На українському міжбанківському валютному ринку 25 лютого дорожчає американська валюта. За даними Finance.ua, станом на 13:30 котирування складали 24 гривні 53–55 копійок за долар.

«Попит переважає пропозицію», – відзначають фахівці сайту «Мінфін», які називали першим чинником курсоутворення 25 лютого аукціон Міністерства фінансів з розміщення ОВДП.

«Якщо інвестори і Мінфін України «зійдуться» по прибутковості облігацій — пропозиція валюти 25 і 26 лютого збільшиться, і це спрацює на користь зміцнення гривні. Якщо не домовляться — тиск на гривню посилиться, тому що держава повинна розрахуватися з експортерами за відшкодуванням ПДВ», – вказували аналітики.

Національний банк України опівдні оприлюднив довідкове значення курсу 24 гривні 53 копійки за долар, це на три копійки більше за офіційний курс на 25 лютого.

У коридорі від 24,4 до 24,6 гривні за долар курс тримається вже понад два тижні, хоча ще на початку лютого котирування перевищували 25 гривень за долар.
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Seven candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination in the U.S. presidential race take to the debate stage Tuesday night in the southern state of South Carolina.Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has the momentum of a resounding victory in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, along with a lead in the overall count of delegates that candidates need to amass in order to be selected as the Democrat to go up against President Donald Trump in November.Front-runner status can make a candidate a target for the others in the debate, but public opinion polls in South Carolina may turn some of that focus on former Vice President Joe Biden.Biden sits third in the delegate count after scoring a second-place finish in Nevada — his best so far since voters began having their say this month.  Polls show him as the favorite in South Carolina, several points ahead of Sanders.Polling also points to a potential opportunity for billionaire Tom Steyer to have his moment in the Democratic race with a level of support he has not yet seen.  Yet to win a single delegate, polls showed him third in South Carolina, ahead of former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.From left, Democratic presidential candidates, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate, Feb. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas.Tuesday’s debate is not only a chance for the candidates to make an impression on voters in South Carolina, but also on those in some of the states voting March 3 that allow people to cast their ballots early.March 3 is set up to be a critical date in shaping the race with voting in 14 states along with the U.S. territory American Samoa.  A total of 1,357 delegates are at stake, compared to the 54 in play in South Carolina.Not on the ballot in South Carolina but taking part in the debate there is former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who decided not to contest the February states in favor of focusing a massive media campaign on the March 3 states.He participated in his first debate last week in Nevada, drawing sharp attacks from his opponents who criticized his approach as trying to buy the nomination, while he countered he is the best choice to oppose Trump.The Democratic Party will formally name its presidential candidate at a convention in July.  Republicans will nominate Trump at their convention in August.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday their countries are working on a major trade deal, after they held talks in New Delhi on the final day of Trump’s visit to India”Our teams have made tremendous progress on a comprehensive trade agreement, and I’m optimistic we can reach a deal that will be of great importance to both countries,” Trump said.He announced the completion of an agreement for India to buy $3 billion in helicopters and other military equipment from the United States, and said the countries were expanding cooperation on counterterrorism, cybersecurity and maritime security.Trump declared U.S-India relations to be “truly stronger than ever before.”Modi gave similar praise, saying Trump had substantially increasing trade between the two countries and raised relations to a high level.U.S. President Donald Trump signs visitors book as first lady Melania Trump watches during their visit to the Taj Mahal, the 17th century monument to love in Agra, India, Monday, Feb. 24, 2020.He also said he and Trump had productive talks on various key aspects of their countries’ partnership, including defense and security, energy and technology cooperation.Before Trump and Modi spoke, Indian officials announced memorandums of understanding on mental health and safety on medical products, as well as a letter of cooperation on oil.Earlier in the day, Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind welcomed Trump at a ceremony at India’s presidential palace before Trump and his wife, Melania, participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi.Human rights issuesTrump’s visit comes at the heels of protests against India’s new citizenship law, that critics say marginalizes the country’s more than 200 million Muslims – a charge the Modi government denies.   Some members of the U.S. Congress are also expressing concern about the law that fast tracks Indian citizenship to immigrants from three neighboring countries – unless they are Muslims.At a Monday rally, Trump hinted at India’s status as a pluralistic society.”Your nation has always been admired around the earth as the place where millions upon millions of Hindus and Muslims and Sikhs and Jains worship side by side in harmony,” he said.  Analysts expect that’s about as far as the U.S. leader would push on the issue.”The State Department does say that we want India to do more and to abide by its constitutional rights and false minorities,” Pande said but that “top level U.S. officials have avoided any statement on India’s human rights citizenship act.”Indian police detain members of Centre of Indian Trade Unions protesting against the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to India, in Hyderabad.Police say seven people were killed and about 150 injured Monday as violent protests erupted in New Delhi as clashes erupted between those protesting against the citizenship law and those supporting it hours ahead of President Trump’s arrival in the city.On his first day in India, Trump also avoided any mention of Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region that India and Pakistan are fighting over. Last year Trump offered to mediate on the Kashmir dispute, which Islamabad welcomed but New Delhi rejected.”Attempts to lecture, coerce, punish, intervene in India’s affairs have traditionally not been particularly effective,” Smith, of the Heritage Foundation, saidEnding his first day in India, the U.S. president, who once owned the former Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, took in views of the real Indian iconic landmark with first lady Melania Trump.Trump is the fourth consecutive U.S. president to travel to India, continuing the shift in allegiance by Washington to Delhi from India’s arch-rival and neighbor, Pakistan.Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, after a recent meeting with Trump during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, said the U.S. president also promised to visit Pakistan soon.If “there is no complementary visit to Pakistan or no side agreement on some other way to assuage concerns there, then I think Pakistan will take it as a slight,” said Richard Russow, senior adviser for U.S.-India policy studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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The White House on Monday sent lawmakers an urgent $2.5 billion plan to address the deadly coronavirus outbreak, whose rapid spread and threat to the global economy rocked financial markets.The White House budget office said the funds are for vaccines, treatment, and protective equipment. The request could advance quickly through Congress and came as coronavirus fears were credited with Monday’s 1,000-plus point drop in the Dow Jones Industrials and are increasingly seen as a potential political threat to President Donald Trump.The request was released Monday evening and came as key government accounts were running low. The Department of Health and Human Services had already tapped into an emergency infectious disease rapid response fund and was seeking to transfer more than $130 million from other HHS accounts to combat the virus but is pressing for more.Few commuters ride in an almost empty subway train in Beijing, Feb. 24, 2020.”Today, the Administration is transmitting to Congress a $2.5 billion supplemental funding plan to accelerate vaccine development, support preparedness and response activities and to procure much needed equipment and supplies,” said White House budget office spokeswoman Rachel Semmel. “We are also freeing up existing resources and allowing for greater flexibilities for response activities.”The administration is requesting $1.25 billion in new funding and wants to transfer $535 million more in funding from an Ebola preparedness account. It anticipates shifting money from other HHS accounts and other agencies to complete the $2.5 billion response plan. House Democrats are likely to reject the offsetting cut to Ebola preparedness, said a spokesman for Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.Briefing TuesdaySenators returning to Washington after a weeklong recess will receive a classified briefing Tuesday morning on the government’s coronavirus response, a Senate aide said.”All of the warning lights are flashing bright red. We are staring down a potential pandemic and the administration has no plan,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who blasted a shortage of kits to test for the virus and Trump’s proposed budget cuts to health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We have a crisis of coronavirus and President Trump has no plan, no urgency, no understanding of the facts or how to coordinate a response.”Trump was a vocal critic of President Barack Obama’s response to the 2014 Ebola scare, which barely touched the U.S. but was seen as a factor in that year’s midterm elections, which restored control of the Senate to Republicans.Trump took to Twitter Monday to defend his record.”The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” he tweeted.FILE – Personnel in biological hazard suits await passengers evacuated from Wuhan, China, shortly after the plane landed at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California, Jan. 29, 2020.Among the needs is funding to reimburse the Pentagon, which is housing evacuees from China — who are required to undergo 14-day quarantines — at several military bases in California.Democrats controlling the House wrote HHS Secretary Alex Azar earlier this month to request funds to help speed development of a coronavirus vaccine, expand laboratory capacity, and beef up screening efforts at U.S. entry points. Azar is slated to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, and the U.S. response to the outbreak is sure to be a major topic.The White House budget office, led by Russell Vought, worked with HHS to shape the request, with the agency seeking more than the White House is likely to approve. There is a receptive audience for the request on Capitol Hill, though stand-alone emergency spending bills can be tricky to pass since they are invariably a target for lawmakers seeking add-ons.The stock market dove Monday over coronavirus fears, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average diving by 3.6%.The quickly spreading virus has slammed the economy of China, where the virus originated, and caseloads are rapidly increasing in countries such as South Korea, Iran and Italy. Almost 80,000 people have contracted the disease, with more than 2,500 deaths, mostly in China.The United States, however, has had only 14 cases of the disease spread across seven states.Pelosi in ChinatownIn San Francisco, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a walking tour of Chinatown on Monday to let the public know the neighborhood is safe and open for business.Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., looks over items at The Wok Shop during a tour of Chinatown in San Francisco, Feb. 24, 2020.Pelosi, a Democrat who represents the heavily Chinese American city, visited the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, whose owner Kevin Chan, says his business and others are down 70% since the outbreak of the coronavirus.”Come to Chinatown,” Pelosi said. “Precautions have been taken by our city, we know that there’s concern about tourism, traveling all throughout the world, but we think it’s very safe to be in Chinatown and hope that others will come.”Asked about the Trump administration’s looming request, Pelosi said she would want to know how the money would be used.
 
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Iran’s deadly coronavirus outbreak is increasingly disrupting daily life, making it harder for anxious Iranians to find medical supplies and forcing a rare cancellation of prayers at a prominent shrine.The Iranian health ministry reported an increase in the nation’s coronavirus death toll to 12 on Monday, from 8 the day before. It also said the number of confirmed cases rose to 61 from 43 on Sunday.Confirmed cases of coronavirus in Iran:Iranians’ anxieties were on display in several videos filmed Monday in the country and sent to VOA Persian. VOA could not independently verify their authenticity.  ♦️ویدئو کوتاه | فیلمی از انتقال یک بیمار مبتلا به #کرونا در تهران pic.twitter.com/fBtxKgpaCl— VOA Farsi (@VOAIran) February 24, 2020In one clip from the capital, Tehran, a citizen journalist said he had just seen a suspected coronavirus patient being put into the back of an ambulance on Nejatollahi Street. “The situation is dreadful. They [officials] do not tell you anything,” the speaker said.Iran reported its first coronavirus cases and deaths on February 19. But the World Health Organization’s program director for health emergencies, Michael Ryan, said at a Monday briefing in Geneva that the virus “may have been there for longer than we had previously suspected.”Daily media briefing on #COVID19 with @DrTedroshttps://t.co/ChotCy0r1k— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) February 24, 2020Iran’s ratio of reported coronavirus deaths to cases, 12 to 61, is much higher than in other countries with confirmed cases, including China where the first outbreak of the virus appeared in December.Some Iranians, suspicious of their government after it admitted to falsely denying responsibility for the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet last month, have used social media to accuse the government of trying to underreport or cover up the full extent of the number of cases in Iran.Internationally-acclaimed Iranian global health scholar Kamiar Alaei, speaking to the Monday edition of VOA Persian’s Straight Talk call-in show from New York state where he is based, said the fatality rate of the coronavirus in Iran is unlikely to be different than the 2% rate estimated in other countries with reported cases and outbreaks.”When a virus is new, it does not have time to change,” Alaei said. “The ambiguity (concerning Iran’s ratio of virus deaths to reported cases) has two possible explanations: either the accurate statistics of infected patients have not been announced, or health officials have been slow to record the spread of the disease,” he added.♦️ویدئو کوتاه | #کرونا در ایران | برخلاف ادعای مقامات، خبری از توزیع #ماسک در شهرکرد نیست pic.twitter.com/USGPxV74RT— VOA Farsi (@VOAIran) February 24, 2020There was more anxiety expressed in a video apparently filmed outside a health clinic in the central Iranian town of Shahrekord. The narrator said he had come to see if face masks and hand sanitizers could be obtained at the site to protect against the virus.The man then zoomed into a sign at the clinic’s gate that said, “Attention fellow citizens: There are no clinical supplies and products such as masks, gloves and hand sanitizers distributed at this center.”Similar videos of Iranians expressing frustration about what they said is their inability to obtain protective supplies from clinics and pharmacies also could be found on social media in recent days.♦️ویدئو کوتاه |#کرونا در #ایران | بالاخره و با تاخیر نماز جماعت در #قم متوقف شد pic.twitter.com/8H3fvjKj7T— VOA Farsi (@VOAIran) February 24, 2020Daily life in the Shi’ite holy city of Qom, where about half of Iran’s confirmed virus cases have been reported, suffered another blow Monday, with the city’s main Fatima Masumeh Shrine closing its doors to prayer services.In a video filmed at one of the shrine’s entrances, a voice could be heard on a public address system saying: “In order to prevent the spread of respiratory and contagious diseases, all the mass prayers of the holy shrine and all the ceremonies in the sacred shrine will be suspended until further notice.”The message, broadcast by loudspeakers in the city, attributed the rare move to recommendations from Iranian health officials and Qom’s provincial emergency task force.This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. It was produced in collaboration with VOA’s Extremism Watch Desk.
 
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College students who don’t complete their degree programs might jeopardize their earning power, meaning there’s less money to repay their student debt, say experts.In the United States last year, 36 million Americans did not complete their studies, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.The European Union found that in 2016, 3 million young people throughout its member nations had suspended their university education.Across South America, nearly half of all 25- to 29-year-olds in 2017 had left school without earning a degree, the World Bank reported.South African officials have reported similar statistics in their country.Students report many reasons for leaving college or university without a degree, said Nichole Torpey-Sayboe, director of research for the Strada Education Network. The difficulty of college programs is not the top reason people give for leaving, she added.Strada teamed up with Gallup, an American analytics and advisory company based in Washington, and released a report in December on why more than 42,000 Americans left school without a degree.Researchers found the most common reason was the difficulty of balancing work with their college or university studies. Other reasons included the high cost of higher education and failure to see how their studies related to a career, Torpey-Sayboe said.As for why so few consider returning to complete their education, she told VOA many Americans feel there is little chance of them succeeding if they do.”They are afraid that they’ve been away from the classroom too long or they’re just worried that the same situations that caused them to drop out before might still be there and make it difficult to be successful if they try again,” she said.Torpey-Sayboe suggested the problem in the United States is not just that students have less of a chance of finding good-paying jobs. They still have to repay student loans, and because they will likely have less access to better positions, they will struggle to repay that debt.This makes an already difficult situation harder, noted Justin Ortagus, assistant professor of higher education policy at the University of Florida in Gainesville.”If you’re a low-income, first generation student, you don’t necessarily have a parent to say, ‘This is what you need to do to enroll’ … or, ‘These are the types of courses you need to take to ensure you’re up to date in your individual major,'” he said.”You kind of have to learn on the fly and really rely on under-resourced institutions to provide the support and services that you need.”Community college effortsYet Ortagus is hopeful. Last month, he and two other University of Florida researchers released a study on efforts to re-admit students at two-year community colleges across the state.Community colleges largely serve poor and minority students, many of whom are working in full-time positions and supporting families. Federal studies show that only about 30 percent of individuals who start their education at such schools earn a degree.The study, however, showed that community colleges were able to help students return in two ways. First, the schools started sending text messages to more than 27,000 former students on their mobile phones. The messages provided links so they could immediately enroll in classes or get advice about the next best steps in their education.The community colleges also offered to pay for the first class once those students decided to return to school. The text messages alone had little effect; however, the two efforts together made the individuals in the study 21 percent more likely to re-enroll.Ortagus said that this demonstrates how a little financial aid can do a lot for those in need. And, eventually, the cost to the school is covered when the students are in a better position to pay for the rest of their education.Nichole Torpey-Sayboe said these efforts are a good start. But she argued greater changes still need to be made to the entire structure of U.S. higher education.Torpey-Sayboe said one can see evidence of this in the growing popularity of internet-based degree programs. She said colleges and universities need to consider offering more classes outside of normal business hours, and lawmakers need to consider giving more money to schools that serve needy students so they can improve their guidance services.
 
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A Tanzanian judge ordered the release of investigative journalist Erick Kabendera, who was jailed last year after he criticized President John Magufuli. After he was freed Monday, Kabendera thanked Tanzanians for the support they have shown him since his arrest.Kabendera said his mother died while he was in jail, and his relatives couldn’t afford the burial, but Tanzanians donated money to make sure that his mother was buried properly.Kabendera has written for several British newspapers, including the Guardian and the Economist. Following his arrest July 29, his lawyer, Jebra Kambole, said his client faced charges in connection with an article in the Economist, in which Kabendera said Magufuli was “bulldozing” Tanzania’s freedom.Kabendera was charged with tax evasion, money laundering, and organized crime — all non-bailable offenses.Human rights groups and media freedom advocates called on Tanzania to release Kabendera and ease the pressure the government has put on journalists since Magufuli took office in 2015.Under terms of a plea deal, Kabendera pleaded guilty to the tax evasion and money laundering charges, while the other charges were dropped.He will be fined more than $100,000.Kambole said his client has already paid a portion of the fine, while the remainder should be paid within six months.
 
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The death toll in Italy from the coronavirus outbreak stands at seven with more than 200 cases confirmed. At least 10 towns in the north are in lockdown mode and the army is ensuring no one enters of leaves them during a quarantine period.Italian authorities are working around the clock putting in place unprecedented measures in an effort to curb the surge in coronavirus cases. In at least six regions in Italy’s industrial north, schools and universities are closed. People have been told to stay away from their offices and remain indoors as much as possible.Theaters and museums have also been closed as have bars and discos. Venice carnival events have been cut short for the first time ever.Tourists are wearing protective masks against coronavirus in Venice, Italy, Feb. 23, 2020. (S. Castelfranco/VOA)Authorities have banned all demonstrations and public gatherings, including sporting events and church services as Italy deals with the biggest outbreak in Europe. The head of Italy’s civil defense department, Andrea Borrelli, said authorities were surprised by how fast the virus has spread. He said a plan is in place to house people who have contracted the virus and for those in quarantine.
Borrelli says thousands of beds are available throughout the national territory and that army barracks and hotels have been made available. He also says extra food and medical supplies will be taken to the towns in lockdown in northern Italy.Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte says residents in affected towns could face weeks in lockdown.In Milan over the weekend, many residents raided supermarkets, leaving empty shelves, fearing they would not be able to go to the shops. The Lombardy region is Italy’s hardest hit region and streets are deserted. Many people have been told to stay home and work from there. Those who venture out have been wearing surgical masks. One vendor outside a Milan railway station said he was selling the masks for $11 each.University students in affected areas were unable to sit for their exams.
This student says she had three exams this week and all of them have been canceled. The student says she does not know when she will be able to take them.According to the student, the Milan mayor said for the moment, colleges will be closed for a week but that this closure could be extended to a fortnight or more.Italians have been told to avoid traveling to affected areas. At the airports, passengers are being checked for symptoms of the virus with heat sensors. Some regional train lines have canceled service, but fast trains between the major cities are still operating normally.
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Міністерство енергетики та захисту довкілля оголосило конкурс проєктів, які сприятимуть адаптації до змін клімату екосистем біосферних резерватів «Деснянський» (Сумська область), «Розточчя» (Львівщина) та «Західне Полісся» (Волинська обалсть).

«Цього року ми бачимо чи не найбільше проявів та наслідків зміни клімату. Так, було побито одразу кілька температурних рекордів… Також ми бачимо низку складних ситуацій, зокрема, пожежі по всьому світу. В Україні ми всі бачимо аномально теплу зиму, а відтак і критично низький рівень водності в річках. На жаль, в Україні ще немає загальнодержавної всеохопної стратегії адаптації до зміни клімату, однак є бачення і готовність розробити стратегічний рамковий документ для цієї стратегії. Конкурс проєктів для адаптації трьох українських резерватів є важливим кроком у цьому напрямку», – пояснила заступниця міністра енергетики та захисту довкілля Ірина Ставчук.

Проєкти оцінюватимуть спільно міністерство,Фонд Міхаеля Зуккова та Університет сталого розвитку Еберсвальде (Німеччина).

Подавати проєкти на конкурс зможуть лише мешканці територій, які входять до резерватів, або юридичні особи, які є землекористувачами у їхніх межах.

Фахівці фонду Міхаеля Зуккова очікують, що проєкти стосуватимуться відновлення лісів, зокрема – і на берегах водойм, збагачення лісів мертвою деревиною, потрібною для біорізноманіття, створення природних «лісових коридорів», поновлення боліт, річкових заплав, природних ділянок з проточною та зі стоячою водою, а також демонтаж осушувальних систем. Окрім того, конкурсні проєкти можуть стосуватися органічних технологій у сільському господарстві, а також розбудови «зеленої інфраструктури» у населених пунктах.

Подібні проєкти вже успішно реалізуються в Німеччині: йдеться про заболочування територій для відновлення водного балансу у підземних водах та річках, відновлення лісів після пожеж та збереження органічних залишків, які сприяють збереженню біорізноманіття, починаючи від автохтонних видів комах.

Кошти на українські «кліматичні» проєкти виділяє Міністерство довкілля, охорони природи та ядерної безпеки Німеччини. На один проєкт даватимуть від 4 до 10 тисяч євро, заявки на конкурс можна буде подавати до 12 квітня 2020 року. 

 
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Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty Monday to restored charges that accuse him of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself last year in Chicago and then falsely reporting to that the phony attack was real.   A somber looking Smollett, 37, entered a Cook County courthouse wearing sunglasses and sporting a beard, flanked by his legal teams and surrounded by reporters.
    
His lawyer, Tina Glandian, entered the not guilty pleas on his behalf to six counts of felony disorderly conduct. She also told Judge James B. Linn that she has asked the Illinois Supreme Court to halt the case.    Smollett pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of the charge in the same courthouse last year, just weeks before the Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office abruptly announced it was dismissing the case, angering police and City Hall.
    
Special Prosecutor Dan Webb, a former U.S. attorney who was appointed to examine the state’s attorney’s office’s handling of the case, represented the state. Foxx’s office is not involved in the new case against Smollett.
    
Smollett has repeatedly denied police allegations that he staged the attack to get attention and further his career.
    
Defendants typically enter not guilty pleas during initial hearings before the trial judge, who sets bond amounts that defendants must post to secure their release. Attorneys often arrange for defendants to post bond at the clerk’s office rather than be taken into custody.
    
Smollett, who is black and gay, told police that two masked men attacked him as he was walking home in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2019. He said they made racist and homophobic insults, beat him and looped a noose around his neck before fleeing, and that at least one of his attackers was a white man who told him he was in “MAGA country,” a reference to President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
    
Weeks later,  police alleged  that Smollett had paid two black friends to help stage the attack.
    
Among those in court to observed Monday’s proceedings were the brothers who say they were hired by Smollett to participate in the staged attack, Abimbola “Abel” Osundairo and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo. If Smollett’s case makes it to trial, they would be the state’s star witnesses.
    
Smollett has maintained his innocence, telling reporters after the charges were dropped last year that, “I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of one drop of what I was accused of.”
    
His attorney, Glandian, questioned the integrity of special prosecutor’s investigation after the new charges were announced this month, pointing out that Webb’s probe relied on the same detectives who were part of the original investigation despite pending civil claims that Smollett is pursuing against the city and police for malicious prosecution.
    
Foxx’s handling of the case, meanwhile, has become a key issue in her bid for re-election, with her opponents accusing her of having acted haphazardly and indecisively.
  
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