| Trump reignites Bloomberg feud, says billionaire is on 'a very dark and lonely path' Posted: 01 Mar 2020 07:32 AM PST  "The real politicians ate them up and spit them out!" he said of billionaires Mike Bloomberg and Tom Steyer.
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| Why isn't there a male birth control pill? Posted: 29 Feb 2020 09:34 AM PST  No male birth control product has made it to market, but over the past year, there has been promising early progress on new treatments — including a pill, a gel that's rubbed onto the skin and an injection that acts as a nonsurgical vasectomy — that could finally bring the first male contraceptive to the public. If that happens, research suggests a "male pill" could drastically reduce unplanned pregnancies, especially in developing countries.
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| Coronavirus: Mike Pence admits US could see more deaths, after Trump calls crisis a ‘hoax’ Posted: 01 Mar 2020 06:21 AM PST  Mike Pence has admitted that the United States could see more deaths from the coronavirus.Speaking on CNN's State of the Union the vice-president, who has been put in charge of administration efforts to protect Americans from the deadly virus, acknowledged there could be more "sad news", but insisted the risk to most people was still low.
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| 'They are starting to get more and more desperate': Greta Thunberg responds to a Canadian oil company accused of creating a vulgar cartoon depicting her in a non-consensual sex act Posted: 01 Mar 2020 06:57 AM PST  X-Site Energy Services has denied creating the vulgar sticker that shows 17-year-old Thunberg engaged in a non-consensual sexual act.
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| Embattled Chris Matthews Left Out of MSNBC’s S.C. Primary Coverage Posted: 29 Feb 2020 05:39 PM PST  A day after he was accused of sexual harassment by a journalist, MSNBC decided to keep host Chris Matthews off its airwaves during coverage of the South Carolina primary results.Matthews is normally a fixture of election night coverage, which made his absence on Saturday all the more notable. His disappearing act came as MSNBC faced calls from a feminist organization to fire him because of sexism and sexual misconduct allegations—after raised eyebrows over other on-air remarks.A week ago, Matthews likened Sen Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) victory in the Nevada caucuses to France falling to the Nazis in World War II. He apologized to Sanders—who is Jewish and whose family lost members in the Holocaust—but quickly shoved his foot in his mouth again.Laura Bassett Accuses MSNBC Host Chris Matthews of Sexually Harassing Her in 2016After Tuesday's Democratic debate, Matthews pressed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) about why she confronted former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg about accusations of sexist behavior in his past, including an allegation he told a pregnant employee to "kill it.""Why would he lie?" Matthews said of Bloomberg's denial. "Because just to protect himself?"Then, on Friday, columnist Laura Bassett wrote in a GQ article that Matthews harassed her in 2016, looking her over while she was getting her makeup done for an appearance and remarking, "Why haven't I fallen in love with you yet?"'Senator Sanders, I'm Sorry': Chris Matthews Apologizes for Nazi AnalogyBassett said Matthews continued to comment on her appearance, at one point telling the makeup artist, "Make sure you wipe this off her face after the show. We don't make her up so some guy at a bar can look at her like this."It was reported in late 2017 that NBC had paid separation compensation to a producer who accused Matthews of sexually harassing her. The network claimed at the time that the host had been "formally reprimanded" over the incident.On Friday night, Matthews had another cringe-worthy moment. While covering President Donald Trump's South Carolina rally, he mistook South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison with footage of another black politician, Tim Scott (R-S.C.).MSNBC did not immediately return a request for comment.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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| Britain's health service not for sale in US free-trade talks Posted: 01 Mar 2020 12:08 PM PST  Any free-trade deal with the United States must protect Britain's cherished National Health Service, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government declared Sunday as it published an outline of its negotiating objectives for the transatlantic deal. The British government estimates its economy will get a 3.4 billion-pound ($4.3 billion) boost and trade between the close allies will increase by 15.3 billion pounds ($19.6 billion) if trade barriers between the United Kingdom and the United States are removed. Among objectives outlined Sunday were a clear statement saying that British negotiators would protect the state-funded National Health Service.
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| Sanders pushes back against claims that he'll cost Democrats the House and Senate Posted: 01 Mar 2020 07:44 AM PST  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pushed back Sunday against an argument from the rejuvenated former Vice President Joe Biden, who reiterated his belief that if Sanders wins the Democratic presidential nomination, it will have consequences for the Democratic Party in the long run.Biden, who resoundingly won Saturday's South Carolina primary, looks like he's back in the thick of the Democratic race after floundering for several weeks. He told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday that while he doesn't have any intention of convincing any of the other remaining candidates to drop out of the race and consolidate behind him to defeat Sanders, he said he does think the Democratic House majority could be in jeopardy, and the Senate will be tougher to win back for Democrats, should Sanders ultimately lead the ticket against President Trump in November.> Joe Biden on Bernie Sanders: "I think everyone knows that it's going to be much more difficult to win back the Senate and keep the House if Bernie is at the top of the ticket" CNNSOTU https://t.co/0c9mzrzyFp pic.twitter.com/AliKBKklUC> > -- CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 1, 2020Sanders took some issue with that opinion, claiming he has good relationships with Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). He said he'll be ready to support Biden should he win the nomination, and he expects Biden -- whom he called a "decent guy" -- to return the favor if the roles are reversed. In short, Sanders is making the case he has no issue with the Democratic Party at large, and instead simply wants to end its reliance on its corporate wing. > "That's absolutely untrue," Bernie Sanders tells @GStephanopoulos when asked about Biden criticism that Sanders would be a "burden" for House and Senate candidates.> > "We're going to come together," he adds, touting relationships with Pelosi and Schumer. https://t.co/0nul2d5XEx pic.twitter.com/EhyiSBsXLi> > -- ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 1, 2020More stories from theweek.com 5 scathingly funny cartoons about Trump's coronavirus response If democratic socialism is so bad, why is Norway so great? Biden doesn't think 'it's time' for an Obama endorsement
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| Could This Be the Navy's New Super Bomber? (Wait, What?) Posted: 29 Feb 2020 02:00 PM PST  While bombers could certainly contribute to searches for adversary shipping, quite likely potential targets will more often be relayed to them by other maritime surveillance assets.
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| Pentagon looks to China in wake of Taliban peace deal Posted: 01 Mar 2020 03:26 PM PST  The Trump administration's peace deal with the Taliban opens the door for an initial American troop withdrawal that Defense Secretary Mark Esper sees as a step toward the broader goal of preparing for potential future war with China.
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| Need a New Roof? These Are the 6 Most Popular Materials Posted: 01 Mar 2020 09:00 AM PST |
| Former youth pastor accused of revenge plot over sexual assault case Posted: 01 Mar 2020 02:55 PM PST  He is alleged to have tried to hire a prison inmate to kill a senior church official and a judge involved in his 2017 conviction in Pennsylvania.
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| Pete Buttigieg drops out of 2020 race to be Democratic presidential nominee Posted: 01 Mar 2020 04:00 PM PST  Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, leaves the race to take on Donald Trump after a poor showing in the South Carolina primaryPete Buttigieg has ended his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Two campaign sources confirmed the news to the Guardian and said the former candidate was on his way back to South Bend, his home town in Indiana, where he would speak later on Sunday night.The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend has never held statewide or national office but made a strong run in the Democratic primary, winning the Iowa caucuses narrowly from Bernie Sanders, now the national frontrunner, to whom he placed second in New Hampshire.But Buttigieg could not make progress in Nevada and South Carolina, the first two states with influential minority voting blocs.Joe Biden, the former vice-president, won the South Carolina primary on Saturday by a landslide margin. The next date on the calendar is Super Tuesday, 3 March, when 14 states, American Samoa and Democrats who live overseas will vote.Biden will look to harvest support from Buttigieg as he seeks to establish himself as the moderate choice to deny Sanders. The progressive from Vermont, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, sits in the Senate as an independent. Party figures fear he will not be able to beat Donald Trump in November.Speaking to CNN on Sunday morning, Biden said he had not had any conversations with other candidates about whether they should drop out and back him but added: "I think everyone knows it's going to be much more difficult to win back the Senate and keep control of the House if Bernie's at the top of the ticket."The Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar is still in the race and is unlikely to quit before her state votes on Tuesday. The billionaire former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg is also a centrist candidate for the nomination but he is self-funding his campaign and has not yet entered a primary.Another billionaire moderate, Tom Steyer, dropped out on Saturday night.At first on Sunday, which Buttigieg began with breakfast with former president Jimmy Carter in Plains, Georgia, it did not seem he would take the final step."Every day we are in this campaign," he told NBC News, "is a day that we have reached the conclusion that pushing forward is the best thing we can do for the country and for the party."But later in the day he was out.CNN reported that the former mayor was "unwilling to be [the] reason Sanders is able to get 'insurmountable' delegate lead on Super Tuesday". It was also reported that Buttigieg was not planning to endorse another candidate on Sunday.Rick Wilson, a former Republican consultant turned anti-Trump organiser who advocates a moderate choice of Democratic nominee, wrote on Twitter: "It's hard to pick the right time to go in a campaign, but Pete Buttigieg did."It seems likely Buttigieg will remain a figure on the national stage. A charismatic campaigner in the centre lane of the primary, having prepared his ground with a run for party chair in 2016, he built an impressive fundraising operation.He was also the first openly gay candidate for American president.Recently, when the rightwing shock jock and Trump ally Rush Limbaugh questioned whether Americans were ready to vote for a gay president, even the controversialist in the Oval Office was quick to disown the suggestion. On the campaign trail, where he regularly appeared with his husband Chasten, Buttigieg hit back hard.In comments distributed to the media on Sunday, a Buttigieg campaign official said: "Pete was willing to go where no other candidates were – and when he held a Fox News town hall and got a standing ovation, people realised that Pete's message of moving past our divided politics was truly possible."One of Buttigieg's last tweets as a candidate linked to a Michigan ballot initiative on anti-discrimination law and promised supporters that as president he would "help pass the Equality Act, and with your courage and activism … create a community where we all belong".In a statement, Sarah Kate Ellis, president and chief executive of the Glaad advocacy group, said Buttigieg "showed the world that Americans are ready to accept and embrace qualified LGBTQ public leaders."Charles Kaiser, a Guardian contributor and the author of The Gay Metropolis: the Landmark History of Gay Life in America, said: "Even though he is leaving the race, his success in Iowa and New Hampshire was transformative."Before Pete Buttigieg no one knew if an openly gay or lesbian American could be a credible candidate for president. Now, no one from the LGBTQ community will ever grow up thinking their sexuality is an unsurmountable obstacle on the road to the White House."
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| South Korea reported a record 800 new cases of coronavirus in a single day — and the vast majority are linked to a religious cult Posted: 29 Feb 2020 02:17 AM PST  Vice health minister Kim Kang-lip told a briefing that it was a "critical moment" in the country's COVID-19 crisis.
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| Turkey, Syria fighting escalates; refugees mass at EU border Posted: 29 Feb 2020 11:26 PM PST  Thousands of migrants and refugees massed at Turkey's western frontier Sunday, trying to enter Greece by land and sea after Turkey said its borders were open to those hoping to head to Europe. In Syria, Turkish troops shot down two Syrian warplanes after the Syrian military downed a Turkish drone, a major escalation in the direct conflict between Syrian and Turkish forces. Turkey's decision to ease border restrictions came amid a Russia-backed Syrian government offensive into Syria's northwestern Idlib province.
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| Australia's first coronavirus death confirmed as former Diamond Cruise passenger Posted: 29 Feb 2020 06:42 PM PST  A former passenger on the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined off Japan for coronavirus died in a hospital in Perth early on Sunday, a health official said, becoming Australia's first death from the virus. "Our condolences are with his family and unfortunately he's the first death we've had from coronavirus in Australia," Andrew Robertson, the chief health officer of Western Australia state, told journalists. The man's widow also caught the virus, but is in stable condition, the health official said.
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| Police find 25-year-old alligator in basement of Ohio home Posted: 01 Mar 2020 09:24 AM PST  Ohio investigators made a scaly new friend this week when they learned an American alligator was being held in the basement of a Groveport, Ohio, home.
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| Chuck Todd Grills Pence, Says It Feels Like Team Trump’s ‘Gaslighting’ on Dems’ Coronavirus Rhetoric Posted: 01 Mar 2020 07:18 AM PST  Meet the Press anchor Chuck Todd pressed Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday to "name some names" after the veep groused that there was "irresponsible rhetoric" from Democrats on the coronavirus, with Todd further telling Pence that it feels like Team Trump is "gaslighting" the public.Pence, who was recently tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the administration's response to the coronavirus crisis, made the rounds on the Sunday news shows to promote the administration's efforts. After reassuring viewers during his Meet the Press appearance that the risk of contagion "remains low" for Americans, Pence was then questioned on complaints by the president and his allies that Democrats are rooting for the virus.Noting that Pence has gone out of his way to call on everyone to not politicize the outbreak, Todd went on to play a series of clips from conservatives claiming Democrats are weaponizing the virus to seek political gain. The montage also included the president's son Donald Trump Jr. insisting that Dems want "millions of people" killed in order to stop Trump's "streak of winning."Obama's Ebola Point Man: Trump's Got a Coronavirus Credibility Problem"None of this seems to match the facts," Todd said. "What facts are there that Democrats are doing this? … Seems like people are asking questions, and they're concerned about the virus. This, this implies some sort of political motivation, which is kind of gross."Pence, meanwhile, claimed that there was a "lot of irresponsible rhetoric" on the left, prompting Todd to demand that the vice president "name some names.""Because this is just—it just feels like gaslighting," the NBC News anchor continued. "Please name some names. I'm—we're all big—we're all big people here. Name some names."Eventually, Pence cited a column by New York Times opinion writer Gail Collins in which she said the disease should be renamed "Trumpvirus," calling Collins a "prominent liberal journalist" who was looking to blame the president."Does that apply, does that apply to all people," Todd wondered aloud, adding: "This doesn't help. This does not help us, no?""This is decisive action to protect the American people," Pence responded. "And when you see voices on our side pushing back on outrageous and irresponsible rhetoric on the other side, I think that's important, and I think it's justified."Todd wanted to know how this keeps the country united and focused on fighting the virus, specifically pointing to Trump Jr.'s remarks and asking Pence how those are helpful.After Pence brushed off the presidential scion's over-the-top comments while focusing again on Collins' column, Todd questioned whether Pence believed that the entire Democratic Party was doing this."Do you think there've been irresponsible voices on your side?" Todd further asked. "Do you think Rush Limbaugh saying weaponization of this? What evidence is there?""Well, look. I have great respect for Rush Limbaugh, and he's a strong conservative commentator," Pence replied."He also told people that this wasn't anything to worry about," Todd shot back. "Was he wrong about that?"Pence immediately deflected, fuming that Democrats have become "reflexively critical" of Trump while claiming that all Trump wants when it comes to the response to the disease is for Americans to know "we're all in this together.""So attacking Democrats is a way to do that?" Todd declared.Pence remained undeterred, however, and insisted that there was no issue with the rhetoric coming from the right."I never begrudge people responding to unwarranted, unjustified attacks," he concluded. "But I promise you, we're going to continue to focus on the mission the president's given this taskforce and given this government."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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| As first U.S. patient dies, more coronavirus cases in Washington Posted: 01 Mar 2020 02:27 AM PST  Health officials have confirmed that a man in Washington state has died of COVID-19, and that there are two other "presumptive positive" cases.
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| Pete Buttigieg quits Democratic presidential race Posted: 01 Mar 2020 05:11 PM PST  The announcement comes after a poor showing in South Carolina's Democratic primary.
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| Lady Gaga’s father won’t pay restaurant rent, citing homelessness as issue for business Posted: 01 Mar 2020 03:44 PM PST  Lady Gaga's father is refusing to pay $260,000 in rent and fees for his restaurant at New York City's Grand Central Terminal, saying the homeless population is hurting his business.
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| Attacks on Indian journalists highlight growing intolerance Posted: 01 Mar 2020 03:58 AM PST  Reporting in India has never been without its risks, but journalists say attacks on the media during last week's deadly communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in New Delhi show the situation is deteriorating. One reporter was shot and survived, another had his teeth knocked out, and many more said Hindu mobs demanded proof of religion and tried to keep them from documenting vandalism and violence that included people attacking one another with axes, swords, metal pipes and guns. Authorities have yet to provide an official account of what sparked the 72-hour clash that left 42 people dead and hundreds wounded, though tensions between Hindus and Muslims have been building for months over a new citizenship law.
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| Iraqi prime minister candidate Allawi quits as vacuum looms Posted: 01 Mar 2020 05:51 AM PST  Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi withdrew his candidacy for the post on Sunday, accusing political parties of obstructing him, deepening a domestic crisis and threatening an unprecedented power vacuum. Allawi's appointment was meant to ease a crisis as the Shi'ite-led country faces a mass protest movement that broke out in October and brought down Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. President Barham Salih will begin consultations to choose a new candidate for a new prime minister within 15 days, the state news agency said.
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| Why Don't We Celebrate the Doughboys As the 'Greatest Generation'? Posted: 01 Mar 2020 08:13 AM PST  World War I was just as important as World War II.
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| The stock market erased $6 trillion in wealth last week over coronavirus fears — but 3 charts show why it won't immediately impact most Americans Posted: 01 Mar 2020 05:41 AM PST  Most Americans don't own stock, and those that do skew wealthier. And under half of families have retirement accounts like a 401(k).
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| 'Thank you, God': Trump revels in reign as absolute king of CPAC Posted: 29 Feb 2020 03:16 PM PST  At the grassroots conservative gathering after fronting a coronavirus briefing, the president was back in his happy placeStop Donald Trump now, Democrats warned at his impeachment trial, or will he take on the aspect of a king.The prophecy appears to have been borne out, as the US president hands out jobs to loyalists, purges perceived enemies, pardons convicted criminals and swaggers as if with a divine right.On Saturday, addressing the biggest annual gathering of US grassroots conservatives, Trump wondered aloud at it being "sort of a miracle" he has got so much done despite all he's been through."Maybe it's right there, right?" he asked, pointing to the heavens. "Thank you, God."The crowd loved it. Trump stayed away from a sceptical Conservative Political Action Conference in 2016 but now he is its sun king. Supporters in a palatial ballroom at the National Harbour leaped to their feet, whooping and cheering, many wearing "Make America great again" and "Keep America great" caps.> They're coming after me, and we fight them back> > Donald TrumpThey roared their approval when, like a medieval monarch who has survived a bloody insurrection, Trump vowed revenge."They're coming after me and we fight them back," he said. "And now we're going after them because we have no choice. We have to straighten out our country. But despite the best efforts of the leftwing fanatics, their scams, schemes, slanders, they've all been discredited, totally discredited."He singled out James Comey, whom he fired as director of the FBI, and special counsel Robert Mueller, who led the Russia investigation, as enemies whose heads deserved to end up on metaphorical spikes."How is Comey doing?" he asked, sardonically. "How is Bob Mueller doing? That was a great performance in Congress. 'Raise your right hand.' 'What?'"There was also mention of the Utah senator Mitt Romney, who voted to convict Trump at the impeachment trial and, like a rebellious duke, was banished from CPAC this year. Trump described Romney as "lowlife" and the crowd booed lustily.The president also spoke ominously of getting rid of bad people in government who are "not people that love our country" and launched a familiar tirade against the "fake news" media.He gave little sign that he is worried about the democratic inconvenience of an election in November. Just a couple of hours after trying to muster gravitas in the White House briefing room while discussing the coronavirus, he reverted to the comfort zone of freewheeling rally style.He took delight in mocking each of his Democratic rivals."We've got Sleepy Joe [Biden], we've got Crazy Bernie [Sanders], we've got Mini Mike [Bloomberg] but I think he's out of it," he said. "That was probably the worst debate performance in the history of presidential debates."It just shows you can't buy an election. I mean, there's a point at which people say, 'You gotta bring the goods a little bit, too.'"Trump parodied Bloomberg's height by crouching behind the lectern and the crowd went wild, laughing ecstatically and chanting: "Four more years! Four more years!"The president said: "We hit a nerve!"He also took a swipe at Biden, the former vice-president, for a gaffe in a recent debate: "Did he just say that we killed 150 million people? That's half of our population."Trump even held an instant poll by asking the audience to "scream" for whether he would beat Biden or Sanders more easily. There was a significant scream for Biden but a much louder and sustained one for the democratic socialist senator from Vermont.Trump suggested Biden would be "sitting in a home" for the elderly rather than governing, whereas Sanders might be a communist. That chimed with the conference's theme: "America vs socialism".Of the Democrats, Trump warned darkly: "They want to take away your money, take away your choice, take away your speech, take away your guns, take away your religion, take away your history, take away your future and ultimately take away your freedom. But we will never let them do that."In a characteristically rambling monologue, he seemed genuinely unable to comprehend how teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg beat him to the precious title of Time magazine person of the year.But he finished his speech by hugging and kissing the flag – a familiar move which elicited a huge cheer from his devoted subjects.For them, and for Trump's loyal courtiers at the White House and on Capitol Hill, it is a case of long live the king.
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| Police clash with French islanders fearing coronavirus among tourists Posted: 01 Mar 2020 11:32 AM PST  Saint-Denis de la Reunion (AFP) - Police used tear gas on protesting residents of France's Indian Ocean territory Reunion Island on Sunday who tried to block passengers of a cruise ship turned away from nearby Madagascar for fear there may be people infected with the coronavirus on board. The incident came just hours after clashes between police and protesters near the airport in Martinique, another French overseas territory, demanding strict control of any new arrivals as panic over the outbreak spreads.
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| 'Seriously people - STOP BUYING MASKS!': Surgeon general says they won't protect from coronavirus Posted: 01 Mar 2020 10:11 AM PST  The surgeon general has a message for people who want to run out and stockpile masks to combat coronavirus – don't.
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| Jimmy Carter: Buttigieg "doesn't know what he's going to do" after South Carolina Posted: 01 Mar 2020 10:51 AM PST  Buttigieg said South Carolina was a "convincing" victory for former Vice President Joe Biden.
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| No need to involve U.S. to resolve bilateral issues, Pakistan tells Afghanistan Posted: 01 Mar 2020 09:49 AM PST  Any reservations Afghanistan has with Islamabad should be resolved bilaterally rather than involving the United States, Pakistan's foreign minister said on Sunday, in reference to part of a joint U.S.-Afghan declaration on peace efforts. The declaration was announced on Saturday by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, U.S. Defence Secretary Mark Esper and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at a ceremony to coincide with the signing in Doha of an agreement between the Taliban and the United States.
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| Nuke the Nukes: The Air Force Wanted to Attack Russian Nuclear Bombers with Nuclear Weapons Posted: 01 Mar 2020 06:22 AM PST  What could go wrong? Well, a lot.
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| At least 3,200 Amazon delivery drivers will be laid off by the end of April as the company keeps cutting ties with contractors Posted: 01 Mar 2020 10:22 AM PST  Amazon is cutting ties with some of its third-party delivery partners, resulting in thousands of layoffs in recent months.
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| Trump seeks to quell fear as first U.S. coronavirus death is reported Posted: 29 Feb 2020 12:14 PM PST  President Trump sought to ease rising fears about the coronavirus epidemic on a day when the first U.S. death from COVID-19 was reported and more cases were reported on the West Coast.
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| Dollars under the mattress: Argentines' preferred savings Posted: 29 Feb 2020 05:58 PM PST  No sooner does she receive her paycheck in Argentine pesos than 43-year-old lawyer Eugenia exchanges them for dollars and takes them home to hide away. The fear of losing everything in a burglary pales in comparison with the mistrust she has for banks and her own country's currency. "I don't trust the peso; it's not just now, it's always been that way," she said.
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| Washington state declares emergency after first patient dies from coronavirus in US Posted: 29 Feb 2020 03:06 PM PST  Washington state officials confirm the first coronavirus death in the U.S. Here's the latest on the COVID-19 outbreak.
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| Free child care is becoming a 2020 issue. Here's what it would mean for working moms. Posted: 29 Feb 2020 04:15 AM PST  "It relieved a lot of stress off of me," a mother of five in Washington, D.C., said of the city's free public preschool initiative.
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| Will Scotland Leave the UK? Posted: 01 Mar 2020 11:00 AM PST  How might that play out?
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| Trump: Getting rid of "bad" people made him successful Posted: 29 Feb 2020 06:52 PM PST  President Trump said Saturday that his "journey" in the nation's highest office would have been a failure if he hadn't been able to rid the government of people he described as "bad."
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| Trump announces coronavirus travel restrictions and screenings Posted: 29 Feb 2020 01:57 AM PST  President said the person who died was a "wonderful woman" and "a medically high-risk patient in her late fifties."
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| No going back: Bali's Chinese tourists fear virus-hit homeland Posted: 28 Feb 2020 08:58 PM PST  Hundreds of Chinese tourists on vacation in Bali are scrambling to avoid going home, fearing both infection from the deadly new coronavirus and Beijing's handling of the epidemic. Concerns over the rapidly-spreading outbreak prompted Indonesia to shut down all flights to and from China this month, hammering the bottom lines of restaurants, hotels, travel agents and interpreters on the popular resort island. "I'm an international refugee," Steve Li, the manager of a European firm in a major mainland city, told AFP at an upscale mall in the island's capital Denpasar.
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| Several young doctors in China have died of the coronavirus. Medical workers are far more vulnerable to infection than the general population. Posted: 29 Feb 2020 05:03 AM PST  Older people are the most likely to die from the coronavirus. But overworked, under-protected healthcare workers are at risk, too.
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| Italy's Quarantine Leaves Locked-Down Towns Feeling 'Sacrificed' Posted: 29 Feb 2020 07:16 AM PST  SECUGNAGO, Italy -- The phone call came from inside one of the northern Italian towns quarantined to contain the rapid spread of the coronavirus."Did you get the focaccia?" Tina Pomati, 65, asked her daughter, who was preparing to move a paper bag loaded with Rothmans Blue cigarettes, salami and chocolate cordials across an invisible border and into the Lombardy region's forbidden "red area.""I'm almost there," her daughter, Alessandra Paladini, 46, said. A few minutes later, she pulled up to a checkpoint outside the town of Zorlesco guarded by stern police. Her mother stood eagerly across the divide as the officers, wearing masks and white gloves, brusquely took the care package and handed it to her mother. The two women blew kisses at one another.Northern Italy has taken an aggressive response to the spread of the virus, testing and quarantining people with and without symptoms, locking down 11 towns and more than 50,000 people as officials desperately seek to seal the virus off from the rest of the Italy.But as the burden of the crisis weighed on Lombardy, the measures in the region have also divided families, damaged businesses and created the sense that Italy is sacrificing the few to protect the many, just as some countries around the world are trying to protect themselves from Italy.As the virus spreads, the situation inside the locked-down towns and on the ambiguous -- and sometimes porous -- borders between the free and the quarantined offers a potential preview of what may come if countries, including the United States, choose to confront the virus with a similar hard line."They sacrificed us," said Monica Grandi, 33, who works in a butcher shop outside the red zone and who walked with her toddler on the quarantined side of the border, where the family lives. She said the country looked upon them as infected pariahs. It made no sense that the neighboring town "a stone's throw away" wasn't locked down. "Why us and not them?"After the first outbreak of cases, Lombardy officials on Sunday locked down 10 towns south of Milan and started testing locals who reported contact with the infected, whether or not they suffered symptoms.Lombardy officials said on Friday that 531 people had contracted the virus but fewer than half, 235, required hospitalization. Of those, 85 required intensive care. On Friday officials said quarantines would be extended for another week to contain the virus.Health authorities in Rome argued that the aggressive testing in Lombardy violated international guidelines that only people showing symptoms should be tested, and thus inflated numbers and the perception of the threat. The broad testing, and resulting high numbers of people infected with the virus but without symptoms, have burdened the health system.If the virus spreads as it has, with each contagious person infecting two other people, the hospitals "will go into grave crisis," a statement from the Lombardy region said. All nonemergency surgery and medical exams have been postponed. Doctors complained of a shortage of masks and gloves, according to Massimo Vajani, president of the Medical Association of Lodi, the provincial capital, where many red zone patients have been transferred.In recent days, national officials have sought to downplay the threat, blaming the press and arguing that the virus hit only a tiny fraction of the population. Lombardy has since limited its testing only to people with symptoms.Those without symptoms in the red zones said the suspension of testing added insult to injury."They have abandoned us here, infecting each other," said Michela Torresani, a 36-year-old payroll worker who is under quarantine. She said the lack of tests created more doubt and anxiety. Out of precaution, she said, she had decided to avoid her elderly parents. "It's too risky," she said.Italy's economy has suffered too.Millions of tourists have canceled their trips to Italy and the State Department has advised Americans to reconsider going there. The head of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, this week estimated that the impact of the coronavirus on Italy's already-slumping economy to be around 0.2% of the GDP.Lombardy is the industrial heart of Italy, and the plains surrounding the locked-down towns are home to 3,000 companies. Every day of quarantine results in a loss of 50 million euros for the local economy according to Sabrina Baronio, head the area's local business organization.She said that the government had treated the area like a "lab rat" and that the experiment should not be repeated elsewhere. "Maybe we won't have many deaths for coronavirus but we will assist the funeral of our companies."On Friday night, the Italian government announced new measures -- a mix of tax breaks and other aid -- to offer relief to the local economy. But local businesses said the quarantine had already taken its toll."It's a huge disaster," said Taylan Arslan, 33, who had scheduled the opening of a new kebab-making plant in the area on Monday. But his 57 employees could not enter the warehouse. He estimated that he had lost 12,000 euros for each of the five days he did not work and worried that "people are going to label us as dangerous.""Even the word, 'red area' -- it's scary," Arslan said.Carlo Benuzzi, 56, said his clothes shop had been closed since Sunday."We are blocked here," he said, arguing that if the same rigorous checks were done elsewhere, most of the world would be locked down. Benuzzi led a long-distance running team that included the 38-year-old Unilever employee whom officials have identified as responsible for spreading many of the early coronavirus infections."Now when I go running in the fields," Benuzzi said. "I see members of the army, it looks like West Berlin and East Berlin."On Friday, ambulances driven by medical workers in white hazmat suits raced, sirens blaring, in and out of the locked-down town of Zorlesco. ("If you continue to allow ambulances to go back and forth from quarantined towns the virus can still spread," Vajani said in a telephone interview.) A funeral home's van rolled in slowly.At the checkpoint, Marco Ausonio, 54, complained that his washing machine had broken and handed a white bag of laundry to a financial police officer, who walked it over to his brother who had come from the free zone.Experts at the World Health Organization said the risks from laundry would be small but could be higher from "an infected patient." Massimo Andreoni, an infectious disease specialist at Rome's University of Tor Vergata, said he considered the risk nil, but added, "A person in a quarantined area probably shouldn't be exchanging things with someone outside."The area is rife with other small inconveniences. The shortage of grocery items had led some people in the town to order deliveries from the Esselunga supermarket. But when the store's driver, Secrieru Veaceslav, approached the checkpoint he stopped short."I'm not going in there," he said.Less than a mile back down the road, regulars drank wine and beer at the Liberty Bar in Secugnago. The cafe had become the go-to store for cigarettes after the local tobacco shop closed, as its owner lives in a quarantined area. Inside the bar, the men debated the contagion level of the virus and whether the threat had been exaggerated.Outside, they gathered around a phone and laughed at how newscasters failed to pronounce the name of their town. None of them wore masks.Maurizio Pedrinazzi, a 60-year-old street cleaner, said it was "absurd" that their town was open while neighboring Zorlesco remained closed. If the virus spread so quickly, he said with a shrug, then it was likely "everyone is contaminated."Plus, he said, despite the quarantine, people from the locked-down town often stopped in for a drink."They know the country roads, the shortcuts," he said. "They all come here."The quarantine border in fact seemed less than airtight.At the checkpoint, the police stopped a woman walking briskly in jogging clothes. She said she wanted to get back into the quarantined town after taking her morning constitutional."You know there is an ordinance?" the officer asked incredulously -- before granting her request.After Paladini delivered the care package for her mother, her mother expressed her gratitude for the focaccia."When you can't have something," she said, "you want it even more."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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