The Daily Moth 2-19-2020
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, February 19. Ready for news?
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Democratic debate in Las Vegas
Tonight there will be a very important Democratic debate in Las Vegas because the race has shifted with Sen. Bernie Sanders as the frontrunner with former mayor Pete Buttigieg not far behind — and we will see the multi-billionaire Mike Bloomberg for the first time on the debate stage.
Tonight will also be key for former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who will try to convince us that they are strong contenders for the Democratic nomination despite their subpar showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar will seek to capitalize from her strong third-place finish in New Hampshire and present herself as the best moderate Democrat.
Billionaire Tom Steyer and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard will not be onstage because they did not have at least 10% support in certain polls and did not win a delegate in Iowa or New Hampshire.
There was a “donor threshold” that required candidates to receive a certain number of unique donors, and that would have blocked Mike Bloomberg because he is self-funded and the “only donor”, but the Democratic National Committee scrapped that rule.
So there will be a total of six candidates tonight. Why Las Vegas? The Nevada caucuses will take place on Saturday, February 22, although there was early voting with over 26,000 votes.
The debate will be at the Paris hotel. It will start at 9 p.m. on NBC News and MSNBC. It will stream on NBC and MSNBC apps.
I’ll be watching it and will do a recap tomorrow.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/19/politics/how-to-watch-democratic-debate/index.html
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Updates on coronavirus and cruise ships
Axios reported that U.S. health officials are warning that we are facing a “global pandemic” of coronavirus (COVID-19) because new cases keep on rising. There are now over 75,000 cases and over 2,000 people have died. The majority of those affected are in China, but there are now at least 25 countries with infected people.
CBS News reported that a Chinese film director, Chang Kai, died from coronavirus in Wuhan and that his father, mother, and sister also died. The family tried to take care of each other after a hospital in the area said they were full. Chang’s wife is infected and is in serious condition.
The New York Times reported that Iran reported two deaths from coronavirus. It is the first news we’ve seen of coronavirus in Iran. Both who died were older adults.
In Japan, over 400 passengers were allowed to get off the docked Diamond Princess ship after they were determined to be healthy.
There are over 600 people who are infected who are still on the ship. It is the largest cluster of infected people other than the Wuhan area.
There are over 100 Americans who are still on the ship.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said they will not be allowed to return home for at least two more weeks because there is a great risk due to the high rate of infections on the ship.
As I reported on Monday, there were more than 300 Americans, among them 14 who are infected, who were evacuated off the ship and brought to the U.S. in two charter planes that landed on military bases in California and Texas. Those who are infected will be isolated and treated, while all the others will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine.
The outbreak on the Diamond Princess started when an infected passenger from Hong Kong got onboard the ship at the beginning of its journey on January 20 from Yokohoma. The person did not show symptoms and disembarked on January 25 in Hong Kong. He tested positive for the virus on February 1.
In Cambodia, there is another cruise ship — the Westerdam — that allowed 740 passengers to disembark after they tested negative for the virus. There are 223 remaining passengers that will be permitted to leave tomorrow. The ship allowed more than 1,000 people to get off several days ago only to find that an American woman who had already flown to Malaysia was infected. There are concerns that there are others who are infected, but so far there are no reports of an outbreak that has affected the Diamond Princess ship. There are almost 750 crew members who are still on the ship and they will be tested.
Both cruise ships are owned by Carnival Corporation.
In the U.S., there are 29 confirmed cases. There are 60 possible cases that are pending test results while 392 suspected cases were found negative.
https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-latest-developments-8b8990c4-6762-494a-8ee0-5091746bda9b.html https://www.cbsnews.com/news/coronavirus-kills-chinese-film-director-chang-kai-wuhan/
https://www.axios.com/diamond-princess-exodus-begins-as-cdc-raises-health-concerns-6116a38c-538a-4225-8a87-2706cce8e7e9.html
https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-02-19-20-intl-hnk/index.html
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Brooklyn rapper Pop Smoke shot and killed in Hollywood Hills
MTV.com reported that rapper Pop Smoke, who was a rising musician from Brooklyn, was shot and killed by gunmen who broke into an Airbnb home in Hollywood Hills.
The LA Times reported that someone from the East Coast told the LAPD that a masked gunman and several others entered Pop Smoke;s home before 5 a.m.
When police arrived at the house, they found Pop Smoke with gunshot wounds. He was brought to a hospital but was pronounced dead.
So far, the gunmen have not been identified or caught. There are two to six suspects.
Pop Smoke’s real name was Bashar Barakah Jackson and he was 20. He was scheduled to perform at a Pharrell Williams festival in April.
Two of his last Instagram stories posts showed him swimming in a pool with the caption “Beverly Hills” and of him working in a studio. A third post showed Los Angeles at night from the top of a hill.
Musicians Nicki Minaj, who worked with Pop Smoke, posted a tribute on Instagram with a picture of him and the caption, “The Bible tells us that jealousy is as cruel as the grave. Unbelievable. Rest In Peace, Pop.”
Chance the Rapper, 50 Cent, and multiple other musicians posted tributes to him.
http://www.mtv.com/news/3156993/pop-smoke-murdered/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossm
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-19/up-and-coming-rapper-pop-smoke-killed-in-hollywood-hills-home-by-masked-gunmen-police-say
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Top News Briefs: Ryan Newman recovering; William Barr and Trump; Pentagon official resigns
Here are three top news briefs.
NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, who was seriously injured from a Daytona 500 crash on Monday night, has been released from a hospital. His racing team, Roush Fenway, tweeted an image of Newman walking outside with his two daughters. Newman was not wearing shoes in the picture — it seems like he had socks or some kind of bandages on his feet. They tweeted another image of him hugging his two daughters. Roush said he has continued to show great improvement and is fully alert and joking around with staff. So, it is good news after a terrible crash.
The second news — there are reports that Attorney General William Barr is increasingly unhappy with President Trump and his tweets about federal criminal cases, and Barr is considering resigning. Trump said on Tuesday that he can be involved because he is the “chief law enforcement officer of the country.” That position title is usually reserved for the Attorney General — although the president decides who is appointed as attorney general. Democrats have criticized Trump, while Republican lawmakers have been quiet. There was an emergency meeting called by the Federal Judges Association, a voluntary organization of over 1,000 federal judges, over concerns that President Trump and his administration were intervening in politically sensitive cases.
The third news — the third-highest ranking person in the Pentagon, John Rood, resigned today after President Trump made the request. It is not known why. Rood was a part of the team that supervised military aid to Ukraine. We remember that the military aid — and its withholding — was a part of what led to Trump’s impeachment. But it is not clear why Rood was asked to leave. He is the latest in multiple officials who have either been fired or resigned after Trump was acquitted.
Newman: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/drivers/2020/02/19/ryan-newman-fully-alert-joking-after-nascar-daytona-500-crash/4807103002/
Trump: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/post-impeachment-trump-declares-himself-the-chief-law-enforcement-officer-of-america/2020/02/18/b8ff49c0-5290-11ea-b119-4faabac6674f_story.html
Rood: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pentagons-official-resigns-request-president-trump-unclear/story?id=69072006&cid=clicksource_4380645_2_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!