Cases of Infection, Deaths From Coronavirus EXPLODE in China; Coronavirus Cases Seemed to Be Leveling Off. Not Anymore; Trapped in China: U.S. Business Owner Stuck Overseas Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak

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By Daily Wire. The number of cases of those infected by the coronavirus in China exploded on Thursday as nearly 15,000 new cases and 242 new deaths from the virus were reported after health officials broadened the types of cases that they includes in their count.

The 14,840 new cases in the Hubei province was by far the largest single day spike of new cases as was the additional 242 people who were killed by it.

“Chinese officials previously only counted cases confirmed by nucleic acid tests, which critics said were faulty and greatly underestimated the true magnitude of the epidemic,” The Washington Post reported. “For weeks, Chinese doctors and patients have complained about a lack of nucleic acid testing kits and their accuracy. The dramatic jump in cases in Hubei essentially confirms longtime suspicions that China was for weeks vastly undercounting cases of the virus.” . . .

“The monthly survey of economists found 83% of economists expected the coronavirus outbreak will have a small impact on U.S. gross domestic product growth from January to March, or less than 0.5 percentage point,” The Journal reported. “Just 5% of forecasters expected a significant reduction of more than 0.5 percentage point off the quarter’s annual growth rate, while 10% expected no impact.”

Constance Hunter, chief economist at KPMG, told The Journal, “The negative demand shock from coronavirus is significant. China’s GDP will be impacted significantly and this will show up in everything from commodity prices to demand for global goods and services.” (Read more from “Deaths From Coronavirus Explodes in China” HERE)

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Coronavirus Cases Seemed to Be Leveling Off. Not Anymore.

By The New York Times. The news seemed to be positive: The number of new coronavirus cases reported in China over the past week suggested that the outbreak might be slowing — that containment efforts were working.

But on Thursday, officials added more than 14,840 new cases to the tally of the infected in Hubei Province alone, bringing the total number to 48,206, the largest one-day increase so far recorded. The death toll in the province rose to 1,310, including 242 new deaths.

The sharp rise in reported cases illustrates how hard it has been for scientists to grasp the extent and severity of the coronavirus outbreak in China, particularly inside the epicenter, where thousands of sick people remain untested for the illness. (Read more from “Coronavirus Cases Seemed to Be Leveling Off. Not Anymore.” HERE)

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Trapped in China: U.S. Business Owner Stuck Overseas Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak

By News Las Vegas. A Las Vegas business owner who went to visit her family in China more than a month ago hasn’t been able to get back home because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s serious here, it’s very serious here,” said Sarah Yang.

Sarah was set to land back in Las Vegas on Tuesday. By now, she would be helping her husband Heiko Katina run their Art to Art District Gallery in Tivoli Village. . .

She left to visit family and celebrate the Chinese new year on Jan. 1. It wasn’t until a few days later that news of the coronavirus outbreak came down.

The U.S. eventually banned entry on all foreigners traveling from China, and for the past two weeks, Sarah’s been confined to an apartment with limited interaction. (Read more from “Trapped in China: U.S. Business Owner Stuck Overseas Amidst Coronavirus Outbreak” HERE)

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Lead Roger Stone Juror Ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2012

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A former Democratic congressional candidate whose social media accounts are replete with criticism of President Donald Trump came forward Wednesday as the foreperson on the jury that convicted longtime GOP operative Roger Stone at a trial in November 2019.

According to multiple news reports, Tomeka Hart revealed her role on the jury in a Facebook post supporting the four prosecutors who withdrew from the Stone case Tuesday in protest over a revision in a sentencing recommendation for the GOP operative.

“I have kept my silence for months. Initially, it was for my safety. Then, I decided to remain silent out of fear of politicizing the matter,” Hart wrote on Facebook, adding: “But I can’t keep quiet any longer.”

CNN first reported Hart’s post but did not note that she was a Democrat. Commercial Appeal, a news outlet affiliated with USA Today that spoke to Hart, reported details of her professional background. Those details match up with the same person who ran for Congress in 2012. A Politico reporter who covered Stone’s trial identified Hart as a former congressional candidate.

Hart, who did not respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment, lost to incumbent Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen in the primary that year. (Read more from “Lead Roger Stone Juror Ran for Congress as a Democrat in 2012” HERE)

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Senate Passes War Powers Measure

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The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to advance a War Powers resolution which would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to use military action against Iran without approval from Congress.

The vote was bipartisan, 51-45, with eight Republicans voting with Democrats. The eight Republicans in favor of the resolution included Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and Indiana Sen. Todd Young.

(Read more from “Senate Passes War Powers Measure” HERE)

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Three Female Students File Lawsuit Against Transgender-Athlete Policy

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Three female high school athletes filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday challenging Connecticut’s prep sports rules that allow biological males to compete against girls, arguing that the policy robs them of competition and scholarship opportunities.

The lawsuit argued that teen track athletes Selina Soule, Chelsea Mitchell and Alanna Smith have been deprived of “honors and opportunities” after losing track-and-field races to biological males who identify as females, thanks to the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s policy allowing students to compete based on their gender identity.

The girls are represented by the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom, which argued that the policy violates Title IX, “a federal law designed to create opportunities for women in education and athletics” and reverses “nearly 50 years of advances for women.”

“Girls deserve to compete on a level playing field,” said ADF legal counsel Christiana Holcomb. “Forcing them to compete against boys isn’t fair, shatters their dreams, and destroys their athletic opportunities. Having separate boys’ and girls’ sports has always been based on biological differences, not what people believe about their gender, because those differences matter for fair competition.” . . .

“The purpose of high school athletics is to support inclusion, build social connection and teamwork, and help all students thrive and grow,” said Chase Strangio, deputy director of the ACLU LGBT & HIV Project. “Efforts to undermine Title IX by claiming it doesn’t apply to a subset of girls will ultimately hurt all students and compromise the work of ending the long legacy of sex discrimination in sports.”

(Read more from “Three Female Students File Lawsuit Against Transgender-Athlete Policy” HERE)

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North Korea Scraps ‘Christmas Surprise’ Amid China Woes

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North Korea has delayed its much-anticipated “Christmas surprise” of a major intercontinental ballistic missile test out of concern that such a provocation — after two years of stop-start nuclear diplomacy — would trigger sharp negative reactions from Washington and the international community.

South Korean analysts, including a high-level defector from the North, say Pyongyang’s planning for a launch also has been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak in China, which shares a long border with North Korea and serves as its closest security and economic ally.

“The most friendly country of North Korea — China — is having serious difficulties, and North Korea doesn’t want to make things worse,” said Lee Gee-dong, vice president of the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul. “I think for the coming three or four months, it will be quite quiet and the North Koreans will not carry out any provocative or dangerous actions against the world.”

After three inconclusive meetings between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang threatened to take a “new path” if the U.S. didn’t back off its demands for swift denuclearization by the start of 2020. But Mr. Lee said in an interview that North Korea’s Mr. Kim likely believes the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) would anger and unsettle China as well as nearby Russia. . .

“The North Koreans did not come through with any ‘Christmas present’ and they have not taken any ‘new path’ because they are well aware of the side effects that could be had,” Mr. Lee told The Washington Times. He said the Kim regime is “wary of ruining the relationship it has successfully built with Russia and China and the support it is getting from those two countries.” (Read more from “North Korea Scraps ‘Christmas Surprise’ Amid China Woes” HERE)

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Twitter Claims It ‘Mistakenly’ Censored Mike Pence Tweet

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Twitter hid a tweet from Vice President Mike Pence behind a “sensitive content” filter yesterday, meaning it was placed behind a label warning users that the tweet contained “sensitive material.” Twitter said the action was a mistake and it has been corrected.

According to Twitter, the Vice President’s tweet was “flagged as sensitive media in error,” and that the decision has been reversed. . .

This is not the first time that Twitter has censored a member of the U.S. executive branch by “mistake.” A year into President Trump’s first term, a “disgruntled customer support employee” was able to briefly delete the President’s personal Twitter account. The employee was later revealed to be Bahtiyar Duysak, a Turkish-German who was working for Twitter in the U.S. on a visa. (Read more from “Twitter Claims It ‘Mistakenly’ Censored Mike Pence Tweet” HERE)

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2 Russians Escape Coronavirus Quarantine

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Two women being quarantined in Russian hospitals amid the coronavirus outbreak escaped after complaining of dire conditions upon their return from China, where the virus originated and has killed more than 1,100 people and sickened more than 45,000 others.

One patient jumped out of a hospital window and another disabled an electronic lock in order to flee their isolation. Both had complained of uncooperative doctors, lax protocol and poor conditions, and feared they would become infected.

Russia has only two confirmed cases of the virus, but authorities have taken measures to prevent its spread by hospitalizing people returning from China as a precaution. Both women were quarantined after returning from Hainan, a tropical region in China.

One of the women published a lengthy Instagram post describing her ordeal. She said her son came down with a cough and fever days after returning to their home in Samara. The boy was diagnosed with a respiratory infection and tested at a hospital for the coronavirus.

The boy responded to treatment but his test results had been delayed for several days, she said. She accused doctors of obstructing her when she pressed for information about her son. On her fifth day in the hospital, she took a home pregnancy test, which came out positive. (Read more from “2 Russians Escape Coronavirus Quarantine” HERE)

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Actress Slams Dems’ ‘Barbaric Platform’ on Abortion

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Actress Patricia Heaton has denounced the Democratic Party’s platform for including what she called a “barbaric” position on abortion.

“I don’t understand why pro-life people want to know if they are ‘welcome’ to join the democrat party [sic],” the “Everybody Loves Raymond” co-star tweeted Wednesday. “Why would any civilized person want to support a barbaric platform that champions abortion for any reason through all nine months funded by taxpayers?”

The issue has resurfaced in recent weeks after Kristen Day, who leads Democrats for Life, asked former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg about whether the party included room for her. During a Jan. 26 Fox News town hall with Buttigieg, Day specifically took issue with the language in the party’s platform.

“The Democratic platform contains language that basically says, ‘We don’t belong, we have no part in the party because it says abortion should be legal up to nine months, the government should pay for it,'” Day told Buttigieg, who supported his party’s position.

Pro-life leaders also blasted former Buttigieg after he seemed to back away from answering whether he supported infanticide. (Read more from “Actress Slams Dems’ ‘Barbaric Platform’ on Abortion” HERE)

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Please, Let It Be Bernie Sanders!

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The same political class that got 2016 so horribly wrong is now warning us not to underestimate Bernie Sanders.

His opposition to NAFTA and free trade, they tell us, will siphon off the crucial voters in the Midwest who went for President Trump in 2016. Trump should be trembling in fear that that Sanders will be able to channel the discontent that once sent voters, especially white-working class voters, running Trump’s way.

There is no reason to believe this nonsense. Republicans should be thrilled the Democrats might be dumb enough to nominate a man whose views are more outside the political mainstream than any major political candidate since George McGovern.

Sanders’s opposition to NAFTA, a trade agreement that many of his young supporters have never heard of and can’t even spell, has nothing to do with his status atop the Democratic field. And the fact that so many pundits think it does shows a fundamental but typical Inside-the-Beltway misunderstanding of what is actually going on. Sanders is ahead because the Democrats have been captured by far leftists demanding radical change that no else wants.

Sanders wants government to take away Americans’ private health care plans. He wants to raise taxes on everything and everyone. He gives succor to America’s enemies with a spineless, toothless attitude to foreign policy that would especially coddle despotic socialists. This might be Sanders’ path to the nomination, but those things would all lead to his crushing defeat in November. Most Americans are happy with their health insurance plans and want to keep them. Most Americans don’t want their taxes raised. Most Americans don’t support erase all student loans. Most Americas don’t think bread lines are cause for optimism. (Read more from “Please, Let It Be Bernie Sanders!” HERE)

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Virginia Democrats Want to Take Your Guns and Throw You in Jail If You Won’t Give Them Up

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It’s no longer hyperbole: Virginia Democrats want to take your gun rights. At least, that’s what a new bill passed by the Democrat-controlled Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday would do.

The law bans so-called assault weapons, outlawing future sales. This bans popular models such as the AR-15, one of the most popular guns in America. Yet, the wide-ranging ban also makes it a crime to possess or transfer certain magazines. Virginians would have a year to comply and turn them in. If they don’t, they could face jail time. . .

Critics have largely focused on the draconian punishments Virginia Democrats would impose on residents who don’t kneel to magazine confiscation. The National Rifle Association, for instance, said in a statement that “[the bill] will turn law-abiding Virginians into criminals overnight. Under this bill, anyone who owns a standard capacity magazine must submit to mandatory confiscation or face one year in jail for each magazine they own.”

And the libertarian-leaning, Republican state Rep. Nick Freitas pointed out to the Washington Examiner that “this bill creates an environment where you could receive up to 12 months in jail for every magazine you have over 12 rounds.” He’s right to sound the alarm. Do Democrats seriously want to imprison people over breaking ammunition regulations?

But even more to the point, the Democratic proposal would undoubtedly limit the rights of otherwise law-abiding gun owners and even subject them to criminal penalties, yet it wouldn’t actually stop mass shootings or do much to make Virginia safer. (Read more from “Virginia Democrats Want to Take Your Guns and Throw You in Jail If You Won’t Give Them Up” HERE)

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