| What’s next for Pete Buttigieg? Posted: 02 Mar 2020 03:50 PM PST  Pete Buttigieg went from relative unknown to one of the Democratic party's young stars over the course of his presidential campaign. What's next for him now that he's bowed out of the race?
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| 8% of Iran's parliament has the coronavirus, and it released 54,000 prisoners as the country descends into chaos Posted: 03 Mar 2020 03:02 PM PST  Iran appears to have the highest number of government officials infected with the novel coronavirus.
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| US prosecutors tie Honduras president to drug trafficker Posted: 03 Mar 2020 11:57 AM PST  U.S. prosecutors said Tuesday that Honduras' president met a drug trafficker around 2013 and took $25,000 in exchange for protecting the trafficker from law enforcement. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York issued a statement referring to President Juan Orlando Hernández only as a "high-ranking Honduran official" or as "CC-4," a co-conspirator. In previous filing, U.S. prosecutors have described "CC-4" as the winner of the 2013 presidential elections.
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| Ohio 911 call-taker suspended for neglecting to send help to man who died from stroke Posted: 03 Mar 2020 11:55 AM PST  "The actions of this call-taker undermined the possibility of a positive outcome in this situation," City Manager Patrick Duhaney said.
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| Super Tuesday: Michael Bloomberg says he will eat at Chinese restaurant to show solidarity over coronavirus Posted: 03 Mar 2020 05:04 AM PST  Michael Bloomberg has said he will eat at a Chinese restaurant in the coming days to show solidarity with businesses who have been hit by public fears about coronavirus.The multi-billionaire and Democratic presidential candidate made the pledge during a Fox News town hall event in Virginia as he hopes to kickstart his 2020 campaign with a strong performance in Super Tuesday this week.
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| Coronavirus claims three more lives in Seattle-area as outbreak goes cross-country Posted: 03 Mar 2020 06:46 AM PST  A North Carolina resident tested positive after returning from a trip to Washington state, where the individual was exposed, and apparently infected, during a visit to a nursing facility at the center of a recent surge in cases in suburban Seattle. The total number of people diagnosed with the coronavirus in the greater Seattle area rose to 27 on Tuesday, including nine deaths, up from 18 cases and six deaths tallied on Monday, the state Department of Health reported. President Donald Trump told reporters his administration may cut off overseas travel from the United States to areas abroad with high rates of coronavirus, but said officials were not weighing any restrictions on domestic travel.
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| Iran Wouldn't Mess With The Royal Navy If London Had More Ships Posted: 02 Mar 2020 11:00 PM PST  And Britain has taken notice.
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| Millions voted early, and many wasted their ballots Posted: 03 Mar 2020 03:47 PM PST  In several big states, early and absentee ballots are expected to be at least half the total vote.
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| Republican Sen. Johnson to issue first subpoena in Hunter Biden, Burisma probe Posted: 02 Mar 2020 04:24 PM PST  The Republican chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee plans to issue the first subpoena related to the committee's probe of Hunter Biden and Ukrainian energy Burisma Holdings.
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| Virus news fuels return of forlorn White House briefing room Posted: 02 Mar 2020 09:15 PM PST  The White House briefing room is back in business. The historic White House setting had fallen into something of a state of neglect during the era of President Donald Trump, who prefers to act as his own spokesman rather than send out his press secretary to brief reporters in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. Press secretaries appeared there to shape the message that administrations wanted to convey on important topics on the day.
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| Nearly 10% of Iranian lawmakers infected with coronavirus, state media reports Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:13 AM PST  The prevalence of coronavirus among Iran's political leadership appears to be a unique example of the virus' deep impact on the nation's authorities.
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| Mile-wide asteroid to fly by Earth next month, according to Nasa tracking data Posted: 03 Mar 2020 03:35 PM PST  A large asteroid will fly close to but won't hit Earth next month, according to NASA data.CNN reports that the asteroid, predicted to be between 1.1 and 2.5 miles wide is scheduled to fly past Earth on 29 April at 4:56am ET.
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| Bloomberg: Guns for Me, but Not for Thee Posted: 03 Mar 2020 02:44 PM PST  'How do you justify pushing for more gun control when you have an armed security detail that is likely equipped with the same firearms and magazines you seek to ban the common citizen from owning? Does your life matter more than mine or my family's or these people's?" a Virginian named Clarke Chitty asked Democratic Party presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg during a recent Fox News town hall.It's an outstanding question. And Bloomberg's answer is pretty straightforward: Yes, his life is worth more than yours."Look, I probably get 40 or 50 threats every week, OK, and some of them are real. That just happens when you're the mayor of New York City or you're very wealthy and if you're campaigning for president of the United States," Bloomberg replied. "You get lots of threats. So, I have a security detail, I pay for it all myself, and . . . they're all retired police officers who are very well trained in firearms."In the United States, our rights aren't -- or shouldn't be -- meted out according to status. But you'll notice Bloomberg doesn't really answer the question, anyway. I suspect millions of Americans who aren't as famous or rich (very rich, in this case) live in situations in which their property and safety are threatened to the same extent. Not that it matters. Does Bloomberg propose that everyone undergo a government risk assessment before being allowed to practice constitutional rights?Probably, right?More importantly, Clarke Chitty, one suspects, has zero interest in stripping away Bloomberg's constitutional right to own a firearm, or to hire professional armed bodyguards to protect him from legitimate threats. The former mayor of New York City, on the other hand, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in efforts to pass laws and regulations that would leave Americans like Clarke Chitty defenseless.It's this kind of arrogance that brought about District of Columbia v. Heller, the case affirming that the Second Amendment is an individual right. One of the first plaintiffs in that effort, Shelly Parker, was an African-American resident of Washington, D.C., who had gotten fed up with the crime near her Capitol Hill home. She attempted to rally her neighbors to clean up the neighborhood, provoking the ire of local drug dealers, who began vandalizing her property and threatening her life. "In the event that someone does get in my home," she explained, "I would have no defense, except maybe throw my paper towels at them." It would have been illegal for Parker, neither wealthy nor famous, to obtain a gun to protect herself. She was also in danger.Or take Otis McDonald, the retired 76-year-old of McDonald v. City of Chicago, a case that affirmed that the right of individual gun ownership extended to the states. By 2010, the neighborhood McDonald had lived in since 1971 had become infested with gangs, drug dealers, and widespread criminality. His home had been broken into on five separate occasions, so he had a legitimate reason to worry about his safety. Someone like Bloomberg might have suggested that Otis keep some paper towels handy, but McDonald wanted a handgun. At the time, Chicago had a handgun ban in place, ensuring that only criminals could own them. I suspect that McDonald was in as much jeopardy as Bloomberg.To top it off, Bloomberg then blatantly lied to the Fox crowd, claiming that "the Supreme Court said you can have reasonable restrictions, and the only restrictions which I am in favor of is to prevent us from selling guns to people with psychiatric problems, criminals, or people that are minors, OK?"Not really. If Bloomberg had any practical hope of overturning the Second Amendment, he would certainly do it. As it is, Bloomberg bankrolls major anti-gun efforts that go much further policy-wise than keeping guns out of the hands of children and people with serious psychiatric problems -- both of which are already illegal, and supported by nearly everyone.Bloomberg, the presidential candidate, supports banning "assault weapons," the most popular rifles in the country, which account for a sliver of the gun crimes in the country. Bloomberg supports stripping gun companies of "immunity" in civil lawsuits that would allow activists to hold manufacturers responsible for all criminality -- a blatant attempt to put them out of business. Bloomberg supports "red flag" laws, which strip away due process for gun owners. Bloomberg supports raising the age of gun ownership from 18 to 21. Bloomberg supports federal efforts requiring every gun buyer to obtain a permit. Bloomberg wants to create a positon for a federal gun czar to implement all these restrictions on the federal level. In other words, Bloomberg supports every single active effort to restrict gun ownership that exists.Well for you, not him.
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| Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed turns to UK Supreme Court in battle with ex-wife Posted: 03 Mar 2020 06:26 AM PST  Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has applied to Britain's top court to try to stop publication of two judgments given in a legal battle with his former wife over the wardship of their two children. Mohammed has been involved in a dispute with Princess Haya bint al-Hussein, half-sister of Jordan's King Abdullah, over the welfare of their two children since last May. Andrew McFarlane, president of London's High Court Family Division, who has been overseeing the case, has issued two judgments and in January decided these should be made public.
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| Coronavirus is making some Republicans reconsider the merits of free health care Posted: 03 Mar 2020 05:38 PM PST  Coronavirus has a lot of people re-thinking things. That apparently includes Republicans and government-funded health care.With the possibility of an outbreak of the respiratory virus in the United States looming, the government is still trying to piece together its response. And it sounds like free testing could be on the table. Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), at least, thinks it's really the only option. Yoho is normally known for opposing the Affordable Care Act, and certainly doesn't seem likely to advocate for Medicare-for-All anytime soon. But he's willing to blur the lines when an unforeseen circumstance like coronavirus comes to town and is even ok if you want call it "socialized medicine."> Truly stunning to hear some Republicans advocate for free Coronavirus testing and treatment for the uninsured.> > Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), one of the most anti-ACA members:> > "You can look at it as socialized medicine, but in the face of an outbreak, a pandemic, what's your options?"> > — Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) March 3, 2020The Trump administration, meanwhile, is contemplating funding doctors and hospitals so they can care for people who don't have insurance should they become infected with the virus, a person familiar with the conversation told The Wall Street Journal. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.More stories from theweek.com The end of Chris Matthews Was Mike Pence exposed to coronavirus? The 3 most likely Super Tuesday outcomes
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| A gunman held 70 people hostage in a Philippines mall for 10 hours before letting everyone go and holding an impromptu news conference Posted: 02 Mar 2020 01:29 PM PST  After opening fire in a mall in Manilla, and taking dozens of people hostage, a man shared why he did it before the police tackled him.
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| The 3 most likely Super Tuesday outcomes Posted: 03 Mar 2020 03:00 AM PST  After more than a year of anguish, electability navel-gazing, and 10 contentious debates, the most important day on the Democrats' nominating calendar has finally arrived. Fully one-third of all pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be chosen Tuesday. Until this year, there was a heavy Southern bias to Super Tuesday, which can be traced back to the Democratic Party's desire to produce moderate nominees in the late '80s when that region of the country was slipping away from them. But with California moving its primary way up and Super Tuesday staples like Georgia bumped back in the schedule, this year's edition is likely to look very different than it did in the past.Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders remains the favorite to win the nomination, but more than perhaps any candidate in the modern nominating system, he needs to secure a pledged delegate majority to ensure his victory. Party elites remain deeply hostile to him, and older Democrats are terrified that he will lead the whole party to the wrong side of the Alamo shootout in November. If he doesn't get a majority, look for months of intrigue as candidates vie for support on a second ballot at the convention, and as the hundreds of so-called superdelegates, barred from voting on the initial tally, are suddenly the kingmakers. While it would probably be suicidal for the party to deny Sanders the nomination if he has a plurality rather than a majority of pledged delegates, the smaller that lead is, in both raw and percentage terms, the more likely it is that the effort to make someone else the nominee will be serious. And by the end of this evening, we will have a much better idea of how likely such a nightmare scenario is.To further complicate matters, two significant candidates bailed on the race at the last possible minute before Super Tuesday, meaning that we should expect much more significant variation from existing polling than usual. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race unexpectedly on Sunday, followed by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar Monday. If polls are to be believed, Buttigieg's support will be spread fairly evenly among the remaining candidates, but of course, millions of people, particularly in California, voted early and can't change their minds now. That means that Buttigieg's political corpse will still rack up some votes, although probably not any further delegates. Klobuchar's voters, on the one hand, are likely to disproportionately go to Biden, especially since she endorsed him, perhaps giving him an extra 2 or 3 percent in many states where she was actively campaigning. On the other hand, her decision almost certainly means that Sanders will carry barely-polled Minnesota, where Biden was mired in the single digits, unless she has so much pull that she can throw nearly all over her voters to the former vice president.No one knows exactly what is going to happen tonight. There are states with precisely zero polls, including Tennessee and Alabama. And many others, including Maine, haven't been surveyed in weeks, or have only a single data point to extrapolate from. But there are probably only three plausible outcomes given what we do know.1\. Sanders wins convincingly enough that no one else has a plausible path to the nominationThe best case for Sanders tonight involves a blowout victory in California, with Biden failing to meet the viability threshold statewide and in enough congressional districts to leave him with just a handful of delegates. The ideal Sanders scenario here is that several candidates — Biden, Warren, and Bloomberg — reach the high single or low double digits but get effectively shut out of delegates. Sanders also needs to beat Biden in Texas, and if he does so by double digits he could really open up an enormous lead. But margins in some states that have hardly been talked about or polled are also important. Biden is likely to carry Alabama and Tennessee, where black voters make up a large percentage of the electorate. But if Sanders can pull out surprise wins in states like Arkansas and Oklahoma, which have large pools of the kind of non-college educated white Democrats that Sanders does so well with, he can really pad his margins. Sanders won Oklahoma in 2016, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he did so again this year. It would also help if he beat expectations in the Deep South, even if he doesn't notch any wins.Let's say that Sanders also comes out on top in Maine and Massachusetts. The latter would loom particularly large as it would cut the heart out of Warren's campaign. And while her camp has signaled that they are in it for the long haul, this is precisely the kind of happy talk that becomes irrelevant once the votes are counted. Losing her home state would leave Warren with zero wins. And a victory of this magnitude for Sanders would leave Biden hundreds of delegates behind and would effectively end the race for the Democratic nomination. Remember, the Democrats' proportional delegate allocation rules mean that Biden would need not just to win more states than Sanders moving forward, but to win them so decisively that he can actually catch up. And it's hard to see where that's going to happen. After Super Tuesday, there are a limited number of states, among them Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, where Biden looks to have an edge. Even in the Acela Corridor states of Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut, Sanders is likely to run strong enough to keep the delegate totals close, even if he doesn't win.Even if Sanders exceeds all expectations, Biden is likely to nab a few wins and stick around. But results like these would probably drive Warren and Bloomberg out and leave us with a Sanders-Biden race that would be all but unwinnable for the moderate.Sanders wins: Okla., Ark., Colo., Calif., Texas, N.C., Mass., Vt., Maine, Minn., UtahBiden wins: Ala., Tenn.Bloomberg wins: Va.Other candidates: noneSanders delegate lead: 200-3002\. Late movement in the polls after South Carolina allows Biden to fight Sanders to a Super Tuesday drawWhat if Biden capitalizes on his huge Saturday win in South Carolina and fights Sanders to a draw. The person most in the way of this Biden renaissance is Bloomberg, who is drawing double-digit support in important states like Virginia and North Carolina. But the former New York City mayor's disastrous debate performances have taken the new car sheen off of his candidacy and exposed him as being well outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party. His meteoric rise in the polls — he doubled his average in national polls during the month of February — has stalled. And because there have been so few polls of Super Tuesday states, we simply don't know whether the bottom has dropped out of his operation or whether he stands to rack up 100+ delegates. For Biden to really come close to Sanders though, Bloomberg's numbers need to be much more mirage than reality.One key to the this scenario is for Biden to run a strong second in California. There's really no doubt about what will happen in the most heavily polled Super Tuesday state: Sanders will win. But if Biden can run about 20-25 percent statewide, he'll be viable in most districts and Sanders might walk away with a more narrow plurality of delegates. The polls in Texas are also close. If Biden can ride his Palmetto State momentum to a victory there, no matter how narrow, it will help offset the numbers in California and give him an even stronger argument as the most electable candidate. And if he can also sweep the South — Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia — he could be within 100 or so delegates of Sanders. Biden can also benefit from Elizabeth Warren winning her home state of Massachusetts, which would eat into Sanders' aggregate delegate tally. If you squint, you can see a best-case scenario for Biden in which he basically pulls even with Sanders in delegates.Sanders wins: Calif., Texas, Colo., Vt., Minn., UtahBiden wins: Ala., Ark., Okla., Tenn., Va., N.C.Warren wins: Mass.Bloomberg wins: noneSanders delegate lead: 0-1503\. Sanders hits his ceiling, five different candidates win at least one state, and the delegate totals are so fractured that a contested convention looks likelyUnless the polling is truly, dramatically, and epically wrong, Sanders has California in the bag. But the margins are critical. California is Bernie's best bet for putting this whole thing to bed, and if he only wins there narrowly, he could be in for a long, indecisive slog. There are also plenty of states that have been pretty lightly polled that could prove decisive in splitting delegates so many ways that even Sanders will struggle to put together a majority by June.The critical player here is Bloomberg, who polls best in states like Virginia and North Carolina. If late-deciding voters gravitate towards him rather than Biden, he could win two or more states outright and drag Biden's numbers down even in states that the former vice president wins, such as Alabama. Bloomberg has poured money into states like Tennessee and Arkansas, which have received almost no attention based on the assumption that Biden will win them going away. But what if they're wrong, and Bloomberg's billions have the desired effect? What if Klobuchar wins her home state even after dropping out? Don't laugh — Howard Dean did it in 2004. What if Sanders runs so low in some of the underpolled states that he misses out on large numbers of delegates?A five-way split would still almost certainly leave Sanders in the lead unless someone else wins California. But a 50 delegate advantage with 40 percent of the overall delegates looks much different than a 50 delegate lead with 35 percent of the overall delegates. Sanders could need to win an unrealistic percentage of the remaining delegates to get to a majority. And with a brokered convention now a real possibility, Bloomberg, Biden, and Warren all might hang around so they can make the argument to delegates that they stayed and fought and deserve the nomination even if they don't have the lead.Sanders wins: Calif., Texas, Colo., Vt., Maine, UtahBiden wins: Ala., Ark., Okla.Bloomberg wins: Va., N.C., Tenn.Warren wins: Mass.Klobuchar wins: Minn.Sanders delegate lead: 50-150The guess here is that scenario 2 is the most likely outcome on Tuesday. Biden is on the rise, and Sanders seemingly has been unable to capitalize on his early victories and consolidate the support of factions initially inclined to support someone else. That could, ironically, put Sanders in roughly the position Hillary Clinton was in after Super Tuesday 2016, when she led him by about 200 pledged delegates. Just as Sanders was unable to overcome that disadvantage despite a long rally in March and April, Biden may find that even a 100-delegate lead for Sanders will be difficult to overcome. And with the field effectively winnowed down to two candidates, it becomes far likelier that Sanders will eventually reach a pledged delegate majority or get so close that it becomes a moot point. The progressive winning a narrow and hotly contested race over the moderate would be like a mirror image of 2016, and would indicate that indeed, the party has shifted just enough to the left to make Sanders its standard bearer.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com The end of Chris Matthews Was Mike Pence exposed to coronavirus? Many voters in North Carolina, Virginia made up their minds in the last few days, early exit polls show
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| Justices OK state charges for immigrants who use fake IDs Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:41 AM PST  The Supreme Court made it easier Tuesday for states to prosecute immigrants who use fake Social Security numbers to get a job. The issue for the court was whether states could pursue the immigrants in court or had to leave those choices to the federal government, which typically has authority over immigration. The court ruled 5-4, with conservatives in the majority, that nothing in federal immigration law prevents states from going after immigrants who use phony documents and numbers.
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| Iran And Israel Teamed Up To Destroy This Country's Nuclear Weapons Program Posted: 03 Mar 2020 12:30 AM PST  And the region was better off.
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| Chris Matthews: High profile hosts come out in support of disgraced commentator after sexual harassment allegations Posted: 03 Mar 2020 02:45 PM PST  Some women in media who know or have worked with the now-former host of MSNBC's Hardball, Chris Matthews, have come to his defence since his abrupt retirement from the network over sexual harassment allegations.Mr Matthews resigned on air Monday night. He opened the show, announced his retirement, and when the show went to commercial and returned, Mr Matthews was no longer behind the desk.
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| Remain in Mexico: asylum seekers at border see hopes raised then dashed Posted: 02 Mar 2020 02:15 AM PST  Many hoping to enter the US but kept out by Trump policy remain stuck in squalid and dangerous conditionsEsmeralda Martínez got the news via a WhatsApp message: a court had invalidated the US "remain in Mexico" program, which had obliged her to stay put south of the border while her asylum claim was heard.It had been six months since she fled Guatemala after the murder of her husband. For a brief moment, it seemed she and her 13-year-old daughter Jazmín might be able to move on from the dismal frontier encampment where they have been stranded.She packed her court papers in a black and yellow backpack, stuffed her clothes into a suitcase and prepared to move on.But just hours after Friday's ruling, the same three-judge panel suspended its own order pending fresh arguments, leaving the policy formally known as migrant protection protocols (MPP) in full effect.Despite the confusion, the temporary invalidation of MPP offered rare hope for about 2,500 migrants living in the insecure and insalubrious tent city along the Rio Grande in the city of Matamoros, a stronghold of the notorious Gulf cartel.Dozens of asylum seekers, some clutching printed copies of the 57-page court decision, headed straight to the bridge separating Matamoros and Brownsville, Texas. They were turned back by US border guards."We were all hoping for this inhumane and macabre program to be invalidated," said Joel Fernández, 51, a Cuban asylum seeker who also had his bags packed.MPP has forced more than 60,000 migrants to wait in some of Mexico's most dangerous cities. The Mexican government pledged to provide work permits and access to healthcare, housing and educational opportunities, but those promises have largely gone unfulfilled.And as they wait, the migrants are easy targets for criminal gangs.In one month last year, three-quarters of asylum seekers seen by physicians working for Doctors Without Borders in the city of Nuevo Laredo reported having been kidnapped for ransom."It's tough living here," said Martínez, 30, as a pot of beans boiled over an open fire outside her tent. "It's cold. It's unsafe. We've been followed three times [by the gangs]".Over the weekend, immigration lawyers attempted to clear the confusion, convening scrums of migrants and trying to answer their questions."There's good news and bad news," said Jodi Goodwin, a Brownsville immigration attorney. "Everyone must continue preparing their cases; you need to continue going to court."She also cautioned against illegal entry to the US."The risks if you jump the river are one these consequences: you go to prison or you go to Guatemala [where the US is now sending asylum seekers] or you'll face expedited expulsion," she said.The number of asylum claims in cities like Brownsville has been declining. A crackdown by Mexican authorities has choked the migrant flow, while expedited expulsion and the new policy of sending migrants to Guatemala has reduced the numbers of people waiting for an asylum decision."We're seeing dramatically lower numbers in Brownsville," said Charlene D'Cruz, a border fellow for Lawyers for Good Government's Project Corazon.MPP "worked" as proponents hoped, D'Cruz said, because "it took 60,000 people out" of the traditional asylum process. "But what do we mean by success? Humanity-wise, we have completely failed as a people."As the number of asylum seekers from Central America and further afield slowly dwindles in Matamoros, a new group has replaced them: Mexicans fleeing rampant violence in central and southern states.Mariana came to the camp with her family six weeks ago from Veracruz state, where she says a drug cartel tried to forcibly recruit her teenage son.Her turn to apply for asylum was fast approaching – and couldn't come fast enough."We've gone hungry. We've been cold. We've had to bathe in the river," she said as she cooked eggs and chilies for her children. "This is a desperate place."
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| Donna Brazile tells RNC chair to ‘go to hell’ during Fox News interview Posted: 03 Mar 2020 11:57 AM PST  Former interim Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile clapped back at Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel Tuesday, responding to her comment about the Democratic primary being "rigged" against Sen. Bernie Sanders.
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| Miami Woman Says CDC Officials Refused to Test for Coronavirus Despite Doctors Saying She ‘Most Likely’ Has It Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:00 AM PST  A Miami woman said Monday that she was told by doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital that she "most likely" contracted coronavirus while traveling in Italy, but was not tested and was instead sent home to self-quarantine because state and federal health officials refused to authorize an official screening,The woman told a local CBS News affiliate that after she was admitted to the hospital, her "preliminary tests came back rather alarming because I tested positively for two strains of the previous coronavirus." She went to the hospital as her health steadily declined following a week in Northern Italy.After showing signs of infection, the woman claims her doctor said "that there was basically nothing he could do," because the Center for Disease Control and Prevention would not authorize a test in her case because she was not considered "high-risk" — being young and otherwise healthy. She would be the first known case of coronavirus in south Florida."The doctor himself told me that, you know, he thinks that the results of my tests mean that I most likely have the COVID-19, but that the Department of Health did not want to pursue it further," said the woman, who requested anonymity. "It was either the Department of Health or the CDC that decided not to further pursue the inquiry. But I was basically told that it is most likely that I have this virus and that I should self-quarantine."The U.S. has struggled to screen patients for coronavirus, in part because the CDC has been slow to roll out its coronavirus test for public health labs due to diagnostic problems. Politico reported Monday that the CDC tested less than 500 Americans in January and February for the virus, with the FDA finally granting local hospitals and other labs the authority to develop their own homegrown tests over the weekend — over six weeks after the first U.S. case of coronavirus was discovered.Last week, UC Davis Medical Center officials revealed that they had asked for a patient to be tested for days, but were denied by the CDC because "the patient did not fit the existing CDC criteria."
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| Italy may set up new quarantine zone as coronavirus death toll jumps Posted: 03 Mar 2020 09:15 AM PST  Italy's health authorities said on Tuesday they may set up a new quarantine red zone to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak in Europe's worst-hit country, after the death toll and the number of cases jumped. Twenty-seven people died of the highly contagious illness in Italy over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of dead to 79, the Civil Protection Agency said. The increase in deaths was the largest since the outbreak surfaced 12 days ago in the wealthy northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto.
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| Biden Wins Three Early States in Solid Super Tuesday Start Posted: 03 Mar 2020 05:04 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Joe Biden scored three quick and significant victories in the first results from Super Tuesday, winning the Democratic primaries in Virginia, North Carolina and Alabama. Bernie Sanders won his home state of Vermont.Television networks declared Biden the winner shortly after polls closed in the three states, an indication that his victories were decisive and could net him a large portion of the total delegates available in both states. But states with polls closing later, such as Texas and California, could aid Sanders."We're feeling optimistic," Biden said in Los Angeles after the Virginia race was called. "I think we're going to do well in some other states as well."The results are a remarkable turnabout for the former vice president whose candidacy was on the ropes just days ago. A decisive win on Saturday in South Carolina and the endorsements of former rivals Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar rallied the Democratic Party around him.Tuesday's contests across 14 states, plus American Samoa, will award more than a third of all delegates to the Democratic convention in July in Milwaukee. The biggest day of the presidential primary calendar will define the nomination fight for Sanders and Biden and determine whether Michael Bloomberg -- who collected his first delegates by winning American Samoa -- and Elizabeth Warren have a rationale for carrying on their campaigns.Sanders and Biden headed into the night close in delegate tallies. Sanders emerged from the first four contests with 60 delegates, but Biden's big win in South Carolina on Saturday brought him within six delegates of his chief rival.That victory also brought Biden a clearer field and the endorsements of Klobuchar and Buttigieg, two rivals who were competing with him for the votes of centrist Democrats.That still might not be enough. Sanders holds the advantage in key contests – including delegate-rich states like Texas and California – and Bloomberg threatens to play spoiler. Biden is counting on his support from African-American voters, who make up a sizable portion of the Democratic electorate in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Arkansas.(Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)Biden won 63% of the black vote in Virginia and North Carolina, according to network exit polls reported by CNN. A majority of Democrats in both states said they would prefer a nominee who can beat President Donald Trump in November over a candidate who agrees with them on the issues.Delivery of some results may be affected by vote-counting and weather. The outcome in California, the biggest prize of the night, may not be known for hours after polls close or even days as officials wait for mail-in ballots to arrive and be counted. In Tennessee, polling places in some parts of Nashville will stay open until 10 p.m. local time after tornadoes that swept through the area caused extensive damage and killed at least 22 people.The Super Tuesday round of primaries marks the first time Bloomberg has appeared on the Democratic presidential ballot. He and Warren, who's best performance to date was third in the Iowa caucuses, will confront the question of whether to continue in the race if they don't collect a sizable number of delegates.Convention BattleBoth have vowed to press on. Bloomberg acknowledged on Tuesday that the only way he can secure the Democratic nomination is if neither Biden nor Sanders wins a majority of delegates and the decision is left to a battle at the party convention in July."I don't think that I can win any other ways, but a contested convention is a democratic process," Bloomberg said during a stop at a campaign office in Miami. "There are rules of the Democratic Party of how you go about this."Beyond Super Tuesday, there are several major caches of delegates available later this month with Michigan, Florida, Illinois and Ohio among the states holding primaries."After Super Tuesday they're all opportunities. I think I'll do well in Florida, Michigan, it goes down the line," Biden said Tuesday.Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist who many in the party fear would return Trump to the White House. But he argues that he will draw in disaffected voters and expand the Democratic Party base.Sanders seems certain to emerge Tuesday with the most delegates. Biden's task is to win enough support to stand as a credible challenger to Sanders as the primary calendar moves to contests that stretch through June, a task that would be made easier by the growing support he's received just since Saturday night.What Sanders, Biden and Others Need to Win on Super TuesdayThe Vermont senator will no longer benefit from a fractured field of moderates, and it will be up to Biden to harness the momentum from his South Carolina victory and turn Klobuchar's and Buttigieg's endorsements into actual votes. Yet the former vice president has repeatedly bungled advantages throughout the nominating contest, and the impact of the last-minute withdrawals might be muted with millions of early-voting ballots already cast. In 2016 in California, 60% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day by early or mail-in voting.As of Monday, Biden was leading in polls in at least two states, North Carolina and Virginia. But polls taken since his South Carolina victory show him closing the gap in other states.The stakes couldn't be higher for a party still reeling from Trump's election, and weighing diametrically opposite approaches to winning back the blue-collar, working-class voters along the Rust Belt that had long served as its electoral firewall -- Biden's centrist vision or Sanders' populist one.And if voters Tuesday fail to winnow the field, the odds of a contested convention – a political occurrence unseen in nearly 70 years - will soar, further emboldening the incumbent president and diminishing the odds of a successful opposition challenge.Although he's spent more than $500 million on advertising and building a campaign organization to make his mark on Super Tuesday, Bloomberg said he wasn't sure he would win outright in any state."You don't have to win states; you have to win delegates," he said. "I'm in it to win."He dismissed questions about whether he would peel votes from Biden if he stays in the race, saying that the former vice president could be seen as taking votes away from him. "Have you asked Joe whether he's going to drop out?" he said.Biden told a cheering crowd in Houston on Monday that the country is weary of division, "and hungry, hungry to be united."In Dallas, he said that "just a few days ago, press and the pundits declared this campaign dead. But South Carolina had something to say about it. And tomorrow, Texas and Minnesota and the rest of Super Tuesday states, you're going to have a lot to say about it. And when you do, we will be on our way to defeating Donald Trump and a second term."To contact the reporters on this story: Joe Sobczyk in Washington at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net;Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Joe Sobczyk, Larry LiebertFor 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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| Snowy Wyoming highway pileup kills 3, injures dozens Posted: 02 Mar 2020 09:32 AM PST  At least three people died and dozens were injured in a pileup involving more than 100 vehicles amid blowing snow that closed part of Interstate 80 in Wyoming, officials said Monday. About 30 people were taken to the emergency room at Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in the small city of Rawlins, hospital spokeswoman Stephanie Hinkle told the Casper Star-Tribune. The smaller pileup, on I-80 just 4 miles (6 kilometers) away from the larger pileup, injured at least seven people, including one person who was hospitalized in critical condition, Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jason Mower said.
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| 'They are defeated': With U.S. deal, Taliban claim victory over America Posted: 03 Mar 2020 01:17 AM PST  "Even if we don't say that the U.S. is defeated in Afghanistan, it's an open secret now that they are," a member of the Taliban's Haqqani network said.
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| China sees 'coming victory' over coronavirus as global alarm spreads Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:24 AM PST  The coronavirus that has tightened borders, led to massive disinfection programs and roiled global markets has been detected in at least 70 countries.
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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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| Top NIH Dr. Anthony Fauci says the coronavirus outbreak could be 'one of those things we look back on and say boy, that was bad' Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:53 AM PST  In an interview with Politico, public health legend Dr. Anthony Fauci said he doesn't think "we are going to get out of this completely unscathed."
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| Witness says no women arrested in case of 47 Nigerian men charged under homosexuality law Posted: 03 Mar 2020 01:19 PM PST  No women were arrested in a 2018 police raid that led 47 Nigerian men to be charged with displays of affection with members of the same sex, a witness said on Tuesday, in a case that tests a law criminalising homosexuality in Africa's most populous country. In November the men pleaded not guilty to the offence which carries a 10-year jail term and resulted from legislation introduced by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014. Among the contentious points in the case are whether some women were also arrested during the raid but later released, which according to human rights campaigners would suggest that men were unfairly singled out by police.
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| Baby dinosaur skull held ‘evidence of DNA’ from 75 million years ago, NC State says Posted: 03 Mar 2020 09:48 AM PST  Sounds like "Jurassic Park," but we're far from cloning dinosaurs
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| 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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| What's Happening: Virus empties public spaces, spreads in US Posted: 02 Mar 2020 04:21 AM PST  The new coronavirus is entering additional territories, from megacities to seaside villages, and casting a fast-growing shadow over the world economy. Japanese parents are struggling to find child care after the government recommended school closures for four weeks. As the virus spreads around the world, emptying stadiums, museums and beaches, China is seeing signs of relief. The World Health Organization said nine times more cases were reported outside the country than inside it over the past 24 hours.
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| Bloomberg advisers reportedly urged him to drop out and back Biden before Super Tuesday Posted: 03 Mar 2020 02:47 PM PST  Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's presence in the 2020 race is reportedly frustrating some of his own campaign advisers.Bloomberg campaign advisers urged him after the recent South Carolina Democratic primary to drop out of the race and endorse former Vice President Joe Biden prior to Super Tuesday, Vanity Fair reports. Among those who reportedly pushed for Bloomberg to get out and back Biden was his own campaign manager, Kevin Sheekey."There is a prevailing view Mike should drop out," a Bloomberg adviser told Vanity Fair, while another adviser said that after Biden trounced his opponents in South Carolina, "the dynamic of the race clearly changed."Bloomberg ultimately stayed in the race for Super Tuesday, and "campaign officials are privately frustrated" that he ignored their advice to drop out and back Biden, Vanity Fair reports.On Tuesday, Bloomberg admitted he was eying a contested convention as his path to the nomination, saying, "I don't think I can win any other way." But asked about the possibility of dropping out, Bloomberg said, "We're in it to win it."More stories from theweek.com The end of Chris Matthews Was Mike Pence exposed to coronavirus? The 3 most likely Super Tuesday outcomes
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| Trump Homeland Security's 'Main Mission' For Coronavirus Is Keeping Sick People Out: Chad Wolf Posted: 02 Mar 2020 05:26 PM PST  What comes next?
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| A vegan woman was left 'traumatized' after being served a chicken burger at KFC Posted: 02 Mar 2020 10:12 AM PST  Vanessa Franco recently visited a KFC in Colliers Wood, London to try their new vegan burger, but got a chicken burger instead.
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| Philippines Probes Dollar Smuggling Amid Chinese Cash Influx Posted: 03 Mar 2020 12:30 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte backs a probe into cases of dollar smuggling after a lawmaker sounded the alarm on large amounts of cash brought in by Chinese nationals assisted by local authorities."It will be investigated," Duterte's spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a briefing Tuesday.The Bureau of Customs has identified two syndicates known as "Rodriguez" and "Chinese" it says has brought in $200 million and $168 million respectively since mid-2019, according to a Department of Finance statement on Monday.The money is brought in by couriers traveling two-to-three times a week and paid between 12,000 pesos ($237) and 50,000 pesos per flight, the finance department said. Military and police officers escort them upon their arrival at the Manila airport, enabling them to skip checks, it said.The finance department statement came days after Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the chamber's blue ribbon committee, called for an investigation on the influx of Chinese nationals and the "inordinate amount of money" they bring.About $180 million in cash was transported from China from December to February, Gordon said on Feb. 28. Travelers can carry up to $10,000 or its equivalent in any foreign currency into or out of the Philippines.In August last year, the Chinese embassy in Manila said a huge amount of gambling-related funds were flowing illegally out of China and into the Philippines, pushing back on the Philippines' online gaming sector that targets gamblers in mainland and employs hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers.Last month, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said that some immigration officials allow Chinese nationals without credentials to enter so they can work in online casinos. That prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to order a revamp in airport immigration.(Adds Duterte spokesman's comments from first paragraph.)\--With assistance from Ditas Lopez and Cecilia Yap.To contact the reporters on this story: Andreo Calonzo in Manila at acalonzo1@bloomberg.net;Siegfrid Alegado in Manila at aalegado1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Clarissa Batino, Ruth PollardFor 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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| Ireland's national airline just completed giving its planes and staff uniforms a completely new look. Take a look at before and after. Posted: 03 Mar 2020 11:42 AM PST  Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus began its rebranding campaign in 2018 to transform the airline into a major European player in the airline industry.
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| CDC reports 108 cases of coronavirus, including presumed infections; 4 more deaths Posted: 03 Mar 2020 11:26 AM PST  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday confirmed 17 new cases of the coronavirus and four more deaths due to the outbreak, bringing the total number of U.S. cases to 108, including among repatriated citizens.
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| Iran finds millions of hoarded gloves as coronavirus deaths hit 66 Posted: 02 Mar 2020 02:38 AM PST  Iranian authorities uncovered a stash of hoarded medical supplies including millions of gloves as deaths from its coronavirus epidemic hit 66 including a senior official. A World Health Organization (WHO) technical team flew into Tehran to help with the response in the country with the most deaths outside China, where the flu-like disease originated. Deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi announced on state television 523 new infections and 12 new deaths, giving a total of 1,501 cases and 66 fatalities.
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| Homophobia hurt Pete Buttigieg — as much as America wished it didn't Posted: 02 Mar 2020 09:17 AM PST  Lessons from his campaign are an opportunity for us to be honest about the challenges that LGBTQ candidates face.
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| North Korean swagger may conceal brewing virus disaster Posted: 03 Mar 2020 01:05 AM PST  In these days of infection and fear, a recent propaganda photo sums up the image North Korea wants to show the world, as well as its people: Soldiers with black surgical masks surround leader Kim Jong Un, ensconced in a leather overcoat and without a mask as he oversees a defiant military drill. As a new and frightening virus closes in around it, North Korea presents itself as a fortress, tightening its borders as cadres of health officials stage a monumental disinfection and monitoring program. North Korea, which has what experts call a horrendous medical infrastructure in the best of times, shares a porous, nearly 1,450-kilometer (900-mile) border with China, where the disease originated and has since rapidly spread around the world.
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| Bloomberg slammed for correcting reporter's pronunciation of Texas in awkward exchange Posted: 03 Mar 2020 04:31 PM PST  Billionaire Michael Bloomberg was accused of pandering to Hispanic voters after sniping at a reporter in Miami's Little Havana where he corrected a reporter's pronunciation of Texas, adding to a series of embarrassing moments among candidates awkwardly, or offensively, courting Hispanic and Latino votes.Trailing the former New York mayor, a reporter asks: "You spent a lot of time in Texas?"
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| President Trump's Disgraceful Peace Deal with the Taliban Posted: 03 Mar 2020 09:25 AM PST  The Afghanistan peace plan will strengthen the Taliban and make America less safe. David French on why this is not the right way to exit.
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