down until China stops," Trump said. "The era of economic surrender is over." Prior to the rally at the Aaron Bessant Park Amphitheater, Trump visited Tyndall Air Force Base, which took a serious hit from Hurricane Michael. The White House said almost all 700 structures on the base were damaged, roughly one-third were destroyed and 11,000 base personnel evacuated. Almost every building appeared damaged in some way, including a collapsed hangar. After touring the base, Trump promised officials, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, that it will be rebuilt "better than ever." Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-rally-panama-city-beach-florida

Talks between the U.S. and China are expected to begin Thursday and extend into Friday at least, the date the U.S. is expected to impose a new round of tariffs against China. President Trump Opens a New Window. said on Wednesday that China Opens a New Window. “just informed” the White House that a team -- including Vice Premier Liu He -- is coming to the U.S. to strike a trade deal. “We’ll see, but I am very happy with over $100 Billion a year in Tariffs filling U.S. coffers...great for U.S., not good for China!” the president wrote in a tweet. Although the Chinese were set to bring a 100-person delegation to the U.S. this week, the trade talks were thrown into limbo after Trump threatened on Sunday to slap an additional 25 percent tariff on $325 billion worth of Chinese goods. The U.S. already imposes a 10 percent tariff -- which is set to rise to 25 percent on Friday, Trump said in a tweet -- on $200 billion of goods and a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of tech products. Trump, however, said on Wednesday that real reason for the pullback was hope among the Chinese that they could hold off on negotiations on the chance that a Democrat wins the 2020 presidential election. White House officials have stressed that both sides are eager to wrap up talks; last week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told FOX Business that although they still had “more work to do,” enforcement mechanisms were “close to done.” “If we get to a completed agreement it will have real enforcement provisions,” he said at the time. Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-says-chinas-vice-premier-is-coming-to-the-us-to-make-a-deal

Binance, one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency Opens a New Window. exchanges, announced it has been a victim of a massive security breach. The exchange said late Tuesday that hackers have run off with over 7,000 bitcoin Opens a New Window. worth an estimated $41 million after they used a “variety of techniques, including phishing and viruses,” to tab into its systems. While the thieves only got a hold of around 2 percent of Binance’s bitcoin holdings and all other cryptocurrencies were “unharmed,” the exchange said it will need to suspend all deposits and withdrawals for at least one week. “We beg for your understanding in this difficult situation,” the company said, adding that it will continue to enable trading so that users can adjust their positions if they wish. The company also said hackers managed to obtain some user information during the attack and warned they "may still control certain user accounts and may use those to influence prices.” The hack comes amid a recent rally for bitcoin, which climbed 9 percent over the past week. However, the company noted that it will cover the incident in full and no users’ funds will be affected. “The hackers had the patience to wait, and execute well-orchestrated actions through multiple, seemingly independent, accounts at the most opportune time,” Binance said in a statement. “It was unfortunate that we were not able to block this withdrawal before it was executed.” Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/hackers-stole-41-million-bitcoin-worlds-largest-crypto-exchange

President Donald Trump reportedly lost more than $1 billion over a ten-year period -- and he avoided paying taxes for eight years during that time due to the losses. The revelation comes amid a brewing battle between Democrats in Congress and the Trump administration about lawmakers' access to the president's tax returns for 2013-2018. In 1985, Trump reported losses of $46.1 million from his businesses, which included his casinos, hotels and retail space in apartment buildings, according to a report from the New York Times. The majority of his losses came between 1990 and 1991, when he lost more than $250 million each year, the Times reported. In all, between 1985 to 1994, Trump lost $1.17 billion, according to the Times. As a result of his losses, the New York businessman did not have to pay taxes for eight of the 10 years, the Times also reported. The newspaper did not analyze Trump's official tax returns, but transcripts of those documents. The White House did not respond to request for comment. Representatives for Trump repeatedly pushed back on the bombshell report. A senior official in a statement initially told the Times that Trump "got massive depreciation and tax shelter because of large-scale construction and subsidized developments" and claimed that is why Trump has called for changes to the tax laws. However, Trump's lawyer, Charles Harder, in a statement issued to the Times Saturday criticized the paper's characterization of Trump's tax information, saying it was "demonstrably false" and the paper's reporting was "highly inaccurate." On Tuesday, Harder issued another statement claiming that IRS transcripts "particularly before the days of electronic filing are notoriously inaccurate." The president's lawyer, however, did not provide any specific errors in the information reported by Times. A former director of research, analysis and statistics at the IRS, Mark Mazur, told the Times that the transcripts are "handy" summaries of tax returns that have been used to analyze economic trends and set national policy and had gone through quality control for decades. In addition, the Times reported that its source provided transcripts of the tax returns of Fred Trump, the president's father, which the newspaper was able to verify against the father's actual tax returns because of its previous investigation and reporting. The report comes amid a fight between the Trump administration and Democratic lawmakers in the House who are seeking to obtain the president's 2013-2018 tax returns. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday rejected a request from House Democrats to obtain Trump's tax returns from the IRS, which is part of the Treasury Department. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., who is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, last month requested the president's tax returns since 2013. Mnuchin called the request "unprecedented" and claimed it "presents serious constitutional questions." He denied the request per guidance from the Department of Justice, and contended that "the Committee's request lacks a legitimate legislative purpose." Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/05/07/report-trump-lost-more-than-1-billion-decade/1135982001/

Japanese internet company SoftBank has reported a 36% increase in profit for the fiscal year through March from the previous fiscal year, partly on gains from its Vision Fund. After the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, SoftBank has said it will diversify its funding source for investments. Much of the Vision Fund money had come from Saudi Arabia. SoftBank Group Corp., whose mobile subsidiary is boosting its stake in Yahoo Japan to 45% from 12%, said Thursday annual profit totaled 1.4 trillion yen ($12.8 billion). SoftBank Group, which has invested in British IoT company ARM, and U.S. wireless company Sprint, offers internet and solar electricity services, and developed Pepper, the talking companion robot. Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/softbank-profits-rise-party-on-gains-from-saudi-tied-fund

As a journalist, the accepted method of asking for comment from the North Korean mission to the United Nations is to call or email their office. But, for years, they have yet to return a phone call or answer an email. So when I saw Kim Jong Un's ambassador to the United Nations, Kim Song, leaving the U.N. Secretariat building and taking a shortcut to walk to his office on Second Avenue one block away, I thought that his sudden appearance presented an opportunity for Fox News to ask the questions his government has long seen fit not to answer. Only in the encounter, Kim Jong Un's top diplomat in our country did not act terribly diplomatic. He pushed my Fox News microphone away when I asked him about Otto Warmbier. Otto was the 22-year-old University of Virginia student from Ohio who, while on an educational tour of Ambassador Song's homeland, was brutally tortured, beaten and basically murdered by the regime. A federal judge in Washington, D.C. recently ruled that Otto was forced to make a false confession to a crime that he did not commit, and for the offense of being an American, was arrested for Kim's propaganda purposes against the United States. When he finally was sent home after 17 months in captivity, doctors discovered that he had suffered severe brain damage, was in a vegetative state, deaf and blind. He died in a Cincinnati hospital shortly after his return. With Otto in mind, I first asked Ambassador Song about the New York City Council proposal to name the block of Second Avenue in front of the building that houses his office, as "Otto Warmbier Way." The proposal, from City Council Members Keith Powers, D-Manhattan, and Joe Borelli, R-Staten Island, would forever keep Otto's memory alive and serve as a pointed reminder to the North Koreans, and other U.N. diplomats, of the true nature of the regime. When he was given an opportunity to express any sense of compassion, the ambassador passed. I asked if he had any reaction if New York City names his street "Otto Warmbier Way?" "No." I asked if had any reaction for the Warmbier family, and wanted to say anything to them? "I have nothing to comment." No kind words, no words of apology, nothing. It is no wonder then that Otto's mother, Cindy Warmbier, said this last week in Washington, D.C. at a Hudson Institute symposium on North Korea: "North Korea, to me, is a cancer on the Earth, and if we ignore this cancer, it is not going to go away. It's going to kill all of us." "Otto was all about love and goodness... My gorgeous boy, who every girl had an immediate crush on, looked like a monster. I swear. The look in his eyes, which I didn’t know he was blind at the time, was absolute horror, horror, like he'd seen the devil. And he had." "There's a charade going on right now. It's called diplomacy. How can you have diplomacy with someone that never tells the truth? That's what I want to know. I am all for it, but I'm very skeptical. They only care about themselves, they do not care about all the people in the concentration camps. They are not gulags to me, they are concentration camps. The only difference between Hitler and him, is he is doing going it to all of his people, and to other people, too." Otto's father, Fred, will appear at the United Nations on Friday. He will be attending a "Symposium on the Human Rights Situation in the DPRK" (North Korea), sponsored by the Japanese Mission to the U.N. and Japan Ambassador Koro Bessho. The meeting will focus on the plight of countless Japanese abductees who were snatched by North Korea over the decades. Japanese family members of missing relatives will attend the event, as will the representative of another American family. James Sneddon will raise the plight of his brother, David Sneddon. David was a 24-year-old Mormon missionary who had just graduated from Brigham Young University when he disappeared while hiking in China in 2004. Unconfirmed reports say that he was abducted by the North Koreans and has not been heard from since. The families will pose the hard questions to the North Koreans, but just like my sidewalk talk with Ambassador Kim, will yield little from those who rule Pyongyang. Kim Jong Un's diplomat had chosen not to answer, and what he did say was terse and dismissive. His defiant silence belied any dignity, grace or compassion, just like the regime that he represents. Source: https://www.foxnews.com/world/north-korea-ambassador-otto-warmbier-silent