- PoliticsYahoo News
Limbaugh and Trump fuel coronavirus conspiracy theories
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who told his listeners that alarmism about the coronavirus was a plot to bring down President Trump, has attacked the CDC official who warned Americans that the virus will inevitably spread in the U.S. “Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the Centers for Disease Control — which today warned it could be bad, it might be bad, don't go to school and don't go to work, stay at home and teleconference — is the sister of the former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein,” Limbaugh said on Tuesday's program. Rosenstein, who resigned from the Justice Department last May, oversaw the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller that President Trump sought to stop.
- U.S.NBC News
Man gets life for kidnapping stepdaughter, holding her captive for 19 years
An Oklahoma man convicted of kidnapping his stepdaughter as a child and holding her in captivity for nearly 20 years has been sentenced to life in prison, prosecutors said Tuesday. A federal jury found Henri Michelle Piette guilty in June of kidnapping and traveling with intent to engage in a sexual act with a juvenile following a seven-day trial that detailed the horrific conditions Rosalynn McGinnis endured. Piette repeatedly raped and abused her and fathered her nine children during the nearly two-decade ordeal, which began when Piette kidnapped her in 1997, when she was 12 years old.
- WorldTime
Doctors Inside Iran Believe Coronavirus Is More Serious Than Reported, and Getting Worse
Right now in Iran we are facing a coronavirus epidemic,” said a senior medical doctor at the Masih Daneshvari hospital in Tehran, the country's top pulmonary public hospital and the main facility overseeing coronavirus patients. Public officials have not confirmed how the disease arrived in Iran, but it appears to be the locus for the regional outbreak. So far, Afghanistan, Georgia, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Oman reported their first cases of coronavirus, all linked to passengers traveling from Iran.
- U.S.Associated Press
Mexico president ties shootout dead to drug consumption
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador suggested Wednesday without offering evidence that most of those who die in Mexico's cartel- and gang-fueled firefights are high on drugs or intoxicated, prompting criticism and questions about whether the claim was accurate. Speaking to journalists in his morning news conference, López Obrador said rising drug consumption rates must be reversed if the country is to guarantee peace and security after years of rising, record-setting homicide statistics. “Just so you have the number, 60% of those who lose their life each day, 60% of those killed in clashes, it is shown that they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but primarily drugs,” the president continued.
- BusinessThe Independent
Bloomberg offered running mate spot to Andrew Yang, report claims
Michael Bloomberg is reportedly trying to convince entreprenuer and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang to join his campaign as his running mate. According to individuals with knowledge of the discussion, aides working with the former New York City mayor reportedly reached out to Mr Yang to discuss how the businessmen could join forces in Mr Bloomberg's quest for the Democratic nomination. The Wall Street Journal reported that Mr Yang hasn't committed to join forces.
- WorldBusiness Insider
The US Navy orders ships in the Pacific to stay at sea at least 14 days between port calls over coronavirus concerns
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Erick A. Parsons The US Navy has given ships operating in the Pacific new port-call guidance amid concerns over the coronavirus, US Pacific Fleet told Insider on Thursday. Ships have been instructed to remain at sea for at least 14 days, the maximum incubation period for the novel coronavirus, between port calls and monitor their sailors. A US Navy spokesperson told CNN's Ryan Browne, who first reported the news on Twitter, that "there are no indications that any US Navy personnel have contracted" the coronavirus.
- WorldReuters
U.N.'s Bachelet urges Saudi to release women activists, uphold rights
U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged Saudi Arabia on Thursday to uphold freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly and review convictions of activists, religious leaders and journalists as it prepares to host a G20 summit this year. Bachelet, in a speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council, called on Riyadh to release several Saudi women activists jailed for demanding "reforms of discriminatory policies". "I also call for full transparency in the ongoing judicial proceedings, and comprehensive accountability, regarding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi," she added, referring to the U.S.-based journalist killed by Saudi agents at its Istanbul consulate in October 2018.
PoliticsBloombergIowa Recount Confirms Buttigieg Caucus Win: Campaign Update
Biden Says He'd Pick Michelle Obama (8:55 p.m. Michelle Obama has made clear she has no plans to run for office but Joe Biden said Thursday he would ask her to be his running mate “in a heartbeat” if he thought she'd agree to the job. The former vice president to Barack Obama made the comment in response to a voter's question about whether he'd choose the former first lady as his vice president.
- WorldNational Review
Seattle Is Socialism’s Laboratory, and It’s Not Pretty
While many commentators have dismissed the rhetoric around the Green New Deal, Housing for All, and End Cash Bail as pie-in-the-sky abstraction, in Seattle, the socialist coalition is quickly translating this agenda into a political reality. After the socialist Left's stunning victory over business-backed moderates in last year's municipal elections, Seattle has effectively become the nation's laboratory for socialist policies. Since the beginning of the year, the socialist faction on the Seattle City Council has proposed a range of policies on taxes, housing, homelessness, and criminal justice that put into practice the national democratic-socialist agenda.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY Opinion
Coronavirus: How Fox News and other right-wing media endanger our health
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Tuesday that Americans should prepare for a “significant disruption” to everyday life as the spread of COVID-19 (known colloquially as the coronavirus) into the United States becomes “not so much a question of if,” according to one official, “but rather more a question of exactly when.” Despite steady warnings from health organizations worldwide, right-wing media are clogging the airwaves with conspiracy theories and inaccurate reporting. Outlets like Fox News are broadcasting sensationalistic, poorly sourced talking points, obfuscating the realities of the outbreak and the United States' own readiness to deal with it, leaving Americans more vulnerable and less informed.
- U.S.NBC News
Missing Mennonite woman, 27, found dead 250 miles from home
The body of a Mennonite woman who disappeared from her New Mexico home at the end of January was found last week in Arizona, more than 250 miles away, and authorities said Tuesday they believe she was kidnapped and murdered. Sasha Marie Krause, 27, was last seen leaving her Crouch Mesa home at 8 p.m. on Jan. 18, according to the San Juan County Sheriff's Office in New Mexico. Deputies responded to Lamp & Light Publishers, a Mennonite bookstore across the street from Farmington Mennonite Church, at 3 a.m. on Jan. 19, at which point Krause was reported missing.
- BusinessTime
There Aren't Enough Medical Masks to Fight Coronavirus. Here's Why It's Not Going to Get Better Anytime Soon
If you're worried about the coronavirus and are having trouble getting hold of medical masks, these numbers will explain why: China is the world's largest producer of them, with a reported daily capacity of 20 million pieces, but by the estimate of its manufacturers domestic demand alone is around 50 to 60 million per day. No wonder you can't find medical masks at your local pharmacy. “A surgical mask might provide some protection, but it's going to be very modest,” William Shaffner, a professor of preventative medicine at Vanderbilt University says.
PoliticsYahoo News VideoBiden says he's not worried about Trump refusing to leave if defeated in November
Joe Biden says he isn't worried about the prospect of President Trump refusing to leave his post if he's defeated in November.
- WorldAssociated Press
Amid virus, Saudis close Islam's holiest sites to foreigners
Saudi Arabia on Thursday closed off the holiest sites in Islam to foreign pilgrims over the coronavirus, disrupting travel for thousands of Muslims already headed to the kingdom and potentially affecting plans later this year for millions more ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan and the annual hajj pilgrimage. The unprecedented move, which wasn't taken even during the 1918 flu epidemic that killed tens of millions worldwide, showed the growing worry about the virus across the Middle East, which has more than 360 confirmed cases. The region's hardest-hit nation is Iran, which is Saudi Arabia's biggest nearby rival, with the death toll reaching at least 26, the largest behind only China, where the epidemic began.
- BusinessBusiness Insider
A former Microsoft engineer stole more than $10 million from the company and used it to buy a $1.6 million lakefront home and a Tesla
Reuters A former Microsoft software engineer has been convicted of 18 federal felonies for stealing more than $10 million from his former employer. Volodymyr Kvashuk, who worked at Microsoft from 2016 to 2018, stole "currency stored value," like online gift cards, and resold them online. Kvashuk used the money to buy a $1.6 million lakefront home and a $160,000 Tesla.
- U.S.The Independent
Right-wing extremists killed 330 in the US in last decade, figures show
A new report shows that right-wing extremists were responsible for 330 murders in the United States in the past decade, or 76 percent of all domestic extremist-related murders in that time. The annual Murder and Extremism report published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) shows that out of the 42 extremist-related murders in the US in 2019, 38 were committed by individuals subscribing to various far-right ideologies, including white supremacy. The deadliest, by far, was the August white supremacist shooting spree at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, which left 22 people dead and at least 24 more wounded.
- WorldThe Week
Turkish official: Airstrike in Syria kills 29 Turkish soldiers
A Syrian government airstrike Thursday in the country's Idlib province killed at least 29 Turkish soldiers, a Turkish official said. Rahmi Dogan, the governor of Turkey's Hatay province, said additional troops were injured, while the monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll higher, at 34. Local media reports that after the airstrike, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called an emergency meeting of his top security officials.
WorldAFP Relax NewsCoronavirus: latest developments worldwide
The list of countries hit by the coronavirus grows. Mecca suspends entry for pilgrims. Several countries close their schools, stock exchanges plunge.
- WorldUSA TODAY
CDC confirms first 'unknown' coronavirus case in California that could raise concerns about the threat of the virus
Even as President Donald Trump sought to reassure the public that the risk of coronavirus in the U.S. remains low, ominous news emerged that could heighten the level of concern. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday confirmed an infection in California that would represent the first U.S. person to contract the virus despite not visiting a foreign country recently or coming in contact with an infected patient. "At this time, the patient's exposure is unknown,'' the CDC said in a statement.
- U.S.NBC News
Church denied 8-year-old boy First Communion because he's autistic, New Jersey family says
A New Jersey couple said their 8-year-old son is being denied the chance to receive First Communion by their church because he is autistic. Jimmy LaCugna said in a Facebook post that he and his wife were informed Tuesday by the Rev. John Bambrick at Saint Aloysius Church that their son Anthony won't be able to participate in the religious ceremony because he feels the boy is "unable to determine right from wrong due to his disability." LaCugna said they were told that Anthony, who is nonverbal, is not at the "benchmark required to make his communion."
- PoliticsNational Review
Over 200 Native Americans Ask Elizabeth Warren to ‘Make Clear Public Statement’ Disavowing Past Claims of Heritage
More than 200 Cherokees and other Native Americans sent a letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) urging her to issue a public apology after “vague and inadequate” past steps to apologize for her claims of Cherokee ancestry. “Your history of false claims to American Indian identity and the defense of these claims with a highly publicized DNA test continue to dog your political career,” the letter reads. The letter cites reporting detailing how white people have scammed more than $800 million in no-bid federal contracts intended to support minority business owners by falsely claiming Native American and other minority heritages.
- U.S.Time
The Senate Sits on Commonsense Gun Reform While Americans Die
August 31, 2019 began as a normal day. It was a normal day for a Texas trucker who was driving home from work. Same for a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, who was on his way into work.
- U.S.Associated Press
Arizona's most populous county becomes gun 'sanctuary'
Arizona's most populous county on Wednesday joined a growing national movement in which areas are declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and proclaiming support for gun ownership rights. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted in Phoenix to declare one of the nation's fastest-growing counties a “Second Amendment Preservation County,” following dozens of counties nationwide and four others in Arizona that have approved similar symbolic resolutions meant to stave off gun-control policies that could be seen as unconstitutional. The resolution in Maricopa County, which has about 4.4 million residents, simply says the board supports the right to own guns.
U.S.Yahoo News VideoU.S. Supreme Court dismisses 'D.C. Sniper' Malvo case after change in Va. law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday formally dismissed a case in which Lee Boyd Malvo, who was 17 when he took part in the deadly 2002 "D.C. Sniper" shooting spree in the Washington area, was challenging his life without parole sentence.
- WorldBusiness Insider
A tour guide in Japan tested positive for the coronavirus for a 2nd time, less than a month after recovering
A woman in her 40s living in Japan tested positive for the coronavirus for a second time on Wednesday, less than four weeks after recovering from her first infection. The patient is a tour guide in Osaka prefecture, and first caught the disease from being on a bus with tourists from Wuhan, China, where the virus first broke out, local media said. A woman in Osaka, Japan, has fallen ill with the coronavirus for the second time, weeks after her first recovery, officials announced.
