Americans stranded at Pakistan airport after cruise ship was denied entry to multiple countries over coronavirus fears

A plane full of Americans and Canadians was stranded on a tarmac at an airport in Karachi, Pakistan, for several hours on Thursday after it was turned away from multiple countries due to fears of the coronavirus, according to a family member of two of the passengers. Kelly Chrjapin, whose parents were among those on the flight, said the plane contained more than 250 people, all of whom were American and Canadian nationals who had been traveling on the cruise ship MS Westerdam. One passenger from that boat tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month.

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  Coronavirus: US flew infected Americans home against CDC instructions, report says

  The Independent
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  Two Australian evacuees from Japan ship have coronavirus

  AFP

Case of missing children tied to doomsday beliefs, 3 deaths

Family members used to describe Lori Vallow as an attentive mother who had her kids' best interests at heart. Before her children went missing. Seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and his 17-year-old sister, Tylee Ryan, haven't been seen since September.

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  Mother of 2 children missing since September appears in court; bail set at $5 million

  USA TODAY
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  2 Idaho Kids Have Been Missing Since September. Their Mom Was Just Arrested in Hawaii

  Meredith Videos

‘We should be very afraid’: Admiral who oversaw Bin Laden raid hits out at Trump over sacking of intelligence chief

In a searing op-ed, the former head of US Special Operations Command, who supervised the 2011 Navy Seal raid in Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden, has slammed Donald Trump's reckless attitude towards the intelligence community saying that Americans should be afraid of the president's actions. Retired navy admiral William McRaven, writing in The Washington Post about the dismissal of director of national intelligence Joe Maguire, decries the fact that Mr Maguire was apparently ousted simply for doing his job – the dissemination of intelligence to elected officials. He writes: “As Americans, we should be frightened – deeply afraid for the future of the nation.

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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  Intel officials warned lawmakers that Russia is continuing efforts to interfere in the 2020 election

  CBS News Videos
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  House leaders reportedly learned Russia was trying to get Trump re-elected — and Trump was angry about it

  The Week

Kill Shot: Did Elizabeth Warren Just Knock Michael Bloomberg Out of the Presidential Race?

Last night former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made his first appearance on the 2020 Democratic debate stage to optically disastrous results (others disagree, see this). As predicted, Elizabeth Warren was on the offensive throughout the debate, launching direct verbal attacks on her opponents in an attempt to resuscitate her dwindling campaign ahead of Super Tuesday. “Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, of harassing women, and of supporting racist policies like redlining and stop and frisk.” She followed this statement by assuring viewers she would still support Bloomberg if he was the Democratic nominee.

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  Elizabeth Warren Is Winning The Political Merch Game

  Scary Mommy
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  John Legend To Campaign For Elizabeth Warren In South Carolina

  Deadline

A crowd in Ukraine threw bricks at buses carrying coronavirus evacuees from Wuhan to quarantine

REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko A crowd of Ukrainian protesters on Thursday attacked buses ferrying evacuees from Wuhan, China, to a quarantine hospital. The buses were transporting 45 Ukrainians and 27 foreign nationals through Novi Sanzhary in central Ukraine. Nobody on board has been confirmed to have the novel coronavirus.

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  With selfie, Ukrainian health minister joins coronavirus evacuees in quarantine

  Reuters
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  Coronavirus evacuees cause clashes in Ukraine

  Reuters Videos

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.

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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  Sacramento County reports first case of coronavirus

  KGO – San Francisco

Quadruple murderer executed in Tennessee

A quadruple murderer was put to death in Tennessee on Thursday despite lawyers asking the US Supreme Court for a stay of execution. Nicholas Sutton, 58, was found guilty of stabbing a fellow inmate to death in 1985. Sutton's lawyers in January asked the state's Republican governor, Bill Lee, to grant clemency, citing expressions of support for Sutton from prison officials.

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  Tennessee executes man convicted in four killings

  USA TODAY
• Tennessee executes convicted killer by electric chair

  Reuters

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.

AP Exclusive: DEA agent accused of conspiring with cartel

A once-standout U.S. federal narcotics agent known for spending lavishly on luxury cars and Tiffany jewelry has been arrested on charges of conspiring to launder money with the same Colombian drug cartel he was supposed to be fighting. Jose Irizarry and his wife were arrested Friday at their home near San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of a 19-count federal indictment that accused the 46-year-old Irizarry of “secretly using his position and his special access to information” to divert millions in drug proceeds from control of the Drug Enforcement Administration. “It's a black eye for the DEA to have one of its own engaged in such a high level of corruption," said Mike Vigil, the DEA's former Chief of International Operations.

Airport worker with no license takes plane for spin near D.C., almost crashes, feds say

A Virginia man piloted at least one plane without a license in 2018, in a dangerous journey that ended with a "bounced" landing, federal authorities said. Ryan Guy Parker "knowingly and willfully" flew above suburban Washington D.C., posing a "significant risk of injury and death" to himself and the public, according to an affidavit by U.S. Department of Transportation Special Agent Bret Stolle. In a Sept. 27, 2018 trip out of Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg, Parker nearly crashed on touch down, Stolle wrote.

Coronavirus: FBI orders $40k-worth of hand sanitiser to prepare for pandemic as number of infected in US rises to 34

The FBI has ordered $40,000 of hand sanitiser and face masks “in case the coronavirus becomes a pandemic in the United States,” according to documents seen by CNBC. COVID-19, as the coronavirus is officially named, was declared a public health emergency by the government in January. In its purchase order, labelled as being for “pandemic preparedness”, the bureau said it needs those items in case the coronavirus spreads widely throughout the US.

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

  USA TODAY
• 
  Coronavirus: Time running out to stop global spread of epidemic, warns World Health Organisation

  The Independent

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

Trump was reportedly 'furious' after officials flew Americans with the coronavirus back to the US from a quarantined cruise ship in Japan without telling him

Courtesy of Philip and Gay Courter/via REUTERS President Donald Trump was "furious" after officials flew Americans who had tested positive for the coronavirus back to the US, The Washington Post reported. The US flew back 14 patients from the Diamond Princess in Japan while keeping them isolated from other, uninfected passengers. Trump had reportedly been briefed by officials and agreed that anyone who tested positive should be treated in Japan and not travel with other passengers.

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  Japan to let off last healthy cruise travelers, isolate rest

  Associated Press
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  Coronavirus: Britons aboard Diamond Princess cruise ship will arrive back in the UK on Saturday

  The Telegraph

Racist German Shooter Exposes the Global Network of Hate

Late Wednesday night in the central German city Hanau, a gunman that police have identified as 43-year-old Tobias Rathjen opened fire at two shisha bars. They're the kind of places favored by people who enjoy a laid-back atmosphere as they puff tobacco bubbling through water-filled hookahs, and on any given evening, many of those folks may be from Turkish, Kurdish, or North African backgrounds. They're quiet places for conversation and minding your own business.

Fuel tanker explodes causing 'catastrophic' damage on Indianapolis interstate

A tanker carrying about 4,000 gallons of jet fuel overturned and exploded in Indianapolis, closing lanes and backing up traffic on two interstate highways. Authorities began receiving calls reporting an overturned semi and fire on the ramp from Interstate-465 southbound to I-70 eastbound on the city's east side just before 2 p.m., Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Rita Reith said. The fire caused "severe, catastrophic damage" to the surrounding area, Reith said, spreading nearly 500 feet and affecting both sides of the bridge.

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  Mom visits her 3-day-old baby in NICU, helps rescue man from tanker fire

  NBC News
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  Mother Delivers Her Own Baby in ER — Then Helps Save Man Whose Truck Caught on Fire Days Later

  People

Democrat Warren, worried campaign will run out of cash, taps $3 million loan

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren raised more money than most of her Democratic presidential rivals in the weeks before the Iowa caucuses, but spent so heavily that her campaign took out a $3 million loan fearing she would run out of cash. Warren raised $10.4 million in contributions in January -- more than former Vice President Joe Biden's $9 million and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg's $6 million -- but ended the month with only $2.3 million in cash, according to disclosures filed on Thursday. All of the presidential hopefuls were required to submit financial disclosures on Thursday, public documents that offer insights into how they are managing their multi-million campaign operations.

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  Meghan McCain slams media for ignoring Elizabeth Warren's debate performance

  Yahoo Entertainment
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  Elizabeth Warren Won the Debate. Will It Matter?

  The Fiscal Times

Bernie Sanders Leads in Nevada and the Establishment Isn't Doing Much to Stop Him

Somewhere in the recesses of the sprawling Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where giant animatronic dragons live, slot machines are always busy, and bad decisions are likely being made at any given moment, former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid sits in a quiet executive office. It's two days before the Nevada caucuses, but already Reid appears to be looking beyond them, to Super Tuesday on March 3, when more than a third of overall delegates to the Democratic convention will be awarded. Nevada's Culinary Workers Union Local 226, the biggest organizing force in Nevada Democratic politics, chose not to endorse a specific candidate, despite (like Reid) expressing concerns with Medicare for All, one of Senator Bernie Sanders' key proposals.

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  Health care is the top concern for Nevada's Culinary Workers Union

  CBS News
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  Nevada 2020: How the state uses 'strip caucuses' and decks of cards to pick candidates

  Yahoo Finance Video

Execution for a Facebook post? Why blasphemy is a capital offense in some Muslim countries

Junaid Hafeez, a university lecturer in Pakistan, had been imprisoned for six years when he was sentenced to death in December 2019. Pakistan has the world's second strictest blasphemy laws after Iran, according to U.S. Commision on International Religious Freedom. Hafeez, whose death sentence is under appeal, is one of about 1,500 Pakistanis charged with blasphemy, or sacrilegious speech, over the last three decades.

Housing crisis: Berkeley law would put renters first

The mayor of Berkeley, California, proposed a new housing policy Thursday aimed at giving renters first dibs when a property goes up for sale, as the state battles a severe housing shortage and homelessness that Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared his top priority. Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin announced a proposed ordinance to give renters "the first refusal and right to purchase" when their apartment buildings or rented homes are put on the market. Berkeley's city council will vote on the idea later this month.

U.S. takes steps to prepare for pandemic as global coronavirus cases rise

As global concerns over the coronavirus outbreak grow, the U.S. is taking steps to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Health authorities are closely monitoring the spread of the virus — not only in China, where the outbreak began and where the vast majority of the nearly 77,000 cases have been diagnosed — but also in the growing number of cases in other countries. In the U.S., the number of confirmed cases rose to at least 34, as a number of evacuated individuals from the Diamond Princess cruise ship have tested positive.

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  Coronavirus' spread challenges U.S. investors' blue-sky view

  Reuters
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  New virus cases soar in S.Korea and Chinese prisons, more die in Iran

  AFP

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.

Alexandria 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.

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

  The National Interest
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  AOC launches plan to block non-progressive Democrats with all-female candidates: 'My ambition right now is to be a little less lonely in Congress'

  The Independent

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.