| Trump tries to ease concerns of a nation increasingly rattled over coronavirus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 04:45 PM PDT  For the third time in three days, President Trump addressed the nation in an effort to address growing fears about the pandemic that has now infected about 3,200 Americans and killed more than 60.
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| Seven family members fatally shot in North Carolina Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:05 AM PDT  The suspect is among the dead, said Lt. Sara Pack, a spokeswoman for the Chatham County Sheriff's Office.
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| Just Let the Patriot Act Die, Rights Groups Tell Senate Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:00 AM PDT  It's Monday morning and three sections of the Patriot Act—or, as most on Capitol Hill prefer to call it, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)—have expired. And now that the provisions are gone, ahead of a vote expected late Monday afternoon, a coalition of some of the most left-leaning privacy groups is urging senators to let them stay gone. As in 2015, the expiration came after the Senate couldn't pass a reauthorization after factionalizing between those who want more safeguards against the government's ability to grab Americans' data and those who don't. In the absence of "meaningful reforms," coming in the way of amendments that several privacy-focused senators of both parties seek to propose, Color of Change, Demand Progress, Indivisible, and Free Press Action want senators, "in particular Democrats," to oppose the cloture bill that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will put on the floor. That's according to a letter the groups are circulating on the Hill, shared with The Daily Beast. "If these authorities can lapse to stop the consideration of any amendments, they can stay lapsed to provide for the consideration of any critical amendments," the groups write. As with all civil-libertarian coalitions on surveillance law, it's an uphill fight. McConnell has the backing of most Republicans and Democrats for the PATRIOT/FISA re-up. He seeks to pass something the House Democratic leadership already has: an extension of the three provisions through 2023. While most of the country is focused on responses to the novel coronavirus, Monday is shaping up to be a low-key important day in the surveillance debate. 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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| Russia builds coronavirus hospital in Moscow as cases rise Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:16 AM PDT |
| New coronavirus cluster linked to South Korean church Posted: 15 Mar 2020 08:11 PM PDT  A new coronavirus cluster linked to a South Korean religious group emerged on Monday, with 46 cases at a church near Seoul that defied calls to suspend services. The Grace River Church in Seongnam, south of the capital, finally closed its doors on Sunday after nearly a third of its 135 worshippers tested positive -- including the pastor and his wife. Forty infections had been newly confirmed among the congregation, Seongnam city authorities said, adding to six previously known.
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| The first trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine just started in Washington state. It will take at least a year to know if the vaccine works. Posted: 16 Mar 2020 09:49 AM PDT  While research has moved at historic speed to reach this point, it will take at least a year of clinical testing to determine if the vaccine works.
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| 'Dead Sea Scrolls fragments' at Museum of the Bible are all fakes, study says Posted: 15 Mar 2020 10:00 PM PDT  * Washington museum hired experts to examine purchases * Artefacts came from controversial 'Post-2002' collectionWhen Steve Green paid millions of dollars from his family fortune for 16 fragments of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, it seemed the perfect addition to their new Museum of the Bible in Washington DC.But now experts have confirmed what has long been suspected: the artefacts proudly displayed in the nation's capital by the owners of the Hobby Lobby chain of stores are not part of one of the most significant archaeological finds of all time.They are worthless forgeries, probably made from old shoe leather.Confirmation of the hoax came in a report published online by a team of five art fraud investigators, after a two-day conference at the museum focusing on the comprehensive testing of the supposed scroll fragments was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.The experts spent six months analyzing each fragment, concluding a study born from 2017 revelations that the lucrative international trade in Dead Sea Scroll pieces was awash in suspected forgeries and indications that at least five pieces bought by Green, the museum's chairman, for an undisclosed amount ahead of its opening that year, were fake."After an exhaustive review of all the imaging and scientific analysis results, it is evident that none of the textual fragments in [the] Museum of the Bible's Dead Sea Scroll collection are authentic," wrote Colette Loll, the founder and director of Art Fraud Insights, the Washington company contracted to examine them."Moreover, each exhibit's characteristics that suggest they are deliberate forgeries created in the 20th century with the intent to mimic authentic Dead Sea Scroll fragments."The investigators outlined how they believe the deception was perpetrated and a succession of biblical scholars and the museum's curators fooled. The forgers, they suggest, used Roman-era leather, possibly from boots or sandals, to imitate parchment, and attempted to recreate the handwriting of ancient Hebrew scribes.Using microscopes and a variety of other scientific techniques including chemical analysis, the team found inconsistencies such as the presence of a shiny coating suspected to be animal glue, which wouldn't have existed at the time, and clues in the spread, position and pooling of ink.There was also evidence that writing was added after attempts were made to artificially age the surface.The exposure of the fakes does not affect the authenticity of the genuine Dead Sea Scrolls. The oldest known pieces of the original Hebrew bible, dating from about 400BC to 300AD, were discovered rolled in clay pots in caves in Palestine's West Bank in the 1940s.But it casts doubt on almost every piece of the so-called Post-2002 fragments, a collection of about 70 items that entered the market in the early years of this century after William Kando, the son of an antiquities dealer who bought the original scrolls from Bedouin shepherds seven decades ago, claimed to have opened a family vault in Switzerland.According to National Geographic, Green invested heavily between 2009 and 2014 to acquire 16 of those pieces, as he built a collection for the family's showpiece museum.Until this weekend the scrolls were displayed under soft lighting in the museum's Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. They will be removed during its closure for the duration of the coronavirus crisis, beginning on Monday."Notwithstanding the less than favorable results, we have done what no other institution with post-2002 fragments has done," said Dr Jeffrey Kloha, the chief curatorial officer."The sophisticated and costly methods employed to discover the truth about our collection could be used to shed light on other suspicious fragments and perhaps even be effective in uncovering who is responsible for these forgeries."
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| 62 Home Office Ideas That Will Inspire Productivity Posted: 16 Mar 2020 12:01 PM PDT |
| Several African nations roll out measures to fight virus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 11:47 AM PDT  Several African countries have announced sweeping restrictions to try to contain the steady spread of the coronavirus, which has reached at least 25 of Africa's 54 countries. South Africa, Kenya, Senegal and Mauritania are among the countries that have imposed travel restrictions and closed schools. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster.
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| NY Gov. Cuomo Asks President Trump to Mobilize the Army Corps of Engineers to Augment Hospital Capabilities Posted: 15 Mar 2020 11:56 AM PDT  New York governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, on Sunday called on President Trump to mobilize the Army Corps of Engineers to help fight the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.Cuomo indicated that New York does not have enough hospital beds to house a potential flood of coronavirus patients, and that only the military would be able to augment existing facilities to house those patients."States cannot build more hospitals, acquire ventilators or modify facilities quickly enough" to stem the outbreak, Cuomo wrote in a New York Times op-ed. "At this point, our best hope is to utilize the Army Corps of Engineers to leverage its expertise, equipment and people power to retrofit and equip existing facilities — like military bases or college dormitories — to serve as temporary medical centers. Then we can designate existing hospital beds for the acutely ill."Cuomo continued: "We believe the use of active duty Army Corps personnel would not violate federal law because this is a national disaster. Doing so still won't provide enough intensive care beds, but it is our best hope."Cuomo also appealed to President Trump to put aside disagreements between their respective political positions in order to manage the outbreak.Trump on Friday declared a national emergency to allow the federal government to direct billions of dollars toward fighting coronavirus."In the coming weeks, we will all have to make changes and sacrifices," Trump said in a speech at the White House Rose Garden. "But these short-term sacrifices will produce long-term gain."
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| Alibaba's Ma donates coronavirus test kits to US Posted: 15 Mar 2020 11:49 PM PDT  In his first tweet the billionaire said 500,000 testing kits and one million masks were going to the US.
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| Peter Navarro Snaps When CNN Anchor Asks if Trump to Blame for Stock Losses: ‘Let’s Not Do That’ Posted: 16 Mar 2020 08:40 AM PDT  White House trade adviser Peter Navarro did not react well when confronted by CNN anchor Poppy Harlow on Monday morning over sinking stock markets in the wake of a full-blown coronavirus pandemic, insisting that now wasn't the time to talk about whether the president's response to the crisis was causing markets to plummet.Appearing on CNN just as the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened Monday morning with a 10 percent drop that caused trading to be temporarily halted—something that's been happening more frequently lately—Navarro first attempted to sidestep questions on whether America was now in a recession.After Navarro boasted about everything he and the White House coronavirus task force were doing to try to mitigate the spread of the virus amid mass cancellations and shutdowns, adding that he has the "full force of American business" working with the government, Harlow stopped him short."I hear you, Peter, but the Dow is off 2,200 points, the S&P; is off 8 percent," she exclaimed. "You're a top economist at the White House. Are we headed into a recession? I appreciate the efforts you just outlined, but this is freaking people out, Peter!""Look, here's what's critical now, Poppy," Navarro replied. "It's the policy response, and we have to have four different vectors coming in all at once in a matter of days, not weeks.""But Peter, what can you do? The market's off 2,000 points!" Harlow shot back.The CNN anchor would go on to reiterate that the "market is not responding well at all" to the federal government's recent actions to fight COVID-19, which recently included another Federal Reserve rate cut and insertion of liquidity into the credit markets. Harlow further noted that during their conversation, she couldn't track the market movements because trading had been halted for 15 minutes."Finally for the message from the president over the weekend is that this virus is under tremendous control, but Dr. Fauci leading this effort says the worst is yet to come and the cases have doubled over the weekend, Peter," Harlow eventually stated. "Markets are looking for leadership. Leadership is prescriptive. The markets here are reacting also to the president and his words. Is he doing enough to put confidence in the market by saying something that's not under control is?"Navarro, who has repeatedly credited Trump when the stock markets have surged and has literally said he's "never disappointed in my president," admonished Harlow for her question."Poppy, let's not do that kind of thing right now," he huffed."Peter, it's not doing that kind of thing," she answered. "The market is hanging on his words. You know this."While stocks have been plunging over the past few weeks over fears that the coronavirus will cause a global economic recession or even depression, the president bragged about the one-day Dow rally on Friday, sending off autographed stock graphs to loyalists such as Fox Business host Lou Dobbs.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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| Former Chinese property exec who criticised Xi over virus handling is missing, friends say Posted: 14 Mar 2020 09:45 PM PDT |
| Iran closes key religious sites as virus death toll hits 853 Posted: 16 Mar 2020 11:26 AM PDT  Iran on Monday closed four key Shiite pilgrimage sites to stop a coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 850 people out of nearly 15,000 cases recorded in the Islamic republic. The holy shrines of Imam Reza in Mashhad, Fatima Masumeh in Qom and Shah Abdol-Azim in Tehran were shut until further notice "upon the orders of the anti-coronavirus headquarters and the health minister," state television said. Qom's Jamkaran mosque also said it would close its doors, the official IRNA news agency reported.
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| How the Navy's small craft action teams defend US warships at sea Posted: 16 Mar 2020 02:43 PM PDT  Small craft action team members have to know how to use all the ship's mounted guns and when to use them.
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| An influencer filmed herself licking a plane toilet seat for 'clout' on TikTok as part of a 'coronavirus challenge' Posted: 16 Mar 2020 06:53 AM PDT  Ava Louise posted the video on Twitter, and it shows her lick the seat then give the camera a pout and two peace signs.
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| Biden and Sanders spar over Social Security Posted: 15 Mar 2020 06:18 PM PDT  Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders argued over Social Security while at the Democratic debate on Sunday.
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| Virus toll in Iran climbs as lockdowns deepen across Mideast Posted: 15 Mar 2020 11:55 PM PDT  Iran reported another 129 fatalities from the new coronavirus on Monday, the largest one-day rise in deaths since it began battling the Middle East's worst outbreak, which has claimed more than 850 lives and infected a number of senior officials in the country. Businesses in Iran's capital remained open, however, even as other countries in the region grounded planes, sealed their borders and moved toward full lockdowns. The divergent approaches adopted by local authorities reflect continued uncertainty over how to slow the spread of a virus that has infected around 180,000 people worldwide and caused more than 700 deaths.
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| Lone GOP congressman delays House coronavirus relief bill from moving to Senate Posted: 16 Mar 2020 11:24 AM PDT  The House was expected to make technical corrections to the bipartisan measure, passed by the House early Saturday, on Monday, but Gohmert is insisting on reading them.
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| Ethiopia's missing students: Families' pain and the unsolved mystery Posted: 15 Mar 2020 05:08 PM PDT  The government has been slow to resolve the issue linked to the country's ethnic tensions.
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| An older couple in Oregon was too afraid to get out of their car at the grocery store amid coronavirus. She helped them. Posted: 16 Mar 2020 03:50 PM PDT  Rebecca Mehra helped an older couple in Oregon that was too afraid to go into the grocery store amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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| Cuomo calls on the federal government to 'play its role' Posted: 16 Mar 2020 09:25 AM PDT  Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo on Monday called on the federal government to "play its role" in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak.
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| Military roadblocks, curfews: Latin America tightens coronavirus controls Posted: 16 Mar 2020 11:43 AM PDT  LIMA/ASUNCION/SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Countries around Latin America tightened restrictions on Monday to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, with Peru deploying military personnel on the streets, Costa Rica closing borders and Paraguay imposing a curfew. In Peru, President Martin Vizcarra said leaders from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil spoke via conference call on Monday to analyze the situation and coordinate actions against the pandemic.
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| A Navy sailor aboard a warship has tested presumptive positive for the coronavirus for the first time Posted: 15 Mar 2020 07:14 PM PDT  In a first for the service, a US Navy sailor aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer has tested 'presumptive positive' for the coronavirus.
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| Pangolin sales plunge in Gabon over coronavirus fears Posted: 16 Mar 2020 08:59 AM PDT  Pangolins were once a prized item in the markets of Gabon's capital Libreville, but bushmeat sellers have started hiding the small, scaly mammals behind boar legs and porcupine carcasses. Trading the endangered animal, considered to be the most poached in the world, is illegal in the West African country. A team of Chinese researchers suspect the pangolin of transmitting the novel coronavirus to humans at another game market some 11,000 kilometres (6,850 miles) from Libreville in the Chinese city of Wuhan -- the epicentre of the pandemic that has rocked the world.
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| 'Soft' closes, deep cleans, and 'distance learning': these are the 22 states that have closed K-12 schools amid coronavirus spread Posted: 15 Mar 2020 03:18 PM PDT  The list of states closing schools for days to months to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus is growing.
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| 5 dead, including officer and gunman, in Missouri shooting Posted: 16 Mar 2020 04:44 AM PDT  A man fired randomly from his vehicle several times while driving through a southwest Missouri city before eventually crashing into a convenience store, where he walked inside, opened fire and left five people dead, including a police officer and himself, police said Monday. The gunman's motives remain unclear, Springfield police Chief Paul Williams said at a news conference, where his voice broke as he described his officers' actions. Williams said police received reports of "multiple shooting calls throughout the city" late Sunday starting in the south and moving north through the city's east side.
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| Sixty percent believe worst is yet to come for the U.S. in coronavirus pandemic Posted: 15 Mar 2020 06:00 AM PDT  Public attitudes about the coronavirus response are split along partisan lines in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
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| Turkey’s TAI sells six Anka-S drones to Tunisia Posted: 16 Mar 2020 06:40 AM PDT  Turkish procurement officials say TAI had been awaiting a deal with the Tunisian government for more than a year to sell its Anka-S drone.
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| About half of France's coronavirus patients in intensive care are under 65, health official says Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:30 AM PDT  A French health official says warnings to stay home in the coronavirus pandemic are in some cases falling on deaf ears while noting that the virus hasn't just been posing a risk to seniors.French health ministry official Jérôme Salomon said Monday that the situation is "deteriorating very quickly" while providing this statistic: of the between 300 and 400 coronavirus patients in intensive care in France, about half of them are younger than 65, The New York Times reports.Salomon is looking to "dispel the notion that the virus seriously threatens only the elderly," the Times reports, and Mother Jones observes that even though the novel coronavirus is "understood to be particularly lethal among the elderly," these numbers "underscore the reality that younger generations can still face serious consequences."Salomon also said Monday that in France, "a lot of people have not understood that they need to stay at home," and as a result, "we are not succeeding in curbing the outbreak of the epidemic," per Reuters. Most nonessential businesses in France were ordered to be closed over the weekend.France has confirmed more than 5,400 cases of the novel coronavirus, and by Sunday, the number of deaths had risen to 127. Salomon said Monday the number of cases has been doubling "every three days."More stories from theweek.com Coronavirus is exposing America's shameful selfish streak Hotels and casinos along the Las Vegas Strip are closing their doors due to coronavirus Global airlines likely to be bankrupt by end of May, aviation consultant warns
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| Sanders bets on Biden debate implosion Posted: 15 Mar 2020 04:00 AM PDT  His rivals have been waiting for more than a year for Biden to wilt under pressure. Sunday's debate looks like Sanders' last hope.
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| Past Perfect Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:00 AM PDT |
| 'We could be Italy': US Surgeon General says country needs to get 'aggressive' like South Korea and China to fight coronavirus pandemic Posted: 16 Mar 2020 09:37 AM PDT  "When you look at the projections, there's every chance that we could be Italy," Adams said. More than 1,800 have died in Italy from COVID-19.
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| Philippine leader tells tens of millions to stay home in virus fight Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:21 AM PDT  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered about half the country's population to stay home for the next month in a drastic bid Monday to curb the rising number of new coronavirus cases. If fully enforced, the sweeping order would mean most of the 55 million people on the main island of Luzon, which includes the capital Manila, would be housebound. Duterte said he backed the restrictions because a quarantine imposed Sunday on Manila's 12 million people was riddled with exceptions that had failed to keep people away from one another.
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| Southwest cutting 'at least' 20% of flights as planes half empty from coronavirus Posted: 16 Mar 2020 03:07 PM PDT  Southwest Airlines said it has had several days of more cancellations than bookings and that planes are flying half empty in recent days.
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| Satoshi Uematsu: Japanese man who killed 19 disabled people sentenced to death Posted: 15 Mar 2020 11:23 PM PDT  Satoshi Uematsu said disabled people who were unable to communicate well had no human rights.
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| Native American tribes brace for coronavirus: 'It's going to be a test' Posted: 15 Mar 2020 02:56 AM PDT  "We need to do everything we can to make sure that Native Americans don't get left behind," Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said.
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| U.S. Senate awaits House coronavirus bill, Schumer proposes $750 billion more in emergency spending Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:29 AM PDT  Even as the U.S. Senate grappled over what to do with a wide-ranging coronavirus economic stimulus bill passed by the House of Representatives, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Monday urged an additional $750 billion to address the crisis. "We will need big, bold, urgent federal action to deal with this crisis," Schumer said in a statement outlining a plan to fund a range of emergency operations, including boosting hospital capacity, expanding jobless benefits, delivering help to small businesses and funding childcare for healthcare workers. At the opposite end of the political spectrum from Schumer, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas also called for a more aggressive response to the outbreak, saying tax breaks in the House-passed bill were not structured in a way to help employees of businesses that have to shut down.
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| Mitt Romney tweets coronavirus advice that would force senators to stay at home Posted: 16 Mar 2020 09:01 AM PDT  As the US Senate prepares to take up a huge coronavirus emergency package, Utah's Mitt Romney has tweeted stringent guidelines for older Americans worried about contracting the virus — advice that would apply to a good many of his colleagues.Credited to "a nurse friend", Mr Romney's advice includes several widely advised recommendations: "practice strict quarantine", "prepare your own meals at home", and working from home where possible.
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| The Best Hiking Socks for Summer Treks Posted: 16 Mar 2020 10:33 AM PDT |
| A Virus Is Infecting America and These Dems Fought About 20-Year-Old Votes Posted: 15 Mar 2020 08:17 PM PDT  The debate between the two final contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination began on Sunday night with a focus on the unprecedented public health crisis that has upended nearly every facet of American life. But as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders squared off days before the crucial Florida and Ohio primaries, they returned again and again to the easier target than the novel coronavirus: each others' records.In a stripped-down debate held in CNN's Washington bureau—the first in 60 years to be held without a live audience—both Biden and Sanders urged the other to look forward, rather than backward. But time and again, the candidates targeted each others' legislative track record on the social safety net, immigration, gun safety, abortion, gay rights, the war in Iraq, and money in politics, in exchanges that focused more on issues of the past than those that face the country today."I voted against the Defense of Marriage Act. You voted for it," Sanders said at one point, in a razor-sharp attack on Biden's past record. "I voted against the bankruptcy bill, you voted for it. I voted against the war in Iraq, which was also a tough vote. You voted for it. I voted against the disastrous trade agreements like NAFTA, which cost this country over four million good-paying jobs. You voted for it. I voted against the Hyde Amendment, which denies low-income women the right to get an abortion. You have consistently voted for it.""You can argue about the past," Biden responded, then proceeded to argue about the past. "This man voted against the Brady Bill five times—background checks, five times, number one. Number two, this man is the only one of the few Democrats I know who voted to exempt the gun industry from being able to be sued."The dynamic replayed itself over and over, on issues ranging from public health to foreign policy, with Biden attacking Sanders for the praising of the Sandinistas, the praising of Cuba," and Sanders responding that at least he, unlike the former vice president, had not voted to invade Iraq."Everybody in the world knew that when you voted for that resolution, you were giving Bush the authority to go to war," said Sanders. "Most people who followed that issue closely understood that the Bush administration was lying through its teeth with regards to Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction."The exchanges, which punctuated nearly every non-coronavirus-related topic, were a reminder of the near-impossibility of maintaining ideological purity over political careers that span a century between them—and of the difficult task of unifying the party that either candidate would face as the Democratic nominee.The candidates did spent nearly half the debate discussing how they would address the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed thousands of lives worldwide and has led to the closure of schools, businesses and services in cities and states across the nations.But even on that issue, Sanders and Biden found fertile ground for disagreement."With all due respect to Medicare for All, you have a single-payer system in Italy. It doesn't work there," Biden said in the first minutes of the debate. "We are at war with a virus," Biden continued, and the American people are "looking for results, not a revolution. They're looking for results they need right now."Sanders retorted that he considers the lack of access to health care under any circumstances to be a crisis."Bottom line here is, in terms of Medicare for All, despite what the vice president is saying, what the experts tell us that one of the reasons that we are unprepared is that we don't have a system... that is prepared to provide health care to all people," Sanders said. "I consider that a crisis."As Biden has vaulted ahead in the race for pledged delegates, with a rout last Tuesday that has some in the Democratic Party already referring to the former vice president as the presumptive nominee, and with even rockier demographic terrain ahead for Sanders in this Tuesday's primaries in Ohio and Florida, both candidates have made halting entreaties to winning over voters who might be ideologically incongruous with their base.Biden, for example, has made some overtures to Sanders' liberal base in recent days, endorsing a Sanders-penned bill that would guarantee free college tuition for children of parents making less than $125,000. Sanders, in turn, has moved to frame his signature policy proposal as not only politically feasible, but as the most sensible response to the coronavirus pandemic."The dysfunctionality of the current healthcare system is obviously apparent," Sanders said at the debate's outset, adding that the pandemic "exposes the incredible weakness" of a system where millions remain uninsured."Right now, in this emergency, I want every person in this country to understand that when you get sick, you go to the doctor," Sanders said. "Do not worry about the cost right now, because we are in the middle of a national emergency."But as the debate continued, the chasmic gap between the Vermont senator and the former vice president appeared no closer to being bridged on Sunday, particularly during the extended exchange over each candidate's lengthy Senate record on bankruptcy, gun control, and public financing for elections, among other things.When asked, both candidates again vowed to campaign for the other if their opponent won the Democratic nomination, a pledge that each had made long ago—although Biden noted that Sanders wasn't making it easy to keep that promise."He's making it hard for me right now," Biden said of Sanders, semi-jokingly. "I was trying to give him credit for things and he won't even take credit for things he wants to do."The most forward-looking moment of the debate came when both candidates were asked how they, as a pair of septuagenarian straight white men, would "balance the ticket" as the final candidates in a field that was once historically diverse. Biden vowed to name a woman as his running mate, with Sanders all but echoing the promise a moment later."I commit that I will, in fact, appoint a woman to be vice president," Biden said. "There are a number of women qualified to be president tomorrow."But even that moment of near-agreement soon broke apart as the candidate fractured over each others' past support or non-support of dictatorial regimes around the world, with Biden lashing at Sanders for positive statements he once made about the Sandinistas and the Soviet Union, and Sanders in turn condemning Biden for working with human-rights violators like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and his vote for the war in Iraq.Sanders pushed to broaden the critiques beyond the matter of who-voted-for-what, calling Biden's vote a failure of leadership."The issue is not just the war in Iraq," Sanders said. "That was a long time ago. The issue is the trade agreement—it wasn't so easy to lead the effort against disastrous trade agreements. The issue was the bankruptcy bill that you supported. The issue was the Defense of Marriage Act. The issue is whether or not in difficult times, and God knows these are difficult times, we're going to have the courage to take on powerful special interests and do what's right for working families in this country."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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| 'Not for sale': Germany has reacted furiously to Trump's attempts to poach German scientists working on a coronavirus vaccine Posted: 16 Mar 2020 04:50 AM PDT  The Trump administration reportedly offered German scientists a billion dollars for rights to a coronavirus vaccine that would be "only for the USA."
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| Hospitals in San Francisco and other cities may ban pregnant people from having visitors during labor because of the coronavirus, including spouses and partners Posted: 16 Mar 2020 01:15 PM PDT  San Francisco's public health department issued a mandate that all visitors were banned from hospitals. Other cities have followed suit.
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| Andrew Gillum enters rehab after depression and alcohol abuse Posted: 16 Mar 2020 05:16 AM PDT  Andrew Gillum, a former candidate for Florida governor, has announced he's entering a rehab facility after suffering from depression and alcohol abuse.
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| Will U.S. coronavirus outbreak look like South Korea or Italy? Posted: 15 Mar 2020 11:59 PM PDT  To ensure the country's hospitals can treat the people who get sick, mitigation measures are needed, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said.
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| New York City to close schools; bars, restaurants around U.S. ordered closed over coronavirus Posted: 15 Mar 2020 03:19 PM PDT  Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered schools closed in New York City as Ohio and Illinois ordered all bars and restaurants in the states to shut down service.
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| China urges U.S. to lift sanctions on Iran amid coronavirus response Posted: 16 Mar 2020 07:25 AM PDT |
| Paid sick leave could be a sticking point as Senate considers coronavirus relief bill Posted: 16 Mar 2020 06:35 AM PDT  The Senate is expected this week to pass a coronavirus relief bill that has President Trump's approval, but it could potentially be held up a bit.The House of Representatives early on Saturday passed an economic relief bill negotiated between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trump said he "fully" supports the bill, which provides free coronavirus testing and requires companies with fewer than 500 employees provide paid sick leave. The Senate is expected to pass the coronavirus bill after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) canceled a planned recess. But Bloomberg reports that action could be delayed "up to several days" as the bill is "running into resistance from some Republicans worried about the impact of a temporary paid sick leave provision on small businesses."Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) is one of those senators objecting paid sick leave provision, saying he hopes the Senate passes a "bill that does more good than harm — or, if it won't, pass nothing at all." Bloomberg notes that "Senate rules allow any one senator to delay a final vote for days." Mnuchin said over the weekend said "we'll work with the Senate on whatever minor changes we need."In addition, Bloomberg reports the House has to "pass technical corrections to the bill, which was drafted on the fly," which "adds another wrinkle that could slow final action in the Senate."More stories from theweek.com Coronavirus is exposing America's shameful selfish streak Hotels and casinos along the Las Vegas Strip are closing their doors due to coronavirus Global airlines likely to be bankrupt by end of May, aviation consultant warns
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| Illinois governor: ‘Federal government needs to get its s@#t together’ Posted: 15 Mar 2020 05:05 AM PDT  He complains of impossibly long lines at O'Hare Airport.
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| 'It just impacts us all': Military families try to cope with coronavirus travel restrictions Posted: 16 Mar 2020 09:15 AM PDT  Hundreds of thousands of service members and their families will be stuck close to home for nearly two months starting Monday .
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