| Is coronavirus 'just a cold' or a reason to self-quarantine? Trump supporters seem split. Posted: 13 Mar 2020 12:08 PM PDT  The worsening coronavirus outbreak has prompted some of Trump's allies and aides to self-quarantine — while other supporters continue to publicly minimize the risk.
|
| Hospitals prepare for the worst on coronavirus, and it's not a pretty picture Posted: 13 Mar 2020 06:16 PM PDT  Medical facilities are taking precautions to protect their staff while preparing for a spike in patients that has overwhelmed the health care systems of other countries.
|
| Mnuchin says U.S. coronavirus aid bill cost should be significant, not huge Posted: 15 Mar 2020 07:12 AM PDT  U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday the cost of a coronavirus aid package will likely be "significant but not huge." Mnuchin told "Fox News Sunday" he expected to have a better idea of the price tag this week and said he also planned to talk to lawmakers about critical aid to airlines, as well as the hotel and cruise ship industries. The coronavirus pandemic has forced public schools, sports events and cultural and entertainment venues to close across the United States.
|
| Teen son of convicted California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter pens letter for mercy Posted: 13 Mar 2020 01:25 PM PDT  The teenage son of convicted California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter has penned a letter asking the court to not send his dad to jail for misspending his campaign funds.
|
| How Bernie Sanders went from frontrunner to the last-chance saloon Posted: 15 Mar 2020 12:00 AM PDT  The Vermont senator seems to have failed to convince primary voters he was the best candidate to take on Trump – but the self-described socialist has still reshaped the ideology of the Democratic partyBernie Sanders had just dominated the Nevada caucuses, after strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, when the Vermont senator thundered on stage at the Cowboy Dance Hall in San Antonio to declare victory before a crowd of thousands.His speech that night was hardly different from the hundreds of speeches he had made before – and all the speeches he would make after. But he looked different. Famously irascible, Sanders smiled deeply and laughed easily. The future of his political revolution was as bright and clear as the big Texas sky."Don't tell anybody. I don't wanna get them nervous," the 78-year-old democratic socialist boasted, dropping his voice as if sharing a secret with the thousands of supporters waving placards with his name. "We are gonna win the Democratic primary in Texas."But the next 10 days would wipe away every trace of that optimism. Sanders not only lost Texas but a string of other contests that stripped him of his briefly held status as frontrunner, returning him to a more familiar role: long-shot insurgent chasing the establishment favorite.In frank but defiant remarks on Wednesday, Sanders acknowledged that he was "losing" to Joe Biden after a stunning reversal of fortune. Biden, snatched only days before from the jaws of defeat, had just racked up four more victories, including in Michigan, a state that revived Sanders' presidential bid four years ago and where he had pinned his hopes of a comeback.Later that evening, Sanders folded himself into an armchair on the set of NBC's The Tonight Show in New York City."How you feeling?" host Jimmy Fallon asked gingerly."I'm feeling good," Sanders sighed. "Could feel better."***Bernie Sanders had promised to build an unprecedented "multi-generational, multi-racial coalition" of young people and working-class voters that would "sweep this country" and transform American politics."You cannot beat Trump with the same old same old kind of politics," he told supporters at a Super Tuesday rally in Vermont, where had expected a celebration. But that night, voters in 10 of the 14 states with primary contests chose a candidate who represents a return to the pre-Trump years. It was Biden, not Sanders, who expanded the Democratic electorate, bringing in non-voters and suburban voters while boosting turnout among African Americans.Sanders' commanding support among Latinos helped him notch two consequential victories in Nevada and California. But his appeal among young people, liberal and politically independent voters was not enough to realize the revolution he envisioned."Bernie Sanders' challenge always in the race was to expand his support," said Mark Longabaugh, a lead strategist on Sanders' 2016 team who split with the campaign early last year. "And he just never found a way electorally to attract voters outside of his coalition."In the critical 10 days between his victory in Nevada and Super Tuesday, Sanders continued to rail against old foes – the Democratic establishment and the "corporate media" – instead of reaching out to the members of a party he hoped to lead.In a 60 Minutes interview the day after the caucuses, Sanders told host Anderson Cooper that he didn't have an estimate for the total cost of his sweeping economic agenda. In the same interview, he reiterated past remarks that were complimentary of certain aspects of Fidel Castro's communist government, sparking backlash among Democrats in the battleground state of Florida."One of Bernie's strengths is his consistency – he's been delivering the same message to some degree since the 70s," Longabaugh said. "But it also inhibited him in the sense that it limited his potential for growth."Sanders' ascent set off panic among party officials and leaders. Battleground-district Democrats warned Sanders would hurt their chances of re-election, while members of the Democratic National Committee plotted to stop him if he arrived at the convention shy of the delegates needed to win the nomination outright."From the beginning, we knew this was going to be the fight of our lives," said Jennifer Epps-Addison, president of the Center for Popular Democracy, which endorsed Sanders. "We're taking on not only the corporate elite of this party but the billionaire class, the pharmaceutical industry, the prison industrial complex, Wall Street, the insurance companies."Even so, the rapid alignment behind Biden, first by his former rivals and then by millions of voters, caught the campaign off guard. In a matter of days, the field shrank from seven top contenders to just two. Moderates, once paralyzed over which candidate to support, suddenly aligned behind Biden. On the eve of Super Tuesday, he won the endorsements of three former opponents and more followed in a dramatic show of force that Biden's team compared to the Avengers assembling. Notably, Elizabeth Warren, Sanders' closest ideological ally, has not yet backed anyone."In candor, the consolidation of candidates behind Biden happened sooner than anyone expected " said congressman Ro Khanna, one of Sanders' national co-chairs. "There was simply not enough time to build more broadly."***Bernie Sanders entered the primary with more built-in advantages than any of his rivals. His name recognition was sky high, he had an enviable list of small-dollar donors, an unshakable base of support and the experience of having just run a presidential campaign. Little changed from 2016, not the message nor the mission, not even the campaign logo. It would be a "class-conscious" campaign for people who felt left out of the political process."He represents the people who have been written off for much of their lives," Khanna said. "For the people who feel they haven't been heard, who feel marginalized, who feel the system hasn't been working for them, he is their voice."A heart attack in October nearly derailed his campaign. With Warren on the march and Sanders slumping, his candidacy appeared to be in freefall. But his supporters rallied to his side. A strong debate performance and a coveted endorsement from congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez paved the way for a remarkable comeback.It was a clarifying moment. Sanders used the experience to connect more deeply with his supporters. At intimate town halls and on social media, the campaign elevated the economic struggles of people who couldn't afford medical treatment of prescription drugs. It was the foundation of the campaign ethos, "Not me, us."But political reality set in after voting began. Despite his success in the initial early voting states, in a fractured field Sanders struggled to retain the support he garnered four years ago. After the centrist vote coalesced behind Biden, he was losing contests he won in 2016, when he was far less of a political force than he is today.Democrats' overriding priority in 2020 was to defeat Trump. And on that front, Sanders was losing to Biden."I cannot tell you how many people our campaign has spoken to who have said – and I quote – 'I like what your campaign stands for," Sanders said soberly from his hometown of Burlington last week. "'I agree with what your campaign stands for. But I'm going to vote for Joe Biden because I think Joe is the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump."***Black voters have decided the Democratic nominee in every primary election since 1992. And this year, as in 2016, African Americans have overwhelmingly chosen Sanders' opponent. In South Carolina, black voters propelled Biden's triumph there and set in motion a turnaround that greatly narrowed Sanders' path to the nomination.Supporters believe that Sanders' efforts to make inroads in the black community over the past four years were obscured by Biden's longstanding relationships with African American leaders and his eight years as Barack Obama's loyal lieutenant. Ahead of last week's contests, Sanders' campaign released an ad that featured Obama praising the senator and saying emphatically "Feel the Bern!" But it did not yield the results he hoped."There's a fundamental disconnect if folks still don't feel like he's the one who they can put their faith in after four years," said Cliff Albright, a co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund.Ahead of the Michigan primary, Sanders earned the endorsement of the Rev Jesse Jackson, in what those close to him said was a deeply meaningful moment. In 1988, Jackson became the first black presidential candidate to win millions of votes on a similar platform of universal healthcare, a federal jobs guarantee and taxing the rich. Sanders, then the mayor of Burlington, was one of the few white public officials to endorse him."The ideas resonate with black folks," Albright said. "Medicare for All, free college, debt forgiveness, criminal justice reform, on those issues black folks are far closer to Bernie than to Biden. So it's not the ideas. It's this issue of electability."***Sanders now faces a legacy-defining decision: does he stay in a race that is becoming increasingly difficult for him to win or does he bow out now to begin the delicate process of unifying the party?Many supporters are not ready to see Sanders exit. Larry Cohen, a longtime Sanders confidant and chairman of his political non-profit, Our Revolution, acknowledged that the senator faces long odds but urged him to keep competing. Every delegate Sanders accumulates in the primary, he argues, will be "critical to negotiations over the rules and party platform" at the convention in Milwaukee this summer."If he drops out now, those ideas are left with the delegates that he's won," Cohen said. "They're the voice for these issues."Further complicating the course ahead is a new challenge: running for president in midst of a global health emergency. The coronavirus outbreak has forced Sanders to abandon the stadium-size rallies that are a feature of his campaign."This coronavirus has obviously impacted our ability to communicate with people in the traditional way and that's hurting us," he told reporters during a brief press conference in Burlington, where he has spent his time since cancelling an election night rally in Cleveland last week amid concerns about the virus.Yet the senator has signaled in recent days that he is unlikely to battle Biden to the bitter end. But he also made clear that there are issues he still intends to confront Biden over, and that he has the leverage to push him.On Sunday he will appear at the next presidential debate, a long-sought one-on-one with Biden. At a press conference, Sanders previewed a litany of policy questions that he planned to press Biden on: "Joe, what are you gonna do?" he intends to ask on issues from income inequality to student loan debt.When Sanders launched his campaign in February 2019, he was asked what would be different this time. "We're gonna win," Sanders replied, with the blunt assurance that thrills so many of his supporters.By his own admission, he is falling short of that goal. Though many supporters aren't ready to see Sanders depart the race just yet, there is also the sense that Sanders has already accomplished more than he could have imagined in his nearly 50-year political career.Michael Kazin, a historian and co-editor of Dissent magazine, said Sanders has already achieved what many nominees and presidents never do: he has fundamentally shifted the ideology of the Democratic party on everything from healthcare and climate change to raising the minimum wage and taxing the rich. Sanders, Kazin said, was likely the "most leftwing candidate" to make it this far in American political history.That a 78-year-old democratic socialist has come within striking distance of the nomination is an "astounding success" in its own right, marveled Bill Press, a progressive talkshow host who helped launch Sanders 2016 campaign from the living room of his Washington home."In a very real sense," he said, "Bernie has already won the primary."
|
| Western couple abducted in Burkina in 2018 found alive in Mali Posted: 13 Mar 2020 05:40 PM PDT  A Canadian woman and her Italian partner kidnapped in Burkina Faso in 2018 have been found alive in the northwest of Mali by UN peacekeepers, diplomatic and UN sources said on Saturday. "UN blue helmets found an Italian citizen and a Canadian citizen near Kidal, who had been taken hostage in Burkina territory in 2018," a security official from the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, told AFP.
|
| When coronavirus struck one small Kentucky town, residents didn't let 'social distance' stop them from helping each other Posted: 13 Mar 2020 03:16 PM PDT  When coronavirus struck Cynthiana, Ky., residents pulled together to help out the local newspaper — and take care of their neighbors.
|
| 'They know how to keep people alive': Why China's coronavirus response is better than you think Posted: 13 Mar 2020 02:17 PM PDT  China has become a popular scapegoat for the coronavirus pandemic. But there are many lessons to be learned from how Beijing has responded to the disease, according to the top World Health Organization epidemiologist working on the coronavirus response there.
|
| How long do viruses live on surfaces: Plastic, stainless steel, fabric, and more Posted: 14 Mar 2020 07:34 AM PDT  SARS-CoV-2 virus can live on stainless steel for 72 hours and still be contagious. Here's how long it and other viruses live on different surfaces.
|
| Greece bans all links with Albania, North Macedonia, flights with Spain Posted: 15 Mar 2020 05:21 AM PDT  Greece said on Sunday it would ban road and sea routes, as well as flights, to Albania and North Macedonia, and ban flights to and from Spain to stem the spread of the coronavirus. It extended travel restrictions to Italy, saying it was banning passenger ship routes to and from the neighboring country, excluding cargo. Separately, the Greek Olympic Committee said on Sunday that the Olympic flame handover ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Games scheduled for March 19 will be held without an audience or journalists present.
|
| Fauci: Americans are 'going to have to hunker down significantly more' to fight coronavirus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 07:53 AM PDT  "I think we should really be overly aggressive and get criticized for over-reacting," Fauci said.
|
| No to ‘FISA Reform’ Posted: 14 Mar 2020 03:30 AM PDT  Thanks to Senators Rand Paul (R., Ken.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah), as well as an amen chorus of Trump loyalists in the House, the president seems poised to fulfill one of the fondest dreams of Clinton and Obama Democrats: Government policy that regards international terrorism as a mere crime, a law-enforcement issue to be managed by federal judges rather than a national-security threat from which the officials Americans elect must safeguard our country.I doubt the president realizes these ramifications of declining to reauthorize three PATRIOT Act security measures that are set to expire. Successfully camouflaging themselves as "FISA reformers," Senators Paul and Lee have steered the president toward exploiting the imminent expiration as a way of holding the FBI accountable for FISA abuse.In truth, the senators' agenda predates the Trump era, and it would do nothing to fix what's actually wrong with FISA. Their aim is to dismantle the post-9/11 intelligence-based approach to counterterrorism, a strategy prudently adopted by President Bush, who recognized that when our most immediate threat is jihadist mass-murder attacks, prevention should take precedence over prosecution. "FISA reform" is a shrewd way for them to accomplish this objective because it appeals to the president's vanity — his most destructive blind spot.See, the libertarian senators have always opposed intelligence-based counterterrorism on philosophical grounds that they root in the Constitution. They are wrong, though their sincerity is not to be doubted. As I've related over the years (see, e.g., here and here), the distortion of the Fourth Amendment Paul has long championed (and to which Lee seems adherent) bears little resemblance to the Fourth Amendment as written and originally understood. If adopted, it would be a boon to both foreign terrorists and domestic criminals.Washington's reluctance to court this potentially catastrophic outcome has long frustrated libertarians, as have the facts that jurisprudence and the terrorist threat have lined up against them. But in recent years, things have started swinging in their favor.For one thing, Paul, Lee, and their ilk have forged an alliance with progressives, who regard jihadism (er, I mean, "violent extremism") as a global law-enforcement issue, fit for management by internationally coordinated judicial processes, and who favor an extension of American constitutional protections to foreign operatives — including anti-American terrorists. In the Obama years, these strange bedfellows found an administration equally disposed against the Bush-era counterterrorism approach.Then, there was the post-9/11 record of intelligence-agency envelope-pushing and deceit that eroded public trust — e.g., the Bush administration's controversial warrantless-wiretap and forcible-interrogation programs; the Obama CIA's hacking into the Senate Intelligence Committee's computers (and falsely denying it had done so); Obama's director of national intelligence's lying to Congress about the massive collection of Americans' telephone metadata; and the blatant politicization of intelligence after the Benghazi massacre.Finally, there was the Supreme Court's 2018 Carpenter ruling, which pivoted away from seemingly settled jurisprudence that a person does not have a constitutionally cognizable privacy interest in business records that are the property of a third-party service provider. The Court's 5–4 decision in Carpenter (written by Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by the four-justice liberal bloc) held that the government needs a probable-cause judicial warrant to obtain "cell-site location information" — phone-company records that reveal a person's physical movements over a given period of time.This concatenation has already yielded results for Paul and Lee. For example, the government's telephone-metadata program, the need for which was never compellingly justified, has been mothballed. Further, many foreign-intelligence operations in which the judiciary should have no involvement have nonetheless been brought under the FISA court's supervision.Now, "FISA reform" has offered Lee and Paul the chance to accelerate their agenda's implementation. What it lacks as a means of keeping America safe, it makes up for in legerdemain.See, the president and his most ardent supporters do not actually want to overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, which created the FISA court. What they want is accountability for the FISA abuses committed by American intelligence agencies in connection with the 2016 presidential election. For President Trump, all politics is personal, and this matter is the most personal of all: the FBI's exploitation of FISA powers to spy on his campaign, hamstring his administration, and fuel the Mueller investigation, all of which led to his impeachment.To describe President Trump as angry that no official involved in those 2016 hijinks has been prosecuted understates the matter. He is apoplectic, as are his most ardent supporters. Grasping this, his allies in Congress and on the airwaves grouse that "no one has been held accountable." In truth, the officials who ran the Carter Page FISA surveillance — and who deployed informants in a futile effort to ensnare Trump operatives — have been both purged and subjected to duly humiliating inspector-general reports. Yet that is not enough for the Trump camp, which wants criminal prosecutions just like the ones to which Trump-campaign officials were subjected. The president is dismayed that none have been forthcoming, despite the fact that his Justice Department has been conducting a criminal investigation for about a year.Senators Paul and Lee may be wrong about counterterrorism, but they're not dumb. They realized that if they could persuade the president that "FISA reform" was really about holding the FBI accountable for the Trump–Russia collusion shenanigans, they could achieve a major roll-back of post-9/11 counterterrorism policy — the project they were working on long before Donald Trump sought the presidency. So that's what they've done, and they've swept the president's supporters along for the ride. In their rhetoric, which has seeped into the press reporting on the matter, "FISA reform" has become a rally cry for holding the rogue FBI accountable.But here's the thing: The FBI and its intelligence-bureaucracy collaborators executed their plan by misleading the FISA court in violation of the existing FISA rules. There is no "reform" of the statutory scheme that can prevent such a thing. There is no "reform" of the statutory scheme that can hold a rogue accountable. If your objection is that being fired is not enough, and that prosecution is necessary for accountability, only an indictment can accomplish that, not a change in the law.That becomes very clear if we focus on the actual targets of what is absurdly being called "FISA reform." Notice that the "reformers" avoid talking about the three provisions that are scheduled to expire if not reauthorized by Monday (March 15). That's because they are utterly unrelated to the abuse of FISA surveillance authority that occurred in the Trump–Russia scenario — viz., the incumbent government's misrepresentations to the FISA court, which duped the judges into authorizing electronic surveillance of the opposition party's political campaign despite the lack of probable cause to believe that campaign surrogates were clandestine agents of Russia.It is important to grasp this: Real FISA reform is not on the table. Over the last several days, as negotiations in Congress have broken down, one has heard Trump supporters say, "Let FISA die," because they've been fooled into thinking that if the president signs what's inaccurately called "an extension of FISA," there will never be accountability for FBI officials who abused their authority.It is not true. Not even close.FISA surveillance (the kind to which the Trump campaign was subjected) will not die if the three provisions lapse. A failure to reauthorize them will not prevent Americans, such as Carter Page, from being falsely framed as foreign agents. The only things that will die are investigative tools that help our government monitor actual clandestine operatives, such as alien jihadists plotting against our country.As I have previously detailed, the three tools at issue are: (a) roving wiretaps, which allow agents to continue monitoring, say, a terrorist who uses burner phones to try to defeat surveillance; (b) "lone wolf" authority, which allows agents to monitor a foreigner who appears to be involved in terrorism without evidence tying him to a known terrorist organization; and (c) the court-authorized collection of business records — a power long unremarkably exercised by criminal investigators (and which, if reauthorized, would no longer permit intelligence agents to engage in the controversial bulk-collection of telephone metadata).As should be obvious, these three tools have nothing to do with FBI accountability. They have nothing to do with the bureau's infamous "Crossfire Hurricane" probe. Indeed, they have very little to do with FISA — and nothing to do with the Russia-related malfeasance that comes to mind when Paul, Lee, and Trump supporters rail about "FISA reform." These are PATRIOT Act provisions. Though they are being threatened under the pretext of "fixing" FISA, they were enacted nearly a quarter-century after the FISA statute. They are labeled "FISA" only because Congress happened to insert them into the FISA sections of the United States Code.These three provisions were enacted with "sunset clauses," meaning they must be periodically reauthorized by Congress. Congress has reauthorized them, repeatedly, because they help protect us from terrorist attacks. Their value is so plain to see that they should not be subject to sunset clauses at all — the clauses should have been removed, with the proviso that Congress could always amend them (as lawmakers have done with the business records provision) or even repeal them if truly egregious abuses occurred.Nevertheless, they are subject to sunset clauses, and will lapse Monday if Congress fails to act. Consequently, the political left and the Paul–Lee libertarians opportunistically seized on that deadline as a chance to demand more "reform" that would further erode intelligence-based counterterrorism — increasing the extent to which foreign counterintelligence efforts are subject to court control and made to resemble judicial proceedings.President Trump came into office promising to be tough on terrorism in a way President Obama was not. Most of his supporters are instinctively against the Obama-era counterterrorism approach, which shied away from even the word terrorism, and which mulishly denied Islamist terrorism's ideological underpinnings. Most Trump supporters do not actually think of counterterrorism as a law-enforcement issue to be managed by the same judiciary that reverses Trump's border-security and immigration-enforcement measures at every turn.So why are they backing FISA "reform"? Because they've been hoodwinked into thinking it is a way to hold the FBI accountable for the Trump–Russia caper. But it is not. Again, the only thing "letting FISA die" on Monday would accomplish is the loss of counterterrorism tools that promote national security — exactly the kind of thing Trump supporters would have sworn their candidate would never permit if elected president.The FISA reform that Senators Paul and Lee want, and that their progressive allies support, is the opposite of real FISA reform. The fundamental problem with FISA is the FISA-court system. As I've recently noted in National Review's print edition, that system transfers control of national security against foreign threats to the judicial branch, which is insulated from political accountability; the Constitution, to the contrary, assigned this duty to the political branches, which answer to the American people whose lives are at stake.The "reformers" aim further to solidify judicial authority over intelligence collection. They tell you their goal is to protect Americans from being abused the way Carter Page was; but their reforms always end up extending protections to aliens, including those who are outside the United States and should thus be considered outside the FISA court's jurisdiction. What's more, if you're worried about FBI abuses, the FISA court makes them more likely. As we saw with Page, the FBI deceived the FISA court to get its warrants; when called on the carpet, it then told everyone its surveillance must have been proper because it was green-lighted by federal judges. The bureau used the veneer of court approval as license to claim that Page — and by extension, the Trump campaign — was part of a Russian influence operation.If we really wanted to reform FISA, we would be wise get the courts out of foreign-intelligence collection and find a better way of overseeing the activities of the intelligence agencies — beefed up congressional oversight, not a secret court. And while I maintain that no act of Congress can hold rogue officials accountable (see, e.g., the Constitution's prohibition against bills of attainder), I have proposed a reform that would actually address the FBI's FISA abuse: Congress could take the foreign-counterintelligence mission away from the FBI, have the bureau stick to crime-fighting, and create a new agency to handle domestic security against foreign threats — an agency that would be subject to Justice Department supervision and congressional oversight.If we tried it my way, the nation would continue to get the security benefit of counterintelligence measures. If we try Paul's and Lee's way, we will lose that benefit and exacerbate the basic problem of judicial involvement in counterintelligence operations, all for the promise of "accountability" that these self-proclaimed "reformers" can't actually deliver.
|
| How to change or cancel flights as coronavirus and travel restrictions cripple the airline industry Posted: 13 Mar 2020 03:22 PM PDT  The airline industry is struggling to keep up with plummeting customer demand. Here's what you need to know about changing or canceling travel.
|
| The Latest: NYC mayor: City lockdown possible in virus fight Posted: 14 Mar 2020 09:12 PM PDT  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, reacting to announcement of a curfew in neighboring Hoboken, New Jersey, says that a lockdown in the nation's largest city couldn't be ruled out. Also in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the Army Corps of Engineers should be mobilized by equipping facilities like military bases or college dorms to serve as temporary medical centers. In an opinion piece Sunday in The New York Times, Cuomo called on President Donald Trump to authorize states to expand testing capabilities, set federal standards for shutting down commerce and schools, and mobilize the military to bolster medical treatment capabilities.
|
| Canadian and Italian kidnapped in Burkina Faso turn up safe in Mali Posted: 14 Mar 2020 03:46 PM PDT  Édith Blais and Luca Tacchetto, seized in 2018, apparently escaped and were picked up by UN forces.
|
| Sanders bets on Biden debate implosion Posted: 15 Mar 2020 04:00 AM PDT  His rivals have been waiting for more than a year for Biden to wilt under pressure. Sunday's debate looks like Sanders' last hope.
|
| Trump, reversing position, says he got tested for coronavirus after all Posted: 14 Mar 2020 06:48 AM PDT  President Trump had more contact than previously known with people who have tested positive for coronavirus, but the White House said he won't be tested.
|
| Islamist militants sentenced to death for Bangladesh priest murder Posted: 15 Mar 2020 07:24 AM PDT  Four Islamist extremists were sentenced to death in Bangladesh Sunday for the 2016 decapitation of a senior Hindu priest during a spate of attacks targeting religious minorities in the Muslim-majority nation. The Islamic State group had claimed responsibility for the attack in the northern district of Panchagarh, but authorities blamed militants from Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
|
| Former Fla. gov. candidate found inebriated at hotel with suspected overdose victim Posted: 13 Mar 2020 01:14 PM PDT  "While I had too much to drink, I want to be clear that I have never used methamphetamines," Gillum said.
|
| New tax breaks for retirees Posted: 15 Mar 2020 02:50 AM PDT  Here are three of the week's top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:Market crash yields refinance boom "A sharp drop in mortgage interest rates has sparked a sudden and unexpected refinance boom," said Diana Olick at CNBC. A flight to the safest federal bonds has sent interest rates on 10-year Treasury bonds to record lows, and mortgage rates have plummeted with them. This week, average mortgage rates "hit 3.11 percent," and borrowers have descended on mortgage lenders to take advantage. Bank of America told one caller there was "a two-hour wait to speak with a loan officer." Some lenders have expanded hours and hired staff to try to meet a demand running at three times the usual volume. "It's absolute pandemonium," said one sales officer at Cross Country Mortgage in Boca Raton, Florida. "Let's put it this way: We are like Home Depot during a hurricane."New tax breaks for retirees More states are looking at tax incentives to stem the "gray migration," said Sandra Block at Kiplinger. As more retirees move away from high-tax states like New York and California to locations where there are no state income taxes, such as Florida and Nevada, some lawmakers are fighting back. Maryland, for instance, has "introduced legislation that would eliminate state taxes on the first $50,000 of income for retirees making up to $100,000 in federally adjusted gross income," while those making $50,000 or less would pay no state tax. Similarly, Illinois recently "signed legislation making it easier for seniors in Cook County — which includes Chicago — to apply for a property tax break of up to $8,000 a year." Lawmakers in New Mexico are also considering "several bills that would repeal or reduce taxes on Social Security."Hiding fees for financial advice A popular website for finding financial planners will no longer disclose how much planners make in commissions or fees, said Jason Zweig at The Wall Street Journal. LetsMakeAPlan.org has "long served as a shortcut" for investors looking for a financial planner. It helps that it is run by the Certified Financial Planner Board, "a nonprofit that has awarded the CFP designation to more than 86,000 planners." However, more than half of all planners charge commissions on sales when you trade a stock, bond, or fund — a system than can encourage excess trading. By contrast, fee-only advisers only charge a one-time or recurring fee. Now, "to learn how a planner gets paid, you will have to ask."This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, try the magazine for a month here.More stories from theweek.com 7 scathingly funny cartoons about the Democratic presidential race The conservative movement is a public health hazard Why Trump fears Biden
|
| The wife of Spain's prime minister has tested positive for coronavirus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 02:09 AM PDT  Spain has recorded over 6,300 cases and 191 coronavirus deaths, making it the second-worst hit European country after Italy.
|
| Iran reports 113 new virus deaths as concerns mount Posted: 14 Mar 2020 11:31 PM PDT  The official leading Iran's response to the new coronavirus acknowledged Sunday that the pandemic could overwhelm health facilities in his country, which is battling the worst outbreak in the Middle East while under heavy U.S. sanctions. Iran's Health Ministry reported another 113 deaths, bringing the country's total death toll to 724, with nearly 14,000 confirmed cases. Muslim authorities meanwhile announced that the Al-Aqsa mosque in east Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, would be closed indefinitely due to concerns about the outbreak, with prayers continuing to be held on the sprawling esplanade outside.
|
| Americans urged to hunker down more as coronavirus chaos spreads to airports Posted: 15 Mar 2020 07:48 AM PDT  "I think Americans should be prepared that they are going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, said on NBC's "Meet the Press." Fauci said on CBS' "Face the Nation" the idea of closing restaurants in the United States "might be overkill right now, but everything is on the table." With limited testing available, officials have recorded nearly 3,000 cases and 59 deaths in the United States.
|
| ‘It Was Like Pulling Teeth’: AOC Backed Away from Sanders Campaign after Joe Rogan Endorsement Posted: 13 Mar 2020 09:52 AM PDT  Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) declined multiple pleas from the Bernie Sanders campaign to stump for the Vermont senator's candidacy after the Iowa caucuses, according to HuffPost.Ocasio-Cortez was heavily involved in the campaign's buildup to Iowa, headlining seven rallies for Sanders in Iowa over the weekend of January 24 to January 26.But the progressive New York representative disagreed with the campaign over its decision to promote the endorsement of Joe Rogan, the popular podcaster who has been criticized by LGBT activists for opposing puberty blockers for gender-confused children. He has also spoken out against the participation of biological males competing in women's sports.Faiz Shakir, Sanders campaign manager, also reportedly criticized Ocasio-Cortez for a polarizing speech in which she advocated for those in attendance to help illegal aliens to avoid ICE. She also failed to mention Sanders's name in the January 25th speech — a fact highlighted by Fox News.When the campaign attempted the same strategy of touting Ocasio Cortez for Sanders in New Hampshire, she refused multiple times before ultimately speaking the day before the February 12 primary at a Sanders rally."It was like pulling teeth to get her to New Hampshire," a source told HuffPost.Then, from February 11 to March 8, Ocasio-Cortez rejected numerous invitations from the campaign to speak on Sanders's behalf in Nevada, South Carolina, and the 14 states that voted on Super Tuesday.She finally agreed to speak at a get-out-the-vote rally on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor on Sunday, which was an apparent last-minute decision, forcing the campaign to release a revised media advisory about the rally the night before the event.HuffPost reported that neither the Sanders campaign nor the Ocasio-Cortez's campaign office denied the facts of the story."Senator Sanders and our campaign will never forget that in one of the most difficult moments for us, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez gave us a boost with her strong endorsement," Shakir said in a praising statement. "And she has remained a steady and consistent ally, supporter, surrogate and adviser to the senator ever since."In an interview in January, Ocasio-Cortez bashed the Democratic Party for being "too big of a tent.""In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are," she said.But Sanders's campaign used the same tent language to defend the Rogan endorsement, saying in a statement that "sharing a big tent requires including those who do not share every one of our beliefs, while always making clear that we will never compromise our values."Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden slammed the comments, saying on January 27 that there was "no room for compromise" and calling "transgender equality . . . the civil rights issue of our time."Ocasio-Cortez then said in an interview released February 2 that Democrats must "rally behind" the eventual nominee, "no matter who it is" — despite calling Biden "not a pragmatic choice" last June.
|
| Multiple experts say up to 70% of Americans could be infected with the coronavirus and 1 million could die if no treatment is found — so people over 60 should 'stay home unless it's critical' Posted: 13 Mar 2020 01:18 PM PDT  In a panel, experts at UC San Francisco urged everyone over age 60 to stay home and not fly. They predict up to 70% of Americans will get infected.
|
| Philippines closes off capital to fight virus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 01:15 AM PDT  Police began closing off access to the Philippines' sprawling and densely populated capital Manila on Sunday, imposing a quarantine that officials hope will curb the nation's rising number of coronavirus cases. Officers in military fatigues and armed with rifles blocked off main roads into the city of some 12 million as domestic flights to and from Manila were halted early Sunday for a month-long isolation of the capital. Mass gatherings and school at all levels have also been called off, but delays and exceptions have led public health experts to question how effective President Rodrigo Duterte's measures will be.
|
| Trump disbanded pandemic unit that experts had praised Posted: 14 Mar 2020 07:24 AM PDT  Public health and national security experts disagreed when President Trump said the coronavirus "came out of nowhere" and "blindsided the world."
|
| Malaysia virus tally hits highest in Southeast Asia due to mosque event Posted: 15 Mar 2020 02:21 AM PDT  Malaysia reported 190 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, with most linked to a religious event at a mosque that was attended by 16,000 people from several countries. The new cases bring the total number of infections in the country to 428, the health ministry said, making it the worst affected in Southeast Asia. A total of 243 cases have been linked to the mosque gathering with 9 cases critically ill in intensive care, the ministry said, adding that all event participants and their close contacts will be placed under mandatory quarantine for 14 days.
|
| New Zealand PM makes 'no apologies' after announcing 'toughest border restrictions' in the world amid coronavirus fears Posted: 14 Mar 2020 05:22 AM PDT  Countries around the world continued Saturday to enact strict measures such as border closures and flight cancellations to combat the spread of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus.That includes New Zealand, whose Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Saturday the government will implement a policy under which all travelers, even New Zealanders, must self-isolate upon their arrival in the country for 14 days starting Sunday at midnight.Ardern said New Zealand, along with Israel and several Pacific Island nations, "will have the widest ranging and toughest border restrictions of any country in the world," adding that she's not making any apologies in this "unprecedented time." All cruise ships will be banned from coming to New Zealand until June 30, as well. There are only six confirmed cases and no deaths attributed to COVID-19 in New Zealand so far.Ardern has proven herself to be a swift actor in the past. Almost exactly one year ago, a white nationalist gunman killed more than 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, prompting Ardern to usher in a ban on semiautomatic rifles and institute mandatory buybacks in less than a week. It's no surprise she's not taking her time this time, either. Read more at Reuters and New Zealand Herald.More stories from theweek.com 7 scathingly funny cartoons about the Democratic presidential race The conservative movement is a public health hazard Why Trump fears Biden
|
| Panic to escape Spain's lockdown amid mass closures across Europe Posted: 14 Mar 2020 05:38 AM PDT  Spain and France went into lockdown last night as the struggle to contain the coronavirus intensified. With 193 deaths and 6,046 infections, Spain is the worst-hit country in Europe after Italy. Under draft new measures all public transport would be cut back and people must stay home except to buy food or medicine, go to the hospital, go to work or other emergencies. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the restrictions following a huge spike in the number of infections in this nation of some 46 million people. "The prohibition to circulate in the streets... must be followed starting today," he said in a televised address after a cabinet meeting that lasted more than seven hours. It left British tourists and students scrambling to get home before some of Europe's most draconian restrictions came into force. There was chaos in the skies with flights from the UK to Spain being turned back mid-air.
|
| Why this die-hard Bernie Sanders supporter says Biden 'hasn't earned her vote yet' Posted: 13 Mar 2020 12:01 PM PDT  Polarized is a weekly series featuring Americans from all 50 states sharing their views on the 2020 elections. Click here if you would like to be a part of this projectJennifer Lewis-Kelly is ready for a revolution — and she's putting in the work to make one happen.
|
| White House will extend Europe travel ban to Ireland, U.K., considering domestic restrictions Posted: 14 Mar 2020 10:13 AM PDT  President Trump on Saturday said during a press briefing that he's considering barring travel from certain places within the United States.The president didn't go into much detail about what places might be affected, but he said the White House is "working with states" to determine the best path forward. Regardless, he advised Americans not to travel if they "don't have to" because "we want this thing to end."> JUST IN: Pres. Trump says he is considering domestic travel restrictions "specifically from certain areas," after Pentagon restricted service members' domestic travel.> > "If you don't have to travel I wouldn't do it... we want this thing to end." https://t.co/zyG4ankfGn pic.twitter.com/dYT5QCPAvn> > — ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 14, 2020Vice President Mike Pence added that the current travel ban from Europe will be extended to Ireland and the United Kingdom, effective midnight Monday. As is the case elsewhere in Europe, U.S. citizens and legal residents from those countries will still be able to return to the United States. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com 7 scathingly funny cartoons about the Democratic presidential race The conservative movement is a public health hazard Why Trump fears Biden
|
| Businessman Jack Ma to donate test kits, masks to U.S. in fight against coronavirus Posted: 13 Mar 2020 01:32 PM PDT  Chinese billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma said he will donate 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and 1 million masks to the United States and urged international cooperation to fight the health crisis.
|
| Economic heavyweight Boeing hammered by dual crises Posted: 14 Mar 2020 07:54 PM PDT  Boeing lost $52 billion on the stock market in a week, a rout that underscores the challenges facing the aircraft manufacturer amid setbacks over the 737 MAX and the coronavirus pandemic. The industrial giant has lost all the gains amassed since President Donald Trump arrived in the White House in January 2017, which begs the question: Is the maker of the presidential plane, Air Force One, on solid financial ground? "Boeing is in distress and a lot of that is self-inflicted."
|
| Mexico braces for coronavirus lasting 'all year', tightens curbs Posted: 14 Mar 2020 01:24 PM PDT  Mexico warned on Saturday that the coronavirus outbreak could last all year as it began rolling out tougher measures to contain the spread, calling for an end to large gatherings and extending Easter school holidays. The education ministry said some 33 million students will head into the Easter break at the end of next week, doubling the length of their vacation. "We're preparing for an epidemic that could last all year," Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell told a news conference.
|
| Coronavirus: British Airways boss tells staff jobs will go Posted: 13 Mar 2020 01:25 PM PDT  Airline boss spells out the crisis caused by coronavirus in a memo to staff titled "The Survival of BA".
|
| Italians over 80 'will be left to die' as country overwhelmed by coronavirus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 05:48 AM PDT  Coronavirus victims in Italy will be denied access to intensive care if they are aged 80 or more or in poor health should pressure on beds increase, a document prepared by a crisis management unit in Turin propose. Some patients denied intensive care will in effect be left to die, doctors fear. The unit has drawn up a protocol, seen by The Telegraph, that will determine which patients receive treatment in intensive care and which do not if there are insufficient spaces. Intensive care capacity is running short in Italy as the coronavirus continues to spread. The document, produced by the civil protection deparment of the Piedmont region, one of those hardest hit, says: "The criteria for access to intensive therapy in cases of emergency must include age of less than 80 or a score on the Charlson comorbidity Index [which indicates how many other medical conditions the patient has] of less than 5." The ability of the patient to recover from resuscitation will also be considered. One doctor said: "[Who lives and who dies] is decided by age and by the [patient's] health conditions. This is how it is in a war."
|
| Sanders had some vulnerable Democrats worried. Biden's surge eased their minds. Posted: 14 Mar 2020 05:13 AM PDT  House members in tough re-election fights "don't want to spend every single day being consumed by having to answer for Sanders rhetoric or Sanders policy."
|
| Turkey quarantines thousands of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia Posted: 15 Mar 2020 04:39 AM PDT  Thousands of Muslims returning to Turkey from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia were being taken into quarantine on Sunday due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, Turkish officials said. Television pictures showed buses transporting pilgrims along the highway from Ankara's airport to the city as part of an operation to place those returning into student dormitories. Turkey, which has only diagnosed six cases of coronavirus, has ramped up measures to halt its spread in recent days, closing schools and universities, holding sports events without spectators and halting flights to many countries.
|
| Iconic planes are disappearing from the sky earlier than planned as coronavirus wreaks airline havoc not seen since 9/11 Posted: 14 Mar 2020 05:28 AM PDT  Demand for air travel is plummeting, and airlines are taking that as an opportunity to put its older planes out to pasture early.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment