| There are only three viable presidential candidates, according to Mike Bloomberg's campaign Posted: 18 Feb 2020 10:46 AM PST  Only three candidates out of the more than half dozen vying for the White House have a viable path to the nomination, a senior official for the Mike Bloomberg campaign told reporters Tuesday.
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| Lawyer: Assange was offered US pardon if he cleared Russia Posted: 19 Feb 2020 12:06 PM PST  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to claim during an extradition hearing that the Trump administration offered him a pardon if he agreed to say Russia was not involved in leaking Democratic National Committee emails during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, a lawyer for Assange said Wednesday. Assange is being held at a British prison while fighting extradition to the United States on spying charges. At a preliminary hearing held Wednesday in London, lawyer Edward Fitzgerald said that now-former Republican congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, visited Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in August 2017.
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| George Zimmerman is suing Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg over Trayvon Martin birthday tweets Posted: 19 Feb 2020 11:24 AM PST  George Zimmerman, who in 2013 was acquitted after being charged with murder for his fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, has filed a lawsuit against two Democratic presidential candidates seeking $265 million in damages. The complaint, reported Wednesday, accuses Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg of defamation.At issue are tweets each candidate posted on what would have been Martin's 25th birthday in early February:> My heart goes out to @SybrinaFulton and Trayvon's family and friends. He should still be with us today.> > We need to end gun violence and racism. And we need to build a world where all of our children—especially young Black boys—can grow up safe and free. https://t.co/9lXXlRnvzL> > — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 6, 2020> Trayvon Martin would have been 25 today.> > How many 25th birthdays have been stolen from us by white supremacy, gun violence, prejudice, and fear?BlackLivesMatter> > — Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 5, 2020The posts were made "for political gain in misguided and malicious attempts to bolster their standings amongst African-American voters, all at Zimmerman's expense," the lawsuit filing claims, arguing the timing was merely "a pretext to demagogue and falsely brand Zimmerman as a white supremacist and racist to their millions of Twitter followers."Zimmerman is already suing Martin's family, including his mother, whom Warren tagged in her tweet. That lawsuit seeks $100 million in damages and alleges falsified testimony.More stories from theweek.com Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils Has Trump solved his biggest 2016 campaign problem? Bernie Sanders aide denies report he considered a primary challenge to Obama
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| 9 Rural Farms of the 21st Century Featuring Stunning Modern Design Posted: 19 Feb 2020 11:53 AM PST |
| Hate crimes go unchecked at Syracuse University, students say Posted: 19 Feb 2020 01:02 PM PST  The black-led movement NotAgainSU launched the sit-in Monday to protest the administration's handling of racial incidents at the university.
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| Coronavirus updates: Quarantine ends on cruise ship as death toll passes 2,000 Posted: 19 Feb 2020 03:45 AM PST  As the death toll for the coronavirus outbreak in China passes 2,000, here is the latest news for Wednesday Feb. 19.
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| ICE says it plans to destroy a trove of detention records, including numbers on detainee deaths and sexual assaults Posted: 19 Feb 2020 07:21 AM PST  The ACLU races to retrieve years of ICE detention records that they say are critical to holding ICE accountable for abuses and misconduct.
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| New coronavirus spreads more like flu than SARS: Chinese study Posted: 19 Feb 2020 03:31 PM PST  Scientists in China who studied nose and throat swabs from 18 patients infected with the new coronavirus say it behaves much more like influenza than other closely related viruses, suggesting it may spread even more easily than previously believed. In at least in one case, the virus was present even though the patient had no symptoms, confirming concerns that asymptomatic patients could also spread the disease. Although preliminary, the findings published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, offer new evidence that this novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 2,000 people mostly in China, is not like its closely-related coronavirus cousins.
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| Report: Obama reportedly expects he'll have to play a 'prominent role' in uniting Democrats this summer Posted: 18 Feb 2020 03:02 PM PST  The New York Magazine reports former president Barack Obama's radio silence on the 2020 Democratic primary is part of a "choreographed strategy" on the part of Obama, who is "increasingly sure he will need to play a prominent role in bringing the party back together and calming its tensions later this summer."
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| Trump declares himself 'chief law enforcement officer' as he issues numerous pardons Posted: 18 Feb 2020 12:39 PM PST  The president on Tuesday exercised his pardon power, granting clemency to or commuting the sentences of nearly a dozen people convicted of crimes.
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| Andrew Yang is headed to CNN Posted: 19 Feb 2020 08:00 AM PST  Andrew Yang's presidential bid failed, but it did land him a gig with CNN.The entrepreneur who made a run at the Oval Office before dropping out last week after a poor showing at the New Hampshire primary will be joining the network as a political analyst. He's doing so just in time for Wednesday night's Democratic debate in Las Vegas, as the remaining candidates take the stage before the Nevada caucuses Saturday.The big story leading up to Wednesday's showdown is the presence of billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who will be making his first debate appearance since his latecomer campaign began. But Yang -- who was famous for keeping it casual on the debate stage -- could steal some headlines if he decides to wear a tie for his first day on the job. > Will be on @CNN tonight to talk about the debate! Maybe I'll wear a tie . . . https://t.co/m5VPhnfk50> > -- Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) February 19, 2020More stories from theweek.com Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils Has Trump solved his biggest 2016 campaign problem? Bernie Sanders aide denies report he considered a primary challenge to Obama
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| Ex-S. Korea President Lee sent back to jail over corruption Posted: 19 Feb 2020 01:05 AM PST |
| Russia raises eyebrows with blanket ban on Chinese visitors Posted: 19 Feb 2020 07:14 AM PST  Moscow is to impose a blanket ban on Chinese visitors over coronavirus fears in a move that will hit its tourism industry as experts question the need for such "draconian" measures. Moscow will ban all Chinese citizens from entering its territory from Thursday. It has already halted visa-free tourism for Chinese nationals and stopped issuing them with work visas and suspended rail links and restricted air travel.
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| China kicked out 3 Wall Street Journal reporters after it published an op-ed using a term that invokes the biggest humiliation in Chinese history Posted: 19 Feb 2020 03:32 AM PST  China's foreign ministry cited a February 3 headline, titled "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia," as the immediate reason for the expulsions.
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| Crash near Orlando kills 3 members of Massachusetts family; son, 11, on life support Posted: 19 Feb 2020 07:04 AM PST  The Smith and Fay families, who were vacationing together, were driving Tuesday night when a pickup truck rear-ended their vehicle, causing it to roll over.
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| What happened to winter? And where's the polar vortex? Posted: 19 Feb 2020 01:30 PM PST  The first two months of winter – December and January – were the warmest on record across the U.S.
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| Donald Trump Thinks Climate Change Is a Hoax. The U.S. Military Disagrees. Posted: 19 Feb 2020 05:18 AM PST  They've been warning pretty loudly about it.
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| Virginia lawmakers reject assault weapons ban over fears of potential civil war Posted: 19 Feb 2020 07:11 AM PST  Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's push to ban the sale of assault weapons has failed after members of his own party balked at the proposal. Senators voted to shelve the bill for the year and ask the state crime commission to study the issue, an outcome that drew cheers from a committee room packed with gun advocates.
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| 26 of the Best Stainless-Steel Bathroom Faucets Posted: 19 Feb 2020 12:29 PM PST |
| Bloomberg referred to trans women as 'some guy in a dress' in second resurfaced video Posted: 19 Feb 2020 08:08 AM PST  In a video recorded last year, presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg refers to transgender women as "some guy in a dress." This is the second time Mr Bloomberg has been recorded making such statements in recent years.The March 2019 video also has Mr Bloomberg referring to transgender people as "he, she or it" in comments aimed at warning 2020 Democratic candidates against emphasising transgender issues, arguing that they would not play well in parts of America.
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| Pope tenderly kissed on forehead by man in front-row seat Posted: 19 Feb 2020 10:44 AM PST  Well-wishers at Pope Francis' weekly audience have thrust soccer T-shirts, flowers and many a wailing baby into his arms. On Wednesday, Francis seemed to thoroughly enjoy a surprise expression of affection: a long, tender kiss planted on his forehead by a man in one of the front-row seats reserved for ailing or disabled people at the end of his audience. Francis appeared to be smiling when the man, who stood up when the pontiff approached to greet him and others in the front row, pulled the pope's head toward him and gave a kiss lasting several seconds, pressing his nose against Francis' forehead in the process.
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| A millionaire fashion designer is accused of sex trafficking and raping women and girls during 'pamper parties' at his exclusive Bahamas estate Posted: 19 Feb 2020 01:58 PM PST  Several women have come forward since the lawsuit was filed alleging they had been sexually abused by other men and women at the direction of Nygard, a lawyer for the plaintiffs told Insider.
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| Turkish president says a new military intervention in Syria is 'imminent' Posted: 19 Feb 2020 10:14 AM PST  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday told his party's lawmakers it is "only a matter of time" before he launches a new military intervention in neighboring Syria's Idlib province if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad does not withdraw his forces from the area."An operation in Idlib is imminent," Erdogan said. "We are counting down; we are making our final warnings. ... We will not leave Idlib to the [Syrian] regime, which does not understand our country's determination." His goal, he announced, is to secure the region near the Turkish-Syrian border "at any cost."The statement received prompt pushback from Russia, an Assad ally. "If we are talking about an operation against the legitimate authorities of the Syrian Republic and armed forces of the Syrian Republic this would, of course, be the worst scenario," said Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. Moscow and Ankara are in contact in hopes of preventing escalation, Peskov added.About 900,000 people, including 500,000 children, have been displaced in the last three months as the Assad regime ramped up fighting in the Idlib area. Syria has dealt with civil war, foreign military intervention, terrorist insurgency, and a severe refugee crisis since 2011.Humanitarian organizations have called for de-escalation in Idlib, especially given the winter weather. "Children and families are caught between the violence, the biting cold, the lack of food, and the desperate living conditions," said Henrietta Fore, executive director of UNICEF. "It is time for the guns to go silent and for the violence to stop once and for all."More stories from theweek.com Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils Has Trump solved his biggest 2016 campaign problem? Bernie Sanders aide denies report he considered a primary challenge to Obama
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| Democrats Still Haven’t Come to Terms with 2016 Posted: 19 Feb 2020 07:50 AM PST  In an otherwise excellent Politico article advising Democrats how to avoid the fate of 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former Obama staffer Dan Pfeiffer offers his team some self-soothing revisionism regarding the 2016 election:> When all is said and done, the 2016 election might end up being a black-swan event. The combination of Russian interference, Comey intervention and multiple third-party candidates make that election a hard one to extract guidance from.Guess what? Every election is conducted under a unique set of circumstances. Every election is a black-swan event. But that doesn't mean you should rewrite history to excuse your side's performance.The so-called "Comey intervention" has become a security blanket for Democrats unable to acknowledge that Hillary Clinton was merely acting in the same reckless and corrupt manner she always had. In reality, Democrats were incensed that the FBI director didn't bury evidence pertaining to an ongoing congressional investigation of their preferred candidate. They had demanded Comey operate as a political actor even before Trump won.Comey, a bureaucrat who likely had zero interest in angering the consensus front-runner for the presidency, had no choice but to inform Congress of this evidence. Not only because Department of Justice rules stipulate that relevant congressional committees should be apprised of new evidence when it appears, but because Comey had promised Congress after letting Clinton off the hook in July 2016 that he would notify it if new evidence emerged.New evidence did emerge, and there was nothing Comey could do about it. A high-level Hillary staffer, Huma Abedin, was in possession of classified emails that should have been handed over to the FBI. Moreover, her high-profile husband, Anthony Weiner, then under investigation for carrying on with an underaged girl, had access to those emails. If Comey had kept silent and that story had leaked out in bits and pieces later, it surely would have destroyed his career (and badly damaged Clinton).What's more, it takes some chutzpah to claim Comey doomed Clinton by revealing that story when he had previously intervened in the campaign to save her from becoming the first major-party presidential candidate to have to run under an indictment. The mass of evidence in the broader Clinton email scandal showed, at the very least, that her staff had engaged in lawlessness and obstructed justice in ways that make the actions of George Papadopoulos and Michael Flynn look piddling in contrast.What about the Russians? Well, they did not "meddle" or "interfere" in the presidential election as Pfeiffer claims. They tried but failed to interfere in the election, and probably could have changed votes, but didn't. Such an attack by a foreign power is a serious issue, but there is absolutely no evidence that a few Facebook ads or John Podesta's hacked emails changed voters' minds about the election.Nor is there any evidence that Clinton was uniquely hurt by third parties. Democrats might hate Jill Stein, but she won 1,457,218 votes, or around 1 percent of the vote. The Libertarian Party ticket of Gary Johnson and Bill Weld pulled in 4,489,341 votes, a better-than-usual performance for the party driven by antagonism toward the decidedly non-libertarian Trump. The Never Trump McMullin/Finn ticket won 731,991 votes from, one assumes, mostly disgruntled Republicans. Another 203,090 votes went to the Constitution Party, which definitely doesn't sound like a group that would appeal to most Democrats. In short, if anyone was hurt by third-party candidacies, it was probably Trump.In reality, there is plenty of guidance we can extract from 2016. "How did the party lose one of the most winnable elections in recent history?" Pfeiffer asks. Well, Trump's populism connected with voters in places such as Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, voters who had been throwing Democrats out of office for almost the entirety of Obama's two terms. Clinton was a uniquely terrible candidate undone by her own grating personality, her insincerity, and her policy positions, all of which the party was aware of when it nominated her.Pfeiffer offers three really good pieces of advice to Democrats for winning in 2020: "do not make this election solely about Donald Trump," "find ways to frame this economy on your own terms," and "get out of the liberal Twitter bubble." But like most members of his tribe, he still hasn't come to terms with the reality of 2016.
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| Death toll from coronavirus surpasses 1,100; US confirms 13th case Posted: 19 Feb 2020 08:42 AM PST  The one-day death toll of 103 pushed the total past 1,000 and provided an ominous warning that the coronavirus epidemic was accelerating.
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| Russia Hates This: Why the Astute-Class Submarine Is the Pride of the Royal Navy Posted: 18 Feb 2020 04:45 PM PST  An excellent submarine.
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| 'Gun Girl' Kaitlin Bennett's appearance on Ohio University campus sparks protests Posted: 18 Feb 2020 12:58 PM PST  The provocateur posted video of herself in a truck as students threw drinks and shouted expletives at her as the vehicle attempted to leave.
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| Barr’s Whispers About Quitting Raise Stakes in His Ties to Trump Posted: 19 Feb 2020 08:10 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Attorney General William Barr has told associates he might resign in response to comments and tweets by President Donald Trump about Justice Department investigations, according to a person familiar with the matter.Barr has been discussing his frustration that Trump continues to wade into the department's business, after issuing a rare public rebuke of Trump last week, according to the person, who asked to remain anonymous speaking about the sensitive matter.The attorney general's private comments raise the stakes between Barr and Trump, although Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec tweeted late Tuesday that Barr has "no plans to resign." The Washington Post reported earlier that Barr is considering quitting over Trump's tweets.Trump "absolutely respects the attorney general," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters Wednesday. "They'll continue to work together," he said, adding that president has a long history of speaking out on legal cases he cares about. Tension between Trump and Barr surfaced last week when Barr, in an interview with ABC News, said Trump's commentary on Justice Department matters was making it impossible for him to do his job.Trump, however, has continued to weigh in, and told reporters on Tuesday that he's the nation's chief law enforcement officer, a distinction reserved for the attorney general. Trump also said he has "total confidence" in Barr, while indicating that he plans to continue to use social media to express his views.On Tuesday, Trump again commented on the case of his longtime associate Roger Stone, saying he thought it was a "very, very rough thing" that happened to him. Stone is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday after being convicted of obstructing a congressional investigation, making false statements to Congress and tampering with witnesses.The president pressed on Wednesday morning, retweeting messages from supporters complaining about the "deep state" and urging Trump to continuing speaking up about "DOJ corruption.""There must be JUSTICE," Trump tweeted.Barr, 69, has come under intense criticism since he overruled front-line prosecutors last week to reduce the recommended prison time that Stone should receive. Democrats have accused him of taking partisan actions to protect the president and his friends.The attorney general has also faced internal turmoil after deciding that Stone shouldn't be sentenced to seven to nine years in prison, which the prosecutors had recommended. Barr's team told the federal judge presiding over the trial that Stone should serve three to four years. The four prosecutors resigned in quick succession from the Stone case rather than stand by Barr's decision.Trump praised and congratulated Barr for downgrading Stone's sentencing recommendation, and ridiculed the prosecutors, making it appear that Barr was infecting Justice Department cases with political bias. The president has also lashed out at the judge, Amy Berman Jackson, who in an earlier case sentenced Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager and Stone's former business partner, to prison.More than 2,000 former Justice Department officials signed an open letter released Sunday asking that Barr step down over his decision in the Stone case. "Those actions, and the damage they have done to the Department of Justice's reputation for integrity and the rule of law, require Mr. Barr to resign," the former officials said.Barr in the interview with ABC News on Feb. 13 said, "It's time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases."Separately, he has also faced intense criticism in recent days over other matters.For example, he announced last week that he created a special process for Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to submit information to the department about Ukraine-related matters.He appointed a senior prosecutor to examine cases being handled by the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia, including the sentencing of Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, who was later convicted of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia's ambassador.\--With assistance from Jordan Fabian.To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Strohm in Washington at cstrohm1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, John HarneyFor 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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| Bloomberg's transaction tax sets stage for clash with Wall Street clients Posted: 19 Feb 2020 03:21 PM PST  Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg's decision to back a tax on trades marks a blow for Wall Street lobbyists which had seen the moderate Democrat as a potential ally, said analysts and lobbyists. On Tuesday, the former New York mayor and Wall Street investment banker, who made his $60 billion fortune in finance, proposed imposing a 0.1% tax on trading stocks, bonds and derivatives as part of a broader financial services agenda. Bloomberg's decision to back the tax is likely to bring him into conflict with Wall Street firms that are fighting the policy, many of which are the very same clients that helped him make the fortune with which he is funding his campaign.
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| US judge sides with migrants in case against Border Patrol Posted: 19 Feb 2020 12:55 PM PST  Conditions at most Border Patrol facilities in Arizona are punitive and unconstitutional, a U.S. judge in Arizona said Wednesday while ruling in favor of migrants who have long-complained about inhumane and unsanitary conditions in holding cells. The ruling came weeks after the conclusion of a seven-day trial in which attorneys for migrants who sued in2015 argued that the agency holds immigrants in extremely cold, overcrowded, unsanitary and inhumane cells. The order makes permanent a preliminary injunction that U.S. District Court Judge David C. Bury issued in 2016 requiring the Tucson Sector to provide clean mats and thin blankets to migrants held for longer than 12 hours and to allow them to clean themselves.
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| Security guard sentenced to prison for murdering US woman in Costa Rica Airbnb Posted: 18 Feb 2020 11:43 AM PST  A security guard for an apartment complex with Airbnb rental units has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for the 2018 murder of an American tourist.Carla Stefaniak, a Venezuelan-American who lived in Miami, was in San Jose, Costa Rica, celebrating her 36th birthday when she was brutally murdered.
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| Turkey reveals new plan to buy drones, helicopters and air defense systems Posted: 18 Feb 2020 10:41 AM PST  Turkey's defense procurement agency has unveiled an ambitious procurement plan for 2020, even as its economy seeks to recover from a recession and the government spends money fighting wars in multiple theaters, including Iraq and Syria.
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| Obama Team Asked Harry Reid to Quash Bernie Sanders’s 2011 Primary Challenge: Report Posted: 19 Feb 2020 11:11 AM PST  Former Senate Majority Leader and Nevada Democrat Harry Reid convinced Bernie Sanders not to mount a primary run against former President Barack Obama in 2011, according to The Atlantic.Reid was reportedly tasked by an "absolutely panicked" Obama campaign team to dissuade Sanders — who had privately disclosed his intentions to fellow Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy — because they were fearful that Sanders would pose a serious challenge."Every president who has gotten a real primary has lost a general," Obama's 2012 reelection-campaign manager Jim Messina told The Atlantic.After being told of the situation by Leahy, Messina then asked Reid to talk Sanders out of the race. The two men reportedly discussed the matter twice over the summer of 2011, with Reid telling Sanders that he needed to stop. The dialogue proved fruitful: Sanders never entered the race.Reid, though retired, made headlines Wednesday by telling Bloomberg News that Sanders's primary opponents need to "speak up" if they "don't like what Bernie's doing.""If Bernie is the one that comes out ahead, we'll just have to see what happen," Reid said, remaining coy on who he supported in the race. "But if people don't like what he does, they're going to have to start saying they don't like it rather than pat him on the back." He added that the other Democrats need to shift their strategy and start taking initiative, rather than thinking "'if I say something negative, maybe people won't like me.'"Reid also said Saturday that "people should not be counting Joe Biden out of the race yet."Last week, Nevada's politically-powerful culinary union decided not to endorse a Democratic nominee for the state' upcoming primary caucus, with Politico reporting that the union's top adviser helped the group arrive at its decision after "multiple conversations" with Reid.The culinary union circulated a flyer to its 60,000 members ahead of the announcement which highlighted that Sanders would "end Culinary Healthcare."
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| Chinese scientists say coronavirus illness symptoms peaked on February 1 — but they warn that the epidemic could 'rebound' Posted: 18 Feb 2020 02:58 PM PST  China could see a new spike in coronavirus cases once residents return to school and work, a new study found.
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| Russia's Su-57 Fighter Is All Hype Posted: 19 Feb 2020 02:05 AM PST  Russia's Su-57 might be a media star. But it's on track to play no meaningful role in Moscow's military strategy.
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| Two women dead after car plunges off ferry into waters off exclusive Miami island Posted: 19 Feb 2020 08:40 AM PST  The ferry shuttles people and their vehicles between Miami Beach and Fisher Island, a "private luxury community ... consistently ranked as one of the wealthiest zip codes in the U.S."
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| Federal judges association holding emergency meeting over DOJ interference in Stone case Posted: 17 Feb 2020 09:47 PM PST  The Federal Judges Association will hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss concerns members have over President Trump and top Justice Department officials intervening in the case of longtime Trump friend and adviser Roger Stone.The association has more than 1,000 members, and says it supports a "fair, impartial, and independent judiciary." The group's president, U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, told USA Today that members decided they "could not wait" until the organization's spring conference to address the matter. "There are plenty of issues that we are concerned about," added Rufe, a George W. Bush appointee. "We'll talk all of this through."Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress and witness tampering, and last week, Trump complained about federal prosecutors recommending Stone receive a sentence of seven to nine years. Attorney General William Barr and other DOJ leaders quickly reversed course on the recommendation, which resulted in the four Stone prosecutors quitting the case. On Friday, it was reported that Barr has also appointed an outside prosecutor to review the criminal case of Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, but has since backtracked, claiming he was coerced.Since an open letter was released on Sunday night, more than 2,000 former Justice Department officials have signed on, calling on Barr to resign. The letter says it is "unheard of for the department's top leaders to overrule line prosecutors, who are following established policies, in order to give preferential treatment to a close associate of the president, as Attorney General Barr did in the Stone case."More stories from theweek.com Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils The family of 1 new Trump pardon recipient donated $200,000 to Trump's re-election effort last fall Trump's pardon of Bernie Kerik also apparently wiped out Kerik's $103,300 debt to taxpayers
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| Secession in the Pacific Northwest? Some Oregon residents petition to join Idaho Posted: 19 Feb 2020 05:22 AM PST  Frustrated by liberal policies, some Oregon residents petition to leave the state by moving the border with Idaho.
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| Abbott says top Malaysian leaders suspected pilot of MH370 Posted: 19 Feb 2020 12:02 AM PST  Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said the "top levels" of the Malaysian government long suspected that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 almost six years ago was a mass murder-suicide by the pilot. Australia, working on Malaysia's behalf, coordinated what became the largest search in aviation history, but it failed to find the plane before being ended in 2017. Speaking in a Sky News documentary to air on Wednesday and Thursday, Abbott said high-ranking Malaysian officials believed veteran pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah deliberately downed the jet.
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| Death row inmate scheduled to die by electric chair loses last attempt at life in prison Posted: 19 Feb 2020 03:31 PM PST  The Tennessee governor has denied clemency to a murderer on death row following a last-ditch effort to get him life in prison made by multiple people, including a former guard who says the man saved his life.Nicholas Sutton, 58, is scheduled to die by electric chair on Thursday evening for the 1985 murder of inmate Carl Estep.
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| Have we reached peak Bloomberg? New poll shows potential drop off and a spike in dissatisfaction Posted: 19 Feb 2020 10:59 AM PST  Insider's latest poll shows stalling support behind Michael Bloomberg, with his dissatisfaction numbers spiking between New Hampshire and this week.
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| What liberals and conservatives get wrong about free expression on college campuses Posted: 19 Feb 2020 06:00 AM PST  When it comes to understanding disputes over free expression on college campuses, such as speakers getting disinvited or having their speeches interrupted, conservatives tend to blame liberal professors for indoctrinating students and ostracizing those who don't agree with liberal viewpoints. One prominent conservative organization, Turning Point USA, has gone so far as to create a database of faculty it says "discriminate against conservative students and advance leftist propaganda in the classroom."Liberals, in contrast, argue that concerns about free speech on college campuses are overblown. They also accuse conservatives of co-opting the language of free speech proponents in an effort to falsely position themselves as victims.Our research indicates that each of these narratives is flawed. We are researchers who study political behavior, as well as strategies for business.For the past year, we have been studying free expression issues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a campus that has had a number of flare-ups related to free expression in recent years. We wanted to look beyond single episodes and better understand the typical student's experience concerning free expression.We found that students who identify with the political right do indeed face fears of being ostracized that students who identify with the left do not. However, we also found signs that right-leaning students worry at least as much about reactions from peers as from faculty. Much of this plays out silently in classrooms at Chapel Hill and – we believe – at other colleges and universities throughout the nation. It's not about professorsFor our research, we sent surveys to all 20,343 students – the entire undergraduate population at Chapel Hill. Two-thousand of these students (randomly selected) were offered a US$10 incentive to participate in the survey. This feature helped ensure we heard from a representative cross section of students. We received 1,087 complete responses. About half of those respondents were those who got $10 for their participation.For each student who responded, we randomly chose one class from their schedule and asked – for that particular class – how many times during the semester they kept a sincere opinion related to class to themselves because they were worried about the consequences of expressing it. We found a large liberal/conservative divide – 23% of self-identified liberals said they censored themselves at least once, while 68% of self-identified conservatives did so.You might presume that behavior by instructors is to blame for this stark difference. But the evidence we gathered does not seem to support this view.We asked students whether their course instructor "encouraged participation from liberals and conservatives alike." Only 2% of liberal students and 11% of conservatives disagreed that the instructor did so. Similarly, only 6% of liberals and 14% of conservatives disagreed that the same instructor "was interested in learning from people with opinions that differed from the instructor's own opinions." These are low numbers and the splits are small. They are simply not what one would expect if the narrative that liberal instructors try to indoctrinate their students were broadly true. Fears about peersIn contrast, students reported substantially more anxiety about how their own peers would respond to expressing sincere political views – and the divides between liberal and conservative students are larger. Seventy-five percent of conservative students said they were concerned that other students would have a lower opinion of them if they expressed their sincere political views in class. But only 26% of liberal students had this concern. Forty-three percent of conservative students were concerned about a negative post on social media. Only 10% of liberal students had this concern.Pressures that disproportionately affect right-leaning students were evident outside the classroom as well. We asked how often students hear "disrespectful, inappropriate, or offensive comments" about 12 social groups on campus. Students – even those who identify as liberal – acknowledged hearing such comments directed at political conservatives far more often than at any other group.We also examined whether liberal or conservative students might be more inclined to employ obstructionist tactics, such as blocking the entrance to a public event that featured a speaker with whom they disagree. To do this in an evenhanded way, we presented students with a list of ten political opinions. Then we asked them to choose the opinion that they find most objectionable. We chose a slate of opinions that really exist at UNC, such as ones concerning affirmative action, LGBT rights, and Silent Sam – a Confederate monument that is subject of a long-running campus controversyAfter students chose which opinion they found most objectionable, we asked whether it would be appropriate to take various actions toward people who hold that view. Nearly 20% of liberal respondents indicated it would be appropriate to prevent other students from hearing a campus speaker express the disliked view. But just 3% or less of moderate and conservative respondents indicated that doing so was appropriate.In order to better understand the typical experience of a university student, we believe it's important to go beyond singular dramatic confrontations. The deeper story about free expression on campus, as our study shows, is not just about the shouting that takes place during high-profile incidents on campus. It's also about what students say – and feel compelled to keep to themselves – in lecture halls and classrooms throughout the school year.[Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation's newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today's news, every day.]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Campus free speech laws being enacted in many states, but some may do more harm than good * Four campus free speech problems solvedThe authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| A 6-year-old was held in a mental health center for 2 days without her mother's consent, and her lawyer says other parents have come forward to claim the same thing happened to their children Posted: 18 Feb 2020 02:32 PM PST  Nadia King, 6, was taken from her elementary school in a sheriff's department cruiser to a mental health center, where she was held for two days. Her mother's attorney will sue in federal court.
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| Note to Trump: America Should Not Send B-52 Bombers To Israel Posted: 18 Feb 2020 07:29 PM PST  Israel doesn't need them.
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| Some Americans are attempting the journey back home to Wuhan Posted: 19 Feb 2020 08:05 AM PST  "I was married in Wuhan. I had a son in Wuhan. Wuhan is my home, and I will forever be tied to this city, so I need to be there," Christopher Suzanne said.
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| Obama reportedly expects he'll have to play a 'prominent role' in uniting Democrats this summer Posted: 18 Feb 2020 09:15 AM PST  Expect former President Barack Obama's radio silence on the 2020 Democratic primary to continue in the coming months. After all, he's reportedly got a very specific reason for staying out of it.Obama has intentionally remained on the sidelines throughout the primary so far, not throwing his support behind any candidate, including former Vice President Joe Biden. This, New York Magazine reports, is part of a "choreographed strategy" on the part of Obama, who is "increasingly sure he will need to play a prominent role in bringing the party back together and calming its tensions later this summer."Between now and then, Obama is "committed to not allowing his personal thoughts to dribble out" into the open, the report says, since this might make it more challenging for him to serve as an "honest broker." Apparently, this effort could be going better considering this very same report features a few of Obama's personal thoughts, including that he's supposedly "unimpressed" with Biden's campaign.A Fox Business report recently suggested Obama was considering speaking out about Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as he becomes nervous that he'll secure the Democratic nomination. But there's reportedly not much truth to that, and a source told New York Magazine, "there is no way Barack Obama is intervening, unless something very strange happens."In fact, Obama reportedly isn't paying a whole lot of attention to the "day-to-day dynamics" of the race, following it through newspaper reports but not even watching all of the Democratic debates. But Obama is reportedly "sure that he'll have to catch up" on these dynamics he's been missing out on later, meaning some binge-watching of the Democratic primary may soon be in the cards. Read the full report at New York Magazine.More stories from theweek.com How to ensure it's a boy (according to 100-year-old pregnancy guides) Has Trump solved his biggest 2016 campaign problem? Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils
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