| Most Democrats think Obama has endorsed a candidate for president, poll shows. He hasn't. Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:08 PM PST  A new Morning Consult survey found that 60 percent of Democrats think the former president has endorsed a candidate despite his staying neutral in the race.
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| Pence tells Rush Limbaugh, who said coronavirus has been overhyped: 'We're all in this together' Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:15 PM PST  Limbaugh has said concerns about the coronavirus are being "weaponized" by Democrats and the media and compared the virus to "the common cold."
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| Crazy Custody Battle With Doomsday Mom’s Niece Airs Claims of Cults, Child-Stealing, and Attempted Murder Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:30 PM PST  The investigation into the disappearance of doomsday mom Lori Vallow's children has exposed a bitter, mudslinging custody battle between her niece and the niece's ex-husband—with allegations of cult membership, child-stealing, and attempted murder.The fight is being waged between Melani Pawlowski and Brandon Boudreaux, an Arizona couple who were married with four children until things started to get very strange in the summer of 2019.That's when, according to Boudreaux, his wife began spending a lot of time with Vallow, her aunt, and joined what he called a doomsday cult. She suddenly demanded a divorce, blindsiding Boudreaux."I thought I had a happy marriage, so it was pretty overwhelming," Boudreaux told the Arizona Republic a few months ago.Things were about to get more overwhelming. On Oct. 2, Boudreaux was returning home when a 2018 Jeep Wrangler pulled up with a rifle with a silencer poking out of the window, he said. A bullet came whizzing at him and barely missed his head.Doomsday Mom Told Her Husband's Kids Their Dad Was Dead Via Text MessageAccording to Boudreaux and prosecutors, the car belonged to Charles Vallow, husband of Lori Vallow.There was no way Charles was at the wheel, however. He had been dead for months. In July, while estranged from Lori, he traveled from his home in Texas to hers in Arizona to see their adopted 7-year-old son, J.J., and stepdaughter Tylee, 17.Lori would later tell police that Charles became physical and her brother, Alex Cox, shot him dead in self-defense—although police are re-investigating his death in light of recent disturbing developments.After the shooting, Boudreaux said, he became fearful for his life and the safety of his children so he filed for custody. Pawlowski moved to Idaho, where Vallow had moved after her husband's death, and a judge granted Boudreaux temporary custody. He told the Republic he was in hiding with them in another state.About a month later, Vallow remarried—tying the knot with Chad Daybell, an author who penned apocalyptic novels for a Mormon audience. His wife of almost 30 years, Tammy, had suddenly died just weeks earlier and was buried without an autopsy (though her body has since been exhumed).Vallow's children were not at the wedding; according to police, they had vanished weeks earlier and when authorities showed up on the newlyweds' doorstep to check on Tylee and J.J.'s welfare, Lori lied about where they were.That set into motion the investigation that would eventually generate headlines around the world, drawing scrutiny to the deaths of Vallow and Daybell's previous spouses, raising questions about the fate of Tylee and J.J., and providing new ammunition for Boudreaux in his legal tussle with Pawlowski, who had also since remarried.Doomsday Writer Claimed Dead Wife Helped Him Find New OneA court filing by Boudreaux on Feb. 19, first reported by Fox 10, included a number of unsubstantiated allegations of nefarious behavior by Pawlowski: that she was involved in a cult where "adults and children alike have been being killed off like flies" and that she was involved in the Oct. 2 shooting."Brandon believed Melani, his wife at the time, had a million dollars of reasons to have him killed," the filing alleged in reference to a life insurance policy. He claimed that Vallow's brother, Cox, was the gunman; Cox has since died of unknown causes.In the court papers, Boudreaux also alleged that Pawlowski knows where Tylee and J.J. are and that she had ominously told her new husband, "Sometimes children are full of light and then just like that they go dark." Arizona police have said they were not able to corroborate the litany of lurid accusations—and Pawlowski fired back with a barrage of her own allegations in a statement from her attorneys."Sadly, and irresponsibly, much of the media has quoted Brandon Boudreaux's biased, vindictive, and fake accusations as truth and fact when they are his resentful, vengeful, and dishonest efforts to get full custody of Melani's children," attorney Garrett Smith said. "Brandon Boudreaux deceptively took Melani's children out of state and kept them unlawfully, Melani was the stable parent in her children's lives while Brandon Boudreaux traveled for weeks and was rarely home."The statement went on to level ugly charges about Boudreaux's behavior and his family, including criminal misconduct, while defending Pawlowski.The lawyers said Pawlowski does not know where Vallow's children are and told the FBI as much during three sit-downs. They added she had nothing to do with the Oct. 2 shooting, which they suggested was an "elaborate manipulation." Doomsday Mom of Missing Kids Arrested in Hawaii"Melani has never been associated with a cult," another attorney, Robert Jarvis, added. "Melani is a lifetime member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and her beliefs are consistent with the Church. Melani holds close to her belief in a loving God. She loves her children and respects life."In the middle of all this finger-pointing, the question of where Tylee and J.J. are remains unanswered.Police in Rexburg, Idaho, have said they believe the pair are in danger and that Vallow and Daybell have refused to cooperate with the investigation. A day after investigators asked Vallow and Daybell about the children, the couple left Idaho and eventually resurfaced in Hawaii.An Idaho judge ordered Vallow to return with the children, but she failed to show, and she was arrested on charges of child desertion, contempt of court, and promoting criminal behavior. That last count stems from an allegation that she asked a friend to lie for her and tell police that she had J.J.Initially held on $5 million bail, Vallow has since waived extradition and will soon return to Idaho to face the charges. Her attorneys say she plans to fight the allegation and did not comply with the court order only because she did not want them to end up in foster care. He did not, however, say where the children are.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 Navy's New Lrasm Missile Would Be a Real Ship-Killer Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:00 PM PST  A very good idea.
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| The 6 largest coronavirus outbreaks outside of China Posted: 27 Feb 2020 06:52 PM PST  More new coronavirus cases were reported outside of China than inside the country on Wednesday — the first time since global health officials began tracking the virus.
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| Gov. Northam-backed gun control bills pass in Virginia Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:55 AM PST |
| Iran reports new surge in coronavirus cases Posted: 29 Feb 2020 06:55 AM PST  Iran on Saturday reported a surge in new coronavirus cases as the number of deaths jumped to 43, but it dismissed as "rumours" a report the real toll was much higher. Since it announced its first deaths from COVID-19, Iran has scrambled to bring the outbreak under control, shutting schools, suspending cultural and sporting events and halting meetings of the cabinet and parliament. The health ministry on Saturday reported nine new deaths and a 53 percent jump in infections over the previous 24 hours, taking the overall totals to 43 deaths among 593 cases.
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| 'I guess I wasn't arrested': Joe Biden reverses on claim of an arrest in South Africa Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:10 PM PST  Joe Biden has previously told of being arrested in South Africa while traveling with black lawmakers. He reversed himself Friday in a CNN interview.
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| Elise Stefanik, newest star of Trumpworld, has turned impeachment into a fundraising boon Posted: 27 Feb 2020 10:00 AM PST  Leveraging her impeachment performance, Rep. Elise Stefanik raised $3.2 million in the last three months of 2019, exceeding the reelection haul of progressive darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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| Spooky 'blood snow' invades Antarctic island Posted: 28 Feb 2020 12:15 PM PST  The blood-red algae behind the phenomenon could kick off a runaway feedback loop of warming, researchers warned.
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| Turkey's Erdogan asks Russia's Putin to step aside in Syria Posted: 29 Feb 2020 01:59 AM PST  Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that he had asked President Vladimir Putin for Russia to step aside in Syria and leave Turkey to deal with Syrian government forces alone, after 34 Turkish soldiers were killed this week. Government forces, backed by Russian air power, have waged a major assault to capture the northwest province of Idlib, part of the last remaining territory held by rebels backed by Turkey. Syrian and Russian warplanes on Saturday kept up air strikes on the Idlib city of Saraqeb, the Syrian Observatory war monitor reported.
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| Philippines, U.S. Seek New Military Deal After Duterte Exit Posted: 27 Feb 2020 10:19 PM PST |
| Trump asks White House chief of staff if he will be impeached again Posted: 28 Feb 2020 11:34 AM PST  President Trump asked his top aides whether he is likely to get impeached during a possible second term, said acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who accused the media of trying to use the coronavirus to "bring down" his boss.
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| Brewery gunman accused of punching woman, gun crime in 90s Posted: 28 Feb 2020 12:26 PM PST  The man police say killed five co-workers at one of the nation's largest breweries before killing himself was accused of pointing a gun at an SUV and punching a woman in the face in the early 1990s, court documents show. Anthony Ferrill, a 51-year-old electrician at Moslon Coors' sprawling brewery complex on Milwaukee's west side, walked into one of the brewery's buildings Wednesday and gunned down five co-workers before shooting himself, police said. Ferrill's motive remained unknown Friday.
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| New Yahoo News/YouGov poll: Who is strongest against Trump? Must-win states and swing voters show Biden holds edge over Sanders Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:16 AM PST  A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll suggests that Sanders could be a riskier nominee than his supporters are willing to admit.
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| More than 30,000 pounds of yogurt spilled on New York highway after accident Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:17 PM PST  A tractor trailer carrying more than 30,000 pounds of yogurt in western New York jackknifed on a highway Thursday afternoon.
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| Christian woman in Pakistan blasphemy row: I've been invited to live in France Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:45 AM PST  Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan, said on Friday after meeting President Emmanuel Macron that she had been invited her to live in France. Bibi was acquitted of the blasphemy conviction last year and has since been living with her family in Canada.
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| Germany Mulls Stimulus Measures to Offset Coronavirus Impact Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:19 AM PST |
| As India counts dead, brutality of Hindu-Muslim riot emerges Posted: 29 Feb 2020 12:01 AM PST  The wounded came in waves. As the Mustafabad neighborhood of India's capital was ravaged by communal riots for three days this week, the Al-Hind Hospital turned from a community clinic into a trauma ward. Doctors like M.A. Anwar were for the first time dealing with injuries such as gunshot wounds, crushed skulls and torn genitals.
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| No Panic Here: I Am in South Korea Watching the Coronavirus Spread. Posted: 29 Feb 2020 04:07 AM PST  The good news is that there is no panic. The western media coverage of this has flirted with sensationalism, talking about corona as 'spiraling' or being 'out of control.' This is unfair.
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| Air Transat kicked a family off a plane after their daughter started coughing, as airlines tighten measures against coronavirus Posted: 28 Feb 2020 05:14 AM PST  Two doctors told a family it was ok for their coughing baby to fly, but the pilot still removed them from the plane.
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| Trump 'could suck coronavirus out of 60,000 people' and he'd still be criticized – Huckabee Posted: 28 Feb 2020 08:17 AM PST  * Top Republican on Fox News defends Trump and Mike Pence * Vice-president leading coronavirus containment effort in US * Whistleblower: US coronavirus staff were untrained and unprotectedDonald Trump could "personally suck" the coronavirus "out of every one of the 60,000 people in the world, suck it out of their lungs, swim to the bottom of the ocean and spit it out, and he would be accused of pollution for messing up the ocean", a top Republican has claimed.Former Republican Arkansas governor and ex-presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made the outlandish statement on Twitter on Thursday night and on Fox News' Fox & Friends show on Friday morning.> Mike Huckabee says Trump "could personally sick the virus out of every one of the 60,000 people in the world, suck it out of their lungs, swim to the bottom of the ocean and spit it out, and he would be accused of pollution for messing up the ocean." pic.twitter.com/X7xbC5ebDz> > — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 28, 2020According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than 82,000 cases of the coronavirus have in fact been confirmed worldwide, with about 2,800 deaths. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 60 confirmed cases in the US.In the US, Huckabee's widely ridiculed comment followed the publication of a column for Fox News in which he took aim at criticism of Trump's choice of Vice-President Mike Pence to lead US containment efforts.Critics have said Pence's religious faith, plus the decisions he took as governor of Indiana on scientific and public health matters, make him a poor choice to lead efforts undermined by budget cuts and poor organization.Huckabee said Pence was "a proven leader who knows how to get people with different perspectives working together effectively" on public health matters including the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) outbreak of 2014."Instead of calling for bipartisan cooperation in this life-or-death effort," he wrote, "liberals reacted with collective outrage, even going so far as to ridicule the vice-president's Christian faith as a way of suggesting that he's not qualified for the role."Numerous media outlets have also published and broadcast one-sided reports trashing Pence's handling of an HIV outbreak as governor of Indiana, but such criticisms are both inaccurate and irrelevant."The outbreak in question happened in 2015. Pence declared a public health emergency but many said faith-driven cuts to sexual health programs made the situation worse.Huckabee, the father of the former Trump press secretary Sarah Sanders, is not the first rightwing commentator to claim Democrats and the media are using concerns over the coronavirus outbreak to attack and undermine the president.Earlier this week, the conservative shock jock and presidential medal of freedom honoree Rush Limbaugh claimed "the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump" and said "the coronavirus is the common cold".Some experts have criticised media coverage of the outbreak as inaccurate and potentially alarmist.According to the Guardian's guide to the coronavirus, sufferers report "coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use … Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Many of those who have died were already in poor health."The outbreak began in China. The WHO has not yet declared it a pandemic but international markets, trade, travel and sporting events have been severely affected. In the US on Friday the Dow Jones Index plunged again, at the end of the markets' worst week since the financial crisis of 2008.In Geneva, a WHO spokesman said: "The outbreak is getting bigger. The scenario of the coronavirus reaching multiple countries, if not all countries around the world, is something we have been looking at and warning against since quite a while."
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| Coronavirus live updates: Trump to discuss latest developments, UConn recalls students studying in Italy Posted: 29 Feb 2020 09:47 AM PST  President Trump said Saturday he would hold an afternoon press conference on COVID-19. Here's the latest news on coronavirus.
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| Why Sanders' Castro revisionism is so insulting to Cuban refugees like me Posted: 28 Feb 2020 12:36 PM PST  Education under a socialist regime is a malicious program, because it seems like an irreproachable social good but then is just another tool of repression.
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| Fasten your seat belts, U.S. Congress sets hearing on air travel Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:15 PM PST  The airline industry could run into turbulence on Capitol Hill next week as a U.S. Congressional panel tackles passenger complaints about unpleasant airline experiences, holding a hearing that will include budget airline Spirit Airlines Inc and passenger advocates. The U.S. House Transportation Committee's aviation subcommittee said the hearing "will examine the U.S. airline passenger experience today, how airlines are working to improve the air travel experience, and opportunities to invest in technologies or innovations that could enhance the air travel experience." Consumer Reports, which will testify, launched a petition this month asking major airlines to stop charging some families to sit together and said airlines have knowingly separated children from their parents as young as two years old.
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| Turkish reprisals kill over 30 Syria troops: monitor Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:30 AM PST  Turkish reprisals killed 31 Syrian soldiers in the battleground northwestern province of Idlib on Friday after a bombardment Ankara blamed on Damascus killed 33 Turkish soldiers, a monitor said. The retaliatory drone and artillery strikes hit Syrian army positions in southern and eastern parts of the province which were recaptured by the government in a nearly three-month-old offensive against the rebel enclave, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. At least 27 regime fighters died in those strikes, while another four were killed by artillery fire on positions in neighbouring Aleppo province, the Observatory added.
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| Chicago police boost mass transit presence amid crime spike Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:57 AM PST  A spike in crime on Chicago's rail system and some recent high profile outbursts of violence has prompted the city's police department to put 50 more officers in trains and on platforms and assign four detectives to investigate nothing but Chicago Transit Authority crimes, officials announced Friday. Hours after the new security plan was unveiled, Chicago police said an officer shot a man on the platform of a CTA station in the Chicago's River North neighborhood. Officers confronted the man after he was observed moving from car to car of a moving train, a city ordinance violation, said Deputy Superintendent Barbara West.
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| America And Russia Almost Ended The World 5 Times Posted: 29 Feb 2020 12:33 AM PST  Did mere luck help us avoid catastrophe?
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| 3 US airlines are canceling flights to global destinations outside of China as coronavirus spreads — here's the list Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:30 AM PST  US airlines are axing flights to numerous destinations in South Korea, Italy, and Japan as coronavirus continues to spread around the world.
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| 40% of Americans don't think the US government is prepared to handle coronavirus Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:22 AM PST  Only 7% of Americans said they felt the US government is "extremely prepared" for coronavirus, while 12% said "very prepared."
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| A joke gone too far? Some police departments are offering to 'test' meth for coronavirus. Not everybody is laughing Posted: 27 Feb 2020 07:45 PM PST  Law enforcement agencies across the nation are jokingly encouraging meth users to bring their drugs in so they can be tested for coronavirus.
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| Super Tuesday: Professor who predicted last 9 elections says Democrats could face first brokered convention in nearly 70 years Posted: 28 Feb 2020 08:09 AM PST  Days out from Super Tuesday, when voters in 14 states will cast ballots in the Democratic primary, a professor who predicted the past nine elections says that the United States may well be staring down its first brokered convention in nearly 70 years.It's a prospect that has stirred considerable consternation among Democratic Party officials and voters, many of whom have said their primary concern is beating Donald Trump in November — even as an enthusiastic debate over the future of democratic politics has raged on the campaign trail.
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| Why is Iran's reported mortality rate for coronavirus higher than in other countries? Posted: 28 Feb 2020 07:53 AM PST  Iran has now suspended parliament indefinitely due to the outbreak. Secretary of State Pompeo says the U.S. has offered to help Iran respond to the virus.
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| Report: Michelle Obama petitioned to run as vice president to stop Bernie Sanders Posted: 28 Feb 2020 04:40 AM PST  Fearing the selection of Bernie Sanders as the Democrats' 2020 presidential nominee, a growing number of establishment party officials are reportedly considering Sherrod Brown as a late-entry "white knight" with Michelle Obama as a running mate.
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| Malaysia in crisis as Mahathir rejects new PM Posted: 29 Feb 2020 07:49 AM PST  Malaysia's political crisis deepened Saturday after 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad rejected a decision by the king to pick his rival as the next prime minister, insisting he had enough backing to return to the role. Ex-interior minister Muhyiddin Yassin was earlier named for the job by the monarch, who appoints the country's premiers after deciding who has backing from MPs, signalling a defeat for Mahathir and the return of a scandal-plagued party to power. It capped a week of turmoil that began when Mahathir's "Pact of Hope" alliance collapsed and he resigned as prime minister following a bid by his rivals to form a new government and push out leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim.
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| Dad gets 72 years in death of boy found encased in concrete Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:32 PM PST |
| UC Santa Cruz fires 54 graduate students participating in months-long strike Posted: 28 Feb 2020 06:45 PM PST  Termination letters were sent to those students protesting for a cost-of-living adjustment amid California's housing crisisThe University of California, Santa Cruz, issued termination letters on Friday to 54 graduate students who have been waging a months-long strike for a cost-of-living-adjustment amid soaring rents.The firings came as graduate students at the University of California, Davis, and University of California, Santa Barbara, began their own cost-of-living strikes in solidarity. One of their demands is that all UC Santa Cruz graduate workers who participated in strike activities be restored to full employment status.The 54 UC Santa Cruz graduate students who received termination letters on Friday are just a fraction of the 233 graduate student instructors and teaching assistants who have refused to submit nearly 12,000 grades from the fall quarter since December.This month, the students' grading strike expanded, as teaching assistants refused all teaching duties and research assistants refused additional work. Some classes and office hours have been canceled because of the strike.The students are striking for a $1,412-a-month cost-of-living-adjustment, which they say they desperately need amid a growing housing crisis in California. Most students are spending between 5o% and 70% of their $2,434-a-month salary on rent, some forced to live in substandard apartments with many roommates in order to stretch their dollars.Veronica Hamilton, a third-year graduate student studying psychology, is the union representative on campus and was copied on the termination letters that were emailed out on Friday. "The first person who was sent a letter is a single mother who spends almost all her income on rent on subsidized family student housing," Hamilton said."It's horrible," she continued. "We got to this point because they're digging their heels in the ground. We're in a crisis and they don't even want to have a conversation on how to address these issues."The graduate students are represented by United Auto Workers Local 2865, which negotiated a contract in 2018 that included a no-strike clause: meaning the current strike, known as a "wildcat strike", has been taken without the union's approval.The administration has cited this as a reason for not negotiating with the graduate students but, in response to the strike, offered two supplemental programs that will cost about $7m a year – one that will offer a yearly $2,500 need-based housing fellowship and another that offers doctoral students a five-year funding program – as well as two temporary housing assistance programs.The strikers say these programs would not be enough. Hamilton, for example, pays $1,800 a month to live 40 minutes away from campus in a small cabin she shares with her husband, who lost his job four months ago – $2,500 barely covers a month's rent, she said."The university is sympathetic to such challenges, particularly housing, and the related impacts on all our employees," said Andrew Gordon, a spokesman for Janet Napolitano, the University of California president, in a statement.However, the university has honored the contract it entered into with the union, "and we expect teaching assistants to do the same", he said."Teaching assistants who choose to withhold grades or refuse to teach are in violation of that contract," Gordon said, adding that such actions "unfairly impact undergraduate students while doing nothing to further the conversation on how to address the challenges of the rising cost of living, with which all students and employees across UC must contend".The strikers had expected more students to receive termination letters, and earlier – the executive vice-chancellor of UC Santa Cruz had set a deadline for last week."I think people were ready to be fired, but still surprised," said Jane Komori, a third-year graduate student studying the history of consciousness. "It's such a destructive action for the administration to take … Hundreds and hundreds of undergraduates won't be able to take certain classes."It's a serious issue for the quality of undergraduate education and the number of undergraduates that can be enrolled," she added.Nearly 500 graduate students have said they won't teach next quarter because of the firings, Hamilton said. Now with the strike spreading to other UC campuses, they are more ready than ever to keep on the picket line."I've heard from graduate students across the country," Hamilton said. "Everybody is sick of the situation that we're in. Graduate students of today are weighed down by the student debt crisis. Graduate students of today are more likely to be parents, more likely to come from working class backgrounds, from backgrounds of racialized capitalism. This is just the beginning."
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| How the 1994 Battle of Grozny Changed Russia Forever Posted: 27 Feb 2020 07:00 PM PST  A terrible war.
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| Navy SEAL Gallagher admits 'distasteful' picture with dead ISIS fighter was 'trying to make it look tough' Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:47 AM PST  "It was like a joke text, dark humor," Navy SEAL Eddie Gallgher said in an interview. "I was trying to make it look tough."
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| Shooter at Milwaukee Molson Coors had a long-running dispute with a co-worker Posted: 27 Feb 2020 04:12 PM PST  Five people were killed Wednesday by a gunman during a rampage on the Milwaukee campus of Molson Coors. He has been identified as Anthony N. Ferrill.
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| El Salvador's president vetoes controversial war crimes law Posted: 28 Feb 2020 07:17 PM PST  El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Friday vetoed a controversial law intended to allow the prosecution of crimes committed during the country's bloody civil war, arguing it was not in the interest of victims. Congress had narrowly approved the law on Wednesday but opponents criticize that it would allow judges to substantially reduce the sentences of perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Human rights organizations and families of victims had asked him to veto it.
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