Tulsa

Elise Stefanik, newest star of Trumpworld, has turned impeachment into a fundraising boon

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.

'I guess I wasn't arrested': Joe Biden reverses on claim of an arrest in South Africa

Joe Biden has previously told of being arrested in South Africa while traveling with black lawmakers. He reversed himself Friday in a CNN interview.

Man gets life for kidnapping stepdaughter, holding her captive for 19 years

Henri Michelle Piette kidnapped his victim in 1997, when she was 12, and subjected her to nearly 20 years of physical and sexual abuse before she escaped.

Doctors Inside Iran Believe Coronavirus Is More Serious Than Reported, and Getting Worse

Medical professionals inside the Islamic Republic tell TIME they believe the country is now grappling with an “epidemic”

Billionaire Tom Steyer shakes up primary with slavery reparations plan

For centuries, South Carolina’s Charleston was the largest port of entry for the transatlantic slave trade. Now, billionaire presidential candidate Tom Steyer is shaking up the state’s Democratic primary by advocating slavery reparations for African-Americans.

Tucker Carlson Turns to AOC Creepshot Guy for Coronavirus Expertise

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.

North Korea's Kim guides military drills, warns 'serious consequences' if virus breaks out: KCNA

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.

Coronavirus latest news: Virus is a Democrat 'hoax', says Donald Trump

Outbreak could leave one in 10 people in the UK in hospital Virus fears threatening to spark stockpiling and panic buying FAQ: Everything you need to know about coronavirus Fake news: 10 myths and conspiracies about the virus Subscribe to The Telegraph, free for 30 days Donald Trump has lashed out at Democrats who have questioned his handling of the coronavirus threat, calling it their new "hoax". Trump accused rivals of "politicising" the virus and boasted about preventive steps he has taken to keep it from spreading. Meanwhile, one in 10 people in the UK could be hospitalised with coronavirus, health officials believe, as they drew up new plans to prevent the NHS being overwhelmed. Health chiefs are drawing up a "battle plan", which will say that hospital operations could be cancelled, and treatment rationed, in a bid to contain the outbreak. Yesterday saw the first death of a British patient, an elderly holidaymaker who caught the virus on the Diamond Princess cruise liner that was docked in Japan. The number of coronavirus cases in the UK rose to 20 on Friday night, with concerns that the latest case may be the first involving a patient who contracted the virus in Britain.

Trump wears a surgical mask over his eyes in next week's coronavirus-themed New Yorker cover

The illustration is titled "Under Control," and references some comments that the president made at a coronavirus press conference this week.

The 6 largest coronavirus outbreaks outside of China

More new coronavirus cases were reported outside of China than inside the country on Wednesday — the first time since global health officials began tracking the virus.

Lori Vallow's niece denies knowing whereabouts of missing kids

Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen in September, according to police. Their mother has been arrested and charged with desertion.

Bahrain threatens untested from Iran with arrest amid virus

Bahrain on Saturday threatened legal prosecution against travelers who came from Iran and hadn't been tested for the new coronavirus, and also barred public gatherings for two weeks as confirmed cases across the wider Mideast grew to over 520. The tiny island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia has been hard-hit with cases and shut down flights to halt the spread of the virus, which causes the illness named COVID-19 by experts. All of Bahrain's cases link back to Iran, whose death toll of 34 killed is the worst outside of China, the epicenter of the virus.

More than 30,000 pounds of yogurt spilled on New York highway after accident

A tractor trailer carrying more than 30,000 pounds of yogurt in western New York jackknifed on a highway Thursday afternoon.

Coronavirus Spreads in Oregon, California, Washington. How Many Are Already Infected?

It’s spreading.Over the course of several hours on Friday, officials in three states announced that residents with no known risk factors, such as travel to global hot spots, had tested positive for the new coronavirus.In each case, health authorities believe the patient contracted the illness from someone locally—an anticipated but still alarming scenario that sets the stage for an explosion in diagnoses.It began with a news conference in Santa Clara County, California, where officials said an older woman went to her doctor with symptoms of COVID-19, as the virus is officially known, and subsequently tested positive.Hours later, Oregon officials called a press conference with even more concerning news: A school employee had tested positive and may have exposed an untold number of elementary school staff and students.That briefing was barely over when authorities in Washington state assembled to reveal that a high-school student who had been on campus just that morning also had the virus.U.S. Navy Coronavirus Quarantine Could Get UglyEach announcement raised crucial questions: How did the patient contract the virus; did the person who infected them spread it to others who have not been identified yet; and did they also pass it on before they were diagnosed?Health investigators in all three states are now scrambling to trace the movements of the patients and identify and inform their close contacts in a feverish attempt to stop the virus from spreading out of control like it has some places abroad.In Oregon and in Washington, the schools linked to the patients were shut down as officials tried to forestall panic.“We’ve been expecting this and we are prepared for it,” Patrick Allen, director of the Oregon Health Authority, told reporters.Hundreds of Americans have been in quarantine after returning from coronavirus hot spots such as China or cruise ships in the Pacific, but because they are isolated, they represent little risk to the general population.The real concern is those who have been moving freely in the community while infected, before they know they have COVID-19, potentially spreading the virus to anyone who has prolonged contact within 6 feet.“Passing someone on the street or in the store isn’t going to put them at risk,” Dr. Jennifer Vines said at the Oregon news conference.The Oregon school employee, who lives in Washington County and works in Clackamas County, fell ill on Feb. 19 and sought care at Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center.On Friday afternoon, a public health lab in Hillsboro—which had just been certified to perform coronavirus testing—reported the worker was positive for COVID-19.The diagnosis has been labeled presumptive, which means the results still have to be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, but local authorities are proceeding as if it’s a bona fide case.The worker is still in the hospital, in isolation, though officials declined to provide their condition, citing privacy concerns. They also would not specify the patient’s age, their gender, or their job title.They said only that the worker had spent time at Forest Hills Elementary School, and the Lake Oswego School District announced the school would be closed until March 4.Health officials have been monitoring dozens of Oregon residents who have traveled in coronavirus-hit countries like China since the outbreak began. But the school worker doesn’t fall into that category.“This is a case of community spread of the disease,” Allen said, adding, “We don’t know how this person became infected.”Coronavirus Testing In the U.S. Is Somehow Looking Worse by the DayA second Oregon resident with symptoms is being tested, but that person has no known connection to the school worker—which means there is at least one other person in the state who has coronavirus but has not been identified. “The case count may very well tick up,” Vines said.The Washington student fell sick Monday with fever, body aches, and a headache, and was seen at two clinics in Snohomish County. The teen felt better by Friday morning and returned to Jackson High School—only to be notified soon after that they tested positive.“The few students they were in contact with have been notified and will remain home for 14 days with symptom monitoring by the Snohomish Health District,” the school district said in a letter to parents.“The student has a sibling at Gateway Middle School who is not symptomatic, but out of an abundance of caution, is being tested and will remain out of school in quarantine until tests results are back.”The high school will be closed on Monday to give workers extra time to clean the premises. And the clinics the teen visited were notified so health workers and other patients there can be monitored.The new California patient is a 65-year-old woman with pre-existing medical problems. She went to the doctor, who asked for coronavirus testing on Wednesday. It came back positive on Friday.Like the Oregon and Washington patients—and like another California resident diagnosed on Wednesday in Solano County—the woman had not traveled and had no known contact with anyone known to have COVID-19.While health officials in all three states stressed that most people who get coronavirus will have mild symptoms and an easy recovery, they also said that Friday’s developments are just the beginning.As more state labs are approved to carry out testing, the number of people diagnosed is sure to climb.“I understand this may be concerning to hear, but this is what we have been preparing for,” said Dr. Sara Cody, health officer for Santa Clara County. “Now we need to start taking additional actions to slow down the spread of the disease.”COVID-19, which originated in an animal market in Wuhan, China, is now on every continent except Antarctica. The World Health Organization has not yet declared it a global pandemic but on Friday upgraded the risk of it spreading to the highest level.President Donald Trump this week created a task force, headed by Vice President Mike Pence, to address the spread in the U.S., though he has also claimed that his political enemies are hyping up fears to damage him in an election year.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.

Central Park Five's Kevin Richardson slams Bloomberg campaign

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.

Kim warns of 'serious consequences' if virus reaches North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned top party officials of the "serious consequences" of failing to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus in the country, state media reported Saturday. Kim told a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea that the fight against the virus was a "crucial state affair for the defence of the people" that required maximum discipline, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Pope cancels second day of engagements after falling ill

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."

Trump 'could suck coronavirus out of 60,000 people' and he'd still be criticized – Huckabee

* 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.”

Joe Biden admits he wasn't actually arrested in apartheid South Africa, contradicting a story he's told for weeks

The former vice president came clean on CNN: "When I said 'arrested,' I meant I was not able, I was not able to move ... I wasn't arrested."

Police identify victims, shooter in Milwaukee brewery shooting rampage

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.

Shocking: China and the CIA Both Helped Saudi Arabia Get Their Own Ballistic Missiles

Well that was a bad idea.

Betsy DeVos orders probe after USA TODAY finds college evidently without faculty, students

Betsy DeVos has launched an Education Department investigation after a USA TODAY report showed a college apparently had no faculty or students.

Coronavirus quarantines in U.S. appear inevitable, doctor says

Agus said that making preparations would be simple, such as asking companies what their work from home policy would be, and being aware that children in the household may have to take school from home.

Belarus leader says nation being forced to merge with Russia

The president of Belarus said Thursday that his country is "being forced into integration” with Russia and insisted that real integration of the two countries' economies implied “sovereignty and independence” for Belarus. “We remain committed, as always, to real integration without being forced into integration,” President Alexander Lukashenko said at a meeting with Mikhail Myasnikovich, chair of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Police rescue 24 babies, pregnant teens from Nigerian 'baby factory'

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.

'He fought us every single step of the way': How Bloomberg embraced stop-and-frisk as mayor

"He dug in and fought us all the way to his last day in office," an activist who opposed stop-and-frisk recalled.

Trump Pardon Won’t Erase Arpaio’s Criminal Past in Comeback Bid

(Bloomberg) -- Former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio will have to pursue his comeback with a guilty verdict on his resume.The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Thursday refused to expunge the criminal contempt finding made against Arpaio for defying a judge’s orders related to his crackdown on undocumented immigrants.The 87-year-old lawman -- once known as “America’s toughest sheriff -- is again vying for the job that he held for 24 years in Maricopa County. He lost the 2016 election and was found guilty the following year. A month after the verdict, he became the first person to be pardoned by President Donald Trump.The three appellate judges, one who was appointed by Trump and two by George W. Bush, were unanimous that Arpaio’s guilty verdict had no legal consequence because technically he was never convicted.“Here, the issuing of a presidential pardon, and Arpaio’s acceptance of the pardon, preempted his sentencing,” the panel said. “Thus, there is no final judgment of conviction in this case.”After he was pardoned, Arpaio asked the trial judge to set aside his guilty verdict. She refused -- a ruling that was upheld by the appeals court which said it could never be used against him in a future case.Arpaio’s lawyer Jack Wilenchick declared victory, saying that has exactly the same effect as an order “vacating” the guilty finding.“The court gave us exactly what we asked for, which is a finding that the guilty verdict is legally meaningless,” Wilenchick said in a statement. “The trial judge’s final order had said just the opposite; it had indicated that the guilty verdict may, or even should, be used against Arpaio in the future in a court of law.”Arpaio made a name for himself targeting Latinos in the Phoenix area with traffic stops only on the suspicion they were undocumented immigrants. In 2017, a federal judge convicted him of criminal contempt of court for violating orders to stop.The case took an unusual turn after the U.S. Justice Department, which had started the proceedings against Arpaio under the Obama administration and secured his conviction, said it wouldn’t fight Arpaio’s appeal.That prompted groups of civil rights organizations, legal scholars and members of Congress to ask the court to appoint an independent prosecutor as well as to challenge the underlying validity of Arpaio’s pardon.A judge found the pardon was valid, but Arpaio fought on to try to get his offense expunged from court records.Read More: ‘America’s Toughest Sheriff’ Wants More From Trump PardonTo contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Blumberg at pblumberg1@bloomberg.net, Joe SchneiderFor 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.

Sub-Saharan Africa just recorded its first coronavirus case. The WHO and Bill Gates have warned that Africa can't deal with an outbreak.

The World Health Organization fears Africa's "fragile healthcare systems" may not be able to cope with a serious outbreak of COVID-19.

An Oklahoma man thought there were squirrels in his attic, but strange noises turned out to be a homeless man living in his house

The unnamed transient was arrested on suspicion of first-degree burglary, according to the Oklahoma City police.

Iran Can’t Hide Its Coronavirus Explosion, But It’s Trying Hard—and Putting the World in Danger

Iran’s deputy health minister was drenched in sweat at the press conference on Monday where he vehemently denied Tehran was covering up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak. He kept wiping his brow with his handkerchief and was in visible distress as he said quarantines were a “Stone Age” way to address the problem, and Iran doesn’t need them. Then, sure enough, that night he tested positive for the virus himself and put himself in quarantine. The irony of Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi’s case would be funny almost, were Iran’s conspicuous bungling of the coronavirus threat not a menace to the whole region and, indeed, to the world. As The Daily Beast’s partner publication, IranWire, revealed in an exclusive report Thursday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has tried to address the epidemic by telling doctors to shut up about it, much as Chinese authorities in Wuhan did, disastrously, when the disease was just starting to spread last December.The “official figures” from Iran give the game away. At last count, 16 people have died from COVID-19, but only 95 cases had been confirmed. As Wired UK points out, that would be a death rate of about 17 percent, when the data available from China, where there are huge numbers to work with, suggests the death rate is closer to 2 percent. The statistics don’t add up. Canadian researchers cited by Wired suggest the Iran outbreak probably involves more than 18,000 people, and counting.* * *SILENCING THE DOCTORS* * *Following is the full IranWire article written by Aida Ghajar:IranWire can exclusively report that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have threatened Iranian medical specialists with reprisals if any of them were to disclose information regarding the spread of coronavirus in Iran.A group of specialist doctors met with Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi on Feb. 22, during which they reported on the latest findings regarding the spread of coronavirus in Tehran and other Iranian cities. But soon after the meeting, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) approached the doctors through the health ministry’s security office and warned the doctors not to leak any information from their discussions. The doctors were told that, if any details did leak, they would be held responsible and would suffer the consequences.Despite these threats, the information received by IranWire shows the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak, especially in Tehran. The doctors who were present at the meeting offered Harirchi their assessment of the official news and figures and told him that the figures published by the government do not match the reality of the situation.As one of these doctors—whose name is withheld because of the threats from the Revolutionary Guards—told IranWire: “The statistics published by the government have nothing to do with reality of the situation and the number of infections is much higher than what the media reports. If things go on like this and if the Islamic Republic does not cooperate with the World Health Organization, we must expect a great disaster in the coming months and, only in Tehran, tens of thousands will be infected by coronavirus. This scientific estimate does not even include other epicenters like Qom. If we cannot come up with a framework to cooperate with the World Health Organization, our situation will become many times worse than in China.”This doctor pointed out that, right now, a number of clinics in Tehran have been quarantined and the government’s attempts to keep the reality of the situation a secret is a “crime” in the legal sense of the word.“Refusing to divulge real information to Iranians and to the international community is officially a crime because it endangers the lives of people not only in Iran but in other countries as well.”Donald Trump Takes Coronavirus So Seriously He Just Put Mike Pence in ChargeIn many countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Canada, Iraq, Turkey, and Lebanon, the first cases of coronavirus infections were brought in by Iranian citizens or by travelers who had visited Iran. This has led many countries to close their borders with Iran, in the air and on the ground.According to this doctor, the outbreak of coronavirus in Iran occurred just after the outbreak in China. “But the problem started when we did not recognize that this virus is the same as China’s coronavirus,” the doctor said. “We made a mistake when we identified it as a variant of influenza viruses.… But, after it became known that it had been a mistake, [officials] continued as before and did not disclose the facts.”* * *THE GOVERNMENT IS CLUELESS* * *The doctor said Iran’s government has no plans for containing the crisis. Officials have “no other choice except secrecy,” he added. “This will disgrace the Islamic Republic, if it becomes known that its government is clueless. But this can lead to a humanitarian disaster.”According to this doctor, after the meeting with the health minister was over, the Revolutionary Guards contacted each doctor who had been at the meeting. “They told us that we will be held responsible for even the smallest leak. But I could not keep silent anymore,” he said.On Monday, two days after the meeting and after the doctors were threatened, Gen. Hossein Salami, the top commander of the Revolutionary Guards, called Health Minister Saeed Namaki and announced that the Guards were ready to provide any and all assistance in fighting coronavirus and preventing its spread.On Feb. 25, in a televised speech, President Hassan Rouhani asked people to trust only statements by the health ministry for information about coronavirus.The Iranian Cyber Police have meanwhile reported that they have arrested a number of “rumor-mongers” about coronavirus since Feb. 21. Gen. Hossein Rahimi, commander of Tehran’s Cyber Police, announced the arrests.“Persons who want to create trouble for the people by spreading rumors and lying in cyberspace must know that the police surveils their behavior and will act against them decisively,” he said.Earlier on Feb. 21, Gholamreza Jalali, commander of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, accused foreign media of “creating panic” by publishing inaccurate or misleading figures about coronavirus infections. He emphasized that coronavirus must not be turned into a “political crisis.”Jalali is the same official who, after floods had inundated many parts of Iran in early 2019, made strange statements about extreme weather, accusing Israel of “cloud stealing.” He claimed that “joint committees of Turkey and Israel” had stolen moisture and snow from the clouds over Iran.With the Islamic Republic and the Revolutionary Guards turning the coronavirus outbreak into a security issue, by treating infection figures as state secrets, by arresting people for “rumor mongering” and, now by threatening doctors whose duty is to tell the truth about infectious diseases, it seems the experts may be proved right about the likelihood of a humanitarian disaster. If the Islamic Republic continues in this way, we must expect a much bigger disaster than what is happening in China—not only for Iranians but for the world.The Russian Models Instagramming From China's Coronavirus CapitalRead 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.

Malaysian king hits back at Mahathir amid crisis

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.

Black Lives Matter activist Hawk Newsome on the current state of America

Newsome is chairman of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, and has spent his adult life advancing the cause of what he calls the "Second Civil Rights Movement."

The Strange Tale of How British Commandos Attacked Hitler's Fish Oil Production

More important than you know.

Turkey Will Allow Up to One Million Syrian Refugees to Breach Its Borders to Reach Europe

Turkey will allow up to one million Syrian refugees to pass through its territory to reach Europe ahead of a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive on the last rebel-held territory in the war-torn country."We have decided, effectively immediately, not to stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe by land or sea," a Turkish official told Reuters. "All refugees, including Syrians, are now welcome to cross into the European Union."Footage of Syrian refugees boarding boats attempting to reach the islands of Greece was broadcast on CNN Turkey, while a reporter for Middle East Eye shared a picture of a bus placed by Greek authorities in front of its Pazarkule border crossing with Turkey, to prevent refugees from entering.Syria's offensive on Idlib province, targeting the last remnants of the rebellion including several Al-Qaeda groups, has forced one million people to flee their homes. International aid groups have struggled to provide food and shelter to refugees, some of whom have frozen to death after repeated cold winter nights.The Turkish army, stationed along the country's border with Syria, has repeatedly come into conflict with Syrian government forces. Syria killed 33 Turkish soldiers on Thursday in a series of air strikes.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone conversation Friday told Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who backs Syrian government forces, that any Syrian military position was a legitimate target for Turkish forces. Erdogan is scheduled to speak with President Trump on Friday regarding the attacks on the Turkish military and the refugee issue.The nine-year Syrian civil war has produced one of the world's largest refugee crises, with millions of migrants fleeing to Europe throughout the conflict.

Trump says coronavirus is Democrats' 'new hoax' in raucous South Carolina rally ahead of primary

Trump is holding a rally in South Carolina the day before the state's critical Democratic presidential primary and amid coronavirus fears.

Americans of all parties agree: Joe Biden is old, Michael Bloomberg is rich

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 A coronavirus recession would likely end Trump's presidency Stock markets are headed for a 40 percent plunge, says economist who predicted financial crisis Court: Don McGahn can defy congressional subpoena

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.

"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.

'No fear': Pilgrims in Saudi defy coronavirus risks

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.

Traveling during the coronavirus outbreak? Here’s what you need to know

With COVID-19 spreading around the globe, the U.S. State Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued these travel advisories.

Brazil Likely to Cut 2020 GDP Forecast Amid Coronavirus Weakness

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s government is likely to cut its 2.4% growth forecast for the economy in 2020 to take into account the impact of the coronavirus in slowing global activity, a person familiar with the matter said.A lower-than-expected gross domestic product expansion would lead to reduced inflationary pressure, which may open some space for the central bank to cut the key interest rate further, the person said, asking not to be named because of not being authorized to speak publicly. Any such rate decision should be taken exclusively by the monetary authority, the person said.Brazil’s central bank declined to comment.The central bank has cut its key interest rate to a record low 4.25% while the government of President Jair Bolsonaro prepared an ambitious agenda of privatizations and reforms in a bid to jumpstart activity. Even so, some analysts have cautioned growth may still fall short of 2% this year, while fresh tensions between congress and the presidency threaten to hurt the approval of the economic reforms.Read More: Brazil’s First Virus Case Adds Risk to Growth MalaiseGDP estimates will be revised in early March because the Economy Ministry has to prepare the first budget report of the year, with officials growing increasingly pessimistic by the spread of coronavirus to Europe and its arrival to Brazil this week, according to the person. Private economists in a Bloomberg survey had already adjusted their forecast for this year to 2.1%.Even so, the use of fiscal stimulus to boost growth has been ruled out by the Economy Ministry because it’s seen as counterproductive due to its financial costs, the person said, adding that moving forward with the government’s reformist agenda is the best way of spurring the economy.While the relationship between Bolsonaro and congress deteriorated in the last few weeks, the scenario for reform approval is still favorable, the person said.The Economy Ministry declined to comment.To contact the reporter on this story: Martha Beck in Brasilia at mbeck96@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Robert JamesonFor 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.

Iran's New Guided-Rocket Kit Is Really Bad News For Israel

Will it end up in more nations'... or militants', hands?

UC Santa Cruz fires 54 graduate students participating in months-long strike

Termination letters were sent to those students protesting for a cost-of-living adjustment amid California’s housing crisisThe University of California, Santa Cruz, issued termination letters on Friday to 54 graduate students who have been waging a months-long strike for a cost-of-living-adjustment amid soaring rents.The firings came as graduate students at the University of California, Davis, and University of California, Santa Barbara, began their own cost-of-living strikes in solidarity. One of their demands is that all UC Santa Cruz graduate workers who participated in strike activities be restored to full employment status.The 54 UC Santa Cruz graduate students who received termination letters on Friday are just a fraction of the 233 graduate student instructors and teaching assistants who have refused to submit nearly 12,000 grades from the fall quarter since December.This month, the students’ grading strike expanded, as teaching assistants refused all teaching duties and research assistants refused additional work. Some classes and office hours have been canceled because of the strike.The students are striking for a $1,412-a-month cost-of-living-adjustment, which they say they desperately need amid a growing housing crisis in California. Most students are spending between 5o% and 70% of their $2,434-a-month salary on rent, some forced to live in substandard apartments with many roommates in order to stretch their dollars.Veronica Hamilton, a third-year graduate student studying psychology, is the union representative on campus and was copied on the termination letters that were emailed out on Friday. “The first person who was sent a letter is a single mother who spends almost all her income on rent on subsidized family student housing,” Hamilton said.“It’s horrible,” she continued. “We got to this point because they’re digging their heels in the ground. We’re in a crisis and they don’t even want to have a conversation on how to address these issues.”The graduate students are represented by United Auto Workers Local 2865, which negotiated a contract in 2018 that included a no-strike clause: meaning the current strike, known as a “wildcat strike”, has been taken without the union’s approval.The administration has cited this as a reason for not negotiating with the graduate students but, in response to the strike, offered two supplemental programs that will cost about $7m a year – one that will offer a yearly $2,500 need-based housing fellowship and another that offers doctoral students a five-year funding program – as well as two temporary housing assistance programs.The strikers say these programs would not be enough. Hamilton, for example, pays $1,800 a month to live 40 minutes away from campus in a small cabin she shares with her husband, who lost his job four months ago – $2,500 barely covers a month’s rent, she said.“The university is sympathetic to such challenges, particularly housing, and the related impacts on all our employees,” said Andrew Gordon, a spokesman for Janet Napolitano, the University of California president, in a statement.However, the university has honored the contract it entered into with the union, “and we expect teaching assistants to do the same”, he said.“Teaching assistants who choose to withhold grades or refuse to teach are in violation of that contract,” Gordon said, adding that such actions “unfairly impact undergraduate students while doing nothing to further the conversation on how to address the challenges of the rising cost of living, with which all students and employees across UC must contend”.The strikers had expected more students to receive termination letters, and earlier – the executive vice-chancellor of UC Santa Cruz had set a deadline for last week.“I think people were ready to be fired, but still surprised,” said Jane Komori, a third-year graduate student studying the history of consciousness. “It’s such a destructive action for the administration to take … Hundreds and hundreds of undergraduates won’t be able to take certain classes.“It’s a serious issue for the quality of undergraduate education and the number of undergraduates that can be enrolled,” she added.Nearly 500 graduate students have said they won’t teach next quarter because of the firings, Hamilton said. Now with the strike spreading to other UC campuses, they are more ready than ever to keep on the picket line.“I’ve heard from graduate students across the country,” Hamilton said. “Everybody is sick of the situation that we’re in. Graduate students of today are weighed down by the student debt crisis. Graduate students of today are more likely to be parents, more likely to come from working class backgrounds, from backgrounds of racialized capitalism. This is just the beginning.”

Why Sanders' Castro revisionism is so insulting to Cuban refugees like me

Education under a socialist regime is a malicious program, because it seems like an irreproachable social good but then is just another tool of repression.

Super Tuesday: Professor who predicted last 9 elections says Democrats could face first brokered convention in nearly 70 years

Days out from Super Tuesday, when voters in 14 states will cast ballots in the Democratic primary, a professor who predicted the past nine elections says that the United States may well be staring down its first brokered convention in nearly 70 years.It’s a prospect that has stirred considerable consternation among Democratic Party officials and voters, many of whom have said their primary concern is beating Donald Trump in November — even as an enthusiastic debate over the future of democratic politics has raged on the campaign trail.

Stock markets are headed for a 40 percent plunge, says economist who predicted financial crisis

The end of a very rough week for U.S. markets brought a worrying prediction.While one expert warned fallout from the global coronavirus outbreak could be "worse than the financial crisis" of 2008, the economist who correctly predicted that very crisis is now saying the idea of a major global recession "doesn't sound too farfetched."Nouriel Roubini, a New York University business professor and market prognosticator who foretold the housing bubble burst, told Yahoo Finance on Friday to expect "severe" consequences as the coronavirus continues to rattle markets. How severe? He told Der Spiegel it could be worse than investors even believe at this point, predicting "global equities to tank by 30 to 40 percent this year."He said people "prefer to believe in miracles," (not necessarily referencing President Trump's prediction the coronavirus will "disappear ... like a miracle,") and don't realize the "simple math" tells us that realistically, a squeezed Chinese economy will mean downturns around the globe. "This crisis will spill over and result in a disaster," said Roubini.Roubini, who is often nicknamed Dr. Doom for his frequent pessimistic predictions, also saw doom and gloom for Trump's future as president as a result of any economic strife. Asked by Der Spiegel, Roubini said Trump would likely try to benefit politically from the outbreak, but "will lose the election, that's for sure." Pointing to past incumbent presidents getting ousted amid geopolitical tensions that damaged the economy, he said "The Democratic field is poor, but Trump is dead. Quote me on that!"Though the week just saw a 3,500-point drop for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Roubini warned: "It is far from being over." Read more at Der Spiegel.More stories from theweek.com A coronavirus recession would likely end Trump's presidency Court: Don McGahn can defy congressional subpoena Democrats ponder a coup d'Bernie

Laurene Powell Jobs says she won't pass down her and Steve Jobs' billions to their children: 'It ends with me'

Powell Jobs, who is worth an estimated $24 billion, said she believes a massive accumulation of wealth is "dangerous for a society."

Chicago police boost mass transit presence amid crime spike

A spike in crime on Chicago's rail system and some recent high profile outbursts of violence has prompted the city's police department to put 50 more officers in trains and on platforms and assign four detectives to investigate nothing but Chicago Transit Authority crimes, officials announced Friday. Hours after the new security plan was unveiled, Chicago police said an officer shot a man on the platform of a CTA station in the Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Officers confronted the man after he was observed moving from car to car of a moving train, a city ordinance violation, said Deputy Superintendent Barbara West.

Biden says he's not worried about Trump refusing to leave if defeated in November

Joe Biden says he isn't worried about the prospect of President Trump refusing to leave his post if he’s defeated in November.