AOC lowers expectations on Medicare for All, admitting Sanders 'can't wave a magic wand' to pass it

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that if Sen. Bernie Sanders were elected president, he still might not be able to get Medicare for All, his signature health plan, passed in Congress. “A president can't wave a magic wand and pass any legislation they want,” Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told HuffPost this week. While Ocasio-Cortez rarely tempers expectations when championing ideas like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal to fight climate change she helped author, she went on to suggest that under a President Sanders, a “compromise” might emerge on health care, even though she still considers Sanders's bill the gold standard.

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  The Case Against A 'Medicare For All' Litmus Test, Courtesy of Ocasio-Cortez

  HuffPost
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  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has Cheeky Response To Critics Of Her 'Drag Race' Guest Spot

  HuffPost

Bush-Era Cabinet Member’s Daughter Charged With Fatally Stabbing Friend

The daughter of one the country's highest-ranking former diplomats has been charged with fatally stabbing an acquaintance in the neck during a late-night argument. Sophia Negroponte allegedly killed Yousuf Rasmussen, 24, inside an apartment in Rockville, Maryland just before midnight Thursday, the Montgomery County Department of Police said. The 27-year-old is the daughter of former director of national intelligence John Negroponte, the Washington Post reported.

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  Former U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte's Daughter Accused of Stabbing a Man to Death

  People
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  Daughter of former cabinet official facing charges

  ABC News Videos

Is that Harriet Tubman on a bank debit card, throwing a Wakanda salute?

A new debit card from the nation's largest black-owned bank with an image of Harriet Tubman throwing a gesture that bears striking resemblance to one from the movie "Black Panther" drew criticism and expressions of disbelief on social media. The famed abolitionist and political activist is shown with fists crossed over her chest, which some saw as a gesture from the Marvel blockbuster movie "Black Panther" about the fictional African country Wakanda. Bank officials said the gesture is not from the movie, but rather the sign for "love" in American Sign Language.

China reports fall in new virus cases for 3rd straight day

China reported Sunday a drop in new virus cases for the third straight day, as it became apparent that the country's leadership was aware of the potential gravity of the situation well before the alarm was sounded. There are 2,009 new cases in mainland China, bringing its total number of confirmed cases to 68,500, according to the country's National Health Commission. The death toll in mainland China from COVID-19, a disease stemming from a new form of coronavirus, now stands at 1,665.

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  China toll leaps past 1,600 as first death reported outside Asia

  AFP
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  New China virus cases drop for third day as toll passes 1,600

  AFP

Waiters are sharing the most awkward Valentine's Day dates they've witnessed on Reddit — and they will make you cringe

Waiters are sharing the most awkward Valentine's Day dates they've witnessed on Reddit. A Valentine's Day dinner has the potential to be very romantic, but also very awkward — especially for the wait staff. In a thread on Reddit, a user asked waiters to tell stories of Valentine's Day disasters they've witnessed.

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  Justin Timberlake, Demi Moore, Lady Gaga and more celebs post Valentine's Day tributes

  Yahoo Celebrity
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  Sophie Turner Wished Joe Jonas a Happy Valentine's Day on Instagram With a Super Cute Pic

  Cosmopolitan

DNC announces qualifications for South Carolina debate

The Democratic National Committee has announced the qualifications for the 10th 2020 Democratic Party presidential debate in Charleston, South Carolina on February 25 hosted by CBS News. Similar to the qualifications for the February 19 Nevada debate, candidates seeking to participate will need to meet either a polling or delegate threshold to take part in the event co-hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute. To qualify using the delegate threshold, Democratic presidential hopefuls must have been allocated at least one pledged delegate to the National Democratic Convention from either Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada.

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  Reid says Biden will do well in diverse Nevada's caucuses

  Associated Press
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  South Carolina lawmakers suggest Biden may be taking black voters in the state for granted

  The Week

Assistant principal accused of raping student avoids jail

An assistant principal charged with raping a 16-year-old student in Missouri has avoided jail time by accepting an Alford plea, which allows her to assert innocence while acknowledging the evidence proves her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Just Ask This Russian Submarine: The Cuban Missile Crisis Nearly Ended The World

Key point: Two officers gave the order to prepare a nuclear weapon for launch... It is commonly accepted that the world has never come closer to nuclear war than during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the United States confronted Soviet Union over its deployment of ballistic nuclear missiles to Cuba. In fact, that decision was nearly taken out of Khrushchev and Kennedy's hands by a group of men in the throes of dehydration and CO2 poisoning as they sat in a malfunctioning submarine surrounded by U.S. destroyers, unable to consult with Moscow.

American from cruise ship docked in Cambodia tests positive in Malaysia for coronavirus

KUALA LUMPUR/SIHANOUKVILLE, Cambodia (Reuters) - An 83-year-old American passenger from a cruise ship that docked in Cambodia after being shunned by other countries has tested positive for the new coronavirus after being tested in Malaysia, health authorities said on Saturday. The woman was the first passenger from the MS Westerdam, operated by Carnival Corp unit Holland America Inc, to test positive for the virus. The passengers were tested regularly on board and Cambodia also tested 20 once it docked.

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  Cambodia gets more praise for allowing cruise ship to dock

  Associated Press
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  American woman from cruise ship tests positive again for coronavirus in Malaysia

  Reuters

The US will begin testing patients with flu-like symptoms for coronavirus in an expanded effort to contain the outbreak

The CDC announced several new measures to aid in the mitigation of the spread of the new coronavirus. American public health authorities announced new "mitigation" measures to disrupt the spread of the new coronavirus, beginning with patients who have flu-like symptoms. Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the CDC's Centre for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said on a media call Friday that there were currently 15 diagnosed cases of the coronavirus in the US, and the agency was weighing different approaches to contain the virus in several major cities.

Inside the Family's Manhattan Apartment

undefined Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

6-year-old girl was committed to mental health facility without parent consent

A 6-year-old Florida girl was committed for two days to a mental health facility without her mother's consent after allegedly throwing a temper tantrum at school, an attorney for the family said. The child was allegedly given anti-psychotic medications at the center, also without the permission of her mother, Martina Falk. Falk's lawyer, Reganel Reeves, said a mental health counselor was called to the school because Nadia was reportedly having a tantrum and throwing chairs.

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  6-year-old forced to leave school asked cop, "Am I going to jail?"

  CBS News
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  Bodycam video shows 6-year-old girl taken to mental health facility

  ABC News Videos

Man declared incompetent in San Francisco pier killing case

A Mexican man who was acquitted of killing a woman on a San Francisco pier in a case that became a national flashpoint was found incompetent to stand trial Friday on federal gun charges. U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria said in a court order that a psychiatric evaluator had concluded Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate was not competent to stand trial “because of mental illness that is not presently being treated." Chhabria said he would meet with lawyers from both sides next week to discuss the next steps.

‘Photographer’ Drugged New Mom, Planned to Steal Baby, Cops Say

It began with an offer on Facebook group for the mothers of newborns: An aspiring photographer wanted to take pictures of babies for free to build her portfolio. Investigators said they have collected evidence that the 38-year-old “photographer,” Juliette Parker, had a plan to steal a baby and raise it as her own. On Friday afternoon, detectives from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department arrested Parker, who has also gone by the names Juliette Noel and Juliette Gains, and her 16-year-old daughter.

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  Washington Woman, Teen Daughter Arrested in Alleged Plot to Steal Baby, Authorities Say

  KCPQ - Tacoma
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  Woman poses as newborn photographer in plot to steal baby, say police

  The Independent

US embassy in Baghdad attacked with rockets

Rockets have dropped near the US embassy in Iraq and a military base hosting American troops, according to officials. Two rockets dropped inside the sprawling embassy compound in Baghdad, three Iraqi security officials have claimed. Colonel Myles Caggins, a spokesman for the US military operation in Iraq, said the military base had been hit by rockets just before 3.30am local time on Sunday.

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  Rocket attack hits near US embassy in Iraq capital: militaries

  AFP
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  Rockets strike near US Embassy in Baghdad; no injuries

  Associated Press

Turkey hits back at Moscow over Idlib claims

Turkey on Saturday hit back at Russian accusations of failing to honour a 2018 deal by insisting it carried out its responsibilities in Idlib, Syria's last major rebel bastion. "Observation posts were set up and the regime had to stay outside of this area. Russia and Iran were to ensure the regime stayed outside, Turkey had responsibilities too, Turkey fulfilled these," Turkish Vice-President Fuat Oktay told NTV broadcaster.

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  Syrian chopper downed over rebel area, killing crew

  AFP
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  Turkey, Russia to discuss grave situation in Syria's Idlib

  Associated Press

Hitler's Submarines Almost Launched A Missile Attack On America

Key point: Most Allied commanders were skeptical that there was a genuine threat to the continental United States—save for certain leaders of the U.S. Navy. In the closing weeks of World War II in Europe, American intelligence determined that a detachment of German submarines had been dispatched to launch a cruise missile attack on the East Coast of the United States. The U.S. Navy deployed forty-six ships and dozens of aircraft to annihilate the incoming submarine wolf pack.

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  This U.S. Nuclear Submarine Smashed Into an Underwater Mountain (And Survived)

  The National Interest
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  Just Ask This Russian Submarine: The Cuban Missile Crisis Nearly Ended The World

  The National Interest

Australian soldiers caring for rescued koalas

Soldiers with the Australian Army have been using their downtime to help rescued koalas. The soldiers from the Army's 9th brigade have been cuddling koalas during their feeding time at Cleland Wildlife Park, near the city of Adelaide, according to a post on the brigade's Facebook page. The koalas were transported there from Kangaroo Island, which was devastated by the bushfires that ravaged the continent in recent months.

The coronavirus could cripple China's economy for longer than Wall Street wants to believe

The coronavirus is still spreading throughout China, but all over Wall Street, a consensus about the virus' economic influence is already solidifying. The thinking goes like this: China will slowly get back to work by the end of the first quarter. Investors will stay fairly steady throughout this period knowing that coronavirus will result only in a temporary knock on corporate profits and general economic activity.

Experts weigh in on how coronavirus may, or may not, run rampant in US in coming months

Also worth noting is that more than 7,000 patients diagnosed with the virus have recovered, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. On Thursday, the 15th U.S. case of coronavirus was confirmed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) after a patient returned from China to Texas earlier this week. "The patient is among a group of people under a federal quarantine order at JBSA-Lackland in Texas because of their recent return to the U.S. on a State Department-chartered flight that arrived on February 7, 2020," the CDC wrote in a press release.

Classmates rally, help release woman from immigration detention

High school students at a Chicago suburb welcomed back a classmate who spent four months in an immigrant detention center as she battles possible deportation to Honduras. Students and staff from Crystal Lake Central High School raised over $10,000 on GoFundMe to pay for their classmate Meydi Guzman's release and subsequent legal fees to fight her immigration case. Guzman, 18, a senior, fled Honduras with her father, Fabio Guzman-Reyes, two years ago seeking U.S. asylum after gang members sexually assaulted Guzman, according to her attorneys, Kevin Bruning and Nathan Reyes.

Israeli army: Hamas hackers tried to 'seduce' soldiers

The Israeli military on Sunday said it has thwarted an attempt by the Hamas militant group to hack soldiers' phones by posing as young, attractive women on social media, striking up friendships and persuading them into downloading malware. Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told reporters that the phones of dozens of soldiers had been infected in recent months, although he said the army detected the scam early on and prevented any major secrets from reaching the Islamic militant group. Conricus said this was the third attempt by Hamas to target male soldiers through fake social media accounts, most recently in July 2018.

Biden admits South Carolina may be make-or-break for campaign

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden suggested on Sunday that winning South Carolina's primary was of the utmost importance for continuing his beleaguered campaign. Biden was asked by NBC's Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” whether South Carolina was the former vice president's last chance to make up ground in the 2020 race after suffering lopsided losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, “Well, I think I have to do really well in it, but right,” Biden said. Biden added that then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton endured a string of primary losses in 1992 before picking up his first win, saying that upcoming delegate-rich states with demographics that are favorable to him will help make him the front-...

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  Reid says Biden will do well in diverse Nevada's caucuses

  Associated Press
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  DNC announces debate qualification threshold for South Carolina

  NBC News

Venezuelan president says arrest of opposition leader Juan Guaidó 'will come'

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said Friday that authorities haven't detained opposition leader Juan Guaidó because the courts haven't ordered it, but he warned: “It will come.