- PoliticsYahoo News
Sanders hit early and often at Democratic presidential debate
Bernie Sanders, who has been mostly spared attacks by his rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, paid the price of being the frontrunner Tuesday night in the debate in South Carolina, which holds its primary election on Saturday. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg kicked off the flurry of attacks by referencing a finding from U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia was seeking to aid Sanders's candidacy in the primary election. “Vladimir Putin thinks that Donald Trump should be president of the United States and that's why Russia is helping you, so you'll lose to him,” Bloomberg said.
- PoliticsThe Week
Tom Steyer has paid more than $40,000 to rent a property owned by Jim Clyburn's daughter
Billionaire Tom Steyer is facing some criticism over his spending in South Carolina, a state where his Democratic presidential campaign is making some legitimate headway. Some people have even accused him of trying to buy votes from the state's African-American voters, which Steyer and many others have adamantly denied, The New York Times reports. One thing that's been particularly scrutinized is the Steyer campaign's rental agreement with a company owned by Jennifer Clyburn Reed, the daughter of Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking African American in Congress whose endorsement is considered key in South Carolina.
- U.S.Associated Press
New Mexico governor to sheriffs: Enforce gun law or resign
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a red-flag gun bill Tuesday that will allow state district courts to order the temporary surrender of firearms, and she urged sheriffs to resign if they still refuse to enforce it. Flanked by advocates for stricter gun control and supportive law enforcement officials at a signing ceremony, Lujan Grisham said the legislation provides law enforcement authorities with an urgently needed tool to deter deadly violence by temporarily removing firearms from people who pose a threat to themselves or others. “If they really intend to do that, they should resign as a law enforcement officer and leader in that community,” she said.
WorldUSA TODAYCould a coronavirus pandemic be stopped? US warns of ‘severe’ disruptions
A federal health official warned Tuesday that the deadly coronavirus could cause "severe" disruptions in the USA as global experts struggled to fend off the outbreak and avoid a pandemic. "Disruption to everyday life may be severe," Nancy Messonnier, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warned at a news conference Tuesday. Messonnier said the coronavirus has caused sickness and death and sustained person-to-person transmission.
- U.S.CBS News
Detectives eye Yellowstone in missing Idaho kids case
Investigators are considering searching inside Yellowstone National Park for missing Idaho teen Tylee Ryan, sources close to the investigation told CBS News. Ryan, 17, and her 7-year-old brother Joshua "JJ" Vallow haven't been seen since September. According to court documents, police in Rexburg, Idaho, said phone records show Ryan visited Yellowstone with her mother, uncle and brother JJ on September 8, CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti reports.
- PoliticsNational Review
‘Don’t You Think You Ought to Check?’: Sen. Kennedy Demands DHS Chief Provide ‘Straight Answers’ on Coronavirus Spread
Senator John Kennedy on Tuesday demanded answers from acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf regarding the likely extent of the domestic coronavirus outbreak, saying the American people deserve “straight answers” about the deadly virus. During a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Kennedy asked Wolf how many cases of people infected with the coronavirus the U.S. anticipates having. You're head of Homeland Security, and your job is to keep us safe.
- WorldYahoo News Video
Iran health minister falls ill on camera
Video shows Iran's deputy health minister suffering symptoms of the coronavirus at a press conference before being diagnosed.
- WorldReuters
Don't give China excuse to attack Taiwan during virus outbreak, ministry advisers say
Taiwan should continue to show goodwill to China during the outbreak of the new coronavirus and not give Beijing an excuse to attack the island as a way of relieving "internal pressure", advisers to Taiwan's China-policy making body said. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has repeatedly lambasted Beijing over the virus, worsening already poor ties, even as President Tsai Ing-wen and other officials have offered to help China fight the outbreak. Much of the anger has been focused on China blocking Taiwan's participation at the World Health Organization, with the island accusing China of passing on wrong information to the body about the numbers of infected in Taiwan and of not allowing the island to get the most up to date details on the virus.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump official says coronavirus death rate same as flu – despite it being 100 times worse
In congressional testimony today, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf claimed that the mortality rate for coronavirus is similar to the flu, both at about 2 per cent. While he is correct on the current average for coronavirus which is considered by the World Health Organisation to be approximately 2 per cent, although it fluctuates as more data comes in, the mortality rate for seasonal flu is much lower.
- PoliticsNBC News
'It's a hard no': Sanders' campaign rejects Bloomberg's help in general election
A top adviser said Bernie Sanders would reject an offer from Mike Bloomberg to spend heavily on his behalf in the general election if Sanders wins the Democratic presidential nomination. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York who is running against Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, in the Democratic primary campaign, has said he would keep his money flowing to help oust President Donald Trump, regardless of whom Democrats nominate. But Jeff Weaver, Sanders' closest aide, said the Democratic front-runner would not want Bloomberg's help.
- WorldBusiness Insider
21 airlines have canceled flights outside of China amid fears the coronavirus outbreak is turning into a pandemic — here's the full list
Air New Zealand Stephen Brashear/Getty Air New Zealand is canceling flights between its base in Auckland and Seoul, South Korea from March 8 to June 30 as coronavirus spreads in the Asian country, the airline announced. The route is the Kiwi flag carrier's sole route between New Zealand and South Korea, with Korean Air left as the only operator on the route during Air New Zealand's suspension. Air Seoul KIM HONG-JI/Reuters Air Seoul is cutting flights to seven destinations outside of China, the airline announced, with cancellations to Guam, Da Nang, Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam, Nha Trang, Vietnam, Boracay, Philippines, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, and Siem Reap, Cambodia The Korean budget airline wa...
- U.S.Associated Press
Italian hikers rescued in Alaska after visiting infamous bus
An Italian man suffering from frostbite and four other tourists were rescued in the Alaska wilderness after visiting an abandoned bus that has become a lure for adventurers since it was featured in the “Into the Wild” book and movie. Alaska State Troopers say the five Italians were rescued Saturday from a camp they set up after visiting the dilapidated bus on the Stampede Trail near the interior town of Healy.
- U.S.USA TODAY
A rare, 'cryptic' rainbow snake was spotted in a Florida forest for the first time since 1969
In a state constantly dealing with animals it wants gone — like pythons and green iguanas — someone found something rare. A Florida hiker discovered a rainbow snake (Farancia erytrogramma) last week in Ocala National Forest, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Wildlife Research Institute. It's the first time a rainbow snake has been spotted in Florida's Marion County since 1969, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
- WorldBloomberg
CDC Issues Warnings on Virus; Markets Take Hit: Virus Update
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to prepare for a coronavirus outbreak at home that could lead to significant disruptions of daily life, though the warnings were downplayed by the White House. Congress was told that there's shortage of masks needed for health workers if one occurs. New cases were reported in Europe, prompting worries of a widening outbreak there.
- U.S.Time
A Wrongfully Convicted Kansas Man Who Spent 23 Years in Prison Is Awarded $1.5 Million
A Kansas man who spent over two decades in prison for a double murder he didn't commit will be awarded $1.5 million for his wrongful conviction, according to the Kansas State Attorney General's office. Lamonte McIntyre was convicted and sentenced to two terms of life in prison for the murders of Donald Ewing and Doniel Quinn back in 1994. According to the Associated Press, documents made public during the 8-year fight to free McIntyre allege that the prosecutor in the case intimidated witnesses who told her that McIntyre did not look like the shooter after they saw him in person.
- LifestyleArchitectural Digest
30 of the Best Stainless Steel Kitchen Faucets
An easy upgrade for your kitchen sink Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
- U.S.Reuters
Russia extends detention of ex-U.S. marine over alleged assault
A Moscow court has ruled that a former U.S. marine accused of drunkenly assaulting Russian police officers six months ago last summer must remain in custody. Trevor Reed, 28, from Texas, was arrested in Moscow in August. But his case, which could be another irritant in strained U.S.-Russian ties, was not made public until reports late on Tuesday by the New York Times and the TASS news agency.
WorldAFPHong Kong to give big cash handouts as economy reels from virus
Hong Kong's government said Wednesday it will give a HK$10,000 ($1,280) handout to every permanent resident in a bid to jump-start an economy in recession after months of protests and hit further by the coronavirus outbreak. Financial Secretary Paul Chan unveiled the cash gift in the annual budget, committing a colossal HK$120 billion to help alleviate the worst economic downturn the international financial hub has faced in a decade. Hong Kong boasts significant fiscal reserves of more than HK$1 trillion built up over the boom years, a stockpile that the government is now tapping into.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Coronavirus in US: Trump administration attacked for 'unacceptable' response as San Francisco declares state of emergency
Americans have been warned by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to begin preparing for the spread of the coronavirus. The data over the past week about the spread in other countries has raised our level of concern and expectation that we are going to have community spread here,” Dr Nancy Messonnier, the CDC head of respiratory diseases, told reporters. Public health officials confirmed on Tuesday that there are currently 57 people in the United States with the virus, with only two instances of person-to-person transference.
- PoliticsThe Daily Beast
Whoopi Goes Off on Bernie’s Castro Remarks: ‘There’s Nothing Groovy About a Dictatorship!’
The women of The View continued to rail against Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Tuesday, this time taking issue with the democratic socialist senator doubling down on his praise of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro's literacy program. There is nothing groovy about a dictatorship,” host Whoopi Goldberg exclaimed at one point. Sanders has come under fire, including by many Democrats, for telling 60 Minutes that it was “unfair” to say “everything is bad” with Castro's regime.
- ScienceNBC News
NASA space telescope spots a double star system with an alter ego
A volatile double star system appears to change its behavior rapidly and unpredictably like a cosmic story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The pair consists of a neutron star — an extremely dense remnant of a supernova explosion — and a smaller, sunlike star. Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the National Science Foundation's Karl F. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), astronomers found that this binary star system switches between two alter egos every few years.
- WorldAssociated Press
Pakistani woman accused of blasphemy seeks asylum in France
A Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row in Pakistan, and who faced death threats from Islamic extremists, said she is going to request asylum in France. Asia Bibi will receive her diploma Tuesday as a Citizen of Honor of the city of Paris, a title she was awarded in 2015. She will meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, officials said.
- U.S.National Review
Senate Rejects 20-Week Abortion Ban
The Senate on Tuesday rejected two Republican abortion bills, one that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks and another that would attempt to raise the standard of care for newborns born alive after botched abortions. Senators voted 53 to 44 against a motion to proceed to debate on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, failing to reach the 60 votes required to overcome the Democratic filibuster against the measure. The bill, sponsored by Senator Lindsey Graham, would have made illegal all abortions performed after 20 weeks of pregnancy — the point at which pro-life advocates argue science determines a fetus can feel pain — with exceptions for when the life of the mother is in danger and for victims of rape and incest.
- WorldBusiness Insider
China just banned the trade and consumption of wild animals. Experts think the coronavirus jumped from live animals to people at a market.
NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images China's wildlife-farming industry, valued at $74 billion, has been permanently shut down. On Monday, the nation's legislature banned the buying, selling, and eating of wild animals in an effort to prevent zoonotic diseases from jumping from animals to people. The novel coronavirus, which has killed at least 2,700 people, is thought to have been transmitted to humans by pigs, civets, or pangolins at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China.
- U.S.Yahoo News Video
Crackdown on immigrants using public benefits takes effect
With new rules taking effect on Monday that disqualify more people from green cards if they use government benefits, droves of immigrants, including citizens and legal residents, have dropped social services they or their children may be entitled to out of fear they will be kicked out of the United States.
“There may be some really big pardons coming soon and this may, if you will, soften the public for what’s coming.”
“It was the latest extraordinary example of untamed executive power that suggests the President is feeling invincible now.”
“More than anything else, the pardons aim to discredit the idea of federal anti-corruption prosecution itself.”
“The fact that Blagojevich was a Democrat makes it all the better...Trump wants to convince you that everyone is dirty.”
“The pardons were entirely personal in origin, and so the granting of them was exclusively an exercise of Trump’s own power.”
