| Trump turns to Pence to calm fears over coronavirus, but leaves many questions unanswered Posted: 26 Feb 2020 05:50 PM PST  President Trump announced that he was putting Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the U.S. response to coronavirus.
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| Man gets life for kidnapping stepdaughter, holding her captive for 19 years Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:36 AM PST  Henri Michelle Piette kidnapped his victim in 1997 when she was 12 and subjected her to nearly 20 years of physical and sexual abuse before she escaped.
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| Iran Can’t Hide Its Coronavirus Explosion, But It’s Trying Hard—and Putting the World in Danger Posted: 27 Feb 2020 02:26 AM PST  Iran's deputy health minister was drenched in sweat at the press conference on Monday where he vehemently denied Tehran was covering up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak. He kept wiping his brow with his handkerchief and was in visible distress as he said quarantines were a "Stone Age" way to address the problem, and Iran doesn't need them. Then, sure enough, that night he tested positive for the virus himself and put himself in quarantine. The irony of Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi's case would be funny almost, were Iran's conspicuous bungling of the coronavirus threat not a menace to the whole region and, indeed, to the world. As The Daily Beast's partner publication, IranWire, revealed in an exclusive report Thursday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has tried to address the epidemic by telling doctors to shut up about it, much as Chinese authorities in Wuhan did, disastrously, when the disease was just starting to spread last December.The "official figures" from Iran give the game away. At last count, 16 people have died from COVID-19, but only 95 cases had been confirmed. As Wired UK points out, that would be a death rate of about 17 percent, when the data available from China, where there are huge numbers to work with, suggests the death rate is closer to 2 percent. The statistics don't add up. Canadian researchers cited by Wired suggest the Iran outbreak probably involves more than 18,000 people, and counting.* * *SILENCING THE DOCTORS* * *Following is the full IranWire article written by Aida Ghajar:IranWire can exclusively report that Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened Iranian medical specialists with reprisals if any of them were to disclose information regarding the spread of coronavirus in Iran.A group of specialist doctors met with Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi on Feb. 22, during which they reported on the latest findings regarding the spread of coronavirus in Tehran and other Iranian cities. But soon after the meeting, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) approached the doctors through the health ministry's security office and warned the doctors not to leak any information from their discussions. The doctors were told that, if any details did leak, they would be held responsible and would suffer the consequences.Despite these threats, the information received by IranWire shows the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak, especially in Tehran. The doctors who were present at the meeting offered Harirchi their assessment of the official news and figures and told him that the figures published by the government do not match the reality of the situation.As one of these doctors—whose name is withheld because of the threats from the Revolutionary Guards—told IranWire: "The statistics published by the government have nothing to do with reality of the situation and the number of infections is much higher than what the media reports. If things go on like this and if the Islamic Republic does not cooperate with the World Health Organization, we must expect a great disaster in the coming months and, only in Tehran, tens of thousands will be infected by coronavirus. This scientific estimate does not even include other epicenters like Qom. If we cannot come up with a framework to cooperate with the World Health Organization, our situation will become many times worse than in China."This doctor pointed out that, right now, a number of clinics in Tehran have been quarantined and the government's attempts to keep the reality of the situation a secret is a "crime" in the legal sense of the word."Refusing to divulge real information to Iranians and to the international community is officially a crime because it endangers the lives of people not only in Iran but in other countries as well."Donald Trump Takes Coronavirus So Seriously He Just Put Mike Pence in ChargeIn many countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Canada, Iraq, Turkey, and Lebanon, the first cases of coronavirus infections were brought in by Iranian citizens or by travelers who had visited Iran. This has led many countries to close their borders with Iran, in the air and on the ground.According to this doctor, the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran occurred just after the outbreak in China. "But the problem started when we did not recognize that this virus is the same as China's coronavirus," the doctor said. "We made a mistake when we identified it as a variant of influenza viruses.… But, after it became known that it had been a mistake, [officials] continued as before and did not disclose the facts."* * *THE GOVERNMENT IS CLUELESS* * *The doctor said Iran's government has no plans for containing the crisis. Officials have "no other choice except secrecy," he added. "This will disgrace the Islamic Republic, if it becomes known that its government is clueless. But this can lead to a humanitarian disaster."According to this doctor, after the meeting with the health minister was over, the Revolutionary Guards contacted each doctor who had been at the meeting. "They told us that we will be held responsible for even the smallest leak. But I could not keep silent anymore," he said.On Monday, two days after the meeting and after the doctors were threatened, Gen. Hossein Salami, the top commander of the Revolutionary Guards, called Health Minister Saeed Namaki and announced that the Guards were ready to provide any and all assistance in fighting coronavirus and preventing its spread.On Feb. 25, in a televised speech, President Hassan Rouhani asked people to trust only statements by the health ministry for information about coronavirus.The Iranian Cyber Police have meanwhile reported that they have arrested a number of "rumor-mongers" about coronavirus since Feb. 21. Gen. Hossein Rahimi, commander of Tehran's Cyber Police, announced the arrests."Persons who want to create trouble for the people by spreading rumors and lying in cyberspace must know that the police surveils their behavior and will act against them decisively," he said.Earlier on Feb. 21, Gholamreza Jalali, commander of Iran's Civil Defense Organization, accused foreign media of "creating panic" by publishing inaccurate or misleading figures about coronavirus infections. He emphasized that coronavirus must not be turned into a "political crisis."Jalali is the same official who, after floods had inundated many parts of Iran in early 2019, made strange statements about extreme weather, accusing Israel of "cloud stealing." He claimed that "joint committees of Turkey and Israel" had stolen moisture and snow from the clouds over Iran.With the Islamic Republic and the Revolutionary Guards turning the coronavirus outbreak into a security issue, by treating infection figures as state secrets, by arresting people for "rumor mongering" and, now by threatening doctors whose duty is to tell the truth about infectious diseases, it seems the experts may be proved right about the likelihood of a humanitarian disaster. If the Islamic Republic continues in this way, we must expect a much bigger disaster than what is happening in China—not only for Iranians but for the world.The Russian Models Instagramming From China's Coronavirus CapitalRead more at The Daily Beast.Get 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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| US envoy says Russia faceoff shows Turkey its true ally Posted: 27 Feb 2020 01:24 PM PST  The United States called Thursday on Turkey to learn from clashes in Syria who its true friends are and drop its purchase from Russia of a major missile defense system. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday called an urgent meeting after at least nine Turkish troops were killed in an air strike in Syria's Idlib region. Russia is backing a devastating offensive by President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Idlib against rebel groups backed by Ankara.
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| The US Navy orders ships in the Pacific to stay at sea at least 14 days between port calls over coronavirus concerns Posted: 27 Feb 2020 02:24 PM PST  Ships have been instructed to remain at sea for at least 14 days, the maximum incubation period for the coronavirus.
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| U.S. CDC aggressively evaluating whether coronavirus survives on surfaces: agency chief Posted: 27 Feb 2020 02:10 PM PST |
| Strike Fast! Japan Develops a Mach-5 Aircraft Carrier-Killer Missile Posted: 27 Feb 2020 02:33 AM PST  The Japanese military is considering developing a hypersonic anti-ship missile with a special warhead for penetrating the decks of Chinese aircraft carriers.
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| Limbaugh and Trump fuel coronavirus conspiracy theories Posted: 26 Feb 2020 12:28 PM PST  Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is telling his listeners that the coronavirus is a plot to bring down President Trump and attacked the CDC official who warned on Tuesday that the virus will spread in the U.S.
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| Missing Mennonite woman, 27, found dead 250 miles from home Posted: 27 Feb 2020 08:09 AM PST  Authorities quickly found the missing woman's vehicle at a church near her home, but she was nowhere to be found.
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| How deadly is coronavirus and what are the symptoms? Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:26 AM PST  The CDC says COVID-19 symptoms can appear in as little as two days or as long as two weeks after initial exposure.
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| Betsy DeVos orders probe after USA TODAY finds college evidently without faculty, students Posted: 27 Feb 2020 10:29 AM PST  Betsy DeVos has launched an Education Department investigation after a USA TODAY report showed a college apparently had no faculty or students.
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| Republicans Break with Barr on FISA Renewal, Urge Reforms before Reauthorization Posted: 26 Feb 2020 12:57 PM PST  Republicans in both the House and the Senate are unhappy that attorney general William Barr wants a simple reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, with sources telling National Review that GOP critics of FISA are "adamant" that serious reforms must be implemented before the reauthorization.Barr reportedly told GOP senators during a lunch Tuesday that they should move to reauthorize the expiring portions of FISA's surveillance powers as he continues to implement internal reforms. The intelligence community also supports a clean reauthorization prior to the implementation of significant reforms.Barr's position is also backed by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), but other Republicans are more skeptical following inspector general Michael Horowitz's December report on "at least 17" abuses in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, which relied heavily on FISA warrants.House sources told National Review that "a long list" of Republicans support "significant reforms" to FISA before it is reauthorized."Given the tremendous abuses in 16-17, a clean reauthorization is totally unacceptable," one House aide said.Congressman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and Mark Meadows (R., N.C.) added their concerns on Wednesday, tweeting within four minutes of each other about how a reauthorization without reform was a mistake.> Comey's FBI misled the FISA Court 17 times.> > We can't simply reauthorize the system that allowed those lies and omissions to happen.> > Now is our chance to fix it.> > -- Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 26, 2020> Former FBI officials in 2016-17 gravely abused the FISA process and lied to the FISA court 17 times> > Now, some members of Congress want to do a clean reauthorization of FISA anyway> > Totally unacceptable. Should NEVER happen.> > -- Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) February 26, 2020Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah), an outspoken advocate for FISA reform, tweeted after the lunch that he had "made a long case against a simple reauthorization of the FISA program. Some are arguing the program needs no reform and that DOJ can put in place internal quality control mechanisms. That's not good enough."Lee's office told National Review in December that Republicans were planning "new legislation with major reforms to be introduced and hopefully incorporated into the program before it expires in March."Reached for comment Wednesday, Lee's communications director Conn Carroll confirmed that the Utah Republican had held conversations with other FISA critics among the GOP."Waiting to see how the House mark up finishes today before we strategize further," he told National Review in an email.The House Judiciary Committee postponed a meeting Wednesday to review markups to its FISA reform bill, after Representative Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.) proposed last-minute amendments to strengthen reforms — which senior House Democrats dismissed as "poison pills" that would doom the legislation due to a lack of bipartisan support.House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) told CNN Wednesday — before the delay — that he would not support a clean reauthorization of FISA, as his committee reviews mark-ups to legislation to renew the surveillance powers by its deadline.A Senate Republican aide suggested to National Review that House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) was behind the stalling on Nadler's bill."There was a decent reform bill that Nadler had that Schiff forced him to water down. No civil liberties group signed off on it. It is a Schiff wish list," the aide said. "Lofgren has been perfectly transparent about wanting amendments, amendments that have strong bipartisan support. Which is why Schiff doesn't want to vote on them."Conservative-libertarian advocacy group FreedomWorks condemned the decision to delay the bill's markup, saying in a statement that "the very idea that the Judiciary Committee might produce a bill that would address some of these problems was apparently too much for Chairman Schiff today.Last week, Representatives Doug Collins (R., Ga.) and Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) — ranking members of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, respectively — sent a letter to Nadler urging serious reforms."The Democrats' bill does not address the serious issues in our FISA system, as highlighted by Inspector General Horowitz. I'm not at all surprised that all Republicans, and apparently even some Democrats, agree," Collins said in a statement after the news of the delay. "The status quo is unacceptable. We cannot reauthorize these counterterrorism provisions without instituting critical safeguards that protect the civil liberties of all Americans."The Trump administration remains divided over how best to approach FISA, which the president often criticizes due to its use in the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation into his 2016 campaign. Over the weekend, reports broke that the White House Domestic Policy Council was pushing for a serious overhaul of FISA, but faced opposition from the National Security Council."A lot will happen between now and March 15. We may do a placeholder and take it past March 15. We've got to get this right," Senator John Kennedy (R., La.) told Politico.
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| Harvey Weinstein's attorney says she's 'sickened' by the verdict and blames 'public pressure' for the jurors' decision Posted: 26 Feb 2020 02:47 PM PST  Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape Monday. His attorney, Donna Rotunno, said the media coverage didn't let him have a fair chance.
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| Nigeria's Islamists targeting Christians to provoke religious war, says minister Posted: 27 Feb 2020 09:20 AM PST  Islamist militant groups in Nigeria have begun targeting Christians in an attempt to provoke a religious war, the information minister said on Thursday. Islamist insurgents in Nigeria have killed around 35,000 people and displaced at least two million in the past decade, driven first by Boko Haram and more recently by its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). "They have started targeting Christians and Christian villages for a specific reason, which is to trigger a religious war and throw the nation into chaos," he told reporters.
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| Bloomberg tumbles heading into Super Tuesday Posted: 27 Feb 2020 01:30 AM PST  Sources close to Bloomberg's campaign acknowledge his polls are not looking good.
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| AOC says she feels unsafe because Trump’s 'wack job' tweet with her is fueling white supremacist threats Posted: 26 Feb 2020 04:14 PM PST  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has admitted she feels unsafe in Washington D.C. over her home in the Bronx, New York — which is fueled, in part, by the threats she's received after President Trump tweeted against her.
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| Trump Pardon Won’t Erase Arpaio’s Criminal Past in Comeback Bid Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:47 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio will have to pursue his comeback with a guilty verdict on his resume.The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday refused to expunge the criminal contempt finding made against Arpaio for defying a judge's orders related to his crackdown on undocumented immigrants.The 87-year-old lawman -- once known as "America's toughest sheriff -- is again vying for the job that he held for 24 years in Maricopa County. He lost the 2016 election and was found guilty the following year. A month after the verdict, he became the first person to be pardoned by President Donald Trump.The three appellate judges, one who was appointed by Trump and two by George W. Bush, were unanimous that Arpaio's guilty verdict had no legal consequence because technically he was never convicted."Here, the issuing of a presidential pardon, and Arpaio's acceptance of the pardon, preempted his sentencing," the panel said. "Thus, there is no final judgment of conviction in this case."After he was pardoned, Arpaio asked the trial judge to set aside his guilty verdict. She refused -- a ruling that was upheld by the appeals court which said it could never be used against him in a future case.Arpaio's lawyer Jack Wilenchick declared victory, saying that has exactly the same effect as an order "vacating" the guilty finding."The court gave us exactly what we asked for, which is a finding that the guilty verdict is legally meaningless," Wilenchick said in a statement. "The trial judge's final order had said just the opposite; it had indicated that the guilty verdict may, or even should, be used against Arpaio in the future in a court of law."Arpaio made a name for himself targeting Latinos in the Phoenix area with traffic stops only on the suspicion they were undocumented immigrants. In 2017, a federal judge convicted him of criminal contempt of court for violating orders to stop.The case took an unusual turn after the U.S. Justice Department, which had started the proceedings against Arpaio under the Obama administration and secured his conviction, said it wouldn't fight Arpaio's appeal.That prompted groups of civil rights organizations, legal scholars and members of Congress to ask the court to appoint an independent prosecutor as well as to challenge the underlying validity of Arpaio's pardon.A judge found the pardon was valid, but Arpaio fought on to try to get his offense expunged from court records.Read More: 'America's Toughest Sheriff' Wants More From Trump PardonTo contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Blumberg at pblumberg1@bloomberg.net, Joe SchneiderFor 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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| Grandfather of toddler who died in cruise ship fall to plead guilty Posted: 26 Feb 2020 06:44 AM PST  Salvatore Anello, Chloe Wiegand's grandfather, will change his plea in a deal to avoid jail time, a family attorney told NBC News.
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| People can get the coronavirus more than once, experts warn — recovering does not necessarily make you immune Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:51 AM PST  People who have gotten the coronavirus before could still get it again. This happened to a tour guide in Japan.
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| Duterte says Philippines can 'survive' without America Posted: 27 Feb 2020 07:36 AM PST  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said his country's security forces can fight insurgents and Muslim extremists without American military help, in a defense of his recent decision to terminate a U.S. security pact.
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| Coronavirus: latest developments worldwide Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:54 PM PST  The list of countries hit by the coronavirus grows. Mecca suspends entry for pilgrims. Several countries close their schools, stock exchanges plunge.
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| Tennessee mom and grandmother of missing 15-month-old both arrested, in same jail Posted: 26 Feb 2020 11:46 AM PST  The girl, Evelyn Mae Boswell, remains missing. The sheriff has said that the mother gave information that was not thought to be accurate.
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| Bloomberg offered running mate spot to Andrew Yang, report claims Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:40 PM PST  Michael Bloomberg is reportedly trying to convince entreprenuer and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang to join his campaign as his running mate.According to individuals with knowledge of the discussion, aides working with the former New York City mayor reportedly reached out to Mr Yang to discuss how the businessmen could join forces in Mr Bloomberg's quest for the Democratic nomination.
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| Obama demands TV stations stop airing 'despicable' anti-Biden ad from Pro-Trump PAC that misuses his words Posted: 27 Feb 2020 06:29 AM PST  The ad plays an audio passage from Obama's 1995 memoir, "Dreams from My Father," to allude that Biden supports "plantation politics."
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| Seattle Is Socialism’s Laboratory, and It’s Not Pretty Posted: 27 Feb 2020 05:16 AM PST  Democratic socialists are in the middle of a hostile takeover of the Democratic Party. Led by the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign and the "squad" of newly elected congresswomen, the hard-left coalition has laid out an ambitious agenda to transform the United States into a democratic socialist nation. While many commentators have dismissed the rhetoric around the Green New Deal, Housing for All, and End Cash Bail as pie-in-the-sky abstraction, in Seattle, the socialist coalition is quickly translating this agenda into a political reality.After the socialist Left's stunning victory over business-backed moderates in last year's municipal elections, Seattle has effectively become the nation's laboratory for socialist policies. Since the beginning of the year, the socialist faction on the Seattle City Council has proposed a range of policies on taxes, housing, homelessness, and criminal justice that put into practice the national democratic-socialist agenda. In the most recent session, socialist councilwoman Kshama Sawant and her allies have proposed massive new taxes on corporations, unprecedented regulations on landlords (including rent control and a ban on "winter evictions"), the mandated construction of homeless encampments, and the gradual dismantling of the criminal justice system, beginning with the end of cash bail.Seattle's socialists have established a narrative that provides the rhetorical basis for their policies. They argue that the corporate-technological elite, led by companies such as Amazon, has hoarded the rewards of the digital economy and created widespread misery for workers, renters, and people of color. As Seattle-based commentator and Marxist theoretician Charles Mudede has written: "We are in the 21st century. We are in one of the richest cities on earth. And yet, the old war between those who employ labor and those who sell their labor is still very much with us."In the socialist vision, the "new class war" is now entering a more direct phase of conflict. They have launched a political campaign to dramatically curtail the power of corporations, landlords, and traditional neighborhood interests, and to build a coalition of socialists, progressives, unions, and the dispossessed that is capable of achieving power. In short, the solution to the class war is to win the class war.While conservatives and moderates have typically dismissed the socialist movement as a "big-city problem," the new socialist agenda is no longer confined to the municipal boundaries of places such as Seattle, San Francisco, and New York. Increasingly, the hard-left coalition has turned these cities into "laboratories for socialism," with the goal of eventually commercializing their policies through the national Democratic Party. Already, Bernie Sanders, the current front-runner in the Democratic primary, has proposed a nationalized version of the Seattle agenda: Tax Amazon, enact national rent control, construct public housing, and end cash bail.But Seattle's socialists have gone one step further. In order to consolidate their newfound power, the progressive-socialists have begun to manipulate the democratic process in their own favor: first, by providing all Seattle voters with $100 in taxpayer-funded "democracy vouchers," which are easily collected by unions, activists, and socialist groups; and second, by implementing a ban on corporate spending in local elections by companies like Amazon. At the same time, black-bloc activists and Antifa militants intimidate any potential opposition by disrupting events, vandalizing homes, and even orchestrating death threats against political adversaries.What can opponents of socialism do? First, recognize that it must be fought on all fronts. While the socialists form a small minority of the national electorate, they have demonstrated the capability of seizing power in America's major cities, which are home to much of the digital "means of production" in tech, media, advertising, entertainment, and research. The business sector in cities such as Seattle must recognize that the progressive-socialists are no longer interested in gaining reasonable concessions; they intend to overthrow capitalism itself.Over the past decade, the dominant corporate strategy has been to quietly advocate for neoliberal economic policies, while pandering to the cultural mandates of "diversity and inclusion." That era is now over. As the experience in Seattle reveals, the socialist Left cannot be appeased on cultural issues — they are fighting a war against capital and they intend to win it.If the business sector wants to protect its own interests, it must rapidly adapt to this new reality. It's no longer enough for local Chambers of Commerce to drop leaflets before local elections; they must build a permanent counterbalance to the progressive-socialists. They must begin by commissioning original policy research, funding local neighborhood groups, and building a political alliance of conservatives, moderates, and old-line liberals. In other words, they must reestablish a balance of power in America's cities.If nothing is done, the laboratories of socialism in America's cities will become a national problem. It's time to shut them down.
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| Jay-Z helps 150 inmates at Mississippi prison sue over 'barbaric conditions' Posted: 27 Feb 2020 06:45 AM PST  Inmates at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman "live a miserable and hopeless existence confronted daily by imminent risk of substantial harm," the suit said.
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| Doctors Inside Iran Believe Coronavirus Is More Serious Than Reported, and Getting Worse Posted: 27 Feb 2020 04:54 AM PST  Medical professionals inside the Islamic Republic tell TIME they believe the country is now grappling with an "epidemic"
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| Democratic candidates' drilling ban would cost U.S. economy $7 trillion: oil group Posted: 27 Feb 2020 09:36 AM PST  Banning hydraulic fracturing and halting new drilling on federal land would cost the U.S. economy $7 trillion in the next decade and kill millions of jobs, the U.S. oil industry's main lobby group said on Thursday in a report targeting the climate plans of top Democratic presidential candidates. The report from the American Petroleum Institute underscores mounting concern in the U.S. drilling industry over the possibility a candidate in favor of rapidly ending the fossil fuel economy to fight global warming will win the Democratic Party's nomination to face Republican President Donald Trump in the November election.
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| Belarus leader says nation being forced to merge with Russia Posted: 27 Feb 2020 04:26 AM PST  The president of Belarus said Thursday that his country is "being forced into integration" with Russia and insisted that real integration of the two countries' economies implied "sovereignty and independence" for Belarus. "We remain committed, as always, to real integration without being forced into integration," President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with Mikhail Myasnikovich, chair of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
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| Mom Enlisted Son to Murder Husband, Daughter for Insurance Money: Prosecutors Posted: 27 Feb 2020 01:08 PM PST  A New Jersey woman faces murder charges after allegedly enlisting her son and his friend to brutally kill her daughter and husband 25 years ago by promising them a cut of his life-insurance policy. Dolores Morgan, 66, and her 47-year-old son, Ted Connors, were indicted by a grand jury Wednesday evening on seven counts, including murder and conspiracy, in relation to the 1994 stabbing death of Ana Mejia and the fatal shooting of Nicholas Connors in May 1995, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office told The Daily Beast.Prosecutors allege that while Connors murdered his father and sister with his best friend, Jose Carrero, Morgan was the true mastermind behind the scheme. After her husband was killed, Morgan allegedly collected a $200,000 life-insurance policy and moved to Florida with her son.Suspect in New Jersey Family's Torching Is Brother and Business Partner to Victim"Killing for money and drugs, the state's position, you cannot get more violent," prosecutor Meghan Doyle said at the pair's detention hearing after their original arrest in January. "[Morgan] has done nothing but hide her involvement and manipulate the system to ensure she was protected."Last week, Carrero, 48, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, admitting that both murder plots were hatched on Morgan's New Jersey kitchen table and that he had witnessed both of the slayings. He is expected to be sentenced to up to 20 years in state prison for his role in the gruesome schemes and has agreed to testify against his former accomplices.Carrero told Superior Court Judge Ellen Torregrossa-O'Connor in February that Morgan offered him up to $3,000 to kill her daughter, Meija, because she believed the 24-year-old had alerted police about her drug dealing, according to the Asbury Park Press. The 48-year-old admitted he held Mejia down and covered her face with his hand, while Connors stabbed his sister to death. Her two children, ages 3 and 1 at the time, were present at the apartment but were left unharmed.Mejia, 24, was found dead inside her Long Branch apartment on Dec. 8, 1994, where she had been stabbed 23 times, authorities said. A white substance was found smeared across her mouth and nose—which was eventually determined to be baby formula, prosecutors said.Estranged Husband, Girlfriend of Missing NYC Teacher Charged With MurderFive months later, Carrero said Morgan asked for his help again: to help her son murder her husband so they collect his life-insurance policy. Prosecutors said that Nicolas Connors, 51, was found dead on a sofa in his Long Branch home with "multiple gunshot wounds to the head" on May 14, 1995. According to Carrero, Conners retrieved a gun and cut a hole through the screen door to make the crime look like a robbery gone wrong. "Dolores Connors wanted him killed for insurance purposes,"' Carrero said.After the murder, Morgan allegedly cashed the $200,000 insurance policy—which Carrero said she originally believed was worth $1 million—and moved with her son to Florida. Morgan, Connors, and his then-girlfriend traveled to the Dominican Republic after the second murder, prosecutors said. During the trip, Connors' ex-girlfriend told authorities that Morgan said, "We already have two deaths on our hands. We can't afford another. We can't afford the police snooping around our house again."Morgan's attorney, Jason Seidman, told The Daily Beast on Thursday his client has been cooperative with police "to help capture the killer or killers who took her husband and daughter" and maintains "her innocence as she has for over 25 years.""She has waited for 25 years to have those responsible brought to justice," he said, noting that while he normally does not comment on ongoing cases, the state's decision to put "every moment of this case before the media thus far" has compelled him to speak out. Seidman insisted that Carrero's "completely inconsistent" confession does not accurately state the chain of events."They have chosen to run with his story, and turn a blind eye to facts and reason," he said. "There are no less than 8 people who had either greater motive or better opportunity to commit these murders, including several drug dealers who were out large amounts of money or drugs, based upon the actions of the victim and her boyfriend one week prior to her murder." 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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| California monitors more than 8,000 people for coronavirus Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:43 AM PST  More than 8,000 people are being monitored for the coronavirus in California, and 33 people have tested positive, the state's governor says.In a news conference on Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) provided these new numbers, saying that at least 8,400 people are being monitored for the virus, CNBC reports. Newsom also said "as of today at this hour, we have 33 confirmed positive tests for the virus." Of these 33, Newsom said that five people have since moved out of state. Those being monitored in California had traveled to Asia, Bloomberg reports.This update comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that a person who tested positive for the coronavirus in California might be the first U.S. case of community spread, as they hadn't recently traveled out of the country or come into contact with anyone who had the virus.Regarding that case, Newsom on Thursday said it "understandably generated a lot of attention," but "we knew this was inevitable." Still, the director of California's Department of Public Health said Thursday per CNBC, "This is a fluid situation right now and I want to emphasize the risk to the American public remains low."More stories from theweek.com Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Turkish official: Airstrike in Syria kills 29 Turkish soldiers What it's like to be in Venice during coronavirus lockdown
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| US Army, Marines want to make the Hellfire missile replacement more deadly at sea Posted: 27 Feb 2020 01:45 PM PST  After working out kinks related to the Hellfire missile replacement's lethality in a maritime environment, the Army and Marine Corps are heading into more tests of the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile against targets at sea.
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| Crime Against Humanity: China Has Never Forgotten Japan's Bloody Assault On Nanking Posted: 26 Feb 2020 10:00 PM PST  A combination of factors led to some of the worst atrocities in history.
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| No, Michael Mann, You Aren’t Going to ‘Ruin’ this ‘Filthy Organization’ Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:48 PM PST  A few days before launching his lawsuit against what he called "this filthy organization," Michael Mann wrote that there "is a possibility that I can ruin National Review." Nearly a decade later, we are still fighting his attempt to do precisely that.From the beginning of this affair, National Review has maintained that the case that Mann filed is frivolous, malicious, corrupt, and lacking entirely in legal justification. We maintain that still. The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment is predicated upon "a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open," and that matters of political dispute are in consequence exempt from superintendence. By attempting to litigate against his critics, Michael Mann has chosen to stand firmly on the other side of that national commitment. Were he to prevail, he would set a host of terrible precedents against free inquiry and open argument, and in favor of censorship.That this case has been open-and-shut from the start was obvious not only to National Review, but to all who believe in the freedom of speech and the freedom of the press — which is why the amicus briefs that have been filed in our behalf range so widely across the political spectrum.We've said we'd use every tool and argument at our disposal to defeat Mann, and that's what we've done. Mark Steyn posted the blog item in dispute in July of 2012. Mann sued in October of that year, and we filed our first motion to dismiss in December of 2012.When that was denied by the trial court, we filed a motion to reconsider. When that, too, was denied, we appealed to the D.C. Court of Appeals — twice. This brings us to 2014. After oral arguments, the Court of Appeals sat on the case for two years. Then, the court denied our appeal. This was in December of 2016. Because the opinion had myriad obvious flaws, we petitioned for a rehearing. Incredibly enough, the court then delayed for yet another two years. When the court finally issued an amended opinion, all it did was add one footnote and amend another.Because the amended opinion didn't fix any of the flaws of the original opinion, we petitioned for a rehearing yet again. This, too, was denied. Then, last May, we filed a cert petition before the U.S. Supreme Court. All indications are that the court seriously considered it, before denying the petition (with Justice Alito issuing a strong dissent).Now, we are back in the trial court, with expensive and time-consuming discovery underway.Mann's plan to "ruin" us, as he put it in an email produced under discovery, is plainly to get to a trial with a politically sympathetic D.C. jury and hope that the finer points of the law and the First Amendment are lost. (Short of that, he is surely happy for the case to drag out further, draining us of energy and resources.)But it's clear that the case should never get to that point — hence our latest motion. Under the First Amendment, Mann has to prove that National Review published the Corner post with "actual malice." That would require him to show that National Review actually believed that the post was "false" (or likely false) at the time of publication. That is absurd for a number of reasons, including -- given the nature of The Corner -- we didn't even know about the post until after it was published. The case against National Review is thus nonsensical at its core. It is also barred by a federal statute, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects online publishers for hosting content posted by outside contributors.To be clear, the content of the post itself is also plainly protected First Amendment speech, as we have argued consistently and at length from the first letter our lawyers wrote in response to Mann's initial legal threat to our brief before the Supreme Court.So far, the courts have, to quote Churchill, elected to "go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent." They brushed past the anti-SLAPP statute that was designed to prevent this from happening. Our hope is that the same won't happen with Section 230, which is also meant to protect the free-speech rights of online publishers.It is a matter of considerable irony that the only "malice" that the discovery process has uncovered is that exhibited by Michael Mann. When planning his suit, Mann described National Review as a "threat to our children," beholden to "greedy fat cat corporate masters." His stated intention was to bring us "down for good." Needless to say, this is not how a country with a First Amendment or a culture of free speech is supposed to work. It's past time that this suit is dismissed as incompatible with both, and a failure on the facts and the law.
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| 'He fought us every single step of the way': How Bloomberg embraced stop-and-frisk as mayor Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:50 PM PST  "He dug in and fought us all the way to his last day in office," an activist who opposed stop-and-frisk recalled.
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| The Senate Sits on Commonsense Gun Reform While Americans Die Posted: 27 Feb 2020 10:57 AM PST  An estimated 38,000 Americans have died in gun related deaths since the House passed a bill on gun reform. Why won't the Senate act?
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| Coronavirus: How Fox News and other right-wing media endanger our health Posted: 27 Feb 2020 04:04 PM PST  Despite steady warnings from health organizations worldwide, right-wing media are clogging airwaves with conspiracy theories and inaccurate reporting.
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| Moscow rounds up stray animals, kills rats over coronavirus fears Posted: 27 Feb 2020 03:48 AM PST  Moscow authorities are rounding up stray animals and exterminating rats as a precaution against the new coronavirus, actions that animal rights campaigners decried as cruel and scientifically groundless. Russia has imposed an array of measures to stop the virus gaining a foothold in Russia, ranging from restrictions on flights to China and South Korea to visa curbs for Iranian and Chinese citizens. "We are currently carrying out a large-scale complex (of measures) for the total deratization of the city, catching wild animals, strays," Elena Andreeva, the Moscow head of the Rospotrepnadzor consumer health watchdog, was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency.
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| Buttigieg: Democrats will lose Congress if nominee is 'explaining the bright side of the Castro regime' Posted: 25 Feb 2020 07:12 PM PST  The recent comments made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) about Cuba and its former leader Fidel Castro were bound to come up during Tuesday's Democratic primary debate in Charleston, South Carolina. When the topic eventually made its way into the chaos, Sanders' fellow candidates zeroed in on his past praise for certain aspects of the Cuban government, such as its literary program and health care system. Sanders once again clarified he was merely pointing a few good things about the Castro regime, which he describes as otherwise authoritarian. But that wasn't good enough for his competitors.Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, for example, said such comments could have consequences for Democrats down the line, suggesting the party could lose House and Senate races because of them. "We're not going to win these critical, critical House and Senate races if people in those races have to explain why the nominee of the Democratic Party is telling people to look at the bright side of the Castro regime," Buttigieg said.Sanders once again argued he has routinely condemned authoritarianism before pointing out that the U.S. government supports Saudi Arabia despite its human rights violations.More stories from theweek.com Watch Elizabeth Warren tell a Sanders supporter that Bernie helped write the delegate rules he now opposes Harvard scientist predicts coronavirus will infect up to 70 percent of humanity Israel is the first country to warn its citizens not to travel abroad over coronavirus fears
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| A former Microsoft engineer stole more than $10 million from the company and used it to buy a $1.6 million lakefront home and a Tesla Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:26 PM PST  He stole $10 million-worth of "currency stored value," like online gift cards, and resold them online in exchange for bitcoin, a court ruled.
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| Is Iran Giving the Houthis Plane-Killer Missiles? Posted: 27 Feb 2020 04:40 AM PST  More menacing munitions.
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| Mexican state oil firm Pemex losses $18.3 bn in 2019 Posted: 27 Feb 2020 01:42 PM PST  Mexico's state oil company Pemex on Thursday reported losses of 346 billion pesos ($18.3 billion) for 2019, a 92 percent increase on last year's deficit. Pemex said the results were due to the burden of $105 billion in debt, a drop in crude sales and an increase in tax payments. "The most important variables that explain this situation are the fall in the price of the Mexican (crude) mix for export; lower reference prices for petrol and diesel; and the reduction in the volume of sales both nationally and for export," Pemex said in a statement.
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| ‘The View’ Warns Warren About Going After Bloomberg: ‘Be Very Careful’ Posted: 26 Feb 2020 09:50 AM PST  The View's Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar appeared to rally to Michael Bloomberg's defense on Wednesday, telling his rival Democratic candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren to be "very careful" when attacking the ex-mayor because he could easily use the "Pocahontas thing" against her.Discussing Tuesday night's chaotic Democratic primary debate, in which Warren confronted the former mayor on his company's treatment of women and comments he allegedly made to a pregnant female employee, Goldberg seemed to side with Bloomberg's longtime partner Diana Taylor saying people need to "get over it" as it was just part of "bro culture" and happened a long time ago."What are people expecting to happen?" Goldberg asked before referencing Bloomberg's release of three ex-employees from non-disclosure agreements. "They said you need to release this, I thought he did. Is it taking too long for people to read it, or what is it?"Goldberg went on to say that she doesn't think Taylor is trying to excuse Bloomberg's past behavior before wondering aloud why people are "upset" about this.Conservative co-host Meghan McCain, meanwhile, said she believes "people want you to fall on the sword with these issues," noting that she appeared to be standing by her partner and explaining that "he's atoned for that."Elizabeth Warren Brings Her Bloomberg Knockout Punch to 'The View'Behar then stepped in to credit Bloomberg for apologizing for his past behavior, invoking the public apology he made just before entering the presidential race over his much-maligned stop-and-frisk policy."Think that he has actually learned—as opposed to a lot of people in politics, who never apologize or backed off," she declared. "I think he has really learned from that stop and frisk thing, I think.""And he's atoned for it, I think, to Meghan's point," co-host Sunny Hostin added.After Hostin said that not all men embraced "bro culture" in the workplace decades ago, Goldberg jumped in to note that there was a "whole TV show" that proved "it happened"—referencing Mad Men—before asking, "What do you have to do to prove that you're sorry?"McCain replied that Bloomberg's team needs to get their "talking points straight" on this issue because Warren is going to keep "going for the jugular" on it."Elizabeth Warren needs to be careful," Goldberg responded. "She needs to be very careful with this.""To his credit, he didn't turn around and say, 'What about that "Pocahontas" thing?' He did not," Behar added, referencing President Donald Trump's favorite slur against Warren.The liberal co-host went on to say she was a bit miffed that Bloomberg had donated money to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the past, prompting Goldberg to say he was a "different guy" back then."When you have a lot of money, I think you have to see who appeals to what you believe in," she stated. "As most people know, in reality, no one is one thing.""To that point, if you want somebody who reaches across the aisle, Bloomberg's your guy," Behar concluded.Stephen Colbert Booed for Brutal Takedown of Bloomberg's Debate PerformanceRead 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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| Biden nabs Clyburn endorsement before South Carolina primary Posted: 26 Feb 2020 06:31 AM PST  U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress and the kingmaker of South Carolina's Democratic political orbit, on Wednesday endorsed Joe Biden's presidential campaign. The backing could provide a much-needed boost for the former vice president heading into South Carolina's primary. "I can think of no one better suited, better prepared, I can think of no one with the integrity, no one more committed to the fundamental principles that make this country what it is than my good friend," said Clyburn, appearing with Biden at an event in North Charleston.
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| Vladimir Putin inspects Russia's answer to Disneyland before grand opening Posted: 27 Feb 2020 09:24 AM PST  President Vladimir Putin inspected Russia's answer to Disneyland on Thursday, the country's first large-scale indoor theme park which Moscow says will be the biggest of its kind in Europe when it opens on Saturday. The theme park, called "Ostrov Mechty" - or Dream Island - is built in the shape of a toy castle that spreads across 30 hectares in an industrial neighbourhood in southern Moscow and is filled with rides, attractions and restaurants. Joined by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, Putin strolled through the park inspecting a scale model of the facility and stopping to take pictures with a group of disadvantaged children brought in for his visit.
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