| Kobe Bryant's helicopter crashed in foggy conditions considered so dangerous that the LAPD grounded all its flights Posted: 27 Jan 2020 02:24 AM PST  The NBA legend and eight others were flying in heavy fog before crashing into a hillside in Calabasas, California, at about 9:45 a.m. on Sunday.
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| Poland, Israel condemn resurgent anti-Semitism at Auschwitz commemoration Posted: 26 Jan 2020 04:25 PM PST  The presidents of Israel and Poland called on Monday for greater efforts to combat anti-Semitism as the world marked 75 years since the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp amid concerns over a resurgence of anti-Jewish prejudice. "Our duty is to fight anti-Semitism, racism and fascist nostalgia, those sick evils that ... threaten to eat away at the foundations of our democracies," Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said at a venue near the former camp, which is now a museum. Polish President Andrzej Duda, who did not attend Israel's national Holocaust Memorial last Thursday because he was not allowed to speak, thanked Rivlin for his presence at Auschwitz.
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| 'Draconian' travel curbs needed to halt spread of virus: scientists Posted: 27 Jan 2020 10:18 AM PST  Governments need to implement "draconian" travel curbs to stop a mystery coronavirus in China becoming a global epidemic, a team of experts mapping the outbreak said Monday. Scientists at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) presented a briefing warning that the spread of the deadly SARS-like virus that first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan was accelerating. "We have to be prepared that this particular epidemic may be about to become a global epidemic," said Gabriel Leung, head of the team.
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| Virginia woman gets life in WVa man's decapitation death Posted: 27 Jan 2020 11:00 AM PST ![Virginia woman gets life in WVa man's decapitation death]( "Virginia woman gets life in WVa man's decapitation death") A Virginia woman was sentenced to life in prison without the chance for parole Monday in the death of a West Virginia man who was decapitated. Roena Cheryl Mills, 43, of Rural Retreat, Virginia, was sentenced for her December conviction on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Bo White, 29, of Lenore, news outlets reported. A neighbor called police after seeing Mills covered in blood.
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| Taliban says it gunned down U.S. military plane in Afghanistan, killing all personnel onboard Posted: 27 Jan 2020 08:13 AM PST  The Taliban said it had shot down a U.S. military plane in the central Afghan province of Ghazni on Monday, killing all personnel onboard.
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| Sanders Leads, Klobuchar Climbs and Buttigieg Drops in Iowa Posted: 26 Jan 2020 07:17 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Senator Amy Klobuchar has broken into the top three Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa for the first time, a poll released Sunday showed. It was the third poll of the day to show her rival, Bernie Sanders as the frontrunner in an early state.An Emerson University poll showed Sanders leading in Iowa with 30% while Joe Biden followed with 21%. Klobuchar was in third with 13% ahead of Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg who had 11% and 10%, respectively. The poll was conducted from Jan. 23-26 and has a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points.Since December, Sanders has risen 8 percentage points in the Emerson poll. Conversely, Buttigieg fell 8 percentage points. Klobuchar's rise comes on the heels of an endorsement from The New York Times.Two New Hampshire polls released Sunday morning by CNN/University of New Hampshire and NBC News/Marist both also found Sanders in first.(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)This post is part of Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.To contact the author of this story: Emma Kinery in Washington at ekinery@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Magan Sherzai at mcrane19@bloomberg.net, Virginia Van NattaFor 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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| Adam Schiff: Trump Saying I Should Pay a Price Is ‘Intended to Be’ a Threat Posted: 26 Jan 2020 09:03 AM PST  Moments after President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday morning that lead House impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) hadn't "paid the price yet" for his role in impeachment, Schiff said that the president's post was "intended to be" a threat.Towards the end of his appearance on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Schiff was asked by host Chuck Todd about the pushback he's received from GOP senators for closing out his arguments on Friday by referencing a CBS News report that the White House had warned Republicans their heads would be on "pikes" if they crossed him and voted for additional witnesses."What do you make of the criticism that some Republican senators who you might want to see vote for witnesses didn't like your 'head on a pike' comment," Todd wondered. "[Lisa] Murkowski, [Susan] Collins and [Joni] Ernst, all three Republican senators who might be open to witnesses thought you got too personal.""I don't think it was personal to refer to the CBS story," the House Intelligence Committee chairman replied. "What may be personal, though, and I think I have to be very candid about this, is I made the argument that it's going to require moral courage to stand up to this president. And this is a wrathful and vindictive president. Look at the president's tweets about me today saying that I should pay a price."The Meet the Press host then inquired whether or not Schiff felt that the president's tweet represented a threat against him."I think it's intended to be," Schiff stated. "But look, it is going to be very difficult for some of these senators to stand up to this president. It really is. There's just no question about it.""And I want to acknowledge that," he continued. "And I don't want to acknowledge it in a way that is offensive to them. But I do want to speak candidly about it. And if this weren't an issue, there wouldn't be an issue about calling witnesses. If we can't even get the senators to agree to call witnesses in a trial, it shows you just how difficult that moral courage is."Senate Republicans, meanwhile, were confronted on the Sunday news shows over whether or not they felt the president's tweet could be construed as a threat. On CNN's State of the Union, for instance, anchor Jake Tapper told Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) that they've learned that Schiff is now getting death threats while referencing Trump's tweet."Is that a price?" Tapper asked."No, that is not what the president is trying to do," Lankford insisted, "and the people will hold him accountable for that, and Nancy Pelosi the same way, and both are saying that the American people will speak on this."Tapper, for his part, would go on to press Lankford on why he and his colleagues were acting deeply offended by Schiff quoting a CBS report but not offended by the president saying Schiff needs to "pay a price.""I don't think it's a death threat," Lankford answered. "I don't think he's encouraging death threats."Shortly after Schiff's interview aired, Trump took to Twitter to blast Todd while continuing to insult the House Intel chair.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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| Why The Ninth Circut Court Reluctantly Dismissed The Kids' Climate Case Posted: 26 Jan 2020 09:00 PM PST  This was not a problem for the courts.
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| Get Early Access to Backcountry’s Big Winter Sale Right Now Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:30 PM PST |
| Police criticized TMZ for reporting Kobe Bryant's death before they could notify victims' families Posted: 26 Jan 2020 08:48 PM PST  TMZ was the first to report the shocking news that the basketball icon Bryant had died Sunday, but authorities slammed the quick scoop.
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| Nighttime mortar attack on US Embassy in Baghdad injured 1 Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:45 AM PST  A top U.S. commander said Monday that mortars were used in an attack on the American embassy in Baghdad that injured one person and caused some material damage the previous night, not katyusha rockets as was initially reported by staffers and a statement from the military. Gen. Frank McKenzie, a top U.S. commander for the Middle East, told reporters traveling with him that the mortar attack started a fire that was put out. A military statement had said five rockets hit inside Baghdad's Green Zone, where the embassy sits.
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| Idaho Doomsday Couple Found in Hawaii—Without Missing Kids Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:29 AM PST  A doomsday-obsessed couple from Idaho who are at the center of several missing-child and suspicious death investigations have been found in Hawaii, police announced Monday.Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow were served with a search warrant on Sunday—but authorities did not find Vallow's children, Tylee and J.J., with them in Princeville on the island of Kauai.Daybell and Vallow got married weeks after first wife, Tammy, had died months earlier of what authorities at first listed as natural causes. They have since exhumed the 49-year-old's body to conduct an autopsy, which has not been released yet.Grandparents in Doomsday Missing Kids Case Offer $20K RewardLess than three months earlier, Vallow was widowed when her fourth husband, Charles, was shot to death by her brother in what police initially described as a self-defense situation but is now being reinvestigated.The newlyweds attracted scrutiny when extended family told police they were worried because they had not heard from Vallow's children, 17-year-old Tylee and 7-year-old J.J., who has special needs.Daybell and Vallow then skipped town. Rexburg, Idaho, police publicly pleaded with the couple to disclose the children's whereabouts but they refused to cooperate."We strongly believe that Joshua and Tylee's lives are in danger," Rexburg police said in a statement at the beginning of the month.Idaho Cops Blast Doomsday Parents of Missing KidsSo Idaho authorities initiated a child-protection action on behalf of the missing kids and obtained a court order to force Vallow to produce them within five days."We can confirm that Lori Vallow was served with that order in the city of Princeville on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, on Saturday, January 25th by the Kauai Police Department and that Chad Daybell was with her," police said in a statement."We can further confirm that Tylee and J.J. were not with Lori and Chad and there is no evidence that Tylee and J.J. were ever in Hawaii."Lori and Charles had lived in Kauai for several years before moving to Arizona.She reportedly became obsessed with Daybell's books on doomsday scenarios and near-death experiences, marketed for a Mormon audience, and bonded with the author. After Charles was killed by her brother—who later died under unknown circumstances—Lori moved to Idaho, where Daybell also lived.It's believed they got married in November, reportedly in Hawaii.If Vallow doesn't comply with the court order to produce Tylee and J.J., she could be arrested on contempt of court charges, police said.J.J.'s grandparents have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to their return. "We truly believe and we hope and pray these kids are alive," grandfather Larry Woodcock said at a press conference earlier this month.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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| Mother of Jailed Israeli Backpacker Hopes for Russia Pardon Posted: 27 Jan 2020 02:39 AM PST ![Mother of Jailed Israeli Backpacker Hopes for Russia Pardon]( "Mother of Jailed Israeli Backpacker Hopes for Russia Pardon") (Bloomberg) -- The mother of an Israeli woman imprisoned on drug-smuggling charges in Russia said she's hopeful President Vladimir Putin will pardon her daughter.Naama Issachar, a 26-year-old U.S.-born Israeli army veteran, was sentenced in October to 7 1/2 years for carrying a small amount of hashish in her luggage on a transit flight via Moscow after a backpacking trip to India. Her plight has become a cause celebre in Israel, where it's widely seen as politically motivated.Putin met with Issachar's mother, Yaffa, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday, on the sidelines of an international forum on the Holocaust. He assured her that "everything will be all right," and on Sunday, Naama Issachar applied for a presidential pardon, her lawyers said.When asked in a text message exchange whether she expects her daughter to return to Israel soon, Yaffa Issachar replied: "I hope so." The request for a pardon has been received and "all necessary legal procedures are being carried out at the moment so the president can take a decision on this issue in the nearest future," Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on a conference call Monday.A decision to free Issachar, who's been in detention since April, could bolster Netanyahu, who's been indicted on corruption charges and is fighting for his political survival at the country's third election in less than a year in March.The Kremlin said last week that Israel and Russia are also making progress in settling a dispute over the ownership of Russian Orthodox Church property in Jerusalem, which Israel's Haaretz newspaper said could form part of a quid pro quo to secure Issachar's release.The Russian leader has previously rebuffed multiple pleas from Netanyahu for Issachar's sentence to be commuted.Her case for a time became entangled with that of a Russian national, Alexei Burkov, whom Israel extradited to the U.S. in November on charges including hacking and credit card fraud. Russia had offered to swap the two, according to Natan Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and Israeli politician.(Adds Putin spokesman's comment in 4th paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net;Irina Reznik in Moscow at ireznik@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Gregory L. White at gwhite64@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Tony HalpinFor 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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| House impeachment manager says threatened by Trump tweet Posted: 26 Jan 2020 09:34 AM PST  Democratic lawmaker Adam Schiff, who is leading the prosecution in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, said Sunday he felt threatened by a tweet from the president. As chairman of the House intelligence committee, Schiff oversaw weeks of hearings that fleshed out the charges that led to the House vote December 18 to impeach Trump. Schiff is now the lead impeachment manager, the most prominent of Trump's accusers in the Senate trial, which resumes Monday after a brief recess.
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| Fifth Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in U.S. Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:41 AM PST  The fifth case in the U.S. of the deadly coronavirus was confirmed in Arizona, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday.Cases of the virus in the U.S. have been reported in Washington state, Chicago, California's Los Angeles County and Orange County, and Arizona.All infected individuals recently traveled to Wuhan, China, where the virus originated. Scientists in Wuhan believe the virus originated in bats, similar to the deadly Ebola virus, which killed thousands in West Africa several years ago.The news comes as Chinese health minister Ma Xiaowei warned that the virus can spread during its incubation period, about two weeks, before infected individuals are experiencing symptoms."At present, the rate of development of the epidemic is accelerating," Ma said at a press conference. "I am afraid that it will continue for some time, and the number of cases may increase."However, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, appeared skeptical about Ma's claim."We at CDC don't have clear evidence that patients are infectious before symptom onset, but we are actively investigating that possibility," she said.The virus, which causes serious respiratory infection, has killed at least 81 people so far and infected 2,744."As with other respiratory illnesses, there are steps that everyone can take to reduce the risk of getting sick from circulating viruses, including coronavirus. This includes remaining home when ill, washing hands with soap and water frequently, and getting vaccinated against flu," said Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.The U.S. plans to evacuate about three dozen U.S. diplomats and their families from Wuhan on Tuesday on a medically staffed flight that will land in California.U.S. federal and state officials are contacting anyone who may have been exposed to the virus by the infected individuals.
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| America's F-35 Has Some Problems, And Iran Has Taken Notice Posted: 27 Jan 2020 10:31 AM PST  Could Iran shoot one down?
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| U.S. government urges Americans to reconsider travel to China because of coronavirus Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday it had not recorded any new confirmed cases of the illness overnight since its last update of five, but that as many as 110 potential cases were under investigation.The State Department said Americans should reconsider any plans to travel to China during the outbreak.
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| Saudi foreign minister says Israeli passport holders cannot visit: CNN Posted: 27 Jan 2020 11:11 AM PST  Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said Israelis were not welcome to visit the kingdom after Israel decreed that Israeli citizens could visit Saudi Arabia under certain circumstances, CNN reported on Monday.
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| Small suspected homemade bomb explodes at Hong Kong hospital, no injuries Posted: 26 Jan 2020 09:53 PM PST ![Small suspected homemade bomb explodes at Hong Kong hospital, no injuries]( "Small suspected homemade bomb explodes at Hong Kong hospital, no injuries") A suspected small-scale homemade bomb exploded at a general hospital in Hong Kong on Monday, causing the temporary evacuation of some patients but no injuries, police said. The incident came after a group of protesters on Sunday set alight the lobby of a newly built residential building in Hong Kong that authorities had planned to use as a quarantine facility, as fears grow over a coronavirus outbreak in mainland China. Hong Kong has been convulsed with demonstrations over the past seven months centered on its relationship with mainland China, with anger fueled by what protesters see as growing interference from Beijing.
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| Bernie Sanders' newest fan is probably the last person you'd expect it to be Posted: 27 Jan 2020 07:25 AM PST  The 'Bernie Blackout' is over.Bernie Sanders, long overlooked in the Democratic race, is having a moment. In the polls, in the fundraising race and in high-profile spats with his 2020 rivals.
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| British man dies in US immigration detention in Florida Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:16 PM PST  * Death of man, 39, initially attributed to hanging * UK Foreign Office said to be in touch with man's wifeA British man has died while being held in US immigration detention in Florida, the Guardian has confirmed.The death was first reported by BuzzFeed News, which said the man was 39 years old and that the cause was initially attributed to asphyxiation due to hanging. The incident was reported to have occurred on Saturday last week."Our staff are in contact with the US authorities following the death of a British man in Florida," said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office in London.Foreign Office officials are understood to have been in contact with the deceased man's wife, as US officials investigate the circumstances of the death.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Guardian.In a statement to BuzzFeed, the agency identified the deceased man as Ben James Owen and clarified he had died at the Baker county detention center in Macclenny, Florida. Officials said Owen had entered the US on a temporary visa in July and had been arrested on suspicion of felony aggravated stalking, felony false imprisonment, domestic assault, and violating the conditions of his pre-trial release. The agency said the case remained under investigation.The incident marks the fifth death at a detention centre in the 2020 fiscal year, which begins in October 2019. There were eight deaths in Ice detention in the 2019 fiscal year.The immigration detention population in the United States has soared under the Trump administration. Last year Ice detained 510,854 people, compared with 396,448 in 2018. The administration has also increased its use of detention facilities, mostly run by private security companies, with a new concentration of detention centres opening in the deep south.Medical provision and mental health care at detention facilities has come under increased criticism under the Trump administration after a spate of high profile deaths since 2017.At the end of last year House Democrats on the oversight and reform committee launched an inquiry to investigate a "troubling pattern of abuse and poor treatment" of migrants in custody.
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| Accuser says Weinstein sexually assaulted her in children's bedroom Posted: 27 Jan 2020 11:49 AM PST  One of Harvey Weinstein's main accusers told his rape trial Monday that the ex-Hollywood producer forcibly performed oral sex on her in a children's bedroom in his New York home. Mimi Haleyi -- a former production assistant -- cried as she told the Manhattan court that Weinstein, 67, sexually assaulted her in July 2006 while she was on her period.
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| Historians Unmask Fourth Soviet Spy Who Worked on the Atomic Bomb Posted: 27 Jan 2020 02:07 PM PST  Just what nuclear secrets did "Godsend" deliver to Russia in the 1940s?
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| Coronavirus 'has become rampant,' but shows no signs of mutating into deadlier form Posted: 26 Jan 2020 08:00 AM PST  China's central government announced Sunday that it's taking the reins in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus from local officials in Hubei province, home to the virus' city of origin, Wuhan.Ma Xiaowei, the head of the country's National Health Commission, said "we are now in a critical period of prevention and control." It appears the coronavirus is becoming more contagious — Zhou Xianwang, the mayor of Wuhan, said experts will likely soon confirm another 1,000 infection cases. Meanwhile, the death toll resulting from the disease rose to 56, including the first fatality in Shanghai."The virus has become rampant," said Gao Fu, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.But despite the severity of the situation, Gao also doled out some optimism. He said the virus hasn't shown any signs of mutating into a more deadly form, and revealed that a vaccine may soon be available.Most of the cases are confined to China, but a third case was confirmed in the United States, after a person in Orange County, California, tested positive. The patient is being treated and is reportedly in "good condition." Read more at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com Fox News poll finds independents want the Senate to convict and remove Trump by 19-point margin Mick Mulvaney denies knowing about Ukraine conversation between Trump and Bolton Mike Pompeo is a disgrace
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| CDC Split With China on Coronavirus Spread as Possible U.S. Cases Hit 110 Posted: 27 Jan 2020 11:26 AM PST  As authorities in China scrambled to handle a coronavirus that has killed at least 81 people, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday described a surging potential crisis even as they pushed back on the latest thinking from Beijing about just how easily it spreads.Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters that the number of confirmed cases stateside had reached five—and that there had been a total of 110 "persons under investigation" for the virus in 26 states over the past week.Thirty-two of those people tested negative, and there had been no confirmed person-to-person transmissions inside the country, Messonnier said on Monday. The confirmed cases in the U.S. include patients in Orange County, California; a man in his 30s in Washington state; a woman in her 60s in Chicago; a passenger who felt ill after flying into Los Angeles International Airport; and a student at Arizona State University who does not live in university housing, the CDC said on Sunday. All of the U.S. cases appeared to involve patients who had recently traveled from Wuhan, China—the epicenter of the deadly virus. Seventy-three people were still being evaluated for the virus as of Monday.Fifth U.S. Case of Coronavirus Confirmed in Patient Who Traveled From Wuhan, China"We understand that many people in the United States are worried about this virus and how it will affect Americans," Messonnier said, adding that "risk depends on exposure," which for Americans remained "low" on Monday.In each U.S. case, health officials have said they will trace the patient's contacts and identify anyone who may have had prolonged exposure, then monitor those individuals for symptoms. In the U.S., anyone who has had close contact with confirmed patients has not been quarantined unless and until they display symptoms.That policy came into question over the weekend, when China's health minister Ma Xiaowei said "the ability of the virus to spread is getting stronger" and that authorities in that country now believe the virus can spread during the incubation period—even before infected patients become symptomatic. A study published last week in the journal Lancet appeared to bolster that contention.But Messonnier said the CDC had not seen "any clear evidence of patients being infectious before symptom onset" as of Monday, even if authorities in the U.S. "are being very aggressive and very cautious in tracking close contacts" of infected individuals."This outbreak is unfolding rapidly, and we are rapidly looking at how that impacts our posture at the border," said Messonnier. "I expect that in the coming days, our travel recommendations will change."Experts said that even as statements from Chinese health officials had to be viewed through a political lens, outright dismissal of asymptomatic transmission was premature.Eric Toner, a senior scientist with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the University's School of Public Health, called the question "nuanced." "It's hard to know why the [Chinese] minister was so sure," said Toner. "The evidence we have seen is quite suggestive of pre-symptomatic transmission, at least in some people, but not conclusive. He may have information that we do not."For now, officials were still screening passengers at five American airports: Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Of course, fewer travelers are coming out of Wuhan in the wake of a travel lockdown late last week; Messonnier said the CDC had screened approximately 2,400 people in those airports so far but that "the number of people coming from Wuhan is declining."Though Chinese authorities halted travel from Wuhan to stop the spread of the virus, the U.S. is among several countries—including France and Russia—that were given special permission to evacuate diplomats and private citizens. In addition to the 81 dead in China—76 of whom reportedly lived in Wuhan—nearly 3,000 people across the world, including a 9-month-old baby girl in Beijing, had confirmed cases of the virus as of Monday morning. Aside from the five cases in the U.S., more have been reported in Thailand, Taiwan, Australia, Macau, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, France, Canada, Vietnam, and Nepal. There had been no deaths from the virus reported outside of China as of Monday morning. But the new fatalities in that country over the weekend, including an 88-year-old man in Shanghai, stoked fears that the government had failed to contain the infection's spread. Beijing announced Monday morning that it would push back the official end of the Lunar New Year holiday to Thursday from Sunday in order to "reduce mass gatherings" and "block the spread of the epidemic," according to a statement from China's cabinet.Meanwhile, Wuhan's mayor, Zhou Xianwang, on Monday offered to step down, along with the city's party secretary, Ma Guoqiang, in order to "appease public indignation." He said the pair were prepared to take responsibility for the crisis after days of public outcries from citizens, on social media and elsewhere."Our names will live in infamy, but as long as it is conducive to the control of the disease and to the people's lives and safety, Comrade Ma Guoqiang and I will bear any responsibility," Zhou reportedly said Monday.Dr. Adrian Hyzler, chief medical officer for Healix International, which provides medical information to travelers, told The Daily Beast the CDC will know much more about how easily the virus spreads once the incubation period—estimated at a maximum of 14 days—has passed in the five U.S. cases. "If, as the Chinese are saying, patients are contagious before symptoms develop, then it is much harder to control," he said.Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the CDC cleared 32 people who tested negative for the virus out of 110 potential cases.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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| Iraqi security forces kill protester, rockets hit U.S. embassy Posted: 26 Jan 2020 02:12 AM PST  Iraqi security forces shot at anti-government protesters in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least one person, and unidentified men set fire to sit-in tents in a southern Iraqi city, police and medics said, as months-long civil unrest escalated. Separately, at least one of five Katyusha rockets fired at Baghdad's fortified Green Zone hit the U.S. embassy, wounding three people, in a rare direct targeting of the compound, security sources said. Anti-government protests erupted in Baghdad on Oct. 1 and quickly turned violent.
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| Underwater bombs damage Syria's offshore oil facilities Posted: 27 Jan 2020 10:43 AM PST  Bombs planted underwater off Syria's coast exploded Monday, damaging oil facilities used to pump oil into one of Syria's two petroleum refineries, state media and the oil minister said. Oil minister Ali Ghanem told state TV that the bombs were planted by divers in the facility used to pump oil to the coast. "The aim of the attack is to cease (oil) imports into Syria," Ghanem said, adding the ministry's experts are evaluating and fixing the damage.
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| New Yorkers honored Kobe Bryant by renaming a subway stop after the NBA legend Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:53 AM PST  In photos shared to social media, New Yorkers plastered a makeshift "Kobe" sign on a "Fifth Ave/Bryant Park" subway sign after his death.
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| Pompeo Keeps NPR Reporter Feud Going With Pointed Bible Quote Posted: 26 Jan 2020 08:45 AM PST ![Pompeo Keeps NPR Reporter Feud Going With Pointed Bible Quote]( "Pompeo Keeps NPR Reporter Feud Going With Pointed Bible Quote") (Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Michael Pompeo kept a feud with an NPR reporter alive on Sunday, taking to his personal Twitter account to post a Bible quote about lying and slander. The post came a day after Pompeo's unusual, official statement attacking NPR's Mary Louise Kelly and the media in general after a contentious interview with questions about Ukraine that she said ended with him unleashing an expletive-laced tirade. Pompeo accused Kelly of lying to him twice, including while setting the interview up in December and by disclosing his alleged outburst following that conversation, which he said was "off the record." He cited no evidence. "This is another example of how unhinged the media has become in its quest to hurt President Trump and this administration," Pompeo said in his statement. Five Democrats from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations wrote to Pompeo on Saturday, terming his comments beneath the dignity of his office, and the chief executive of NPR said the radio network wouldn't be intimidated. Pompeo on Sunday tweeted a Bible verse that "Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool" from his personal account, in what appeared to be a fresh dig at Kelly. In Friday's interview, Kelly asked Pompeo about former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was recalled from her role. Democrats say the diplomat was seen as an impediment to President Donald Trump's demands that Ukraine investigate Democrat Joe Biden. A tape revealed this week appears to capture Trump saying "take her out."Pompeo has repeatedly refused to answer questions from reporters about his acquiescence in Trump's decision to recall Yovanovitch, and has sidestepped questions about the reason for her removal, beyond saying the president lost confidence in her.Blank MapKelly, the host of NPR's All Things Considered, said that Pompeo's aides agreed to questions on the topic ahead of time.Following the interview at the State Department, Kelly said Pompeo summoned her to an adjacent room, where he shouted at her and used profanities for a time equal to the length of the interview itself.He also asked his aides to bring out a blank map and demanded that the veteran reporter identify Ukraine. Kelly, who graduated from Harvard and has a masters degree in European studies from Cambridge University, said she did so accurately.Pompeo seemed to suggest that she didn't, in fact, point to the correct country, concluding his statement by saying: "It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine."'Contemptuous' CommentsThe two countries are about 3,600 miles (5,800 kilometers) apart."Mary Louise Kelly has always conducted herself with the utmost integrity, and we stand behind this report," Nancy Barnes, NPR's senior vice president of news, said in an emailed statement.NPR's Chief Executive Officer John Lansing said Saturday on the radio network that while it's not unusual to have tension between government officials and journalists, "this goes well beyond tension. This goes towards intimidation. And let me just say this. We will not be intimidated." The spat lit up social media, with the Twitter hashtags Bangladesh, Pompeo and PompeoMeltdown trending on Saturday."Your insulting and contemptuous comments are beneath the office of the Secretary of State," Foreign Relations Commitee ranking Democrat Bob Menendez of New Jersey and four other senators wrote to Pompeo. "Instead of calling journalists 'liars' and insulting their intelligence when they ask you hard questions you would rather not answer, your oath of office places on you a duty and obligation to engage respectfully and transparently."Officials including Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA, flew to Kelly's defense on Saturday. "When I was in government I dealt with Mary Louise Kelly a fair bit," Hayden said on Twitter. "I found her to be a real professional. Tough questions, tough answers but totally honest. She's no liar." Pompeo's role in executing Trump's policy toward Ukraine is sure to attract fresh attention when he visits Kyiv on Thursday and Friday.To contact the reporter on this story: Katia Dmitrieva in Washington at edmitrieva1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Kevin WhitelawFor 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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| 10 Tax Breaks for People Over 50 Posted: 27 Jan 2020 06:41 AM PST ![10 Tax Breaks for People Over 50]( "10 Tax Breaks for People Over 50") Older people get a bigger standard deduction, and they can earn more before they have to file a tax return at all. If you don't itemize your tax deductions, you can claim a larger standard deduction if you or your spouse is age 65 or older. The standard deduction for seniors is $1,650 higher than the deduction for people younger than 65 who file as individuals.
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| South Carolina shooting: Two dead and four wounded after gunman opens fire in bar Posted: 27 Jan 2020 08:24 AM PST  Two people are dead and at least four are wounded following a shooting at a South Carolina bar on Sunday morning.The Darlington County Coroner's Office identified Dicaprio Collins, 21 and Bryan Robinson, 29 as the victims of the shooting at Mac's Lounge in Hartsville, South Carolina.
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| Icelandic volcano swell signals potential eruption Posted: 27 Jan 2020 08:06 AM PST  Small earthquakes and a so-called "inflation" of the mountain, signalling a potential volcanic eruption, have been reported near Iceland's famous "Blue Lagoon," local authorities said Monday. The Icelandic Met Office declared a state of uncertainty over the weekend, following days of several smaller earthquakes and a swelling of the mountain. For nearly a week, a series of earthquakes have been shaking the area around Grindavik, not far from the steaming waters of the "Blue Lagoon," a popular geothermal spa in southwestern Iceland on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
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| Navistar loses lawsuit against US Army and Oshkosh over vehicle buys Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:25 PM PST  The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has dismissed Navistar's complaint against the U.S. Army and Oshkosh Defense over the service's decision to avoid competition for a vehicle procurement effort.
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| A Dangerous Game: Russia and America Keep Flying Their Planes Near Each Other's Borders Posted: 27 Jan 2020 01:58 AM PST  Nuclear chicken anyone?
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| U.S. presidential hopefuls Sanders, Biden in tight race in early primary states Posted: 26 Jan 2020 06:55 AM PST  U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden appear locked in a tight race for the Democratic presidential nomination, as both campaigned in Iowa on Sunday with only days left until the first contest. New polling released on Sunday showed Sanders leading in New Hampshire and tied with Biden in Iowa, the first two states to weigh in the Democratic primary. A poll of Iowa voters by CBS found Sanders and Biden statistically tied, with 26% and 25% respectively.
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| California patient is 3rd US case of new virus from China Posted: 26 Jan 2020 05:24 AM PST  A patient in Southern California is the third person in the U.S. to be diagnosed with the new pneumonia-like virus from China, health officials said. The Centers for Disease Control confirmed a traveler from the Chinese city of Wuhan — the epicenter of the outbreak — tested positive for the virus, the Orange County Health Care Agency announced just before midnight Saturday. The first known case in California comes on the heels of diagnoses in Washington state, on Jan. 21, and Chicago, on Jan. 24.
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| A new report indicates that the deadly Chinese coronavirus may not actually have originated at a wet market in Wuhan Posted: 27 Jan 2020 07:56 AM PST  Scientists found that 13 out of 41 cases were linked to the market and that the first reported case of the virus was also not linked to the market.
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| GOP Senator, military veteran defends Trump's comments on soldiers' brain injuries Posted: 26 Jan 2020 10:31 AM PST  Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a U.S. military veteran, stood by President Trump in wake of the backlash against the commander-in-chief's comments describing brain injuries suffered by U.S. troops after an Iranian missile attack on a base in Iraq earlier this month as "headaches" and "not very serious."CBS' Margaret Brennan asked Cotton during Sunday's edition of Face the Nation if Trump should apologize to the soldiers, 34 of whom it turned out suffered traumatic brain injuries. She pointed out that Veterans of Foreign Wars, a prominent U.S. veterans advocacy group, called on Trump to apologize for his "misguided" comments about potentially dangerous injuries, while also noting Cotton likely knew several people who suffered from similar injuries during his time in the military, which included deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.Cotton, though, argued Trump wasn't "dismissing" the soldiers' injuries, but simply "describing them." > NEW: @SenTomCotton defends @realdonaldtrump 's comments about soldiers impacted by the Iran strike, says Trump wasn't "dismissing" traumatic brain injuries by calling them "headaches" pic.twitter.com/HH8daFhsIv> > -- Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) January 26, 2020More stories from theweek.com Mike Pompeo is a disgrace If Bernie wins John Bolton's quest for vengeance and book sales
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| Greta Thunberg slammed the Associated Press for cropping a black activist out of a photo of her at Davos Posted: 27 Jan 2020 05:21 AM PST  "You didn't just erase a photo. You erased a continent," Ugandan climate change activist Vanessa Nakate said in a tweet responding to the slight.
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| Iran general warns of retaliation if U.S. threats continue Posted: 27 Jan 2020 07:39 AM PST  The chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard warned on Monday that it will retaliate against American and Israeli commanders if the United States continues to threaten top Iranian generals.
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| Labour Front-Runner Starmer Warns Brexit Risks Breaking Up U.K. Posted: 27 Jan 2020 02:23 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Keir Starmer, the front-runner to replace Jeremy Corbyn as leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, said Brexit risks breaking up the U.K. as he called for a "radical" redistribution of power to towns and regions.In a series of broadcast interviews on Monday, Starmer, the party's Brexit spokesman, said politicians have spent the past three years arguing about what sort of divorce agreement to strike with the European Union, without focusing on the underlying causes of Brexit. That risks creating a "vacuum" that's filled by nationalism, he said."There's a very deep feeling, and this did come out in the referendum, that the power, the wealth, the resource, the opportunities are all in London and they're not in the regions: We've got got address that," Starmer told Sky News. He then told the BBC: "We are at risk of watching the breakup of the United Kingdom."The U.K. is due to leave the EU on Friday after Prime Minister Boris Johnson stormed to an 80-seat majority last month, enabling him to push his withdrawal agreement through Parliament. With 2020 set to be dominated by negotiations on the shape of future economic ties with the bloc, the premier has also said he's keen to move onto domestic priorities including the health service, public transport and policing.But Starmer argued that people around the U.K. want to see more decisions being taken locally. He said in an emailed statement he plans to tour the U.K. during the leadership contest -- scheduled to end on April 4 -- arguing "for a radical redistribution of power, wealth and opportunity based on a new federal structure."Power Monopoly"We need to end the monopoly of power in Westminster and spread it across every town, city, region and nation of the United Kingdom," Starmer said.Starmer's message chimes with that of Lisa Nandy, another candidate for the leadership, whose campaign -- focused on empowering towns -- has turned her into a genuine contender in the contest.Starmer, Nandy and Rebecca Long-Bailey -- viewed as Corbyn's preferred successor -- have all crossed the threshold of support from unions, affiliated groups and local parties they need to make it onto the final ballot paper, while the party's foreign affairs spokeswoman, Emily Thornberry, has until Feb. 14 to get there.To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Robert Hutton, Thomas PennyFor 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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| Family of 5 found dead in North Carolina home: All died of single gunshot wounds Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:44 AM PST  A family of five and their dog were found dead Friday in their Vanceboro, North Carolina home.
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| What Happens if a Battleship and Submarine Had a Baby? Posted: 25 Jan 2020 08:00 PM PST  It's been tried before.
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| Heavy rains dampen fires in Australia's Queensland state, cause flooding Posted: 25 Jan 2020 05:59 PM PST ![Heavy rains dampen fires in Australia's Queensland state, cause flooding]( "Heavy rains dampen fires in Australia's Queensland state, cause flooding") Australia's bushfire-stricken state of Queensland saw heavy rainfalls on Sunday dampening some of the fires that have razed 2.5 million hectares (6.2 million acres) of land since September, but the wet weather caused major flooding. Some areas received a quarter of the annual average rainfall, according to Reuters' calculations, with the state's Bureau of Meteorology saying coastal areas experienced up to 160 millimetres (6.3 inches) of rain in the 24-hour period to 9 a.m. on Sunday. Recent rains across drought-hit Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales states have substantially dampened many of the hundreds of bushfires that have burnt an area nearly the size of Greece and killed 33 people and millions of animals since September.
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| Father arrested in killings of 5 of his infant children Posted: 27 Jan 2020 09:44 AM PST  A California father about to be freed from prison has been taken into custody in connection with the decades-old killings of five of his infant children in a case a sheriff said has haunted his agency for years. Paul Perez, 57, a convicted sex offender with a 20-year criminal history, was charged in the deaths of the children born between 1992 and 2001, authorities announced Monday, the same day he was supposed to be released from a state prison in Delano on unrelated charges. A homicide investigation was launched in the spring of 2007 after a fisherman found the badly decomposed remains of a 3-month-old boy recently identified as Nikko Lee Perez.
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