Trusted Donald Trump aide Hope Hicks quits as White House communications director

Agencies
March 1, 2018

Washington, Mar 1: Hope Hicks, one of US President Donald Trump`s longest-serving, most trusted aides, is resigning from her job as White House communications director.

The White House announced she was leaving a day after Hicks, 29, spent nine hours in a closed hearing of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Hicks` decision to leave was not related to her appearance before the panel. Lawmakers said Hicks, Trump`s spokeswoman during the election campaign, declined to answer questions about the administration but she did answer every question asked about her time with the campaign, and the transition months between the November election and the January 2017 inauguration.

Hicks` exact departure was unclear but is expected to be sometime over the next few weeks.

Hicks was caught up in a controversy surrounding former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, whom she had been dating. She worked to defend him when charges of domestic abuse against his two former wives emerged. Porter was ultimately forced to resign.

A one-time aide to Trump`s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and with no previous experience in politics, Hicks was one of the first people hired by the then-New York businessman when he began his campaign for the presidency.

Aides said she had approached the president and told him she wanted to leave so she could start exploring opportunities outside of the White House.

Robert Trout, a lawyer for Hicks who has represented her in the Russia investigation, declined comment.

Among the issues Hicks declined to discuss with the House panel on Tuesday was her part in drafting a statement in July 2017 misrepresenting a July 2016 meeting at Trump Tower that included the President`s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., other Trump associates and Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer.

Trump Jr. said initially the meeting was about adoptions, but said later that Veselnitskaya had promised damaging information about his father`s election campaign opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia ran a program of hacking and disinformation to interfere in the elections and it later developed into an attempt to help Republican candidate Trump defeat Clinton. On Feb. 16, a U.S. special counsel indicted 13 Russians and three companies on charges of tampering in the campaign.

Russia denies interfering in the U.S. election and Trump denies any collusion between his campaign and Moscow officials.

Hicks took over as communications director in September after the difficult, 11-day tenure of Anthony Scaramucci, who was fired. She is credited behind the scenes for stabilizing the communications operation.

"Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years. She is as smart and thoughtful as they come, a truly great person," Trump said in a statement released by the White House. "I will miss having her by my side but when she approached me about pursuing other opportunities, I totally understood. I am sure we will work together again in the future."

Hicks said in her own statement that "there are no words to adequately express my gratitude to President Trump. I wish the president and his administration the very best as he continues to lead our country."

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News Network
May 15,2020

May 15: Global deaths linked to the novel coronavirus passed 300,000 on Thursday, while reported cases of the virus are approaching 4.5 million, according to a news agency tally.

About half of the fatalities have been reported by the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy.

The first death linked to the disease was reported on January 10 in Wuhan, China. It took 91 days for the death toll to pass 100,000 and a further 16 days to reach 200,000, according to the Reuters tally of official reports from governments. It took 19 days to go from 200,000 to 300,000 deaths.

By comparison, an estimated 400,000 people die annually from malaria, one of the world’s most deadly infectious diseases.

The United States had reported more than 85,000 deaths from the new coronavirus, while the United Kingdom and Italy have reported over 30,000 fatalities each.

While the current trajectory of COVID-19 falls far short of the 1918 Spanish flu, which infected an estimated 500 million people, killing at least 10% of patients, public health experts worry the available data is underplaying the true impact of the pandemic.

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News Network
March 25,2020

London, Mar 25: Prince Charles on Wednesday has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and is working from home with mild symptoms, according to UK media.
A Clarence House spokesperson said the Prince of Wales was "displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual", the Telegraph UK reported.
"He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual," the spokesperson added.
In accordance with the government and medical advice, the 71-year old heir to the British throne and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are now self-isolating at their home in Scotland.
The Duchess of Cornwall has also been tested but does not have the virus.
The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing.
"It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks," the statement further said.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Washington, Jun 2: US President Donald Trump said that peaceful protests following the death of African-American man George Floyd in police custody were derailed by acts of domestic terrorism.

"These are not acts of peaceful protests, these are acts of domestic terror - the destruction of innocent life, and the spilling of innocent blood is an offence to humanity and a crime against God," Trump said during a press briefing on Monday.

Trump also added that the chaos is the work of professional agitators and provocateurs - anarchists and the far-left movement Antifa, among others - and put them on notice, vowing to enforce law and order.

He further said, "Those who threaten innocent life and property will be arrested, detained and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I want the organizers of this terror to be on notice that you will face severe criminal penalties and lengthy sentences in jail. This includes Antifa and others who are leading instigators."

The US president also that he is invoking an 1807 law to mobilize the military around the country to "quickly solve the problem."

"I am also taking swift and decisive action to protect our capital Washington DC. As we speak, I am dispatching thousands and thousands of heavily armed soldier, military personnel and enforcement officers to stop the rioting," Trump said during a press briefing.

"I am mobilizing all available federal resources, civilian and military, to stop the rioting and looting, to end the destruction and arson. And to protect the rights of law-abiding Americans, including your Second Amendment rights," he added.

Trump said mayors and governors must establish an "overwhelming law enforcement presence until the violence has been quelled." If the city or state refuses to take the actions, Trump said he would deploy the US military.

Trump on Monday also said that all Americans are rightly 'sickened by the brutal death' of George Floyd and his administration is fully committed to providing justice to George and his family.

"All Americans were rightly sickened and revolted by the brutal death of George Floyd. My administration is fully committed, the justice will be fully served for George and his family and He will not have died in vain," Trump said.

"My first and highest duty as president is to defend and protect the great country and the American people. I have sworn an oath to uphold the laws of our nation and that is exactly what I will do," he added.

After the media address, Trump made a surprise visit to the damaged St Johns church near White House, walking through park violently cleared of protesters. He walked to the church across the street from the White House after tear gas was fired at protesters in the area.

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