| California delegate wave didn't quite break as expected Posted: 04 Mar 2020 03:14 PM PST  While Sen. Bernie Sanders mined the motherlode of delegates from California on Super Tuesday, it wasn't nearly enough and isn't getting counted fast enough to counter former Vice President Joe Biden's huge night. After years of being a late season player in presidential primary politics, California joined the Super Tuesday crowd, and its 415 delegates were the biggest haul on the biggest night. California, with lots of early and mail-in voting, typically takes weeks to finish counting ballots.
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| Tulsi Gabbard may have just qualified for the next Democratic debate thanks to American Samoa Posted: 03 Mar 2020 05:14 PM PST  By securing a delegate in American Samoa, Tulsi Gabbard may have qualified for the next Democratic debate under DNC rules.
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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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| 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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| The 2020 Geneva Motor Show Is Canceled, Forcing Automakers to Unveil Their Cars Online Posted: 04 Mar 2020 01:11 PM PST |
| Trump is now trying to blame Obama for his coronavirus response Posted: 04 Mar 2020 10:30 AM PST  Amid criticism over the government's ability to test for cases of the new coronavirus, President Trump on Wednesday attempted to shift the blame to, who else, his predecessor former President Barack Obama.Speaking to reporters alongside Vice President Mike Pence, who's in charge of handling the U.S. response to COVID-19, Trump said the Obama administration made a decision that wound up hindering the country's ability to tackle the spreading virus, but said he reversed that situation recently.People were confused about what exactly the president was referring to, so Pence attempted to clarify, telling reporters the Obama administration had given the Food and Drug Administration jurisdiction over disease testing development. Trump, he said, is now allowing states to conduct their own tests and research, which expands testing capabilities.> REPORTER: What was this Obama-era rule that you are blaming for the coronavirus testing problems?> > PENCE: "The last administration asserted FDA jurisdiction over testing, and the development of tests like this. The president changed that on Saturday." pic.twitter.com/S3EOycBS6B> > -- Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2020Trump critics were quick to jump on his attempt to blame Obama, pointing out that it was his administration that disbanded the team directly responsible for global health security and potential pandemics in 2018.Obama, meanwhile, weighed in on COVID-19 on Wednesday, though there was no mention of how he feels about the Trump administration's response. > Protect yourself and your community from coronavirus with common sense precautions: wash your hands, stay home when sick and listen to the @CDCgov and local health authorities. Save the masks for health care workers. Let's stay calm, listen to the experts, and follow the science.> > -- Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 4, 2020More stories from theweek.com It's 2020 and women are exhausted How Bernie blew it House passes coronavirus spending bill 415 to 2
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| Turkey’s threat of a refugee exodus Posted: 03 Mar 2020 12:46 PM PST |
| GM unveils long-range battery in fresh electric car push Posted: 04 Mar 2020 05:21 PM PST  General Motors on Wednesday unveiled a new long-range battery to power an expanded lineup of electric cars as part of an effort to catch sector leader Tesla. GM said its Ultium batteries would have a range of up to 400 miles (645 kilometers) between charges, designed for fast charging and adaptable for a variety of vehicles. The biggest US carmaker said it is ramping up its move into electric vehicles with several new electric models starting this year including a new version of the Bolt EV, launching in late 2020.
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| Why Bernie Sanders Could Lose (No Democratic Party Conspiracy Necessary) Posted: 04 Mar 2020 04:29 AM PST  It's not exactly surprising that most mainstream Democrats are not huge fans of Bernie Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist who is not even a full member of the Democratic party.
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| Biden Says Beto O’Rourke Will ‘Take Care of the Gun Problem with Me’ Posted: 03 Mar 2020 06:47 AM PST  While accepting Beto O'Rourke's endorsement Monday night, Biden told the former Texas congressman that he will be heavily involved in federal gun control efforts if Biden takes office."I want to make something clear: I'm going to guarantee you this in not the last you're seeing of this guy," Biden said to a crowd in Dallas. "You're going to take care of the gun problem with me. You're going to be the one who leads this effort. I'm counting on you. We need you badly, the state needs you, the country needs you, you're the best."> Joe Biden promises Beto O'Rourke, who pushed for gun confiscation for legal gun owners, will "be the one who leads" his gun control effort pic.twitter.com/qjgft8wFkt> > -- Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 3, 2020O'Rourke explained his endorsement for the former vice president as needing "somebody who can reestablish the moral authority of the United States."> Beto O'Rourke: "We need somebody who can reestablish the moral authority of the United States. We need somebody who will fight for democracy here and abroad, because democracy is under attack here and abroad. We need Joe Biden." https://t.co/JEMJiQn1ln pic.twitter.com/SikNRST8pc> > -- ABC News (@ABC) March 3, 2020 O'Rourke, who dropped out of the Democratic presidential race in November, made gun confiscation a central part of his platform, highlighting his commitment to aggressive measure by telling voters, "hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47" during the Democratic debate in September.Later in the race, O'Rourke admitted that police would "visit" gun owners unwilling to sell their semi-automatic rifles to the government in order to "recover that firearm and make sure that it is purchased."Biden's gun control plan, released in October, distanced the former vice president from O'Rourke by not requiring a mandatory "buyback" for owners of "assault weapons." But Biden has become increasingly vocal on guns in the race, telling a crowd in South Carolina that he is "coming" for gun makers."A guy has 12 assault weapons with bump stocks, which means you can fire it faster. You can pull the trigger faster," Biden told a CNN town hall in Nevada, referencing the Las Vegas hotel shooting. "Why in God's name should anyone, anyone, anyone, anyone be able to own that? It's just wrong, and we've got to — and I promise you, as president, I am going to get these guys."
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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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| 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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| Jeff Sessions’ run-off and a Bush's loss: Super Tuesday races you may have missed Posted: 04 Mar 2020 09:44 AM PST  While all the attention was focused on the Democratic primaries, other races played out across the USWhile all the attention of Super Tuesday focused on the presidential nomination race among the Democrats and the fight between the former vice-president Joe Biden and the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, other races and dramas across the US also played out.Here are five things you may have missed: A Bush loses in TexasPierce Bush was aiming to advance in the Republican primary for a Texas congressional seat in Houston. But the grandson of president George HW Bush and relative of president George W Bush and ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush, lost his race – the first Bush to lose in Texas in 40 years. A dynasty ends, not with a bang but a whimper. Broadcaster Cenk Uygur flames outFamed leftist broadcaster Cenk Uygur has a strong following thanks to his founding of the Young Turks progressive politics show. But that did not translate into meaningful support for his bid to fill the California congressional seat vacated by Katie Hill. He came in fourth with just 5% of the vote. Jeff Sessions heads for a run-offDonald Trump's former attorney general is aiming to win back his old Senate seat after falling out of favor with the president and leaving the administration. After failing to win a knockout blow, he now faces a run-off later this month against the former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville. Despite Sessions continuing to embrace Trumpism on the trail, his old boss stuck the knife in. "This is what happens to someone who loyally gets appointed Attorney General of the United States & then doesn't have the wisdom or courage to stare down & end the phony Russia Witch Hunt," the president tweeted. An anti-abortion Democrat survivesThe Texas congressman Henry Cuellar, one of the few anti-abortion Democrats in the House, fended off a primary challenge from Jessica Cisneros, a 26-year-old immigration attorney, in a defeat for progressives. Cuellar has held the seat since 2005 and also maintains an A rating from the National Rifle Association. Cuellar voted with Trump nearly 70% of the time during the president's first two years in office. Republican Kay Granger fends off a rightwing attackOne of the few prominent Republican women in the House fended off an attack by a male tech executive to oust her. Chris Putnam went to war with her in a bitter primary battle in Texas as outside groups spent millions and Trump weighed in behind her. Club for Growth, a conservative anti-tax group, spent more than $1m running attack ads against her record on spending issues but Granger prevailed.
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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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| Mood in Warren campaign reportedly 'bleak' after Super Tuesday Posted: 04 Mar 2020 05:24 AM PST  Will Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) remain in the 2020 race after Super Tuesday?That's the question pundits were asking after the senator's disappointing night, as she not only failed to notch a single Democratic primary win but also came in third place in her home state of Massachusets. Now, Politico reports the mood in her campaign is "bleak" as officials "wonder whether a path forward exists."Prior to polls closing on Super Tuesday, Warren had announced several new campaign stops, and as results were coming in, she sent out a new fundraising pitch. "There are six more primaries just one week away, and we need your help to keep up the momentum," the campaign said.Last week, Warren said during a town hall event that "a lot of people made $5 contributions to my campaign to keep me in it, and as long as they want me to stay in this race, I'm staying in this race."But Politico notes that Warren's Super Tuesday finish was "far below their own publicly-released projections," as the campaign thought she could come in the top two in eight states, but she didn't end up above third place in a single one. Some allies of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday began publicly urging her to bow out of the race."Imagine if the progressives consolidated last night like the moderates consolidated, who would have won?" Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted on Tuesday. President Trump, meanwhile, asserted in a tweet Wednesday morning that Warren's decision to stay in the race is "so selfish," wondering if Sanders will "ever speak to her again." 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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| Russia says rebel positions in Syria's Idlib have merged with Turkish army posts Posted: 03 Mar 2020 08:30 PM PST  Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday that fortified rebel positions in Syria's Idlib province had merged with Turkish observation posts, and that artillery attacks on nearby civilian areas and Russia's air base in Syria had become daily. The allegations, made by Major-General Igor Konashenkov, are likely to increase tensions ahead of a planned meeting on Syria in Moscow on Thursday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan.
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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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| Public health legend Anthony Fauci says working with the White House during an outbreak can be difficult because politicians can cause complacency in their attempts to 'calm people down' Posted: 03 Mar 2020 07:36 AM PST  "You should never destroy your own credibility. And you don't want to go to war with a president," NIH Dr. Anthony Fauci said.
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| Iran rejects US virus aid offer amid 'vicious' sanctions Posted: 04 Mar 2020 03:50 AM PST  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday dismissed a US offer to help the Islamic republic fight its coronavirus outbreak, charging that "vicious" American sanctions are depriving the country of medicine. Iran has scrambled to halt the rapid spread of the virus that has claimed 92 lives out of 2,922 confirmed infections in the past two weeks. It has shut schools and universities, suspended major cultural and sporting events, and cut back on work hours.
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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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| 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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| 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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| India Is Turning To Israel After Its Russian-Made Missiles Turned Into Duds Posted: 03 Mar 2020 02:30 AM PST  Can Israeli missiles be integrated on a Russian jet?
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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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| 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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| More than 100 Americans who were on the Diamond Princess cruise ship have finally gone home. 2 shared photos and details from their quarantine on a military base. Posted: 04 Mar 2020 10:14 AM PST  "Somewhere between a zombie movie and summer camp," one evacuee said. "I don't know if this is awesome or if this is terrifying."
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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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| 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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| 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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| Armenia charges former defense minister with embezzlement Posted: 04 Mar 2020 09:55 AM PST |
| 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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| China warns of retaliation over U.S. 'bullying' of state media Posted: 03 Mar 2020 04:37 AM PST  China threatened Tuesday to retaliate against U.S. "bullying" after Washington imposed staff cuts on Chinese state media, two weeks after expelling three Wall Street Journal reporters.
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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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| A 95-year-old man has been 'working' at his local 7-Eleven for decades. He's paid in coffee. Posted: 04 Mar 2020 10:45 AM PST  "Mr. G" isn't paid with money but with bananas and coffee. He comes six days a week, Monday through Saturday, whenever he can.
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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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| Bernie Sanders gets his biggest win yet in California Posted: 03 Mar 2020 09:17 PM PST  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) won the California Democratic primary, The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times projected Tuesday night. California, with 415 pledged delegates, is the biggest prize of Super Tuesday, though the Democratic Party apportions delegations proportionally, so Sanders won't win all 415. According to CNN exit poll estimates, Sanders won 38 percent of the vote versus 23 percent for former Vice President Joe Biden, 15 percent for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and 11 percent for Mike Bloomberg. If Warren stays above 15 percent, she would get some of California's delegates; if not, she gets none.California is the fourth Sanders win of the night and the most important on a Super Tuesday unexpectedly dominated by Biden.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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| 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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| 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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| Egypt hangs ex-elite soldier turned Islamist militant Ashmawy Posted: 04 Mar 2020 01:40 AM PST  Egypt executed an ex-special forces officer turned top Islamist militant, Hisham Ashmawy, on Wednesday over involvement in several high-profile attacks, said the army. "The execution by hanging was carried out based on a decision by the military court ... and after taking all the relevant judicial procedures," said army spokesman Tamer al-Rifai. Ashmawy -- dubbed Egypt's "most wanted man" by local media -- was a former officer with Egypt's special forces who went on to fight with Al-Qaeda linked groups.
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| Spooky gunship crew honored for heroism during ferocious Afghanistan battle Posted: 04 Mar 2020 12:42 PM PST  "The most lethal part of any gunship ... is the crew," AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Jim Slife said.
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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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| 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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| A man from a NYC suburb was confirmed to have coronavirus. Here's what New York's mass-transit system is doing to slow a potential spread. Posted: 03 Mar 2020 03:09 PM PST  Subways, buses, and vehicles will be sanitized every 72 hours, and surfaces like turnstiles, ticket machines, and handrails will be disinfected daily.
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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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