| Super Tuesday: Hillary Clinton calls Bernie Sanders' campaign 'just baloney' Posted: 03 Mar 2020 11:06 AM PST  Hillary Clinton has attacked Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and his campaign again by calling it all "just baloney".The former first lady and senator appeared on Good Morning America to discuss her new four-part Hulu docuseries called "Hillary".
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| Mike Bloomberg saw disastrous Super Tuesday results after spending a quarter of a billion dollars Posted: 04 Mar 2020 07:21 AM PST  Bloomberg had poor results in states with early returns like Virginia and North Carolina, states with a huge chunk of delegates up for grabs.
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| Rand Paul says he'll 'stay here all weekend' to get foreign aid cut included in coronavirus bill Posted: 04 Mar 2020 12:31 PM PST  Congress agreed to put a bipartisan emergency spending package to curb the spread of COVID-19 up for a House vote Wednesday, but it may get held up by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who wants to include an amendment to the bill.Paul, a deficit hawk, wants to ensure the U.S. has some way to fund the COVID-19 package, so he's trying to sneak a foreign aid cut in there. Paul is confident he'll get a vote, but he's prepared to stick around in Washington all weekend either way.> "We will have an amendment to pay for it," Paul told me. "We've talked to the powers that be and let them know...that we'll have an amendment to offset it. If we dont get the amendment, we can stay here all weekend for all I care." Paul says he thinks he'll get a vote, though> > — Trish Turner (@caphilltrish) March 4, 2020Paul is certainly consistent when it comes to spending bills. Over the summer, he was opposed to passing the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund (which also had bipartisan support), arguing that he'll "always take a stand against borrowing more money to pay for programs rather than setting priorities and cutting waste."As for the new coronavirus, Paul said Tuesday thinks there's "room for optimism," noting that he could see it dissipating more quickly than people are portraying.More stories from theweek.com Trump is now trying to blame Obama for his coronavirus response It's 2020 and women are exhausted How Bernie blew it
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| Doomsday Mom Invokes the Fifth as She’s Extradited to Idaho Posted: 04 Mar 2020 12:36 PM PST  It doesn't seem like doomsday mom Lori Vallow is ready to answer any questions about her missing children.At a brief hearing on Wednesday in Hawaii before Vallow was extradited to Idaho on a red-eye flight, her attorney said he was invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination and she should not be questioned on the trip.The judge noted that once Idaho officials take custody of Vallow, her court no longer has any jurisdiction over the case."Yes, but I want to make a record of that so her Idaho attorney can suppress any statements they may try to elicit," defense lawyer Craig De Costa said.Vallow, wearing an orange jumpsuit, stood next to De Costa, her ankles shackled.Bizarre Email Is Latest Clue in Saga of Doomsday Couple With Missing KidsA team from Idaho was already in Kauai, ready to take her back to Rexburg, where she is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Friday.Vallow is charged with desertion of 17-year-old Tylee and 7-year-old J.J., who have not been seen since September; contempt of a court order to produce the children; and promoting a criminal act for allegedly asking a friend to falsely tell police she was watching J.J.Rexburg police have said they believe Tylee and J.J. are in danger but have not provided details on why they think so. They do say that Vallow and her new husband, doomsday author Chad Daybell, have not cooperated in the hunt for the kids.In a brief statement issued weeks ago by their Idaho attorney, Vallow and Daybell denied any wrongdoing. Vallow's Hawaii lawyer claimed she did not produce the children because she did not want them to go into foster care—but that does not explain why she allegedly lied to police who came to the house to check on them.The children's disappearance also focused scrutiny on the deaths of Vallow's and Daybell's previous spouses: Charles Vallow was shot to death in July by Lori's brother, Alex Cox, who claimed self-defense; and Daybell's wife Tammy died of unknown causes in October and her body has since been exhumed.Vallow, 46, and Daybell, 51, both members of a community of doomsday preppers, married weeks after he was widowed.Read 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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| Food stamp change fuels anxiety as states try to curb impact Posted: 03 Mar 2020 09:01 PM PST  Having food stamps offers Richard Butler a stability he's rarely known in his 25 years. New Trump administration rules taking effect April 1 put hundreds of thousands of people in his situation at risk of losing their benefits. From Hawaii to Pennsylvania, states are scrambling to blunt the impact of the new rules, with roughly 700,000 people at risk of losing benefits unless they meet certain work, training or school requirements.
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| U.S. Supreme Court gives states latitude to prosecute illegal immigrants Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:49 AM PST  The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday widened the ability of states to use criminal laws against illegal immigrants and other people who do not have work authorization in the United States in a ruling involving identity theft prosecutions in Kansas. The 5-4 ruling, with the court's conservative justices in the majority, overturned a 2017 Kansas Supreme Court decision that had voided the convictions of three restaurant workers for fraudulently using other people's Social Security numbers. In the opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the high court found that Kansas did not unlawfully encroach on federal authority over immigration policy.
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| Shocking: Why Israel Was Able to Win so Greatly During the Six-Day War Posted: 04 Mar 2020 09:00 AM PST  An astounding victory.
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| Amid coronavirus outbreak, these airlines will waive flight-change fees Posted: 04 Mar 2020 01:35 PM PST  Following the COVID-19 outbreak, airlines including American, Delta, JetBlue and United are taking measures to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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| Warren team turns grim after Super Tuesday wipeout Posted: 04 Mar 2020 12:59 AM PST  Her campaign has massive overhead, and she's facing hard political and financial decisions about whether to keep going.
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| Amy Klobuchar avoids question about becoming Joe Biden's vice president Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:52 AM PST  Senator Amy Klobuchar has dodged a question about whether she'd consider becoming former vice president Joe Biden's running mate should he receive the Democratic party's nomination.The Minnesota Senator dropped out of the primary race on Monday and endorsed Mr Biden. Since then, former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke have also endorsed Mr Biden in an effort to shore up establishment Democrat support for the former vice president ahead of Super Tuesday.
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| What Bloomberg's $500m could have bought instead Posted: 04 Mar 2020 11:21 AM PST  The former New York mayor could have paid off student loans for 150,000 people or bought houses for 2,200 homeless people * Follow live updates on the 2020 US electionThere wasn't much good news on Super Tuesday for the more progressive wing of the Democratic party, save for one lesson: money on its own, mercifully, cannot, as of yet, buy an entire election.That's the lesson many drew from the failure of billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who had hoped spending a half billion sliver of his massive fortune on an ad buy and staffing a national campaign might make inroads against former vice-president Joe Biden for the battle of the centrists.But Bloomberg's announcement today that he will be dropping out means the more than $500m he spent was wasted on nothing. Unless you count his sole win in American Samoa.Wasted is a relative term of course, because for a man reportedly worth over $60b, $500m to him is practically nothing. For everyone else it's still, well, $500m, and that has prompted some to wonder what good that kind of money could have done spent elsewhere.Here are some places he might have better spent the cash dump: Clearing medical debtAccording to RIP Medical Debt, a group who purchases medical debt in bulk, every $100 donated can alleviate $10,000 in oppressive medical bills. 66% of all US bankruptcies are tied to medical debt issues they say. So far they've eliminated around $1.3bn in medical debt, but doing some quick math, if Bloomberg had chipped in what he spent on the campaign that might have alleviated … $500bn in debt. Sadly and sickeningly that's not enough to clear everyone's tab in America, but it's pretty close, and good enough to change hundreds of thousands of lives over night. Alas. Cleaning up FlintFor around 1/10 of what he spent on getting embarrassed in front of the world, Bloomberg also could have replaced all of the old lead pipes in Flint, Michigan, then had hundreds of millions left over to pull every citizen there – or in many other cities – out of poverty. It's a point that many made when the campaign complained about their headquarters there being lightly vandalized last month. Pay off student debtWhile $500m might be a drop in the bucket of the $1.4tn owed in student loan debt in America, with an average outstanding loan of around $37,000, that's roughly 150,000 people whose lives the former New York City mayor could have transformed for the better. Think about all the good all those people unshackled at once from their predatory student loans might go on to do. House the homelessWith a reported 60,000-80,000 people living unhoused in New York City, his hometown, Bloomberg certainly would have had to lay out a bit more than $500m to give them all homes, certainly in one of the most expensive cities in the country, but with an average home price across the US of about $226,000 that's well over 2,200 people he could have simply purchased a home for. Just like that. Here's a house. It's all yours now. He'd barely even notice the money was gone. Restore voting rights to felonsAs an ardent believer in democracy, Bloomberg is no doubt aggrieved by Florida Republicans' efforts to reverse engineer a poll tax against the will of the voters, making it harder for felons to vote. Bloomberg could make a huge dent in the hundreds of millions outstanding, restoring the right to vote to thousands, or alternatively, he might have funded any number of campaigns against Republicans in the state actively working to disenfranchise its own citizens. His call, really!
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| Pentagon Linguist Charged with Exposing U.S. Spies to Hezbollah Posted: 04 Mar 2020 01:30 PM PST  A contractor for the Pentagon has been charged with providing classified U.S. intelligence to a Lebanese national connected with terrorist group Hezbollah, the Justice Department announced on Wednesday.The department alleges Mariam Taha Thompson, 61, began transmitting the classified intelligence around December 30, when Iraqi militiamen stormed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Thompson is a linguist who at the time was working at a U.S. special forces base in Erbil in northern Iraq.The classified "files contained classified national defense information including true names, personal identification data, background information, and photographs of the human sources, as well as operations cables detailing information the human sources provided to the United States government," read an FBI affidavit filed in the case.Thompson was arrested on February 27, and was due to appear in court on Wednesday. On February 19 FBI agents searched Thompson's Erbil residence and discovered documents under her mattress with the names of three U.S. intelligence assets, as well as a warning for the target of one of those assets."By compromising the identities of these human assets, Thompson placed the lives of the human assets and U.S. military personnel in grave danger," the Justice Department wrote in a press release.The December 30 protests at the U.S. Embassy began after American airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Those airstrikes followed the killing of an American contractor by Iran-backed militias.On January 2 the protests at the embassy were called off. That same night, President Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport.
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| The 2020 Geneva Motor Show Is Canceled, Forcing Automakers to Unveil Their Cars Online Posted: 04 Mar 2020 01:11 PM PST |
| AP Exclusive: Death row inmate slips through legal system Posted: 04 Mar 2020 05:03 AM PST  David Martin was sentenced to die six years ago. Martin was sentenced to die in 2014 for fatally shooting 21-year-old Jeremy Cole during a robbery in northeastern Ohio two years earlier. When the state Supreme Court upholds a death sentence, it automatically sets an execution date, which in Martin's case is May 26, 2021.
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| Doctors use CRISPR gene-editing technology directly in a patient for the first time Posted: 04 Mar 2020 07:47 AM PST  For the first time, CRISPR gene editing technology has been used directly inside a patient, doctors say. Though it could take a month to see if the move was a success, scientists are optimistic.The CRISPR technique has previously been used on cells that were removed from a patient's body, modified, then infused back inside the body. But this time, doctors at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland used the gene-editing technique directly in a patient blinded with Leber congenital amaurosis, with the hopes of restoring their vision, reports NPR.Doctors injected the patient's eye with fluid containing copies of the virus carrying the CRISPR gene-editing instructions, which should remove the defect that caused blindness, restoring vision.The patient is the first in a study that hopes to determine whether it is safe to inject CRISPR into the eye. The study is still in its early stages, and will eventually involve 18 patients, per NPR. If successful, a similar approach could help treat various brain disorders and muscle diseases."We're helping open, potentially, an era of gene-editing for therapeutic use that could have impact in many aspects of medicine," Eric Pierce, study leader and professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, told NPR.Read more at NPR.More stories from theweek.com Trump is now trying to blame Obama for his coronavirus response It's 2020 and women are exhausted How Bernie blew it
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| Warren aide says the Democratic nominee hopeful is ‘talking to her team to assess the path forward’ Posted: 04 Mar 2020 08:37 AM PST  An aide to Elizabeth Warren has said Democratic presidential hopeful is 'talking to her team to assess the path forward', according to reports.Ms Warren is running to be the Democratic candidate for the 2020 presidential election and is meeting with her aides this morning to reassess her position, sources say.
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| Desperate for Relief, Lebanon Hatches Plan to Avoid Default Posted: 04 Mar 2020 06:51 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Lebanon's government is lurching from one extreme solution to another as it wrangles over whether to repay $1.2 billion of notes maturing in five days.In the latest twist of its effort to avoid a default, it may revive an offer for a debt swap with local holders of its Eurobonds. At a meeting with bankers Tuesday, the finance minister suggested that Lebanese banks swap their entire Eurobond holdings for new debt with lower coupons, a person familiar with the talks said.The government would, under this scenario, pay around $3.5 billion in principal and interest this year to foreign bondholders, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous because the information isn't public.Lebanon has not submitted a proposal to bondholders to move into new longer-dated notes with lower coupons, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said in a statement Wednesday.A separate idea is for local banks to try to buy back Eurobonds held by international funds, according to two people familiar with the matter. Lebanese officials have said it would be harder for the nation to reach a restructuring agreement if foreigners owned large amounts of its bonds.The deliberations come as several politicians, including House Speaker Nabih Berri, call on Lebanon to default and preserve its falling reserves for vital imports such as food and medicine.One of the world's most indebted nations, Lebanon is desperate for relief from a burden many economists say is unsustainable. Among the few options left to avoid a default is a swap with local lenders, the biggest holders of Lebanon's sovereign debt with $13.8 billion of Eurobonds at the end of December, or nearly 44% of the total.Another way out for Lebanon is thorough a loan program from the International Monetary Fund. Although IMF experts held meetings in Beirut last week, the issue of securing financing from the fund has become politically charged. Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group that has a major say in government and parliament, has rejected the idea.A previous swap proposal unraveled after rating companies said they might view it as a distressed exchange and downgrade Lebanon.Local banks have lobbied against a default and said the country should live up to its spotless track record of repaying debt. The likelihood of a restructuring has only grown, however, after the government hired financial advisers Lazard Ltd. and law firm Cleary Gottleib Steen & Hamilton last week.Few OptionsSince the central bank first proposed swapping domestic holders into longer-dated notes in January, local banks offloaded some of their Eurobond holdings at a discount to overseas investors such as Ashmore Group, a British fund that's bet the government would pay out. Most of the country's dollar bonds trade at less than 30 cents, while the March 9 notes trade at 59 cents.The transactions are now at the center of a government investigation. The Justice Ministry has asked the public prosecutor to investigate the sales on the ground that local banks might have obstructed the government's efforts to restructure debt.(Updates with seperate government proposal in fifth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Paul Wallace.To contact the reporter on this story: Dana Khraiche in Beirut at dkhraiche@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky, Paul WallaceFor 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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| Iran has stockpiled enough uranium to produce a nuclear weapon in the latest sign Trump's strategy has 'failed miserably' Posted: 03 Mar 2020 08:15 PM PST  Trump has insisted that squeezing Tehran with economic sanctions would change its behavior, but it's only become more aggressive.
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| Inside the Chris Matthews Exit: MSNBC Boss Went to D.C. to Plead With Him to Quit Posted: 03 Mar 2020 02:30 PM PST  The painful end of Chris Matthews' TV career occurred with just the sort of recrimination and negative PR that former Washington local news anchor and failed Democratic House candidate Kathleen Matthews, his wife of 40 years, and their adult children long hoped to avoid.According to sources at MSNBC, Kathleen had communicated concerns over the past several months to network chief Phil Griffin, Chris's long-ago Hardball executive producer when the show aired on CNBC. She expressed worry that her husband's on-air controversies would become more frequent, more embarrassing, and more damaging to his legacy.For months, it was known to some inside the network that Kathleen had pushed for her husband, now 74, to have a more limited schedule. Instead, the MSNBC anchor found himself on TV during more major events than he had since the 2016 election cycle. And while acting as a fixture of MSNBC's Democratic primary coverage, Matthews continually came under fire for on-air comments including likening Sen. Bernie Sanders' Nevada caucus victory to Nazi Germany overtaking France during World War II, a comment for which Matthews later apologized; and asking Sen. Elizabeth Warren why she would believe a woman over Michael Bloomberg regarding accusations that the ex-mayor told a pregnant employee to "kill" her unborn child.And then, after The Daily Show posted on Thursday night a devastating compilation of Matthews' history of sexist and gross on-air comments to women, and a GQ piece with first-hand accusations of sexual harassment dropped Friday, the network's brass had apparently had enough.Chris Matthews Confronts Warren: Why Do You Believe a Woman Over Bloomberg?Sources said Griffin traveled to Washington, D.C. over the weekend for a series of tough conversations with the Hardball host, his wife and family, arguing that now was the time to call it quits.Matthews was very resistant, according to these sources, insisting he stay on through the election. But he was finally persuaded that "retiring," as he tried to portray his own abrupt resignation, was the only sensible option.Amid such conversations with Griffin, the Hardball host was expected to participate in Saturday's coverage of the South Carolina primary. But hours before he would have gone on the air, he was replaced by weekend host Joy Reid.Ultimately, on Monday evening, when he made his final on-air statement, Matthews' wife and kids were in the studio, sources said."After my conversation with MSNBC, I decided tonight will be my last Hardball," Matthews said during his last broadcast. "So let me tell you why. The younger generations are ready to take the reins. We see them in politics, the media, and fighting for their causes. They're improving the workplace." He offered a brief apology for having previously offered "compliments on a woman's appearance some men, including me, might have once incorrectly thought were OK."Despite framing his exit as a passing of the torch to a younger generation, Matthews' ouster has been publicly decried by some of his now-ex-colleagues representing the old guard of cable news. The crew of MSNBC's Morning Joe tearfully mourned his exit, with co-host Mika Brzezinski musing about "so-called cancel culture" and whether there could have been a "better way" to deal with Matthews' recent controversies. Senior contributor Mike Barnicle, meanwhile, groused that his friend's departure "opens the door" to "disturbing" possibilities. He asserted that the Hardball host's exit was simply the result of "toxic outrage."Seth Meyers Unloads on Chris Matthews for 'Deranged' Bernie Sanders AttacksMatthews' ouster has also thrown yet another wrench into ongoing uncertainty about MSNBC's lineup, which has been in flux since the network moved daytime host Ali Velshi to a weekend role. Insiders said the network had been expected to announce a new permanent schedule imminently, but Matthews' sudden departure may delay those changes. Star news anchor Shepard Smith, who left Fox News amid feuds with the network's overtly pro-Trump primetime hosts, has long been rumored to be in talks with MSNBC (the network was interested before he decamped Fox News last year), and Page Six reported Tuesday that he is on a "short list" to now take over Hardball. But "expectations are low," a network source said, given Smith's potentially hefty price tag.A person with knowledge of the situation said that any connection between Matthews' departure and Smith's ongoing discussions with the network was "pure speculation." The ex-Fox star is also talking with CNBC and Vice, the source told The Daily Beast: "He's talking to all the players but doesn't necessarily want the big shiny thing." While it has been reported Smith could return to the air as early as June, industry insiders believe he will re-appear closer to the election.Current MSNBC hosts have also been floated as potential replacements for Matthews. Joy Reid, whose weekend show enjoys good ratings, would make sense, insiders said, considering her popularity among the network's more hardcore viewers. Nicolle Wallace, an anti-Trump Republican whose 4 p.m. daytime broadcast has brought in robust viewership, has also been discussed; however, sources said, she'd prefer not to move to primetime because of family obligations. Another name floated by Page Six was Steve Kornacki, who demonstrated quick thinking despite being visibly stunned on Monday evening while taking over the rest of the Hardball broadcast following Matthews' shocking exit. But sources told The Daily Beast that despite his role in stepping up to fill that hour, he's highly unlikely to be rewarded with the primetime hosting gig.—Lachlan Cartwright contributed reporting.MSNBC Host Chris Matthews Resigns After Accusations of Sexism and HarassmentRead 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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| A small space rock led to a big discovery — an X-ray-belching black hole Posted: 03 Mar 2020 03:22 PM PST  The black hole's outburst was separately confirmed by two telescopes installed at the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit.
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| Chicago cops in station shooting stripped of police powers Posted: 04 Mar 2020 10:28 AM PST  Chicago's interim police superintendent on Wednesday stripped two officers of their police powers pending the outcome of the investigation into their roles in the non-fatal shooting of an unarmed suspect inside of a downtown train station last week. Superintendent Charlie Beck made the decision hours after the head of the agency that investigates officer-involved shootings in Chicago, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, or COPA, recommended that he take that step.
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| 'What are the Symptoms?' 'Is There a Cure?' and Other Coronavirus Questions Posted: 03 Mar 2020 12:03 PM PST  As the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe, the news is coming at a fast and furious pace. But don't let the volume send you into a panic about your health and that of your loved ones."The mantra is, 'keep calm and carry on,'" said Dr. Marguerite Neill, an infectious disease expert at Brown University.Here's a list of frequently asked questions about the coronavirus outbreak and its symptoms.What symptoms should I look out for?Symptoms of this infection include fever, cough and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. The illness causes lung lesions and pneumonia. But milder cases may resemble the flu or a bad cold, making detection difficult.Patients also may exhibit other symptoms, such as gastrointestinal problems or diarrhea. Current estimates suggest that symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days after exposure to the virus.What should I do if I feel sick?If you think you're sick as a result of the novel coronavirus, you can help safeguard your loved ones and community by staying at home, except to get medical care.The current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you call a medical professional if you notice symptoms and-- Live in or have traveled to an area with a known coronavirus outbreakor-- Have had close contact with someone else who lives in or has traveled to an area with a known coronavirus outbreakor-- Have had close contact with another person who has been infected.Calling your doctor or health professional will help them prepare for your visit and prevent the spread of the virus to other people in the office. Be sure to wear a mask when you go to the doctor's office and when you're around other people.The CDC also suggests that you avoid public transportation, ride-sharing services and taxis, and that you separate yourself from other people and animals in your home as soon as possible.For more information, many state health departments have set up hotlines, but long wait times have been reported.What if someone in my family gets sick?Follow the same steps listed above if you think your children, or anyone else in your household, may be infected. Both the coronavirus and influenza are most dangerous to people who are over 65 or have chronic illnesses or a weak immune system. However, the flu appears far more dangerous to children, particularly very young ones. Children infected with the new coronavirus tend to have mild or no symptoms.How does this compare to the flu?While the symptoms are similar, the coronavirus seems to be more deadly than the flu -- so far -- and more contagious. Early estimates of the coronavirus death rate from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, have been around 2%, while the seasonal flu, on average, kills about 0.1% of people who become infected.To compare, the 1918 flu had an unusually high fatality rate, around 2%. Because it was so contagious, that flu killed tens of millions of people.How does the virus spread?The new coronavirus seems to spread very easily, especially in homes, hospitals, churches, cruise ships and other confined spaces. It appears to spread through droplets in the air from a cough or sneeze.Whether a surface looks dirty or clean is irrelevant. If an infected person sneezes and a droplet lands on a surface, a person who then touches that surface could pick it up.A study of other coronaviruses found that they remained on metal, glass and plastic for two hours to nine days. But there is good news: The virus is relatively easy to destroy using a simple disinfectant.Is there a cure? What about a vaccine?There is no approved antiviral drug for the coronavirus, though several are being tested. For now, doctors can recommend only the usual remedies for any viral illness: rest, medicine to reduce pain and fever, and fluids to avoid dehydration.Coronavirus patients with pneumonia may also need oxygen, and a ventilator if breathing trouble worsens.An experimental vaccine for the coronavirus may be ready for testing in humans within a few months. But even if it is approved, it will be much longer, at least a year or two, before it is available for widespread use. In the meantime, experts are urging people and their children to get a flu shot.My partner/friend/parent/child is very worried. How serious is this?This virus can be deadly, clearly; there's a reason government officials and medical experts across the world are issuing strong warnings. But the vast majority of those infected so far have only mild symptoms and make a full recovery.It is important to keep this in mind, both to avoid an unnecessary global panic and to get a clear picture of the likelihood of transmission."Many people are now panicking, and some actually are exaggerating the risks," said Dr. Jin Dong-yan, a virology expert at the University of Hong Kong. "For governments, for public health professionals -- they also have to deal with these, because these will also be harmful."OK. Then why are experts so concerned?Unlike other, more mild coronaviruses, this one is causing many deaths.Experts still don't know much about it, including how contagious it is or how it spreads.But, the coronavirus death rate may be even lower if -- as most experts suspect -- there are many mild or symptom-free cases that have not been detected. Still, even a disease with a relatively low death rate can take a huge toll if large numbers of people catch it.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| U.S. Navy Nightmare: All Russian Warships Armed With Hypersonic Missiles Posted: 04 Mar 2020 05:30 AM PST  Could it happen?
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| Obama staffer calls for Secret Service protection after Joe Biden’s wife and adviser take down protester Posted: 04 Mar 2020 04:32 AM PST  A former adviser to Barack Obama has called for this year's presidential candidates to get secret service protection after Joe Biden's wife and a senior adviser jointly tackled an animal welfare protester at his Super Tuesday victory rally.Jill Biden and Symone Sanders leapt into action when two protesters crashed the stage from behind the candidate, Ms Biden grabbing the second woman's wrists while Ms Sanders locked her into a tackle and dragged her from the stage.
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| Putin says Russia targeted from abroad by fake news on coronavirus Posted: 04 Mar 2020 03:07 AM PST  Russia has been targeted from abroad by foes spreading fake news about the coronavirus to sow panic, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. Putin's remarks came as Russia's communications regulator said it had shut down access to some social media posts containing falsehoods about the virus outbreak. A Russian cyber security company, Group-IB, on Monday identified what it said were thousands of fake news posts on messaging services and social networks such as Russia's VK alleging that thousands of Muscovites have caught the virus.
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| Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is 'looking at' a run for New York City mayor, but will first weigh 'how much value' he can add Posted: 04 Mar 2020 08:58 AM PST  "One of the things I'm most curious about is who are the other candidates in the race, and what the race would look like," Yang said.
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| Thai quarantine flip-flop throws holidays into doubt Posted: 03 Mar 2020 04:28 PM PST  Thailand threw possibly tens of thousands of holiday plans into confusion after the health minister ordered any new arrivals from eight countries to undergo quarantine for the coronavirus, before swiftly reversing the decision. Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul posted an announcement Tuesday saying travellers from affected countries would be subjected to a 14-day quarantine "without exceptions". The countries were China, South Korea, Japan, Germany, France, Singapore, Italy and Iran.
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| Michael Bloomberg publicly wishes for contested convention: 'I don't think I can win any other way' Posted: 03 Mar 2020 04:41 PM PST  Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, weighs in on his first primary contest Tuesday as 14 states go to the polls.
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| In Major Upset, Texas Oil Regulator Loses Republican Primary Posted: 04 Mar 2020 05:42 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- A member of the top energy regulator in Texas lost his place on November's ballot to a Republican challenger, a major upset for an incumbent who has attracted criticism for his handling of natural gas flaring and occasionally split with his fellow commissioners.Ryan Sitton, whose six-year term ends in January, conceded to Jim Wright as the party's nominee for a spot on the Texas Railroad Commission. Despite the name, the powerful agency regulates the state's massive oil fields, including issuing permits for flaring, in which oil producers burn off unwanted natural gas."Congratulations to Jim Wright," Sitton wrote in a tweet late Tuesday night in Texas. "It's been an honor and incredibly rewarding to put my experience to work for Texas."Sitton has occasionally broken with the other two Republicans on the commission. Most recently, Sitton independently released a report on gas flaring that both tried to address criticism of the issue while defending the agency's practice of granting every permit that comes its way. He pointed at Iraq and Iran as examples of oil producers that burn off much more of their gas and could more easily cut flaring.The report was applauded by industry groups but panned by environmental groups and criticized by academics for trying to minimize the problem. Still, an executive at Royal Dutch Shell Plc last month called on regulators to craft better policies to reduce flaring in the Permian."The pressure from Texas' major operators must compel some kind of leadership from the RRC," said Katie Bays, co-founder of Washington-based Sandhill Strategy LLC. "Sitton staked out a role as an opponent of change, even if the industry was calling for it."Wright, a rancher and chief executive of an oilfield services company, will face the Democrat challenger for the seat currently held by Sitton, who had also clinched endorsements for the Republican primary from the editorial boards of the Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News.Wright has said that the Railroad Commission should do a better job of encouraging oil producers to get their gas to market, though he doesn't support actions that would reduce oil output."Wright is thoughtful, shares our concerns about flaring and seismicity, and wants to increase transparency at the commission," the Dallas Morning News' editorial board wrote last month in its endorsement of Sitton. "However, he isn't a viable candidate. He did not complete our Voter Guide questionnaire and his campaign lacks a meaningful website or social media presence."Dallas lawyers Chrysta Castañeda and Roberto Alonzo, a former state representative, will compete in a May runoff to challenge Wright."Wright's victory adds uncertainty to key Texas issues such as flaring, as he is now the frontrunner for the position," said Ethan Bellamy, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. who covers oil and gas pipeline operators. "His official positions on his website don't offer much in the way of specific policy, but as an owner of multiple energy service companies he clearly is in a position to understand the commercial impacts of the RRC's decisions."(Updates with analyst comment in last paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Adams-Heard in Houston at radamsheard@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Casey at scasey4@bloomberg.net, Christine BuurmaFor 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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| Parents charged with murder after 6-year-old kept in closet dies Posted: 04 Mar 2020 09:24 AM PST  A mother, father and grandmother admitted that a 6-year-old and his 7-year-old brother were kept in a closet because they were "stealing food."
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| Foes push back against medical marijuana bill in Kentucky Posted: 04 Mar 2020 12:46 PM PST  Opponents of legalizing medical marijuana in Kentucky pushed back Wednesday as the Senate gets set to decide the fate of a bill that won House passage by a wide margin. Warren County Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Cohron said more research of medical cannabis is needed and warned that legalization could spur future efforts to allow recreational use. "This is a slippery slope that we do not need — for the youth of ... Kentucky — to go down," he said.
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| Gas Shortage! The U.S. Air Force’s New Tanker Doesn’t Work Posted: 04 Mar 2020 03:01 AM PST  The U.S. Air Force just admitted that its new aerial tanker doesn't work. But the service still wants to keep buying the flawed refuelers while also retiring older tankers that everyone knows work just fine.
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| Kellyanne Conway's husband donates maximum amount to Biden campaign and taunts Trump with receipt Posted: 04 Mar 2020 06:56 AM PST  The husband of White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has donated the maximum amount permitted for an individual to Joe Biden's presidential campaign — and mocked Donald Trump with the receipt.George Conway, a devoted critic of Mr Trump's, donated $2,800 to Mr Biden on Super Tuesday as the former vice president stormed to victory in at least nine states.
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| Serbia's president calls general election for April 26 Posted: 04 Mar 2020 03:19 AM PST  Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday called a general election for April 26, a vote seen as important for his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to cement its hold on power. "I wish a lot of success to all participants and a democratic atmosphere on election day," Vucic said after signing the decree in his office in Belgrade. Most opposition parties have decided to boycott the vote, accusing Vucic and his coalition of autocracy, stifling media freedom, attacks on opposition activists, corruption and ties to organized crime.
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| Chief Justice John Roberts issues a rare rebuke at Democrats' 'dangerous' and 'threatening statements' Posted: 04 Mar 2020 03:10 PM PST  Chief Justice John Roberts said he knew "that criticism comes with the territory" but that Sen. Chuck Schumer remarks were out of line.
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| Beijing Weighs Chinese Alternative to WHO in Response to Coronavirus Public Relations Disaster Posted: 04 Mar 2020 11:33 AM PST  A state-sponsored Chinese think tank is evaluating international opinion on the formation of the country's own alternative to the World Health Organization (WHO), in response to the public relations disaster caused by the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.An employee of the think tank, CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute, wrote that the institution was considering the establishment of a China-based health organization comparable to the WHO. The employee then asked members of the Sino-Israel Global Network & Academic Leadership, an Israeli non-profit dedicated to forming closer ties with China, how the non-profit would view such a development."According to our analysis, the situation of coronavirus around the world is urgent, therefore, we consider that perhaps the world needs a leadership country/organization coordinating all the countries affected in fighting against coronavirus, just like the leadership role of U.S. in W.H.O.," the employee wrote in a message obtained by Axios.China has been struggling to contain the fallout from the outbreak of COVID-19, which originated in the city of Wuhan. The government has recently attempted to take control of the public narrative by branding China's response as a possible model for other countries to follow, including the U.S.China has over 80,000 confirmed cases of the illness with almost 3,000 deaths. Beijing has faced withering criticism from its own citizens over the government's handling of the outbreak, including Wuhan authorities' decision to punish several doctors who warned of the outbreak. One of those doctors, Li Wenliang, later died after contracting the coronavirus.
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| Feds: Keep Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff in prison for his 'extraordinarily evil' crimes Posted: 04 Mar 2020 05:44 PM PST  Prosecutors argue Ponzi scheme mastermind Bernie Madoff should continue his 150-year prison term, urge judge to deny motion for compassionate release
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| Sheriff says 8 deputies shared Kobe crash photos: "Betrayal" Posted: 03 Mar 2020 03:18 AM PST  Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says he feels a "sense of betrayal" that his deputies were involved in the sharing of the graphic images
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| A Middle Eastern restaurant in London keeps getting attacked by a stinking substance that causes nausea and vomiting Posted: 03 Mar 2020 04:46 AM PST  A foul-smelling substance was thrown three times at a London restaurant, which had to evacuate dozens of people, according to emergency services.
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| Report: No proof of Dem hacking claim by Georgia Gov. Kemp Posted: 03 Mar 2020 12:16 PM PST  The Georgia attorney general's office has concluded that there is no foundation to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp's allegations that Democrats sought to hack the state's voter registration system before his 2018 election. The divisive race that November pitted Kemp against Democrat Stacey Abrams, who called the accusations baseless at the time. Kemp beat Abrams by about 55,000 votes out of nearly 4 million cast.
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| Putin Is Pushing: NATO Jets Are Scrambling to Intercept Russian Patrol Planes Posted: 04 Mar 2020 02:01 AM PST  British and Norwegian Typhoon and F-16 fighter jets scrambled two times in late February 2020 to intercept pairs of Tu-142 patrol planes belonging to Russia's Northern Fleet after the Tu-142s flew farther south than normal and approaches Norwegian air space.
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| Bloomberg considering dropping out after Biden rout Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:49 PM PST  The billionaire's big bet did not pay off on Super Tuesday.
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| Trump suggests using flu vaccine on coronavirus and is instantly corrected by health experts: ‘No’ Posted: 03 Mar 2020 04:07 AM PST  Donald Trump asked medical experts if coronavirus could be treated with a flu vaccine that already exists at a meeting with pharmaceutical executives on Monday.The Trump administration called the meeting to discuss early work for developing a vaccine for the virus, which has killed more the 3,000 people and infected nearly 90,000 worldwide.
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| New York's 2nd coronavirus case — a 50-year-old male attorney — works at a law firm near Grand Central Terminal. Here's what we've learned about the patient. Posted: 03 Mar 2020 01:24 PM PST  Business Insider confirmed the identity of the patient, a married father of four with a child who attends SAR, a private Jewish school in the Bronx.
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| Iran says 92 dead as coronavirus reaches all but one province Posted: 04 Mar 2020 11:35 AM PST  Coronavirus has killed 92 people in Iran, officials said Wednesday, as the world's deadliest outbreak outside China spread to all of the country's provinces except one.
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