| Elise Stefanik, newest star of Trumpworld, has turned impeachment into a fundraising boon Posted: 27 Feb 2020 10:00 AM PST  Leveraging her impeachment performance, Rep. Elise Stefanik raised $3.2 million in the last three months of 2019, exceeding the reelection haul of progressive darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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| AOC takes down Ted Cruz over coronavirus comment Posted: 28 Feb 2020 04:22 PM PST  New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has delivered an online lesson to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz after he questioned her authority to comment on matters of science.
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| Americans of all parties agree: Joe Biden is old, Michael Bloomberg is rich Posted: 28 Feb 2020 12:49 PM PST  Pollsters at The Associated Press and NORC gave the public a chance to describe presidential candidates in one word or short phrase. The results were... telling.Democrats described former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg as nearly equal parts "smart," "young," and "gay." Independents and Republicans were far more likely to describe him as "gay," as well as "inexperienced," and "centrist." Philanthropist Tom Steyer was more overwhelmingly described as "rich" by Democrats, while independents and Republicans opted for "inexperienced."While former Vice President Joe Biden scored some mentions of "good person" among Democrats, he mostly got "old." Independents and Republicans also mostly called him "old," followed by "corrupt" and "creepy."Democrats and independents similarly described Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as "old" at the highest rate, though Republicans went straight for "socialist," followed by "old," and "communist."> How poll respondents described 2020 candidates in one (or a few more) words. https://t.co/I53LZ1dSR1 pic.twitter.com/GbcahfoHCl> > — Philip Bump (@pbump) February 28, 2020Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is older than Biden and just months younger than Sanders, is universally regarded as "rich" (a fair assessment), and Republicans said he's "buying the election."Democrats were split in describing Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) as "smart" and "strong," though independents and Republicans view her primarily as a "liar," as well as "crazy" and a "woman," which is hardly up for debate.While the Democratic candidates were generally regarded more positively by members of their own party, surveyed Republicans didn't come up with great words for President Trump. Most Republicans simply said "president," followed by "bumbling" and "jerk."The AP-NORC poll was conducted Feb. 12-16 via phone interviews with 1,074 adults. The margin of error is ±4.2 percentage points. View the full results at AP-NORC.More stories from theweek.com Stock markets are headed for a 40 percent plunge, says economist who predicted financial crisis A coronavirus recession would likely end Trump's presidency Court: Don McGahn can defy congressional subpoena
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| Malaysian king hits back at Mahathir amid crisis Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:20 AM PST  Malaysia's king struck down Friday a power play by 94-year-old Mahathir Mohamad aimed at seizing momentum in a political crisis, capping a week of turmoil that has left the country effectively leaderless. Old foes Mahathir and Anwar Ibrahim are locked in a power struggle sparked by the elderly leader's resignation and their ruling coalition's collapse, following a failed bid to push out leader-in-waiting Anwar. Mahathir, currently interim leader, earlier announced the parliament session would take place Monday and the monarch, who appoints the premier, agreed with the decision.
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| North Korea's Kim guides military drills, warns 'serious consequences' if virus breaks out: KCNA Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:19 PM PST  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw military drills on Friday, state media KCNA said on Saturday, a rare public outing amid efforts to prevent an outbreak of the coronavirus in the isolated country. North Korea has not confirmed any cases of the virus, but state media said a month-long quarantine period had been imposed for people showing symptoms and "high-intensity" measures were taken including reinforcing checks in border regions and at airports and sea ports. On Feb. 16, Kim made his first public appearance in 22 days to visit a mausoleum marking the anniversary of the birth of his father and late leader Kim Jong Il.
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| Traveling during the coronavirus outbreak? Here’s what you need to know Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:56 PM PST  With COVID-19 spreading around the globe, the U.S. State Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued these travel advisories.
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| 25 Glass Coffee Tables for Any and Every Living Room Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:46 AM PST |
| Trump complains Democrats are blaming him for coronavirus Posted: 28 Feb 2020 04:23 AM PST |
| Indiana police officer arrested for pretending to arrest 15-year-old son Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:56 AM PST |
| More than 30,000 pounds of yogurt spilled on New York highway after accident Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:17 PM PST  A tractor trailer carrying more than 30,000 pounds of yogurt in western New York jackknifed on a highway Thursday afternoon.
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| Central Park Five's Kevin Richardson slams Bloomberg campaign Posted: 28 Feb 2020 08:58 AM PST  Kevin Richardson, a member of the Central Park Five, has hit out at Mayor Michael Bloomberg's presidential run and his blocking of a multimillion-dollar settlement over the group's wrongful persecution.Mr Richardson, one of the five teenagers wrongfully convicted for the shocking assault of Trishia Meili in 1989, was reported to have criticised Mr Bloomberg at an event outside his campaign office in Manhattan.
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| Deadly riots expose India's Hindu-Muslim divide Posted: 27 Feb 2020 07:32 AM PST  Gul Mohammad had a flourishing footwear business until masked men armed with crude petrol bombs burnt down his shops during Delhi's sectarian riots, shattering the harmony between Hindus and Muslims in the neighbourhood. The Hindu-majority neighbourhood of Ashok Nagar on the northeast fringes of India's capital was once held up as an example of how people from different religious backgrounds could live side-by-side peacefully.
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| Shocking: China and the CIA Both Helped Saudi Arabia Get Their Own Ballistic Missiles Posted: 28 Feb 2020 06:20 AM PST  Well that was a bad idea.
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| Montenegro's president accuses Serbia and Russia of undermining independence Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:09 AM PST  Montenegro's president accused Serbia and Russia on Friday of using the Serbian Orthodox Church to undermine his country's pro-Western government as it seeks European Union membership. Milo Djukanovic, who has ruled for over three decades, said that a series of rallies against a religion law which have been led by Serbian Orthodox clerics in the tiny Balkan country were intended "to question Montenegro's independence." Metropolitan Ilarion, a Russian Orthodox Church cleric, has voiced support for the interests of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro.
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| Mexico Has Two Coronavirus Cases, Health Officials Say Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:30 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- A 35-year-old man was confirmed as the first coronavirus case in Mexico, the country's deputy health minister said on Friday. A second case was verified by a state health official.The first patient has a mild case and has been put in quarantine along with family members in the country's Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference for further testing, deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said at the National Palace.The man is a resident of Mexico City who took a trip to Italy in February. The case is Mexico's first, and the second known instance in Latin America after Brazil confirmed a case on Wednesday."We have the capacity to deal with the situation," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said at his morning press conference.The man traveled to Bergamo, Italy, for a conference, where he had direct contact with an infected Italian national who normally lives in Malaysia.The second case, in the northern border state of Sinaloa, is a 41-year-old man who also traveled to Italy, said Efren Encinas Torres, the state's health minister in an interview on Radio Formula. That patient is in isolation, as is a colleague he traveled with, who has not presented any symptoms.Local health officials sent details to the national agency for confirmation."We see the state laboratory's confirmation as valid, but nevertheless we will verify it in our own laboratory," Lopez-Gatell said.Separately, Lopez-Gatell said that a cruise ship that had been stopped in Cozumel on suspicion of possible infection had no cases aboard and that passengers would be allowed to disembark.Worldwide, more than 83,000 cases have been confirmed and deaths from the virus have topped 2,800 people. On Friday, Iran, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the U.K. all reported new infections. Nigeria confirmed the first infection south of the Sahara desert.The Mexican peso fell 0.7% to end the day at 19.6437 per dollar, its weakest close since October 2019. Mexico's benchmark Mexbol stock index plunged 2.6% after the coronavirus news.(Adds details about second case in lead and sixth paragraph. A previous version added case details, worldwide numbers and stock move.)To contact the reporters on this story: Justin Villamil in Mexico City at jvillamil18@bloomberg.net;Lorena Rios in Mexico City at lriost@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Carolina Wilson at cwilson166@bloomberg.net, Nacha Cattan, Dale QuinnFor 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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| Sub-Saharan Africa just recorded its first coronavirus case. The WHO and Bill Gates have warned that Africa can't deal with an outbreak. Posted: 28 Feb 2020 04:07 AM PST  The World Health Organization fears Africa's "fragile healthcare systems" may not be able to cope with a serious outbreak of COVID-19.
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| Trump Spends 45 Minutes With ‘Deep State’ Play Actors Amid Coronavirus Mayhem Posted: 27 Feb 2020 02:40 PM PST  NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland—One day after briefing the press in an attempt to calm nerves about the spread of the new coronavirus, President Donald Trump spent 45 minutes talking to the lead actors of a low-budget conservative play about the so-called Deep State. Phelim McAleer, the playwright behind the play FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers, told The Daily Beast that the meeting with Trump had originally been scheduled for just 15 minutes but went 30 minutes longer than that. "We went for a 15-minute meeting that took 45 minutes," McAleer said. "We were there for 45 minutes in the Oval Office, and he loves it, he loves the play."Trump hasn't seen the play, according to McAleer, but praised its concept: a script based entirely on congressional testimony and the text messages between former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who discussed the FBI's investigation into Trump's campaign and Russia while having an affair. The play's leads—Superman actor Dean Cain and former Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress Kristy Swanson—also attended the White House meeting. Lisa Page Sues FBI and the Justice Department for Leaking Her Texts With Peter StrzokMcAleer said Trump complained in the meeting about "why some people are in prison [and] why other people aren't"—an apparent re-airing of grievances that law enforcement officials involved in investigating his campaign haven't been charged, while his own campaign staffers have been."He did most of the talking," McAleer said. McAleer said he couldn't remember whether coronavirus came up in his discussions with the president. "It was 45 minutes," he said, "we talked about a lot of things." The meeting was not listed on the president's formal daily guidance and was only announced via a press release from New Hampshire Republican Party official with ties to James O'Keefe's video sting operation, Project Veritas. What else Trump was up to on Thursday was not entirely clear. In uncharacteristic fashion, the president barely tweeted throughout the day, as the Dow Jones industrial average took another massive dive driven by fears that the spread of the virus may severely disrupt global commerce and medical supply chains. Late Thursday afternoon, he called the press in for a meeting with Trump-friendly African-American leaders and media personalities to discuss community empowerment, several of whom called him the best president since Lincoln.The White House did not return a request for comment. But according to three people who've independently discussed coronavirus with the president over the past three weeks, each said he seemed more preoccupied with his beliefs that Democrats and perceived enemies in the news media were going to try to use coronavirus panic to make him "look bad" than with the public health fallouts. "He made a joke about how he could invent a cure for the coronavirus tomorrow, and Nancy Pelosi would still find ways to criticize him for it," said one source who privately spoke to Trump in the past weekWhile the president was out of sight, Vice President Mike Pence was not. On Wednesday, the VP was tasked with spearheading the administration's response to the virus' outbreak. And by Thursday he had made several appointments to supplement the task force, including tapping a former Obama administration official, Debbie Birx, who had previously served as U.S. global AIDS coordinator. That decision was widely cheered among Democrats and medical experts. But the goodwill was quickly replaced by concerns that the VP's office was limiting public communication from various health agencies in an effort to assert control over messaging around the crisis. Officials at the office of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases, told The Daily Beast that he was not able to speak to the press because the White House was handling all media requests. Meanwhile, an official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they would not be able to return media inquiries for a matter of "days" despite the intense public interest in gathering and disseminating official information on the virus. Coronavirus May Explode in U.S. Overnight Just Like in ItalyPence himself did not brief the press on Thursday. But he did speak at a gathering of conservative activists known as CPAC. And while there, he spent time talking to two conservative media luminaries. According to the vice president's pool report, Pence met with Fox News' Sean Hannity for 15 minutes to discuss coronavirus for Hannity's show. And Eric Bolling, a Sinclair TV host and friend of the president, told The Daily Beast that he too had an audience with Pence, behind the CPAC stage. "I asked him if he thought $2.5 billion [for a federal response] was enough... I even asked him why not go further than even [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer's $8.5 billion ask...and say… $18 billion," Bolling said. "Whatever we don't spend, return to the Treasury? He said, 'President Trump has made it clear' that there will be as much funding as needed to fight an epidemic here."According to Bolling, Pence said that he and Trump had talked about the administration's coronavirus task force that day. Later on Thursday, Pence went to the Department of Health and Human Services to meet with the task force himself, during which he re-emphasized that the president's vision is a "whole of government approach" and declared that "in the days ahead the full resources of the government will be brought to bear." The vice president is slated to attend a fundraiser in Florida on Friday, hosted by former Congressman Vern Buchanon. As of now, the event appears to be still on. The VP's office did not respond to numerous requests as to whether they were considering canceling. 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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| Pope cancels second day of engagements after falling ill Posted: 27 Feb 2020 06:44 AM PST  Pope Francis has cancelled official audiences for a second day in succession after being taken ill. The Vatican said the 83-year-old had celebrated morning Mass as usual and greeted participants at the end. He planned to keep his private meeting schedule as planned but decided to cancel official audiences. It did not reveal what the pontiff is suffering from, but he was coughing and blowing his nose during Ash Wednesday Mass this week. On Thursday, he cancelled a planned trip across the city to celebrate Mass with Rome priests. His illness comes amid an outbreak of coronavirus which has infected 650 people in Italy and caused disruption across the north of the country. Rome has had three cases, but all three people have recovered. On Thursday, Vatican officials refused to comment on whether Pope Francis has been tested for coronavirus, confirming only that he had missed a planned Mass for the start of Lent due to a slight illness. "This morning, the pontiff did not go to St. John Lateran basilica for the Penitential Mass with Roman clergy," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement to The Telegraph. "Due to a light indisposition, he preferred to stay near [his Vatican residence] Santa Marta. Other duties are proceeding regularly."
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| Black Lives Matter activist Hawk Newsome on the current state of America Posted: 27 Feb 2020 07:33 PM PST  Newsome is chairman of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, and has spent his adult life advancing the cause of what he calls the "Second Civil Rights Movement."
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| Lori Vallow's niece denies knowing whereabouts of missing kids Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:09 AM PST  Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen in September, according to police. Their mother has been arrested and charged with desertion.
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| Israeli ex-general takes third jab at ousting Netanyahu Posted: 27 Feb 2020 07:45 PM PST  Former armed forces chief Benny Gantz will take a fresh shot at unseating Israel's veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after two previous electoral showdowns ended in deadlock. The 60-year-old has been in the public eye since first declaring political ambitions and running against Netanyahu in December 2018. Within months, his centrist Blue and White party shocked Israeli politics by matching Netanyahu's rightwing Likud in polls last April and then edged it in September.
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| Why is Iran's reported mortality rate for coronavirus higher than in other countries? Posted: 28 Feb 2020 07:53 AM PST  Iran has now suspended parliament indefinitely due to the outbreak. Secretary of State Pompeo says the U.S. has offered to help Iran respond to the virus.
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| The Strange Tale of How British Commandos Attacked Hitler's Fish Oil Production Posted: 28 Feb 2020 06:10 AM PST  More important than you know.
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| Google employee tests positive for the coronavirus as the company further restricts employee travel Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:32 AM PST  The Google employee had been in the Zurich office days before displaying symptoms, the company told employees by email on Friday.
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| 'I guess I wasn't arrested': Joe Biden reverses on claim of an arrest in South Africa Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:10 PM PST  Joe Biden has previously told of being arrested in South Africa while traveling with black lawmakers. He reversed himself Friday in a CNN interview.
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| Trump news - live: President mulling tax cuts to try to stop Coronavirus fallout, report says, as panic buying breaks out across US Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:05 PM PST  Donald Trump has hit out at his favourite broadcaster Fox News after it published a new poll indicating Democratic front-runner Bernie Sanders would beat him comfortably to the White House in this year's presidential race.The president is meanwhile facing further heavy criticism for his handling of the coronavirus as it emerges he closed 37 out of 47 anti-pandemic programmes in vulnerable countries around the world set up by his predecessor Barack Obama to tackle just such a contagion.
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| Many Venezuelans struggle to put food on the table in crisis Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:11 PM PST  For Yeri Guerra, getting by during hard times in Venezuela means sometimes skipping meals so her two young boys still at home can eat before heading to school. According to a survey recently published by the U.N. World Food Program, one of every three Venezuelans cope with food insecurity, unable to get enough to meet their basic dietary needs. In an apparent shift for Venezuela, people surveyed said food is now available in a country once riddled by shortages, but it's more difficult to afford because they've lost their jobs as Venezuela's crisis deepens.
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| The No. 1 way to prevent coronavirus isn't wearing a face mask Posted: 27 Feb 2020 05:37 PM PST  Coronavirus masks are expensive, they only last a few hours — and they may not even help.
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| Doomsday Mom Told Her Husband’s Kids Their Dad Was Dead Via Text Message Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:57 AM PST  The saga of doomsday couple Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell—from the missing kids to the dead spouses—has been one strange twist after another. But even those who have been following along may be shocked by a series of newly emerged text messages.The messages, obtained by East Idaho News, start with Vallow informing her then-husband Charles' grown children that their father had "passed away" the day before.Of course, Charles Vallow had not simply passed away. He was shot dead on July 11 by Lori's brother, Alex Cox, who told police it was a case of self-defense. But Lori refused to tell her stepsons that, or provide them with any useful information, the text messages reveal."Hi boys. I have very sad news," she wrote. "Your dad passed away yesterday. I'm working on making arrangements and I'll keep you informed with what's going on. Im still not sure how to handle things. Just want you to know I love you and so did your dad!!"The sons pressed for more information over the course of the afternoon, but received nothing in response."Lori it's been 3 hours. You're not that busy. I don't care what you're doing," one wrote.She replied, "I'm sorry you are so upset. I'm so upset too... I'm waiting to hear back from the Medical examiner to make sense out of all this for myself. Please be patient with me. It's a crushing situation all around."It's not clear why she would have needed to hear from the medical examiner to make sense of Charles' death; police have said she was there when Cox shot her husband, in front of 17-year-old Tylee and 7-year-old J.J.—Lori's two children who are now missing.Doomsday Writer Claimed Dead Wife Helped Him Find New OneThe increasingly exasperated sons pressed for funeral arrangements and explanations. None came. "Okay Lori. It's been 3 days. You let us know our father passed away over a text message," one wrote to her. "We need any information you have. What happened, when did it happen, how did it happen. Where is he now. Are there any funeral plans and can [we] be a part of it..."This isn't a nonchalant topic you can just throw a text at and be done with it."Lori's response was that "these are your dads wishes.""He and I discussed this a lot over the years we have been together. My plan is to have him cremated as he wished and then take all 5 of you kids to Hawaii to spread his ashes. He did not want a funeral. He wants a celebration of his life," she wrote.One of the sons told East Idaho News that he and his brother figured out which mortuary had their father's body and just showed up, but the funeral director was just as tight-lipped as their stepmother."He was very shaky and nervous. We asked him for information, and he said something like, 'I can't tell you that. It was requested that I tell you nothing,'" the son said.Idaho Doomsday Couple Found in Hawaii—Without Missing KidsThe sons arranged a memorial service for their dad. Lori didn't show up.At the time Charles was shot dead, he and Lori were estranged. She had begun reading the writings of Chad Daybell, a prolific Idaho-based author of apocalyptic novels for Mormon audiences, and she got involved with Preparing a People, a community of doomsday preppers where Daybell was a prominent voice.According to a divorce petition Charles Vallow filed in February 2019 and later withdrew, she had become "obsessive about near-death experiences and spiritual visions" and claimed to be "a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christ's second coming in July 2020." He also claimed she threatened to kill him if he interfered with her plans.By July, Charles was living in Texas and Lori was in Arizona with Tylee and J.J., who was adopted and autistic. Charles traveled to see the children and, according to Lori, got into a physical confrontation with her, forcing Cox to rush to her rescue and shoot him.After Charles was killed, Lori moved with Tylee and J.J. to Idaho, where Daybell lived with his wife of nearly 30 years, Tammy. By October, Tammy was dead, too.Doomsday Writer Claimed Dead Wife Helped Him Find New OneDaybell said she felt sick, went to bed and never woke up. He declined an autopsy, and authorities listed the cause of death as natural. Two weeks later, he married Lori in Hawaii—where she had once lived with Charles and where she supposedly had planned to scatter his ashes.It does not appear that Tylee and J.J. were at the wedding. In fact, no one has seen Tylee since a family trip to Yellowstone National Park in early September, and J.J. has not been seen or heard from since Sept. 23.He stopped going to school, Lori got rid of his service animal, and some of the children's belongings were put in a storage bin. According to Idaho police, Lori and Chad lied to neighbors about whether she even had children, or where they were.Alerted by extended family, police in Rexburg, Idaho turned up in December to check on the children. A police narrative included in court documents says Lori claimed J.J. was with a friend in Arizona and then called the friend in an unsuccessful effort to get her to lie.When cops returned the next day to probe further, Lori and Chad were gone. After they surfaced in Hawaii, an Idaho judge issued a court order demanding Lori return within a few days and produce the children.She didn't show, and the judge signed an arrest warrant—allowing Hawaii police to take her into custody. Held on $5 million bail, she agreed Wednesday to waive extradition and return to Idaho to face charges of child desertion, contempt of court, and promoting criminal behavior.Through their Idaho attorney, both Vallow and Daybell have denied wrongdoing. In court in Hawaii on Wednesday, Vallow's lawyer said the only reason she didn't comply with the court order was because the judge planned to put the children in foster case—though he also provided no details about their whereabouts.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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| I Fought the Taliban. Now I'm Ready to Meet Them at the Ballot Box. Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:35 PM PST  Afghanistan Vice President-elect Amrullah Saleh's family was tortured by the Taliban. Now he's ready to give peace a chance.
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| Crime Against Humanity: China Has Never Forgotten Japan's Bloody Assault On Nanking Posted: 26 Feb 2020 10:00 PM PST  A combination of factors led to some of the worst atrocities in history.
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| Laurene Powell Jobs says she won't pass down her and Steve Jobs' billions to their children: 'It ends with me' Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:15 AM PST  Powell Jobs, who is worth an estimated $24 billion, said she believes a massive accumulation of wealth is "dangerous for a society."
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| A joke gone too far? Some police departments are offering to 'test' meth for coronavirus. Not everybody is laughing Posted: 27 Feb 2020 07:45 PM PST  Law enforcement agencies across the nation are jokingly encouraging meth users to bring their drugs in so they can be tested for coronavirus.
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| Trump 'could suck coronavirus out of 60,000 people' and he'd still be criticized – Huckabee Posted: 28 Feb 2020 08:17 AM PST  * Top Republican on Fox News defends Trump and Mike Pence * Vice-president leading coronavirus containment effort in US * Whistleblower: US coronavirus staff were untrained and unprotectedDonald Trump could "personally suck" the coronavirus "out of every one of the 60,000 people in the world, suck it out of their lungs, swim to the bottom of the ocean and spit it out, and he would be accused of pollution for messing up the ocean", a top Republican has claimed.Former Republican Arkansas governor and ex-presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made the outlandish statement on Twitter on Thursday night and on Fox News' Fox & Friends show on Friday morning.> Mike Huckabee says Trump "could personally sick the virus out of every one of the 60,000 people in the world, suck it out of their lungs, swim to the bottom of the ocean and spit it out, and he would be accused of pollution for messing up the ocean." pic.twitter.com/X7xbC5ebDz> > — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 28, 2020According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than 82,000 cases of the coronavirus have in fact been confirmed worldwide, with about 2,800 deaths. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 60 confirmed cases in the US.In the US, Huckabee's widely ridiculed comment followed the publication of a column for Fox News in which he took aim at criticism of Trump's choice of Vice-President Mike Pence to lead US containment efforts.Critics have said Pence's religious faith, plus the decisions he took as governor of Indiana on scientific and public health matters, make him a poor choice to lead efforts undermined by budget cuts and poor organization.Huckabee said Pence was "a proven leader who knows how to get people with different perspectives working together effectively" on public health matters including the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers) outbreak of 2014."Instead of calling for bipartisan cooperation in this life-or-death effort," he wrote, "liberals reacted with collective outrage, even going so far as to ridicule the vice-president's Christian faith as a way of suggesting that he's not qualified for the role."Numerous media outlets have also published and broadcast one-sided reports trashing Pence's handling of an HIV outbreak as governor of Indiana, but such criticisms are both inaccurate and irrelevant."The outbreak in question happened in 2015. Pence declared a public health emergency but many said faith-driven cuts to sexual health programs made the situation worse.Huckabee, the father of the former Trump press secretary Sarah Sanders, is not the first rightwing commentator to claim Democrats and the media are using concerns over the coronavirus outbreak to attack and undermine the president.Earlier this week, the conservative shock jock and presidential medal of freedom honoree Rush Limbaugh claimed "the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump" and said "the coronavirus is the common cold".Some experts have criticised media coverage of the outbreak as inaccurate and potentially alarmist.According to the Guardian's guide to the coronavirus, sufferers report "coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use … Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system. Many of those who have died were already in poor health."The outbreak began in China. The WHO has not yet declared it a pandemic but international markets, trade, travel and sporting events have been severely affected. In the US on Friday the Dow Jones Index plunged again, at the end of the markets' worst week since the financial crisis of 2008.In Geneva, a WHO spokesman said: "The outbreak is getting bigger. The scenario of the coronavirus reaching multiple countries, if not all countries around the world, is something we have been looking at and warning against since quite a while."
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| Police rescue 24 babies, pregnant teens from Nigerian 'baby factory' Posted: 27 Feb 2020 10:35 AM PST  Nigerian police have rescued 24 babies and four expectant mothers from an illegal maternity home in the southern oil city of Port Harcourt, a spokesman said Thursday.
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| Anger as Somali rapist and murderer pays 75 camels to escape death Posted: 27 Feb 2020 08:49 AM PST |
| Michelle Obama petitioned to run as vice president to stop Bernie Sanders, report says Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:38 AM PST  Fearing the selection of Bernie Sanders as the Democrats' 2020 presidential nominee, a growing number of establishment party officials are reportedly considering Sherrod Brown as a late entry "white knight" with Michelle Obama as a running mate.Other potential candidates floated by the party include Kamala Harris, who dropped out of the race in December, as well as house speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to the New York Times' interview with 93 party officials, all of whom are super-delegates who could determine the party's nominee should a candidate emerge without a clear majority of delegate votes.
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| 'He fought us every single step of the way': How Bloomberg embraced stop-and-frisk as mayor Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:50 PM PST  "He dug in and fought us all the way to his last day in office," an activist who opposed stop-and-frisk recalled.
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| Iran's Drone Shootdown Shows We're Vulnerable For the Next War Posted: 28 Feb 2020 03:01 AM PST  We have a problem with surveillance. A big one.
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| Inside the 'horrifying' 4-star hotel in Tenerife, where hundreds of guests have been quarantined after coronavirus cases in the resort Posted: 27 Feb 2020 07:43 AM PST  Hundreds of tourists at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace in Tenerife are on lockdown for the next two weeks. One guest called it the "holiday from hell."
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| Coronavirus updates: WHO increases risk to 'very high,' tells governments to 'wake up' Posted: 28 Feb 2020 05:17 PM PST  The WHO has increased the risk assessment of coronavirus to 'very high'. Here's the latest COVID-19 news.
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| Trump Nominates John Ratcliffe to Be Director of National Intelligence—Again Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:37 PM PST  President Trump announced late Friday that he is nominating Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) to be his next director of national intelligence. That's despite the former Texas prosecutor withdrawing his nomination last year.Ratcliffe, a large Trump donor, dropped out of the nomination process in July 2019, blaming unfair media coverage. But The Daily Beast reported that before Racliffe announced his withdrawal, an email revealing his alleged involvement in a contentious whistleblowing case made its way to the White House. On Friday, Trump tweeted that he "would have completed [the] process earlier" but "John wanted to wait until after IG Report was finished," an apparent reference to the inspector general's report on how the FBI handled its counterintelligence probe of Trump campaign associates."John is an outstanding man of great talent!" he wrote.Just last week, Trump appointed U.S. Ambassador to Germany and longtime Trumpworld loyalist Richard Grenell, who has no intelligence experience, as his acting DNI. A former intelligence official told The Daily Beast at the time that the announcement "blindsided" career officials in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.Ratcliffe, who himself has little national security experience, is in for a rocky confirmation process. His nomination last year drew swift opposition from Senate Democrats and lukewarm support from key Republicans.Senate Intelligence chair Richard Burr told White House officials Ratcliffe, a outspoken supporter of the president, was too partisan, The New York Times reported. On the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called him "a three-term tea party congressman who, when he goes on television, appeals to the president's sense of stridency and partisanship."Even if there's little chance Ratcliffe will be confirmed by the Senate, his nomination allows Grenell to continue to serve past March 11, University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck pointed out on Twitter. Federal law also stipulates that an acting DNI can stay in place for another 210 days after the Senate either rejects a nomination or the nominee withdraws.Grenell was brought in last week to replace acting DNI Joseph Maguire, whom Trump replaced over what he felt was disloyalty by one of Maguire's aides, according to multiple reports. The aide had briefed the House Intelligence Committee that Russia was once again interfering in the election in Trump's favor.After former DNI Dan Coats announced his resignation last summer, Trump tweeted that he intended to nominate Ratcliffe to replace him, a move that surprised White House aides, who had not vetted the congressman, The Washington Post reported. Ratcliffe, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, had been a vocal critic of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe and had seized on text messages between FBI agents Lisa Page and Peter Strzok as evidence of bias within the FBI. He even claimed to have seen texts between the pair that suggested the existence of a "secret society" working against Trump—an easily debunked conspiracy theory that he played a part in spreading far and wide.But Ratcliffe's nomination fell apart in just a few weeks. An investigation by The Washington Post found he had embellished how many immigrants he rounded up in one day as a U.S. attorney. Another investigation found he'd embellished his national security credentials by claiming he'd prosecuted two major terrorism cases, despite court records showing he had no involvement.His July 2019 withdrawal prompted Trump to complain he was being treated unfairly."Rather than going through months of slander and libel, I explained to John how miserable it would be for him and his family to deal with these people," Trump said at the time. "John has therefore decided to stay in Congress where he has done such an outstanding job representing the people of Texas, and our Country."Trump said last year it didn't bother him that Ratcliffe lacked much national security expertise. "I think he would've picked it up very quickly," he said.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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| Gov. Northam-backed gun control bills pass in Virginia Posted: 28 Feb 2020 10:55 AM PST |
| Asia’s Currencies Rally, Casting Doubts Over Dollar Haven Status Posted: 27 Feb 2020 05:54 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Everyone's favorite haven currency is having a rough day.The dollar is down against most Group-of-10 and Asian peers, including the yuan in China, where the coronavirus originated. It's being weighed down by rising speculation among investors that the U.S. will lower borrowing costs this year.Money markets are pricing in about 75 basis points of Federal Reserve cuts this year, up from 66 basis points Wednesday, including a quarter-point decline in interest rates by the end of April.Dollar investors' nerves weren't soothed by Donald Trump's assurances that his administration is prepared to deal with a coronavirus outbreak. That's adding to concern the U.S. may be headed for a contentious election, especially as Bernie Sanders establishes himself as a Democratic presidential front-runner."Bearing in mind that the market is currently holding long dollar positions, speculation of lower Fed interest rates has the capacity to take some steam out of its current buoyant tone," said Jane Foley, a senior foreign-currency strategist at Rabobank. "This may strengthen the safe haven status of the yen and the Swiss franc in the near term."The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a first case of an infected person with no known links to an existing virus outbreak.Reality CheckBut bearishness on the currency is being curbed by demand for U.S. Treasuries, even with yields at record lows. And, as ever, the dollar has an edge over its peers by being the world's reserve currency of choice.Even with the decline on Thursday, a gauge of the the greenback has advanced about 1.4% in February, and is headed for its best month since July. Strategists at Bank of America have raised their forecasts for the greenback's strength against the euro, pound and Australian dollar.The breather in the dollar's rally was in contrast to gains in the battered Thai baht, the Philippine peso and the Chinese yuan, which rose at least 0.2%. The exception was the Indonesian rupiah, which tumbled to a two-month low as global funds continued to sell the nation's bonds."The currencies which saw significant carnage earlier on are showing some signs of stabilization," said Yanxi Tan, a strategist at Malayan Banking Bhd. "But for currencies such as the rupiah, which has escaped unscathed earlier, markets are fearful of a nasty surprise if sudden contagion is announced, and doubts are growing on this front."The caveat is that the rebound in Asian currencies may simply be bargain-hunting after weeks of relentless selling, with some optimistically pointing to a slowdown in virus cases in China.G-10 PeersWhile the dollar wobbles, the euro is heading for its best week since October, rising more than 1%. Options traders are positioning for even more gains, betting that emerging-market carry trades will unwind further. They're also optimistic about the chances of fiscal stimulus in the euro area after German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said he's considering easing a restriction on the country's debt level.And the Swiss franc has maintained its haven status, rising almost 1% against the dollar in the past four days, on course for its best week since early December.In the long run, the dollar's haven status is intact, "given its function as a transaction currency, liquidity and positive yield," Foley said. "Consequently in our view, the dollar is unlikely to yield too much to the euro in the current environment."(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)(Updates throughout.)\--With assistance from Neha D'silva.To contact the reporters on this story: Chester Yung in Singapore at kyung33@bloomberg.net;Ruth Carson in Singapore at rliew6@bloomberg.net;Vassilis Karamanis in Athens at vkaramanis1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tan Hwee Ann at hatan@bloomberg.net, Dana El Baltaji, Neil ChatterjeeFor 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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