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Buttigieg attacks Bernie and Bloomberg: 'Let's put forward somebody who's actually a Democrat'

Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders sparred during Wednesday’s debate in Las Vegas, with the former South Bend, Ind., mayor calling the Vermont senator too “polarizing” to be the Democratic nominee, and Sanders taking a jab at Buttigieg’s big-money donors.

A Google manager has been arrested and charged with murder after his wife was reported missing in Hawaii

His wife, a Microsoft business program manager, was reported missing Tuesday while the Seattle couple was vacationing in Hawaii.

Some Americans are attempting the journey back home to Wuhan

"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.

US judge sides with migrants in case against Border Patrol

A U.S. judge in Arizona sided Wednesday with migrants who have long-complained about inhumane and unsanitary conditions in some U.S. Border Patrol facilities in the state. The ruling came weeks after the conclusion of a seven-day trial in which attorneys for migrants who sued in 2015 argued that the agency holds immigrants in extremely cold, overcrowded, unsanitary and inhumane conditions. 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.

China says will help manage Mekong as report warns of dam danger

VIENTIANE/BANGKOK (Reuters) - China on Thursday said it was helping its downstream neighbors cope with a prolonged drought by releasing more water from its dams on the Mekong River, adding it would consider sharing information on hydrology to provide further assistance in the future. The statement came as a new economic report predicted that the building of dams to harness hydropower on the Mekong River would reshape the economies of five countries along the waterway, fuelling long-term inflation and dependence on China. The drought over the past year has severely hurt farming and fishing in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam, and many blame China's 11 dams on the upper Mekong - which China calls the Lancang River - as well as climate change.

Trump's pardon of Bernie Kerik also apparently wiped out Kerik's $103,300 debt to taxpayers

President Trump granted a full pardon to former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik on Tuesday, clearing him of his eight counts of tax fraud, lying to federal investigators, and other crimes that accompanied his downfall. Kerik had already served his three years in prison for his crimes, but the pardon wipes out more than his criminal record, the New York Daily News reports. "The pardon cancels out $103,300 in restitution that Kerik still owed the Internal Revenue Service as part of his sentence, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan."The White House credited Kerik's friend and former boss in New York City, Rudy Giuliani — now Trump's personal lawyer and Ukraine fixer — for helping persuade Trump to pardon Kerik. Another friend of both Kerik and Trump, Newsmax chief executive Christopher Ruddy, told the Daily News that Trump's pardon was "a just decision" in light of Kerik's "minor stuff" crimes.One of Kerik's former colleagues in the Giuliani administration, NYC Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, recalled Kerik's multifaceted downfall from heroic 9/11 figure to flamed-out reject for Homeland Security secretary slightly differently back in late 2004, The New Yorker recounted: "Officials have gotten into trouble for sexual misconduct, abusing their authority, personal bankruptcy, failure to file documents, waste of public funds, receiving substantial unrecorded gifts, and association with organized crime figures. It is rare for anyone to be under fire on all seven of the above issues."More stories from theweek.com Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils Buttigieg hits Bloomberg and Sanders in 1 swoop: 'Let's put forth someone who is actually a Democrat' Elizabeth Warren defends Amy Klobuchar for forgetting the name of Mexico's president

Don't Sleep on Russia's Super-Fast "Avangard" Hypersonic Missile

It'll keep you up at night.

Coronavirus: CDC issues new travel notices for Hong Kong, Japan

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new advisories on Wednesday for travelers going to Hong Kong and Japan due to coronavirus.

US military truck caught on camera ramming Russian jeep off the road in Syria

A video circulating on Twitter shows US military forces in Syria running a Russian military vehicle off the road.

Virginia lawmakers reject assault weapons ban over fears of potential civil war

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.

Bloomberg 'weathered the storm' during fiery Democratic debate, his campaign says

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came under heavy fire from his rivals during Wednesday’s Democratic presidential debate at the Paris Casino but “weathered the storm,” his senior adviser Howard Wolfson said. 

Suspects in abduction, murder of 7-year-old Mexican girl detained

Mexican authorities arrested a couple believed to have kidnapped, tortured and murdered a seven year-old girl on Wednesday, days after the discovery of the victim's body sparked protests in the violence-wracked country. The suspects "were detained in a town in the State of Mexico," Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum tweeted, without giving more detail. Prosecutors on Tuesday released pictures of the two suspects -- identified as Giovana and Mario Alberto "N" -- after searching a house near the victim's home.

Pope tenderly kissed on forehead by man in front-row seat

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.

Warren Reverses Pledge to Refuse PAC Money, Implies She’s Been Held to Sexist Double Standard

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) changed her tune on the nefarious influence of super PACs just days after receiving the backing of a newly formed PAC, telling reporters on Thursday that because “all of the men” in the race refused to rely entirely on individual donors, she shouldn't be expected to either.“It can't be the case that a bunch of people keep them and only one or two don’t,” she said.Warren, speaking to reporters in Nevada, tried to square her past disavowals of super PAC funding with her refusal to disavow a new PAC that made a $1 million television ad buy on her behalf this week. She argued that because she failed to convince other candidates to commit to her proposal of no PAC funding, she was forced to accept PAC support.“The first day I got in this race, over a year ago, I said ‘I hope every presidential candidate who comes in will agree — no Super PACs for any of us,” Warren explained. “I renewed that call dozens of times, and I couldn’t get a single Democrat to go along with me.”The pro-Warren “Persist” PAC filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday and booked $800,000 in television ads to run in Nevada, despite Warren’s previous criticisms of PAC money. During the New Hampshire Democratic Debate, she touted her lack of PAC support, saying “everyone on this stage except Amy [Klobuchar] and me is either a billionaire or is receiving help from PACs that can do unlimited spending.”The day of the New Hampshire primary last week, Warren tweeted that she “won’t take a dime of PAC money in this campaign.”> Let’s be clear: I won't take a dime of PAC money in this campaign. I won't take a single check from a federal lobbyist, or billionaires who want to run a Super PAC on my behalf. > > And I challenge every other candidate who asks for your vote in this primary to do the same.> > -- Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) February 9, 2019“Senator Warren is the best candidate to take on Donald Trump and win, and we’re going to ensure primary voters and caucusgoers hear her message,” Persist PAC spokesman Joshua Karp told The New York Times on the new venture. Warren’s campaign released a statement on Wednesday in response, which said her stance was “unchanged” on PACs, but did not direct the newly formed PAC to stand down.Speaking Thursday, Warren went further, implying that she could not hold out any longer after “all of the men” still running against her “had either Super PACs, or they were multi-billionaires.”“Finally, we reached the point a few weeks ago where all of the men who were still in this race and on the debate stage, all had either Super PACs, or they were multi-billionaires, and could just rummage around in their sock drawers and find enough money to be able to fund a campaign. And the only people who didn’t have them were the two women,” Warren argued.Warren signaled that after a pro-Klobuchar PAC sprang up earlier this week to support the Minnesota Senator, she was not going to stand in the way.“At that point, there were some women around the country who said, ‘you know, that’s just not right.’ So here’s where I stand — if all the candidates want to get rid of super PACs, count me in. I'll lead the charge. But that's how it has to be. It can't be the case that a bunch of people keep them and only one or two don’t,” she stated.> NEW: Here is video of Warren declining to disavow the new super PAC supporting her:> > “If all the candidates want to get rid of super PACs, count me in. I'll lead the charge. But that's how it has to be. It can't be the case that a bunch of people keep them and only 1 or 2 don’t.” pic.twitter.com/byxQRjGMfs> > -- Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) February 20, 2020The shift in tone comes after Warren slammed former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg during Wednesday’s Nevada debate for a history of sexist comments and non-disclosure agreements with female employees.

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

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.

House leaders reportedly learned Russia was trying to get Trump re-elected — and Trump was angry about it

President Trump would rather keep the facts to himself.Last week, the House Intelligence Committee reportedly received a briefing detailing how Russia was once again interfering in the 2020 election. The next day, Trump attacked his outgoing national intelligence director for letting the briefing happen, people familiar with the exchange told The New York Times.The committee, led by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), learned from intelligence official Shelby Pierson that Russia was working to get Trump re-elected this fall, five people familiar with the matter said. Pierson has a reputation for bluntness, and some officials who heard about the briefing suggested Pierson should've left out the bit on Russia to avoid riling up Republicans in the room. Trump's allies at the briefing "challenged the conclusions, arguing that Mr. Trump has been tough on Russia and strengthened European security," the Times writes.An even bigger uproar came the next day from Trump himself, who attacked Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire for what was said in the briefing. This happened last Friday, and by Wednesday, Trump announced he was replacing Maguire with U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, who's unabashedly loyal to the president. Read more at The New York Times.More stories from theweek.com The growing crisis in cosmology Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils The Democrats gave Mike Bloomberg what he deserved

India's Military Is Quite Deadly (China and Pakistan Should Worry)

Missiles, carriers, and more.

2 women killed when Mercedes-Benz falls off Florida ferry; Coast Guard investigating

The bodies of two women were discovered in a car that rolled off a ferry into a deep shipping channel off the coast of South Florida.

Here's What the Protesters Were Yelling to Joe Biden at the Nevada Democratic Debate

They seem to be referring to to Biden's role in the Obama administration, which deported over 3 million people

Sanders' 'summer camp' in Vermont becomes fodder in debate

Can a socialist own a summer house? “The best known socialist in the country happens to be a millionaire with three houses," Bloomberg said of Sanders, the independent Vermont senator who is running for president as a Democrat and calls himself a democratic socialist. Yes, he has a home in Washington, where he works; one in Burlington, Vermont, where he lives; and “like thousands of other Vermonters, I do have a summer camp,” Sanders shot back.

Four things to know about Pope Pius XII's archives

The March 2 unsealing of the archives of Pope Pius XII, the controversial World War II-era pontiff, whose papacy lasted from 1939 to 1958, has been awaited for decades by Jewish groups and historians. The controversy over Pius XII hinges on whether the head of the Catholic Church, a former diplomat of the Holy See in Germany, remained too silent during the Holocaust, never publicly condemning the Nazis. The most sensitive archives, comprising the World War II period, have already been largely published by the Vatican.

Former Mexico President Pena Nieto investigated in corruption probe: report

Mexican law enforcement authorities are investigating a former president, Enrique Pena Nieto, as part of an inquiry into corruption, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Pena Nieto has become embroiled in the investigation of Emilio Lozoya, the former chief executive of Mexico's state oil firm Petróleos Mexicanos, or Pemex. Lozoya is accused of corruption related to a wide-ranging bribery and money-laundering case involving Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht SA. Lozoya, who was arrested in Spain last week, has denied wrongdoing.

Elizabeth Warren trolls Republican donor with ad in his paper telling him how much tax she'll make him pay

Elizabeth Warren has bought ad space in a newspaper owned by Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, taunting the billionaire with an estimate for how much he would pay during the first year of her presidency with her promised 2 per cent wealth tax.“Here’s how much Sheldon Adelson pays under Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax in the first year: $2,300,000,000,’ the ad, printed in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, says.

Coronavirus updates: 2 passengers die after leaving 'chaotic' cruise ship

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak climbed to 2,118 in China. Here is the latest for Thursday.

The Mormon Church's secretive $100 billion fund revealed huge stakes in Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Here are its 10 biggest holdings.

Ensign Peak Advisors, the investing arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spilled the beans on its $40 billion stock portfolio.

‘Be Wary of Authoritarian Regimes’: Pompeo Warns African Allies Not to Rely on China

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday cautioned African nations against allowing too much influence from China, saying an economic partnership with the U.S. would better serve the nations."Be wary of authoritarian regimes and their empty promises," Pompeo said in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in a reference to China. Pompeo asserted cooperation with the U.S. represented a path toward "true liberation."The comments come days after China expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters from the country in response to an opinion column in the paper that labeled China "the sick man of Asia."Pompeo's remarks capped a three-day trip to Ethiopia, Senegal and Angola, during which the secretary of state pushed for economic liberalization and the support of American businesses including Citibank, Chevron and Coca-Cola.The U.S.'s top diplomat also criticized the "failed socialist experiments of years past" that were attempted in some African nations.However, the trip concluded without any new major policy announcement. Chinese investments in Africa dwarf those of the U.S., with many countries benefiting from economic and infrastructure projects.The Trump administration's relationship with certain African nations has been overshadowed in recent weeks by speculation on the future of their relationship to the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security recently added Nigeria and Eritrea to an immigration ban, although citizens of the two nations will still be able to travel to the U.S. for business or pleasure.There is also speculation that the U.S. will reduce its troop presence in the Sahel, a vast region south of the Sahara Desert that has experienced growth in terrorist organizations including Al-Qaeda and ISIS offshoots. Currently, over 1,000 American troops are deployed to the region, mostly providing support to French forces fighting terrorist groups.On Saturday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) reportedly told Defense Secretary Mark Esper he could "make your life hell" if the administration goes through with a troop withdrawal from Africa.

E. Jean Carroll, columnist who says Donald Trump raped her, fired from Elle

E. Jean Carroll, who helmed the "Ask E. Jean" column for Elle magazine since 1993, was fired in December, according to a court filing.

The Vietcong Proved That America's Enemies Don't Need Missiles To 'Sink' An Aircraft Carrier

Naval vessels often have a mystique about them, but they are vulnerable to attack.

Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg are both 78. And both, it turns out, have had heart operations.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg turned 78 years old last Friday. That makes him the same age as his top rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and six months older than former Vice President Joe Biden.> Today is @MikeBloomberg's birthday; he's turning 78 years old. > > Yesterday, a voter told me he was interested in Bloomberg because "Biden & Bernie are too old."@JoeBiden is 77. @BernieSanders is 78.> > — Maura Barrett (@MauraBarrettNBC) February 14, 2020Everybody is expected to pile on Bloomberg in Wednesday night's Democratic debate in Nevada, and Sanders tested out his salvos in a CNN town hall on Tuesday night. But age isn't the only thing Bloomberg and Sanders have in common. Neither has been a Democrat for most of the past two decades, for example, and both have had two coronary arterial stents inserted near their hearts to relieve blockages.Sanders, who had a heart attack in October, said Tuesday night that he won't release his full medical records. After getting out of the hospital, he had said "the people do have a right to know about the health of a senator, somebody who's running for president of the United States — full disclosure." On Tuesday night, Sanders said the three letters he released from doctors equal "a detailed medical report," and when pressed on whether he plans to release his medical records, he said, "I don't think we will, no."Bloomberg disclosed his 2000 heart operation for the first time in 2007. In December, he released a letter from his longtime physician, Dr. Stephen Sisson at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, attesting that Bloomberg is "in outstanding health," though he developed an irregular heartbeat called an "atrial fibrillation" last year and is treating it with blood thinners. Bloomberg "has had normal cardiac stress testing annually" since he had the stents inserted in 2000, Sisson wrote, and the artery has not become clogged again."Heart problems are extremely common in older adults," The Associated Press notes. At the same time, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday found that 53 percent of voters have "some reservations" or are "very uncomfortable" with a candidate who had a recent heart attack.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 Obama poked Trump on the economy. Trump took the bait.

Turkey and Russia exchange warnings against operation in Syria

Turkey and Russia exchanged warnings on Wednesday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened an "imminent" operation in Syria to end the regime's brutal assault on the last rebel enclave.

Family of man killed by trooper seeking more than $10M

Relatives of a black Connecticut man killed by a state trooper are seeking more than $10 million in wrongful death damages from state and local police, according to legal notices filed Thursday. Lawyers for the family of Mubarak Soulemane, 19, asked the state claims commissioner for permission to sue the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and top state police officials including Public Safety Commissioner James Rovella for $10 million. West Haven's counsel, Lee Tiernan, said the town's policy is not to comment on pending litigation.

Mexican President Lopez Obrador says unaware of probe into ex-President Pena Nieto

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday said he is not aware of an investigation into his predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto, after a media report that law enforcement authorities are probing the former leader. "There is no investigation that I know of against the former president Pena Nieto," Lopez Obrador said in his daily morning press conference.

More than half of all coronavirus cases outside China are from the Diamond Princess, but the cruise ship is already planning to set sail again in April

An infectious-diseases expert said the hygiene conditions on the Diamond Princess were abysmal, making him "so scared" of contracting the coronavirus.

Mike Lee Slams Equal Rights Amendment as Part of ‘Radical Pro-Abortion Agenda’

Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah) on Wednesday criticized the Equal Rights Amendment during a town hall appearance in Salt Lake City, Utah.Lee said he disagreed with the amendment and even with its name, which is euphemism designed to conceal the amendment's actual implications."By passing this amendment, we would be upending decades of legal precedent that makes these things clear, putting into their place uncertainty and putting into their place a radical pro-abortion agenda with which I passionately disagree with," Lee told the audience. Republicans contend the amendment would be used as a constitutional protection for legalized abortion at any stage.On February 13, the House passed a resolution scrapping the deadline for passage of the amendment, which expired almost 40 years ago. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment in January.The Justice Department has opposed the amendment's adoption, emphasizing the expiry date and arguing that any states that signed on after that date are not valid signatories. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has also voiced her opposition to enacting the amendment by repealing the deadline."There’s too much controversy about latecomers — Virginia [approved it] long after the deadline passed," Ginsburg said at a February 10 event at Georgetown University. However, the justice said she would like to see the amendment passed if the state ratification process could be started from the beginning.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asserted the amendment would not affect abortion rights, while pro-abortion organizations such as the National Organization for Women and NARAL Pro-Choice America have stated the amendment may give courts the support needed to roll back pro-life legislation.

Trump rape accuser’s lawyers says president is doing ‘everything he can’ to stop her case

Lawyers representing a writer who accuses Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s have said Mr Trump is doing “everything he can to stop the truth from ever coming out”.

China Goes All In On Stealth: New Bombers And Fighters Are Coming To Asia

Modernizing the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, or PLAAF, is a top priority of Chinese military leaders.

Warren: Bloomberg will drop 'another $100 million' just to 'erase America's memory' of the Las Vegas debate

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was not pulling her punches in Wednesday night's Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, and her most potent haymakers landed on former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, standing to her right. MSNBC's post-debate panel showed the moment she started pummeling Bloomberg, and Chris Matthews described it in elaborate boxing metaphors.The Daily Show was a little more succinct:> Elizabeth Warren rn pic.twitter.com/HbrrAFVNRx> > -- The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) February 20, 2020Warren's biggest blow was set up by Bloomberg himself, and Joe Biden jumped in to help her finish him off.After the debate, Matthews asked Warren why she went after Bloomberg so hard. "I think it's important for people to know exactly what Michael Bloomberg has said and done," she said. "It is important to know who this guy is," and "he is a threat because he's already dropped $400 million in this campaign, and understand this: After his performance tonight, I have no doubt he is about to drop, tonight, another $100 million in this campaign ... to try to erase America's memory of what happened on that debate stage."Warren repeated her "arrogant billionaire" critique and when Matthews asked, she said Bloomberg's treatment of women should be disqualifying for the Democratic nomination. "Can we please keep in mind" that women have "finally been acknowledged to be important in electing our candidates?" she said. "You just can't lead with a guy who's got this kind of history."The Daily Show, again, had a similar idea, but with a different, less likely destination for Bloomberg's millions. > DemDebate pic.twitter.com/nqCtm6BxDK> > -- The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) February 20, 2020More stories from theweek.com House leaders reportedly learned Russia was trying to get Trump re-elected — and Trump was angry about it The growing crisis in cosmology Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils

'Could you live on $170 a month?' Russian woman asks Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday faced what appeared to be a rare unscripted grilling from a Russian woman who asked him how much he earns and whether he could live on her income of $170 a month. While visiting his native city of Saint Petersburg, Putin had laid a wreath at a political mentor's grave and was approached by people passing nearby, who filmed him on cell phones. "I think it's very hard," Putin said quietly in video footage posted by Russian media.

Tennessee governor won't intervene in execution

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said on Wednesday that he will not grant clemency to a death row inmate whose group of supporters includes family members of his victims and prison workers.

Abbott says top Malaysian leaders suspected pilot of MH370

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.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sided with 'The View' hosts after they confront her over 'deeply misogynistic' and 'violent' Bernie Bros

Elizabeth Warren, a fellow progressive 2020 candidate, said Bernie Sanders "has a lot of questions to answer" about his fans' behavior.

Cop who told driver not to record police demoted

The North Carolina officers apparently did not know that Jesse Bright was a defense attorney when they told him it was illegal to film cops last month

Amy Klobuchar blanks Pete Buttigieg and avoids shaking his hand at the end of Democratic debate

At the end of a raucous Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas that saw multiple clashes between the six presidential hopefuls on stage, there seemed to be no love lost between two sparring partners in particular.Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg, traded blows over the former forgetting the name of the President of Mexico, and the latter’s relative electoral inexperience, in a heated exchange.

China reports uptick in new coronavirus cases though downward trend holds

China's Hubei province reported an uptick in new cases of coronavirus on Friday, reversing three days of declines, although the numbers still confirmed a downward trend which the World Health Organization (WHO) has called encouraging. The province at the center of the global health emergency said it had counted 411 new cases as of Feb. 20, up from 349 a day earlier but still the lowest since Jan. 26. The death toll in Hubei rose by 115 to 2,144, mostly in the provincial capital of Wuhan, a city of 11 million which remains under virtual lockdown.

At The Start Of World War III, Chinese Missiles Could Overwhelm the U.S. Military

China has invested heavily in anti-ship missiles.

Russia warns Turkey, blocks UN bid to end Syria bloodshed

Russia on Wednesday warned Turkey against intervening in Syria as it blocked a UN bid to end the Damascus regime's brutal assault on the last rebel enclave. Syrian aid workers called urgently for a ceasefire and international help for nearly a million people fleeing the regime onslaught in the country's northwestern Idlib province -- the biggest wave of displaced civilians in the nine-year conflict. Turkey, supporter of some rebel groups in Idlib, has been pushing for a renewed ceasefire in talks with Russia, which backs the Syrian regime.

Mormon Brigham Young University has removed its 'homosexual behavior' ban from the school's honor code

BYU said the removal of its "homosexual behavior" ban was made to be in "alignment with the doctrine and policies" with the Mormon Church.