| UK vows action after police kill 'convicted extremist' in terror stabbing Posted: 02 Feb 2020 06:16 PM PST  The British government promised sweeping changes to the system for dealing with convicted terrorists released from prison, after police shot dead an Islamist extremist who stabbed two people in a busy south London street on Sunday. Police said Sudesh Amman, 20, who was wearing a fake suicide vest, was shot on the busy Streatham High Road packed with shoppers at about 2:00 pm (1400 GMT). Amman was recently given early release from prison where he was serving time for terror offences.
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| London Police Kill Man After Terror-Related Stabbings Posted: 02 Feb 2020 12:14 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- U.K. police officers shot and killed a man in south London who stabbed two people in a terrorism-related incident that the Metropolitan Police said was "Islamist-related."Police said a third person received minor injuries probably caused by glass following the discharge of a police weapon. All three victims were taken to London hospitals, one with life-threatening injuries. Specialist officers established that a device strapped to the suspect's body was a hoax explosive.Police officers were immediately on the scene in Streatham because of a "proactive Counter-Terrorism operation," Lucy D'Orsi, the Met's deputy assistant commissioner, said in a statement Sunday. According to the Guardian newspaper, the attacker was under active surveillance and the subject of a live investigation."Terrorists seek to divide us and to destroy our way of life," Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement. "Here in London we will never let them succeed."The attack is the latest in a series of terror-related incidents in the British capital. Two people were killed near London Bridge in November, and eight people died in another attack at the same location in 2017.Before winning the U.K.'s general election in December, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wanted to toughen punishment for those convicted of terror or extremist offenses."My thoughts are with the injured and all those affected," Johnson said Sunday on Twitter. "Thank you to all emergency services responding to the incident in Streatham."(Updates number of wounded, details on initial investigation.)To contact the reporters on this story: Giulia Camillo in New York at gcamillo@bloomberg.net;Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Giulia Camillo at gcamillo@bloomberg.net, James LuddenFor 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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| El Chapo's daughter got married in a lavish but secretive wedding, complete with fireworks, armored cars, and cartel gunmen Posted: 03 Feb 2020 08:28 AM PST  Her father, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, is currently serving a life sentence in the American super-max prison ADX Florence.
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| Americans are largely dissatisfied with the state of the union, poll finds Posted: 03 Feb 2020 06:58 AM PST  The turbulence of impeachment, a contentious presidential campaign and a global virus health threat confront President Trump as he prepares to deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night. But one thing about the Trump era has remained remarkably steady: public opinion on the president.
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| Al-Qaida in Yemen claims deadly Florida naval base shooting Posted: 02 Feb 2020 12:31 PM PST  Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen claimed responsibility Sunday for last year's deadly shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola by an aviation student from Saudi Arabia. The shooter, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, was a member of the Saudi Air Force in training at the base. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, released a video claiming the attack.
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| Factbox: Trump impeachment - What happens next? Posted: 03 Feb 2020 02:17 AM PST  The U.S. Senate will conclude its impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump this week, with a final vote set for Wednesday. The Republican-controlled chamber is all but certain to acquit the president. - The Senate trial will resume at 11 a.m. (1600 GMT) with Chief Justice John Roberts presiding.
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| A US national security adviser says 'there is no reason for Americans to panic' about coronavirus as report claims second US plane heads to China to evacuate more Americans from Wuhan Posted: 02 Feb 2020 12:08 PM PST  A second plane is on the way to evacuate US citizens still in Wuhan in China as the death toll from coronavirus continues to rise.
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| Looks Don't Kill: The Navy's Zumwalt-Class Stealth Destroyers Aren't Ready To Fight Posted: 02 Feb 2020 07:45 AM PST  They were made to fight weaker countries.
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| Lamar Alexander: 'Mistake' for Trump to Peddle Russian Propaganda by Mentioning CrowdStrike Posted: 02 Feb 2020 06:52 AM PST  Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said on Sunday that it bothered him that President Donald Trump pushed the Ukrainian president to investigate a long-debunked conspiracy theory surrounding the Democratic National Committee server hack in the 2016 election, calling it a "mistake."Alexander, who voted against allowing additional witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial last week despite saying he believed the president's behavior towards Ukraine was inappropriate, appeared on NBC's Meet the Press to defend his decision. Reiterating his assertion that more witnesses and evidence weren't necessary as the Democrats had already proven their case, the Tennessee Republican added that he was going to vote to acquit the president because he was "very concerned about any action that we could take that would establish a perpetual impeachment," adding that when you "start out with a partisan impeachment, you're almost destined to have a partisan acquittal."Having all but assured Trump's acquittal, Alexander, who is retiring at the end of his term, detailed where he thought the president's actions were wrong:"What I believe he did, one, was that he called the president of Ukraine and asked him to become involved in investigating Joe Biden," Alexander told host Chuck Todd. "The second thing was, at least in part, he delayed the military and other assistance to Ukraine in order to encourage that investigation.""Those are the two things he did," he added. "I think he shouldn't have done it. I think it was wrong. Inappropriate was the way I'd say -- improper, crossing the line. And then the only question left is who decides what to do about that."The conservative lawmaker, however, repeated his belief that this didn't rise to the level of impeachment and that Trump's fate should be left to the ballot box, saying "the people" should decide whether to punish the president for his actions."You know, in the phone call, there's one thing on the phone call that I'm surprised, frankly, hasn't been brought up more by others," the Meet the Press anchor noted at one point. "This -- the mere mention of the word 'CrowdStrike,' is a Russian intelligence sort of piece of propaganda that they've been circulating.""Does it bother you that the President of the United States is reiterating Russian propaganda?" Todd asked, referencing the fringe-right theory that the DNC server is currently in Ukraine and wasn't hacked by Russia."Yes. I think that's a mistake," Alexander responded. "I mean, if you see what's happening in the Baltic states, where Russians have a big warehouse in Saint Petersburg, in Russia, where they're devoted to destabilizing western democracies.""I mean, for example, in one of the Baltic states, they accused a NATO officer of raping a local girl," the senator continued. "Of course, didn't happen. But it threw the government into complete disarray for a week. So I think we need to be sensitive to the fact that the Russians are out to do no good, to destabilize western democracies, including us, and be very wary of theories that Russians come up with and peddle."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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| In Mexico, "El Chapo's" daughter ties knot in state cathedral Posted: 01 Feb 2020 12:51 PM PST ![In Mexico, "El Chapo's" daughter ties knot in state cathedral]( "In Mexico, \"El Chapo's\" daughter ties knot in state cathedral") The daughter of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman married another offspring of a drug empire in a lavish ceremony held in the cathedral of Sinaloa's state capital Culiacan, Mexican media reported, in a new display of her family's prominence. Alejandrina Gisselle Guzman married Edgar Cazares, the nephew of Blanca Margarita Cazares, Mexican newspaper Reforma reported on Saturday, in the heartland of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa Cartel.
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| Halkbank Wins Reprieve in U.S. Prosecution Over Iran Sanctions Posted: 03 Feb 2020 08:02 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- A federal appeals court granted a temporary halt in the U.S. prosecution of Turkish lender Halkbank over sanctions violation charges while it weighs other requests by the bank.Halkbank had previously sought to pursue a dismissal of the case without entering a plea on the charges. A judge denied the request, and the bank is appealing that ruling. A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will weigh the request on an expedited basis.Prosecutors have deemed the bank a fugitive from justice, asking a judge to hold it in contempt and impose fines until it begins answering the charges.Halkbank, which is owned by the Turkish government, was charged in October with helping Iran access billions of dollars in oil revenue that had been frozen in its accounts under U.S. sanctions. A senior bank executive was previously convicted in the case, and a money launderer pleaded guilty to charges of orchestrating the scheme.The case has become a persistent thorn in the side of Turkey's president, Recep Erdogan, who has pressed President Donald Trump to intervene. The charges were brought at the height of tensions between Washington and Ankara over Turkey's military offensive in Syria. The geopolitical context is complicated by Trump's campaign to hobble Iran.Read More: Turkey's Halkbank Faces U.S. Charges as Tensions MountTo contact the reporter on this story: Christian Berthelsen in New York at cberthelsen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter JeffreyFor 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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| President Zelensky Claims Leaked Audio Shows Iran Knew Immediately It Shot Down Ukrainian Flight Posted: 03 Feb 2020 09:16 AM PST  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview that a leaked audio recording proved that Iran knew it had shot down a Ukrainian airliner almost immediately, despite authorities in Tehran initially denying the allegation.The recording, revealed on Ukrainian television on Sunday, played the voice of an Iranian airline pilot telling a control tower that he saw "the light of a missile" before Ukrainian International Airways Flight 752 crashed soon after taking off."Is this an active area? There's lights like a missile. Is there anything?" the pilot says."Nothing has been reported to us. What's the light like?" the controller asks. The pilot then states "it's the light of a missile."Zelensky said that the audio "proves that the Iranian side knew from the start that our plane had been hit by a missile." The disaster, which occurred just hours after Iran launched 15 missiles at U.S. troops stationed in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of general Qasem Soleimani, killed all 176 passengers aboard."He says that 'it seems to me that a missile is flying', he says it in both Persian and English, everything is fixed there," Zelensky stated.Iranian state media had initially reported that the plane crashed due to "technical issues," and Ali Abedzadeh, who leads the country's civil aviation organization, said initially he would not hand over the recovered black boxes to the United States.Abedzadeh then dismissed allegations the plane was shot down, saying it was "scientifically impossible and such rumors make no sense at all.""What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane," Abedzadeh said at a press conference. "If [Western governments] are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world."Iran later admitted that it had accidentally shot down the plane due to a "human error."
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| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: A 'Dangerous' Mistake for Democrats Not to Embrace the Eventual Nominee Posted: 02 Feb 2020 07:08 PM PST  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rockstar who is currently Sen. Bernie Sanders' most powerful surrogate, warns that Democrats will be making a "dangerous" mistake—and hurt…
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| 4 Iranian separatists arrested in Denmark and Netherlands Posted: 03 Feb 2020 07:00 AM PST ![4 Iranian separatists arrested in Denmark and Netherlands]( "4 Iranian separatists arrested in Denmark and Netherlands") Four members of an Iranian separatist group, the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahwaz, have been arrested in Denmark and the Netherlands. Three were arrested Monday in Ringsted, 60 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Copenhagen, for the suspected spying of people and companies for an unnamed Saudi intelligence service over a period of six years from 2012. Another was arrested in the historic Dutch city of Delft for allegedly plotting one or more terror attacks in Iran and for membership of a terrorist organization.
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| Dozens of koalas dead after logging at Australian plantation Posted: 02 Feb 2020 05:37 PM PST  Dozens of koalas have been euthanized and some 80 more are being treated for injuries and starvation after their habitat was logged, prompting an Australian government investigation Monday. Victoria's environment department said the state's conservation regulator was investigating a "very distressing incident" at a bluegum plantation near the coastal town of Portland that resulted in the deaths of dozens of koalas. The environment department said approximately 80 koalas had been removed from the plantation site over the weekend for medical treatment, while others had to be put down.
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| China accused the US of spreading global 'fear' over the Wuhan coronavirus, which has now killed 362 people Posted: 03 Feb 2020 03:32 AM PST  "All it [the US] has done could only create and spread fear, which is a bad example," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
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| America is Making a Bad Bet on India Posted: 02 Feb 2020 02:06 PM PST  America is dangerously emboldening India's Hindu nationalist government as it nears the point of no return. Modi, whose term ends in 2024, could be succeeded by someone far more extreme.
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| 'I don't know what happened': Joe Biden's wife says her family is no longer friends with Lindsey Graham amid impeachment Posted: 03 Feb 2020 08:43 AM PST  Dr Jill Biden, the wife of Joe Biden, says that a once close friendship with senator Lindsey Graham has been torn to bits amid the impeachment efforts against Donald Trump this past year.Dr Biden told CNN that Mr Graham's comments about her family have been "hurtful", and that she and her husband were once "great friends" with the South Carolina politician.
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| 'Please take my daughter': Mother of girl with cancer pleads at virus blockade Posted: 01 Feb 2020 06:04 PM PST !['Please take my daughter': Mother of girl with cancer pleads at virus blockade]( "'Please take my daughter': Mother of girl with cancer pleads at virus blockade") Hours ticked by on Saturday as 50-year-old Lu Yuejin struggled to get past the police checkpoint on the bridge over the Yangtze river and out of Hubei province, which is on virtual lockdown as China scrambles to control a coronavirus outbreak. Lu, a farmer from a village on the Hubei province side of the bridge, was trying to gain passage for her daughter, 26-year-old Hu Ping, who has leukaemia. "My daughter needs to go to hospital in Jiujiang," she said at the checkpoint.
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| UN Agencies Criticized for Taiwan Exclusion Amid Virus Posted: 01 Feb 2020 11:14 PM PST ![UN Agencies Criticized for Taiwan Exclusion Amid Virus]( "UN Agencies Criticized for Taiwan Exclusion Amid Virus") (Bloomberg) -- U.S. politicians, including Senators Mitt Romney and Cory Gardner, criticized international organizations for excluding Taiwan amid a global effort to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus.China has placed pressure on the World Health Organization, International Civil Aviation Organization and International Criminal Police Organization to exclude Taiwan from discussions, Romney said, echoing calls for immediate inclusion of the island. The U.S. State Department also criticized ICAO for allegedly blocking users on Twitter who make reference to Taiwan's non-participation.While the international community works contain the fast-spreading coronavirus, they are also trying to navigate a geopolitical minefield. China considers Taiwan a part of its territory despite the People's Republic never having controlled the island, and treats any talk of formal independence as deeply hostile. China has increased pressure on international brands over the past few years to avoid calling Taiwan a country.The WHO declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday, but didn't permit Taiwan to attend emergency briefings, sparking criticism from the U.S. and Canada. There are 10 confirmed cases of the virus in Taiwan.While Taiwan's government was a founding member of the United Nations, the People's Republic of China took its seat in the body, and all subordinate organizations such as the WHO and ICAO, in 1971."Taiwan has a relevant and credible voice on transnational health issues, and the United States has long supported its active engagement in international venues, including ICAO, where its expertise can be beneficial," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement."We call upon ICAO to immediately and permanently reverse its practice of blocking discussion of Taiwan on its Twitter properties and make clear publicly its understanding that freedom of expression must always supersede the political insecurities of member states," she said.ICAO, the aviation agency of the United Nations, denied blocking Twitter users.Italy confirmed two coronavirus cases on Friday, and decided to suspend all flights from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Macao until Apr. 28. Taiwan's Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu on Sunday asked Italy to drop its ban on flights from the island, saying the decision is based on information which includes Taiwan as part of China.The ban affects Taiwan-based carriers China Airlines and EVA Airways. Vietnam on Saturday had banned Taiwan flights as well, but withdrew the decision hours later after Taiwan negotiated with its government.Taiwan has slapped an entry ban to residents of Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, as well as those from the southern Guangdong province. Taiwan's Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung said in a briefing Saturday that the ministry won't rule out extending the ban to more Chinese provinces if necessary.\--With assistance from Miaojung Lin.To contact the reporter on this story: Stephen Stapczynski in Singapore at sstapczynsk1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Samson EllisFor 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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| Abu Dhabi marks interfaith effort a year after Pope's visit Posted: 03 Feb 2020 05:12 AM PST ![Abu Dhabi marks interfaith effort a year after Pope's visit]( "Abu Dhabi marks interfaith effort a year after Pope's visit") Interfaith leaders gathered on Monday in Abu Dhabi to mark one year since Pope Francis' historic trip to the Arabian Peninsula, a visit that saw leading Muslim clerics gather alongside the pope to promote co-existence. The United Arab Emirates has worked to promote itself over the past year as a beacon of religious tolerance, despite it's hard limits on political speech. Abu Dhabi hosted Monday's meeting to showcase its continued efforts in promoting interfaith dialogue as it prepares to break ground this year on a compound that will house a mosque, church and synagogue side by side.
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| Zelensky: Leaked audio shows Iran immediately knew it shot plane Posted: 03 Feb 2020 06:38 AM PST  A leaked audio recording of an Iranian pilot talking to the control tower in Tehran shows that Iran knew immediately it had shot down a Ukrainian airliner last month, despite denying it for days, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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| Iowa Poll canceled after Buttigieg supporter says candidate's name was omitted during a poll call Posted: 02 Feb 2020 08:34 AM PST  The Register's editor said the decision should not affect the outcome of Monday's caucuses. "A poll is simply a snapshot in time of Iowans' opinions."
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| Warm water found at "vital point" under "doomsday glacier" Posted: 02 Feb 2020 10:05 PM PST  A news release on the findings called it an alarming discovery.
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| Pakistan bucks trend and resumes flights to virus-hit China Posted: 03 Feb 2020 05:53 AM PST  Airlines in Pakistan resumed flights to and from China Monday after health authorities said they were confident they had systems in place to keep the deadly coronavirus out of the country. The move comes as dozens of global airlines are halting flight services with China, and governments are increasingly barring entry to anyone who has recently visited the country. China has long been an all-weather ally of Pakistan and in recent years has provided Islamabad with billions of dollars in loans as part of Beijing's global Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
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| Does 'Never Again' Mean Nothing to the Left? Posted: 03 Feb 2020 04:16 AM PST  Antisemitism is antisemitism, period.
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| Trump news – live: President rants about impeachment and Iowa, as Democrats prepare for first real 2020 test Posted: 03 Feb 2020 04:56 AM PST  Donald Trump has lashed out in a series of tweets urging Republicans in Iowa to caucus, and questioning where the whistle blower is who sparked the investigation that led to his impeachment (in spite of Republican refusal to allow further witnesses to be brought before the Senate).The president had been facing fresh ridicule after tweeting his congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs after they won Super Bowl LIV by saying they represented "the Great State of Kansas... so very well" when the team is, in fact, based in Missouri (though half of Kansas City is indeed in Kansas).
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| Chinese woman detained for hiding virus contact history - Xinhua Posted: 03 Feb 2020 08:03 AM PST ![Chinese woman detained for hiding virus contact history - Xinhua]( "Chinese woman detained for hiding virus contact history - Xinhua") A 36-year-old woman in China's northern municipality of Tianjin was detained by police on Monday after "deliberately concealing" her contact with someone from a coronavirus-stricken area, according to Xinhua news agency. According to the report, the woman surnamed Liu had hurt virus prevention and control work through her actions and local public security authorities took her in for "administrative detention". The death toll in China from the newly identified virus, which emerged in Wuhan, capital of the central province of Hubei, rose to 361 as of Sunday, with more than 17,000 cases of infection.
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| Iraqi Unrest Persists as Protesters Reject Designated Premier Posted: 02 Feb 2020 05:49 AM PST ![Iraqi Unrest Persists as Protesters Reject Designated Premier]( "Iraqi Unrest Persists as Protesters Reject Designated Premier") (Bloomberg) -- The nomination of a new Iraqi prime minister failed to defuse months of deadly protests, with demonstrations persisting in Baghdad and other cities on Sunday."The escalation in the protest squares will continue," said protester Ayad al-Rumi, speaking in a phone call from Baghdad's Tahrir Square, the main site of the capital's demonstrations, where hundreds gathered. People also rallied in Basra, Nasiriya, Karbala and Diwaniya in south and central Iraq.Mohammed Tawfik Allawi was designated late Saturday after a monthslong political stalemate. His immediate task will be to quell protests against corruption, unemployment and poor services in the OPEC member state that helped to push out his predecessor Adil Abd Al-Mahdi on Nov. 30.But the continued unrest in the streets suggest that critics see him "as just another compromise candidate of the political elite," said Harith Hasan, a nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center. His government will be hard-pressed to enact structural reforms before as-yet unscheduled elections, Hasan added.In a video posted on his Twitter account, Allawi tried to set himself apart from the political class that protesters oppose, calling on Iraqis to keep going to the streets, promising to fight corruption and punish culprits behind the violence against peaceful demonstrators."I am employed by you, don't leave until you get your rights," Allawi said. On state television he said he would prepare for parliamentary elections under international supervision.Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias have killed at least 600 people since Iraqis began protesting in October, according to the country's Human Rights Commission. More than 22,000 people were wounded.Allawi will also face challenges from Iraq's political blocs, particularly on whether to allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq."There is going to be a lot of pressure on him from the pro-Iran blocs to continue with the pressure and the moves to push foreign troops out," said Sajad Jiyad, managing director of the Iraq-based Al-Bayan Center, who said Allawi's position on this topic was unclear."He has to be pragmatic, Iraq is still dependent on foreign troops" in the fight against Islamic State, which had seized large swaths of the country before an international coalition chased its fighters out.Allawi's most pressing priority apart from winning protesters' trust will be to successfully form a cabinet that satisfies Iraq's political blocs, a process that has proven difficult in the past, Jiyad said.\--With assistance from Sylvia Westall.To contact the reporters on this story: Zaid Sabah in Washington at zalhamid@bloomberg.net;Khalid Al-Ansary in Baghdad at kalansary@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrew Davis at abdavis@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, James AmottFor 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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| Klobuchar: Not aware of questionable evidence in teen's case Posted: 02 Feb 2020 08:02 PM PST  Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Sunday that she was not aware of questionable evidence and police tactics used to send a young black teen to prison for life when she was a top Minneapolis prosecutor. Burrell was accused of firing the gun the killed 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards in 2002, while she was doing homework at her dining room table in south Minneapolis. Klobuchar was Hennepin County attorney at the time, and has raised the case throughout her political career as an example of how she helped find justice for victims of gun violence.
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| Uber freezes 240 Mexico accounts after flagging a possible coronavirus case Posted: 03 Feb 2020 03:17 AM PST  The users suspended had ridden with two drivers who came into contact with a possible coronavirus case, according to Uber's Mexican Twitter account.
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| 'You basically are nothing': the Americans shut out of the Iowa caucuses Posted: 02 Feb 2020 10:00 PM PST  Hundreds of thousands of Iowans are barred from the Iowa caucus because of physical and legal barriersAs Democratic candidates began a last-minute blitz across Iowa on Friday evening, nearly a dozen men gathered in a cavernous YMCA meeting room in downtown Des Moines to have a conversation that felt a universe removed from the 2020 race.They were part of one of the largest groups shut out of Monday's caucus: people with felony convictions. Iowans are barred from voting for life once they commit a felony, and people can't vote even if they committed a crime decades ago. The state's policy, one of the strictest in the country, means more than 42,000 Iowans out of prison won't have a say in choosing a presidential candidate. Almost 10% of the black voting-age population can't vote because of a felony conviction.For decades, the Iowa caucuses have marked the beginning of the presidential primary, and often set the tone for the election year. But the event has come under increasing scrutiny for giving some voters – namely white and wealthy Iowans – outsized power in choosing the president in a state that's already more than 90% white. Meanwhile, the physical and legal barriers built into the structure of the caucuses leave out large swaths of the population, whether they are disabled, work long hours, or were once convicted of a crime."When you know you can't vote, you remove a certain segment of people from the political process," said Mendoor Smith, one of the participants at the two hour meeting, organized by Image 4 Lives, a mentorship and support group founded by Robert Pate, a former felon. "If they're removed from the process, then they're not learning anything. If they have children, then they're not telling their children anything."Smith, 46, who got his bachelor's degree after getting released from prison said he had been closely following the caucuses and has been going to rallies and encouraging others to caucus, even though he can't.A few miles north, Gretchen Brown-Waech was getting ready for a historic caucus designed to serve another community often sidelined in the political dialogue: the 300,000 voting-age Iowans with disabilities.For decades the population has struggled to take part in the caucuses, which requires Iowans to physically show up at a location and spend hours choosing a candidate. Brown-Waech, who is deaf, first tried to caucus in the 1990s, but when people started talking over each other, she found it overwhelming and left early. She didn't try again until 2016 with the help of a friend because she felt the choice was so important.Now, on Monday, after pressing state Democratic party officials, Brown-Waech is leading the first ever Iowa caucus in American Sign Language. She expects about 20 people to come to the event on Monday, some from hours away, including a deaf couple in their 60s that has never voted. "Anytime anyone who is not part of the mainstream is shut out of the political process, our country loses," said Brown-Waech. "If we don't design something for people on the margins, someone will always be left out."Since 2016, advocates have been pushing the Iowa Democratic party to address obstacles like transportation, navigating crowded spaces and seating that people with disabilities face to caucusing. The party has introduced some solutions – like allowing some groups to hold satellite caucuses in their homes or accessible locales."We've made it easier for Iowans to request accommodations, get in the room faster, and caucus at a site that's more convenient to them," said Mandy McClure, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Democratic party, in a statement. "Expanding participation has been at the heart of all of these changes."But many advocates say the party's approach has been abysmal, noting that a staffer handling disability outreach wasn't hired until January."Because there's such a lack of understanding about this constituency, not only in the Democratic party, but just systematically, there's a reticence to engage in the process of making spaces more inclusive and accessible," said Reyma McDeid, executive director of the Central Iowa Center for Independent Living. "The thought is, 'it's going to be confusing, it's going to be expensive. It's going to be time consuming. Let's just put this off.'"That places undue burden on people with disabilities to create their own caucuses, said Emmanuel Smith, a disability rights advocate who works at Disability Rights Iowa. Smith, who has brittle bone disease and uses an electric wheelchair, said they had to travel over an hour each way to caucus in 2016.This year, Smith is hosting a caucus event at their house. But they've had to spend time learning the rules for caucuses and on Monday, they will have to leave work early to set up. "The very people who need their voices heard the most in our democratic system are facing all these barriers. They're often the populations that are going to be directly threatened or bolstered by the policies that get implemented," Smith said.As Monday approached, Brown-Waech worked on the final touches to the American Sign Language caucus she was planning. She was making sure that people knew to arrive on time and wanted to make a video explaining how it would work for the attendees, but had yet to receive their information from the state Democratic party.Brown-Waech is hoping her single ASL caucus will evolve to be 15 or 20 next time around. But for the men in YMCA room, the ability to participate remains out of reach.While Iowa's governor, Kim Reynolds, a Republican, supports a constitutional amendment to end the policy, a push to put it on the ballot failed last year. Reynolds has declined to follow the lead of the governors of Kentucky and Virginia in issuing an executive order to automatically restore voting rights to some people with felonies once they complete their sentences. Currently, the only way for someone to have their voting rights restored is to have Reynolds approve their right to vote on an individual basis after they have completed their sentences entirely, including probation and parole.Over the last month, Reynolds' office has reviewed more than 400 applications, a sliver of the population in question. Until there's a sweeping reform, Iowa will continue to leave out tens of thousands of people. People like Aundrey Roberts, 44, who was released in 2017 and has never voted in his life."It sends the message that once you're a felon you basically are nothing," he said.
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| China accuses U.S. of scaremongering over coronavirus Posted: 02 Feb 2020 11:33 PM PST  Beijing on Monday accused the United States of spreading fear over a coronavirus outbreak by pulling nationals out and restricting travel instead of offering significant aid. The United States was the first nation to begin evacuations, issued a travel warning against going to China, and from Sunday barred entry to foreigners recently in China. Washington has "unceasingly manufactured and spread panic", Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters, noting that the World Health Organization (WHO) had advised against trade and travel curbs.
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| Trump Needs To Address This: Why the Federal Budget Is in Such Bad Shape Posted: 02 Feb 2020 03:30 PM PST  The debt bomb is coming.
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| Second person linked to butterfly sanctuary found dead in Mexico Posted: 02 Feb 2020 08:57 AM PST  The body of a tour guide who worked at a famous butterfly reserve in Mexico has been discovered two days after a prominent monarch butterfly activist was found dead.Mexican authorities said they are investigating the possible murder of Raul Hernandez, whose body was found beaten and with a head injury possibly caused by a sharp object.
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| Saudi Arabia blocks Iran from Islamic grouping's meeting: Tehran Posted: 02 Feb 2020 09:31 AM PST ![Saudi Arabia blocks Iran from Islamic grouping's meeting: Tehran]( "Saudi Arabia blocks Iran from Islamic grouping's meeting: Tehran") Saudi Arabia has barred an Iranian delegation from an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Jeddah on Monday where U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan will be discussed, the Iranian foreign ministry said. Saudi authorities have not issued visas for the Iranian participants, ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said. "The government of Saudi Arabia has prevented the participation of the Iranian delegation in the meeting to examine the 'deal of the century' plan at the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation," Mousavi said, the Fars news agency reported.
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| US military ready to house 1,000 for virus quarantine Posted: 01 Feb 2020 09:32 PM PST  The United States military will provide accommodation for 1,000 people if they need to be quarantined because of the deadly novel coronavirus, the Department of Defense said. The US is one of a number of countries isolating citizens returning from the center of the outbreak at Wuhan in central China as the new virus spreads across the globe. More than 300 people have died and over 14,000 have been infected, while many foreign governments have evacuated their nationals.
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| After NPR dust-up, Pompeo defends press freedom abroad Posted: 02 Feb 2020 11:27 PM PST  For the past four days, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been calling for authoritarian governments in eastern Europe and Central Asia to ease restrictions on press freedom despite criticism for his own treatment of journalists at home. In Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan over the weekend and again on Monday, Pompeo raised human rights issues, including freedom of the press, with his interlocutors and denied any double-standard was at play. Pompeo defended his unhappiness with a National Public Radio interviewer who asked him last month about the ouster of the former ambassador to Ukraine.
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| Brexit Hangover Kicks In for EU Leaders Debating Budget Gap Posted: 02 Feb 2020 01:44 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. Twelve hours after the U.K. formally left the European Union, the bloc's poorer members gathered in an old Franciscan convent in southern Portugal to rally against a looming budgetary shortfall that's partly due to the loss of British contributions.Brexit is deepening the rift between richer and poorer EU states as they clash on the bloc's trillion-euro ($1.1 trillion) budget for the next seven years. Poorer members are fighting to keep the hole created by Britain's departure from being filled by cuts to development funds."This meeting is happening on a very special day as it's the first day in which the EU has just 27 members," Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Saturday in Beja. "It's important to give the clear message that the union will remain cohesive."Saturday's meeting of the "Friends of Cohesion" group, which brought together 17 eastern and southern nations, will be followed by a Feb. 20 summit of all EU countries that will tackle stalled negotiations about the budget.Budget ShortfallThe seven-year budget is a cornerstone of EU policy that allots funding to help farmers compete against imports from the developing world and underpins projects that bind the union together. But agreeing on the amount of contributions and how to spend them is a regular source of tension between the net contributors, like the U.K. was, and those who get more than they put in.The poorer nations, which see the so-called cohesion policy as a key tool to help them catch up with wealthier countries, now want their richer peers to contribute more money to make up for the U.K.'s withdrawal.The Friends of Cohesion group reaffirmed on Saturday that the EU needs to keep cohesion policy funding at the current level, in real terms, according to a statement distributed by the Portuguese government."The EU should have resources for new goals, but not at the cost of instruments that are the foundation of its actions and have for years been functioning well," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told PAP newswire in an interview on Sunday. "It can afford more."Agreement on the size of contributions is needed before decisions can be taken on how they should be spent, and the conditions attached to the disbursements. EU spending amounts to about 1% of the bloc's gross domestic product.In the discussion about the next budget, positions are very far apart, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told reporters on Saturday. "We need not just days but months to make an agreement that could be accepted by everybody."(Adds comments from Polish prime minister in eighth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Nikos Chrysoloras and Maciej Onoszko.To contact the reporter on this story: Joao Lima in Lisbon at jlima1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Jennifer RyanFor 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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| Mother of Rutgers student killed by train after frat party sues school, fraternity Posted: 03 Feb 2020 09:44 AM PST  Freshman Kenneth Patterson was struck and killed by an Amtrak train in 2017 after a night of underage drinking at an unsanctioned fraternity party.
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| 11th case of new coronavirus confirmed in U.S. Posted: 03 Feb 2020 07:50 AM PST  California health officials said on Sunday they had confirmed 11 cases of the new, fast-spreading coronavirus in the United States, with one in Santa Clara County and two more in San Benito County.
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| China Accuses U.S. Officials of ‘Spreading Fear’ in Responding to Coronavirus Outbreak Posted: 03 Feb 2020 06:25 AM PST  The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday accused the U.S. of stirring up panic in its response to the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus.The U.S. has "unceasingly manufactured and spread panic," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. "It is precisely developed countries like the United States with strong epidemic prevention capabilities and facilities that have taken the lead in imposing excessive restrictions contrary to [World Health Organization] recommendations."The WHO has advised against imposing travel restrictions despite declaring the coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency."So far, the US government has yet to provide any substantial assistance to China," Hua asserted. U.S. national security adviser Robert O'Brien said on Monday that China had not yet accepted U.S. offers of assistance.There are over 17,000 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Monday, the vast majority in mainland China. Over 360 people have died from the virus, one of those cases outside China, in the PhilippinesOn Friday the Trump administration announced it would bar foreigners who recently visited China from entering the U.S. to prevent the spread of the virus. Earlier the same day, Delta and American Airlines announced they would suspend all flights between the U.S. and China, while the State Department issued its highest-level travel advisory for China, warning American citizens not to visit."By imposing temporary travel restrictions on China, the president has taken decisive action to protect Americans against the Wuhan coronavirus. I commend the administration for taking the situation seriously and erring on the side of caution," Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) wrote on Twitter in response to the Trump administration's actions.
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| If Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden were the only two candidates left in the 2020 race, Democrats still wouldn't have a clear nominee Posted: 03 Feb 2020 06:01 AM PST  Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are the two frontrunners in the Democratic presidential race. So who would win if no one else was crowding them out?
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| 'We Will All Be Dead' By the Time Navy Gets to 12 Aircraft Carriers Says Acting Navy Secretary Posted: 03 Feb 2020 05:27 AM PST  Problem? Under current planning, the Navy won't grow to 12 flattops until 2065, Modly pointed out during an event at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, D.C.
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| Gazan bridegrooms end up in jail over unpaid debts Posted: 03 Feb 2020 05:44 AM PST  Bridegrooms in the Gaza Strip are finding marriage a path to debtors' prison rather than to happiness. Wedding celebrations cost around $10,000 in the Palestinian enclave, but a tradition of strong family ties and large gatherings often trumps financial common sense. A spokesman for the police in Gaza, which is governed by the Islamist Hamas group, said that of 100,000 debt-default cases opened last year, 22% involved marriage loans.
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| Trump impeachment: Republican Senate 'coverup' prompts backlash Posted: 01 Feb 2020 12:38 PM PST  * Liberal groups target November elections for payback * Senators seek to explain votes with constitutional contortions * Opinion: Republicans march over the impeachment cliff Outraged by what they see as a coverup in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, grassroots activists are planning a massive "payback project" designed to punish Republican senators at the ballot box.Even as key Republican senators acknowledged Trump's guilt on charges of abusing power and obstructing Congress, they defied public opinion on Friday by voting to block witnesses and documents, paving the way for the president to be acquitted and claim exoneration.Republican fealty to Trump has long wearied liberals but the senators' move appeared to cause a new level of anger. The Indivisible Project, a progressive group, announced it would target nine senators, among them majority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Trump loyalist Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, in November's elections.Indivisible said it would next week call out one of the "nine Payback Project senators for their participating in a coverup by placing a full page newspaper ad in one of their biggest state papers". In an appeal to activists, it said "rage is good for recruiting. Hello. Are you pissed about impeachment too?"Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in December, for seeking to coerce a foreign government for his own personal political gain. Two articles of impeachment – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – were transferred to the Senate for trial.But on Friday the Senate failed to allow documents and new witnesses including the former national security adviser John Bolton, who in an upcoming book accuses the president of making military aid to Ukraine conditional on an investigation into his rival Joe Biden.Every impeachment trial in US history, including the two that featured presidents, allowed documents and witnesses. But only two Republicans voted in favour: Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah.Some said they did not think Trump did anything wrong. Others went through extraordinary contortions. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Rob Portman of Ohio reasoned that Trump's actions were wrong but not impeachable.In an interview with NBC's Meet the Press due to be broadcast on Sunday, Alexander said: "If you have eight witnesses who say someone left the scene of an accident, why do you need nine? I mean, the question for me was: do I need more evidence to conclude that the president did what he did? And I concluded no."Alexander told the New York Times why that was not enough to require Trump's removal: "The Senate reflects the country, and the country is as divided as it has been for a long time. For the Senate to tear up the ballots in this election and say President Trump couldn't be on it, the country probably wouldn't accept that. It would just pour gasoline on cultural fires that are burning out there."In a stunning Medium post, Marco Rubio of Florida, humiliated by Trump in the 2016 primary, went even further, arguing that impeachment would be too divisive even if a president engaged in clearly impeachable conduct."Just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interest of the country to remove a president from office," he wrote.Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a moderate who Democrats courted, said the case was rushed and flawed. She told reporters she was "angry at all sides" and the prospect of a tie vote on witnesses weighed on her decision. She also said she knew how she would vote on the charges but: "Will I share it with you tonight? I've had so much drama today, I'm just going to chill. How's that? Was that fair?"Trump's takeover of the Republican party appears complete. On Saturday the widely read Politico Playbook commented: "Here's the truth: Republicans are not comfortable with the president's behavior. They say it privately, some say it publicly on their way out."But they have no incentive to say this aloud no matter how egregious they believe the president's behavior to be. To win as a Republican in any seat that's at all marginal, you need to appeal to Republicans to vote."Republicans who break from Trump can face a bitter backlash. Matt Schlapp, the chair of the American Conservative Union, announced on Twitter that Romney was "formally NOT invited" to the influential Conservative Political Action Conference.Democrats will seek to make Republicans pay in November, as they did in the 2018 midterms when victory in the House made impeachment possible. Under the headline, "How impeachment could flip the Senate", Rahm Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff, wrote in the Washington Post that "impeachment is likely to have an outsize impact" and every Republican senator will "own Trump's emboldened rhetoric of being exonerated".He added: "Some 63% of voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and North Carolina look unfavourably on the Senate's decision … to disallow witnesses and hide documents... That may partly explain why the five Republican senators are 'underwater', meaning more constituents view them negatively than positively."The trial will resume on Monday for final arguments. That evening, Trump is sure to cruise to victory in the Iowa caucuses while Democrats battle for the right to challenge him. The president will deliver his state of the union address on Tuesday and is set to be acquitted by the Senate on the following day.As he did after special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, Trump is expected to falsely claim "total exoneration" and that Democrats seek to overturn the last election. In turn, Democrats will warn that the president will solicit foreign interference again.David Axelrod, a former chief strategist for Barack Obama, suggested the trial could inflict lasting damage."For Trump, this trial is going to end swiftly, as he hoped," he tweeted. "But it's not ending well. Far from vindication, even some who oppose his removal, acknowledge his guilt. And the conspicuous avoidance of material witnesses like Bolton casts an inescapable shadow."
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| Louisiana executions stall for a decade amid legal quandary Posted: 02 Feb 2020 10:04 PM PST  Louisiana cleans its execution chamber at the state penitentiary daily, but it's been more than a decade since a condemned prisoner has laid on the chamber's black-padded gurney to die. Sixty-eight people sit on Louisiana's death row, with no execution dates set. In January, Louisiana reached the 10-year mark since its last execution, joining a trend of falling execution numbers across the country.
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