| Dershowitz: Trump can't be impeached because he believed his reelection is in the national interest Posted: 29 Jan 2020 01:27 PM PST  The retired Harvard law professor said that Trump's demand for Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden is not an impeachable offense because the president was acting on the belief that his reelection is "in the public interest."
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| New Jersey mayor admits getting drunk, taking off his pants and passing out in employee's bed Posted: 30 Jan 2020 10:19 AM PST  The mayor of a New Jersey town admitted that he had "too much to drink" when he took off his trousers and crawled into an employee's bed at a party.Mahwah mayor John Roth told NorthJersey.com that he "did go upstairs to bed" and apologised for his drunken behaviour at staff party after a letter from the "concerned employees of the township of Mahwah" circulated in local reports following the incident.
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| Iranian factory makes U.S. and Israeli flags to burn Posted: 29 Jan 2020 06:38 PM PST  Business is booming at Iran's largest flag factory which makes U.S., British and Israeli flags for Iranian protesters to burn. The factory produces about 2,000 U.S. and Israeli flags a month in its busiest periods, and more than 1.5 million square feet of flags a year. Tensions between the United States and Iran have reached the highest level in decades after top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad on Jan. 3, prompting Iran to retaliate with a missile attack against a U.S. base in Iraq days later.
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| Warren Vows to Give ‘Young Trans Person’ Veto Power over Her Secretary of Education Pick Posted: 30 Jan 2020 09:23 AM PST  Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) said earlier this week that she would only nominate a Secretary of Education who was pre-screened by a "young transgender person" in order to ensure that her pick would be "committed to creating a welcoming environment, a safe environment, and a full educational curriculum for everyone."Speaking Sunday at a townhall in Iowa, Warren responded to a question about how to address a lack of LGBTQ history and sexual education in public schools."It starts with a Secretary of Education who has a lot to do with where we spend our money, with what gets advanced in our public schools, with what the standards are," she replied.The Massachusetts Democrat went on to explain that any candidate for the position first had to be a former public-school teacher, and then had to go through an interview conducted by a young transgender person Warren had met on the campaign trail who was worried about the lack of a "welcoming community" in public schools."I said, I'm going to have a Secretary of Education that this young trans person interviews, on my behalf, and only if this person believes that our Secretary of Education nominee is truly as committed to creating a welcoming environment, a safe environment, and a full educational curriculum for everyone, will that person be actually advanced to be Secretary of Education," Warren explained.> Warren says that she will have a "young trans person" interview her future Secretary of Education and only hire this future secretary if the young trans person approves.> > This in reference to a question about sex education/LGBTQ history in public schools. pic.twitter.com/txyt6OI6FX> > -- Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) January 30, 2020Warren has released several plans highlighting her agenda to promote transgender talking points. A recent plan detailing how to restore "Integrity and Competence to Government after Trump" included a commitment to have at least half of Warren's Cabinet be filled by "women and non-binary people."In October, Warren released her criminal justice reform platform, which included an end to the "Trump Administration's dangerous policy" of jailing prisoners based on their biological sex, and also proposed providing "transition-related surgeries," to already-incarcerated inmates.In 2012, Warren told a Massachusetts radio station that "I don't think it's a good use of taxpayer dollars" to pay for sex-change operations for prisoners.
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| British officials: Tanker on fire in Gulf off Sharjah in UAE Posted: 29 Jan 2020 09:00 AM PST ![British officials: Tanker on fire in Gulf off Sharjah in UAE]( "British officials: Tanker on fire in Gulf off Sharjah in UAE") The United Kingdom's Maritime Trade Operations said the fire struck the vessel northwest of Sharjah, an Emirati sheikhdom. Emirati officials said they were working to put out the blaze some 21 miles (34 kilometers) off the coast of Sharjah. The blaze comes amid heightened tensions in the region after the U.S. killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad and Iran fired ballistic missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops.
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| Prowling Lions and Corrupt Officials Block Roads to Africa Trade Posted: 29 Jan 2020 09:01 PM PST ![Prowling Lions and Corrupt Officials Block Roads to Africa Trade]( "Prowling Lions and Corrupt Officials Block Roads to Africa Trade") (Bloomberg Markets) -- Nyoni Nsukuzimbi drives his 40-ton Freightliner for just over half a day from Johannesburg to the Beitbridge border post with Zimbabwe. At the frontier town—little more than a gas station and a KFC—he sits in a line for two to three days, in temperatures reaching 104F, waiting for his documents to be processed.That's only the start of a journey Nsukuzimbi makes maybe twice a month. Driving 550 miles farther north gets him to the Chirundu border post on the Zambian frontier. There, starting at a bridge across the Zambezi River, trucks snake back miles into the bush. "There's no water, there's no toilets, there are lions," says the 40-year-old Zimbabwean. He leans out of the Freightliner's cab over the hot asphalt, wearing a white T-shirt and a weary expression. "It's terrible."By the time he gets his load of tiny plastic beads—the kind used in many manufacturing processes—to a factory on the outskirts of Zambia's capital, Lusaka, he's been on the road for as many as 10 days to traverse just 1,000 miles. Nsukuzimbi's trials are typical of truck drivers across Africa, where border bureaucracy, corrupt officials seeking bribes, and a myriad of regulations that vary from country to country have stymied attempts to boost intra-African trade.The continent's leaders say they're acting to change all that. Fifty-three of its 54 nations have signed up to join the QuicktakeAfrican Continental Free Trade Area; only Eritrea, which rivals North Korea in its isolation from the outside world, hasn't. The African Union-led agreement is designed to establish the world's biggest free-trade zone by area, encompassing a combined economy of $2.5 trillion and a market of 1.2 billion people. Agreed in May 2019, the pact is meant to take effect in July and be fully operational by 2030. "The AfCFTA," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his Oct. 7 weekly letter to the nation, "will be a game-changer, both for South Africa and the rest of the continent."It has to be if African economies are ever going to achieve their potential. Africa lags behind other regions in terms of internal trade, with intracontinental commerce accounting for only 15% of total trade, compared with 58% in Asia and more than 70% in Europe. As a result, supermarket shelves in cities such as Luanda, Angola, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast, are lined with goods imported from the countries that once colonized them, Portugal and France.By lowering or eliminating cross-border tariffs on 90% of African-produced goods, the new regulations are supposed to facilitate the movement of capital and people and create a liberalized market for services. "We haven't seen as much institutional will for a large African Union project before," says Kobi Annan, an analyst at Songhai Advisory in Ghana. "The time frame is a little ambitious, but we will get there."President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana and other heads of state joined Ramaphosa in hailing the agreement, but a number of the businesspeople who are supposed to benefit from it are skeptical. "Many of these governments depend on that duty income. I don't see how that's ever going to disappear," says Tertius Carstens, the chief executive officer of Pioneer Foods Group Ltd., a South African maker of fruit juices and cereal that's being acquired by PepsiCo Inc. for about $1.7 billion. "Politically it sounds good; practically it's going to be a nightmare to implement, and I expect resistance."Under the rules, small countries such as Malawi, whose central government gets 7.7% of its revenue from taxes on international trade and transactions, will forgo much-needed income, at least initially. By contrast, relatively industrialized nations like Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa will benefit from the outset. "AfCFTA will require huge trade-offs from political leaders," says Ronak Gopaldas, a London-based director at Signal Risk, which advises companies in Africa. "They will need to think beyond short-term election cycles and sovereignty in policymaking."Taking those disparities into account, the AfCFTA may allow poorer countries such as Ethiopia 15 years to comply with the trade regime, whereas South Africa and other more developed nations must do so within five. To further soften the effects on weaker economies, Africa could follow the lead of the European Union, says Axel Pougin de La Maissoneuve, deputy head of the trade and private sector unit in the European Commission's Directorate General for Development and International Cooperation. The EU adopted a redistribution model to offset potential losses by Greece, Portugal, and other countries.There may be structural impediments to the AfCFTA's ambitions. Iron ore, oil, and other raw materials headed for markets such as China make up about half of the continent's exports. "African countries don't produce the goods that are demanded by consumers and businesses in other African countries," says Trudi Hartzenberg, executive director of the Tralac Trade Law Center in Stellenbosch, South Africa.Trust and tension over illicit activity are also obstacles. Beginning in August, Nigeria shut its land borders to halt a surge in the smuggling of rice and other foodstuffs. In September, South Africa drew continentwide opprobrium after a recurrence of the anti-immigrant riots that have periodically rocked the nation. This could hinder the AfCFTA's provisions for the free movement of people.Considering all of these roadblocks, a skeptic would be forgiven for giving the AfCFTA little chance of success. And yet there are already at least eight trade communities up and running on the continent. While these are mostly regional groupings, some countries belong to more than one bloc, creating overlap. The AfCFTA won't immediately replace these regional blocs; rather, it's designed to harmonize standards and rules, easing trade between them, and to eventually consolidate the smaller associations under the continentwide agreement.The benefits of the comprehensive agreement are plain to see. It could, for example, limit the sort of unilateral stumbling blocks Pioneer Foods' Carstens had to deal with in 2019: Zimbabwe insisted that all duties be paid in U.S. dollars; Ghana and Kenya demanded that shippers purchase special stickers from government officials to affix to all packaging to prevent smuggling.The African Export-Import Bank estimates intra-African trade could increase by 52% during the first year after the pact is implemented and more than double during the first decade. The AfCFTA represents a "new pan-Africanism" and is "a pragmatic realization" that African countries need to unite to achieve better deals with trading partners, says Carlos Lopes, the former executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and one of the architects of the agreement.From his closer-to-the-ground vantage point, Olisaemeka Anieze also sees possible benefits. He's relocating from South Africa, where he sold secondhand clothes, to his home country of Nigeria, where he wants to farm fish and possibly export them to neighboring countries. "God willing," he says, "if the free-trade agreement comes through, Africa can hold its own."In the meantime, there are those roads. About 80% of African trade travels over them, according to Tralac. The World Bank estimates the poor state of highways and other infrastructure cuts productivity by as much as 40%.If the AfCFTA can trim the red tape, at least driving the roads will be more bearable, says David Myende, 38, a South African trucker resting after crossing the border post into South Africa on the way back from delivering a load to the Zambian mining town of Ndola. "The trip is short, the borders are long," he says. "They're really long when you're laden, and customs officers can keep you waiting up to four or five days to clear your goods." —With Pauline Bax and René VollgraaffSguazzin is a senior writer and Naidoo is a reporter at Bloomberg News in Johannesburg. Latham covers government affairs in Harare.To contact the authors of this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.netPrinesha Naidoo in Johannesburg at pnaidoo7@bloomberg.netBrian Latham in Sandton, Johannesburg at blatham@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Stryker McGuire at smcguire12@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| An emergency UK flight out of Wuhan has been canceled, leaving 200 Britons and their families stranded in quarantine Posted: 30 Jan 2020 02:30 AM PST  A total of 130 people had been screened for the Wuhan coronavirus in the UK. So far, there have been no confirmed cases.
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| Trump, trying to head off testimony, says Bolton would have started 'World War Six' Posted: 29 Jan 2020 06:37 AM PST  As pressure mounts on senators to allow John Bolton's testimony in President Trump's impeachment trial, the president used Twitter to trash his former national security adviser.
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| Trump lawyer Dershowitz: 'If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest' it can't result in impeachment Posted: 29 Jan 2020 12:14 PM PST  President Trump's lawyer Alan Dershowitz on Wednesday said that "If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment."
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| Biden, Sanders lead field in new poll ahead of Monday's Iowa caucuses Posted: 29 Jan 2020 07:53 AM PST  Former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders are leading a crowded field of candidates days before Monday's Iowa caucuses, the first contest in the process of picking a Democratic presidential candidate, according to a poll released on Wednesday. Biden was the choice of 23 percent of likely caucus-goers, the Monmouth University poll shows, slightly ahead of the senator from Vermont at 21 percent. Biden's lead was well within the survey's margin of error, meaning the two men were essentially tied.
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| Tom Cotton Claims Coronavirus Epidemic ‘Much Worse’ than China Admits Posted: 30 Jan 2020 07:52 AM PST  Senator Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) claimed on Thursday that the coronavirus epidemic spreading across China is worse than the country is willing to admit."There was a 28% increase in coronavirus cases overnight in China," Cotton wrote in a Twitter post. "Make no mistake, though: these aren't 'new' cases. Just what China is willing to admit. It's much worse."By Thursday morning over 7,700 cases of the virus were confirmed worldwide, mostly in mainland China, while 68 cases were recorded in other locations around the world. 170 people have died from the virus so far.Cotton has repeatedly pushed for a travel ban to China due to concerns over the spread of the virus. On Tuesday Cotton sent a letter to members of President Trump's cabinet, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, urging the administration to enact a travel ban."As of [Tuesday] morning, China has reported that the Wuhan coronavirus has infected more than 4,500 people and killed more than 100," Cotton wrote in the letter. "But the real number is likely far higher — perhaps in the hundreds of thousands — given the Chinese Communist Party's long history of covering up and minimizing these crises."On Friday Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) himself called for a ban on U.S.-China travel as the epidemic spread.The World Health Organization will meet on Thursday to determine whether to announce a global-health emergency. W.H.O. director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has praised China's response to the outbreak."I was struck by the determination of Chinese leadership & it's people to end the new coronavirus outbreak," Dr. Tedros wrote on Twitter.
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| A Purple Heart recipient who feds say faked his own death after raping his step-daughter is now on the '15 most-wanted' list Posted: 29 Jan 2020 01:46 PM PST  US Marshals say that Jacob Scott is a survivalist and a military veteran who knows how to live off the grid.
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| Japan Issues Warrants for Taylor, Others Aiding Ghosn Flight Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:06 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Prosecutors in Tokyo issued a fresh warrant on Thursday for the arrest of ex-Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who jumped bail and fled the country last month to escape trial for alleged financial crimes.The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office issued the warrant on Ghosn for illegally departing Japan, where the former auto executive was charged with failing to fully report his compensation and using company money for personal gain.Ghosn, 65, who made his way in a private jet to Lebanon at the end of December, held a news conference the week after he arrived, lashing out at Japan's prosecutors for what he called a "rigged" criminal justice system. The Justice Ministry has pushed back, issuing government statements and using news conferences and interviews to defend the country. Japan Sees Nothing Wrong With Justice System Ghosn Called Rigged"Without obtaining permission to travel abroad, suspect Ghosn boarded a private jet at Kansai International Airport at around 11 p.m. on Dec. 29, with the intent of traveling to Lebanon via Turkey, illegally leaving the country," prosecutors said in the statement.Prosecutors also issued a warrant for the arrest of American Michael Taylor, 59, a former U.S. Green Beret special forces soldier, and George-Antoine Zayek, 60, a former Christian militia fighter from Lebanon, for allegedly aiding Ghosn's escape. They are also seeking the arrest of a newly identified suspect thought to have aided Ghosn, Peter Maxwell Taylor, 26.The Tokyo Job: Inside Carlos Ghosn's Escape to BeirutThe three are suspected of helping Ghosn in making his way to a Tokyo hotel, and then to the airport and onto the plane using various methods to prevent him from being detected, prosecutors said in their statement.Earlier this month, prosecutors also issued an arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn, the fugitive executive's wife, for allegedly giving false testimony in court last April.The former Nissan chair is believed to have left Japan apparently concealed in an equipment case aboard a charter jet bound for Turkey en route to Lebanon, where Carlos Ghosn holds citizenship. Ghosn has maintained his innocence and defended his decision to flee Japan, saying that he couldn't get a fair trial in the country.(Updates with details from prosecutors' statement in fourth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Chester Dawson in Southfield at cdawson54@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Reed Stevenson, Jon HerskovitzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| The outbreaks of both the Wuhan coronavirus and SARS likely started in Chinese wet markets. Photos show what the markets look like. Posted: 30 Jan 2020 09:03 AM PST  The Wuhan coronavirus outbreak likely started in a Chinese wet market, where livestock and poultry are sold alongside animals like dogs and civets.
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| Doorbell Cam Captures Chilling Audio of Kobe Bryant’s Crash Posted: 29 Jan 2020 08:48 AM PST  Chilling audio of Kobe Bryant's helicopter coming down in California was captured by a doorbell cam. Local resident Ronna Leavitt has provided the 43-second clip to investigators in which the Sikorsky S-76B chopper can be heard flying above her housing complex in Calabasas before it crashes with a thud into the surrounding hillside and the recording falls silent. Leavitt told ABC7 that the helicopter had flown above her housing complex and performed a U-turn before it crashed into the hillside, killing Bryant and eight others, including his daughter Gianna.Meanwhile, crash investigators have said that the chopper did not have a terrain awareness and warning system that could have provided critical information to the pilot about the mountainous area.The Federal Aviation Administration recommends the equipment on new choppers, and The Wall Street Journal quoted industry estimates of retrofitting the system at between $25,000 and $40,000. The helicopter was also not equipped with a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder, according to reports.Federal investigators said the helicopter lost communications with air-traffic controllers when it climbed to 2,300 feet as the pilot attempted to avoid a cloud layer. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials said the helicopter then began a descending left turn and crashed into the hills of Calabasas at roughly 1,085 feet above sea level. The chopper was descending at more than 2,000 feet a minute in the moments before impact."Preliminary information is that the helicopter was in one piece when it impacted the terrain," a spokesperson told the Journal. "This is a pretty steep descent at high speed."Bill English, an investigator-in-charge with the NTSB, said, "It's important to realize that there's not one hill. It's a ravine with undulating terrain, so the small outcropping that had the main impact in it, the main impact was about 20 to 30 feet from the top of that small hill. But there are actually other higher hills surrounding it."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Here's what the White House letter about Bolton's book really means Posted: 29 Jan 2020 01:25 PM PST  What appeared to be a White House bid to stop former national security adviser John Bolton from publishing his book, which may have explosive claims about his interactions with President Trump, is really just a standard letter regarding classification review, according to legal experts.
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| The U.S. Interior Department Grounds All of Its Chinese-Made Drones Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:12 PM PST  If it was made in China—or uses Chinese parts—it ain't flying.
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| How Trump's impeachment created two Democratic superstars Posted: 30 Jan 2020 02:03 AM PST  Adam Schiff and Hakeem Jeffries are seeing their profiles rise during the Senate trial. How high can they go?
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| Clinton Refuses to be Served Tulsi Gabbard’s Defamation Lawsuit Posted: 30 Jan 2020 07:57 AM PST  Hillary Clinton has twice refused to see a process server attempting to convey Representative Tulsi Gabbard's (D., Hawaii) defamation lawsuit against her, Gabbard's lawyer told the New York Post on Wednesday."I find it rather unbelievable that Hillary Clinton is so intimidated by Tulsi Gabbard that she won't accept service of process," attorney Brian Dunne said. "But I guess here we are."According to Dunne, the server first visited Clinton's home in Westchester, N.Y. to deliver the lawsuit but was refused entry by secret service agents. The agents told the server to contact Clinton lawyer David Kendall, but Kendall told the server on Wednesday that he would be unable to accept the lawsuit for the former presidential candidate.Clinton had suggested in an October podcast that Gabbard was being "groomed" by Russia to run for president, and further termed the congresswoman "the favorite of the Russians." In response, Gabbard sued Clinton for defamation. on January 22."If Hillary Clinton and her allies can successfully destroy my reputation — even though I'm a war veteran and a sitting member of Congress — then they can do it to anybody," Gabbard wrote in a statement announcing the lawsuit. "I will not allow this blatant effort to intimidate me and other patriotic Americans into silence go unchallenged."Gabbard is in the midst of a long-shot presidential bid. She is currently polling at leass than one percent nationally, according to a RealClearPolitics average. In October, Gabbard said she would not run for reelection to Congress and was "fully committed" to her presidential bid.
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| China's CH-4 Drones Are No MQ-1 Predator (And Too Good To Be True) Posted: 29 Jan 2020 07:00 PM PST  This is what cutting corners gets you.
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| Movin' on up: Bloomberg glides past Warren to No.3 in Democratic race - Reuters/Ipsos Posted: 30 Jan 2020 01:42 PM PST  After steadily rising in popularity over the last several weeks, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appears to have surpassed U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren among registered voters for the 2020 Democratic nomination, according to a Reuters/Ipsos national public opinion poll released on Thursday. The Jan. 29-30 poll found that 12% of registered Democrats and independents said they would vote for Bloomberg in the state nominating contests that begin next week in Iowa. Bloomberg appears to have won over a broad coalition of potential voters, including Baby Boomers, high-income earners, rural Americans and Democrats without a college degree, according to an analysis of the last two months of Reuters/Ipsos polling.
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| U.S. Farm Chief Presses EU to Throw Doors Open to American Foods Posted: 30 Jan 2020 04:39 AM PST ![U.S. Farm Chief Presses EU to Throw Doors Open to American Foods]( "U.S. Farm Chief Presses EU to Throw Doors Open to American Foods") (Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signaled that a renewed transatlantic trade truce will require more ambitious European Union efforts to ease imports of American foods.Perdue criticized an idea being pursued by the bloc of a piecemeal accord that would scale back European regulatory barriers to individual American products such as shellfish, saying a U.S. farm-trade deficit with the EU of $10 billion to $12 billion was "unsustainable and unreasonable."Instead, he said, Europe should reject the "political science of fear" over U.S. farm goods and ease market access for them in general."We're looking for real substance," Perdue said from Rome on Thursday during a conference call with reporters. "It depends on recognizing international standards."The comments challenge Europe's better-safe-than-sorry approach to food safety -- a stance that has led to longstanding EU bans on hormone-treated beef and "chlorinated" chicken, and to a slow approval process in Europe for genetically modified foods.The remarks also highlight the obstacles to reviving a July 2018 transatlantic commercial truce. A fraying of that deal in recent months prompted U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen last week to pledge fresh efforts to reach a trade accord, which she said could also include matters related to energy and technology.Any failure could prompt an escalation in tit-for-tat tariffs that began in 2018 when Trump invoked national-security considerations to impose duties on steel and aluminum from Europe.Perdue described talks he held on Monday with EU officials in Brussels as "very productive." And, while declining to speculate about the elements of any transatlantic farm deal because it is being handled in Washington by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Perdue held out the prospect of results within weeks.To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Stearns in Brussels at jstearns2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, Nikos Chrysoloras, Peter ChapmanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| A British woman offered an evacuation flight out of Wuhan says she was told to leave her 3-year-old son behind Posted: 29 Jan 2020 05:09 PM PST  Natalie Francis says the UK has offered to evacuate her from Wuhan, but said she can't take her three-year-old son, who he has a Chinese passport.
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| Mexican Narcos, More Brazen by the Day, Land Coke Plane on a Highway and Shoot a General Posted: 29 Jan 2020 01:37 AM PST  CALI, Colombia—Talk about a tough commute. Traffic was backed up for miles early Monday morning in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo after drug traffickers landed a twin engine prop plane on Highway 307, near the resort town of Bacalar.Mexican Police Chief Arrested in Mormon Massacre CaseThe flight—which originated in South America and had been tracked by radar since entering Mexican airspace—touched down at about 4:30 a.m. A task force led by the senior commander of military operations in that state moved out to intercept.When soldiers worked their way through the traffic jam caused by the plane they were met by a light cavalry force consisting of some 50 vehicles belonging to well-armed, ground-based accomplices who had been waiting for the delivery. The sicarios had also cut down roadside trees and signs to create a makeshift runway for the aircraft. By the time the army showed up, the traffickers already were hustling to offload more than a half ton of cocaine.In the pitched battle that followed, Mexican troops came under fire from military-grade weapons, including a high-powered .50 caliber sniper rifle. When the firefight was over the general in charge had been hit, his driver killed, and at least two more soldiers wounded. Two suspects were apprehended nearby. A portion of the contraband cargo, the .50 cal, a few other rifles, and two vehicles also were seized. The pilots and other traffickers, along with an unknown quantity of narcotics, apparently escaped.To make room for more marching powder, the plane had been gutted of all seats save the pilots'. Authorities retrieved 26 individually wrapped packages of cocaine in the raid, altogether weighing some 600 kilograms (1,320 pounds). Given that the average U.S. street price for the drug is about $96 per gram, that makes the captured haul worth some $57,600,000 dollars.Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador issued a rather laconic statement later that day about the "confrontation," confirming that the raid was indeed led by General José Luis Vásquez Araiza, who heads up the 34th military zone, and that "unfortunately they shot him." Quintana Roo Governor Carlos Joaquín González took to Twitter to offer his condolences to the soldiers and their families and to praise their "hard work and courage ensuring the security of Quintana Roo."Boilerplate rhetoric aside, security in Quintana Roo is in relatively short supply of late, as cartels carry out turf wars in areas once safe for tourists. The Associated Press reported six people were killed in drug-related violence over the weekend in the popular beach town of Cancún, farther north on the same highway where the plane landed. This once placid region in southeast Mexico, near the border with Belize, is now part of a major smuggling corridor, which led to Quintana Roo's murder rate nearly tripling in 2018. Though homicide rates fell slightly in 2019, decapitated and dismembered victims still draw unwelcome attention from the press, stoking fears that the steady stream of foreign visitors, so crucial to the local economy, might be scared away.The image of a drug plane blocking traffic on a national highway in broad daylight has drawn eyeballs throughout the hemisphere. But the incident also highlights just how bold and fearless the cartels have become. * * *A GRIM NEW STANDARD* * *Most cocaine that enters the United States from South America makes a stopover in Mexico. It comes by land, sea, and air, in shipping containers and submarines and modified planes like the one captured this week. Cocaine production in the Andean nations is soaring, especially in Colombia, which now produces about 70 percent of the global supply. To enhance their profits, Mexican cartels have recently taken to importing raw coca paste and refining it in their own country, so as not to have to pay middlemen to cook it on site. As heroin and marijuana have steadily declined in value, thanks to synthetic opioids and legalization respectively, cocaine remains a more stable and valuable commodity—making the cartels "desperate" to obtain it, according to Robert Bunker, a security analyst with the U.S. Army War College.Why the Drug War Can't Be Won—Cartel Corruption Goes All the Way to the TopWhat Bunker describes as "the cartels' increasing brazenness" is also fueled by their growing power, it seems, to get away with just about anything, including colluding with senior Mexican officials. In the last month, U.S. prosecutors have charged two high-level Mexican national police officers with taking millions in bribes. "They have become so used to operating with such high levels of impunity that this is becoming the new standard of their activities," Bunker told The Daily Beast.In reference to the airborne smuggling episode in Quintana Roo, a high-ranking source within one of Mexico's cartels (who requested anonymity for security reasons) described the operation as daring to the point of being foolhardy."I am surprised that a group with access to a plane and that amount of cocaine would land on a road instead of a more secure location," the source said. He also said the tactics were "sloppy" and suggested the lack of "lookouts" and "exit routes" indicated the traffickers might be too cocky for their own good. "There should have been blockades ready in case they were under surveillance," he said.Bunker said one of the more likely culprits behind the highway-as-tarmac plot is the Jalisco New Generation Cartel [CJNG]. Now one of the nation's most powerful crime groups, the CJNG has been encroaching on Quintana Roo for the last few years, driving the surge in violence there.Bunker also said the presence of a .50 caliber rifle and other assault weapons is in line with the CJNG's paramilitary profile. Additionally, one of the two men arrested at the scene was a Jalisco native."The cartel unit was more than willing to go toe-to-toe with the Mexican armed forces in a tactical engagement," said Bunker. That's also in line with CJNG's aggressive behavior, as the cartel has also shot down army helicopters and attacked military convoys in the past.* * *TROUBLE IN PARADISE* * *Quintana Roo isn't the only tourist hotspot suffering from new and unusually high levels of violence in Mexico. Once the playground of Hollywood elites, Acapulco is now among the most dangerous cities in the Americas. Tijuana, on the border with California, was the site of a record-breaking 2,518 murders in 2018. Even Mexico City, long thought to be the safe-zone free from organized crime, has been rocked by gun battles among armed groups. Murders in Mexico reached an all-time high last year, with more than 35,500 victims.Part of the spike in killings is due to the cartel world fragmenting, meaning no one group can maintain order and hegemony—what Bunker calls a "Pax Mafiosa"—over its territory.Up until a few years ago, places like Quintana Roo had been relatively exempt from narco violence because government officials and powerful business owners—including wealthy investors from within established criminal organizations—wanted to keep the tourist dollars rolling in. But today's new breed of next-gen narcos like the CJNG have shown themselves all too willing to challenge that hierarchy. In Quintana Roo, the move of CJNG into tourist safe havens "is slowly changing the 'off-limits' rules that once existed," Bunker said."These groups do not fear kicking over the old economic interests in Mexico or the power structure that exists behind them."The cartel insider agreed that the security situation in places like Quintana Roo could continue to worsen. "The narcos are getting bolder," he said, "and it isn't going to get better."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| A New and Controversial U.S. Nuclear Weapon Goes to Sea Posted: 30 Jan 2020 08:13 AM PST  The missile submarine USS Tennessee is the first to deploy with the W76-2 warhead.
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| Israeli president: Germany must win anti-Semitism fight Posted: 29 Jan 2020 04:50 AM PST  Lamenting rising anti-Semitism in Europe, Israel's president said Germany "must not fail" in fighting it as he addressed German lawmakers Wednesday to mark the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz death camp's liberation. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's address to parliament capped a three-day visit to Germany that started when he flew to Berlin from anniversary events at the Auschwitz site on Monday with German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Rivlin, who recalled protesting when West Germany sent its first ambassador to Israel in 1965, praised today's Germany as "a beacon for democracy, for liberalism, for responsibility and moderate forces." He said that gives Germany "enormous" responsibility at a time when there are "other trends" in Europe and elsewhere.
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| Why are people saying that Lysol sprays and Clorox wipes fight coronavirus? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 01:28 PM PST  No, the current strain of coronavirus was not "developed." And it remains unclear if Lysol or Clorox products work to stop the spread of coronavirus.
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| No hot meals, blankets, magazines as airlines step up fight on virus Posted: 28 Jan 2020 11:07 PM PST  Passengers on some flights to China will have to make do without hot meals, blankets and newspapers, as airlines step up measures to protect crew and travellers from a new virus that has killed more than 130 in the country. Seeking to contain the spread of the coronavirus by reducing personal contact, Taiwan's China Airlines said it was encouraging passengers to bring their own drinks bottles and would limit re-usable items by replacing them with disposables. The airline and its regional arm Mandarin Airlines stopped from Monday serving hot meals and have replaced tablecloths and napkins with paper towels on cross-strait and Hong Kong flights.
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| Remain in Mexico: 80% of migrants in Trump policy are victims of violence Posted: 30 Jan 2020 11:26 AM PST  Asylum seekers sent to Mexico to wait US court hearings under Trump scheme routinely targeted for abduction, survey findsA staggering 80% of asylum seekers sent to Mexico to await US court hearings report being victims of violence, according a survey by Doctors Without Borders (MSF).In one month – October – three-quarters of asylum seekers seen by MSF physicians in Nuevo Laredo reported having been kidnapped for ransom, according to the figures released on Wednesday.Some 44% of MSF patients also reported having been victims of violence in the week leading up to their consultations.Wednesday marked the first anniversary of a scheme officially known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), under which migrants seeking asylum in the United States are sent to Mexico to wait as their cases wind their way through US courts.Under the scheme, also known as "remain in Mexico", more than 57,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers have been sent to wait in cities along the border – many of which have been plagued by drug-war violence for years.Migrants – who stand out because of their appearance and accents – are routinely targeted for abduction outside migration offices and bus terminals, and held until relatives back home wire ransom payments to the kidnappers."The US continues to send asylum seekers back into danger and into the hands of the cartels that control the migration routes in Mexico," said Sergio Martín, MSF general coordinator in Mexico."The Mexican government lacks the ability to provide the most minimum of conditions for thousands of people who are being sent to its territory," he said.Migrants are at risk along the entire border, "but mainly in places like Nuevo Laredo, where there is serious violence – and migrants are 'merchandise' for organised crime," Martín said.Nuevo Laredo is considered so insecure that the US government has issued a Level 4: "Do not travel" alert to its citizens for the city and surrounding state of Tamaulipas – the same as war-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan.The Cartel del Noreste – an offshoot of the blood thirsty Zetas cartel – "operates a sophisticated kidnapping business that targets asylum seekers – many of whom are women and children – who enter the city," said Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the Strauss Center at the University of Texas."The kidnappers charge several thousand dollars for each kidnapped asylum seeker and operate with almost complete impunity."The Mexican government promised to provide asylum seekers with shelter, work permits and access to health services, but observers say many of the migrants have been left to fend for themselves.On Wednesday, the US department of homeland security announced that the scheme would be expanded to include Brazilians. Brazilian arrivals at the border have tripled in the past year.
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| House Democrat says John Bolton told him in September to 'look into' Marie Yovanovitch's ouster Posted: 29 Jan 2020 10:15 AM PST  Shortly before the Senate's impeachment trial resumes, another John Bolton revelation has arrived. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, revealed in a statement Wednesday that he spoke with Bolton, President Trump's former national security adviser, after his White House firing in September. In this conversation that occurred at Engel's request just one day before the impeachment inquiry was announced, Bolton evidently urged the committee to look into the ouster of Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. "On that call, Ambassador Bolton suggested to me — unprompted — that the committee look into the recall of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch," Engel said. "He strongly implied that something improper had occurred around her removal as our top diplomat in Kyiv." > BREAKING: Rep. ENGEL reveals that BOLTON called him in September and told him to look into the Marie Yovanovitch ouster.> > The committees had already started an investigation into Ukraine matters, but Bolton appears to have supported their effort. >>> pic.twitter.com/a54uwGKkaL> > — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 29, 2020Yovanovitch was removed as ambassador to Ukraine in May 2019, and she testified in the impeachment inquiry her ouster was a result of a smear campaign backed by Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.This latest Bolton revelation comes after The New York Times reported on Sunday that the former national security writes in his upcoming book that Trump tied aid to Ukraine to investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son. Democrats want Bolton to be called to testify as part of the impeachment trial, and in his statement, Engel says he told his colleagues about this conversation and it "was one of the reasons we wished to hear from Ambassador Bolton, under oath, in a formal setting." More stories from theweek.com Mitch McConnell's rare blunder John Bolton just vindicated Nancy Pelosi 7 witheringly funny cartoons about the GOP's John Bolton problem
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| 7,000 People Trapped on Mediterranean Cruise in Italy Over Suspected Coronavirus Case Posted: 30 Jan 2020 07:21 AM PST  ROME—More than 7,000 people were quarantined on an Italian cruise ship in the Mediterranean port of Civitavecchia outside of Rome after a Chinese woman from Hong Kong came down with a fever and symptoms that mimic the coronavirus. Initial tests seemed to exclude the deadly virus, according to Italian media, but passengers were expected to be kept onboard overnight as a precaution. A second round of tests late Thursday completely excluded contagion, and Italy's health authorities gave the green light for passengers to disembark. But as of Thursday evening, the mayor of Civitavecchia refused to authorize any passengers to get off the ship. Tourism operators, suddenly confronted with a new nightmare scenario tied to the virus, scrambled to address fears of an outbreak on a cruise ship. "We have no information, the internet inside the ship isn't working, and we can't get news. But above all we take meals together in the common areas, and we don't know if someone is infected," Liborio Iervolino, a cruise passenger from Puglia said. 'There are no disposable dishes and in the rooms, the televisions only broadcast advertisements. We would like to see the news and understand what is happening."The Costa Smerelda, the fifth-largest cruise ship in the world and the flagship of an Italian company best known for the 2011 crash of the Costa Concordia on Tuscan island of Giglio, departed from Savona, Italy, on Jan. 25 with 6,000 passengers and 1,000 crew onboard. The massive, 19-deck vessel made stops in Marseilles, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca before docking in Civitavecchia on Thursday. It was scheduled to return to Savona for the Feb. 1 end of the cruise. But passengers who had lined up for a Rome excursion or to disembark at its penultimate stop were told to stay on the ship after medics in full hazmat suits boarded the vessel Thursday morning to check on a female Chinese patient in her fifties who was in the ship's hospital. The woman, along with her asymptomatic husband and the medical team who treated her during the voyage, are being held in isolation on the ship. Samples from the woman were sent to the Lazzaro Spallanzani infectious disease hospital in Rome to be tested. Citizens of the port town of Civitavecchia have gone to the port to protest the disembarkation of 1,143 passengers whose voyage was scheduled to end in their town. "All the protocols are being followed and we will keep the case constantly monitored," Civitavecchia's mayor, Ernesto Tedesco, told worried citizens as he threatened to sue the cruise company if they disembarked before the full test results were back.The Costa company confirmed to The Daily Beast that the couple were among more than 750 Chinese or Hong Kong passengers on the voyage. Of those, 351 embarked on Jan. 25 in Savona along with the sick passenger, while others got on at the ship's various ports of call in Spain and France. The couple arrived in Italy for the Jan. 25 embarkation on a flight from Hong Kong to Milan's Malpensa airport, which means if the woman is confirmed to have the virus, health officials will then begin tracing anyone who flew with her, since the virus can be contagious even before symptoms show. A Costa representative would not confirm when the woman first reported being sick."The situation is under control and at the moment there are no reasons for concern on board," Italian Coast Guard Commander Vincenzo Leone said in a statement Thursday.Passengers reached by The Daily Beast via social media say they were not told directly that the woman was suspected of carrying the virus, but were told to alert crew members if they were sick with fever or respiratory conditions. Several passengers have tweeted that they should have been told earlier in the voyage that they might be at risk. Many complained that they were not given face masks or rubber gloves to prevent infection.Teens Are Now Claiming They Have Coronavirus for Tik Tok CloutRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| US hits Iran with new sanctions, keeps some waivers in place Posted: 30 Jan 2020 01:30 PM PST  The Trump administration said Thursday that it will continue — at least for now — its policy of not sanctioning foreign companies that work with Iran's civilian nuclear program. Brian Hook, U.S. envoy to Iran, said the U.S. would renew for 60 days sanctions waivers that permit Russian, European and Chinese companies to continue to work on Iran's civilian nuclear facilities without running afoul of U.S. sanctions.
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| Prince Harry's complaint about a report that said he edited his photo of an elephant in Africa to hide that it was tethered and tranquilized was just dismissed Posted: 30 Jan 2020 10:54 AM PST  The Independent Press Standards Organisation ruled in favor of the Mail on Sunday, as Prince Harry didn't indicate the photo was edited in his post.
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| Yang’s Pet Issue Could Outlive His Campaign Posted: 29 Jan 2020 10:00 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- When Andrew Yang started thinking about a long-shot bid for the U.S. presidency, he asked Andy Stern, the former president of the Service Employees International Union, out for lunch in Greenwich Village.Back in 2017, Stern was perhaps the most prominent advocate for the idea of giving every American $1,000 each month. The year before, he had written a book called "Raising the Floor: How a Universal Basic Income Can Renew Our Economy and Rebuild the American Dream." It hadn't made any bestseller lists, but it did help popularize the idea, known as universal basic income, or UBI, amongst a certain kind of politically-minded technologist. Yang, who was then running a nonprofit called Venture for America, fit right into that profile.The lunch seemed to be developing into a classic if-only-the-universe-worked-this-way gripe session until Yang asked the question that he had clearly been gearing up for: Did Stern know anyone running for president on this platform? Stern remembers being surprised by the question, but he told Yang to go for it.UBI has played a central role in Yang's subsequent run for the presidency. Like Stern, he would give all American adults $1,000 a month. The Freedom Dividend, as Yang calls it, would put a family of four—two adults, two children, and no other form of income—$2,200 below the annual federal poverty line.Yang has argued this money would be the solution to almost every ill. Unfair elections controlled by wealthy donors? People can use their "democracy dollars" to support whatever candidate they want. Worried that global warming will flood your coastline property? Use your government check to "adjust and adapt." First and foremost, however, Yang sees UBI as an answer to job losses caused by automation.Yang has outlasted many veteran politicians who were also vying for the Democratic nomination. After failing to qualify for the last debate, he got into the next one, scheduled for Feb. 7. This practically guarantees that at least one candidate on stage will be discussing UBI.Yang spoke Wednesday morning at a Bloomberg News reporter roundtable in Des Moines, Iowa, ahead of the caucuses. "To me, job one is to get more money into the hands of the American people," he told Bloomberg TV's Joe Weisenthal. The chances that Yang becomes president remain minuscule. But even if UBI isn't enough to land him in the White House, his campaign's legacy may be how it contributed to the mainstreaming of UBI. Yang's embrace of one of Silicon Valley's pet causes hasn't come without complications—people associated with some prominent UBI projects take issue with the specifics of Yang's approach. Still, UBI seems more relevant to the American political debate than it has in decades. "Andrew Yang," said Stern, "has done more to promote the idea of universal basic income than almost anybody in American history." The concept of UBI has existed in one form or another for decades, but has mostly faded from the public discussion in the U.S. since the 1970s. Instead, other related ideas were implemented, like the earned income tax credit, which gives tax credits to low-wage workers based on their incomes and number of children.UBI has been inching back into the public conversation in the U.S. for years, with an unusal appeal across ideological lines. The left sees UBI as a step towards socialism; the right sees cash assistance to create a more market-based approach to services currently provided by government-managed programs. The idea also proved to be a good fit for the odd politics of Silicon Valley, where tech leaders worried about the downsides of the economic disruptions they were creating. "I think automation will cause a lot of job change," said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and the former president of Y Combinator, in a recent interview. Y Combinator has funded a UBI research project in Oakland, which is expected to continue for another three years. Elizabeth Rhodes, who is leading it, said in January she expected to share early analysis from the study in "next few months."The interest in UBI doesn't necessarily translate to support for Yang's plan. Rhodes declined to comment on Yang's approach. Even Altman, who has made personal donations to Yang and held fundraisers for his campaign, said the candidate still needs to develop the plan's details. "It's not a policy that I would implement today," Altman said. He wants to see the results of YC's research before settling on an approach, and is concerned about striking the right balance between cash assistance and funding services like education. Altman also said he preferred distributing a "fixed percentage of the money generated by a society each year, not a fixed dollar amount, so that the better a society does, the better everyone does in a very direct way."Chris Hughes, one of the co-founders of Facebook Inc., in late 2016 helped start the Economic Security Project, a group pushing for what it calls "unconditional cash stipends." His group is funding a research project giving 125 people in Stockton, California $500 a month for 18 months. With the support of the city's mayor, researchers sent a letter to everyone who made less than $46,033, the median income for the city. Then they randomly selected families to receive money.Natalie Foster, co-chair of the Economic Security Project, also met with Yang before his presidential run. But unlike Stern, she's not supporting him. Her group has dropped its insistence on the idea of "universal" income, proposing limiting payouts to just those that need it.Foster also takes issue with Yang's plans to pay for his freedom dividend. Yang's version would implement a so-called value-added tax on everyday consumption to pay for his Freedom Dividend. This would affect everyone, and people on the left have generally supported paying for social programs with targeted taxation on the rich. "We would favor a way of paying for the policy that's more progressive, something like a wealth tax," said Foster.Yang has adjusted his guaranteed income proposal during the campaign. He's had to grapple with what to do about poor people who would no longer qualify for existing government services like food stamps once they receive $12,000 a year from the government. Yang now says he'd give people the option between the two programs. More progressive versions of the proposal would give people both.For some of Yang's supporters, one appeal of the plan is how it doesn't fall easily into existing political camps. "He convinced me that universal basic income is the best way forward," said Pradhyumna Agaram, an engineer at the augmented reality company Magic Leap who became a die-hard Yang supporter after he watched an interview with the candidate on Joe Rogan's popular podcast. "He's not ideological. Everything is based on logic and data."Over the course of Yang's campaign, support for UBI has increased, according to polling data. Voter support for UBI grew to 49% in September, up from 43% in February, according to a Hill-HarrisX poll. According to an Emerson college poll conducted in January, 53% of potential Iowa caucus voters now support Yang's UBI plan, with 30% of them opposing it. None of the leading Democratic candidates have taken up UBI. But they have various proposals based on related ideas. Many want to expand child tax credits, increasing the credit available to parents based on how many children they have, regardless of whether they work. Some candidates also support expanding the earned income tax credit.In Congress, Representative Rashida Tlaib introduced a bill in June that would offer money unconditionally to individuals earning less than $50,000 and married couples earning less than $100,000 a year, a version of a bill introduced the year before by Senator Kamala Harris. An unemployed person could receive up to $3,000, without cutting into their social security or disability payments. Another proposal introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown with widespread Democratic support would offer the child tax credit to families regardless of whether they were working.Even Republicans have toyed with a guaranteed income concept. Senator Mitt Romney co-sponsored a bill in December with Democrat Michael Bennet that would offer parents $1,000 for every child they have under 18 and $1,500 for children younger than seven."I love all of these approaches I think they're all pushing us in the right direction," Yang said Wednesday. "I obviously prefer a dividend for the simplicity and impact."The longer that UBI remains a part of the political discussion, the greater the likelihood that related ideas like these will continue to emerge, said Foster. "A whole lot of people are thinking about what an income floor could mean in America today thanks to the fact that he's running for president," she argued. "That means that we have to take our policy differences even more seriously as the idea gets bigger. And that is what primaries are for."(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)To contact the author of this story: Eric Newcomer in New York at enewcomer@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Brustein at jbrustein@bloomberg.net, Anne VanderMeyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Is This Picture How China Takes Over the South China Sea? Posted: 30 Jan 2020 10:48 AM PST  The outposts in the South China Sea are a serious threat to demilitarized sea lines.
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| French court overturns earlier guilty verdict on cardinal Barbarin Posted: 30 Jan 2020 04:47 AM PST  A French appeals court on Thursday overturned an earlier ruling against Philippe Barbarin, a Roman Catholic cardinal who was convicted last year of failing to report sexual abuse charges. Barbarin, 69, had been the highest-profile cleric to be caught up in a child sex abuse scandal in the French Catholic Church. The Lyon court had ruled that from July 2014 to June 2015 Barbarin covered up allegations of sexual abuse of boy scouts in the 1980s and early 1990s by former French Catholic priest Bernard Preynat.
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| Alibaba billionaire Jack Ma, China's richest man, pledged $14.5 million to fight the coronavirus Posted: 30 Jan 2020 01:59 PM PST  The money will be donated through Ma's charitable foundation, which will use it to help medical research efforts and disease prevention.
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| Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Swedish MPs Posted: 30 Jan 2020 08:59 AM PST  Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and the global protest movement "Fridays for Future" were nominated Thursday for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize by two Swedish lawmakers. "Greta Thunberg is a climate activist, and the main reason she deserves the Nobel Peace Prize is that despite her young age, she has worked hard to make politicians open their eyes to the climate crisis," Left Party parliamentarians Jens Holm and Hakan Svenneling wrote in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
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| Mayor banned from Trump rally after asking campaign to cover costs of event: Report Posted: 30 Jan 2020 04:18 AM PST  President Trump's "Keep America Great" rally on Tuesday for his 2020 reelection bid welcomed thousands of people to a seaside town in New Jersey — except for the city's mayor.
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| WHO Calls Coronavirus ‘Emergency’ as Person-to-Person Spread Confirmed in U.S. Posted: 30 Jan 2020 09:48 AM PST  Just hours after the first person-to-person spread of the new, deadly coronavirus was confirmed in the U.S. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, had reconvened the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, which recommended the designation on Thursday. Speaking from Geneva, Switzerland, Tedros said the move would allow the organization increased authority in coordinating the global response to the outbreak.Tedros said the declaration should not be seen as a "vote of no confidence in China," which he said had set a new standard for outbreak response through its commitment to limit the spread of the infection."Over the past few weeks we have witnessed the emergence of a previously unknown pathogen," Tedros explained. "The Chinese government is to be congratulated for the extraordinary measures it has taken to contain the outbreak despite the social and economic impact it is having.""WHO continues to have confidence in China's capacity to control the outbreak," he added. "Our greatest concern is the virus's potential to spread to countries with weaker public health systems."Meanwhile, the new case in the U.S. involved the spouse of a previously identified patient in Chicago, the CDC said."We understand that this may be concerning, but based on what we know now, we still believe the immediate risk to the American public is low," Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, told reporters.Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said the spread "was among two people who were in close contact for an extended period of time." In other words, the new patient may have only been able to contract the virus because he had sustained, prolonged exposure to his wife. That woman was diagnosed as the second confirmed patient in the United States on Jan. 21 after traveling to Wuhan, China, where the virus originated, officials said. The newer patient does have some underlying medical conditions, is in the hospital with his wife, and is about the same age (she is in her 60s), according to the agency.Messonnier noted on Thursday that the CDC was working to prevent "community transmission from happening here" and "trying to strike a balance in our response right now" to handle the outbreak while not sparking panic stateside.She added that the agency did not recommend the use of face masks to the general public, even in Chicago.At last count, there were a total of 165 "patients under investigation" for the virus in 36 states in the U.S., and 68 of those cases had come back negative. Only six people have tested positive for the virus. There were 21 people in Chicago being tested for possible infection, with those most at risk being older citizens or anyone with an underlying health condition, according to Messonnier. The CDC expects more cases of the virus to be confirmed in the U.S., including transmissions from person-to-person, officials said.7,000 People Trapped on Mediterranean Cruise in Italy Over Suspected Coronavirus CaseRedfield and other federal health officials also briefed lawmakers during a closed-door hearing on Thursday. "If this does turn into some kind of pandemic situation here in the U.S.—which we hope it will not—I am concerned about the time it will take to develop a vaccine and get it distributed to the American public," said Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations panel. "While we have been able to shorten the time it takes to develop new vaccines, the time it takes to ramp up production and deliver those vaccines to the public is something that I am still very much concerned about."The other confirmed cases in the U.S. include patients at Arizona State University in Tempe; in Orange County, California; a man in his 30s in Washington state; and a passenger who felt ill after flying into Los Angeles International Airport. Each of those cases involve patients who had recently traveled from Wuhan.A Kalitta Air Boeing 747 carrying nearly 200 American diplomats and citizens was evacuated on Tuesday and arrived early Wednesday at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, California. Passengers underwent two medical screenings in China before boarding, two more screenings upon their layover in Alaska, and voluntarily agreed to remain on the premises for additional checks by the CDC at the air force base, where they were given assigned living quarters. Authorities have said they will transport any passenger with symptoms to a hospital.The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday that it will provide additional evacuation flights "on or about Feb. 3" to accommodate the more than 700 private American citizens still stuck in Wuhan who have requested government assistance in getting out of the port city.The flights will be available on a "reimbursable basis" and passengers will again be subject to "CDC screening, health evaluation, and monitoring requirements" before, during, and after travel, according to a press release.A day earlier, President Donald Trump announced the formation of a "president's coronavirus task force" to lead the federal response to the outbreak in the U.S., alongside the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC.By Thursday, China's death toll from the infection had reached 171, with 8,149 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to state media outlets. A day earlier, the number of infections in China officially eclipsed the tally of 5,327 people infected with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus that killed about 800 people across the globe in 2002 and 2003.The CDC has also sent a team to China to assist health officials in that country, after alleged rebukes from authorities when they were presented with previous offers.At last count, there were 98 cases confirmed outside of China in 18 countries, according to the World Health Organization. Even with global efforts to curb the spread of the virus, confirmed cases have now emerged in Finland, India, and the Philippines, said the organization, in addition to others previously reported in Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Taiwan, Australia, Macau, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, France, Canada, Vietnam, and Nepal. There have been no reported deaths outside China.Authorities did say on Wednesday, however, that they had confirmed person-to-person transmission in Germany, Vietnam, and Japan. Japan, Australia, South Korea, France, Morocco, Germany, Kazakhstan, Britain, Canada, Russia, the Netherlands, and Myanmar were working to evacuate their citizens from the epicenter of the virus. Six hundred Australian citizens who were to be flown out of China's Hubei province will be subsequently isolated for up to 14 days on Christmas Island, which is about 1,600 miles northwest of mainland Australia, according to Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Meanwhile, Russia is closing its Far East border with China in an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus, according to Mikhail Mishustin, the country's new prime minister. Several international airlines had either suspended or reduced service to China by Thursday morning, including American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Delta, United, Air Seoul, KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air Canada.The WHO has for some time now recommended this rapidly-spreading condition be referred to as 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease, where "n" stands for novel and "CoV" for coronavirus, to distinguish it from past outbreaks.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Rand Paul Defends Blocked Question, Says it Dealt With Obama Holdovers, Not Whistleblower Posted: 30 Jan 2020 12:39 PM PST  After his question was blocked by Chief Justice John Roberts during impeachment proceedings on Thursday, Senator Rand Paul pushed back against speculation that the question named the Ukraine whistleblower, telling reporters it merely addressed the role of two partisan staffers who he believes may have coordinated President Trump's impeachment.Roberts declined to read the question Paul submitted, apparently because it named the alleged whistleblower, a member of the intelligence community who filed a formal complaint about President Trump's handling of U.S. military aid to Ukraine.Before filing the complaint, the anonymous whistleblower reportedly told a House Intelligence Committee aide that he was concerned about Trump's behavior during a July phone call with the Ukrainian president, and the aide passed that information to committee chairman Adam Schiff."My question today is about whether or not individuals who were holdovers from the Obama National Security Council and Democrat partisans conspired with Schiff staffers to plot impeaching the President before there were formal House impeachment proceedings," Paul wrote on Twitter."My question is not about a 'whistleblower' as I have no independent information on his identity," Paul claimed.> Sen. @RandPaul: "It's very important whether or not a group of Democratic activists part of the Obama, Biden administration were working together for years looking for an opportunity to impeach the president." https://t.co/e0kl6NUKFH pic.twitter.com/TAnetrmc40> > -- The Hill (@thehill) January 30, 2020However, the NSC staffer mentioned in Paul's question has been floated as the alleged whistleblower by a number of media outlets and some lawmakers. Paul asked whether Roberts was aware that the Intelligence Committee staffer and individual suspected as the whistleblower may have plotted to impeach Trump before there were formal House impeachment proceedings."I think this is an important question, one that deserves to be asked," Paul said afterwards at a press conference. "I think it's very important whether or not a group of Democratic activists, part of the Obama-Biden administration were working together for years looking for an opportunity to impeach the president.""I'm the biggest defender of the whistleblower statutes," Paul said, but he added that, "You shouldn't be able to use statutes to somehow make a whole part of the discussion over this impeachment go away."Democrats, Paul charged, have a "selective" belief in protecting whistleblowers.
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| North Korea says it has intensified efforts to block virus Posted: 30 Jan 2020 02:47 AM PST  North Korea is intensifying efforts to prevent the spread of a new virus from China into the isolated country by blocking tourists, reducing flights and mobilizing more screening efforts, a health official said Thursday. It has sickened thousands, most of them China, but South Korea has reported six cases.
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| Idaho kids still missing after "multiple deaths with strange circumstances" Posted: 29 Jan 2020 07:20 PM PST  Grandparents Larry and Kay Woodcock are pleading for the safe return of 7-year-old JJ Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan.
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