Special News: January 2020

Friday 31 January 2020

Trump impeachment: Failed witnesses vote paves way for acquittal

Bid to call witnesses in the Trump impeachment trial fails, setting up a likely acquittal next week.

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The Papers: 'Make leave not war' and 'what next?'

Saturday's newspapers mark a "moment of history" as Britain leaves the European Union after 47 years.

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Coronavirus: US declares emergency and issues new entry rules

Foreign nationals who recently visited China will be barred and some US citizens will be quarantined.

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Kobe Bryant helicopter firm was not allowed to fly in fog

Island Express Helicopters was restricted to flying in clear conditions, officials say.

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Could you handle the most remote campsite on earth?

Take a look inside an Antarctic campsite and find out how they survive.

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Former GOP senator warns if witnesses are 'suppressed,' it could cause 'lasting damage to the Senate'

Former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) is encouraging Republican senators to vote in favor of calling witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial.Warner, 92, served in the Senate for 30 years. He said in a statement Thursday night he is "mindful of the difficult responsibilities those currently serving now shoulder. I believe, as I am sure you do, that not only is the president on trial, but in many ways so is the Senate itself. As such, I am strongly supportive of the efforts of my former Republican Senate colleagues who are considering that the Senate accept the introduction of additional evidence that they deem relevant."It wasn't so long ago that "senators of both major parties always worked to accommodate fellow colleagues with differing points of view to arrive at outcomes that would best serve the nation's interests," Warner said. "If witnesses are suppressed in this trial and a majority of Americans are left believing the trial was a sham, I can only imagine the lasting damage done to the Senate, and to our fragile national consensus."He went on to "respectfully urge the Senate to be guided by the rules of evidence and follow our nation's judicial norms, precedents, and institutions to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law by welcoming relevant witnesses and documents as part of the impeachment trial." The senators will vote Friday on whether to allow additional witnesses, and Democrats need four Republicans to join them in order to open that door.More stories from theweek.com Mitch McConnell's rare blunder John Bolton just vindicated Nancy Pelosi All the president's turncoats

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Putin Frees Israeli Backpacker, Helping Embattled Netanyahu

(Bloomberg) -- President Vladimir Putin’s pardon of an Israeli woman imprisoned in Russia on drug-smuggling charges gave a much-needed electoral gift to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Naama Issachar, 26, was released Thursday from a prison outside of Moscow, according to Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service. She was arrested in April and sentenced in October to 7 1/2 years for carrying a small amount of hashish on a transit flight via Moscow after a backpacking trip to India.Putin pardoned Issachar late Wednesday. He had previously rebuffed Netanyahu’s appeals for her release and his about-face couldn’t have been timed better for the premier, who’s battling fraud and bribery charges ahead of March elections. The Israeli leader flew to Moscow from Washington, where he attended the unveiling of the U.S. Middle East peace plan, whose heavy tilt in Israel’s direction also favored his campaign.Netanyahu said Russian-Israeli relations were the strongest in history as he thanked Putin at a Kremlin meeting, where the two men were due to discuss President Donald Trump’s new initiative to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The prime minister’s Twitter account later posted footage of him greeting a smiling Issachar and her mother, Yaffa, at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport. His plane later departed for Israel with the Issachars on board. A Kremlin foreign policy aide said earlier this month that Israel and Russia had made progress in settling a dispute over the ownership of Russian Orthodox Church property in Jerusalem, which Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said could form part of a quid pro quo to secure Issachar’s release. The property wasn’t mentioned in public statements in Moscow on Thursday.Yaffa Issachar asked the Russian leader in November to pardon her daughter in a letter handed to him by Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. Last week, she met with Putin in Jerusalem, where the president attended an international forum on the Holocaust on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army’s liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz death camp.Toughest BattleEarlier this week, Netanyahu was standing next to Trump and praising his peace plan as a “historic” opportunity to annex swaths of West Bank territory. With Issachar’s release -- she’ll be flying back home with him on his plane, Israeli media reported -- he now has another triumph to brandish as he faces the toughest battle of his political life.Victory eluded him in two inconclusive elections last year, and he’s started framing the March 2 vote as a contest between a prime minister burnishing Israel’s security, economy and global standing, and the inexperience of former military chief Benny Gantz, a political novice.His campaign also showcases Israel’s recent natural gas deals with Egypt and Jordan, for which he takes credit.As of late Wednesday, Netanyahu’s achievements hadn’t pushed his Likud party past Gantz’s Blue and White bloc in the polls, though neither man is expected to have enough support to form a majority government and break Israel’s political stalemate.(Updates with Issachar departing Russia in fifth paragraph.)\--With assistance from Henry Meyer, Alex Sazonov and Jake Rudnitsky.To contact the reporters on this story: Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net;Yaacov Benmeleh in Moscow at ybenmeleh@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Paul AbelskyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Colombia rejects Venezuelan proposal to resume diplomatic relations

Colombia rejected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's proposal that the two countries resume diplomatic relations on Thursday, amid a dispute over a fugitive former Colombian congresswoman who was captured in Venezuela. Maduro abruptly cut diplomatic relations with neighboring Colombia last February after Colombian President Ivan Duque helped Venezuelan opposition politicians deliver humanitarian aid to their crisis-stricken country.

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Lori Vallow didn't meet the Thursday deadline to turn her kids over to the state. Their grandma believes the 'monster' will face consequences.

Vallow had until Thursday to turn her children over to the state of Idaho. She missed it and is believed to still be in Hawaii.

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Thai holiday over, Chinese visitors fly home to Wuhan

The holiday was over for almost 80 Chinese visitors to Thailand. Wuhan has been under tight lockdown as Chinese authorities seek to contain further spread of the virus. The virus outbreak has attached a measure of fear and loathing to the city's name, as was demonstrated Friday when another group of Chinese tourists at the airport was asked whether they were the ones waiting for the flight to Wuhan.

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The U.S. Interior Department Grounds All of Its Chinese-Made Drones

If it was made in China—or uses Chinese parts—it ain't flying.

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Delta, American, and United just suspended all China flights, a red flag as the unprecedented coronavirus wreaks havoc on the airline industry

Demand has plummeted because of the coronavirus outbreak, putting airline profits and China's economy at risk.

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Remain in Mexico: 80% of migrants in Trump policy are victims of violence

Asylum seekers sent to Mexico to wait US court hearings under Trump scheme routinely targeted for abduction, survey findsA staggering 80% of asylum seekers sent to Mexico to await US court hearings report being victims of violence, according a survey by Doctors Without Borders (MSF).In one month – October – three-quarters of asylum seekers seen by MSF physicians in Nuevo Laredo reported having been kidnapped for ransom, according to the figures released on Wednesday.Some 44% of MSF patients also reported having been victims of violence in the week leading up to their consultations.Wednesday marked the first anniversary of a scheme officially known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), under which migrants seeking asylum in the United States are sent to Mexico to wait as their cases wind their way through US courts.Under the scheme, also known as “remain in Mexico”, more than 57,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers have been sent to wait in cities along the border – many of which have been plagued by drug-war violence for years.Migrants – who stand out because of their appearance and accents – are routinely targeted for abduction outside migration offices and bus terminals, and held until relatives back home wire ransom payments to the kidnappers.“The US continues to send asylum seekers back into danger and into the hands of the cartels that control the migration routes in Mexico,” said Sergio Martín, MSF general coordinator in Mexico.“The Mexican government lacks the ability to provide the most minimum of conditions for thousands of people who are being sent to its territory,” he said.Migrants are at risk along the entire border, “but mainly in places like Nuevo Laredo, where there is serious violence – and migrants are ‘merchandise’ for organised crime,” Martín said.Nuevo Laredo is considered so insecure that the US government has issued a Level 4: “Do not travel” alert to its citizens for the city and surrounding state of Tamaulipas – the same as war-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan.The Cartel del Noreste – an offshoot of the blood thirsty Zetas cartel – “operates a sophisticated kidnapping business that targets asylum seekers – many of whom are women and children – who enter the city,” said Stephanie Leutert, director of the Mexico Security Initiative at the Strauss Center at the University of Texas.“The kidnappers charge several thousand dollars for each kidnapped asylum seeker and operate with almost complete impunity.”The Mexican government promised to provide asylum seekers with shelter, work permits and access to health services, but observers say many of the migrants have been left to fend for themselves.On Wednesday, the US department of homeland security announced that the scheme would be expanded to include Brazilians. Brazilian arrivals at the border have tripled in the past year.

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What’s Impeachable? Nothing, Republicans Seem to Say

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Get Jonathan Bernstein’s newsletter every morning in your inbox. Click here to subscribe.The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump moved to questions from senators on Wednesday. It wasn’t an encouraging day.The president’s lawyers moved closer than ever to simply embracing the idea that the president can do whatever he wants. Alan Dershowitz even went so far as to argue that since presidents always think that their re-election is in the national interest, they cannot be legitimately impeached for any use of their powers of office to aid that re-election. This would have been good news for President Richard Nixon. And surprising news to pretty much everyone throughout U.S. history. It appears more and more that even if the House managers serving as the impeachment prosecutors are eventually allowed to call one or more witnesses, the trial will end after establishing the principles that the president may use the powers of the office any way he or she wishes to without constraint, and that presidents will no longer have any legal obligation to submit to congressional oversight. That said, future Congresses will still have plenty of weapons to use to fight back against presidential misbehavior. And it’s true that impeachment has never been a particularly strong congressional weapon. But now it will be weaker. Presidents will be emboldened, and the norm that the president’s party will exercise absolute fealty to the Oval Office, which has been building since the 1980s, will be even further strengthened. The Republican Party, meanwhile, has fully surrendered to its least responsible members; not just Trump, but the worst of the House Freedom Caucus and its allies in the Republican-aligned media. There was a defense of the president available that involved accepting the overwhelming evidence that he had tried to use the powers of his office to force the government of Ukraine to help his 2020 re-election campaign, and declaring it not quite up to the level of impeachment and removal. Instead, the president’s team, with the support of most Republican senators and the apparent willingness of the rest to go along, staked out wild constitutional positions, used their time to throw mud (including flat-out falsehoods) at former Vice President Joe Biden and anyone else who gets in their way, and generally disgrace themselves. The House managers did not respond in kind. Indeed, when one Democratic senator invited them to attack Trump’s children, manager Val Demings, a representative from Florida, dismissed the question and asked everyone to stick to the topic at hand. (Immediately after which Trump’s lawyers resumed their attack on Biden’s son). I do wonder whether the House managers have made the right choice in putting so much emphasis on hearing from witnesses. It’s true, as I noted at the start of the trial, that the question of witnesses polls well, and it puts pressure on Republicans up for re-election later this year. But it’s also true that every minute House managers spend on the question of witnesses and other procedural issues is a minute they’re not spending making the case for what Trump did wrong and why it matters. They have, of course, spent time on that as well. Not, however, as much as they could have if they had spent less time on the other fight.Most senators used their opportunity to ask questions to instead give their partisan side a chance to repeat talking points. A few — notably Mitt Romney of Utah — did ask serious questions. I’m not inclined to judge senators harshly for that; it’s not as if tough questions to the opposite trial team would force errors and break things open. At any rate, it appears likely that the trial will end by Friday or, in what appears now to be the unlikely event that four Republicans join the Democrats in calling a small number of witnesses, soon after. And then we’ll all see what a Trump freed from the fear of impeachment will be like. I suspect it isn’t going to be pretty.1\. Lynn Vavreck and Chris Tausanovitch on ideology and Democratic voters.2\. Sarah Binder at the Monkey Cage on the politics of calling former National Security Adviser John Bolton as a witness. 3\. Also at the Monkey Cage: Dan Hopkins on Ezra Klein’s book, “Why We’re Polarized.”4\. Julia Azari considers a Bernie Sanders presidency. 5\. Matt Grossmann talks with Lee Drutman and Jack Santucci about multiparty politics in the U.S.6\. Pema Levy on electability and women running for president.7\. NBC News has a terrific resource on the history of the Iowa caucuses.8\. And Ryan Goodman looks at the obituaries of House Judiciary Committee Republicans from 1974. Fascinating.Get Early Returns every morning in your inbox. Click here to subscribe. Also subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, the Bloomberg Open and the Bloomberg Close.To contact the author of this story: Jonathan Bernstein at jbernstein62@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonathan Landman at jlandman4@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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U.S. declares coronavirus public health emergency after imposing quarantines

The Trump administration, while insisting the risk to Americans from coronavirus is low, nevertheless declared a public health emergency on Friday and announced the extraordinary step of barring entry to the United States of foreign nationals who have traveled to China. In addition, starting on Sunday U.S. citizens who have traveled within the past two weeks to China's Hubei Province - epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic - will be subject to a mandatory quarantine of 14 days: the incubation period of the virus, officials said. The emergency measures were unveiled by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at a White House briefing, shortly before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health authorities announced a seventh U.S. coronavirus case had been confirmed in Northern California.

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7,000 People Trapped on Mediterranean Cruise in Italy Over Suspected Coronavirus Case

ROME—More than 7,000 people were quarantined on an Italian cruise ship in the Mediterranean port of Civitavecchia outside of Rome after a Chinese woman from Hong Kong came down with a fever and symptoms that mimic the coronavirus. Initial tests seemed to exclude the deadly virus, according to Italian media, but passengers were expected to be kept onboard overnight as a precaution. A second round of tests late Thursday completely excluded contagion, and Italy’s health authorities gave the green light for passengers to disembark. But as of Thursday evening, the mayor of Civitavecchia refused to authorize any passengers to get off the ship. Tourism operators, suddenly confronted with a new nightmare scenario tied to the virus, scrambled to address fears of an outbreak on a cruise ship. “We have no information, the internet inside the ship isn’t working, and we can’t get news. But above all we take meals together in the common areas, and we don’t know if someone is infected,” Liborio Iervolino, a cruise passenger from Puglia said. ‘There are no disposable dishes and in the rooms, the televisions only broadcast advertisements. We would like to see the news and understand what is happening.”The Costa Smerelda, the fifth-largest cruise ship in the world and the flagship of an Italian company best known for the 2011 crash of the Costa Concordia on Tuscan island of Giglio, departed from Savona, Italy, on Jan. 25 with 6,000 passengers and 1,000 crew onboard. The massive, 19-deck vessel made stops in Marseilles, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca before docking in Civitavecchia on Thursday. It was scheduled to return to Savona for the Feb. 1 end of the cruise. But passengers who had lined up for a Rome excursion or to disembark at its penultimate stop were told to stay on the ship after medics in full hazmat suits boarded the vessel Thursday morning to check on a female Chinese patient in her fifties who was in the ship’s hospital. The woman, along with her asymptomatic husband and the medical team who treated her during the voyage, are being held in isolation on the ship. Samples from the woman were sent to the Lazzaro Spallanzani infectious disease hospital in Rome to be tested. Citizens of the port town of Civitavecchia have gone to the port to protest the disembarkation of 1,143 passengers whose voyage was scheduled to end in their town. “All the protocols are being followed and we will keep the case constantly monitored,” Civitavecchia’s mayor, Ernesto Tedesco, told worried citizens as he threatened to sue the cruise company if they disembarked before the full test results were back.The Costa company confirmed to The Daily Beast that the couple were among more than 750 Chinese or Hong Kong passengers on the voyage. Of those, 351 embarked on Jan. 25 in Savona along with the sick passenger, while others got on at the ship’s various ports of call in Spain and France. The couple arrived in Italy for the Jan. 25 embarkation on a flight from Hong Kong to Milan’s Malpensa airport, which means if the woman is confirmed to have the virus, health officials will then begin tracing anyone who flew with her, since the virus can be contagious even before symptoms show. A Costa representative would not confirm when the woman first reported being sick.“The situation is under control and at the moment there are no reasons for concern on board,” Italian Coast Guard Commander Vincenzo Leone said in a statement Thursday.Passengers reached by The Daily Beast via social media say they were not told directly that the woman was suspected of carrying the virus, but were told to alert crew members if they were sick with fever or respiratory conditions. Several passengers have tweeted that they should have been told earlier in the voyage that they might be at risk. Many complained that they were not given face masks or rubber gloves to prevent infection.Teens Are Now Claiming They Have Coronavirus for Tik Tok CloutRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Alibaba billionaire Jack Ma, China's richest man, pledged $14.5 million to fight the coronavirus

The money will be donated through Ma's charitable foundation, which will use it to help medical research efforts and disease prevention.

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Trump impeachment: John Bolton defends officials who testified against president in inquiry

A former top Trump official has defended leading witnesses who have testified against the US president in his impeachment inquiry, according to local media.John Bolton reportedly said the ex-members of the Trump administration “acted in the best interest of the country as they saw it” as Democrats push to hear his own testimony.

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U.S. envoy warns Palestinians against raising opposition to U.S. peace plan at U.N.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will speak in the U.N. Security Council in the next two weeks about the plan, Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour said on Wednesday, adding that he hoped the 15-member council would also vote on a draft resolution on the issue.

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Pakistan: No immediate plans to evacuate citizens from China

A top Pakistani health official said Thursday that Islamabad had no immediate plan to evacuate any of some 30,000 nationals living in China to study and work, despite the new coronavirus that surfaced there. Zafar Mirza, who advises Prime Minister Imran Khan on health issues, told a news conference that so far only four Pakistani students in China have been diagnosed with the new virus and their conditions are listed as stable. China has been largely praised for its response to the outbreak.

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Photos of stores in Wuhan show what life is like under the coronavirus lockdown

The quarantine and fears of coronavirus have made Wuhan a ghost city. Residents only occasionally go out to stock up on supplies.

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Mayor Pete’s South Bend Awarded No Major Contracts to Black-Owned Firms for Three Years

DES MOINES, Iowa—Of the many pledges that Pete Buttigieg has made in his as-yet unfruitful quest to earn the support of black voters, his guarantee that a quarter out of every federal contracting dollar will be awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses is one of his most ambitious. “Look at what it would be like if we were co-investing in promising businesses led by black entrepreneurs, start-ups and other kinds of businesses that have the best track record of creating the kind of employment that can help lift people up economically,” Buttigieg told BET in September. But an analysis of such spending during Buttigieg’s tenure as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, shows that the presidential hopeful fell dramatically short of that goal. According to a 2019 study analyzing the city’s contract data conducted by Colette Holt & Associates, a national law and consulting firm specializing in disparity studies, the city of South Bend did not award a major contract to a black-owned business for three straight years.The study found that from 2015 through 2017, the city of South Bend distributed $83,675,547 in contract dollars, roughly 12 percent of the city’s contracts, to businesses owned by racial and gender minorities—and none to a black-owned business, despite the study finding that there were more than 200 qualifying minority-owned firms in the market at the time.Minority-owned and women-owned businesses make up 15 percent of the market in the city, which means that while South Bend was close to achieving proportional awards for some categories, black-owned businesses continued to lag. While the city is more than 25 percent black by population, eligible black-owned contractors make up a mere 3.25 percent. More than 88 percent of contracts between 2015 and 2017 went to businesses not owned by women or racial minorities.At the same time, Buttigieg’s administration awarded numerous lucrative contracts to past campaign donors and to corporations whose lobbyists and executives had given to Buttigieg’s mayoral election efforts.One minority business owner told the study’s authors that South Bend employees “are trained to believe that black folks, poor people, or minorities can’t deliver,” and that she keeps her status as the owner of a minority-owned business under wraps because the “stigma” has kept her from winning contracts.“I really felt like [the city of South Bend] didn’t want me to have the job. It wasn’t because I wasn’t the best at what I do, because I am—it was just because they would say, ‘Well, you don’t need that much money,’ like, ‘You just a little black girl. You won't need that much money,’” she told the study’s authors. “Our problem is that people are trained to believe that black folks, poor people, or minorities can’t deliver… There’s a whole lot of black people in here that wanna do something, and somebody needs to see that.” Another black business owner said that the difficulty in obtaining South Bend city contracts had even led to some minority-owned businesses to go under.“There are black-owned construction companies, but one reason a lot of them that I talked to went out of business [is] because they can’t get contracts with the city,” the business owner said. “So, they can’t get any big contracts, then they have to try to build their business with only small ones, and it’s hard to maintain a cash flow with the other issues that you deal with.” The analysis, titled “The South Bend Disparity Study” and produced at Buttigieg’s behest, measured contracts and subcontracts worth $50,000 and up, and found a 72.38 percent disparity ratio for contract utilization of minority-owned business enterprises in the city. That ratio measures the participation of a group in contracting opportunities by dividing that group’s utilization by the availability of that group to participate in the contracting process.A disparity ratio of less than 100 indicates that a given group is utilized less than would be expected based on availability; a ratio of less than 80 percent has been presented by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as indicating a prima facie case of discrimination.Buttigieg’s poor track record on awarding city contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses has been reported before. In November 2019, shortly after his proposal mandating that the city award 15 percent of its contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses was passed through South Bend’s city council, the Intercept reported that Buttigieg had only awarded 3 percent of city contracts to black-owned businesses as mayor, citing annual audits conducted by the city.But the outside analysis by Colette Holt & Associates, revealing the eye-popping three-year stretch with zero contract awards to black-owned businesses, has not been reported, and comes at a moment when even Buttigieg’s most diehard fans are growing increasingly anxious that his statistically insignificant support among black registered voters represents an insurmountable obstacle to his electability.“It is a concern! It is a concern about the South—can he win in the South? Can he win the black vote?” June Schindler, a potential supporter, told The Daily Beast, at a Buttigieg town hall in Ottumwa on Tuesday. “It’s a concern.”Buttigieg’s campaign pointed to the small number of eligible black-owned firms in the region as a partial explanation for why South Bend lagged so far behind the former mayor’s Douglass Plan. In an interview with Charlamagne Tha God last week, Buttigieg explained that the disparity study was a painful but crucial step to understanding how the city would address the problem in the future.“We found out that we are below where we ought to be,” Buttigieg said, of the city’s contracts with black-owned firms. “That wasn’t a surprise, but now I had the legal power to do something about it.”While Buttigieg has touted the creation of a training program aimed at helping minority-owned and women-owned businesses apply for city contracts, the city was slow to improve the city’s designated official in charge of ensuring minority- and women-owned businesses were being included in the selection process. In 2014, Buttigieg’s office proposed cutting the hours for the city’s Diversity Compliance Officer position from 32 hours a week to 18 hours per week. At the time, members of the city’s Common Council expressed open concern that cutting the officer’s hours would undermine efforts to expand the number of contracts awarded to such businesses.“I don’t think 18 hours per week is going to be enough to support the goals of the ordinance,” said Valerie Schey, a Democrat on the council, in August 2014. “Even with a 32-hour workweek, the workload has been enormous.”The move would have saved the city roughly $18,000 per year.In 2016, that role was instead changed following the signing of an executive order by Buttigieg ordering the creation of South Bend’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion, a position intended to boost the number of contracts and subcontracts to minority- and women-owned businesses with the job description of “[leading] efforts to make hiring and management practices more inclusive, and city purchasing more diverse.”Christina Brooks, who served as South Bend’s first Diversity & Inclusion Officer until last year and hired the firm Colette Holt and Associates to conduct a disparity study, said in a statement that the shift in resources was critical for the city to understand how poor its history of awarding contracts to minority-owned businesses had been up to that point. “It wasn’t a priority for three decades until Pete shifted resources to really focus on this by creating a department that was intentional about supporting, creating, and sustaining women- and minority-owned businesses and building up capacity,” Brooks said.During the same three-year period that black-owned businesses received zero dollars in city contracts, South Bend did award plenty of city contracts to businesses owned by white men—including several generous political donors who had supported Buttigieg’s mayoral campaigns and his ill-fated run for Indiana state treasurer in 2010.Among the beneficiaries of city contracts include lobbyist Brad Queisser, whose lobbying firm, mCapitol, and its parent company, MWH, gave $2,000 in cash and an in-kind contribution of $2,577.82 to Buttigieg’s 2011 mayoral campaign. The firm was later contracted to lobby the federal government on South Bend’s behalf, and was paid $230,000 over the next three years for its lobbying work. In 2014, MWH was awarded a contract worth as much as $2 million by South Bend’s Board of Public Works to modernize the city’s sewers—a favorite achievement of Buttigieg’s. Four months later, it won an additional $430,000 in city contracts for its work on the system.Another lobbyist later hired to work on the city’s sewer plan was Thomas New, executive director of government affairs at the Indianapolis law firm Krieg DeVault. New, who had donated $1,500 to Buttigieg’s 2010 treasurer campaign, was later retained by the city to handle federal authorities on the plan.The Buttigieg campaign has explained in the past that both Queisser and New had been involved in city contract work and municipal politics long before Buttigieg first ran for mayor.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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Hungary to build more prisons to tackle overcrowding, halt inmates' lawsuits

Hungary will begin an ambitious prison-building program in an attempt to stem a tide of costly lawsuits by inmates complaining of overcrowding and inhumane conditions, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. Orban accused "business-savvy lawyers" of exploiting the conditions to launch 12,000 lawsuits against the Hungarian state for breaking EU prison standards, leading to penalties of 10 billion forints ($33 million) in total. Orban, who has often come under fire from the European Union and rights groups over his perceived erosion of the rule of law since he took power in 2010, announced plans for more prisons to reduce the prison overcrowding and disarm "malignant lawyers".

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Thursday 30 January 2020

North Korea says it has intensified efforts to block virus

North Korea is intensifying efforts to prevent the spread of a new virus from China into the isolated country by blocking tourists, reducing flights and mobilizing more screening efforts, a health official said Thursday. It has sickened thousands, most of them China, but South Korea has reported six cases.

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New York Is Urged to Consider Surge Pricing for Taxis

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‘You know your client is guilty’: Trump impeachment lawyer’s defence accused of being ‘descent into madness’

Senator Adam Schiff, lead impeachment manager in the Senate trial of Donald Trump, has called arguments made by the president’s defence team a “descent into constitutional madness”.Mr Schiff’s indignation with the president’s defence came in response to comments made by Mr Trump’s lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, who argued his client couldn’t be impeached for an action he thought might get him re-elected.

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More American Troops Sustain Brain Injuries From Iran Missile Strike in Iraq

By BY THOMAS GIBBONS-NEFF from NYT World https://ift.tt/2t90lce

Erdogan Warns Russia Risks Split With Turkey on Syria Attack

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced rare recent criticism of Russia for its conduct in Syria, saying his “patience is running out” over the ongoing bombing of opposition Islamist forces in Idlib province.“As of now, Russia is loyal to neither Astana nor Sochi” agreements, Erdogan told reporters on his way back from a visit to African countries, according to Anadolu Agency.He was referring to accords struck by the two countries in recent years to curtail fighting in northern Syria. Russia and Turkey have stepped up their cooperation in the Syrian conflict while finding themselves on opposite sides of other Middle Eastern conflicts, such as the one in Libya.“If we are loyal partners, Russia will make its position clear,” Erdogan said. “Either it will have a different process with Syria, or it will have a different process with Turkey. There’s no other way.”The comments follow reports that Syrian government forces, backed by Russia, have taken control of Ma’arrat al-Nu’man, the biggest town in Idlib province. The strategically important area last changed hands in 2012, Anadolu reported on Wednesday.Russia responded to Erdogan’s comments by saying it’s committed to strictly implementing its obligations on Syria, the state-run Tass news service reported, citing the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.Millions of Syrians fleeing fighting in Syria over the years have headed for Turkey, and officials there have long warned of another major exodus as combat escalates in Idlib.(Updates with Russian Foreign Ministry in sixth paragraph)To contact the reporter on this story: Firat Kozok in Ankara at fkozok@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Paul AbelskyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Everyone Wants a Piece

By BY LISA LERER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2OgG4ZQ

Gunman fires at Indian protesters after threatening 'final journey' live on Facebook

A gunman went live on Facebook to warn he was taking his "final journey" before firing at a protest against India's new citizenship law in Delhi on Thursday, wounding a student. The shooter, dressed in a black jacket, brandished a single-barrel weapon as he stood meters away from dozens of policemen outside Jamia Millia Islamia University, where more than 1,000 protesters had gathered for a march. "He was in front of all the people - protesters and policemen who were standing nearby, but he jumped in from this side, brandished the gun and said 'Come I will give you freedom'," a witness who gave his name as Aamir said.

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¿Hará el papa Francisco un milagro con la deuda de Argentina?

By BY MARCELO J. GARCÍA from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2RIDCgw

Alexander asks about the differences in bipartisanship under Nixon and Trump.

By BY EMILY COCHRANE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2uKxHPa

Day 9 of Trump’s Trial: Tedium and Tea-Leaf Reading

By BY MICHELLE COTTLE from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/36N2iJq

Fred Silverman, 82, Is Dead; a TV Force When Three Networks Ruled

By BY NEIL GENZLINGER from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3aT23zv

Fotis Dulos, Connecticut Man Accused of Killing Jennifer Dulos, Is Dead

By BY MICHAEL GOLD from NYT New York https://ift.tt/2S7xWM8

Senators break for dinner.

By BY NICHOLAS FANDOS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2UerWE3

HS2: Government review 'advises against cancelling' project

The review, seen by the BBC, advises against cancelling the high speed rail scheme.

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Manufacturers urge clarity on post-Brexit trade

As Britain prepares to leave EU, businesses say the future trading relationship remains unclear.

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Fox News Breaking News Alert

Fox News Breaking News Alert

PROGRAMMING ALERT: Sen. Rand Paul talks impeachment fight on 'The Story,' 7 pm ET

01/30/20 3:52 PM

New best story on Hacker News: Monoliths Are the Future

Monoliths Are the Future
634 by feross | 380 comments on Hacker News.

Amazon Christmas sales soar as rivals struggle

Sales were up 20% over the festive season in sharp contrast to weakness at other retailers.

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HS2: Government review 'advises against cancelling' project

The review, seen by the BBC, advises against cancelling the high speed rail scheme.

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Nicaragua: Six indigenous people reportedly killed in attack

The Mayagna group has been involved in disputes with new settlers searching for land and resources.

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The Papers: Will Brexit hail a 'new dawn' or a 'small island'?

The papers mark the day the UK leaves the EU - "Brexit day" - with a mixture of optimism and regret.

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FOX NEWS: Officials confirm first US human-to-human transmission of coronavirus

Officials confirm first US human-to-human transmission of coronavirus

The coronavirus patient is the husband of a Chicago traveler who became ill shortly after returning from Wuhan, China; Jonathan Serrie reports.

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FOX NEWS: How is coronavirus transmitted?

How is coronavirus transmitted?

Since it was first reported in China last month, the deadly coronavirus has spread to more than a dozen countries, with more than 7,800 cases reported and 170 deaths.

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Wednesday 29 January 2020

Authorities find longest Southwest border smuggling tunnel

U.S. authorities on Wednesday announced the discovery of the longest smuggling tunnel ever found on the Southwest border, stretching more than three-quarters of a mile from an industrial site in Tijuana, Mexico, to the San Diego area. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it featured an extensive rail/cart system, forced air ventilation, high voltage electrical cables and panels, an elevator at the tunnel entrance, and a complex drainage system. “This one blows past (the second-longest),” said Lance LeNoir, a Border Patrol operations supervisor.

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'It's hysteria': Asian students at Arizona State University say they're being treated differently after a case of the Wuhan coronavirus was confirmed there

A case of the coronavirus was confirmed at Arizona State University on Sunday, and Asian students have felt backlash ever since.

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Bolton, who may hold impeachment bombshell, has a history of settling scores

John Bolton has many times before been at the center of a maelstrom that is in good part of his own making. And each time, he has somehow emerged eager for more.

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U.N. says offices in Geneva, Vienna targeted by 'well-resourced' cyberattack last year

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Japan confirms virus in man who had not been to China

Japanese authorities said Tuesday a man with no recent travel to China has contracted the novel strain of coronavirus -- apparently after driving tourists visiting from Wuhan, where a deadly outbreak began. The man in his sixties from Nara in western Japan drove two groups of Wuhan tourists earlier in January and was hospitalised on Saturday with flu-like symptoms, the health ministry said. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said the country had confirmed two new cases, bringing the total so far in Japan to six.

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'Who mentored you?' Retired US Army general slams Mike Pompeo and his West Point graduating class

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has come under intense fire in recent days.

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As Coronavirus Spreads, Warren Unveils Disease-Prevention Plan

(Bloomberg) -- The coronavirus has been in the news for only a few weeks, but Elizabeth Warren already has a plan to fight it.With Hong Kong announcing restrictions on travel from mainland China as part of an effort to contain the SARS-like virus that has claimed more than 100 lives, Warren released a proposal Tuesday morning aimed at containing and treating infectious diseases.“Diseases like coronavirus remind us why we need robust international institutions, strong investments in public health, and a government that is prepared to jump into action at a moment’s notice,” she wrote in a Medium post announcing the plan.Warren criticized President Donald Trump’s response to the outbreak, calling it “a mess.” and assailed the administration’s proposed funding cuts for feeral health agencies.She said her administration would prioritize developing a universal flu vaccine and replenish funding for the Public Health Emergency Fund, with the goal of speeding outbreak response. She proposed restoring an Obama-era White House position for health security that Trump eliminated in 2018. Warren also cited outbreaks as a reason to move towards Medicare For All, a policy proposal that she has espoused, saying it would give infected people access necessary care.This post is part of Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.To contact the author of this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Kathleen HunterFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Trumpworld torn over running against Bernie

Some advisers are salivating over running against a socialist. Others say they need to be careful what they wish for.

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Wonga borrowers 'to get 4.3% of compensation claims'

Claimants against the payday lender have been told they will receive little in compensation.

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HS2: Chancellor Sajid Javid 'backs project' ahead of crucial meeting

It is understood the chancellor will tell Boris Johnson he supports the London to Birmingham rail link.

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Roman Polanski 'French Oscar' nomination sparks outrage

The 86-year-old has been wanted in the US for decades over the statutory rape of a 13-year-old.

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New top story on Hacker News: Facebook to Pay $550M to Settle Facial Recognition Suit

Facebook to Pay $550M to Settle Facial Recognition Suit
9 by i_am_not_elon | 0 comments on Hacker News.

New top story on Hacker News: Self_update: In-place updates for Rust executables

Self_update: In-place updates for Rust executables
5 by adamnemecek | 1 comments on Hacker News.

HS2: Chancellor Sajid Javid 'backs project' ahead of crucial meeting

It is understood the chancellor will tell Boris Johnson he supports the London to Birmingham rail link.

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Wonga borrowers 'to get 4.3% of compensation claims'

Claimants against the payday lender have been told they will receive little in compensation.

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Australia fires: Footage shows speed fires can spread

The newly released footage from New South Wales shows how quickly a bushfire can spread.

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The papers: ITV anchor quits and HS2 'to get green light'

The papers focus on HS2's future, why an ITV newsreader is stepping down, and job cuts at BBC News.

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FOX NEWS: As coronavirus spreads, Beijing suburbs close themselves off

As coronavirus spreads, Beijing suburbs close themselves off

Wary residents on the outskirts of Beijing have taken their own measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus from outsiders by effectively closing off their towns from the rest of the world.

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FOX NEWS: Coronavirus case at ASU prompts petition for university to cancel classes

Coronavirus case at ASU prompts petition for university to cancel classes

Students at Arizona State University are demanding the cancellation of classes after the nation’s fifth and most recent case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed in Arizona.

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FOX NEWS: Coronavirus vaccine to be developed from digital DNA sequencing

Coronavirus vaccine to be developed from digital DNA sequencing

A Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical company is helping to fast-track a vaccine to help quell the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

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FOX NEWS: Coronavirus cases in US should not cause mass panic, experts warn: 'You are more at risk for the flu'

Coronavirus cases in US should not cause mass panic, experts warn: 'You are more at risk for the flu'

As the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, how concerned should you be?

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FOX NEWS: Wisconsin man's family stuck in coronavirus epicenter

Wisconsin man's family stuck in coronavirus epicenter

Samuel Roth's wife and two little girls went to China to visit their family for the annual Spring festival. A couple of days later, Coronavirus hit Wuhan and they found themselves at the epicenter of a global crisis.

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