Trump's looming Impeachment and visit to Saudi Arabia

Trumpeters played and jets flew overhead with red white and blue smoke trails decorating the sky as Trump emerged from Air Force One in Riyadh. Middle East expert Ilan Goldenberg is just back from a trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which included meetings with high-level government officials. "I think they were very optimistic about President Trump," says Goldenberg, who runs the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. That might be surprising considering some of the ways Trump disparaged Saudi Arabia as a presidential candidate. A check of his Twitter feed shows multiple tweets accusing Saudi Arabia of "freeloading," including this one from June of 2015. That was a familiar refrain on the campaign trail. At a rally in Green Bay, Wis., in August, Trump said, "We have military bases that we rent — we pay rent to Saudi Arabia to protect them. No, no — think of it. ... Think of the stupidity." And in a general election debate last year, Trump blasted Hillary Clinton because the Clinton Foundation had taken money from Saudi Arabia. But his remarks were as much a criticism of the country's human rights record as of her. President Trump's First Foreign Trip Will Include Red-Carpet Welcome In Saudi Arabia. President Trump's First Foreign Trip Will Include Red-Carpet Welcome In Saudi Arabia "I'd like to ask you right now why don't you give back the money that you've taken from certain countries that treat certain groups of people so horribly?" he said. There's also the matter of the executive orders President Trump signed aimed at halting travel — at least temporarily — from several majority-Muslim countries in the name of security. Critics see them as "Muslim bans." But none of that, experts said, was likely to dampen the enthusiasm for Trump in the Persian Gulf region. Why? Part of it has to do with the contrast between the new U.S. president and his predecessor, President Obama. "For the Saudis, anyone is better than Barack Obama," Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution said. "That was a really low point from their perspective." Obama never really developed a rapport with Arab leaders, Hamid said. And they were particularly put off by Obama's willingness to negotiate with Iran, Saudi Arabia's main rival in the region. Wading Into Murky Waters, Trump Trip To Advocate Religious Unity Wading Into Murky Waters, Trump Trip To Advocate Religious Unity "Even if they have some concerns about Trump and his unpredictability, they still see him (Trump) as an improvement. And they're enthusiastic in part because of Trump's strong rhetoric against Iran." There are other reasons leaders in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have an affinity for Trump. "Trump has a strongman persona. And that endears him to autocratic leaders in the Middle East," Hamid said. "They never liked that Obama would bring up human rights concerns in their meetings. They don't have to worry about that as much with President Trump, who is not prioritizing human rights or democracy." Jerry Feierstein, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, agreed that Trump's persona has helped endear him to these leaders. Trump's tendency to run the government like a family business, with a close circle of advisers like his daughter and son-in-law, isn't seen as a negative in a part of the world run by extended families and monarchies, he said. "For them, Donald Trump is a very understandable and relatable individual," Feierstein said. "He's a sympathetic character. He behaves the same way they behave." This isn't to say Trump is universally popular among the citizens of the Gulf countries. However, he is unlikely to face protests while in Saudi Arabia — because that sort of public show of dissent isn't allowed.

Deranged car driver kills girl and 22 others

A deranged motorist mounted a sidewalk and plowed into pedestrians in Times Square Thursday — killing one and injuring 22 others, cops and sources said. The driver Richard Rojas, 26, of the Bronx, was taken into custody following his three-block rampage, authorities said. The Navy vet, who has two prior DWI arrests, was believed to be high on K2 and wracked by delusional thoughts. Sources said Rojas told cops something along the lines of, “This was the last day on earth.” Deadly Times Square crash marks latest tragedy for tourist hub. Rojas also claimed to hear voices and suggested that he believed cops were going to kill him. "This wasn’t like a normal interview,” a source said. “He’s rambling.” Police arrest 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a criminal history of impaired driving, at the scene of the crash. Police arrest 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a criminal history of impaired driving, at the scene of the crash. Rojas’ maroon Honda Accord carved a path of destruction along Seventh Ave. just before noon, knocking down pedestrians on the sidewalk like bowling pins, police and witnesses said. “It looked like he was trying to hit them,” said witness Annie Donahey, 24. “He wasn’t trying to go back on the street.” Brave bystanders 'knocked' out driver in Times Square crash Michigan tourist Alyssa Elsman, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 13-year-old sister was injured, officials said. “I just found out,” Elsman’s sobbing aunt said. Four victims were rushed to area hospitals in critical condition. A wrecked vehicle sits at the intersection of 45th St. and Broadway in Times Square. They suffered “open fractures and multiple traumas” but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said FDNY Commissioner Dan Nigro. Shameless duo snap selfies amid Times Square death, devastation. Three suffered serious injuries, and 15 others sustained minor injuries, authorities said. “This is a tough day for New York City, but as usual, the people of New York City will stand firm, will be resilient,” Mayor de Blasio said. De Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill rushed to the scene fearing that the incident was an act of terror. In a news conference at the scene, they repeated several times that the incident didn’t appear to be terror-related. Costumed teen photobombs, menaces Times Square tourist. A speeding vehicle has struck at least 14 pedestrians on a sidewalk in New York City's Times Square, killing one person and seriously injuring another. Police have taken a suspect into custody. The New York Police Department closed off the area after the collisions occurred on on Thursday, just before noon, at the corner of 45th. “The worst went through my mind and that’s why the mayor and I came here as quickly as we could,” O’Neill said. Rojas was traveling south on Seventh Ave. when he inexplicably made a sharp U-turn and roared onto the sidewalk, cops said. The car barreled into nearly two dozen pedestrians as it sped along the sidewalk for more than three blocks, cops said. Witnesses said the driver kept going even as a body clung to his windshield. Brooklyn man swinging 3-foot sword in Times Square busted Donahey said she heard several sickening “thuds” as the car mowed down the crowds enjoying the sunny weather. Alyssa Elsman, 18, was killed in Times Square Thursday after a car struck her and 22 other pedestrians. “It was the sounds of bodies being hit. Then came the screams," she said. “People were jumping out of the way, but he just kept going.” The road rampage ended at W. 45th St. when Rojas’ sedan slammed into a stanchion and flipped on its side. Eleven hurt in two-car accident on Staten Island “Thank God that he hit it or he would have went right into Swatch,” said street vendor Duane Jackson, 64. Rojas tried to flee the scene but was grabbed by a pair of bystanders. He’s being tested for alcohol and drugs. An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the brutal collision. An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the crash. An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the brutal collision. “He was on something definitely,” said witness Anthony McInnis, 49. “He was sweating like crazy. He was erratic.” Rojas’ Honda left behind a three-block trail of wounded victims, pools of blood and scattered car parts. “It was total chaos, total shock,” said Kelly Graves, 54, a tourist from Wisconsin. “You didn’t know what happened until you actually saw people and the police running and people laying on the sidewalk.” Rojas’ friends said he was out drinking last night and appeared to be in good spirits. “This is really crazy,” said pal Jose Medrano. “He doesn't cause trouble. This is really weird. He's a low key person. He’s a family man.” Rojas’s most recent DWI arrest took place in Manhattan in 2015. He was busted on the same charge in Queens in 2008, cops said. Rojas was also arrested in May for menacing.

Google is making another go at getting cheap Android phones to support its latest software, an attempt to lock more consumers in the developing world into the internet giant’s services. The new program, called Android Go, was announced at the Alphabet Inc. division’s I/O developer conference on Wednesday in Mountain View, California. It bakes features directly into Google’s mobile operating system that are designed specifically for cheap phones, including software to manage cellular data costs. The service will launch in 2018. Google releases a new Android operating system every year, but most devices running the software use older versions. These phones do not get as frequent security and feature updates, a persistent problem for the company. India has more active Android users than the U.S., Sameer Samat, a Google executive, said on stage on Wednesday. But in countries like this, the high cost of mobile data is a major barrier to consumers buying smartphones and using Google services. Android Go has a feature that more easily tracks mobile data usage and ties automatically with the billing systems of wireless carriers, Samat said. Google also designed the service to minimize data usage on bandwidth-hungry services like YouTube. Previously, Google tried to solve this low-end phone issue with a program called Android One. The service was designed to tailor the latest Android operating system for phones costing around $100 or less. However, it failed to take off in key markets, like India, because the companies that manufactured the devices couldn’t make much money just selling the hardware. In an interview, Samat said that the Android One program is continuing, although it dropped the earlier effort to work with phones at the $100 price point. Less Data Usage Android Go will only be available on phones that run Google’s upcoming software version, available next year. So far, most manufacturers have avoided shipping the latest Android on cheap phones to save costs. But Samat said the changes coming with Android Go will convince the hardware partners to change course. The new software is designed to run versions of Google apps that require less data. Samat mentioned YouTube as one app, but declined to name others. Google will also be curating a list of apps in its digital store that are designed for light data usage. "That’s a selling proposition that people can get excited about," Samat said. Facebook Inc. tried a similar app-curation strategy -- picking a suite of services to "zero-rate," or subsidize the data charge. That effort fell flat after considerable pushback in countries like India. Samat said Google isn’t using zero-rating in its initial Android Go version. On stage, Samat demonstrated a novel way for Android users to track their mobile data usage and even pay their monthly or pre-paid mobile-phone bills via Google Play. Google has set up carrier billing options in its Play store in 55 countries with 140 telecom partners. The company doesn’t disclose its Play store sales. Samat declined to share any carrier or manufacturing partners Google has with Android Go.

Another chibok girl found

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday confirmed that another Chibok schoolgirl had been found, barely 12 days after the release of the 82 abducted girls by their captors. Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, who made this known to State House correspondents in Abuja, said the recovery of the girl was announced by the acting president during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday. According to him, the affected girl has been brought to Abuja to join her colleagues who were rescued from captivity. “The Federal Executive Council’s meeting, the Vice-President broke the cheering news to members of the cabinet and after that I have also spoken to defence people who confirmed it. “The details are yet to fully unravel . But in terms of is it true- yes, it is true. I learnt she is already being brought to Abuja, but I have not seen her The presidential aide expressed the hope that the remaining Chibok schoolgirls and other Nigerians in captivity would soon be rescued. He also dismissed the assertion that members of the Boko Haram sect had started regrouping in the Sambisa forest, saying that the Federal Government had the capacity to confront any security challenge arising from any part of the country. “One thing you can be sure of is that this government has the capacity to confront any security challenge that arises. “So, if they are regrouping they will be flushed out again. “I believe that we have seen the worst of that insurgency. We are in a mopping up process and I believe the mop up would be completed.’’ 82 girls were recently released by their captors in exchange for five Boko Haram (commanders) suspects held by the federal government. Twenty one others were released in October last year and another three also regained their freedom, in separate circumstances. They were released to international negotiators who have been working in collaboration with the federal government for their safe return since they were kidnapped in April 2014.

This sell-off will only turn into a correction if Trump's scandals puts this at risk. •Stocks in one of worst sell-offs since election on concerns Trump agenda will be impacted by latest controversy. •Strategists don't expect a major correction unless tax reform is no longer expected. •'Buy the dip' strategy expected to keep the pullback from escalating. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks sold off in the strongest reaction yet to political controversy surrounding the Trump White House, but the market is not likely to head into a serious correction unless it appears the chaos disrupts chances for tax reform. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were at record highs this week, but then Washington became the epicenter of a new series of political shockwaves that threaten to distract the White House and Congress from President Donald Trump's economic agenda. On Wednesday, the S&P fell more than 1.2 percent to 2370 in one of its strongest sell offs since the November election. The Dow was down more than 250 points, and the Nasdaq fell 1.8 percent. "If the market wasn't overvalued, I wouldn't worry so much. An overvalued market is looking for a catalyst for a correction. This could be it," said Jack Ablin, CIO of BMO Capital Markets. "I wouldn't run away from the market for fear of some sort of collapse...The U.S. market is somewhat over its skis." Treasury yields, which move opposite prices, moved lower as investors sought safety, and the dollar continued a multi-day decline. Gold futures were higher, and investors piled into the SPRDR Gold Trust, driving it 1.6 percent higher in a flight-to-safety trade. Stocks had largely been complacent about a series of recent events that raised the potential for political risk from Washington, starting last week with President Donald Trump's firing of FBI chief James Comey. Comey was investigating the ties between Trump's campaign and Russia. It was also revealed earlier this week that Trump allegedly told classified information to Russian officials, who visited the White House last week. But the stock market did react when it was revealed in news reports that Comey left behind a memo saying that the president asked him to drop his investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who was at the heart of the Russia investigation. That brought calls for impeachment from some Democrats and also raised questions of whether Trump overstepped any legal bounds. "The worst case outcome is if something happens with the presidency. The bigger thing is we're back to the question of is this bad enough to put the agenda on the back burner because they have to spend all their time defending. To me, that's really what's showing up here," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management. "Impeachment when you've got your party controlling Congress is not going to happen…The markets are barely off their highs. It's not the end of the world." Analysts say they still expect "dip" buying, or investors with lots of cash to jump in as the market declines. That trade has also been a hallmark of the bull market. "My sense is we go down a couple of percent, and then investors come out of the wood work and buy. They're going to buy the 'impeachment' dip," said Ablin. Daniel Suzuki, equity strategist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, does not expect a major correction from the latest events. "Even if we were to get a correction, we'd be buyers of that dip or correction. As far as the market is concerned, it should have long lasting impact on the environment for the market and corporate profits overall," said Suzuki. Stone said the market will be looking from reassurance from Congress and other officials that the tax plan is still a top priority. Traders say they are watching to see if there are any other defections "Watch the tape today, if special prosecutors are hired or their is more talk about obstruction of justice being an impeachable offense, one can kiss the tax plan, health care plan, and fiscal stimulus plan goodbye for 2017...today is one of those days where we have to watch the politicians.... for a conservative strategy, we still like the credit space... safest for now," National Alliance's Andrew Brenner said in a note. Julian Emanuel, equity and derivatives strategist at UBS, saw Wednesday's selloff as an extension of the sideways correction under way for weeks, as the S&P 500 slowly climbed to new highs and volatility hit new lows. The VIX Wednesday surged, jumping more than 22 percent to about 13, after falling below 10 a week ago. The VIX is the CBOE's Volatility Index, based on puts and calls in the S&P 500. "To us, a correction in time morphing into a 7 to 10 percent pullback, like we've seen every seven or eight months over the course of this bull market, since 2009, is definitely something we think could be in the offing," Emanuel said. The strategist said he recommended over the weekend that investors move into June puts, or options that make a negative bet, on the S&P 500. "There is no question that politics has raised the level of uncertainty in the market which tends over time, to be something that depresses valuations. What we've had is this divergence between the economy and confidence, based on the expectations that there would be stimulative policy coming out of Washington," he said. "We haven't seen the economy picking up consistent with these elevated confidence readings. It's going to be important to watch whether the economy begins to accelerate." While stocks edged to highs, the Treasury market had moved to price out an economic bump from the Trump policies. In fact, fed funds futures are no longer forecasting two Fed rate hikes this year, based on weaker than expected data, particularly inflation. The Fed is still expected to raise interest rates in June, and it forecasts two rate hikes by year end.

US President Donald Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the White House in Washington on May 10. US President Donald Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the White House in Washington on May 10. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is ready to provide US Congress with a transcript of the talks between President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Speaking at a press conference, Putin said the transcript could be provided "if the US administration finds it appropriate."

Former Special Adviser to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Electronic Media, Reno Omokri, has berated second republic lawmaker, Junaid Mohammed for saying should anything happen to President Muhammadu Buhari, the north will insist on being in power till 2027. The lawmaker, had recently said, “If anything happens to Buhari the north will insist on being in power till 2027, those who see Buhari as their representative and are not being treated justly are going to claim their own rights and the only way you are going to resolve the issue is that after Buhari’s administration, you have it zoned to the north for eight to 10 years.” Reacting to Mohammed’s statement, the United States, US-based Pastor said the former lawmaker should take the advise of Lagos Oba by jumping into the lagoon because all Nigerians are equal. In a post on his FaceBook wall, Omokri wrote, “Recently, Nigerians woke up to a rude and not so subtle threat issued by one cantankerous fellow, Junaid Mohammed, who has an over bloated opinion of himself and the weight his words carry in Nigeria. “Without deaming to repeat his repugnant and provocative threats, let me respond to Junaid Mohammed and any other person that thinks along those lines. First, I and those I represent pray for President Muhammadu Buhari’s recovery, but if what Junaidu Mohammed is contemplating should occur (and it is highly disappointing that Junaid should be contemplating such instead of praying for the president), then it is the Nigerian constitution that will dictate what will happen next and not Junaid, Northern Nigeria or any other part of Nigeria for that matter. “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no first class or second class citizen in Nigeria. “No part or citizen of Nigeria needs permission from another part or citizen of Nigeria before they can lay claim to what has been freely given to them by the Nigerian Constitution which is the groundnorm and basis for the existence of Nigeria. “We are all equal. And if Junaidu Mohammed and those he speaks for do not like it, they should take the Oba of Lagos’s advise and jump into the lagoon. Nothing, I repeat nothing, must happen to Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo. “His fate is in the hand of God and not in the hand of proud and presumptuous mortals like Junaid and those he speaks for! “My advise to Junaid Mohammed is that he confine his busybody to praying for the President rather than pontificate about a post Buhari Nigeria when the President is very much alive.” Jump into Lagos lagoon for saying North must rule Nigeria if Buhari dies or he should go and hug one transformer.