Ocasio-Cortez's progressive PAC makes first round of endorsements

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced Friday her political action committee's first round of endorsements, which will include two progressive candidates challenging sitting Democratic members of Congress. “It's time to elect a progressive majority in Congress accountable to strong, grassroots movements that push support for issues like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, racial justice and more,” said Ocasio-Cortez Friday, announcing the support of seven women via her Courage to Change PAC. When the freshman lawmaker from New York announced in January she was starting her own PAC dedicated to electing progressive legislators, she said it would refuse to pay dues to the House's campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

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  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has a Plan to Transform the Democratic Party

  The National Interest
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  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s progressive PAC makes first round of endorsements

  Yahoo News Video

U.S. vs. Huawei: Is future of the internet at stake?

Last week, the U.S. government charged the Chinese company Huawei with running a campaign to steal trade secrets from American businesses over the course of two decades. It was the latest move in the Trump administration's effort to constrain the tech giant, which it considers to be a threat to national security. Huawei is one of the world's largest telecommunications companies.

Girl, 11, gave birth to baby allegedly fathered by brother

An 11-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by her brother gave birth at home, and now he and their parents are facing criminal charges. The girl gave birth to a boy in a bathtub in St. Charles, Missouri, according to a probable cause statement. Her biological brother, who is 17, was charged last week with incest, statutory rape and statutory sodomy of a person younger than 12, while her parents were charged with child endangerment.

With information from China scarce, U.S. spies enlisted to track coronavirus

As Chinese officials face allegations of locking down information about the spread of the coronavirus, U.S. intelligence agencies have been helping in governmentwide efforts to gather information about the disease's global spread. Already, some of the best information about the coronavirus and the Chinese government's response to it is coming from military channels, according to two sources familiar with the matter. “China's behavior causes the intelligence community to get involved,” said one of those sources, a former intelligence official.

CDC is preparing for the 'likely' spread of coronavirus in the US, officials say

Health experts sounded the alarm Friday over the worldwide threat of the coronavirus, with officials warning of its "likely" community spread in the United States and the World Health Organization cautioning that "the window of opportunity is narrowing" for containing the outbreak worldwide. The COVID-19 coronavirus, which erupted in China in December, has killed at least 2,360 people and sickened at least 77,900 worldwide, the majority of cases in mainland China. Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters Friday that U.S. health officials are preparing for the coronavirus to become a pandemic.

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  Chances of coronavirus spreading in U.S. ‘very possible: CDC

  ABC News Videos
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  New virus cases soar in S.Korea and Chinese prisons, more die in Iran

  AFP

Watch Out! U.S. Army Tanks Could Collapse Polish Bridges On Their Way to Battle Russia

The U.S. Army and its closest allies have a problem. To deter Russia from attacking Poland and the Baltic States, the Army and its NATO allies should deploy heavy armored forces such as M-1 tanks, armored fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery. RAND, a California think-tank with close ties to the U.S. military, in a February 2020 report underscored the importance of heavy ground forces.

Mike Bloomberg's social media strategy is under fire as Twitter suspends 70 pro-Bloomberg accounts for platform manipulation

Carlo Allegri/Reuters Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is once again in hot water over his campaign's social media strategy. On Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Twitter was suspending 70 accounts for tweeting identical messages of support for Bloomberg for violating its rules against platform manipulation. Some accounts were permanently suspended, while others will need to be verified in order to regain posting abilities, a Twitter spokesman told Business Insider.

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  Twitter suspends 70 pro-Bloomberg accounts for breaking rules

  AFP
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  Twitter suspends pro-Bloomberg accounts for violating manipulation and spam policies

  NBC News

A recurring Biden campaign story about being arrested in South Africa is full of inconsistencies

Former Vice President Joe Biden has a pretty good tale to share — but it may be a little tall. Biden, who is running for president, has been spicing up his recent campaign stump speeches with a story of how he was arrested while in South Africa trying to see Nelson Mandela, The New York Times reports. During recent campaign speeches, Biden says he "had the great honor" of meeting Mandela and "of being arrested with our U.N. ambassador on the streets of Soweto." As Miami Herald reporter Alex Daugherty points out, Soweto is a ways away from Robben Island, where Mandela's maximum security prison was located.

Iran shuts schools, cultural centres as coronavirus kills five

Iran on Saturday ordered the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres after a coronavirus outbreak that has killed five people in the Islamic republic -- the most outside the Far East. The moves came as Iranian authorities reported one more death among 10 new cases of the virus. Since it emerged in December, the new coronavirus has killed 2,345 people in China, the epicentre of the epidemic, and 17 elsewhere in the world.

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  Three new coronavirus cases in Iran after two deaths

  AFP
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  Coronavirus updates: South Korea reports big jump in cases, virus spreading in Chinese prisons

  NBC News

10 Amazing Facts About Polar Bears

A few things you might not have known about the largest bear in the world. From Popular Mechanics

A New York lawmaker wants to treat white supremacists like foreign jihadists. Is this the solution, or a new war on terror?

If all else were to fail in his fight against the threat of domestic terrorism, Rep. Max Rose offered an unconventional plan to protect the Brooklynites who had come to hear him speak at a Jewish community center: He'd stand on guard duty at their places of worship himself. “I'll do it,” Rose told the people who came out to this low-slung stretch of Ocean Parkway, where mosques and synagogues sit next to auto repair shops and fast food joints. The first Jewish lawmaker to represent Staten Island — and the first Democrat elected by the Republican redoubt in a decade — Rose has recently emerged as a leading proponent of treating white supremacists no differently than law enforcement treats foreign terrorists.

Police: Couple forced boys off road, angered by Trump flags

A northwestern Indiana couple allegedly used a car to force two teenage boys off a road, angered that the twin brothers were riding bicycles adorned with flags supporting President Donald Trump, before ripping one of the sibling's flag from his bike, police said Friday. Hobart police said Snapchat videos helped officers secure charges against Kyren Gregory Perry-Jones, 23, and Cailyn Marie Smith, 18, in connection with a July 22 incident. Police Capt. James Gonzales said the Hobart couple are accused of driving in their car, running the 14-year-old boys off of the road, and making threats toward them.

Nevada caucuses live updates: Results and analysis from the third 2020 Democratic contest

The Nevada caucuses are underway on Saturday following a fiery debate among the candidates earlier in the week, marking the first contest in the Democratic presidential primary to be held in a Western state following New Hampshire and the chaos that was the Iowa caucuses. It's also the first test for the Democratic hopefuls — save for Mike Bloomberg, who is not on the ballot — in a state with a significant non-white segment of its electorate. Tens of thousands of Nevadans have already voted early, but others have headed to almost 2,100 caucus sites across the state Saturday to make their choices. Click here for the state-by-state primary results and here for the Nevada results as they start coming in.

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  Democrats battle for presidential race primacy in Nevada and beyond

  AFP
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  Nevada Democrats say they've been 'working around the clock' to prevent an Iowa caucus repeat

  The Week

Elizabeth Warren trolls Republican donor with ad in his paper telling him how much tax she'll make him pay

Elizabeth Warren has bought ad space in a newspaper owned by Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, taunting the billionaire with an estimate for how much he would pay during the first year of her presidency with her promised 2 per cent wealth tax. “With that small wealth tax, we can invest in Nevada families,” it continues. Ms Warren's ad was printed in the newspaper the morning after she seemed to dominate the Democratic debate in the same city by mounting a full-throated attack on another billionaire, democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg.

I Live in South Korea Where Coronavirus Cases are Rising. Not Much Has Changed

South Korea now has the second-highest number of cases of the coronavirus in the world. First, it is worth noting, per Andray Abrahamian, that because South Korea is an open society with an excellent medical system, you are hearing a lot more about corona here than in closed countries. It goes without saying that should corona strike North Korea, that repressive government will tell us nothing and treat the victims terribly.

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  Shadowy Church Is at Center of Coronavirus Outbreak in South Korea

  The New York Times
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  Concerns grow over virus spreading as new hot zone identified in South Korea

  ABC News Videos

New Trump intelligence pick fits pattern of mistrust

Intelligence experts interviewed by Yahoo News are skeptical that Richard Grenell, President Trump's pick to replace Adm. Joseph Maguire as acting director of national intelligence, is a good fit for the job.

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  Trump’s Fury at Intel Briefing Shows Putin’s Bet Keeps Paying Off

  The Daily Beast
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  2016 again? Russia back to stirring chaos in U.S. election

  Associated Press

More than 100 wild animals in China died from poisoning in a mass die-off seemingly triggered by coronavirus disinfectant

STR/AFP via Getty Images More than 100 wild animals were found dead in a Chinese megacity and tests show that they were poisoned by the disinfectant that's being used to combat the coronavirus. At least 17 species of animals, including wild boar, weasels, and blackbirds, were affected by the mass die-off. Nanchong Stray Animal Rescue claims that authorities are killing domesticated animals outright amid fears that they can spread the coronavirus.

Israeli forces kill suspect armed with knife: police

Israeli forces shot and killed a suspect in Jerusalem's annexed Old City Saturday after he approached officers posted near one of the gates armed with a knife, police said. "At approximately 11 am a terrorist approached border police officers at Lion's Gate armed with a knife. He ran towards them," a police statement said.

First US patient has fully recovered from coronavirus in Washington state; nearly 800 still under watch

A Washington state man who was the nation's first confirmed case of the new coronavirus has made a full recovery and is no longer quarantined, health officials announced. Almost 800 people remain on the state's watch list as health officials around the world battle to contain the virus, COVID-19, which has infected more than 76,000 people worldwide and caused 2,247 deaths, mostly in mainland China. In the USA, 15 cases have been confirmed, and one American has died in China.

Erdogan, Putin, Merkel and Macron to Meet March 5 on Idlib

The Turkish, Russian, German and French leaders will meet on March 5 to try to find a solution to the crisis in the city of Idlib as Turkey and Russian-backed Syrian forces risk confrontation in the region. Following phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that he will meet them all on March 5, without disclosing the location. As Turkey slides toward war, Ankara has appealed to the U.S. and its European allies for support in a conflict that risks undermining the friendly ties he's built with Moscow.

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  Erdogan urges Putin to rein in Syria, end human crisis

  Associated Press
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  Erdogan urges Putin to restrain Syria regime in Idlib

  AFP

US accuses Russia of huge coronavirus disinformation campaign

US officials say thousands of social media accounts linked to Russia are part of a coordinated effort to spread disinformation about the new coronavirus. The campaign allegedly aims to damage the US's image and spread unfounded conspiracy theories that it is behind the outbreak which has infected nearly 78,000 globally and killed over 2,500 people. US State Department officials told AFP fake accounts were created and used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so the campaign could reach as many people as possible in multiple languages.

Federal judge blocks effort to transfer coronavirus patients to California city

A federal court blocked efforts Friday night to transfer dozens of patients who tested positive for the coronavirus from Travis Air Force Base in Northern California to an empty building in Southern California. U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton granted a temporary restraining order after the city of Costa Mesa filed a request for an injunction earlier in the day. Named as defendants were the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and the California Department of General Services.

Coronavirus: Could It Takedown China's Communist Party?

Brand “People's Republic of China” is wobbling, as if the massive picture of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square was swaying with an earthquake tremor. But it can only actually fall if pushed from inside. The handling of the coronavirus epidemic is undoubtedly sapping confidence in the Communist party and its formerly all-conquering general secretary, Xi Jinping.