Rapper Ice Cube claims that he and his basketball league BIG3 were targeted by Qatari investors who wanted to use it to reach Steve Bannon.

He and his co-CEO Jeff Kwatinetz claim that Qatari Ahmed al Rumaihi agreed to invest $20.5 million but only paid $7.5 m.

Kwatinetz has made a legal statement saying that the Qatari plans were 'more about perceived influence in America' because he and Bannon were friends.

The Qatari investor repeatedly asked about meeting Bannon before he was fired from his job as Donald Trump's chief strategist in the White House.

And this year when Bannon left Breitbart and lost his backing from hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, the Qatari offered to underwrite his political efforts.

Kwatinetz says Qatari investor wanted to meet Bannon to tell him the government of Qatar wanted to underwrite all his campaigning

Kwatinetz turned him down but investor accused him of being naive and said: 'Do you think Flynn turned down our money?'

Qatari investor Ahmed al Rumaihi claims to be acting on his own but is actually a member of the royal family who said the 'emir was like his brother', claims suit.

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://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5711031/Steve-Bannon-target-bribery-plot-Ice-Cubes-basketball-league-rapper-claims.html

Citing the decision of the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People’s Court, Xinhua said that 10.5 billion yuan ($1.65 billion) will also be confiscated from Wu Xiaohui.

https://

uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-anbang-trial/anbangs-former-chairman-wu-xiaohui-jailed-for-18-years-xinhua-idUKKBN1IB094

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://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-israel-soleimani/israel-says-irans-soleimani-commanded-attack-on-its-golan-bases-idUKKBN1IB0DF

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - Singapore is the most likely venue for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a U.S. official said, after Pyongyang cleared a major obstacle to the meeting with the release of three American prisoners.

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://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-usa-prisoners/singapore-likely-summit-venue-after-north-korea-releases-prisoners-u-s-official-idUKKBN1IB0AI

U.S. drone programme taps Apple, passes over Amazon, China's DJI

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://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-drones-companies/u-s-drone-programme-taps-apple-passes-over-amazon-chinas-dji-idUKKBN1IA33T

Into the fray…

Cheney, Panetta worry about consequences of Iran deal withdrawal

Lawrence Delevingne, Svea Herbst-Bayliss

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Dick Cheney and Leon Panetta, who served at the highest levels of U.S. government, see potential unintended consequences of the Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, including possible military action in the Middle East.

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://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-nuclear-cheney-panetta/cheney-panetta-worry-about-consequences-of-iran-deal-withdrawal-idUKKBN1IB08O

Air Force Colonel charged with sexual assault

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://apnews.com/a3359dd0a8584fd29c94dd5364d4367a

Gates, Zuckerberg team up on new education initiative

BY SALLY HO

Yesterday

SEATTLE (AP) — Tech moguls Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday they will team up to help develop new methods for kids with trouble learning — an effort that will include dabbling into child brain science.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative intend to explore a number of potential pilot projects.

They'll focus on math, writing and brain functions — key areas of classroom learning that they note are crucial for academic success.

The effort is now seeking information and ideas from across sectors, from education and academia to business, technology and medicine. Future investments based on that information are expected, but no dollar amount has been set.

The idea that disadvantaged children struggle to learn because of poor executive brain function involving memory, thinking flexibility, and behavioral issues related to autism and other attention disorders has long been lamented by social workers and health advocates.

The joint project by Gates and Zuckerberg details possible ways to mitigate those shortcomings.

Among the ideas is using games and technology simulations to support teachers and family, and tracking progress in certain vulnerable student populations such as kids with disabilities or those who are learning English as a second language.

Leaders of the effort say technology is not a primary focus, but they recognize the role it can play.

The new endeavor marks the latest effort by deep-pocketed philanthropists who have tried with little success and much controversy to change entire school systems…..

…..

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://apnews.com/b91e89f3e4844f77ac56bd4e95c98dcc

Trump is returning to campaign roots with rally in Indiana

BY KEN THOMAS

44 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking the reins as party leader, President Donald Trump is returning to his campaign roots with big-stage events allowing him to target vulnerable Senate Democrats and mobilize his most fervent supporters on behalf of Republicans.

Trump was set to rally supporters in Elkhart, Indiana, on Thursday night, two days after state Republicans nominated former state lawmaker Mike Braun to challenge vulnerable Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly. Trump's political advisers view the event, which will also be attended by home-state Vice President Mike Pence, as a way to project party unity following a bruising primary.

Trump, who helped the Republican National Committee raise a record $132 million last year, has told advisers he is eager to ramp up his campaign travel on behalf of Republicans. The president carried 10 states in 2016 that have Democratic senators on the ballot this year and is expected to campaign heavily to help Republicans maintain Senate and House majorities and elect GOP governors…….

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://apnews.com/294aa502ff9042b1825f20716c99b04d

92 yr old

Malaysia election 2018 SHOCK: Mahathir Mohamad will NOT be sworn in as leader today

MAHATHIR Mohamad will not be sworn in as Prime Minister of Malaysia today following his shock election victory, according to a palace spokesman.

The reason given for the delay was not given.

Mr Mahathir stunned the nation after winning a majority in the vote on Wednesday.

The 92-year-old had previously said he would be sworn in on Thursday.

Mr Mahathir had been scheduled to hold a news conference following his victory at 3am GMT, however the world is still waiting for him to speak for the fist time since winning in dramatic fashion.

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://www.express.co.uk/news/world/957579/Malaysia-election-2018-shock-Mahathir-Mohamad-will-not-be-sworn-in-as-leader-on-Thursday

Winning

U.S. Budget Just Made History: Best Month Ever

US President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland on March 25, 2018. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

ByJAMES BARRETT

May 8, 2018

In April, the federal government took in a record sum of $515 billion in taxes, according to a newly released Congressional Budget Office report. During that time, we spent $297 billion. Yes, you read that correctly: We actually took in more than we spent — a lot more. That $218 billion surplus is, in fact, a new record, beating the previous record set back in 2001 ($190 billion) by $28 billion…..

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://www.dailywire.com/news/30365/us-budget-just-made-history-best-month-ever-james-barrett

Leading Economist Now Says Trump Policies Are Restoring America’s Economy

Rod Thomson

Sean Snaith is not a household name but he is one of the nation’s top economists and highly regarded in economic circles for the depth and accuracy of his projections.

So much so that he is on multiple national economic forecasting panels, including The Wall Street Journal’s Economic Forecasting Survey, the Associated Press’ Economy Survey, CNNMoney.com’s Survey of Leading Economists, USA Today’s Survey of Top Economists, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Survey of Professional Forecasters, Bloomberg and Reuters.

All this is stated upfront because what he says rightly carries weight in a lot of influential circles, and probably should outside those circles. And he is now supremely optimistic about the American economy going forward…..

….Interestingly, Snaith is not worried about a trade war undercutting his economic projections because he does not think there will be one.

“Are we going to have a trade war? My answer is no. Everybody knows that no one wins in a trade war,” he said. However, he thinks that some of the nation’s trade deals do need renegotiating because they were unbalanced, and China was cheating on them…..

Snaith is about as mainstream as you can get in the economics field. And his projections record is stellar. His optimism is worth paying attention to.

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://therevolutionaryact.com/economist-trump-policies-economy/

Israel’s Embassy in Egypt celebrated the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding, the first Independence Day event since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

By: AP

Israel’s Embassy in Egypt celebrated the 70th anniversary of the country’s founding on Tuesday in Cairo, the first such event since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising and a sign of improving ties between the two countries.

The party at the Nile Ritz Carlton was a step up for diplomacy in the Arab world’s most populous country, where relations have deepened under the rule of general-turned-president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in 2013. Mostly foreign diplomats attended, and some Egyptians…..

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://worldisraelnews.com/israel-celebrates-independence-first-time-egypt-since-arab-spring/

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