Ted Cruz hit on social media for joke about Disney’s $5M donation to Notre Dame Cathedral - Fox News

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was criticized on social media Wednesday over a comment he made about Disney’s $5 million donation to restore the scorched Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The Walt Disney Company, which was among a handful of corporations that pledged to help rebuild the almost 900-year-old cathedral after it was damaged in a devastating fire earlier this week, announced a $5 million contribution early Wednesday.

Responding to the news a few hours later, Cruz joked whether the cathedral's restoration will include Disney princesses on the new stained glass.

MACRON'S VOW TO REBUILD NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL WITHIN 5 YEARS UNREALISTIC, SOME EXPERTS SAY

Within hours, thousands on Twitter condemned Cruz for what they regarded as a joke that fell flat.

In announcing their contribution, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger discussed the cathedral’s prominent role in the city’s history.

“Notre-Dame is a beacon of hope and beauty that has defined the heart of Paris and the soul of France for centuries, inspiring awe and reverence for its art and architecture and for its enduring place in human history,” Iger said in the statement. “The Walt Disney Company stands with our friends and neighbors in the community, offering our heartfelt support as well as a $5 million donation for the restoration of this irreplaceable masterpiece.”

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2019-04-18 05:57:45Z
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Trump says he had ‘wonderful conversation’ with Pope Francis, offered help after Notre Dame fire - Fox News

President Trump on Wednesday said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Pope Francis, in which he offered U.S. help to renovate Notre Dame Cathedral after a blaze tore through the historic church this week.

“Just had a wonderful conversation with @Pontifex Francis offering condolences from the People of the United States for the horrible and destructive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral,” he tweeted. “I offered the help of our great experts on renovation and construction as I did in my conversation yesterday with President @EmmanuelMacron of France.”

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL: VIDEO OF BYSTANDERS SINGING 'AVE MARIA' GOES VIRAL

“I also wished both Pope Francis and President Macron a very Happy Easter!” he said.

A White House readout of the call said that the two also discussed "alleviating the suffering of the Venezuelan people and leading the country to a democratic transition.”

Shortly after the Holy See's press office issued its own account of the meeting: "The Holy Father received a telephone call this afternoon from the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who, regarding the devastation of Notre-Dame Cathedral, expressed to the Pope his closeness, in the name of the American people."

Trump’s comments come days after a fire raged through the historic Catholic landmark in the center of Paris. While relics, including the Crown of Thorns purportedly worn by Jesus at his crucifixion, were saved and the main structure remained in tact, the blaze collapsed the cathedral’s spire and much of the roof.

Trump’s remarks were more reserved than on Monday when he encouraged France to use “flying water tankers” to put out the blaze as it was still burning through the cathedral.

Trump’s relationship with Pope Francis over the years has been marked by controversy, with both sides taking swipes at each other in the past, particularly on the subject of immigration and Trump’s call for a wall on the southern border.

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Francis recently rekindled that feud when he said that leaders intent on building walls in their country will “end up becoming prisoners of the walls they build.”

"I realize that with this problem (of migration), a government has a hot potato in its hands, but it must be resolved differently, humanely, not with razor wire," he said.

Fox News’ Edmund DeMarche and Kristin Brown contributed to this report.

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2019-04-17 17:42:17Z
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Alan Garcia, former Peru president, dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound - CNN

His death was confirmed by current President Martin Vizcarra, who expressed his condolences over Twitter.

Garcia, who served as president from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011, was under investigation for money laundering and taking bribes in connection with a massive corruption scandal that has engulfed a number of former Latin American leaders.

When police arrived to execute an arrest warrant at his home at 6:30 a.m., Garcia said he wanted to call his attorney and went to his bedroom, Interior Minister Carlos Morán told CNN affiliate TV Peru.

Moments later, a gunshot was heard. Officers forced entry into the bedroom, where they found Garcia with a wound to the head, Morán said.

Garcia, 69, was rushed by police to a hospital in the capital Lima, where he was resuscitated three times, but doctors were ultimately unable to save him, according to the health minister.

"The former president made the decision to shoot himself," his lawyer Erasmo Reyna said outside the Casimiro Ulloa hospital before Garcia's death.

"Devastated by the death of former President Alan Garcia, I send my condolences to his family and loved ones," President Vizcarra tweeted.

Global corruption scandal

Garcia was accused of receiving kickbacks from one of Latin America's largest construction firms -- the Brazil-based company Odebrecht -- during the building of an electric train for the Lima metro while he was president during his second term. He has denied the claims.

In his most recent tweet, posted on Tuesday, Garcia said there was "no shred of evidence" against him, accused Peruvian prosecutors of "SPECULATION," and said he had "never sold out and that is proven."

In November last year, Garcia had requested asylum at the Uruguayan embassy after a judge banned him from leaving the country for 18 months. The Uruguayan government denied the request in December.

Odebrecht is accused of doling out nearly $800 million in bribes between 2001 and 2016 to get contracts from governments to build roads, bridges, dams and highways.

Authorities say Odebrecht officials shipped cash across the globe -- from one shell bank account to the next -- en route to politicians' pockets in a dozen countries, including Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina and Mozambique. Some of the bribes filtered through the United States.

The corruption scandal -- one of the biggest in modern history -- implicated several former Latin American presidents.

Last year, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned one day before the congress voted on his impeachment. He continued to deny any wrongdoing in the Odebrecht scandal.

Ecuador suspended Vice President Jorge Glas, who was later sentenced to six years in prison in December 2017 for receiving $13.5 million in bribes from Odebrecht.

And former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, including allegedly allowing Odebrecht to pay for his family's vacation home.

Correction: This story has been updated to accurately reflect what Interior Minister Carlos Morán told TV Peru.

CNN's Rafael Romo, Mariano Castillo, Radina Gigova contributed to this report

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2019-04-17 19:04:00Z
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Millions in Notre-Dame Donations Pour In as France Focuses on Rebuilding - The New York Times

PARIS — Days after a fire tore through Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, France on Wednesday started to focus on reconstruction, with President Emmanuel Macron having set the ambitious goal of rebuilding the Gothic landmark within five years and donations pouring in from around the world.

Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said after a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the government would organize an international architecture competition to design a spire after Notre-Dame’s own collapsed in the fire on Monday and crashed through the cathedral’s vaulted ceiling. But he said it remained uncertain whether the lost spire — which was added in the 19th century — would be replaced.

He added that the five-year goal to rebuilt the cathedral was “obviously an immense challenge,” but also “a historical responsibility.”

Individuals, companies and institutions have so far donated or pledged 845 million euros, about $950 million, to rebuild the damaged cathedral, which has stood for more than eight centuries. On Tuesday, the government set up an online portal pointing to four official organizations and foundations that are collecting donations.

“Each euro that is given for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame will be used for that, and nothing else,” Mr. Philippe said.

Next week, the government was scheduled to present a bill to give the donation campaign a legal framework, which would ensure security and transparency, Mr. Philippe said. The legislation would also create tax deductions for French citizens who contribute less than €1,000 to the reconstruction effort.

Video

At 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, cathedrals in France tolled their bells as a tribute to the burned Notre-Dame Cathedral.CreditCreditChristophe Ena/Associated Press

Mr. Philippe also said that the relics and artwork that firefighters had scrambled to save from the fire were transferred to the Louvre museum from Paris City Hall, where emergency workers had placed them for safekeeping in the immediate aftermath of the fire. Paris firefighters also said artwork that remained in the cathedral appeared surprisingly well preserved.

At 6:50 p.m. on Wednesday, cathedrals in France tolled their bells in honor of the burned cathedral, a calamity that has shocked much of the world. The Paris authorities also announced that a ceremony would be organized on Thursday, during which two large banners paying tribute to Notre-Dame and to those who fought to save it would be hung from City Hall, and excerpts from Victor Hugo’s “Notre-Dame de Paris” would be read.

Investigators were questioning witnesses in order to determine the origin of the fire, which caused minor injuries to three people. Rémy Heitz, the Paris prosecutor, said that the investigation would be “long” and “complex.” But it was clear that little was in place to prevent the flames from coursing through the cathedral’s attic, a lattice of ancient wooden beams underneath a lead-covered roof.

Firefighters said at a news conference on Wednesday that they had always known the lattice was at risk. Philippe Demay, a deputy fire chief who was among the first to arrive at the cathedral on Monday, said that firefighters knew “perfectly well” that if the roof caught fire, “it was going to be very complicated to stop.”

Mr. Demay said that he had arrived at the site in less than three minutes, as the area around the cathedral was bustling with thousands of tourists, and that he and his colleagues had to quickly trudge up the cathedral’s narrow spiraling staircases with heavy equipment in tow — an exercise they had done many times before.

Myriam Chudzinski, another firefighter, said that once they got to the top, it was clear that the flames had already spread.

“It was very, very hot; we had to back up,” she said.

On Wednesday, the police continued to block access to the cathedral and to the area around it on the Île de la Cité, one of the islands in the Seine that lie at the heart of Paris. Tourists and Parisians alike pressed against police barricades along the river, snapping pictures of the beloved symbol of the city, now roofless, and pointing to a cluster of firefighters atop one of the cathedral’s towers.

Image

Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, center, said the five-year rebuilding goal was “obviously an immense challenge,” but also “a historical responsibility.”CreditLudovic Marin/Agence France-Presse, via Associated Press

Notre-Dame cathedral, one of the most recognizable structures in Paris, lost most its roof, large parts of its interior stone ceiling and some interior furnishings to the fire. Paris firefighters noted that the whole cathedral came close to being destroyed.

José Vaz de Matos, a firefighter who works with the Culture Ministry to help secure buildings and artwork, said that if the fire had reached the cathedral’s towers and the wooden belfries inside them, a catastrophic chain reaction would have ensued because the towers help support the whole building.

“If the fire had reached that wooden structure, the belfry was lost,” Mr. Vaz de Matos said. “And from the moment you lose the belfry, you lose the cathedral.”

Gabriel Plus, a spokesman for the Paris fire brigade, said at the news conference on Wednesday that about 60 firefighters were still at the cathedral to monitor the structure and to help the police and building experts navigate the building.

Firefighters identified several remaining risks in the building, he said: the gables, which were no longer supported by the roof’s woodwork and could be toppled by strong winds, and the metal scaffolding previously meant for renovation work, which was deformed by the fire and has to be removed. The vaulted stone ceiling was also covered with melted lead from the destroyed roof, he said, creating a potentially dangerous source of heat.

Mr. Macron’s plan to rebuild the cathedral within five years has prompted debate about how Notre-Dame should be restored — identical to its older self, with similar materials, or in a newer fashion, with modern techniques?

Isabelle Backouche, a historian at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris who specializes in urban history, said in an interview that she would not be shocked if reconstruction were done according to “modern plans.”

“Each era copies what was done before and at the same time adds its own inventions,” she said, noting that parts of the cathedral — the world-famous chimeras, for instance — were 19th-century additions or renovations.

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2019-04-17 16:33:07Z
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Alan Garcia, former Peru president, dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound - CNN

His death was confirmed by current President Martin Vizcarra, who expressed his condolences over Twitter.

Garcia, who served as president from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011, was under investigation for money laundering and taking bribes in connection with a massive corruption scandal that has engulfed a number of former Latin American leaders.

When police arrived to execute an arrest warrant at his home at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Garcia asked them to call his attorney and went to his bedroom, interior minister Carlos Morán told CNN affiliate TV Peru.

Moments later, a gunshot was heard. Officers forced entry into the bedroom, where they found Garcia with a wound to the head, Morán said.

Garcia, 69, was rushed by police to a hospital in the capital Lima, where he was resuscitated three times, but doctors were ultimately unable to save him, according to the health minister.

"The former president made the decision to shoot himself," his lawyer Erasmo Reyna said outside the Casimiro Ulloa hospital before his death.

"Devastated by the death of former President Alan Garcia, I send my condolences to his family and loved ones," President Vizcarra tweeted Wednesday.

Global corruption scandal

Garcia is accused of receiving kickbacks from one of Latin America's largest construction firms -- the Brazil-based company Odebrecht -- during the building of an electric train for the Lima metro while he was president during his second term. He has denied the claims.

In his most recent tweet, posted on Tuesday, Garcia said there was "no shred of evidence" against him, accused Peruvian prosecutors of "SPECULATION," and said he had "never sold out and that is proven."

In November last year, Garcia had requested asylum at the Uruguayan embassy after a judge banned him from leaving the country for 18 months. The Uruguayan government denied the request in December.

Odebrecht is accused of doling out nearly $800 million in bribes between 2001 and 2016 to get contracts from governments to build roads, bridges, dams and highways.

Authorities say Odebrecht officials shipped cash across the globe -- from one shell bank account to the next -- en route to politicians' pockets in a dozen countries, including Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, and Mozambique. Some of the bribes filtered through the United States.

The corruption scandal -- one of the biggest in modern history -- implicated several former Latin American presidents.

Last year, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned one day before the congress voted on his impeachment. He continued to deny any wrongdoing in the Odebrecht scandal.

Ecuador suspended Vice President Jorge Glas, who was later sentenced to six years in prison in December 2017 for receiving $13.5 million in bribes from Odebrecht.

And former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, including allegedly allowing Odebrecht to pay for his family's vacation home.

This story has been updated to reflect the latest reporting.

CNN's Rafael Romo, Mariano Castillo, Radina Gigova contributed to this report

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2019-04-17 16:31:00Z
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Alan Garcia, former Peru president, dies from self-inflicted gunshot wound - CNN

His death was confirmed by current President Martin Vizcarra, who expressed his condolences over Twitter.

Garcia, who served as president from 1985 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2011, was under investigation for money laundering and taking bribes in connection with a massive corruption scandal that has engulfed a number of former Latin American leaders.

When police arrived to execute an arrest warrant at his home at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Garcia asked them to call his attorney and went to his bedroom, interior minister Carlos Morán told CNN affiliate TV Peru.

Moments later, a gunshot was heard. Officers forced entry into the bedroom, where they found Garcia with a wound to the head, Morán said.

Garcia, 69, was rushed by police to a hospital in the capital Lima, where he was resuscitated three times, but doctors were ultimately unable to save him, according to the health minister.

"The former president made the decision to shoot himself," his lawyer Erasmo Reyna said outside the Casimiro Ulloa hospital before his death.

"Devastated by the death of former President Alan Garcia, I send my condolences to his family and loved ones," President Vizcarra tweeted Wednesday.

Global corruption scandal

Garcia is accused of receiving kickbacks from one of Latin America's largest construction firms -- the Brazil-based company Odebrecht -- during the building of an electric train for the Lima metro while he was president during his second term. He has denied the claims.

In his most recent tweet, posted on Tuesday, Garcia said there was "no shred of evidence" against him, accused Peruvian prosecutors of "SPECULATION," and said he had "never sold out and that is proven."

In November last year, Garcia had requested asylum at the Uruguayan embassy after a judge banned him from leaving the country for 18 months. The Uruguayan government denied the request in December.

Odebrecht is accused of doling out nearly $800 million in bribes between 2001 and 2016 to get contracts from governments to build roads, bridges, dams and highways.

Authorities say Odebrecht officials shipped cash across the globe -- from one shell bank account to the next -- en route to politicians' pockets in a dozen countries, including Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, and Mozambique. Some of the bribes filtered through the United States.

The corruption scandal -- one of the biggest in modern history -- implicated several former Latin American presidents.

Last year, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned one day before the congress voted on his impeachment. He continued to deny any wrongdoing in the Odebrecht scandal.

Ecuador suspended Vice President Jorge Glas, who was later sentenced to six years in prison in December 2017 for receiving $13.5 million in bribes from Odebrecht.

And former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is serving a 12-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, including allegedly allowing Odebrecht to pay for his family's vacation home.

This story has been updated to reflect the latest reporting.

CNN's Rafael Romo, Mariano Castillo, Radina Gigova contributed to this report

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2019-04-17 16:23:00Z
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The amazingly arrogant and annoying Extinction Rebellion protesters - Washington Examiner

Acting under the umbrella title, "Extinction Rebellion," on Monday and Tuesday, climate change protesters in London blocked traffic, threw fake blood around, and generally annoyed to people trying to get about their lives in peace.

Interviewing a number of protesters who had attached themselves to a truck (yes, you read that right), the BBC recorded a common theme of arguments in favor of necessary disruption.

Police officers speak to protesters under a truck, during a civic disobedience event to block Waterloo Bridge in London, Wednesday, April 17, 2019.

(Frank Augstein/AP)

But these protesters aren't necessary warriors for the salvation of Earth. They're simply arrogant, annoying, and presumably unemployed. Note that the protests took place at the start of the working week rather than on the weekend. The arrogance stands out here. After all, the elected British government is pursuing an environment policy in alignment with its pledges. What gives the protesters the moral authority to disrupt the working lives of their fellow citizens simply because they believe the government should do more to reduce carbon emissions? It's undemocratic and deeply arrogant. Remember, the protesters' targets here were their fellow citizens trying to travel around London, not government officials.

Whatever their claims of earth salvation, there's also a profound immorality at play here: taking taxpayer funded unemployment welfare while disrupting taxpayers as they work for their families. But maybe I'm missing the point here. Considering that the western climate change movement is defined by socialism far more than it is by science, perhaps it's unsurprising that these protesters feel an entitlement to stupidity.

Fortunately, the police arrested a good number of them. But what will be the result? I imagine that most Londoners will react skeptically to policy proposals from individuals who dress up, deliberately or otherwise, as clowns, then attach themselves to trucks or doorways, block traffic, and bang drums loudly.

It's a lesson British far-left protesters never seem to learn. On their London radio show in early 2003, "The Office" TV show co-creator Stephen Merchant, described to Ricky Gervais a protester against the then-looming Iraq War. Having seen the man shortly before entering the radio studio, Merchant wryly observed that the protester had decided "the best way to make his voice heard on the international political stage is to ride around in a tricycle wearing a jester's hat." Laughing, Gervais responded, "I wouldn't want to be George W. Bush about now ... okay call off the forces!"

I suspect Theresa May and the vast majority of Britons will respond to Extinction Rebellion with the same derision.

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2019-04-17 13:56:00Z
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