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Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee plan to hold a mock hearing on Tuesday — behind closed doors — to prep for Robert Mueller’s upcoming congressional testimony, a report says. Multiple sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press about the practice run on Monday night, but didn’t offer any details about what will take place. The House Judiciary and Intelligence committees are going to be grilling former special counsel Mueller about his Russia probe, which sought to uncover evidence of election meddling during the 2016 presidential race. Mueller’s investigation report listed no proof of a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Moscow, but said it could not clear the president of trying to obstruct justice. The ex-FBI director has told reporters that he doesn’t plan to testify about anything other than what was listed in his report when he appears Wednesday before congress. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry ...

MINNEAPOLIS — When Target Field opened almost a decade ago, Twins players griped it was difficult to hit a ball out of the jewel of a ballpark. Monday night the ball refused to stay in play when the Yankees and Twins, teams built on the home run, slugged it out in the first of three games between the AL East and Central leaders. With the help of a first-inning triple play when the Twins turned Edwin Encarnacion’s ground ball to third into three outs, the hosts held on for an 8-6 victory in front of 34,627. A year ago the Yankees set the all-time major league home run record with 267 and this year’s Twins are on pace to shatter that. Monday night they hit five to hike their major league-leading total to 187. Mitch Garver clubbed two and Jorge Polanco, Nelson Cruz and Max Kepler had one each. The 64-35 Yankees dropped a second straight game but it wasn’t because they didn’t hit. Gior Urshela, Luke Voit and DJ LeMahieu homered and Mike Tauchman went 3-for-4, scored twice and drove in...

Mexico set a new murder record in the first half of 2019 — as 17,608 people were killed in the country plagued by cartel and gang violence. The alarming number represents a 5.6% increase over the same period last year when their was 16,714 homicides. National homicide records in Mexico began in 1997. Mexico experienced an average of nearly 100 murders a day in the first half of the year, with many occurring in the northern state of Sonora, which borders the United States. Killings in Sonora were up 69% over the same time last year, with many of the murders blamed on drug cartel turf wars. Meanwhile, Sinaloa — home to convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman — experienced a 23% drop in homicides so far this year. With Post wires  Credit: Source link The post Mexico sets new record for most murders in first half of year appeared first on Fox USA Live . from Fox USA Live https://ift.tt/2y5GdXj

Jarred Kelenic will always be tied to the Mets and that doesn’t sit well with the former first-round draft pick’s mother. “It still surprises me seeing him in New York newspapers after all this time,” Lisa Kelenic told Baseball America on Sunday. “He’s 19. He was yours for 4 months. You broke up with him.” Kelenic’s name has popped up in The Post this season. The center fielder was selected sixth overall by the Mets in the 2018 draft, and was sent to the Mariners as part of the Edwin Diaz-Robinson Cano blockbuster that only keeps getting worse for the not so Amazin’s. The Mets made the move with ill-fated playoff aspirations and now are nowhere near contention. The 20-year-old Kelenic, meanwhile, is quickly rising through the Mariners’ system. He is in Advanced-A now after slashing .309/.394/.586 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs in 50 Low-A games, and represented Seattle at the MLB Futures Game last month. Kelenic is currently hitting .250/.325/.444 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in...

Hollywood is running closing credits on publicist Peggy Siegal, citing her ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. No fewer than three movie or television clients have fired Siegal for her role in raising the profile of the convicted child sex trafficker, according to a story in Monday’s Variety. The trade publication identified the clients as Netflix, FX Network and Annapurna Pictures, claiming all three dismissed the aggressive publicist after other press accounts detailed her role in getting Epstein into “splashy premieres and parties.” Those accounts reported that Siegal let Epstein pay for her travel as she orchestrated his invites to A-list events. Siegal’s access-providing efforts mostly occurred after Epstein got out of the Palm Beach County jail in 2009, after having served 13 months for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Outrage over Epstein’s sweet prison deal boiled last month after he was charged with sex trafficking by the Manhattan US Attorney. Siegal has ...

The scandal engulfing Puerto Rico was most recently fueled by revelations in July that Gov. Richard Rosselló had exchanged sexist and homophobic messages with top aides — but the seeds of citizens’ discontent had been sown years earlier. The US territory is drowning in debt to the tune of roughly $70 billion, with roughly 40 percent of island residents living in poverty while government spending is out of control. Puerto Rico defaulted on its monthly debt for the first time in 2015. Two years later, the territory filed for bankruptcy — the largest US bankruptcy claim for a government entity in history. And as the economy gets worse, more Puerto Ricans leave the island, meaning the government has less tax revenue to pay the bills. Hurricane Maria made everything worse. The 2017 storm killed more than 3,000 people, knocked out power for months and devastated the island’s housing stock and infrastructure. It also created a feud between President Trump and some Puerto Rican officials...

Daniel Jones is one step closer to Eli Manning’s throne. The Giants and Jones agreed to a contract Monday night, The Post’s Paul Schwartz reported. Jones, as the No. 6-overall draft pick in the NFL draft, will earn a four-year deal worth $25.5 million, with about $16.6 million in guaranteed money. Giants rookies will practice together Tuesday and Wednesday, while the full training camp will get underway Thursday. Jones is the last of the nine Giants rookies to sign. Credit: Source link The post Giants’ Daniel Jones contract saga is over, QB signs appeared first on Fox USA Live . from Fox USA Live https://ift.tt/2LAm7NS

The Associated Press reported last week that there is a boom in bitcoin use — in Iran. “Some observers have warned that cryptocurrencies could be used to bypass the Trump administration’s sanctions targeting Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers,” explained AP. Or, as I’ve said in past columns, these cryptocurrencies allow rogue nations to get rogue-ier. And someday one of these countries will use cryptocurrencies to pay for attacks on the US. And that, I’m sorry to say, is a real possibility that I will explain further in the future. That’s why these fake currencies will eventually lose the confidence of world investors and will ultimately be worthless. Credit: Source link The post Iran’s bitcoin interest should have the world concerned appeared first on Fox USA Live . from Fox USA Live https://ift.tt/2SxcNuy

Occidental Petroleum allowed itself to be played by the Oracle of Omaha so top brass could hold onto their jobs, billionaire investor Carl Icahn alleged Monday. Icahn, who has railed against the oil company’s “risky” merger plans, says Occidental Chief Executive Vicki Hollub was out of her league in negotiating with Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett to secure financing for Anadarko Petroleum. Occidental announced its plans to buy Anadarko for $38 billion in May after beating out rival bidder Chevron. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. “In my opinion, Buffett figuratively took her to the cleaners,” Icahn wrote in a letter to shareholders Monday, referring to the $10 billion in financing Buffett provided Occidental to buy Andarko. The financing terms give Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway an 8 percent return on preferred shares, and 80 million warrants to buy Occidental stock, which is worth $1.2 billion. “The Buffett deal was like taking candy from a baby and a...

Saks’ discount brand, Saks Off Fifth, is pulling out of The Bronx after opening its first store there two years ago. The 25,000-square-foot store at the Bay Plaza Shopping Center will close on Oct. 31, according to a public filing. The store employs 31 staffers. The luxury discount chain’s parent company, Toronto-based Hudson’s Bay Co., has said it will close up to 20 of its 133 stores this year as part of a larger initiative to “focus on businesses with the strongest growth opportunities.” Closures have hit Lord & Taylor stores, including HBC’s massive Fifth Avenue flagship in Midtown Manhattan, which shuttered right after the holiday season. An additional four Saks Off Fifth stores — that are not part of the 20 — have closed so far this year. “These decisions are never easy, but they are the right ones for the company,” HBC said in a statement to The Post. “This location is one of up to 20 anticipated closures.” By contrast, HBC is investing in its Saks Fifth Avenue flagsh...

A Georgia man says he contracted a flesh-eating bacteria during a family vacation to Florida — and nearly died. Tony Meredith told WDHN that he began to experience flu-like symptoms about five days after he got home to Colquitt, Ga., from his annual trip to Panama City Fla., earlier this month. A nurse practitioner first thought it was a kidney infection — until Meredith’s leg began to turn purple. Last week, Meredith said a doctor at Southeast Health diagnosed him with the serious bacterial infection, necrotizing fasciitis. The bacteria seeped into a barely noticeable scratch below Meredith’s knee while he was in Florida waters, according to the outlet. Doctors gave Meredith antibiotics to kill the infection. “I almost lost my leg or my life,” Meredith said. “Anybody that’s going to the beach, they need to really, really be real cautious before getting in the sand or the water,” he said. “I never thought it would happen to me.” The same infection Meredith contracted, claimed...

CARACAS, Venezuela — The lights have gone out across much of Venezuela, snarling traffic in the capital and reviving fears of the blackouts that plunged the country into chaos a few months ago. The power in the capital went out after 4 p.m. and immediately backed up traffic as stop lights and the subway stopped working during rush hour. “This is horrible, a disaster,” Reni Blanco, a 48-year-old teacher, said as she joined a crush of people who flooded into the streets of the capital trying to make it home before nightfall. Authorities have yet to comment and it was unclear the scale of the outage. But there were reports on social media that 19 of 24 Venezuelan states were also affected. Netblocks, a group monitoring internet activity, said network data showed most of Venezuela was knocked offline with national connectivity at just 6% after the latest cuts. The normally non-stop state TV channel, a key way for the government to keep people informed, was also off the air, leaving f...

DUBLIN , Ireland — With Shane Lowry having captured the British Open Sunday at Royal Portrush and all of Ireland not nearly finished celebrating, this brings an abrupt and jarring close to golf’s 2019 major championship season. So it’s our duty to remind you that 261 days remain until the next major, the 2020 Masters, which takes place April 9-12. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the reconfiguration of the majors this year, with the PGA Championship, usually played in August, moved to May. At the time, with the Masters in April, the PGA in May, the U.S Open in June and the British Open in July, it seemed like the month-to-month rapid fire might be fun. But now, without the PGA to look forward to next month and the Masters so far away, there’s a late-summer void in golf — with all due respect to the FedExCup Playoffs, which simply aren’t the same. So, upon further review, I’m not crazy about the condensed schedule. But, of course, no one asked me. With that, here’s a look at some of...

The de Blasio administration’s crackdown on ride-hailing services is hurting poor riders, according to Uber. The San Francisco company says city and state regulations reining in ride-hailing services like Uber are only making life difficult for lower income neighborhoods — while having zero impact on more affluent New York City riders. “The data suggests that the TLC’s regulations may be impacting low-income New Yorkers, especially in communities that are poorly served by yellow taxis,” Chad Dobbs, Uber’s head of rides in the city, told The Post. Dobb’s statement comes ahead of a hearing before the Taxi Limousine Commission Tuesday to consider more regulations, including extending the current NYC freeze on for-hire vehicles. The $74 billion company is upset over a slew of city and state regulations that it claims have boosted the cost of a ride, including the TLC’s new minimum wage requirements for e-hail drivers; the TLC-imposed freeze on for-hire vehicles, and NY state-sponsored...

A 20-year-old Georgia woman was killed in a jet ski accident on Lake Lanier — the 12th person to die at the popular reservoir this year, authorities said. Kaylynn Ticas was riding a watercraft at high speed Saturday around 2:30 p.m. when she crashed into the shoreline, WSB-TV reported. Bystanders pulled Ticas from the water and she was taken to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where she died. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources said they are conducting an investigation and that the probe could take several weeks. This year’s death toll at the popular lake has already surpassed the 11 deaths in 2018. Earlier this month, a 9-year-old boy and his 30-year-old father died after being pulled from the water, according to outlet. Libao Chen had jumped into the lake to rescue his son Ethan Chen and didn’t immediately resurface. Both were hospitalized in critical condition, and died about a week later. Lake Lanier, a reservoir in northern Georgia, is “one of America’s favori...

After DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge started the first inning by drawing walks from Twins lefty Martin Perez, the heavy-legged Edwin Encarnacion strolled to the plate. Out of all the Yankee hitters, Encarnacion was the strongest candidate to hit into a triple play because he runs like damp cement going uphill. So when he hit a hard grounder to third baseman Luis Arraez near the bag it sent a buzz through Target Field. Arraez tagged the base, threw to second baseman Jonathan Schoop, whose throw to first beat Encarnacion. It was the first triple play hit into by the Yankees since Todd Frazier did it on July 25, 2017 against the Reds. It was the first triple play turned by the Twins since June 1, 2017 against the Angels and the 13th in the history of the franchise. Credit: Source link The post Yankees fall victim to rare triple play against Twins appeared first on Fox USA Live . from Fox USA Live https://ift.tt/2Sy8Xl4

MINNEAPOLIS — On June 21, Gary Sanchez was hitting .274 with 23 homers, 52 RBIs, a .982 OPS and headed for the All-Star Game. Sanchez entered Monday night’s game against the Twins at Target Field batting .237 with 24 homers and 58 RBIs to go with an .834 OPS thanks to a 10-for-75 (.133) slide across 19 games (18 starts) in which he hit one homer, drove in six runs and posted a .417 OPS. And no matter how many times Aaron Boone is asked about Sanchez’s elongated slide the answer remains the same and doesn’t include health. Sanchez suffered a left thumb injury on June 30 against the Red Sox in London and was removed from that game after the eighth inning despite the Yankees holding a 12-8 lead. “I feel he is getting his ‘A’ swing off a lot. He gets a pitch [to hit] he is fouling that pitch off,’’ said Boone, who batted Sanchez fourth against Twins lefty Martin Perez. “He is expanding the strike zone right now and that could be the result of him chasing [pitches]. I have talked to him...

In a weird 2017 bedside chat, Sen. Chuck Schumer threatened to sic the entire Democratic caucus on Al Franken if he refused to resign from the chamber amidst several women claiming Franken had inappropriately touched them, a report said Monday. Franken told The New Yorker magazine that he asked to meet with Schumer, and the minority leader suggested Franken come to his DC apartment to avoid the press. “It was like a scene out of a movie,” Franken told the magazine, describing how Schumer sat at the edge of his bed while Franken and his wife pleaded with the Dem leader for more time to weather the storm that saw fellow senators call for him to step down. Instead, Schumer told Franken to resign by 5 p.m. or he would tell the entire Democratic caucus to call on him to step down, according to the report. Schumer also told the embattled senator that he could be censured and stripped of his committee assignments, the New Yorker reported. “I couldn’t believe it,” Franken told the magazi...

The rivalry could be going somewhere it has seldom gone before. Cooperstown. Yankees fans are almost certain to return to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in droves next July with the likely induction of Derek Jeter — and they could be seeing plenty of red there. Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling received the most votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America of anyone on the ballot not to get in this year with 60.9 percent. It wouldn’t take too big of a leap for the right-hander to get the needed 75 percent for induction. Right behind him was Roger Clemens, the hurler who spent the bulk of his career with the Red Sox and Yankees receiving 59.5 percent of the vote. Now that would be an interesting dynamic. It remains to be seen if the tiny town is big enough for the two rabid fan bases. Jeter will likely be the only first-time member on the ballot to get in. Others eligible next year for the first time include left-hander Cliff Lee, along with first basemen Paul Ko...