Melania Trump praises LeBron James following President's insult
Washington, Aug 5 : US First Lady Melania Trump praised NBA superstar LeBron James for his charity work, a day after her husband, President Donald Trump, attacked the Los Angeles Lakers players intelligence.
The First Lady's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham on Saturday said Melania Trump was supportive of James' work with children.
"It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation and just as she always has, the First Lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today," Grisham told CNN.
"As you know, Mrs. Trump has travelled the country and world talking to children about their well-being, healthy living, and the importance of responsible online behaviour with her 'Be Best' initiative."
The spokeswoman also said that the First Lady may even consider visiting the school that James opened last week in Ohio.
Grisham's statement came after President Trump posted a scathing tweet questioning James' intellectual capacity in response to an interview the basketball player gave to CNN which aired on Friday night.
In the interview, the NBA superstar said the President was using athletics and athletes to split up the country and would not sit down across from Trump if he were given the opportunity.
Following the airing of the interview, the President insulted James and interviewer Don Lemon in a series of tweets.
"Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon," he said. "He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do."
This is not the first time Melania Trump has publicly expressed views or taken action that demonstrated an independent streak, CNN reported.
In January, as news broke about the President's alleged dalliance with porn star Stormy Daniels something which he denies, Melania Trump broke with tradition and took a separate motorcade to the President's State of the Union address on Capitol Hill instead of riding with him.
A month later, she opted to go solo prior to departing for a trip with her husband.
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Govt floats tender for new Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg
Mumbai (PTI): In the wake of collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg, the Maharashtra government has issued a tender for the construction of a new 60-foot-tall statue there, nearly twice the size of the previous one, officials said on Wednesday.
The statue will be built at a cost of Rs 20 crore and the government has set a six-month timeframe for the completion of the work, they said.
A 35-foot-tall statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district on December 4 (Navy Day) last year, collapsed on August 26 amid strong winds.
The statue's sculptor, Jaydeep Apte, was later arrested.
The government has faced flak as the opposition parties alleged the decision to install the statue in Sindhudurg was taken haphazardly, which resulted in poor quality of work.
Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) had flagged concerns over rust gathering on Shivaji Maharaj’s statue and suggested permanent measures in a letter sent to a Naval official just six days before the structure collapsed.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the statue was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy.
He claimed winds were blowing at 45 km per hour when the statue collapsed.
A tender has been issued for the construction of a new statue and its height would be 60 feet, a PWD official said.
"The total cost would now be Rs 20 crore, including its engineering, installation and maintenance. The government has given six months to complete the work. The height of the statue would be 60 feet," the official said.
