Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
Pressure is growing on the British government to airlift citizens stranded on a cruise ship stricken by coronavirus, after a Chinese tourist in France became the first person to die from the disease in Europe.
The US announced late on Friday that it would be evacuating more than 400 nationals from the quarantined ship, which has had nearly 300 confirmed coronavirus cases, and British travellers called on their government to do the same.
Mark Esper says countries using Chinese technology will put intelligence cooperation at risk
The US defence secretary, Mark Esper, warned that US alliances including the future of Nato were in jeopardy if European countries went ahead with using Chinese Huawei technology in their 5G networks.
Esper also warned future intelligence cooperation would be at risk, as the US would no longer be certain its communications networks were secure.
Some Democratic observers fear their party is following the British left’s road to defeat
British politics rarely intrudes into a US presidential election. In 1988, Joe Biden was forced to abandon his first bid for the White House after it emerged that he had quoted without attribution a chunk of oratory from the then Labour party leader, Neil Kinnock. In 2016, Donald Trump deployed Nigel Farage as an occasional mascot on the stump, the Brexit victory in that year’s referendum deemed a happy omen that populists could defy the odds and win. In 2020, a third name has surfaced, offered as a cautionary tale to a Democratic party that this week confirmed a septuagenarian radical socialist and longtime backbench rebel as its frontrunner. That name is Jeremy Corbyn.
“I don’t want the Democratic party of the United States to be the Labour party of the United Kingdom,” James Carville, the victorious manager of Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign, told audiences on cable TV and in New Hampshire this week, warning that if Democrats nominate Bernie Sanders, they will almost certainly be following Corbyn’s Labour party to defeat.
President reasserts his right to tweet on judicial issues following William Barr’s warning the posts ‘make it impossible for me to do my job’
Donald Trump has ignored a plea from his attorney general, William Barr, to not tweet about ongoing legal cases, by using his Twitter account to say he has a “legal right” to do so.
Barr delivered a remarkable public rebuke of the president just hours earlier, saying that Trump’s tweets “make it impossible for me to do my job” and that he would not be “bullied or influenced” over justice department decisions.
Joan Illuzzi-Orbon stresses movie mogul’s power imbalance
Prosecution makes closing arguments in rape trial
Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul who was a “master of his universe”, stepped on, demoralised, humiliated and ultimately abused and raped “disposable” women he tricked into his lair, a prosecutor told the jury on Friday in closing arguments at his New York rape trial.
Policy change involves what Facebook calls ‘branded content’, sponsored items posted by ordinary users who are typically paid by companies
Facebook decided on Friday to allow a type of paid political message that had sidestepped many of the social network’s rules governing political ads, in a reversal that highlights difficulties tech companies and regulators have in keeping up with the changing nature of paid political messages.
Facebook’s policy change comes days after the Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg exploited a loophole to run humorous messages promoting his campaign on the accounts of popular Instagram personalities followed by millions of younger people.
Attorney general makes unexpected intervention into controversy over Stone case
Trump criticised for interfering in friend’s sentencing
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Two leading Republican voices came out in favour of Barr in the dispute yesterday, with Senator Mitch McConnell, the party’s leader in the Senate, saying: “If the attorney general says it’s getting in the way of doing his job, maybe the president should listen.”
Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally who was scathing about the impeachment trial against the president, said Barr was “the right man at the right time to reform the department and stand up for the rule of law”.
To hear this attorney general complain about this president, who is fighting every one of those damn people to do the right thing and get this country straightened out and it’s mission to do so and not to carp about his boss.
And, by the way, I don’t want to hear any crap about an independent Justice Department. This Justice Department, as does everyone, works for the president. It’s part of the executive branch.
Good morning.
US attorney general William Barr made an unexpected intervention into the ballooning controversy over Donald Trump’s interference in the trial of his friend Roger Stone.
When I terminated John Kelly, which I couldn’t do fast enough, he knew full well that he was way over his head. Being Chief of Staff just wasn’t for him. He came in with a bang, went out with a whimper, but like so many X’s, he misses the action & just can’t keep his mouth shut,.
The attorney general had been contemplating how to respond since he became aware of Mr. Trump’s attacks on the department, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Speaking up could have put Mr. Barr at risk of losing the backing of the president, but remaining silent would have permitted Mr. Trump to continue attacking law enforcement and all but invited open revolt among the some 115,000 employees of the Justice Department.
Ultimately, Mr. Barr concluded that he had to speak out to preserve his ability to do his job effectively, the person said … The attorney general had let the president know some of what he planned to say and is remaining in his job, a person familiar with the events said.
Movie producer ‘loved’ closing remarks of his lawyer, who questioned motives of accusers
Harvey Weinstein looked cheerful at the end of five hours of closing remarks in the New York supreme court, despite facing possible life imprisonment.
As he trundled down the corridor on his walking frame, smiling broadly at reporters, he was asked what he thought of the final pitch to the jury made by his lead lawyer, Donna Rotunno. “I loved it,” he said. “I called it the Queen’s speech.”
Pressure on Justin Trudeau’s government grows even as some politicians decry ‘hard-left ideology’
As armed Canadian police officers advanced through snow towards their camp, the group of Indigenous women was absorbed in a drumming ceremony to honour the spirits of missing and murdered Indigenous women across the country.
Rows of red dresses hung from a fishing line slung across the road, and from pine and spruce trees in the surrounding forest – each one a memorial to the thousands of Indigenous women killed or disappeared in recent years.
Larry Kudlow, the National Economic Council director, said the US was 'disappointed' in the response of China to the coronavirus outbreak. He said it was a concern for the wellbeing of people in China, adding that the virus had been contained in the US. The senior White House official called on Beijing to be more transparent over its handling of the outbreak amid moves by Chinese authorities to expand 'wartime' measures to limit its spread
Daily Beast reporters say Reince Priebus was repeatedly asked about the rotund, hairy omnivores during briefings on healthcare and foreign policy
Of all the topics to occupy the mind of the most powerful person in the United States, one would not expect badgers to make a frequent appearance.
But the rotund, hairy omnivores were apparently an alarmingly regular topic of conversation in the White House during the early months of Donald Trump’s presidency, according to Daily Beast reporters Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng.
Attorney general says he will not be ‘bullied’ over decisions but some observers question his motives
The US attorney general, William Barr, publicly rebuked Donald Trump on Thursday, saying that the president’s tweets about the case of Roger Stone “make it impossible for me to do my job” and that he would not be “bullied or influenced” over justice department decisions.
In an interview with ABC News, the attorney general acknowledged his comments could leave him open to backlash from the president, who is notoriously intolerant of criticism from his aides. But Barr said he was determined to lead the justice department without being influence by outside forces, including the president.
Democratic resolution to limit Trump’s power will likely not become law
Pelosi says Trump comments on Stone case are ‘abuse of power’
Hope Hicks reportedly returning to the White House
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A judge has temporarily blocked Microsoft’s cloud-computing work with the Pentagon after Amazon complained that it lost the contract partly because of Trump’s bias against the company.
Trump has repeatedly lashed out against Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and owner of the Washington Post.
A judge ordered Thursday a temporary block on the JEDI cloud contract, which was awarded to Microsoft, in response to a suit filed by Amazon. Shares of Microsoft fell on the news, while Amazon’s stock rose slightly. A court notice announcing the injunction was filed on Thursday, but wasn’t public. It’s unclear why the documents were sealed.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is instructed to earmark $42 million for any ‘costs and damages’ that could be incurred in the event that the ‘injunction was issued wrongfully,’ the filing states. Amazon must file a notice with the courts indicating it has obtained the $42 million by Feb. 20. Microsoft and Amazon must respond to the filing by Feb. 27.
The eight Republicans who supported the Iran War Powers resolution in the Senate were: Todd Young, Mike Lee, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Rand Paul, Bill Cassidy, Jerry Moran and Lamar Alexander.
The resolution, aimed at limiting Trump’s authority to launch military operations in Iran, was expected to attract some Republican support, but the number of defections was surprising.
Superseding indictment likely to deepen US-UK tensions
Telecoms giant accused of violating Iran and Korea sanctions
Huawei has been accused of stealing trade secrets and lying to US federal investigators in a new indictment that is likely to deepen US-UK tensions over a recent move by the British government to allow the Chinese company to supply 5G equipment for a new network.
The superseding indictment makes new allegations against the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker, including claims that the company successfully engaged in a decades-long effort to steal intellectual property, giving it an unfair advantage over competitors.
Average global temperature 2.5F above 20th-century average
Antarctic has begun February with several temperature spikes
Last month was the hottest January on record over the world’s land and ocean surfaces, with average temperatures exceeding anything in the 141 years of data held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
She placed third in Iowa and fourth in New Hampshire, but still touts herself as a candidate to excite liberals and please moderates
The votes in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary were still being counted when Elizabeth Warren took the stage at a sports center in Manchester to address her supporters.
Troy Price says he is ‘deeply sorry for what happened’ at derailed event, as results remain unclear
The chair of the Iowa Democratic party, who oversaw a chaotic caucus last week that still has not yielded final results, resigned from his position on Wednesday.
Troy Price, who has been the head of the state’s Democratic party since 2017, apologized for what had happened on caucus night.
She cited a need for the country to be ‘principled, consistent and trustworthy’ while accepting an award for diplomacy
The former US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, has warned that the US had adopted an “amoral” foreign policy that “substitutes threats, fear and confusion for trust”.
In her first public remarks since leaving the US foreign service two weeks ago, Yovanovitch said that the Trump administration’s handling of foreign policy risked alienating allies and driving them into the arms of other partners they find more reliable.
US secretary of state calls for significant drop in violence before formal peace talks can begin
Mike Pompeo has hailed “a pretty important breakthrough” in Afghan peace talks, as officials confirmed that the Taliban had agreed to a partial week-long ceasefire as a precursor to broader peace talks and the withdrawal of at least some US troops.
But the US secretary of state said that Washington still wanted to see a significant reduction in violence before formal negotiations could begin. “If we can get there – if we can hold that posture for a while – then we’ll be able to begin the real, serious discussion which is all the Afghans sitting at a table,” Pompeo said on Thursday.
Ex-DoJ officials and watchdogs warn of ‘five-alarm fire in our democracy’
Trump congratulates Barr for ‘taking charge’ in case
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Trump: congratulations William Barr on following the order I tweeted to 72m people.
Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought. Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted. Even Bob Mueller lied to Congress!
GOP Sen. John Kennedy said Trump’s tweets about Stone were “problematic” but he also told us he’s seen “no evidence” that Trump improperly interfered and thought it was simply lack of coordination on sentencing. He wouldn’t comment directly when I asked if Barr should testify
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday asked the inspector general of the justice department to investigate the Stone sentencing recommendation reversal.
This morning on the Senate floor, Schumer called on the chair of the judiciary committee, Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, to convene hearings on the matter. Graham, a staunch ally of the president who has lately been focused on the need to investigate Hunter Biden’s conduct in Ukraine, is not likely to do that.
The president ran against the swamp in Washington, a place that is rigged by the powerful to benefit them personally. I ask my fellow Americans, what is more swampy, what is more fetid, what is more stinking than the most powerful person in the country literally changing the rules to benefit a crony guilty of breaking the law?”
NEW: Chuck Schumer calls on Lindsey Graham "to convene an emergency hearing...to conduct oversight and hold hearings" following DOJ reversal on Stone sentencing recommendation.