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House Dems quash bill mandating medical care for infants who survive abortions House Democrats on Friday rejected Republicans' attempts to recommit legislation that would have required medical care for infants who survive abortions.
March 01, 2020 at 09:54AM
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Sessions in Fight to Win Back His Senate Seat
To reclaim the Alabama Senate seat he held for 20 years, Jeff Sessions must first get through a competitive GOP primary with challengers eager to capitalize on his very public falling out with President Donald Trump.
The former attorney general is banking on his long history in state politics as he tries to persuade Republican voters that he is the best candidate to advance Trump's agenda.
"I am the same Jeff Sessions that faithfully and honorably and vigorously defended Alabama values in the U.S. Senate before. I am determined to be even more effective when I return to the Senate if the people allow me to," Sessions said in an interview.
Sessions gave up the Senate seat when he was appointed Trump's first attorney general, a position he was forced to resign from after his recusal from the Russia inquiry sparked blistering criticism from the president.
Sessions had been the first senator to endorse Trump — donning a red Make America Great Again hat and infusing the 2016 campaign with Washington credibility. But in a twist of political irony, the president's public scolding now threatens Sessions' political comeback for a seat he held securely for two decades.
No chance
At a candidate forum in Florence, Alabama, that Sessions did not attend, retired restaurant owner Yara Ruther, 67, was shopping for someone else to support in the seven-person field.
"He did not support Trump. That's a deal breaker," Ruther said, slicing her hand horizontally through the air to emphasize that she wouldn't vote for Sessions this time.
Sessions said Trump wasn't happy about the recusal, but he did so because Department of Justice regulations required it. Still, Sessions has maintained his allegiance to the president.
"Where were my opponents when Donald Trump was in a titanic, billion-dollar campaign for the presidency of the United States, where our court system was a stake, our taxes and regulations were all at stake?" Sessions said.
"The people of Alabama rallied to Trump and I was leading the charge. And I haven't changed," he said.
He'll face former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, U.S. Representative Bradley Byrne, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, state Representative Arnold Mooney, businessman Stanley Adair and community activist Ruth Page Nelson in the Republican primary Tuesday. The winner will face Democratic Senator Doug Jones in November.
Sessions greeted diners over plates of chicken, dressing and fried okra during a Thursday campaign stop at the Blue Plate Cafe, a restaurant in Madison County.
"I really believe in the experience he has and what he brings he to the table," said Scott Woodard, a test manager at Redstone Arsenal, a mammoth facility that houses the Army's missile programs.
The Alabama race has turned into a bitter slugfest to claim a slot in the anticipated March 31 runoff between the top two GOP finishers. A runoff is required unless one candidate claims more than 50% of the primary vote Tuesday. It has also become a race to embrace Trump, with candidates jockeying to portray themselves as the most loyal to the president.
Tuberville, harnessing the name recognition from years as a college football coach in the state, and Byrne, the first Republican to announce for the seat, have emerged as two of Sessions' strongest challengers.
"I'm a conservative. I'm a fighter. I vote with President Trump 97% of the time," Byrne says on the campaign trail.
Sessions 'let the president down'
A Byrne campaign television spot dismisses Sessions — portrayed in the ad by a diminutive actor clad in a baseball hat — as someone who "let the president down and got fired."
Tuberville — who has said Trump was sent by God to save the United States — issued this statement at the start of Trump's impeachment trial: "As attorney general, Jeff Sessions handed the ball to the other team and walked off the field the moment play started getting rough."
Sessions' campaign fired back at both in an ad. He noted that Byrne once called Trump unfit to lead the ticket after the 2016 release of Trump's vulgar outtakes on "Access Hollywood" about grabbing women. He called Tuberville a "tourist" who moved from Florida to run for Senate.
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Report in Poland Lists Judges, Prosecutors Facing Reprisals
An association of judges in Poland published a report Saturday listing dozens of judges and prosecutors who face reprisals and disciplinary measures for having criticized or questioned changes the country's right-wing government has made to the judicial system.
The 200-page report issued by the Polish judges' association Iustitia named judges and prosecutors who were called before disciplinary bodies, moved to lower courts or had cases taken away from them. The actions took place after the lawyers and jurists commented on the reorganization of the judiciary or issued rulings that seemed to deviate from government policy.
Among those listed in the report as being subject to reprisals are Warsaw District Court Judge Igor Tuleya; Olsztyn District Court Judge Pawel Juszczyszyn; and Iustitia's president, Judge Krystian Markiewicz of the District Court in Katowice.
Markiewicz has urged the European Union to act in defense of judicial independence in Poland. Some 4,000 out of Poland's 10,000 judges are Iustitia members.
"As judges we stand guard over the civil rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution," said the English-language version of the report.
"We do not and will not agree to politicize the courts," it said.
'Slandering' judges, prosecutors
The report also names and quotes government and judiciary officials who, it says, have been publicly "slandering" the judges and prosecutors in Poland and internationally.
The government says the changes it has introduced since 2016 were designed to make the justice system more efficient and free of jurists left over from Poland's communist era.
In response to criticism coming from newer judges, the government said it is taking steps to prevent "anarchy" in the court system.
The EU, international judicial bodies and critics in Poland have said the changes could undercut judicial independence, the rule of law, and the democratic system of checks and balances.
One recent law allows politicians to fine and fire judges who are considered biased because of their group affiliations or who take actions regarded by the government as harmful to the Polish court system.
Candidate's promise
At a political convention Saturday, the main opposition candidate in Poland's May 10 presidential election said that if elected, she would make right "all wrongs done to independent judges" by the ruling Law and Justice party.
"Poland's judges are persecuted," Malgorzata Kidawa-Blonska, who is running for the pro-EU Civic Platform party, said.
Kidawa-Blonska is among several candidates challenging Poland's incumbent president, Andrzej Duda. Opinion polls suggest she may provide competition for Duda, who is backed by the ruling party.
Kidawa-Blonska said that as president, she would work to regain Poland's place as a respected European Union member and to unify the country after what she described as divisions created by the conservative Law and Justice government.
She said her guiding values would be "mutual respect, trust and honesty."
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New US Guidelines Will Allow Faster Coronavirus Testing
Federal regulators are allowing hospitals and other laboratories to develop their own tests for the coronavirus in an effort to relieve what critics say is a shortage of testing for the virus.
The urgency for testing is growing as health officials report several new coronavirus cases in the United States and the country's first death — a man in his 50s from Washington state.
The new policy unveiled on Saturday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), follows criticism that a lack of testing has allowed the virus to spread undetected.
"It's going to be really useful for greatly expanding the number of places that can do the tests," said Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
Hospitals have been sending samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta for testing. Getting results takes 48 hours.
Problems with CDC test
The CDC had produced a test for health departments across the country to use. But many reported problems with the tests giving inconclusive results. The problem was traced to an improperly manufactured ingredient. The CDC said the test could be used with the other components. In addition, it plans to send out new test kits to public health labs.
In the meantime, however, the problems limited the ability of health care workers to test patients for coronavirus.
"If we had the ability to test earlier, I'm sure we would have identified patients earlier," said Jeff Duchin, an official of Seattle & King County Public Health, during a conference call with reporters.
Washington state identified two new cases on Friday, including one with no known connection to other cases, which raises concerns that the virus is spreading undetected.
The New York State health department, some hospital labs and others had developed their own tests. But since they had not been approved by the FDA, their results were not considered valid.
Hospital labs had criticized the approval process in a letter to Congress Friday, according to The Washington Post.
"This regulatory process is significantly more stringent than that required for every other virus" that the labs test for, the letter said.
New FDA policy
On Saturday, the FDA issued a new policy allowing these labs to develop their own assays, and issued instructions for how to validate the tests.
"This approval will expedite wait time and improve New York's ability to more effectively manage the coronavirus situation as it unfolds," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
Rather than needing to send tests to Atlanta, or even to a state health lab, tests will be available at local hospitals or commercial labs.
"The closer we can put it towards patients, the better it'll be for clinicians," Nuzzo, of Johns Hopkins, said.
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Indiana Attorney General Hill: What Thurgood Marshall, Clarence Thomas can teach us about being Americans We are experiencing a point in our national history when we desperately need the reminder that we are a stronger nation when we as a people respect one another despite our differences.
March 01, 2020 at 06:18AM
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Socialist Hardliners Aim Guns on Guaido March in Venezuela
Socialist hardliners in Venezuela opened fire during a march headed by Juan Guaido, injuring a 16-year-old demonstrator and adding to tensions in the country as the opposition leader seeks to revive his campaign to oust Nicolas Maduro.
A photo of the confrontation provided exclusively to The Associated Press shows a masked man brandishing a pistol pointed toward a group of opposition activists, including Guaido, who can be seen staring down the unidentified man.
The confusing incident Saturday in the central city of Barquisimeto was believed to be the first time pro-government vigilantes known as colectivos had aimed a weapon at Guaido, whom the U.S. and more than 50 other countries recognize as Venezuela's rightful leader following Maduro's re-election in 2018 in a race marred by irregularities.
The city's former mayor and opposition activist Alfredo Ramos said the marchers led by Guaido were "ambushed" by about 200 colectivo members and government security forces loyal to Maduro.
Ramos said worse bloodshed was avoided because the unidentified man did not open fire at that moment.
Marchers scatter
But later, as the crowd swelled, a 16-year-old demonstrator was shot in the leg and several others were roughed up as the colectivos harassed participants, in some cases stealing their cellphones. Amid the sound of bullets firing into the air, the marchers quickly scattered.
"Courage and strength," Guaido said in a conversation with the injured activist that was videotaped by his aides while their caravan headed back to Caracas. "We're going to achieve freedom for our country."
The AP was not present at the rally and was unable to verify the lawmakers' account. There was no immediate comment from the Maduro government.
Dimitris Pantoulas, a Caracas political analyst, said the incident underscored the forceful role being played in Venezuela by the colectivos.
As political turmoil has swept over Venezuela the past year, armed groups loyal to Maduro have been increasingly deployed by a government determined to resist domestic opposition and mounting international pressure, Pantoulas said.
Trouble ahead?
"This is a tactic by the government to use violence by colectivos to intimidate its opponents," said Pantoulas. "Every day the collectivos are feeling stronger inside the Maduro government. One day, the situation could easily get out of hand and lead to bloodshed."
While colectivos in the past have been subordinate to Maduro, Pantoulas cautioned that as the embattled leader's grip on power has weakened, some have strayed and operate independently or are aligned with other Chavista revolution bosses.
Saturday's event marked Guaido's first public trip outside Caracas since he returned from an international tour to rally support, including a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, who invited Guaido as a special guest to his annual State of the Union address.
Guaido was met by rowdy Maduro supporters when he returned to Venezuela. Guaido, surrounded by security, pushed his way through the crowd as it pounded on his departing vehicle. His uncle, who returned on the same flight, was jailed on suspicion of bringing explosives into the country, charges Guaido called a threat against him.
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Empty Streets, Economic Turmoil as Coronavirus Alters Daily Life
The coronavirus claimed its first victim in the U.S. Saturday as the number of cases shot up in Iran, Italy and South Korea and the spreading outbreak continued to shake the global economy.
The virus altered daily life around the world as governments moved to combat the contagion. Islam's holiest sites were closed to foreign pilgrims, while professional baseball teams played in deserted stadiums in Japan and officials in France advised residents to forgo customary greeting kisses.
The list of countries touched by the virus climbed to nearly 60, with new cases reported Saturday in Lebanon, Mexico, France and Ecuador. More than 85,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus, with deaths topping 2,900.
A man in his 50s with underlying health conditions became the first coronavirus death on U.S. soil. President Donald Trump initially said the victim was a woman, but the person's gender was later confirmed by state and federal health officials. Officials say they aren't sure how the man acquired the virus, as he had not traveled to any effected areas.
"Additional cases in the United States are likely, but healthy individuals should be able to fully recover,'' Trump said Saturday at a briefing, where officials announced heightened warnings about travel to certain regions of Italy and South Korea as well as a ban on travel to Iran.
Many cases of the virus have been relatively mild, and some of those infected are believed to show no symptoms at all. But that can allow for easier spread, and concern is mounting that prolonged quarantines, supply chain disruptions and a sharp reduction in tourism and business travel could weaken the global economy or even cause a recession.
South Korea, the second hardest hit country after China, reported 813 new cases Saturday - the highest daily jump since confirming its first patient in late January and raising its total to 3,150.
Italian authorities say the country now has more than 1,100 coronavirus cases, with 29 deaths so far.
Iran is preparing for the possibility of ``tens of thousands'' of people getting tested for the virus as the number of confirmed cases spiked again Saturday, an official said. So far, the virus and the COVID-19 illness it causes have killed 43 people out of 593 confirmed cases in Iran.
As governments scrambled to control the spread and businesses wrestled with interruptions, researchers working to better understand the disease reported that the death rate may be lower than initially feared as more mild cases are counted.
Effort to understand virus
A study by Chinese researchers published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine analyzing 1,099 patients at more than 500 hospitals throughout China calculated a death rate of 1.4%, substantially lower than earlier studies that focused on patients in Wuhan, where it started and has been most severe.
Assuming there are many more cases with no or very mild symptoms, "the case fatality rate may be considerably less than 1%,'' U.S. health officials wrote in an editorial in the journal.
That would make the new virus more like a severe seasonal flu than a disease similar to its genetic cousins SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or MERS, Middle East respiratory syndrome.
Evidence of the virus' economic toll continued to mount Saturday, with a new report showing a sharp decline in Chinese manufacturing in February after efforts to contain the virus shut down much of the world's second-largest economy.
The survey, coming as global stock markets fall sharply on fears that the virus will spread abroad, adds to mounting evidence of the vast cost of the disease that emerged in central China in December and its economic impact worldwide.
The monthly purchasing managers' index issued by the Chinese statistics agency and an industry group fell to 35.7 from January's 50 on a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate activity contracting.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced a 270 billion yen ($2.5 billion) emergency economic package to help fight the virus. Abe said at a news conference that Japan is at critical juncture to determine whether the country can keep the outbreak under control ahead of the Tokyo summer Olympics.
Abe, whose announcement this past week of a plan to close all schools for more than a month through the end of the Japanese academic year sparked public criticism, said the emergency package includes financial support for parents and their employers affected by the closures.
"Frankly speaking, this battle cannot be won solely by the efforts of the government,'' Abe said Saturday. ``We cannot do it without understanding and cooperation from every one of you, including medical institutions, families, companies and local governments.''
Even in isolated, sanctions-hit North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un called for stronger anti-virus efforts to guard against COVID-19, saying there will be "serious consequences" if the illness spreads to the country.
China has seen a slowdown in new infections and on Saturday morning reported 427 new cases over the past 24 hours along with 47 additional deaths. The city at the epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan, accounted for the bulk of both. The ruling party is striving to restore public and business confidence and avert a deeper economic downturn and politically risky job losses after weeks of disruptions due to the viral outbreak.
Deserted streets
In other areas caught up in the outbreak, eerie scenes met those who ventured outside.
Streets were deserted in the city of Sapporo on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, where a state of emergency was issued until mid-March. Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan announced they would close, and big events were canceled, including a concert series by the K-pop group BTS.
In France, the archbishop of Paris advised parish priests not to administer communion by placing the sacramental bread in worshippers' mouths. Instead, priests were told to place the bread in their hands. The French government cancelled large indoor events.
Saudi Arabia closed off Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina to foreign pilgrims, disrupting travel for thousands of Muslims already headed to the kingdom and potentially affecting plans later this year for millions more ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan and the annual hajj pilgrimage.
Tourist arrivals in Thailand are down 50% compared with a year ago, and in Italy _ which has the most reported cases of any country outside of Asia - hotel bookings are falling and Premier Giuseppe Conte raised the specter of recession.
The head of the World Health Organization on Friday announced that the risk of the virus spreading worldwide was "very high," while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the ``window of opportunity`` for containing the virus was narrowing.
Economists have forecast global growth will slip to 2.4% this year, the slowest since the Great Recession in 2009, and down from earlier expectations closer to 3%. For the United States, estimates are falling to as low as 1.7% growth this year, down from 2.3% in 2019.
Despite anxieties about a wider outbreak in the U.S., Trump has defended measures taken and lashed out at Democrats who have questioned his handling of the threat.
At a political rally Friday night in North Charleston, South Carolina, Trump asserted that Democratic complaints about his handling of the virus threat are "their new hoax," echoing similar past complaints by the president about the Russia investigation and his impeachment.
Trump accused Democrats of "politicizing'' the coronavirus threat and boasted about preventive steps he's ordered in an attempt to keep the virus from spreading across the United States.
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Deal With Taliban Paves Way for Start of US Pullout From Afghanistan
In a historic deal signed with the Taliban on Saturday in Doha, the United States promised to bring its troops home from Afghanistan in 14 months, with the first reduction, down to 8,600 from 13,000, to take place in the first 135 days.
Full withdrawal will depend on the Taliban sticking to their end of the bargain — making sure they prevent anyone in areas under their control, including al-Qaida, from posing a threat to the U.S. or its allies, and successfully negotiating with other Afghans on the future road map of the country.
"We will closely watch the Taliban's compliance with their commitments and calibrate the pace of our withdrawal to their actions," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in his statement at the deal-signing ceremony.
The agreement also details some of the steps required to start the intra-Afghan negotiations.
"The United States is committed to start immediately to work with all relevant sides on a plan to expeditiously release combat and political prisoners as a confidence-building measure with the coordination and approval of all relevant sides," the text of the deal reads.
Up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and up to 1,000 Afghan security forces members will be released by March 10, the first scheduled day of intra-Afghan negotiations.
Afghans' fate in Afghans' hands
While the U.S. would facilitate negotiations between the two sides, Pompeo emphasized that his country would let Afghans decide their own fate.
"When it comes down to it, the future of Afghanistan is for the Afghans to determine. The U.S.-Taliban deal creates the conditions for Afghans to do just that," he said.
The head of the Taliban delegation, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who signed the agreement on behalf of the insurgent group, said negotiations should be based on Islamic values.
"I call on all Afghan sides to come to the table of negotiations with honesty to form an independent and strong Islamic system, thus we may all gather around Islamic values and national interest," he said in his statement.
Once the intra-Afghan negotiations start, the U.S. would also review sanctions against members of the Taliban "with the goal of removing these sanctions by August 27, 2020."
The Saturday ceremony was attended by representatives of 19 countries and four international organizations.
Campaign promise
A statement issued by the White House said the deal fulfilled one of President Donald Trump's campaign promises.
"President Trump promised to bring our troops home from overseas and is following through on that promise," it said.
Trump later spoke to reporters to thank U.S. allies for approving his Afghan peace plan, saying he believed the Taliban would deliver on their commitments. He warned that U.S. troops would go back if "bad things happen," though Trump appeared confident it would not be necessary.
"I will be meeting personally with the Taliban leaders in the not too distant future and we will be very much hoping that they will be doing what they say they are going to be doing; they will be killing terrorists, they will keep that fighting going," the U.S. president said.
A message from Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada categorized the agreement as a victory.
"This victory is a collective victory of the entire Muslim and Mujahid nation," he said in a written statement, adding that "the accord about the complete withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan and never intervening in its affairs in the future is undoubtedly a great achievement."
Taliban spokesman Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai said that after the United States withdraws its forces, the Taliban would like it to return and participate in Afghanistan's rehabilitation.
The signing was preceded by a week of reduction in violence in which all sides — the Taliban, the U.S., NATO forces in Afghanistan and the Afghan government — agreed not to initiate an attack.
The war, which has lasted 19 years, has cost more than 100,000 lives and more than $1 trillion.
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Trump Seeks to Reassure Nation After 1st US Coronavirus Death
U.S. President Donald Trump, flanked by Vice President Mike Pence and members of the administration's coronavirus task force, on Saturday sought to reassure the country as the first domestic death from the new disease was reported.
Trump called for the media and politicians "not do anything to incite a panic because there's no reason to panic at all."
"Whatever the circumstance, we're prepared," he said.
Trump's administration is imposing further travel restrictions related to Iran due to a significant coronavirus outbreak there and issuing "do not travel" warnings for the regions of Italy and South Korea that have been hardest hit by COVID-19.
Trump has authorized a ban on foreign nationals who have traveled to Iran in the past 14 days, announced by Pence, who added that the State Department is working with the Italian and South Korean governments to enhance screenings in those countries of individuals traveling to the United States.
Additional travel restrictions could be imposed, including along the border with Mexico. "
We're thinking about all borders," Trump said.
The president took to the podium in the Brady Briefing Room in the White House West wing shortly after officials in the state of Washington, in the northwest United States, announced the country's first COVID-19 death.
Trump, at his second news conference in four days about the virus, said, "If you're healthy, you'll probably go through a process and you'll be fine."
Other health officials stressed that they expect most of the of COVID-19 fatalities will be older people with existing serious health problems.
Worldwide, 15% to 20% of those who have contracted the virus have needed advanced medical care, Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said.
Trump announced he will meet Monday with executives of pharmaceutical companies to discuss the development of a coronavirus vaccine.
Asked by VOA what powers he could invoke to expedite the drug approval process so a coronavirus vaccine could be deployed quicker, Trump said, "Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, this process will go very quickly."
"The process will go very quickly" to approve a #coronavirus vaccine, says @POTUS in response to my question and he adds that the Monday meeting with pharmaceutical executives was set up before the #coronavirus crisis to discuss drug prices.
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) February 29, 2020
The head of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn, added: "We're using our authorities in an expedited fashion to help with the development of therapeutics, particularly around the coronavirus."
Hahn said a policy was issued Saturday morning "that allows us to have a lot of flexibility around the development of diagnostic test" and that is expected to also have a significant impact in expediting approvals of a vaccine.
The timing of the unusual Saturday afternoon briefing underscored the seriousness of the crisis for the administration, which has faced criticism for a tardy and disorganized response to the spread of the disease, especially from Democratic Party leaders in Congress.
Asked about his remarks the previous evening at a political rally referring to the coronavirus crisis as the latest hoax of the Democrats, Trump said he was not intending to minimize the coronavirus threat."
Again, the hoax was used in respect to Democrats and what they were saying," Trump said.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers also have said his request for an additional $2.5 billion to defend against the virus was not enough. Trump has said he is willing to accept billions more from Congress to fight the disease.
Amid the coronavirus fears, U.S. stock indexes suffered their largest drops the past week since the 2008 global financial crisis."
The markets will all come back," Trump said, again encouraging the Federal Reserve, the country's central bank, to cut interest rates."
I think the Fed has a very important role, especially psychological," he said. "If you look at it, the Fed has a massive impact."
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Lindsey Graham on US-Taliban peace agreement: 'Let's give it a try' America should give the peace agreement with the Taliban a chance, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Saturday.
March 01, 2020 at 06:07AM
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List of presidents of Querétaro Municipality
M2545:
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Man in Washington State 1st in US to Die from Coronavirus
The U.S. has reported its first coronavirus-related death. Officials in the western U.S. state of Washington said it was a patient in a hospital in the city of Kirkland. U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday at a White House news conference the victim was a "medically high-risk patient in her late 50's" who died overnight.
"The U.S. has taken the "most aggressive action in modern history to confront the spread of this disease," the president said. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, said there was "no evidence of a link to travel'' in the case of the woman who died.
The White House also announced tightened travel restrictions to Iran to include any foreign national who has visited the country in the last 14 days. Additionally, it raised to the highest level a travel advisory to avoid Italy and South Korea, countries most affected by the virus other than China.
The coronavirus continued to spread Saturday amid growing concern over the possibility it could trigger a global recession and the World Health Organization's decision to raise its impact risk alert to "very high."
China reported Saturday that manufacturing activity declined dramatically in February, as the virus slowed the world's second largest economy.
Global stock prices finished the week sharply lower Friday, ending one of the worst weeks for world markets since the 2008 financial crisis.
New cases worldwide
Qatar reported its first case of the virus Saturday, three days after leader Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani ordered the evacuation of its citizens from Iran, the Middle East's epicenter of the outbreak.
France announced 16 new coronavirus cases Saturday and a temporary ban on all public gatherings of more than 5,000 people, one day after Mexico, Nigeria, New Zealand, Lithuania, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Iceland reported their first cases.
In Italy, the civil protection agency said eight more patients had died, bringing the total deaths in the country to 29.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved Saturday to accelerate hospitals' abilities to test for the deadly virus. The agency issued guidelines "enabling laboratories to use tests they develop faster in order to achieve more rapid testing capacity in the United States."
A fourth case of the virus was reported Friday in a person who had no known history of travel to a country experiencing an outbreak of the disease, known as COVID-19, or no known close contact with an infected person. U.S. health authorities said they were waiting for confirmation of testing results. There are more than 60 confirmed cases in the U.S.
WHO raises risk assessment
The World Health Organization raised its global risk assessment of the coronavirus to its highest level on Friday.
"We have now increased our assessment of the risk of spread and the risk of impact of COVID-19 to very high at global level," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters.
The outbreak appeared to be easing in China, where the virus originated. China's National Health Commission reported 427 new cases and 47 deaths Saturday. China has a total of 79,251 cases.
South Korea, the hardest-hit country outside China, reported the biggest surge Saturday with 813 new cases, raising the total to 3,150.
Iran confirmed 593 cases and 43 deaths, the highest death toll outside China.
The WHO said Saturday that more than 85,000 people worldwide have been infected in nearly 60 countries and that virus-related deaths topped 2,900.
Closures, restrictions
The worldwide outbreak has led government and companies around the globe to implement closures and restrictions.
Switzerland canceled next week's Geneva international car show, an important event for the auto industry. Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer, told its employees to defer all nonessential travel.
In Japan, Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan announced closures. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered schools to close at least through March.
The United States and South Korea called off joint military drills.
In Germany, about 1,000 people are being quarantined in the country's most populous state. The number of confirmed cases in Europe's biggest economy exceeded 50.
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Robert de Wintona
Brobt: /* Legacy */
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Biden Faces Critical Test in South Carolina as Sanders Continues to Surge
Voters in South Carolina cast ballots Saturday in the Democratic primary, providing a dramatic run-up to next week's crucial Super Tuesday marathon of 14 state primaries.
The South Carolina contest offers a handful of candidates another opportunity to slow the surge of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in their quest to derail President Donald Trump's reelection bid in the November general election.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the one-time front-runner who has stumbled badly in the first three primary and caucus contests, needs a win in South Carolina to sustain his campaign. Biden has struggled to raise money and spark enthusiasm among rank-and-file Democrats.
South Carolina was considered Biden's firewall because of the large percentage of African American voters who have long been loyal to him and former President Barack Obama. A loss to Sanders could force the former vice president out of the race.
Biden holds a 10-point lead over Sanders in the RealClearPolitics polling averages for South Carolina, but Tom Steyer, a billionaire and philanthropist who has invested substantial time and money in campaigning in South Carolina, appears to be cutting into Biden's lead.
Biden received a much-needed boost Wednesday when South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn endorsed him.
Sanders, an independent senator and self-described democratic socialist, goes into South Carolina as the clear national front-runner after securing a close second-place finish in Iowa and victories in New Hampshire and Nevada.
The South Carolina primary will provide the first substantial indication of how well candidates perform among African American voters, a critical Democratic constituency that makes up about 60% of the state's Democratic electorate, and 27% of the state's population.
A number of states with considerable African American populations will hold primaries on Super Tuesday, when about one-third of all delegates for the Democratic National Convention in July are at stake.
South Carolina voters will cast ballots for one of a number of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. Also battling for the nomination are former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.
Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is again, by choice, absent from the ballot in South Carolina after also skipping the first three nominating contests.
Bloomberg, a billionaire businessman, faces his first test on Super Tuesday.
South Carolina holds an open primary that allows registered voters to cast ballots in the primary of their choice. The state Republican Party canceled its primary, ceding the contest to Trump. The cancellation has prompted some Republicans, who greatly outnumber Democrats in the state, to say they will vote for Sanders in the Democratic primary, believing he would be easier for Trump to defeat in November.
There will be 54 pledged delegates at stake in South Carolina's Democratic primary who will be proportionately divided among the candidates who exceed a 15% threshold of the total votes cast. An impressive showing in South Carolina could help build momentum going into Super Tuesday.
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Trump Wins Showdown on Snub of Congressional Subpoenas
The White House won a key victory for presidential power Friday when an appeals court rejected a lawsuit over President Donald Trump blocking his former legal adviser from honoring a congressional subpoena.
The Washington appeals court ruled 2 to 1 that the U.S. judicial branch has no power to decide whether Trump could prevent former White House counsel Don McGahn from testifying in an investigation of the president by the House Judiciary Committee.
McGahn had been called last year to testify in the impeachment investigation of Trump, particularly on allegations that Trump illegally obstructed the Russia political interference probe.
But McGahn refused to appear on Trump's instruction, with the White House citing Trump's executive privileges.
The issue provoked a rare constitutional showdown in which the judiciary was asked to rule on the power struggle between the two other branches of government: the executive and legislative.
The House Judiciary Committee sued McGahn in the federal district court in Washington to force him to appear, effectively asking the court to favor its powers over the president's claim of executive privilege.
No Supreme Court ruling
Legal experts say that the U.S. Supreme Court, which decides key constitutional issues, has never ruled on such a question, but the lower court ruled in favor of the Judiciary Committee's position.
McGahn appealed, and on Friday the appeals court said that under the Constitution the judicial branch does not have the authority to referee such a power struggle between the other two branches, effectively supporting Trump's claim of near-absolute privilege and immunity.
"The committee's suit asks us to settle a dispute that we have no authority to resolve," the two judges in the majority wrote.
"We lack authority to resolve disputes between the Legislative and Executive Branches until their actions harm an entity beyond the Federal Government.
"We cannot decide this case without declaring the actions of one or the other unconstitutional," they added.
Key issue in impeachment
The ruling bolstered Trump's refusal to allow current and former White House staff to testify before Congress and to supply documents on the grounds of executive privilege.
The issue was key in the impeachment trial of Trump, which ended in his acquittal in February.
Trump was charged with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, the latter charge based on his refusal to supply documents and permit testimony in the face of congressional subpoenas.
Republicans criticized Democrats for rushing the trial without first pursuing the issue in the courts.
Democrats however said a legal battle would end up in the Supreme Court where a ruling would not likely happen before next year.
It was not immediately clear whether the committee will appeal the McGahn case to the Supreme Court.
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This Day in History: Feb. 29 "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" wins a record-tying 11 Academy Awards; A Monkees heartthrob dies.
February 29, 2020 at 02:00PM
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Laura Ingraham: Joe Biden's 'lagging campaign' lacks 'the Obama magic' -- and money Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden headed into Saturday's important South Carolina primary lacking two important things: "magic" and money, Fox News' Laura Ingraham noted Friday night.
February 29, 2020 at 01:43PM
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Hundreds of Indonesian Former IS Members, Families Could Become Stateless
A recent decision by the government in Jakarta not to repatriate hundreds of its citizens suspected of membership in the Islamic State (IS) terror group has set off a debate over the fate of the Indonesians, with some experts warning it could become an international dilemma if their citizenship is revoked.
Indonesian officials in the past reported that there were 689 former IS Indonesians detained mainly in northeast Syria, Turkey and Afghanistan. However, the country's Ministry of Law and Human Rights earlier this week said the number was as high as 1,276.
President Joko Widodo on Feb.12 said his government was no longer responsible for them "because it was their decision" to abandon their country to join IS. A day later, the presidential chief of staff, Moeldoko, told media the former IS members were considered stateless — people who have lost their nationality "automatically" without having to go through the country's legal procedures.
Rising threat of statelessness
Citizenship and international law experts said Jakarta's decision not to take home its citizens adds more complication to a rising threat of statelessness that is facing thousands of IS fighters and their families.
"There are serious global implications of states adopting citizenship deprivation laws, or temporary or permanent exclusion orders or practices, to deal with foreign fighters," said Michelle Foster, the director of Peter McMullin Center on Statelessness at Melbourne Law School in Victoria, Australia.
By refusing to take home their citizens, countries like Indonesia are essentially transferring the problem to other countries, Foster said.
"Indonesia has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects the right of everyone to return to his or her own country," she said. "Hence, if Indonesia prevents foreign fighters from returning, whether or not they retain Indonesian citizenship, it may be in breach of its obligations under this treaty."
Stateless defined
The United Nations considers a person who lacks nationality of any country as stateless. About 10 million people around the world are believed to be stateless, most of them minorities residing in different countries.
The U.N.'s 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is the main instrument setting rules for citizenship withdrawal and the rights of stateless people. Other than in limited circumstances, the treaty prohibits deprivation of nationality that could result in statelessness. Indonesia has not ratified that treaty, however.
Indonesia is not the first country to deny the return of its citizens accused of IS membership.
In northeastern Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have held nearly 2,000 foreign IS jihadists, as well as thousands of their wives and children from about 40 countries. Kurdish authorities have complained their facilities are overwhelmed and criticized those countries for refusing to repatriate their nationals.
Citizenship revocation of former IS members has been particularly controversial among the European countries, which, according to U.S. officials, have an estimated 800 of their nationals held in Syria. The British government last year stripped the citizenship of a Briton, Shamima Begum, who left the U.K. to join IS in Syria when she was 15 years old. Germany and Denmark later in 2019 enacted laws that allowed revoking the citizenship of their dual nationals who have fought with IS.
In the U.S., where American officials have repeatedly asked European Union allies to take responsibility for their IS citizens, a federal judge last November ruled that Hoda Muthana, a New Jersey-born woman who joined IS in Syria in 2014, was no longer an American citizen.
Fair trial
Watchdog organizations say the detained foreign fighters and their family members live in dire conditions, with children reportedly dying from preventable diseases. Additionally, those organizations warn that the detention facilities are at risk of IS prison break attempts. They say efforts by local authorities to try the foreigners are likely to fail as they lack legal infrastructure to ensure fair trails.
"All persons most responsible for the most serious crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, should be prosecuted in a fair trial," Clive Baldwin, a senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch, told VOA. He added that all countries should ensure their nationals can return home.
Indonesia's stance
Indonesian officials said their decision to strip the citizenship of the former IS members is based on the country's citizenship law enacted in 2006. The law said a person can voluntarily relinquish his or her citizenship or could lose it in cases such as voluntarily pledging allegiance to a foreign country.
Law experts said joining IS is not considered voluntary allegiance to a foreign entity because the group is an illegal terrorist organization. However, the experts are divided on whether the former IS members chose to end their Indonesian nationality by traveling to Syria.
Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at the University of Indonesia in Depok, told VOA Indonesian that authorities were likely to invoke the country's Government Regulation No. 2 of 2007, regarding citizenship to deal with ex-IS members. If the government uses that law, "in my opinion, they (former IS members) automatically lose their citizenship," Juwana said.
However, this interpretation has been challenged by other Indonesian legal experts, particularly those concerned about the fate of IS children.
Susanto, the head of Indonesian Child Protection Commission, told VOA that Jakarta was required by Law No. 25 of 2014 to give special protection to children victimized by terrorist networks.
She said the government was to ensure the children maintained their citizenship, while at the same time providing them with education and deradicalization programs.
Indonesian officials have not disclosed the number of children among the former IS Indonesians at risk of losing their citizenship. However, they have announced that the decision to abandon IS members excluded children younger than 10.
Some international law experts said it is difficult for countries to justify depriving the families of the IS foreign fighters, particularly children who are protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Indonesia is a party. The convention defines children as "every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable, majority is attained earlier."
"Wives and children should not lose their nationality on account of the actions of their husbands or fathers," said Brad Blitz, a professor of international politics and policy at the UCL Institute of Education at University College London.
"Given that protracted displacement is a fact for millions of refugees, and that in many refugee hosting states there is no opportunity for integration, it is highly likely that the women and children affected will spend many years in camplike settings," Blitz said.
Threat remains
Khairul Ghazali, an Indonesian former extremist, said the government decision to keep the former IS fighters and their families abroad was unlikely to eliminate the direct threat they pose to Indonesia. Regardless of the decision, the fighters could still reach back home and inspire militant activities.
Ghazali was arrested in 2010 in relation to a bank robbery and recruitment for an al-Qaida-linked organization. He has since denounced jihadist groups and dedicated his work to deradicalization among young people.
"The government has instruments including the TNI [Indonesian military], Polri [the national police], Densus 88 [special anti-terror force], and the National Agency and Counter Terrorism (BNPT) which is the front line in eradicating terrorism. When there is an act of terror, there are laws on terrorism," he told VOA, adding that Jakarta will be safer by taking the former fighters home.
Anugrah Andriansyah contributed to this story from Medan, North Sumatera.
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Hundreds of Indonesian Former IS Members, Families Could Become Stateless
A recent decision by the government in Jakarta not to repatriate hundreds of its citizens suspected of membership in the Islamic State (IS) terror group has set off a debate over the fate of the Indonesians, with some experts warning it could become an international dilemma if their citizenship is revoked.
Indonesian officials in the past reported that there were 689 former IS Indonesians detained mainly in northeast Syria, Turkey and Afghanistan. However, the country's Ministry of Law and Human Rights earlier this week said the number was as high as 1,276.
President Joko Widodo on Feb.12 said his government was no longer responsible for them "because it was their decision" to abandon their country to join IS. A day later, the presidential chief of staff, Moeldoko, told media the former IS members were considered stateless — people who have lost their nationality "automatically" without having to go through the country's legal procedures.
Rising threat of statelessness
Citizenship and international law experts said Jakarta's decision not to take home its citizens adds more complication to a rising threat of statelessness that is facing thousands of IS fighters and their families.
"There are serious global implications of states adopting citizenship deprivation laws, or temporary or permanent exclusion orders or practices, to deal with foreign fighters," said Michelle Foster, the director of Peter McMullin Center on Statelessness at Melbourne Law School in Victoria, Australia.
By refusing to take home their citizens, countries like Indonesia are essentially transferring the problem to other countries, Foster said.
"Indonesia has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which protects the right of everyone to return to his or her own country," she said. "Hence, if Indonesia prevents foreign fighters from returning, whether or not they retain Indonesian citizenship, it may be in breach of its obligations under this treaty."
Stateless defined
The United Nations considers a person who lacks nationality of any country as stateless. About 10 million people around the world are believed to be stateless, most of them minorities residing in different countries.
The U.N.'s 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness is the main instrument setting rules for citizenship withdrawal and the rights of stateless people. Other than in limited circumstances, the treaty prohibits deprivation of nationality that could result in statelessness. Indonesia has not ratified that treaty, however.
Indonesia is not the first country to deny the return of its citizens accused of IS membership.
In northeastern Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have held nearly 2,000 foreign IS jihadists, as well as thousands of their wives and children from about 40 countries. Kurdish authorities have complained their facilities are overwhelmed and criticized those countries for refusing to repatriate their nationals.
Citizenship revocation of former IS members has been particularly controversial among the European countries, which, according to U.S. officials, have an estimated 800 of their nationals held in Syria. The British government last year stripped the citizenship of a Briton, Shamima Begum, who left the U.K. to join IS in Syria when she was 15 years old. Germany and Denmark later in 2019 enacted laws that allowed revoking the citizenship of their dual nationals who have fought with IS.
In the U.S., where American officials have repeatedly asked European Union allies to take responsibility for their IS citizens, a federal judge last November ruled that Hoda Muthana, a New Jersey-born woman who joined IS in Syria in 2014, was no longer an American citizen.
Fair trial
Watchdog organizations say the detained foreign fighters and their family members live in dire conditions, with children reportedly dying from preventable diseases. Additionally, those organizations warn that the detention facilities are at risk of IS prison break attempts. They say efforts by local authorities to try the foreigners are likely to fail as they lack legal infrastructure to ensure fair trails.
"All persons most responsible for the most serious crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, should be prosecuted in a fair trial," Clive Baldwin, a senior legal adviser at Human Rights Watch, told VOA. He added that all countries should ensure their nationals can return home.
Indonesia's stance
Indonesian officials said their decision to strip the citizenship of the former IS members is based on the country's citizenship law enacted in 2006. The law said a person can voluntarily relinquish his or her citizenship or could lose it in cases such as voluntarily pledging allegiance to a foreign country.
Law experts said joining IS is not considered voluntary allegiance to a foreign entity because the group is an illegal terrorist organization. However, the experts are divided on whether the former IS members chose to end their Indonesian nationality by traveling to Syria.
Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law expert at the University of Indonesia in Depok, told VOA Indonesian that authorities were likely to invoke the country's Government Regulation No. 2 of 2007, regarding citizenship to deal with ex-IS members. If the government uses that law, "in my opinion, they (former IS members) automatically lose their citizenship," Juwana said.
However, this interpretation has been challenged by other Indonesian legal experts, particularly those concerned about the fate of IS children.
Susanto, the head of Indonesian Child Protection Commission, told VOA that Jakarta was required by Law No. 25 of 2014 to give special protection to children victimized by terrorist networks.
She said the government was to ensure the children maintained their citizenship, while at the same time providing them with education and deradicalization programs.
Indonesian officials have not disclosed the number of children among the former IS Indonesians at risk of losing their citizenship. However, they have announced that the decision to abandon IS members excluded children younger than 10.
Some international law experts said it is difficult for countries to justify depriving the families of the IS foreign fighters, particularly children who are protected by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Indonesia is a party. The convention defines children as "every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable, majority is attained earlier."
"Wives and children should not lose their nationality on account of the actions of their husbands or fathers," said Brad Blitz, a professor of international politics and policy at the UCL Institute of Education at University College London.
"Given that protracted displacement is a fact for millions of refugees, and that in many refugee hosting states there is no opportunity for integration, it is highly likely that the women and children affected will spend many years in camplike settings," Blitz said.
Threat remains
Khairul Ghazali, an Indonesian former extremist, said the government decision to keep the former IS fighters and their families abroad was unlikely to eliminate the direct threat they pose to Indonesia. Regardless of the decision, the fighters could still reach back home and inspire militant activities.
Ghazali was arrested in 2010 in relation to a bank robbery and recruitment for an al-Qaida-linked organization. He has since denounced jihadist groups and dedicated his work to deradicalization among young people.
"The government has instruments including the TNI [Indonesian military], Polri [the national police], Densus 88 [special anti-terror force], and the National Agency and Counter Terrorism (BNPT) which is the front line in eradicating terrorism. When there is an act of terror, there are laws on terrorism," he told VOA, adding that Jakarta will be safer by taking the former fighters home.
Anugrah Andriansyah contributed to this story from Medan, North Sumatera.
