Trump said coronavirus won’t spread — his scientists said the opposite right in front of him: Congresswoman

Published February 26, 2020 By Sarah K. Burris

Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) blasted President Donald Trump after his press conference Wednesday because he contradicted his own scientists on the coronavirus.

During an MSNBC discussion after the Q&A, the Congresswoman explained that it only confuses Americans more.

“He’s not doing very well on the coronavirus,” she said. “Because the test of leadership is not talking about something you know very little about and he just confused the American people about whether this virus is going to spread. All the scientists said it is going to spread and the president gave the opposite impression. And presidents have to know that when they’re in a situation like this with complicated science, they put the scientists, physicians in front of them, preferably, by the way, in white coats, and let them reassure the American people.”

She said that the last thing the country needs is uncertainty about a health crisis.

It was something that didn’t go unnoticed by MSNBC’s Chris Jansing either.

Press conference in brief
Expert: Spread of coronavirus inevitable
Trump: I don't think it's inevitable
Expert: Vaccine a year to 18 months away
Trump: We'll have a vaccine in fairly quick manner
Trump: We have to be on the same team
Trump: Nancy Pelosi is incompetent
— Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) February 27, 2020

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‘He has no clue’: Internet slams Trump’s ‘breathtaking’ incoherence at coronavirus press conference

February 26, 2020 By Matthew Chapman

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump gave a barely intelligible press conference on the coronavirus outbreak, during which he claimed he saved America by shutting down flights, appointed Vice President Mike Pence to lead a coronavirus task force despite having few qualifications to do so, suggesting his public health budget cuts are no big deal because he can just hire more doctors later, and insisting that it was Democrats, rather than the epidemic, that tanked the stock market this week.

Commenters on social media laid into the president for his performance, blasting his lack of leadership and credibility:

Trump is describing a conversation he had now where he said “is the coronavirus just the flu?”
*BANGS HEAD ON TABLE*
— Elizabeth C. McLaughlin (@ECMcLaughlin) February 27, 2020


He’s back to marveling about the flu. HE IS ACTIVELY STUPID.
— Jason Karsh (@jkarsh) February 27, 2020

That answer from Trump on budget cuts may just be about the most absurd thing I’ve ever heard. They can hire doctors quickly if they need them? He has no clue how biomedical research works. None
— Sam Stein (@samstein) February 27, 2020

I was going to post a quote from Being There to make a point about this nutty press conference, but then I realized people would almost surely think I was quoting Trump.
— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) February 27, 2020

Ah, good, the guy whose policies as governor sparked an HIV outbreak in Indiana is on the case. Fantastic.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) February 26, 2020

So the dude whose regressive policies lead to an HIV outbreak in Indiana is in charge of the coronavirus?
Why not just inject me with it right now.
— Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) February 27, 2020

Putting Mike Pence in charge of combating the corona virus is like putting Trump in charge of a teenage beauty pageant — everything we know of their history shows this is a terrible idea.
— Charlotte Clymer ️‍ (@cmclymer) February 27, 2020

This has evolved into another Trump rally.
— Kim Franklin-Magana (@InspiringU2) February 27, 2020

The deputy director of the CDC, a 30-year career official, is standing stoic, staring straight ahead, as Trump’s coronavirus news conference becomes about… other things.
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) February 27, 2020

“This isn’t about political advantage,” the president says, after blaming the stock market tanking on the Democratic debate and attacking Nancy Pelosi.
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) February 27, 2020

Don’t worry, folks, the president of the US knows how to fix this pandemic thing: wash your hands a lot. The president washes his hands A LOT and you should too. Wash, wash, wash. See us wash.
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) February 27, 2020

the flu epidemic of 1918 killed about 50 million people worldwide, more than 600,000 in the US. Keep that in mind when Trump downplays how bad the flu can be.
— ceut (@ceut) February 27, 2020

Dow futures turned from positive to negative during Trump’s coronavirus news conference
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) February 27, 2020

Trump says “we will essentially have a flu shot for this in a fairly quick manner” . His top infectious diseases expert – standing right next to him – said it will take a year to 18 months. Also, HE said coronavirus is not the flu
— Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) February 27, 2020

The level of ignorance, incoherence and incompetence on display at the WH podium right now is breathtaking.
— Michael R. Bromwich (@mrbromwich) February 27, 2020

Press conference in brief
Expert: Spread of coronavirus inevitable
Trump: I don’t think it’s inevitable
Expert: Vaccine a year to 18 months away
Trump: We’ll have a vaccine in fairly quick manner
Trump: We have to be on the same team
Trump: Nancy Pelosi is incompetent
— Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) February 27, 2020

Well, that press conference is a total disaster
We need a leader that’s going to address this no matter what the cost
not a business man pinching pennies while he gambles with 100’s of millions of people’s lives.
Fuck that.
— cryborg (@cryborg) February 27, 2020

Epidemics are one reason you want a meritocratic, apolitical civil service staffing your government, instead of a bunch of toadies, quislings and yes men. This applies to other serious crises as well, and the country has been deeply fortunate not to encounter more of them.
— Adam Serwer (@AdamSerwer) February 27, 2020

Trump ‘just wants this problem to go away’: President
desperate to get coronavirus ‘off his plate’

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‘Rather than leading — he lies’: MSNBC panel says Trump is a ‘danger to the country’ because he can’t be trusted 

 February 27, 2020 By Sarah K. Burris

MSNBC commentators, former assistant US Attorney Maya Wiley and Rick Wilson, explained that President Donald Trump's most significant barrier is making it past his own lies to save America from the coronavirus.

"There's a case tonight being tested in Walton County, Florida. The heart of Trump country," said Wilson, referring to the panhandle county east of Pensacola. "That's not going to be something you can just walk away from if it turns out to be a real case. We're seeing these things popping up all over. The safe bet was always to say, 'This could be bad. We'll do everything we can to stop it.' But he can't stop himself from self-aggrandizing and lying about things. And it's actually -- setting aside my normal criticism of Trump -- this is a danger to the country that he is not a trustworthy person for the American people. Even people who like him now he BS's them all the time. Now, if he says it's not a problem and people are being hospitalized, it is a problem."

---30---

Trump ‘just wants this problem to go away’: President desperate to get coronavirus ‘off his plate’

Published February 26, 2020 By Sarah K. Burris

President Donald Trump is desperate for the coronavirus problem to go away, and he doesn't exactly care how it happens.

According to New York Times reporter Annie Karni, sources are telling her that the biggest concern Trump has is more about the markets than the deaths of Americans from the virus.
"First, let's establish, this is a president who tried to change science with a Sharpie when it came to hurricane path prediction," said MSNBC host Brian Williams. "That picture lasts forever."

"Even his allies on Fox and his allies outside the White House were kind of channeling to that proverbial audience of one that this was a great opportunity to look presidential and to tell the facts," said Karni. The Donald Trump we saw out there in the briefing room was very casual, kind of left the facts to the other people that accompanied him out there. But he clearly publicly and privately just wants this problem to go away. He wants to downplay it. He thinks -- he has called people who are talking about fears about it alarmist. He doesn't want to be alarmist, and he's kind of holding on to any comment that makes it sound like this will naturally be a problem that is removed from his plate. That's what we saw publicly, and that's what he's been saying privately as well." 

Seth Meyers: You know Trump isn’t the chief law enforcement officer because he couldn’t pass the physical

February 26, 2020 By Sarah K. Burris

"Late Night" host Seth Meyers warned that the United States is sliding into authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.

Sounding the alarm Wednesday evening, Meyers cited reports that Trump was making lists of disloyal people, purging them from their jobs, hiring unqualified cronies in top posts, and claiming he has the right to interfere in criminal cases.

While speaking to the press last week, Trump even announced that he's allowed to be involved in all criminal cases because he's the chief law enforcement officer of the United States. It's actually a title used for the attorney general 

 Trump frantically attacks media for making coronavirus ‘look as bad as possible’ in panicky tweet

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What will Democrats do if Trump and Pence won’t leave office?

BETTER QUESTION 

WHAT WILL THE AMERICAN CITIZEN(S) DO

WE KNOW WHAT TRUMPS TROOPS WILL DO

JUST LIKE MUSSOLINI DID MARCH ON WASHINGTON

AND DECLARE A WHITE SUPREMACIST FUNDAMENTALIST THEOCRACY
Published February 26, 2020 By Chauncey Devega, Salon- Commentary

The 10th Democratic Party presidential primary debate was held on Tuesday night in Charleston, South Carolina. Although the atmosphere was frenzied and almost chaotic at times, it was much like those that came before.

To this point, the candidates have been asked questions about such topics as the economy, global climate disaster, immigration, tax policy, foreign affairs, health care, sexism, racism and other forms of social inequality.

These “debates” — which are largely scripted interactions where soundbites are offered in response to predictable questions — have had their moments of excitement. Last week we saw Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s pummeling of former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg as though she were world heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury and he were some hapless club fighter. The debate in Charleston saw Warren continue her dismantling of Bloomberg. As the frontrunner, Sen. Sanders was also a prime target where the other candidates attacked him en masse but none were able to truly defeat him. Former vice president Joe Biden struggled to remain relevant.

These debates have also been tedious because there were (and are) too many candidates in the field — and most of them had no real chance of defeating Donald Trump on Election Day in November.

But in all these debates the Democratic Party’s prospective presidential nominees have not been asked the most important question: What should happen if Donald Trump is defeated and then refuses to leave office?

In a moment when Trump is systematically undermining the rule of law, ignoring the Constitution, purging the government of anyone who places loyalty to democracy and the Constitution over personal subservience to him, and in total acting as though he were a king or dictator, the answer to that question is essential for the future of the country.

As of the first week of February, Donald Trump has “joked” at least 27 times that he plans to stay in office past the two terms allowed by the Constitution. Trump’s propagandists have made similar statements, including outlandish claims that because Trump was impeached he is somehow now allotted extra time in office.

Writing at the Atlantic, Sarada Peri summarizes the clear and present danger of a lawless president who rejects the people’s legitimate collective will:
Should the lying and cheating fail — should the Democrat manage to win the 2020 election — Trump will have one more trick up his sleeve. Before the 2016 election, he suggested that he might not accept a defeat. So who’s to say that he will accept one in 2020? You don’t have to squint hard to see the clues: He retweeted Jerry Falwell Jr.’s suggestion that he ought to have two years added to his term and “joked” about staying in office longer than eight years. If he loses in November, the litigious showman might claim that the election was rigged against him and theatrically contest the results in court.

The cumulative effect of Trump’s efforts, of all the stains on his shirt, is to disorient the media and the electorate. Democrats, meanwhile, are fighting about how aggressive to get on climate change or whether debt-free college should be means-tested — bless their hearts. These are worthy questions, but not the question of the moment: How should they fight against a president who has no moral or legal compass, and who will use the full might of the executive branch to win?

Trump’s refusal to respect democratic norms — and the law — is nothing new. As Peri notes, during the 2016 campaign Donald Trump repeatedly suggested that he might not respect the outcome of the election if he did not win

Although Pete Buttigieg may think otherwise, Trump’s threats to remain in office indefinitely are not jokes. Like other autocrats and authoritarians, Trump is testing norms and boundaries as a way of expanding his assault on democracy and control over the country.

Trump was impeached for attempting to bribe and extort the government of Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential election on his behalf. “Acquitted” by his Republican handmaidens in a rigged Senate trial, Trump is now flagrant in his public requests that other countries intervene in the upcoming presidential election to help him defeat the Democratic Party and contravene the will of the American people.

Last week, Donald Trump fired his acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire. Why? Trump was enraged by intelligence reports that the Russian government is engaged — as it was four years ago — in a psychological operations campaign aimed at manipulating the American people into supporting his reelection.

Writing at Just Security, Alex Finley, John Sipher and Asha Rangappa describe Russia and Putin’s threat to America and the strategy of using Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and their supporters as authoritarian chaos agents:

Putin aimed for chaos, and Donald Trump was the chaos candidate in 2016. But Putin will continue to attack, namely because his objectives haven’t changed and the United States has not done anything to defend or deter him from this course of action. The only difference this time around is that, after four years of Trump, generating chaos will be even easier to achieve, as Trump and his surrogates have adopted the same playbook….

That situation is ripe for the covert actions of a hostile actor. Putin does not care if Trump wins. He simply wants to weaken the U.S. Making the country question the outcome of the most sacred part of democracy is a good way to do it.

Why haven’t the Democratic primary candidates forcefully and clearly stated what they will do if Donald Trump is defeated in 2020 and then refuses to surrender power?

There are several reasons. To confront such an increasingly probable outcome would create an epistemic crisis, where what is taken to be true, constitutes knowledge, and exists as empirical reality and verifiable facts would be left upside down and discombobulated.

Generally, politicians are deeply invested in the system as it exists. That system provides them emotional and financial support, social capital and a broader sense of identity, self and ego gratification. To confront an existential crisis in America’s democracy means that the Democratic Party’s presidential candidates and other leading figures would have to engage in an act of profound and painful critical self-reflection, because their belief system and related identities would be called into great doubt.

Whatever their individual policy differences may be, the Democratic Party’s potential nominees and other elites believe in the fundamental goodness of America. They also believe in American Exceptionalism. To be forced to confront the question “Could it happen here?” is to consider something impossibly frightening for them.

For similar reasons, the debate moderators avoid asking questions about Trump’s possible or likely refusal to honor or recognize constitutional order if he is defeated in November. Moreover, the moderators are deeply invested in maintaining the appearance of normalcy by reinforcing an illusion that America’s democracy and political culture are not, in fact, experiencing an existential crisis.

The Democratic Party’s presidential primary candidates must also provide a response to this scenario, outlined by Barbara McQuade in the Atlantic:

Although Trump’s remaining in office seems unlikely, a more frightening — and plausible — scenario would be if his defeat inspired extremist supporters to engage in violence. One could imagine a world in which Trump is defeated in the 2020 election, and he immediately begins tweeting that the election was rigged. Or consider the possibility, albeit remote, that a second-term Trump is removed from office through impeachment, and rails about his ouster as a coup. His message would be amplified by right-wing media. If his grievances hit home with even a few people inclined toward violence, deadly acts of violence, or even terrorist attacks against the new administration, could result.

Ultimately, the key to the peaceful transfer of power is the conduct of the outgoing leader himself. America has thus far been lucky in that regard….

But if Trump should fail in his final duty as president to transfer power peacefully, the nation’s laws, norms, and institutions will be responsible for carrying out the will of the electorate. Should those fail too, then the American experiment’s greatest achievement will come to a grinding halt, and with it the hope that a republic can ever be kept.

Perhaps most ominously, in an op-ed for the Washington Post, retired Adm. William McRaven wrote about the dangers to America represented by Trump and his regime:

As Americans, we should be frightened — deeply afraid for the future of the nation. When good men and women can’t speak the truth, when facts are inconvenient, when integrity and character no longer matter, when presidential ego and self-preservation are more important than national security — then there is nothing left to stop the triumph of evil.

What should be done?

The American people must force the Democratic Party’s presidential candidates, and its eventual nominee to answer this crucial question: What should be done if Donald Trump refuses to leave office in 2020?

How a given candidate answers that question is like a final exam which should help the American people assess if that person is capable of being the next president of the United States — and capable of doing the long, hard, difficult and necessary work to restore and repair America after the great harm caused by the Age of Trump.

Tesla crash report may lack enforcement power, but implications are real, analysts say

Lawsuits, temporary Autopilot halt some of the possibilities, Evercore says

Getty ImagesTesla vehicles at a dealership in Miami last year.


By CLAUDIAASSIS REPORTER Published: Feb 26, 2020 

A report on a fatal crash involving a Tesla Inc. vehicle may lack enforcement power, but the implications for the company are real and could include a temporary shutdown of Autopilot, the Silicon Valley car maker’s suite of advanced driver-assistance systems.

That’s from analysts at Evercore ISI, who in a note Wednesday commented on a Tuesday report by the National Transportation Safety Board on a fiery Tesla TSLA, -1.32% Model X crash in the San Francisco Bay Area that killed an Apple Inc. AAPL, -1.08% engineer.

The NTSB faulted several parties, including the driver, who allegedly was playing a videogame, and said that the Tesla system failed in several technical areas, including not activating the automatic emergency brake.

Through its various iterations and upgrades, Autopilot has been under criticism for creating a false sense of security in drivers and the impression that it makes cars autonomous. Tesla has said it would continue efforts to educate consumers. To use the system, drivers must keep hands on the wheel and be ready to intervene should anything go awry.

The NTSB can make recommendations, but it cannot enforce them, the Evercore analysts said.

For Tesla, a “wide range of outcomes still exists, with the most damaging possibility (albeit low probability) being a forced temporary shutdown” of Autopilot until Tesla can devise better systems to make sure drivers are actively paying attention to the road while using Autopilot, the analysts said.

“The potential for consumer lawsuits, if no recall occurs, is also non-trivial,” they said. Autopilot is only partial automation “that consumers often mistake and/or misuse” as a system capable of higher autonomy levels, and that “is the heart of the problem,” the analysts said.

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/02/tesla-autopilots-role-in-fatal-2018.html

Sanders blasts Trump’s coronavirus response: ‘This great genius’ says it’s ‘going to end in two months’

At their debate in South Carolina, several Democratic White House hopefuls criticize president’s approach to the deadly outbreak

Getty Images Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar

 take part Tuesday night in the Democratic presidential primary 

debate in Charleston, South Carolina.


By VICTOR REKLAITIS MONEY & POLITICS REPORTER 

Published: Feb 26, 2020 

Several Democratic White House hopefuls at Tuesday night’s debate criticized how President Donald Trump is handling the coronavirus outbreak, with Sen. Bernie Sanders making fun of Trump’s statement two weeks ago that it could go away in April.

Sanders, the Democratic front-runner, offered the following sarcastic comment:
‘This great genius has told us that this coronavirus is going to end in two months. April is the magical day that this great scientist we have in the White House has determined. I wish I was kidding. That is what he said.’Bernie Sanders on President Trump’s response to the coronavirus

In talking about dealing with the virus, the veteran Vermont lawmaker called for expanding the World Health Organization and fully funding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

His comments came as seven Democratic presidential hopefuls debated in South Carolina ahead of the state’s primary on Saturday. The clash took place after the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.46% plunged in Tuesday’s session as U.S. health officials warned Americans to prepare for a coronavirus outbreak.

Related: Coronavirus update — CDC warns Americans to prepare for disruption

At a rally earlier this month as he referred to the coronavirus, Trump said “a lot of people think that goes away in April, with the heat, as the heat comes in.” The president also tweeted Monday that the coronavirus is “very much under control” in the U.S., and his administration sent lawmakers an urgent $2.5 billion plan to address the deadly outbreak of the COVID-19 illness.

A moderator at the debate noted that the CDC just said it’s not a matter of if the coronavirus will spread in the U.S., but when it will spread. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was then asked if she, as president, would close the borders to Americans who have been exposed to the coronavirus in order to prevent an outbreak in this country.

Klobuchar said she would make sure there is treatment for those Americans, adding that they should be in a quarantine where they couldn’t expose others to the virus.

She also said Trump hasn’t invested as he should have in the CDC and criticized him for not addressing the nation about the outbreak. “I would do all of that,” she said. The situation is “so serious,” Klobuchar said, as she encouraged Americans to visit the CDC’s website.

Related: How 2020 candidates would tackle disease outbreaks like coronavirus

Former Vice President Joe Biden promised to do what the Obama administration “did with Ebola.”

“I was part of making sure that pandemic didn’t get to the United States,” Biden said. The ex-veep also stressed that he was part of an administration that increased budgets for the CDC and NIH, while Trump cut or tried to cut their funding. Moreover, Biden said he’d insist that American experts be allowed in China, where the outbreak started.

Now read: Is fear of a Sanders presidency bern-ing markets?

And see: How Bloomberg’s money dwarfs the other 2020 Democrats’ war chests — in one chart

Trump tweeted late Tuesday that the CDC and his administration are “doing a GREAT job of handling Coronavirus, including the very early closing of our borders to certain areas of the world,” which he said “was opposed by the Dems.”

“No matter how well we do,” he added, the Democrats’ talking point is “that we are doing badly.”

Trump also said early Wednesday he’ll hold a 6 p.m. Eastern news conference about the coronavirus.

This is an updated version of a report that was first published on Feb. 25, 2020.

Giuliani secretly asked if NYC mayoral election could be canceled after 9/11, Pataki says

In new book, Pataki says his ‘heart sank’ after Giuliani’s request in 2001

By BRUCE GOLDING  THE NEW YORK POST Feb 26, 2020 5:30 

He wanted to be “America’s mayor” a whole lot longer.

Rudy Giuliani secretly asked then-New York Gov. George Pataki to cancel New York City’s 2001 mayoral election so he could remain in office following the Sept. 11 terror attack, a new book reveals.

The bombshell revelation is contained in Pataki’s upcoming memoir of 9/11, “Beyond the Great Divide: How A Nation Became A Neighborhood.”

In an excerpt obtained by The Post, Pataki recalls how he attended a press conference with Giuliani and then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at Manhattan’s Pier 92 on Sept. 24, 2001.

As they began leaving, Giuliani — who a day before had been hailed as “America’s mayor” by Oprah Winfrey during a Yankee Stadium prayer service — asked Pataki for a “private meeting” and they walked into a small room to talk.

Following an exchange of the “usual formalities,” Giuliani “dropped a bomb,” Pataki writes.

“Governor, you have extraordinary powers to extend my term in office,” Giuliani said.

Pataki’s “heart sank,” he writes, noting that he initially backed the idea of repealing term limits so Giuliani, a fellow Republican, could seek a third term, but quickly realized it was a “bad idea both as a matter of principle and politically.”

He also describes Giuliani’s implicit request as a desperation move following an “off-the-radar public relations campaign” in which Giuliani’s team tried, but failed, to “influence lawmakers through the media.”

Pataki writes that his “mind raced” as he told himself, “Are you really, right now, after a terror attack on our state, our city, asking me to just cancel the entire election? I am a conservative. We respect the law. For God’s sake, you’re a prosecutor! You know the law.”

But instead of saying anything out loud, Pataki stayed silent as Giuliani, now one of President Donald Trump’s private lawyers, continued talking.

“Governor, you have the power to change the city charter to allow for me, as mayor in this time of crisis, to have an extended term,” he said.

Pataki writes that he rejected the suggestion, saying, “I don’t think I can do that, Rudy. It’s not a good idea for you or the city, and I think it’s beyond even my emergency legal authority to do this.”

But Giuliani “excitedly fired back,” saying that his counsel, Denny Young, who was present, “thinks you do have the ability,” Pataki writes.

Pataki says he agreed to have his counsel, Jim McGuire, who was also present, discuss the matter with Young, after which Giuliani’s team “pushed the issue with my staff” for several weeks.

When it became clear that Giuliani wouldn’t get his wish, Pataki writes, he arranged a brief meeting at which he admitted, “George, you are right. I don’t think you should cancel the election.”

Pataki writes that while he was “disappointed” by Giuliani’s request, “maybe I shouldn’t have been so emotional about it.”

“While some may look at Rudy Giuliani as a power-hungry politician, the reality is that he wanted to keep leading and helping with the recovery efforts. He believed staying in office was best for the city. I was sure it wasn’t,” he writes.

But Pataki adds: “Regardless of Rudy’s motivation, regardless of his raw emotions in the situation, he abandoned some of the most basic conservative principles — follow the law and relinquish power when your term is over, even in times of crisis.”

“Beyond the Great Divide,” which is being published by Post Hill Press, goes on sale April 14.

Infectious Disease Director at University of Nebraska contradicts Trump: 'Diseases don’t respect political announcements'

Following President Trump’s press conference on the coronavirus, Dr. Mark Rupp, Infectious Disease Director at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, joined Lou Dobbs Tonight where he contradicted Trump. The CDC has said the spread of the virus in the U.S. is inevitable, while Trump has repeatedly said otherwise. And on Wednesday, the president doubled down.

“Well, I don’t think it’s inevitable,” Trump said. “I probably will. I possibly will. It could be at a very small level. It could be at a larger level. Whatever happens, we’re totally prepared.”

Despite Trump downplaying the possibility of an outbreak, Rupp, who is currently working with infected patients evacuated from the quarantined Japanese cruise ship, is sticking by his fellow healthcare professionals.

“Well, the fact of the matter is that this virus has shown the ability to spread far and wide and fast, and that was clearly demonstrated in China,” Rupp said, later adding, “So I guess I would be of the opinion that we’re gonna see more of this. Hopefully we’ll be able to take measures to stem its spread and buy us some time so we can develop some therapeutics and a vaccine.”

Later, Rupp added, “Infectious diseases don’t respect political announcements or geographic borders. I think we will see spread here in the United States. It will test our resolve.”

Possibly proving Rupp and the CDC right, following Trump’s press conference, the first case of the disease in the U.S. with unknown origins was discovered in Northern California, and Rupp advises not to take the possible spread of the virus too lightly.

“This is still nothing to trifle with if you’re talking about a disease that spreads like the flu and has a mortality of somewhere less than one percent,” Rupp said, “this could be very impactful for the United States.”

Jay-Z helps 150 inmates at Mississippi prison sue over 'constant peril'

Erik Ortiz, NBC News•February 26, 2020

Inmates at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman say chronic staff shortages and rampant violence have led some prisoners to insert their own catheters, treat their own stab wounds and suffer through seizures without medication.

In many instances, there is one guard for every 160 inmates, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, Mississippi.

The suit is the second filed in as many months with the help of rappers Jay-Z, real name Shawn Carter, and Yo Gotti, real name Mario Mims, who have been protesting the "inhumane and dangerous conditions of confinement" in prisons.

The complaint was filed on behalf of 152 inmates who say that they are under "constant peril" at Parchman and that the environment is "so barbaric, the deprivation of health and mental health care so extreme, and the defects in security so severe, that the people confined at Parchman live a miserable and hopeless existence confronted daily by imminent risk of substantial harm in violation of their rights under the U.S. Constitution."

Parchman, the only maximum-security prison for men in the state, has more than 3,500 inmate beds and has grappled with a history of inmate abuses, corruption and racial segregation.

An inmate named Thomas Lee, 49, was so in need of mental health care that before he took his own life in January, his last words were reported to have been: "I'm tired of this s---. They don't care about me or my food. I'm about to kill myself!"

Inmates also describe rat feces, cockroaches and bird droppings contaminating their meals, as well as toilets and showers in a "perpetual state of systemic failure."

Image: An inoperable toilet inside a cell at Parchman

The guards, the inmates allege, have played an active role in the deteriorating conditions, failed to act out of fear for their own safety and looked the other way amid the violence. "Plaintiffs have resorted to tying their cell doors closed at night to prevent guards from allowing other inmates to enter and assault them," the suit says.

Since Dec. 29, at least 18 people have died in Mississippi state prisons, some as the result of gang-related rioting and suicide, officials said. Mississippi has one of the highest incarceration rates in the United States.

Across the state's prison system, the string of violent deaths and lockdowns and protests outside the Mississippi Capitol to "shut it down" have caught the attention of the U.S. Justice Department, which announced this month that it will review conditions at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, as well at as the South Mississippi Correctional Institute, the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility.

Prison reform advocates have said that it's unusual for the Justice Department to look at four prisons at one time rather than just one and that it indicates how entrenched and immediate the problems remain.

The first lawsuit, filed in January with the help of Jay-Z, was on behalf of 29 prisoners, but the staggering number of plaintiffs in this latest suit underscores the deepening crisis. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican who took office in January, has said he would close Unit 29 at Parchman — which has been plagued by health inspection violations from inoperable toilets and sinks to missing pillows and mattresses to no lights.

Roc Nation, the entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z, also released a video on YouTube that features interviews with family members of those who have recently died in Mississippi's prisons and scenes from the inside of unsanitary conditions.

The state Corrections Department said Wednesday it does not comment on pending litigation.

Last week, Reeves told reporters that Unit 29 would be closed in the coming weeks as inmates are transferred to other facilities, including to the private Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility about 5 miles away. The unit has about 1,000 inmates assigned to it.

"The problems were infuriating," Reeves said after touring Parchman in January. "There is no excuse. We can do better."

The latest suit asks the Corrections Department to create a plan to eliminate health and safety risks within 90 days.

It also seeks for the court to retain full jurisdiction of the prison until the department has "fully remedied the situation and ensured a safe, livable environment."

IMAGE: Criminal Justice Reform launch

Michael Bloomberg called Goldman Sachs bankers his ‘peeps’ and promised to defend them, leaked tape reveals
Andrew Naughtie (sic) The Independent•February 25, 2020
REUTERS

Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is being criticised for telling bankers he would have defended them as president in a leaked audio from a private Goldman Sachs event in 2016.

At the event, Mr Bloomberg first described the audience as his “peeps”, and said that had he run for president that year, his “first campaign platform” would have been “to defend the banks.”

But, he added, “you know how well that’s gonna go down in this country”.

Mr Bloomberg then defended the banks more seriously: “Somebody's gotta stand up and do what we need. A healthy banking system that's going to take risks because that's what creates the jobs for everybody. And nobody's willing to say that.”

The audio was uploaded to hosting platform Soundcloud and sent to CNN and several journalists. The sender used the email address and username “CancelGoldman”, and claimed to have worked at Goldman Sachs for 14 years.

The Bloomberg campaign has confirmed that the audio is real. In an email to CNN, spokesperson Stu Loeser said that much of what Mr Bloomberg said was in jest, and that his remarks were of an analytical standard almost unheard of in current politics.

“What you hear in these remarks are a combination of jokes and detailed explanations of ways to make our government better that are far beyond what the current occupant of the Oval Office could read, let alone think."

Besides his defence of banks, Mr Bloomberg also raised the alarm about income inequality, warning his audience that “anytime we've had this before, society blows up and they do set up the guillotines, and the guillotines don't have to be chop your head off.

“They could be confiscatory taxes, they could be seizing the endowments of uh, educational institutions and um, philanthropic organizations, all of which those proposals are out there.”

The audio also contains sections more directly relevant to Mr Bloomberg’s current presidential campaign.

Asked about the rise of the radical right both in the US and around the world, Mr Bloomberg said the progressive left is also “scary” – citing current candidate Elizabeth Warren as an example.

"The left is arising. The progressive movement is just as scary," he says in the tape. "Elizabeth Warren on one side. And whoever you want to pick on the Republicans on the right side?"



Ms Warren recently tore into Mr Bloomberg when he appeared at his first Democratic debate, citing his history of sexist remarks and saying that “Democrats take a huge risk if we just substitute one arrogant billionaire for another”.

Mr Bloomberg has been criticised for the amount he is spending on his presidential campaign, which is now running into the hundreds of millions of dollars – all drawn from his vast personal fortune.

While he has used that money to flood upcoming primaries with advertising and hire hundreds of staffers, recent polling from key states shows him struggling to catch up with frontrunner Bernie Sanders.

Duterte says Philippines can survive without America

JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press•February 26, 2020

File Photo: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his speech during the Presidential Security Group Change of Command ceremony on Feb. 25, 2020 at the PSG Compound in Malacañang Park, Manila, Philippines. (Robinson Ninal Jr./Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP)More

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said Filipino forces can fight insurgents and Muslim extremists without American military help, in a defense of his recent decision to terminate a U.S. security pact.

Duterte also said in a speech that he would stick to a decision made early in his presidency, when he was enraged by then President Barack Obama’s criticism of his deadly anti-drug crackdown, that he will not travel to the United States.

The brash Philippine leader has often criticized U.S. security policies while praising China and Russia since taking office in mid-2016 for a six-year term.

U.S. President Donald Trump invited Duterte to join a meeting he will host for leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Las Vegas next month. Duterte has better relations with Trump than with Obama, but his remarks Wednesday support an earlier statement by his spokesman that he would not attend the Las Vegas meeting.

“Do we need America to survive as a nation?" Duterte asked. "Do we need ... the might and power of the military of the United States to fight our rebellion here and the terrorists down south and control drugs?”

“The military and police said, `Sir, we can do it,’” he said.

“If we can’t do it, we have no business being a republic,” Duterte said. “You might as well choose. We can be a territory of the Americans or we can be a province of China.”

The Philippine government notified the U.S. two weeks ago that it intends to end the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows American forces to train in large numbers in the Philippines, in the most serious threat under Duterte to the two nations' 69-year treaty alliance.

The termination takes effect after 180 days unless both sides agree to keep the VFA. The waiting period allows the allies to renegotiate contentious terms of the 1998 agreement.

The accord allows the entry and temporary stay of American forces along with U.S. military ships and aircraft for joint training with Filipino troops. The maneuvers include annual drills that Philippine security officials have credited with helping beat back communist insurgents nationwide and Islamic State group-aligned Muslim militants in the southern Philippines.

The VFA specifies which country has jurisdiction over American soldiers who are accused of crimes while in the Philippines, a sensitive issue in the former American colony.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has called the decision by the Duterte administration “unfortunate.” Trump, however, reacted dismissively, saying, “If they would like to do that, that’s fine. We’ll save a lot of money."

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., who signed the notice of termination at Duterte’s direction, has proposed a review of the agreement to fix contentious issues instead of abrogating it.

Duterte threatened to terminate the agreement after Washington reportedly canceled the U.S. visa of a loyal ally, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who was linked to human rights violations when he enforced the president’s deadly anti-drug crackdown as national police chief in 2016.

Duterte gave the U.S. a month to restore dela Rosa’s visa, but U.S. officials have not publicly reacted to his demand.

Thousands of mostly poor suspects have been killed under Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs, alarming the U.S. and other Western governments and human rights groups.

Duterte rejected on Wednesday what he said was the portrayal by some U.S. officials of his administration as persecuting a detained opposition senator and being incapable of investigating extrajudicial killings.

“We were being portrayed as a republic incapable of administering simple justice,” Duterte said.

'Never before': Shock, fear as India's capital reels from deadly riots

Bhuvan BAGGA, Maude BRULARD, Archana THIYAGARAJAN and AFP reporters,
AFP•February 26, 2020



A firefighter stands in the entrance of a New Delhi residence on February 26 following clashes that have claimed more than 25 lives (AFP Photo/Sajjad HUSSAIN )

Mohamad Rashid was too afraid to remove his helmet. In front of him was a stick-wielding mob of up to 500 men, cheering loudly and throwing flaming tyres into his shop as deadly sectarian violence swept India's capital.

Within a few minutes, flames consumed the entire market of secondhand goods and nearby vehicles, lighting up the night sky with an eerie, orange glow. Next door, a police station stood silent.

"My car was parked just there, they set it on fire too," Rashid, who rushed to his shop on his motorbike Monday night after being informed that mobs were gathered outside, told AFP as his voice shook with anger.

The market in Gokulpuri was just one of many poor, congested neighbourhoods in northeast Delhi ransacked by rampaging mobs on Monday and Tuesday as battles broke out between Hindus and Muslims.

The clashes followed renewed protests on Sunday against a contentious citizenship law brought in by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist government that critics say is anti-Muslim.

Rashid escaped unhurt, but many others did not, with more than 25 killed and over 200 injured in the riots -- Delhi's worst in decades.

- Mayhem and destruction -

Across the densely populated neighbourhoods were scenes of devastation reminiscent of a warzone.

Narrow lanes were covered in ash, while stones, bricks and debris from smashed shops littered the streets beside rows of cars torched during the night.

Firefighters doused still-smouldering buildings with water in one neighbourhood as locals cleared the charred interior of a mosque and carefully removed the burnt remains of a Koran in another.

Police manned barricades and stood guard at riot-hit areas as residents accused them of doing nothing to help during the turmoil.

"There were people standing across on buildings and firing bullets towards here," lawyer Naeem Malik told AFP at Chandbagh, where a road divided rows of Hindu and Muslim shops.

"We tried to make many calls to the police from here in Chandbagh that people are entering our colonies chanting 'Jai Shree Ram' (a Hindu chant) but police did not help us at all."

Showing bruises on his body, Malik said he was beaten by policemen when he tried to reach some women at a site used to protest against the citizenship law.

Across the road, Sachin Sharma said he saw a Muslim mob heading to the area before being confronted by a group of Hindus.

"The last three days, the panic was such that I was not able to step out of my house, because I was scared that a group of people will come to my house... they can do everything," he told AFP.

In Jaffrabad neighbourhood, the smell of acrid smoke hung in the air as police sirens whined in the distance.

"We are afraid, we left our homes. There is no police in the streets at night, just during the day," Farhat, a 22-year-old Islamic studies student, told AFP in her father's shop as police looked on.

"They (rioters) say we are not Indians but we are Indians by blood, we are Muslims and Indians but they don't understand."

- Dream to nightmare -

The sectarian riots have shocked Delhi locals, many of whom told AFP they never expected such violence to take place in their home city.

"Our Hindu brothers' houses were attacked by stone-pelters, and our Muslim brothers' homes were also attacked," Mohammed Chand told AFP.

"Since my childhood we haven't heard of such violence between Hindus and Muslims but now we are hearing all this."

Shubham Sharma, 22, was looking forward to his wedding on Tuesday night at Gopalpur village.

But what should have been a joyous time of dancing, music and food turned into a nightmare.

"We haven't enjoyed anything or done anything because of fear. We spent so much money, all of it went to waste. Even the halwais (cooks) didn't come," a distraught Sangeeta Sharma, the groom's mother, told AFP.

A five-kilometre (three-mile) trip to the wedding became a one-and-a-half hour ordeal as the wedding party dodged rioters and hit roadblocks. The bride had to plead with police for an escort to reach the venue safely.

Some 1,000 guests had been invited to the reception but only a dozen turned up.

"There was a war-like zone throughout the route -- riots somewhere, road blocks and fires," the groom's cousin Abhay Sharma told AFP, adding that the wedding party spent the night dousing blazes behind their home.

"It is supposed to be once in a lifetime event in most of our lives. It is supposed to be that one moment -- that was spoiled forever."