| 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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| Laura Bassett Accuses MSNBC Host Chris Matthews of Sexually Harassing Her in 2016 Posted: 28 Feb 2020 11:49 AM PST  Days after MSNBC host Chris Matthews came under fire for his sexist run-in with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), columnist Laura Bassett claimed in a piece for GQ that the veteran MSNBC personality sexually harassed her in 2016—something she had previously written about in 2017 without revealing Matthews' name.According to Bassett, the married MSNBC host approached her when she was in a make-up chair prior to appearing on his show to talk about—ironically enough—the sexual-assault allegations made against then-nominee Donald Trump. Bassett claimed that while she was getting her makeup applied, Matthews looked her over and asked, "Why haven't I fallen in love with you yet?"Bassett writes that the remark caused her to nervously laugh. Matthews, meanwhile, continued to comment, telling the makeup artist to keep "putting makeup on" Bassett as he'd "fall in love with her."The columnist also recalled how another instance in which Matthews stepped between her and a mirror and asked of her attire, "You going out tonight?" After she replied that she didn't know, Matthews once again spoke to the makeup artist and made the following request: "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."Elsewhere in her GQ piece, Bassett claimed an unnamed cable news pundit told her about her own run-in with Matthews. The pundit said she was invited on Matthews' show to talk about misogyny in the GOP, and that the MSNBC host explained that he was going to draw comparisons between the culture depicted in Mad Men and the Republican Party.Right before going on-air for the segment—which, again, was about feminism and misogynist attitudes—Matthews allegedly referenced the curvy Mad Men character Joan and asked the pundit if she thought her "proportions are real." The pundit told Bassett she was "shaken."Earlier this week, following Matthews' much-criticized confrontation with Warren in which he badgered her on why she believed a female accuser over a man, the women's advocacy group UltraViolet called on MSNBC to fire Matthews over the interview."MSNBC needs to fire Chris Matthews. Today," UltraViolet president Shaunna Thomas said in the statement. "Matthews' refusal to believe women, and history of sexual harassment, make it clear that he is not fit to continue to cover this election. MSNBC can and must do better, and they can start by firing Chris Matthews."The group also reacted to Bassett's accusation by calling out the network for "encouraging and enabling" the host's behavior."Chris Matthews has no business being on TV," the statement read from Thomas. "That was true before Laura Bassett's latest accusation. It is certainly true today. By keeping Matthews on the air, MSNBC is endorsing, encouraging and enabling his disgraceful and dangerous behavior. Comcast, MSNBC's parent company, has a long and dark history of protecting abusive men. And here we are again. ""Matthews' noted history of sexual misconduct, his refusal to believe women, and his egregious, sexist behavior—which he put on clear display for all of America to see at the South Carolina debate—make him unfit to report at MSNBC, or any other network," Thomas added. "It is long past time for MSNBC to fire Chris Matthews and conduct a company-wide independent investigation into the toxic culture at Comcast/NBCUniversal."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.Besides that incident, Matthews has a history of both objectifying women on-air, such as Sarah Palin, CBS News' Margaret Brennan, or CNN's Erin Burnett, or expressing contempt for women he thinks are acting "witchy" or "anti-male." He also infamously joked about obtaining a "Bill Cosby pill" just before interviewing then-candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.Besides sparking backlash and outrage over his recent Warren segment, Matthews has also been the subject of intense criticism—especially from the left—over his fiercely negative coverage of Democratic presidential frontrunner Bernie Sanders. After comparing Sanders' overwhelming Nevada caucus win to the Nazis invading France during World War II, Matthews apologized on-air following widespread condemnation.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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| 'It's Scary': Residents Near Mystery Coronavirus Case Worry and Wonder Posted: 28 Feb 2020 12:15 PM PST  VACAVILLE, Calif. -- In the parking lot of a big-box store, Rick Lodwick tossed a jumbo pack of sanitizing wipes into the back of his car."I'm middling alarmed," Lodwick, an engineer, said as he listed the provisions he bought Thursday after learning that a woman from his county, Solano, was believed to be the first person in the United States to test positive for the coronavirus without having a known connection to others with the illness."When I heard it was here, I thought, we're going to have trouble," Lodwick said.A day after authorities announced the case of the woman, who they say may be the first person infected through community transmission in this country, residents of Solano County had a wide range of reactions, from apathy to alarm.Officials in the county, a partly rural community between San Francisco and Sacramento, declared a health emergency. An investigation was started into all contacts the sick woman might have had with friends, neighbors and medical workers. And people shopping in Solano County's strip malls and neighborhoods had many questions. Would their children be safe at school? Were there places they should avoid?"It's scary," said Adrian Obando, a stay-at-home father who was watching his daughter turn cartwheels on the lawn of a park near NorthBay VacaValley Hospital, where the woman was treated before she tested positive for the coronavirus.Obando said that he was worried, but that he did not think there was much he could do. He said he could see with his children how easily colds and flus spread. "They get sick all the time," he said.The woman, whose identity was not released by state and local officials in a series of news conferences about the case, was the 60th person in the United States to test positive for the virus, which has killed 2,800 people and sickened 82,000 more worldwide.But the woman's case is different, authorities have said: It is the first in which health officials have not been able to determine how the patient got sick. That, officials said, might be a first sign of spreading within the United States, where all of the previous cases had been related to travel to Wuhan, China, the center of the outbreak; to relatives who had been abroad; or to a cruise ship that had become infected.Dr. Bela Matyas, the public health officer in Solano County, said officials had begun monitoring dozens of people with whom the woman had interacted in recent weeks -- including relatives, co-workers and others she might have had contact with through her job -- and had asked them to quarantine themselves at home. Those who experience symptoms, Matyas said, will be tested for the coronavirus and be asked to further isolate themselves. The officials would not say where the woman worked or what sort of work she did.This county, which is home to both Bay Area commuters and military personnel stationed at Travis Air Force Base, also has other connections to the coronavirus. Hundreds of Americans who were traveling when the outbreak began unfolding have been housed on the base as part of a federally mandated quarantine, and several have tested positive for the virus. But on Thursday, health officials emphasized there was no indication that the woman had come in contact with anyone at the base, nor had she traveled recently.Outside Travis Air Force Base on Thursday, there were few signs of concern. Pilots in flight suits greeted one another with handshakes at a nearby fast-food restaurant. No one wore masks during the lunch rush."To me it's just another flu," said Beverly Garske, who was taking a walk a few minutes from the base's entrance.Having a possible case of community transmission occur in her county made the virus feel "close to home," she said. But she shrugged off the idea that she might become exposed."My husband and I don't get out much," Garske said. "If we do go out, usually it's to go fishing."Nern Lewis, who lives minutes away from Travis Air Force Base, said she was not concerned. "I mostly just stay in my house," she said, "so I'm not afraid."But as Lewis sat in the sunshine in front of her ranch house Thursday morning, she said some of her relatives had grown more nervous about the virus. The new case was a troubling mystery.She had been planning to return to her native Thailand to visit her sister but was now putting off the trip."It's not a good time for it," Lewis said. "You might not be able to come back."The woman who has the coronavirus was initially treated in Vacaville and then taken by ambulance to the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where she was still being treated as of Thursday night.At the hospital earlier in the day, some workers seemed deeply concerned about possible exposure."I'm worried how this will affect my baby," said Vickie Poncalo, a cashier at the hospital's cafe who is seven months pregnant."Should we be wearing a mask and worrying that people are walking around here?" she asked. "Should I even be here?"In the gift shop, Madeline Daniels said she was wondering about all of the possible ways the virus might spread."Money is the dirtiest thing," she said.Dr. Peter Beilenson, the director of Sacramento County's Department of Health Services, said officials were bracing for a larger outbreak in Northern California."There's almost assuredly going to be a significant number of people testing positive," Beilenson said.This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Defense moves delay sentencing for 'Boy Next Door Killer' Posted: 27 Feb 2020 09:18 PM PST  Sentencing for a man convicted of two murders who prosecutors dubbed "The Boy Next Door Killer" was delayed Friday over a defense motion that seeks a new trial because the prosecution failed to share information that would have compromised the credibility of a detective who was a key witness in the case. A jury recommended the death penalty for 44-year-old Michael Thomas Gargiulo, who was found guilty in August of the home-invasion murders of two women, one of whom was about to go on a date with actor Ashton Kutcher.
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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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| Patient's dog tests positive for coronavirus Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:37 PM PST  Dogs, cats and other mammals owned as pets by confirmed coronavirus patients must now undergo a 14-day quarantine.
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| 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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| 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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| Trump complains Democrats are blaming him for coronavirus Posted: 28 Feb 2020 04:23 AM PST |
| Tucker Carlson Turns to AOC Creepshot Guy for Coronavirus Expertise Posted: 27 Feb 2020 06:38 PM PST  Amid growing fears of a coronavirus outbreak and U.S. financial markets hitting a record drop on Thursday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson turned to a conservative columnist best known for taking creepy photos of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) as his expert on the crisis on Thursday night.It should perhaps come as no surprise that Carlson's guest, Washington Examiner columnist Eddie Scarry, used his primetime cable news appearance to talk about the "Commie cough" and to claim that Chinese people eating skunks are responsible for the rise of the virus.In kicking off his Fox News program, Carlson argued that it is liberals' "attitude" towards diversity that has "left us vulnerable to the coronavirus" before welcoming on Scarry to enlighten viewers on the health crisis horrors caused by political correctness. "You spent a lot of time thinking about this mindset," the Fox News host asked Scarry. "Here we are facing what could become a pandemic. Thousands have died. Yet a certain segment of well-educated America is more concerned that people might say insensitive things. Explain the mindset."Scarry, who is hawking a new book that argues rape victims and trans people are the most privileged in American society, went on to praise Carlson for his monologue before saying the left cares "more about ideology" than what's happening with the virus."It turns out most people in America, even the Chinese, don't want the Commie cough but all we're hearing about who is the privileged and who is the victim," Scarry asserted. "In this case it's supposed to be — the victims are everyone else who is spreading this disease, where it's coming from, coming from China obviously. But we're the privileged so we're just supposed to accept it, we're just supposed to be okay with what's going on."Carlson, meanwhile, told Scarry that "everything" he said "is true," further asking him if he is surprised to see this attitude from liberals even when "facing a question of life and death." Scarry took that opportunity to bemoan Democrats calling on Americans to not "perpetuate racist stereotypes" amid coronavirus fears."We're worried about the racial implications of blaming this on anybody," the right-wing provocateur stated. "Well, no, I'm sorry. If it turns out, which I did read this time in The New York Times no less, this may have come from eating skunks in China. Maybe we should consider the idea that, all right, either food or something or somebody should not be coming from China."The Daily Beast was unable to find any reference in The New York Times to the disease being linked to Chinese people eating skunks. It would appear, however, that Scarry likely got his information from a fellow Examiner columnist's piece that cited a former Trump official's tweet claiming civet cats in China are skunks. (The Times' Maggie Haberman tweeted on Thursday that a top U.S. health official said the disease jumped from bats to civet cats, which are eaten by Chinese at feasts.)Scarry's primetime appearance appears to mark his first major return to the limelight after he sparked backlash and gained a reputation as a "creep" in Nov. 2018 after tweeting out a surreptitiously shot photo of Ocasio-Cortez. Scarry was moved from his position as media reporter to commentary by the Examiner. The paper claimed at the time that the move had been in the works prior to the infamous tweet.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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| Bill Gates says the coronavirus is a pandemic and a 'once-in-a-century pathogen.' Here are the solutions he's proposing to fight it. Posted: 28 Feb 2020 11:06 AM PST  "COVID-19 has started behaving a lot like the once-in-a-century pathogen we've been worried about," Gates wrote in a new op-ed.
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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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| 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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| 25 Glass Coffee Tables for Any and Every Living Room Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:46 AM PST |
| 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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| 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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| 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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| 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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| 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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| Indiana police officer arrested for pretending to arrest 15-year-old son Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:56 AM PST |
| North Korea's Kim guides military drills, warns 'serious consequences' if virus breaks out: KCNA Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:45 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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| 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 Court: Don McGahn can defy congressional subpoena Stock markets are headed for a 40 percent plunge, says economist who predicted financial crisis A coronavirus recession would likely end Trump's presidency
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| 'No fear': Pilgrims in Saudi defy coronavirus risks Posted: 28 Feb 2020 01:57 PM PST  Cleaners scrub and sterilise the floors of Mecca's Grand Mosque after fears of coronavirus led Saudi Arabia to suspend pilgrim visas, but worshippers appear unfazed -- confident of God's protection. Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, on Thursday suspended entry by foreigners for the year-round "umrah" pilgrimage, an unprecedented move that has left tens of thousands in limbo. Saudi Arabia has so far reported no coronavirus cases but there are mounting concerns over a spike in infections across the Middle East.
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| Why the Navy's New Lrasm Missile Would Be a Real Ship-Killer Posted: 28 Feb 2020 02:00 PM PST  A very good idea.
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| McDonald’s is giving away free Egg McMuffins for 1 day only Posted: 28 Feb 2020 07:47 AM PST  National Egg McMuffin Day is officially a thing.
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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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| Top Democrat signals Sanders needs majority to claim nomination Posted: 27 Feb 2020 01:51 PM PST  US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday signaled to Democratic frontrunner Bernie Sanders that he would need an outright majority of delegates, not just a plurality, to win the party's presidential nomination. Washington's top Democrat declined to say whether she would support the candidacy of Sanders -- flagbearer for the left-wing -- if he arrived at the party convention in July with the most delegates among the candidates, but still short of a majority.
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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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| 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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| 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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| Germany Mulls Stimulus Measures to Offset Coronavirus Impact Posted: 27 Feb 2020 11:19 AM PST |
| Police identify victims, shooter in Milwaukee brewery shooting rampage Posted: 27 Feb 2020 03:22 AM PST  Police in Milwaukee on Thursday identified the five brewery employees shot and killed by a co-worker who later took his own life in the latest spasm of gun violence plaguing U.S. workplaces and schools. The motive for the carnage was unclear a day after the shooting at the landmark Molson Coors Beverage Co complex shook Wisconsin's largest city. "Reasons for this are still under investigation," Milwaukee Police Chief Alfonso Morales said.
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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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| 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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| Pro-Trump figures spread coronavirus conspiracy after health expert revealed as sister of senior Mueller probe official Posted: 27 Feb 2020 12:33 PM PST  Prominent Trump supporters have claimed coronavirus is being used to undermine the president, after it was revealed that a health official who commented on the outbreak is the sister of former deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein.Dr Nancy Messonnier, a senior official at the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), said on Tuesday it was likely that an outbreak would occur in the US and warned the American public to "prepare for the expectation that this might be bad."
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| Trump asks White House chief of staff if he will be impeached again Posted: 28 Feb 2020 11:34 AM PST  President Trump asked his top aides whether he is likely to get impeached during a possible second term, said acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who accused the media of trying to use the coronavirus to "bring down" his boss.
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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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| South Africa Raises Funds for State Airline to $1.1 Billion Posted: 26 Feb 2020 11:28 PM PST |
| 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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| 'Europe is nicer': migrants head west after Turkey opens border Posted: 28 Feb 2020 07:58 AM PST  Hundreds of migrants in Turkey started arriving on the borders with Greece and Bulgaria on Friday after a senior Turkish official said Ankara would no longer abide by a 2016 EU deal and stop refugees from reaching Europe. The migrants, some carrying small children and carrier bags, trekked along roads out of Istanbul and through fields, in scenes reminiscent of the 2015 refugee crisis, when more than a million people fleeing wars and poverty sought asylum in Europe. Some wore face masks, in an apparent attempt to guard against the coronavirus outbreak now sweeping the world and adding to the concerns of hard-pressed European authorities.
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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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| 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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| Trump Identifies the Real Coronavirus Victim: His Presidency Posted: 28 Feb 2020 03:58 PM PST  NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland—Facing growing concern over the spread of coronavirus globally, President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have ginned up a communications strategy that leans heavily on blaming Democrats and the media for hyping those fears. According to three sources who have independently discussed the crisis with him in the last three weeks, Trump has appeared preoccupied with his theory that liberals and the press were attempting to use coronavirus to make him "look bad" prior to the November election. "He made a joke about how he could invent a cure for the coronavirus tomorrow, and [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi would still find ways to criticize him for it," said one individual who spoke to Trump in the past week on the matter.Trump has hardly kept those beliefs private, even as he has attempted to portray himself as soberly on top of the emergency response to the outbreak. On Thursday, he took to Twitter to chastise "Do Nothing Democrats" for insisting that the coronavirus was "the fault of 'Trump.'"On Friday evening, near the start of the president's speech at a South Carolina rally, he revved up the crowd by trashing news organizations and Democratic figures for being critical of his coronavirus response. He presided over a chorus of lusty boos for the "horrible" liberals and rowdy cheers for the "great" things Trump has done."Now the Democrats are politicizing the coronavirus—they're politicizing it," Trump said on stage. "How's President Trump doing? 'Not good, not good,' [they'll say]."He also accused CNN and others in the media of going into full-blown "hysteria mode" to try to hurt him politically. And he brazenly went after Democratic lawmakers for their immigration stances, suggesting that their more open policies would lead to more "infection" being imported into the United States. "Border security is also health security," he said.Throughout Trumpworld and the administration, those talking points have been pushed as a primary message point for surrogates to emphasize. According to a person familiar with the strategy, the White House has encouraged members of the president's coronavirus task force to denounce Democrats for attempting to politicize the crisis during media appearances this week."Unfortunately what we are seeing is a political effort by the Left and some in the media to distract and disturb the American people with fearful rhetoric and palace intrigue," White House spokesman Judd Deere told The Daily Beast on Wednesday. "The United States economy is the strongest in the world thanks to the leadership and policies of President Trump. The virus remains low risk domestically because of the containment actions taken by this administration since the first of the year."Congressman Threatens to Beat Up Trump Jr. for Claiming Democrats Want Coronavirus PandemicOn Thursday, the Republican National Committee blasted out a message to surrogates and allies promoting a Fox clip of GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel declaring that Democrats are "politicizing this," and accused them of wanting "porous borders." Meanwhile, she said, Trump is "taking this by the horns like he always does. He's going to make sure the American people are safe."That same day, the Trump White House sent out a talking-points memo to its own media surrogates about how "while the President is leading aggressive response and preparation efforts, many in the media remain focused on attacking him at every turn.""Blinded by their bias and ignorant to the irony, the [New York] Times is accusing the President of having a 'credibility' problem on this issue—while publishing politically-motivated disinformation blaming the President for a virus," the email, a copy of which was reviewed by The Daily Beast, stated.By Friday, Mick Mulvaney, Trump's White House chief of staff, was telling the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that the president's enemies in the press "think this [virus panic] will bring down the president, that's what this is all about." The same day, Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son and one of the country's most prominent MAGA evangelists, went so far as to allege that Democrats appeared to want the virus to kill "millions of people," if only so they could have a shot at gleefully halting his father's "streak of winning."Trump and his allies almost always prefer to go on the offensive when facing scrutiny over their performance. And that appears to be no different when the challenge they are confronting is in the form of a potential global pandemic. Though past administrations leaned on medical professionals to do much of the public-facing communications around outbreaks, the Trump White House has sought to streamline operations under the politicos. The Coronavirus Stock Market Rollercoaster Isn't Stopping Anytime SoonAccording to one national security official, the White House had decided this week to run all communications through Vice President Mike Pence's office because it became clear that the members of the task force were beginning to sound as if they were not on the same page. That process has been streamlined now, with a particular focus on scheduling media appearances for members of the team in between briefings that include all members of the force.The increased message discipline appears to be having the desired effect. On Friday, growing concerns about both coronavirus and its political impact hung over the conservative activists gathered at CPAC, held just outside Washington, D.C.Conservative playwright Phelim McAleer, who met with Trump for 45 minutes on Thursday at the White House, complained from CPAC's main stage that he had seen a tweet offering to pay someone with coronavirus to come to CPAC and infect attendees. Several people at the network-heavy conference were offering elbow bumps instead of handshakes, including Sinclair host Eric Bolling. "Let me give you some arm here, no coronas," Bolling said, proffering his elbow. While Bolling took issue with a New York Times column that had become a hot topic at CPAC on Thursday—which proposed dubbing the coronavirus "Trumpvirus"—other attendees echoed Trump Jr.'s sentiments that Democrats are hoping for coronavirus to spread. Fringe right-wing internet personality Ann Vandersteel told The Daily Beast that Democrats are looking to create "fear porn" around the coronavirus. "They want to see this market tank, because they want to see this negatively impact the president," Vandersteel said. And "Grizzly Joe," a pro-Trump Twitter personality with a ZZ Top beard, an American flag shirt, and wraparound sunglasses who opened CPAC's Thursday session with the Pledge of Allegiance, speculated that Democrats are rooting for coronavirus to spread to hurt Trump's re-election chances. "I'm sure a number of them do, and you know, it's unfortunate," 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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| Air Transat kicked a family off a plane after their daughter started coughing, as airlines tighten measures against coronavirus Posted: 28 Feb 2020 05:14 AM PST  Two doctors told a family it was ok for their coughing baby to fly, but the pilot still removed them from the plane.
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