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

14-year-old boy charged with murder in stabbing death of Barnard College student Tessa Majors

A 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged in the murder of Barnard College student Tessa Majors, who was killed during an armed robbery in a New York City park in December. "Sadly, it cannot bring back this young woman, this student, this victim," New York City Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a news conference Saturday of the 14-year-old's arrest.

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  Tessa Majors: Teenage boy charged with murder of New York college student

  The Independent
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  14-year-old held in Barnard College student death

  Yahoo News Video

I Am Watching China Wage a 'People's War' Against Coronavirus (65,000 Cases and Growing)

The policy of quarantining Spring Festival returnees for 14 days has extended through most of China as coronavirus surpasses 65,000 cases. At a news conference held by the State Council Information Office, He Qinghua, deputy director of the Bureau of Disease Prevention and Control, announced that Beijing would be imposing 14-day quarantines on anyone who comes into the capital from anywhere. Because the origins of so many hundreds of thousands of individuals entering the city are “unclear,” Beijing has to implement such a policy to meet its own needs, He said.

Inside the Family's Manhattan Apartment

undefined Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

Why Wasn’t Andrew McCabe Charged?

The Justice Department announced Friday that it is closing its investigation of Andrew McCabe, the FBI's former deputy director, over his false statements to investigators probing an unauthorized leak that McCabe had orchestrated. McCabe was fired in March 2018, shortly after a blistering Justice Department inspector general (IG) report concluded that he repeatedly and blatantly lied — or, as the Bureau lexicon puts it, “lacked candor” — when questioned, including under oath. Why not indict McCabe on felony false-statements charges?

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  Barr Orders Review Of Michael Flynn Case, Heightening Political Interference Concerns

  HuffPost
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  Barr under fire over review of Michael Flynn case

  CBS News Videos

Coronavirus panic could be the endangered pangolin's new threat

The pangolin, once called "the most trafficked mammal in the world," is facing another threat over its potential link to the coronavirus. Scientists working around the clock to save the species worry that Chinese researchers who labeled pangolins as the possible origin of the outbreak may be stoking public fear and damaging conservation efforts. Bill Zeigler, a top researcher at the Brookfield Zoo's Chicago Zoological Society, shared his concerns over what accepting the research without proper support could do to the public's perception of the endangered scaly mammal.

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  World Pangolin Day: What To Know About The Animal Possibly Linked To Coronavirus

  Travel+Leisure
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  How love for an endangered animal inspired a new wave of coronavirus racism

  NBC News

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.

‘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

Questions over fate of Saudi crew in Yemen jet crash

The fate of the crew of a Saudi warplane that crashed in Yemen remained uncertain Sunday after Iran-linked Huthi rebels claimed to have shot down the aircraft. The Riyadh-led military coalition fighting the rebels said the two officers ejected from the plane before it crashed in northern Al-Jawf province Friday but that the rebels opened fire at them "in violation of international humanitarian law". "The joint forces command of the Coalition holds the terrorist Huthi militia responsible for the lives and wellbeing of the Tornado air crew," the coalition said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency late Saturday.

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  Saudi fighter jet crashes in Yemen, rebels say they downed it

  AFP
• UN official says airstrikes kill over 30 civilians in Yemen

  Associated Press

Sanders says presidential rival Bloomberg will not excite voters

LAS VEGAS - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said on Saturday that Mike Bloomberg would not generate the "excitement and energy" needed to win the White House, focusing on a rival still not fully participating in the race. "The simple truth is that Mayor Bloomberg, with all his money, will not create the kind of excitement and energy we need to have the voter turnout we must have to defeat Donald Trump," Sanders said at a Democratic party gala. Sanders, eager to build on winning New Hampshire and a photo-finish for first place in Iowa, mentioned only the billionaire former New York City mayor among his competitors in a Las Vegas speech.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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 is of the utmost importance for continuing his beleaguered campaign. Biden was asked by NBC's Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press” whether South Carolina is the former vice president's last chance to make up ground in the 2020 presidential race after he suffered lopsided losses in Iowa and New Hampshire. “Well, I think I have to do really well in it, but right,” Biden said.

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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

Merkel succession contender calls her out over slow EU revamp

A leading contender to succeed German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday criticised her for taking too long to respond to a French push to strengthen the EU after Brexit. "I would like to apologise for the German government," Armin Laschet said, casting himself as strongly pro-EU as the race to find a new leader for Merkel's centre-right CDU party heats up. Macron has long called for an overhaul to the European Union in response to Britain's departure from the bloc, including deeper integration in financial and defence matters, and has repeatedly urged Berlin to champion the reforms with him.

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  Skeptical Macron sees progress on EU enlargement talks

  Associated Press
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  France 'impatient' over lack of German drive to reform EU: Macron

  AFP

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

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

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.

Costa Rican police find six tonnes of cocaine in biggest ever haul

Police in Costa Rica have found almost 6 tonnes of cocaine in a shipping container, leading to the country's biggest ever drug seizure. The drugs, which weighed 5,800kg, were discovered on Friday evening in Limón in a container of flowers due to be sent to Rotterdam, Holland, according to the Costan Rican national newspaper La Nación. In a press conference on Saturday afternoon, interior minister Michael Soto Rojas confirmed it was the largest ever drug seizure in Costa Rica.

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.