| Senators blast Trump administration for coronavirus response Posted: 25 Feb 2020 01:15 PM PST  Top officials in the Trump administration struggled on Tuesday morning to justify their response to the growing threat of the coronavirus, which has sickened at least 80,423 people around the world and killed at least 2,712.
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| Louisiana governor: Judge should resign after racial slurs Posted: 26 Feb 2020 08:38 AM PST |
| Trump news — live: President mocked and markets slide as CDC issues grave warning over potential coronavirus pandemic Posted: 25 Feb 2020 08:24 AM PST  A Donald Trump press conference in India descended into a bitter row with CNN reporter Jim Acosta on Tuesday after the president criticised the journalist's network and the latter replied: "I think our record on delivering the truth is a lot better than yours sometimes."Trump has meanwhile secured a lucrative arms deal with the fellow superpower's prime minister Narendra Modi, a venture he risked putting in jeopardy by refusing to eat any of the vegetarian delicacies – notably broccoli samosas - laid out for him at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad on Monday afternoon.
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| Iran to Sentence Citizens Who “Spreads Rumors” about Coronavirus to Flogging, Three Years in Prison Posted: 26 Feb 2020 12:37 PM PST  An Iranian parliament spokesman on Wednesday announced that anyone found to be "spreading rumors" about the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak will be sentenced to one-to-three years in prison and flogging, Iran state news agency IRNA reported."Spreading fake news over coronavirus outbreak will people panic. It also will pave the ground for the country's shutdown," said Hassan Norouzi, spokesman for the parliament's legal and judicial committee, in comments translated by the Tehran Times.Norouzi said the prison sentence and flogging is based on "on the Islamic penal code," and 24 people have been arrested already on suspicion of "spreading rumors" about the illness.Iran has reported 139 cases of coronavirus infections throughout the country, with an epicenter in the city of Qom, a destination for Shi'ite Muslim religious pilgrims. Nineteen Iranians have died from the illness so far, and the country has the highest number of cases in the Middle East. While officials have recommended that citizens not visit Qom, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Wednesday that the government does not plan to quarantine entire cities, only infected individuals."Coronavirus must not be turned into a weapon for our enemies to halt work and production in our country," Rouhani said.On Tuesday Iranian deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi announced that he had contracted coronavirus. In a video taken at his home, Harirchi attempted to reassure viewers, saying "I will certainly defeat corona."Harirchi was filmed a day earlier on state television to announce that the country's outbreak was under control, visibly sweating and wiping his face with a handkerchief.
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| Supreme Court rules Mexican parents can't sue Border Patrol agent who killed their son Posted: 25 Feb 2020 09:05 AM PST  The ruling was a defeat for the parents of Sergio Hernandez Guereca, who was on the Mexico side when he was shot in 2010 by a Border Patrol agent who fired from the U.S. side.
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| Who won the Democratic debate? Our panelists' verdict Posted: 25 Feb 2020 09:52 PM PST  The South Carolina debate was the final one before Super Tuesday. So who emerged as the victor? 'Warren dominated the mic and Sanders held his ground'Oh yeah, man. Let's get into it. Let's dive into the issues that other debate moderators have not yet dared to approach so far. Let's ask questions such as: "Would you, as president, support a ban on trans fats and large sodas?"Did everyone else get this push notification from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning that there was going to be a "disruption to everyday life" with the looming coronavirus pandemic? I don't know if that was just Russia meddling in the election or whatever, but I am wondering why it took 90 minutes for the moderators to bring the virus up, and why their question was framed around whether the United States should completely freak out and shut down all the borders. Not, should we do something about the fact that the uninsured will often avoid doctors when they are ill because they are afraid of unpredictable medical bills, or how our rural hospitals are shutting down, or how we have sanctions on medical supplies against Iran, where a coronavirus outbreak is worsening. Look, I know Mercury is retrograde, but there is absolutely no excuse for this shameful performance.As for the candidates, for someone who doesn't support the use of filibuster, Elizabeth Warren sure did dominate the microphone on Tuesday night. Pete Buttigieg tried to make everything about him by talking over everyone, Michael Bloomberg was absolutely adorable trying to explain the history of hostilities in the Middle East, and Tom Steyer somehow felt emboldened to talk about economic justice despite building part of his wealth on private prisons and mines. Amy Klobuchar was also there.The mood was chaotic, the audience paid a lot of money to behave like they were attending a Jerry Springer show, most of the candidates' hair was weirdly terrible, and the only person to hold their ground was Bernie Sanders. He stayed on message, he refused to take easy bait, and he didn't do what I would have done, which is when asked about his "controversial" remarks about thinking it was good that Cuba taught people how to read he did not yell "would all of you people grow up" and storm off the stage. This is the last time we'll see probably about half of these candidates, after Super Tuesday annihilates their campaigns. Too bad. Sure gonna miss Pete and Amy fighting over who is the most midwestern candidate. * Jessa Crispin is the host of the Public Intellectual podcast. She is a Guardian US columnist 'Donald Trump was the winner yet again'On Tuesday night, the Democrats held a prime-time steel cage match. Seven presidential aspirants repeatedly traded verbal blows. After two-plus hours, Donald Trump emerged victorious – and he wasn't even in the ring.Even worse, many of the combatants appeared removed from reality. Coronavirus, a reeling stock market, and low unemployment now shape our landscape. Yet the potential pandemic drew no mention until Michael Bloomberg, New York City's former mayor, raised the threat the virus poses.Medicare-for-All continued to receive outsized attention despite the fact that most Americans take a dim view of government being the be-all and end-all of individual healthcare. By the numbers, US adults reject socialism by better than two-to-one. Jeremy Corbyn's fate is a cautionary tale.As the 2018 midterms remind us, control of the US House of Representatives and US Senate hinges on wooing and winning persuadable voters. Yet, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren posture as if they can impose their will upon a blank slate.As for the rest of the field, Pete Buttigieg delivered a crisp performance. Meanwhile, Joe Biden looked and sounded engaged. His sense of humor may yet get him to the finish line first in South Carolina's upcoming Saturday primary. * Lloyd Green was opposition research counsel to George HW Bush's 1988 campaign and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992 'The well-heeled audience booed Sanders and Warren and loved Bloomberg'Judging purely by the reaction of the crowd watching the Democratic primary debate live in South Carolina, you would think Bloomberg had a magnificent comeback – almost as if he had miraculously developed a personality that Americans could connect with.Elizabeth Warren quickly found herself on the receiving end of an angry crowd as she excoriated Bloomberg for his and his company's past that is littered with sexual harassment accusations. It's extraordinary that Warren's attempt to champion the women who have been silenced by his non-disclosure agreements was met with furious booing.Bernie Sanders found himself on the receiving end of raucous booing, too, when he challenged Mayor Bloomberg throughout the night, including when he was criticizing Bloomberg's relationship with China.It didn't take long before rumors about Bloomberg purchasing the audience started spreading around. So much so that one of Bloomberg's top staffers had to inform Josh Lederman of NBC news that the Bloomberg campaign "did not pay people to attend the debate and cheer for Bloomberg".Perhaps not. Still, a few Google searches later we quickly discovered that the price of tickets to the South Carolina debate ranged between $1,750 and $3,200. And while this does not mean these individuals were paid by Bloomberg to cheer for him, it does mean that the audience members were most likely in a financial position to oppose candidates like Warren and Sanders, who would likely raise their taxes.So it may be the case that Bloomberg had no need to purchase support in the South Carolina debate when the system established by the Democratic party created the conditions under which only the wealthiest people in South Carolina could attend and, subsequently, cheer on the oligarch who would ensure their taxes would not go up. * Benjamin Dixon is the host of the Benjamin Dixon Show 'Attempts to woo black voters sounded like virtue signalling'It's hard to identify anything but losers of this debate. As expected, Bernie Sanders – who has won the popular vote in each of the primaries and caucuses thus far – was attacked at the onset with red scare-level fear mongering about basic social policies from both the moderators and most of the candidates.Virtually all the other candidates, except perhaps Elizabeth Warren, who exuded an air of calm, acted as if their chances would be blasted into oblivion unless they threw the kitchen sink at every answer.Ahead of the first primary that tests the candidates' appeal to a significant black electorate in South Carolina, this came across as virtue signaling instead of meaningful engagement with the issues at hand. Candidates used Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk policy, for instance, to discuss virtually every racial inequality under the sun and plug various race-centric plans they are running on. Will black voters buy it? We'll soon find out. * Malaika Jabali is a public policy attorney, writer and activist 'Sanders won an awful debate'What a wretched debate, two hours of shouting and interrupting and pandering from which it was hard to discern much sense. All that noise worked for Bernie Sanders. He remains the frontrunner because nobody else made a point. The others had their chance to bash him as a Fidel Castro sympathizer, but didn't manage to pull it off.None took him down over healthcare, since it appears to be the issue that has driven him to the front. Elizabeth Warren would have ground Michael Bloomberg into dust over sexism (and failure to release his tax returns) if the moderators had allowed her. But the moderators had no control over candidates desperate to make a mark just before South Carolina and Super Tuesday. So none of them really made a mark.Biden did himself no harm but did not deliver the sort of performance that could propel him into Super Tuesday and stunt Sanders's rise. Bloomberg looked bad enough that it should give African Americans serious doubts about whether to abandon Biden for him. Sanders won by not making any big mistakes and by offering a reasonable defense of his comments about Latin America, and Biden held his own on friendly ground in South Carolina. * Art Cullen is editor of The Storm Lake Times in northwest Iowa, where he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. He is a Guardian US columnist and author of the book Storm Lake: Change, Resilience, and Hope in America's Heartland, just out in paperback
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| Boom: The Army Just Invented a Newer, Deadlier Artillery Round Posted: 25 Feb 2020 08:50 AM PST  That's going to ruin somebody's day.
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| Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears Posted: 26 Feb 2020 02:24 PM PST  Israel on Wednesday became the first country to officially warn its citizens to avoid any international travel amid fears over the coronavirus outbreak.Several airlines have canceled flights to China, where the respiratory virus originated, and governments have issued warnings about travel to certain countries, but no country has actively urged their citizens avoid traveling abroad at large until now. "If you don't genuinely have to fly — don't do so," Israel's health ministry said in a statement.Although the majority of cases remain in China, the virus has spread to several other countries. In response to criticism that the country was stoking panic and could cause both economic and diplomatic damage, the health ministry said they'd rather deal with the inconveniences now than be sorry later, The Times of Israel reports.The only confirmed Israeli cases so far involve people who were on a cruise ship that was quarantined in Japan, although South Korea — which is experiencing one of the larger outbreaks beyond China — reportedly informed Israel over the weekend that a members from a group of pilgrims returned to South Korea from Israel and tested positive for the disease. Read more at The Times of Israel.More stories from theweek.com Trump puts Pence in charge of coronavirus response Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Trump's coronavirus response is worse than incompetent
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| China to Russia: End discriminatory coronavirus measures against Chinese Posted: 26 Feb 2020 02:57 AM PST  China's embassy in Russia has demanded authorities in Moscow end what it said are discriminatory anti-coronavirus measures against Chinese nationals, saying they are damaging relations and alarming Chinese residents of the Russian capital. The complaint, detailed in an embassy letter to the city's authorities and published by Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta late on Tuesday, deplored what it called "ubiquitous monitoring" of Chinese nationals, including on public transport in Moscow. Russia, which enjoys strong political and military ties with Beijing, does not currently have any confirmed cases of coronavirus, but has temporarily barred many categories of Chinese nationals from entering the country.
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| CDC confirms first 'unknown' coronavirus case in California that could raise concerns about the threat of the virus Posted: 26 Feb 2020 06:14 PM PST  The CDC on Wednesday confirmed an infection in California that would represent the first U.S. person to contract the virus from an "unknown" origin.
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| Shifting demographics drive GOP nosedive on US West Coast Posted: 26 Feb 2020 06:20 AM PST  In the early 1990s, the population of Bend was around 25,000 and leaned Republican. The transformation shows how demographic shifts and the GOP's tack further to the right are helping push the party into a nosedive along the West Coast. The last Republican presidential candidate that California went for was George H.W. Bush.
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| South Korea is testing 200,000 members of a doomsday church linked to more than 60% of its coronavirus cases Posted: 25 Feb 2020 02:20 AM PST  It is the latest drastic step taken by authorities in South Korea, where more people have caught the coronavirus than any nation other than China.
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| Iran’s Incompetent Response to Coronavirus Threatens the Middle East and the World Posted: 26 Feb 2020 02:32 PM PST  The Iranian government has covered up an outbreak of coronavirus that now threatens the Middle East and has led to border closures and hospitalizations in five countries. Over the weekend of February 21, president Hassan Rouhani and other Iranian officials downplayed the growing crises as Iran's death toll from the virus climbed. It is now apparent that the regime, which has threatened the region with ballistic missiles, drones, naval mines, and militias over the last few years, has become a health threat as well, as it incubates a potential pandemic. The coronavirus has likely traveled from China to Iran's city of Qom along the same route that pilgrims and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps uses to travel, illustrating the regime's disregard for its own citizens and neighbors.It all began with Iran's wanting to show the world it had higher turnout at recent elections. Iranian member of parliament Mahmoud Sadeghi called on officials to take the coronavirus seriously during elections, and alleged that the government was hiding the outbreak of the contagious virus last week. Instead, Iran's regime kept the extent of the spread of the virus under wraps, keeping it off the homepages of major local media. Turkish officials also warned last week that there were 750 coronavirus cases in Iran, and that it had spread from the religious city of Qom to other regions. Yet Iran's deputy health minister Iraj Harirchi downplayed fears on Monday, claiming rumors of 50 deaths were false. Now Haririchi and Sadeghi are both sick, and Iran's death toll is the second-worst for the virus, after China itself.Iran's failure to confront the health crises is not just due to the regime's authoritarianism. China has fought the virus with authoritarian quarantining of Wuhan. Instead, it is the regime's preexisting arrogance, conspiracy-minded behavior, and siege mentality that led to its discounting an emerging crisis and enabled Shi'ite pilgrims traveling to Qom from all over the world to continue praying together and traveling without checks, becoming incubators of the virus. People returning from Iran have spread the virus across the Gulf to Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman. They have returned to Najaf, a holy city in Iraq, where dozens are now under observation.Iran couldn't have chosen a worse time in the Middle East to do this. Countries such as Iraq are beset by protests and uncertainty, with Iraq specifically lacking a new government and threatened by ISIS resurgence. The Gulf already has one crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar and is economically on edge due to serving as a transport hub linked to global trade amid all this. China's coronavirus has spooked markets, and Iran is adding to the disaster.The Iranian regime has mocked coronavirus as similar to the flu in recent comments. And it has weaponized the tragedy to use it against U.S. sanctions by claiming that, like the sanctions, it is overrated. Iran's government is using the Iranian people as a human shield, and their alleged lack of suffering from the virus as a propaganda tool. Yet ultimately, the virus may be more of a threat to Rouhani's government than he realizes. With officials sick, schools closed, and the military, police, and IRGC mobilized, the regime may find that propaganda won't cure this crisis. Iran's regime has survived using brutality, killing protesters last year, shooting down an airline this year, and blaming others for its problems while it seeks to attack Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. But Iran was unprepared for an epidemic, and its normal arsenal won't save it.Unfortunately for the Gulf, Iraq, and other countries, Iran's incubation is a threat to the world now. Its airlines, such as Mahan Air, have likely spread the virus to Lebanon and brought it from China. Mahan Air and other Iranian IRGC-linked firms have transported arms and operatives throughout the region. It wouldn't be a surprise if a similar route enabled the virus to spread unchecked. The regime's toxic blend of religion, militancy, and authoritarianism have come together in the worst possible way at the worst time in a fragile region.
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| US Supreme Court dismisses Washington sniper's freedom bid Posted: 26 Feb 2020 03:12 PM PST  The US Supreme Court officially dismissed a challenge Wednesday by "DC Sniper" Lee Boyd Malvo to his sentence of life without parole after a law came into effect offering the possibility of freedom for juvenile offenders who have served 20 years. Malvo got four life sentences without parole for three sniper-style murders committed in the state of Virginia with John Muhammad in 2002, when Malvo was 17. Malvo agreed to end his resentencing bid on Monday because he will be eligible for parole in two years in any case under the Virginia law that came into force on the same day.
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| Israel's foreign minister slams Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders for his 'horrifying comment' Posted: 26 Feb 2020 06:49 AM PST  Israel's foreign minister denounced Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders on Wednesday for what he called his "horrifying comment" about Jerusalem, saying that those who support Israel would not back Sanders's presidential candidacy after such remarks.
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| A Florida woman is being accused of zipping her boyfriend into a suitcase and leaving him to die Posted: 26 Feb 2020 09:21 AM PST  Sarah Boone, 42, claimed it was just an accident. But police saw troubling videos of her taunting him as he struggled to get out of the luggage.
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| Ukraine Is Getting Stronger: What If It Could Take on Russia? Posted: 26 Feb 2020 12:59 PM PST  Or is that just silly?
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| Coronavirus: New York doctors make diagnosis breakthrough Posted: 26 Feb 2020 05:42 PM PST  Examining coronavirus patients' CT scans could lead to a quicker diagnosis of those with suspected symptoms, doctors have discoveredA team of researchers in Mount Sinai, New York - the first in the US to analyse CT scans of patients - have said they can identify specific patterns in the lungs as markers of the disease.
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| Mexico president ties shootout dead to drug consumption Posted: 26 Feb 2020 03:42 PM PST  President Andrés Manuel López Obrador suggested Wednesday without offering evidence that most of those who die in Mexico's cartel- and gang-fueled firefights are high on drugs or intoxicated, prompting criticism and questions about whether the claim was accurate. Speaking to journalists in his morning news conference, López Obrador said rising drug consumption rates must be reversed if the country is to guarantee peace and security after years of rising, record-setting homicide statistics. "Just so you have the number, 60% of those who lose their life each day, 60% of those killed in clashes, it is shown that they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but primarily drugs," the president continued.
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| Mom of missing Idaho kids wants $5 million bail reduced Posted: 26 Feb 2020 04:59 AM PST  A mother arrested in Hawaii in connection with the disappearance of her two Idaho children wants a judge to reconsider her $5 million bail.
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| Trump defends his coronavirus response minutes after Democratic candidates criticized it at the South Carolina debate Posted: 25 Feb 2020 07:01 PM PST  President Donald Trump fired back at Democrats on the debate stage on Twitter during an exchange on the administration's response to the coronavirus.
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| MSNBC Benches Contributor Who Smeared Bernie Sanders Staffers Posted: 26 Feb 2020 12:30 PM PST  Following MSNBC contributor Dr. Jason Johnson's inflammatory remarks about supporters and campaign staffers of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the academic has been temporarily benched by the network, sources confirmed to The Daily Beast. In recent months, Johnson—a fixture of the network's Democratic primary analysis—has drawn considerable heat for his relentlessly anti-Sanders commentary on MSNBC, which has also come under fire from the left for its skeptical and largely negative coverage of the democratic-socialist senator. During an interview last week on SiriusXM's The Karen Hunter Show, Johnson claimed "racist white liberals" support Sanders and that the senator has done "nothing for intersectionality." The MSNBC contributor then took aim at the women of color who work for Sanders. "I don't care how many people from the island of misfit black girls you throw out there to defend you," Johnson exclaimed.The remark prompted Sanders' national press secretary Briahna Joy Gray to retort on Twitter: "I hope we can have political disputes without engaging in open racism and sexism. This misogynoir is disappointing, but not surprising from @DrJasonJohnson."Johnson's over-the-top remarks also sparked wider calls for MSNBC to fire him, but the network has not officially responded. Johnson's temporary sidelining included him not being involved in coverage of last weekend's Nevada caucuses or the post-game coverage of Tuesday evening's South Carolina debate, which aired on CBS. In an email to media outlets hyping its post-debate plans, Johnson's name was nowhere to be found.The punishment appears to have also cost Johnson his chance to be on-air during the network's coverage of this past Saturday's Nevada caucuses, which Sanders won in a landslide.Johnson's absence has been noticeable, as he has become a staple of MSNBC's Democratic primary analysis roster. Prior to his benching, he made nearly 40 appearances on the network in 2020 alone. Besides being regularly featured on high-profile programs like Morning Joe, Deadline: White House, The Beat with Ari Melber, and The 11th Hour, MSNBC turned to him to provide analysis during last month's impeachment trial, the early-state primary votes, and several Democratic primary debates.In fact, during last week's Nevada debate, Johnson was a fixture on the network's panels, beginning the day with an appearance on Morning Joe and staying on through MSNBC's post-debate analysis, which didn't wrap until after midnight.His most recent MSNBC appearance came during the Feb. 21 broadcast of The Last Word, which aired hours before his fateful radio interview that resulted in his benching.MSNBC declined to comment for this story.Seth Meyers Unloads on Chris Matthews for 'Deranged' Bernie Sanders AttacksRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| The Trump administration is reportedly fighting over coronavirus spending Posted: 25 Feb 2020 07:53 AM PST  The coronavirus outbreak has sparked plenty of infighting and finger-pointing within the Trump administration, according to a new report.Politico on Tuesday reported that Trump officials including acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and domestic policy chief Joe Grogan have "turned their fire" on Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar as he leads the administration's coronavirus response, feeling that he "poorly coordinated the strategy, failed to escalate the potential risks to Trump and pushed for a multibillion-dollar emergency-funding request that they initially viewed as extreme."This funding, in fact, had been a "major sticking point" between the White House and Azar before the administration ultimately sought $2.5 billion from Congress on Monday, Politico writes. In response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the administration's request "long overdue" but "completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency," NBC News reports. Additionally, Politico reports, there was "finger-pointing and second-guessing for days" after 14 Americans with coronavirus were evacuated from a cruise ship recently. Amid all this consternation, Politico writes at least two of Azar's allies are now "worried that the secretary's job is at risk if the coronavirus response goes poorly."Speaking of worrying, Trump allies and advisers are reportedly fearful of how a "botched" response to the coronavirus could affect the economy, although Trump himself continues to downplay the crisis, tweeting on Monday that "the coronavirus is very much under control in the USA." More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity The Boston Globe endorses Elizabeth Warren. So does Ann Coulter, kind of. MSNBC's Chris Matthews hounds Warren on why she thinks Bloomberg is lying about telling a staffer to 'kill' her pregnancy
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| Israeli Wants to Use Powerful Lasers to Cut Apart Iran's Missiles Posted: 26 Feb 2020 01:07 PM PST  A new, improved defense system?
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| Teacher who allegedly washed out student’s mouth with hand sanitiser receives 10-day suspension Posted: 25 Feb 2020 01:12 PM PST  A Florida middle school teacher has reportedly been suspended for putting hand sanitizer in a student's mouth after he wouldn't stop chatting during class.NBC News said Guyette Duhart, a science teacher at Polo Park Middle School in Wellington, allegedly admitted holding the bottle to the child's mouth after he kept talking in class, but she denied pumping the sanitiser, NBC News reported.
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| US Supreme Court upholds death sentences of Arizona man Posted: 25 Feb 2020 07:15 AM PST  A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences for an Arizona inmate who was convicted of killing two people in home burglaries nearly 30 years ago and now wants a jury to consider abuse he suffered as a child. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the court's conservative justices, rejected the arguments of James Erin McKinney that he deserved a new sentencing hearing so a jury could decide whether he should face death or life in prison. McKinney also argued that courts have not fully considered the horrific physical abuse he suffered as a child.
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| Beijing’s Handling of Coronavirus Has Undermined Chinese Public’s Trust in State Media Posted: 26 Feb 2020 06:51 AM PST  China's government is facing widespread criticism from its own citizens over its handling of the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.Beijing has launched a massive propaganda campaign with stories of Chinese heroism in the struggle to contain the coronavirus, meant to unify the country's citizens behind the government. However, the government's efforts have faced scorn on Chinese social media, where citizens are openly complaining about the government's response to the crisis, New York Times reported Wednesday.The Times cited a blog post by a lawyer, Deng Xueping, excoriating the government over the coronavirus. Deng mentioned a story circulated on state media about a woman who was treated at a Wuhan hospital, but liked staying in the hospital so much that she didn't want to leave."When many patients in Wuhan were struggling to get treatment, our TV camera chose to turn to one happy outpatient," Deng wrote in the post. "By magnifying one individual's happiness while hiding the sufferings of most people there, it's hard to say such coverage was truthful about the epidemic."Some stories put out by state media are completely unbelievable. A newspaper in the city of Xi'an in central China was forced to retract a story detailing how a nurse's newborn twins asked their father where their mother had gone. The Times cited another Chinese newspaper which reported that another nurse's husband, who has been in a vegetative state since 2014, would smile whenever he "heard" his wife's name, "as if he knew that his wife was engaged in a great endeavor."There is also widespread anger over the government's initial condemnation of eight doctors who tried to warn others about the outbreak of the SARS-like illness in Wuhan in late December-early January, before the outbreak took hold in earnest. One of those doctors, Li Wenliang, tried to warn medical school friends of the illness.After Li was reprimanded by the local Wuhan government for spreading "rumors," he contracted the virus from a patient he did not know was infected. Li has since died.China has also changed its diagnostic criteria for the coronavirus multiple times, leading to confusion over the number of confirmed cases in the country. A health official from Hubei Provice, the epicenter of the outbreak, has accused the government of a lack of transparency and accuracy regarding its reporting of cases.
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| Trump Says U.S. ‘Pretty Close’ to Deal to End Afghanistan War Posted: 25 Feb 2020 04:17 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Taliban are "pretty close" to signing an agreement to formally end the war in Afghanistan."We're pretty close," Trump told reporters Tuesday in New Delhi. "We've got two days now under our belt without violence" or with minimal violence, the president said.U.S. and Taliban leaders intend to sign a peace deal on Feb. 29, provided that a week-long reduction in violence that started early Saturday remain in place. Trump in September pulled out of plans for Camp David peace talks with the Taliban after a U.S. soldier was killed in a suicide bombing.Prospects for a long-term peace deal remain fragile. On Tuesday, Afghanistan's electoral commission declared President Ashraf Ghani the winner of another five-year term, despite months of challenges and recounts that clouded the election. Ghani's rival, opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah, has claimed victory, undermining the government's legitimacy and possibly hindering its ability to negotiate a peace agreement with the Taliban.The U.S. currently has around 13,000 troops in the country, and administration officials said they would be withdrawn only if the Taliban meets certain conditions.To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net;Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua GalluFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The world's biggest iPhone maker has hired the scientist known as the 'SARS hero' to oversee its reopening as it resumes production Posted: 26 Feb 2020 08:07 AM PST  Apple's main manufacturing partner, Foxconn, just hired the head of China's coronavirus investigation as an adviser.
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| Erdogan rules out even 'smallest step back' in Syria's Idlib Posted: 26 Feb 2020 11:19 AM PST  President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday vowed Turkey would not take even the "smallest step back" in an escalating stand-off with Damascus and Russia over the northern Syrian region of Idlib. Meanwhile, a meeting between Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, could be in the pipeline, the Turkish foreign minister said, ahead of a possible summit including EU heavyweights Germany and France to find a political solution to the Idlib crisis. "We will not take the smallest step back in Idlib," Erdogan told his ruling party's lawmakers in parliament in Ankara.
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| Warren thanks Cherokee Nation citizens for holding her 'accountable' for falsely identifying as Native American Posted: 26 Feb 2020 11:51 AM PST  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) again apologized Wednesday for previously incorrectly claiming tribal heritage and releasing DNA results that claimed to reveal she had Native American ancestry. The most recent apology was in response to a letter from several members of the Cherokee Nation, as well as members of other tribes standing in solidarity, calling on her to go beyond acknowledging her mistakes and do her part to dispel beliefs spread by white people claiming Native heritage.The letter asked Warren to unequivocally state she and her ancestors are white, explain that "only tribal affiliation and kinship determine Native identity," and that "Native people are the sole authority on who is — and who is not — Native."In a response letter, Warren affirmed she understood all three of those points, and thanked the Cherokee Nation for holding her "accountable," while also highlighting actions she has taken as a lawmaker as well as provisions she has included in her presidential campaign plans with tribal interests in mind.Warren did push back in one instance, however. The signatories of the letter said Warren's actions were part of a "long and violent history" of "white members of fake 'tribes'" being rewarded federal contracts "set aside for minority business owners." Warren said she "appreciated my incorrect identification as Native was loaded given the history," but distanced herself from the aforementioned cases because she "never benefited financially or professionally" from her claims. Read the Cherokee Nation's letter here and Warren's response here.More stories from theweek.com Trump puts Pence in charge of coronavirus response Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity
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| South Carolina church shooter Dylann Roof staged death row hunger strike Posted: 25 Feb 2020 03:53 PM PST  White supremacist mass murderer Dylann Roof staged a hunger strike this month while on federal death row, alleging in letters to The Associated Press that he's been "targeted by staff," "verbally harassed and abused without cause" and "treated disproportionately harsh."
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| This Unit Had Some of the Finest Marine Aces of World War II Posted: 26 Feb 2020 02:30 AM PST  They won many medals.
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| Why is Iran's reported mortality rate for coronavirus higher than in other countries? Posted: 26 Feb 2020 01:28 PM PST  Iran's reported mortality rate for the illness — about 14 percent — surpasses the rate for other countries by a dramatic margin.
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| Violence, industry co-exist in conservative Mexican state Posted: 25 Feb 2020 09:00 PM PST  Mexico's drug war has long played out in dusty northern border cities or the poppy fields of its southern mountains, but now the killings have moved to the conservative industrial heartland state of Guanajuato, creating a strange duality: shiny new auto plants and booming foreign investment even as the state becomes Mexico's most violent. What Huett apparently means is that what officials define as decent, law-abiding people aren't being killed.
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| ‘Don’t You Think You Ought to Check?’: Sen. Kennedy Demands DHS Chief Provide ‘Straight Answers’ on Coronavirus Spread Posted: 25 Feb 2020 08:57 AM PST  Senator John Kennedy on Tuesday demanded answers from acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf regarding the likely extent of the domestic coronavirus outbreak, saying the American people deserve "straight answers" about the deadly virus.During a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Kennedy asked Wolf how many cases of people infected with the coronavirus the U.S. anticipates having."You're head of Homeland Security, and your job is to keep us safe. Do you know today how many the experts are predicting?" the Louisiana Democrat-turned-Republican said."We only know that, again, we anticipate those numbers to grow in the U.S.," Wolf responded, saying that he cannot provide an "exact number.""Don't you think you ought to check on that?" Kennedy asked. "You're the secretary. I think you ought to know that answer."Kennedy also asked Wolf for answers on the mortality rate of the coronavirus, whether the U.S. has enough respirators, and when a vaccine is expected."You're the secretary of Homeland Security and you can't tell me if we have enough respirators?" Kennedy said, adding that lawmakers previously heard separate testimony that the U.S. does not have enough respirators.Kennedy also pointed out that the DHS chief's testimony does not match up with information put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."Your numbers aren't the same as CDC's. Don't you think you ought to contact them and find our whether you're right or they're right?" Kennedy said. "The American people deserve some straight answers on the coronavirus and I'm not getting them from you."Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen afterwards urged Wolf to hold "open briefings" about the situation surrounding the coronavirus, adding, "I didn't hear anything this morning that I haven't read in the newspaper."A slew of new countries on Monday confirmed their first cases of the virus, a respiratory illness that originated in China and has infected close to 80,000 people in 37 countries, killing at least 2,600.
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| Rush Limbaugh is under fire for claiming the coronavirus is a 'common cold' being 'weaponized' to bring down Trump Posted: 25 Feb 2020 07:59 AM PST  Limbaugh accused China of bioterrorism, claiming it was using the coronavirus to destroy the US economy.
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| Bernie Sanders Boycotts Pro-Israel Americans Posted: 26 Feb 2020 08:14 AM PST  (Bloomberg Opinion) -- With Bernie Sanders emerging as the front-runner to win his party's nomination, pro-Israel Americans must grapple with an uncomfortable question: Does the Democratic party still support the world's only Jewish state? What raises the question is next week's annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Sanders announced this week that he would not be attending, saying on Twitter: "I remain concerned about the platform AIPAC provides for leaders who express bigotry and oppose basic Palestinian rights."At Tuesday night's debate, Sanders clarified that he was speaking about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "I'm very proud of being Jewish," he said. "I actually lived in Israel for some months. But what I happen to believe is that right now, sadly, tragically, in Israel, through Bibi Netanyahu, you have a reactionary racist who is now running that country."In other words, Sanders might deign to speak at the country's largest organization devoted to the U.S.-Israel relationship — but only if it shuns the man who Israelis have elected to lead their country for the last 10 years.This is not to say that Netanyahu is beyond reproach. Last year, he cynically accepted the help of an extremist party that favors ethnic cleansing, providing political legitimacy to what used to be a third rail in Israeli politics. AIPAC, along with most other major Jewish American organizations, denounced his ploy. If Sanders wished to highlight this ugly episode in a speech to AIPAC, it would be uncomfortable for the audience. If he wanted to make the case against President Donald Trump's peace plan or defend Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, it would be tense. Instead, by boycotting the conference altogether, Sanders is lending legitimacy to a movement that seeks to make the pro-Israel lobby itself toxic within the Democratic Party.There is a double standard at work here. In 2016 Sanders said he would work to normalize U.S. relations with Iran, a regime that sponsors terrorists who kill Jews and Americans. In January, Sanders and Elizabeth Warren hosted a conference call with the National Iranian American Council, a group that supports the U.S.-Iran relationship in the same way AIPAC advocates for the U.S.-Israel relationship.Then there is the Sanders campaign's embrace of surrogates who support the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel itself, something Sanders has said he opposes. The most prominent is Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist who in December said Israel is built on the idea of Jewish supremacy. (Unsurprisingly, she applauded his decision to skip AIPAC.) Another Sanders surrogate is Representative Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota Democrat who attacked her fellow Democrats last year, saying she "should not be expected to have allegiance/pledge support for a foreign country," meaning Israel. The list goes on. The Sanders campaign is a magnet for Americans who are hostile to both the Jewish state and those who support it.All of this puts AIPAC, and the American Jewish community, in a bind. There is no doubt that it's better for Israel if both major parties support the U.S.-Israel relationship. At the same time, it's dangerous to pretend one's adversaries are allies. Sanders has made it clear that he is no friend of Israel. There will be a temptation for AIPAC to gloss over this episode, especially if Sanders becomes the Democratic nominee. After all, Sanders supports a two-state solution. He lived on an Israeli Kibbutz. He has voted to sanction Iran. At a 2014 town hall, he admirably took on hecklers defending Palestinian terrorists, giving an even-handed response to a question about Israel's war with Hamas.That was six years ago. In 2020, on the verge of securing the Democratic Party's nomination, his views seem closer to the protesters in that crowd. In this sense, his decision to skip the AIPAC meeting is clarifying. It's now time to return the favor. If Sanders wishes to boycott AIPAC, its members should boycott Sanders. To contact the author of this story: Eli Lake at elake1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Elizabeth Warren says Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand regularly check in on her Posted: 25 Feb 2020 12:16 PM PST  Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is on good terms with some Democratic exes.While she can't claim to have raised thousands of dollars from ex-boyfriends, like Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) can, Warren has remained quite friendly with several ex-Democratic presidential candidates. In an interview with NBC News, Warren said she's texted nature photos with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) shortly after he dropped out of the race, talked math with Andrew Yang, and kept in touch with former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, who has endorsed her run.But she says Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have particular insight into what NBC News calls the "loneliness" of the campaign trail, something Warren described as like "living in a movie that is running at high speed with everything coming so quickly.""Kamala and Kirsten, in particular, ask me am I getting rest? Am I eating? And am I having some fun out there?," said Warren of her fellow women candidates. "It's a very personal experience to run. Running for president can be thrilling but also very lonely," she said. "The candidate stands alone."Warren even got back in good graces with former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) after taking him down a few pegs in one of the first debates. Delaney said her call to wish him well after he dropped out was "quite lengthy and quite in-depth" and showed "she's not entirely self-absorbed. She actually listens."Read more about Warren's relationship with her ex-competitors at NBC News.More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Donald Trump tells biographer he's the same now as he was in first grade Is Bernie Sanders the Democrats' Goldwater, Reagan, or Trump?
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| Cuba buys fuel shipment, vessel and all, due to US sanctions Posted: 26 Feb 2020 03:17 PM PST  Cuba purchased a shipment of oil -- and the vessel holding it -- as its owner refused to dock at the island nation over fears of violating US sanctions, the government said Wednesday. Authorities in Cuba -- which is facing a fuel shortage -- did not specify where the fuel or ship came from, nor when the purchase took place. "We have reached the point where we had to buy a ship near our shore -- buy the ship -- because the owner refused to dock with the fuel on board," Transport Minister Eduardo Rodriguez said.
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| Hunter Biden Stalls On Child Support Deposition Posted: 26 Feb 2020 02:29 PM PST  He really doesn't want to testify...
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| A record high: 1 in 10 eligible American voters are immigrants Posted: 26 Feb 2020 11:06 AM PST  The number of immigrants eligible to vote has risen 93 percent — from 12 million in 2000 to 23.2 million in 2020.
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| Indiana couple gets no prison time for caging teenage girl Posted: 25 Feb 2020 02:06 PM PST  Alan and Aimee Friz pleaded guilty Friday to neglect of a dependent in Crawford Circuit Court in exchange for two years of probation and the dismissal of their criminal confinement charges, WXIN-TV reported. Several charges of sexual misconduct with a minor levied against 57-year-old Alan Friz were also dismissed. The Huntingburg couple was arrested in October 2017 after deputies responded to their Dubois County home on a report of a "juvenile that was out of control." Authorities interviewed the girl with help from the county prosecutor's office.
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| Stephen Colbert Booed for Brutal Takedown of Bloomberg’s Debate Performance Posted: 25 Feb 2020 09:35 PM PST  Stephen Colbert began his live coverage of the Democratic debate that took place in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, Tuesday night by noting just how much of a trainwreck it was."These folks said a lot of words, and I did not hear many of them," the Late Show host remarked. "Because these candidates were speaking all over each other." Colbert had jokes about all seven of the remaining contenders, but his harshest material was reserved for former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg—especially his failure to give a sufficient answer on his controversial use of the stop-and-frisk policy. Bill Maher Booed for Defending Mike Bloomberg's Racist Stop-and-Frisk CommentsSeth Meyers Mocks Mike Bloomberg's Terrible Twitter Jokes About Bernie Sanders"I've met with black leaders to try to get an understanding of how I can better position myself," Bloomberg said at one point in the debate, to which Colbert replied, "Mr. Mayor, I have a feeling a lot of black leaders want your position to be spread eagle up against a wall." Then, in response to Bloomberg pointing out his black supporters in the debate audience, Colbert imitated him by saying, "A lot of them are in the audience tonight, officers—stop them, check their pockets, there's an endorsement in there someplace, I promise you." That line drew loud jeers from the audience at the Ed Sullivan Theater, prompting the host to break from his script. "All of Bloomberg's voters are here tonight I think," he said with a smile. But he pressed on, covering Elizabeth Warren's latest takedown of the mayor's non-disclosure agreements as well as Bloomberg's lame attempts to make jokes during the debate. "Oh, OK, now I understand why he asks people to sign an NDA after he tells a joke," Colbert said. "No one wants to remember that." As for Bloomberg's odd Naked Cowboy joke, the host added, "Now, for those of you who don't live in New York City, there's this crazy man who wanders around the city and will not leave people alone. And that man's name is Mike Bloomberg." For more, listen and subscribe to The Last Laugh podcast. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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