Todays Top Stories and Opinions | Fox News

Toronto van crash suspect ID’d as police won’t rule out terror possibility
By Matt Richardson | Fox News
Police in Toronto identified the suspected driver of a van that rammed into a crowd of pedestrians earlier Monday, and said they would not rule out terrorism as a possible motive.

The vehicle was driven by Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, north of Toronto, police said. Minassian allegedly drove into dozens of people intentionally, killing 10 and injuring 15 others.

“We don’t rule out anything,” Toronto Police Service Chief Mark Saunders said in a Monday evening news conference. “We need to follow what we have.

“Based on witness accounts, its very clear the actions definitely looked deliberate,” Saunders said. He said the suspect had not been known to police previously.

After striking the pedestrians, Minassian sped off, CBC reported. Witnesses said the driver was moving fast and appeared to be acting intentionally. Photos from the site of the collision showed people trying to help victims on the ground and multiple bodies covered by sheets.

A witness who identified himself as Nick said he was studying when he saw a truck “flash by” in the area. He said he “witnessed a few people pass away in front” of him as others screamed.

Alex Shaker, who witnessed the incident, said the van was speeding down the street before it mounted the curb and plowed into people.

“He started going down on the sidewalk and crumbling down people one by one,” Shaker told CTV. “He just destroyed so many people’s lives. Every single thing that got in his way.”

Suspected driver in custody after hitting group of people on a crowded Toronto street, leaving nine people dead; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reports.Video
Horror in Toronto as van mounts curb, rams pedestrians

Video broadcast on several Canadian outlets showed police arresting the driver, dressed in dark clothes, after officers surrounded him and his rental Ryder van several blocks from where the incident occurred in the North York neighborhood of northern Toronto. He appeared to make some sort of gesture at the police with an object in his hand just before they ordered him to lie down on the ground and took him away.

Saunders asked for members of the public capable of helping to come forward. Law enforcement, Saunders said, needs help in both identifying the victims and with piecing together the actions of the day via eyewitness accounts. “We’re still looking for more witnesses,” Saunders said.

“This is very early in the investigation,” he continued. “We need every single piece of this puzzle that we can.”

“This kind of tragic incident is not representative of how we live or who we are,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said.

“We are with the Canadian people tonight as they grieve the loss of life & injured,” Vice President Mike Pence tweeted. “The American people stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our neighbors in Canada.”

Asked for additional details on Minassian, Saunders deflected. “I can’t give you anything right now.” Officers who work the day shift are continuing to work into the night, Saunders said.

“The investigation is ongoing.”

Fox News’ Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Barbara Bush, former first lady, dead at 92
The First Family | Fox News

With her cloud of snow-white hair, signature three strand pearls and compelling presence, Barbara Bush’s image was what she laughingly called “everybody’s grandmother.” But the feisty, outspoken Bush was also a tireless advocate for literacy , an author, experienced campaigner and both wife and mother of a U.S. president.

Bush, 92, died Tuesday, shortly after her family announced she was in failing health and would decline further medical treatment in favor of “comfort care.” There were no details of her specific health problems.

The announcement was made in a statement from the office of former President George H.W. Bush.

“A former First Lady of the United States of America and relentless proponent of family literacy, Barbara Pierce Bush passed away Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at the age of 92. She is survived by her husband of 73 years, President George H. W. Bush; five children and their spouses; 17 grandchildren; seven great grandchildren; and her brother, Scott Pierce. She was preceded in death by her second child, Pauline Robinson ‘Robin’ Bush, and her siblings Martha Rafferty and James R. Pierce.”

Bush was “broken-hearted” over the loss of his “beloved Barbara” and was said to have held her hand all day. He was “at her side” when she passed away, his chief of staff said.

In a statement, her son, former President George W. Bush, called his mother “a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other.”

He also said, “My dear mother has passed on at age 92. Laura, Barbara, Jenna, and I are sad, but our souls are settled because we know hers was. Barbara Bush was a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions. To us, she was so much more. Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end. I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly, and we thank you all for your prayers and good wishes.”

Shortly after news of her passing came out, President Donald Trump shared his “thoughts and prayers” with the Bush family.

Barbara Bush was survived by her husband of 73 years, former President George H.W. Bush, five children (a sixth died as a toddler), 17 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Her granddaughter, Jenna Bush Hager, told NBC News on Monday that she and her twin, Barbara, named after her grandmother, had spoken with the family matriarch Sunday night and “she’s in great spirits, and she’s a fighter and she’s an enforcer.”

A source close to the family told CBS News that the former first lady was having a glass of bourbon the night before her passing.

Barbara Bush was born June 8, 1925, in New York City, the third of four children of Marvin Pierce, a magazine publishing executive, and Pauline Robinson Pierce. She grew up in the affluent suburb of Rye, New York, where she was an avid athlete, excelling at swimming and tennis.

As a teen, she attended Ashley Hall, a boarding school in South Carolina. In 1941, when she was 16 and home on Christmas break, she met George Herbert Walker Bush, then a student at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., at a holiday dance. The attraction was immediate and 18 months later, they were engaged.

Barbara entered Smith College but dropped out to marry Bush, who had gone to war as a Navy torpedo bomber pilot. She was 19 and he was 20 when they wed January 6, 1945 in Rye. Years later, she said, “I married the first man I ever kissed. When I tell my children that, they just about throw up. “

Host of ‘The Daily Briefing’ Dana Perino joins ‘The Story’ to share her personal experience with Barbara Bush while working as White House Press Secretary serving under President George W. Bush.
As newlyweds, the couple lived in New Haven, Conn., where Bush was a student at Yale and their first child, George W. Bush, was born. They then moved around regularly – to Texas, California, and back to various Texas cities – as the family grew. By the time she moved to Washington for her husband’s vice presidency, Barbara Bush estimated they had moved 29 times.

George W. Bush was followed by a sister, Robin, who lived almost four years before dying of leukemia (an event some speculated was the cause of Barbara Bush’s hair turning prematurely white). The children who followed were Jeb, Neil, Marvin and Dorothy.

While George – who called his wife “Bar” – built a business in the oil industry, Barbara devoted herself to raising their family. When he entered public life – as a congressman, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People’s Republic of China, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and later as Vice President, she was at his side.

As the vice president’s wife, she selected literacy as her special cause. Later, after her husband was elected president, she founded the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She also was an advocate for volunteerism, including programs involving the homeless, elderly and those with AIDS.

Along the way, she wrote two books about the family dogs, “C. Fred’s Story” and the best-selling “Millie’s Book,” with profits benefitting literacy. After her husband left the White House, she wrote a best-selling autobiography “Barbara Bush: A Memoir” in 1994 followed by “Reflections” in 2004.

Bush once explained that people liked her because “I’m fair and I like children and I adore my husband.”

John Sununu, former President George H.W. Bush’s Chief of Staff, pays tribute to former first lady Barbara Bush, says she could tell the phonies from the real people, and was the ‘enforcer’ of the Bush family. #Tucker
She also was known for her forthright manner, especially when anyone challenged her family. In 1984, speaking of her husband’s vice presidential opponent, Geraldine Ferraro, Bush said she couldn’t say what she thought of the Democrat on television but “it rhymes with rich.”

Following her husband’s loss in the 1992 presidential election, the couple moved to Houston and also spent time at the longtime family home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Bush was active in campaigning for her sons Jeb, who served as governor of Florida, and George, who was a two-term U.S. president. Only Barbara Bush and Abigail Adams were both the wife and mother of U.S. presidents.

In 2008, Bush underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer and in 2009, she had heart surgery. In 2014, she was hospitalized with respiratory issues.

Tumbling tech stocks hammer Wall Street
By Leia Klingel | Fox News

U.S. stocks were slammed on Monday, the first trading day of the second quarter, as concerns of a trade war spooked investors.

The sell-off started earlier in the session but accelerated in the afternoon with the Dow falling more than 700 points in the afternoon session. Trading volumes were light, with some markets still closed for holiday. Lower volumes tend to result in bigger stock swings.

While investors may be nervous watching the value of their 401(k) and investment portfolio’s drop, most see this as an overreaction, with stocks expected to end the year higher than where they started as the overall economy remains robust.

“We always recommend investors take a long-term view during wild rides like we’re seeing today,” said Mike Loewengart, VP, Investment Strategy for E*Trade. “600 point swings low aren’t pretty, but it’s important to keep in mind days like today happen, and market moves likes this could be a new normal for a while.

“Let’s not forget that we’re coming off of nine straight years of virtually uninterrupted gains and historically low volatility,” he added. “And further, the market is not the economy, and economically speaking things are looking pretty good: GDP is chugging along, earnings estimates look strong and are revising upward, and jobs and wages numbers are healthy. With this as our backdrop, it stands to reason that more than a few traders out there will look at today as yet another buy-the-tip opportunity.“

Adam Johnson, “Bullseye Brief” author, seconded Lowengart’s opinion that this could be a buying opportunity. He told Fox Business’ Trish Regan during The Intelligence Report that he is a bull, and, “On days like this he has his shopping list.”

Going into 2018, economists agreed that market volatility would pick up in 2018 after an unusually quiet 2017. Even though the markets have experienced volatile gyrations so far in 2018, most expectations are for a higher finish to the year.

Wells Fargo’s Investment Institute expects the S&P 500 will finish the year in the 2800 -2900 point range, around 300 points higher than where it was trading on Monday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq experienced the steepest losses, with Amazon (AMZN) shares on pace for its largest point-loss ever.

In the first quarter, the Dow and S&P recorded a loss. The Dow shed 616.11 points, or 2.3%, during the three-month period, while the S&P lost 1.2%. The Nasdaq rose 2.3%, closing higher for the seventh quarter in a row.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were under pressure. The contract gained more than 7% in the first quarter. Stocks’ losses were good for gold, with futures up nearly 1.5%, building on their first-quarter advance.

On the economic calendar, the big report of the week will be the release of the monthly jobs report on Friday.
Mueller tells Trump attorney he’s not subject of illegal search
By Katherine Lam | Fox News

Special counsel Robert Mueller told President Trump’s attorneys last month that he does not consider Trump to be a criminal target in his investigation of Russian actions during the 2016 campaign, The Washington Post reported Tuesday night.

The paper, citing “three people familiar with the discussions,” reported that Mueller made the comments while negotiating with Trump’s attorneys about a potential interview with the president. The Post also reported — citing “two people with knowledge of the conversations” — that Mueller reiterated his need to interview Trump to determine whether the president intended to halt the Russia investigation while in office.

According to the Post, Trump has “privately expressed relief” at Mueller’s description of his legal status, but some advisers have warned that the special counsel may be baiting the president into letting his guard down for any interview.

Mueller also has said he needs to interview Trump in order to complete a report he will present to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the investigation and who could decide to make Mueller’s report public.

The report added that John Dowd resigned from Trump’s legal team last month after the president ignored Dowd’s advice to decline Mueller’s request for an interview.

According to the Post, Trump’s other attorneys — Ty Cobb and Jay Sekulow — have told the president that refusing to sit down with Mueller would create an awkward situation since the president has repeatedly described the Russian investigation as a “witch hunt.”

Todays Top Stories and Opinions | CNN

Former President George H.W. Bush in intensive care
By Jamie Gangel | CNN

(CNN)Former President George H.W. Bush, who just buried his wife first lady Barbara Bush on Saturday, is in intensive care, CNN has learned.

“President Bush was admitted to the Houston Methodist Hospital yesterday morning after contracting an infection that spread to his blood. He is responding to treatments and appears to be recovering. We will issue additional updates as events warrant,” spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement.

Bush, 93, was admitted to the hospital on Sunday morning with an infection that led to sepsis, which can be life-threatening, according to a source close to the former Republican President. He was in critical condition, the source said.

The source added that Bush’s blood pressure kept dropping and a couple of times there was serious concern about whether he was going to come through, but that he had been stabilized.
But with Bush’s age, his health and with this infection, this is very serious, the source explained.

Bush revealed several years ago he suffers from a form of Parkinson’s disease, which has left him unable to walk, so he gets around either in a wheelchair or a scooter.

The former President’s hospitalization is especially upsetting for his family because it follows so closely on the death of his wife of 73 years last Tuesday. The family had been worried about how he would deal with her death and such an emotional week, according to the source.

“Right after a big loss — certainly like he has had — there is some data that shows that some people can develop problems with immunity and become more susceptible to infections,” CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said. “Infections they otherwise would have been able to fight become more serious.”
The day after his wife’s death, the former President paid tribute to her in a statement.

“I always knew Barbara was the most beloved woman in the world, and in fact I used to tease her that I had a complex relationship about that fact. But the truth is the outpouring of love and friendship being directed at The Enforcer is lifting us all up,” he said, using her nickname. “We have faith she is in heaven, and we know that life will go on — as she would have it. So cross the Bushes off your worry list.”

Barbara Bush, Republican matriarch and former first lady, dies at 92
By John Crawley and Jamie Gangel | CNN

(CNN)Barbara Bush, the matriarch of a Republican political dynasty and a first lady who elevated the cause of literacy, died Tuesday, according to a statement from her husband’s office. She was 92.

Only the second woman in American history to have had a husband and a son elected President (Abigail Adams was the first), Bush was seen as a plainspoken public figure who was instantly recognizable with her signature white hair and pearl necklaces and earrings. She became a major political figure as her husband, George H.W. Bush, rose to become vice president and president. After they left the White House, she was a potent spokeswoman for two of her sons — George W. and Jeb — as they campaigned for office.

The mother of six children — one of whom, a daughter, Robin, died as a child from leukemia — Barbara Bush raised her fast-growing family in the 1950s and ’60s amid the post-war boom of Texas and the whirl of politics that consumed her husband.

She was at his side during his nearly 30-year political career. He was a US representative for Texas, UN ambassador, Republican Party chairman, ambassador to China and CIA director. He then became Ronald Reagan’s vice president for two terms and won election to the White House in 1988. He left office in 1993 after losing a re-election bid to Bill Clinton.
Quick-witted with a sharp tongue, the feisty Barbara Bush was a fierce defender of her husband and an astute adviser.

As first lady, her principal persona as a devoted wife and mother contrasted in many ways with her peer and predecessor, Nancy Reagan, and her younger successor, Hillary Clinton, both of whom were seen as more intimately involved in their husbands’ presidencies.

Still, Barbara Bush promoted women’s rights, and her strong personal views sometimes surfaced publicly and raised eyebrows — especially when they clashed with Republican Party politics. For instance, she once said as her husband ran for president that abortion should not be politicized.

She also was not shy about the possibility of a female president, disarming a Wellesley College audience at a 1990 appearance protested by some on campus who questioned her credentials to address female graduates aiming for the workplace.

“Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow my footsteps and preside over the White House as the president’s spouse.

“I wish him well,” she said.

Childhood and family life
Barbara Pierce was born June 8, 1925, in New York and raised in the upscale town of Rye. She attended a prestigious boarding school in South Carolina, where she met her future husband at a school dance when she was only 16 and he was a year older. A year and a half and countless love letters later, the two were engaged just before George Bush enlisted in the Navy and went off to fight in World War II.

Bush, who was the youngest fighter pilot in the Navy at the time, would return home a war hero, after being shot down by the Japanese. He had flown 58 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery. By that time, Barbara had dropped out of Smith College and the pair were married in January 1945.

They raised their family mainly in Texas, where George H.W. Bush, the son of a US senator, was in the oil business and later entered politics.

“We were rambunctious a lot, pretty independent-minded kids, and, you know, she had her hands. Dad, of course, was available, but he was a busy guy. And he was on the road a lot in his businesses and obviously on the road a lot when he was campaigning. And so Mother was there to maintain order and discipline. She was the sergeant,” George W. Bush told CNN in 2016.

With her husband as vice president in the 1980s, Bush adopted literacy as a cause, raising awareness and eventually launching the nonprofit Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. After George H.W.

Bush’s presidency, he and Barbara raised more than $1 billion for literacy and cancer charities.

“I chose literacy because I honestly believe that if more people could read, write, and comprehend, we would be that much closer to solving so many of the problems that plague our nation and our society,” she said.

A writer, her books include an autobiography and one about post-White House life. Her children’s book about their dog, Millie, and her puppies written during her White House years was, as were her other books, a bestseller.

On the campaign trail

In 2001, when George W. Bush took office, Barbara Bush became the only woman in American history to live to see her husband and son elected president.

She campaigned for son George W. and fiercely defended him from critics after he became president.

Asked in a 2013 interview about the prospect that her younger son, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, might mount a White House campaign in 2016, Bush quipped in her dry fashion, “We’ve had enough Bushes.”
But when Jeb decided to run, she changed her mind and campaigned for him, appearing in a video for Jeb Bush’s ultimately unsuccessful campaign, saying, “I think he’ll be a great president.”

She also was outspoken about Donald Trump. In one of her last interviews, the former first lady said in early 2016 she was “sick” of Trump, who belittled her son repeatedly during the 2016 GOP primary campaign, adding that she doesn’t “understand why people are for him.”

“I’m a woman,” she added. “I’m not crazy about what he says about women.”

Most recently, Bush published a note in the spring edition of Smith College’s alumnae magazine, where she declared: “I am still old and still in love with the man I married 72 years ago.”

The college awarded Bush an honorary degree in 1989.

Bush battled health problems for much of her later life. She was diagnosed in 1988 with Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disease that commonly affects the thyroid. She had open-heart surgery in 2009 and in 2008 underwent surgery for a perforated ulcer.

In her final years, she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, better known as COPD, as well as congestive heart failure. But, along with her husband, she kept an active public schedule, raising money for charity.

Bush is survived by her husband, George H.W.; sons George W., Neil, Marvin and Jeb; daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch; and 17 grandchildren.

CNN’s Brandon Griggs and Kate Bennett contributed to this story.

Dow drops 700 points as Amazon tumbles, trade war fears rise
by Matt Egan | CNN

Trade war fears and a presidential attack on Amazon are rocking Wall Street.

The Dow dropped more than 700 points on Monday, and the Nasdaq plunged 3%. The S&P 500 hit its low for the year and was on track for its lowest close since November. The sell-off left all three major indexes in the red for 2018.

The sell-off on the first day of the second quarter came after President Trump once again attacked Amazon on Twitter. Amazon (AMZN), one of the biggest drivers of the 2017 market rally, tumbled 5%, wiping out more than $37 billion of its market value.

Trump once again accused Amazon of taking advantage of the US Postal Service, and he suggested that Amazon does not pay its fair share of tax.
In fact, Amazon pays the same lower rate that the post office charges other bulk shippers, and it collects sales tax in every state that charges it. Amazon does not collect sales tax on purchases made from third-party vendors.

Related: Trump isn’t as pro-business as he claims
“You’ve got the president of the United States attacking a single company over what he considers to be unfair practices,” said Ian Winer, head of equities at Wedbush Securities.

Amazon wasn’t the only tech stock in trouble. Tesla (TSLA), Netflix (NFLX) and Cisco (CSCO) all dropped by at least 4%. Intel (INTC) plunged 8% on a Bloomberg News report that Apple plans to switch to its own chips. Almost every stock in the Nasdaq 100 lost ground.

The Nasdaq has plunged more than 10% from its all-time high on March 12.

“When investors see market leaders suddenly stumble, they become more cautious about the entire group,” said Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones.

Related: Trump vs. Amazon: Let’s set the record straight
Wall Street is also fretting about rising trade tensions, especially with China. Beijing responded to Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs on Monday by following through on its threat to impose tariffs on $3 billion of US imports.
The tariffs apply to 128 products, ranging from pork and meat to steep pipes.
Trump plans to place additional tariffs on about $50 billion worth of Chinese goods — and Beijing has promised to respond.
John Toohey, head of equities at USAA, blamed the sell-off on concerns about the China tariffs. “Global trade could slow down, global supply chains could be impacted, and CEOs could be more cautious on capital spending,” Toohey said.

NAFTA worries are also on the rise after Trump took aim at the trade deal between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Trump on Sunday linked NAFTA to his efforts to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

“They must stop the big drug and people flows, or I will stop their cash cow, NAFTA. NEED WALL!” Trump tweeted.

“It’s a cause for concern. That mixing of issues is contributing to uncertainty,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco.

Related: Trump’s attacks on Amazon are working
No matter the cause, signs of fear abounded. The VIX (VIX) volatility index jumped more than 15%. CNNMoney’s Fear & Greed Index of market sentiment dropped further into “extreme fear.” Crude oil plunged about 3%. Gold, which tends to do well when investors are worried, climbed more than 1%.
“None of it makes a lot of sense,” said Michael Block, chief strategist at Rhino Trading Partners. “I don’t know what we learned that was new. Chinese tariffs are not surprising.”
After spiking last year, the stock market hit extreme turbulence during the first three months of the year as investors worried about tariffs, inflation and tech stocks. The Dow snapped its longest quarterly winning streak in 20 years.

Stocks may be volatile, but the backdrop looks bright. Global economic growth is expected to accelerate and corporate profits are likely to surge, thanks in part to Trump’s corporate tax cuts.
“It’s unlikely to be the end of the bull market,” Warne said. “The underlying fundamentals remain positive.”