ISIS Attack Targets U.S. Troops at Bagram Airfield in Third Such Incident Since Taliban Peace Deal

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An Islamic State militant fired mortars at U.S. and international troops at Bagram Airfield in what security officials said was the third attack on the base since the U.S. signed a peace deal with the Taliban last month.

No one was hurt during the attack Saturday night and Bagram Airfield, the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan, was not damaged, a spokesman for the NATO Resolute Support mission said Monday.

A man in a small pickup drove through a police checkpoint near Bagram about 8 p.m. Saturday and fired three mortars at the base before escaping, said Mohammad Mahfooz Alizada, police chief of Parwan province.

Afghan police destroyed the militant’s truck, causing a large explosion, said Bagram district governor Abdul Shokour Qudousi. All of the mortars were shot down, he said. . .

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Stars and Stripes on Monday in a phone interview that the group blamed the attack on spoilers trying to “sabotage” the peace process. (Read more from “ISIS Attack Targets U.S. Troops at Bagram Airfield in Third Such Incident Since Taliban Peace Deal” HERE)

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Not Forgotten: Devin Nunes Exploring ‘Legal Remedies’ After Adam Schiff Released Phone Records

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Rep. Devin Nunes said he is exploring “all” of his legal options in response to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff subpoenaing and releasing his phone records during the recent Ukraine-related impeachment investigation.

The California Republican, who is the ranking member on the intelligence panel, gave an update to Larry O’Connor on the Examining Politics podcast last week.

“We’re going to look at all the legal remedies that we can take,” Nunes said, adding that the situation is “complicated” because of the “corrupt Democratic Congress” and because “the fake news media make up and build narratives.”

The phone call logs, subpoenaed from AT&T and Verizon, appear in a 658-page December report from House Democrats, including records of some phone calls by Nunes, presidential lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, journalist John Solomon, Fox News host Sean Hannity, indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas, and others. . .

“I’m in California, so for sure, state law, you cannot release somebody’s phone records,” Nunes said. “So, for sure, that right has been violated. But, we also have to look at the constitutional aspects of this, and do all the members of Congress have a right to privacy, and can just one member, because he doesn’t like someone and he’s a political opponent of someone, can that member just subpoena records and then release just to embarrass or to create a distraction or to build whatever fantasy-land narrative that they continue to build?” (Read more from “Not Forgotten: Devin Nunes Exploring ‘Legal Remedies’ After Adam Schiff Released Phone Records” HERE)

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WATCH: Dr. Fauci Slams the Media for Continually Trying to ‘Divide’ Him and Trump

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, expressed his contempt for the media on Sunday during an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

“You said this week that you differed from the president in an assessment that a combination of two drugs, Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin, combined, could have an outcome that he described to the public,” Margaret Brennan said. “Who is the president listening to and do you see a concern here that those drugs could become, basically oversubscribed, and there could be a shortage that could impact people who have persistent medical issues, like Lupus, and need those?”

“There’s an issue here of where we’re coming from. The president has heard, as we all have heard, are what I call ‘anecdotal reports’ that certain drugs work. So, what he was trying to do, and express, was the hope that it might work, let’s try and push their usage,” Fauci explained. “I, on the other hand, am not disagreeing with the fact that, anecdotally, they might work. But my view is to prove, definitively, from a scientific standpoint, that they do work. So I was taking a purely medical, scientific standpoint. And the president was trying to bring hope to the people.”

According to Fauci, the media is continually trying to find contrasts between what the NIAID director and the president have said about the Wuhan coronavirus.

“I think there’s this issue of trying to separate the two of us,” he said. “There isn’t fundamentally a difference there. He’s coming from a hope standpoint. I’m coming from it from a scientific standpoint.”

(Read more from “WATCH: Dr. Fauci Slams the Media for Continually Trying to ‘Divide’ Him and Trump” HERE)

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Germany’s Low Coronavirus Mortality Rate Intrigues Experts; Germany Bans Gatherings of More Than 2 to Contain Coronavirus Outbreak

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By The Guardian. Germany’s relatively low mortality rate continues to intrigue experts as Covid-19 spreads across Europe, with some questioning the methodology behind its data gathering while others argue the country’s high testing rates allow a more accurate approximation of the threat posed by the novel coronavirus.

While the pandemic has hit Germany with full force, with Johns Hopkins University noting 22,364 confirmed infections by Sunday morning, only 84 people are so far reported to have died.

This means Germany currently has the lowest mortality rate of the 10 countries most severely hit by the pandemic: 0.3% compared with 9% in Italy and 4.6% in the UK.

The contrast with Italy is especially surprising because the two countries have the highest percentage of citizens aged 65 or over in Europe. If anything, the Bloomberg Global Health Index would suggest Italians have a healthier lifestyle than Germans.

German politicians and senior health officials have been reluctant to comment on the low mortality rate while the situation is developing so rapidly. Lothar Wieler, the president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the government’s central public health body, has said he does not expect there to be a significant difference in mortality rates between Italy and Germany in the long run. (Read more from “Germany’s Low Coronavirus Mortality Rate Intrigues Experts” HERE)

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Germany Bans Gatherings of More Than 2 to Contain Coronavirus Outbreak

By Fox News. Germany took drastic action Sunday to slow the spread of the coronavirus as the European Union country banned public gatherings of more than two people.

Only families and people sharing a home are exempt from the stringent action, Chancellor Angela Merkel said, according to Bloomberg News.

“No one wants to stand before the people and discuss such rules,” Merkel said at a news conference in Berlin after a video conference with regional leaders, according to the news outlet.

Merkel, who after giving her remarks was placed in quarantine after a doctor she came in contact with tested positive for COVID-19, said the public gathering ban will be in effect for two weeks. (Read more from “Germany Bans Gatherings of More Than 2 to Contain Coronavirus Outbreak” HERE)

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Italian Virologist Says Political Correctness Doomed His Country’s Coronavirus Response; Italy Bans All Internal Travel to Stop Virus Spread

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By The Blaze. Italy is now the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe and one of the country’s top virologists says political correctness is partly to blame.

Dr. Giorgio Palù, a professor of virology and microbiology of the University of Padova and the former head of the European and Italian Society for Virology, recently said that concerns over “politics” and being perceived as “racist” delayed Rome’s response to the deadly virus that originated in China. . .

Palù told CNN that the Italian government failed by refusing to impose a wider and stricter lockdown earlier on, instead of the initial restrictions that focused on 11 areas Rome placed in a “red zone.” . . .

Palù also believes that politics delayed the government’s reaction, which he decried as “lazy in the beginning,” saying there is “too much politics in Italy.”

The virologist added, “There was a proposal to isolate people coming from the epicenter, coming from China.” However, he says the Italian government balked at the idea of singling out travelers coming from China out of concern it could be construed as racist. “Then it became seen as racist, but they were people coming from the outbreak.” (Read more from “Italian Virologist Says Political Correctness Doomed His Country’s Coronavirus Response” HERE)

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Italy Bans All Internal Travel to Stop Virus Spread

By Al Jazeera. Italy moved to stop all travel within the country, in a further escalation of its attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, a month after announcing its first death from the disease.

Italy’s travel ban was announced as all non-essential businesses including car, clothing and furniture makers were ordered to close and a further 651 people died from COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus.

Italy has recorded a death toll higher than China, where the virus first appeared late last year.

Domenico Arcuri, head of the government’s coronavirus relief effort, told state broadcaster RAI that Italy was “at war” with the virus. (Read more from “Italy Bans All Internal Travel to Stop Virus Spread” HERE)

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Senate Democrats Block Coronavirus Stimulus Bill

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By Daily Caller. The Senate on Sunday night failed to pass a procedural cloture vote on a phase-three coronavirus stimulus bill as there has been continued internal dispute between both parties.

The vote was 47-47. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Sunday that the bill would include $75 billion for hospitals and that two-thirds of all new money in the bill would go to states, however, this vote will likely end consideration of this bill. McConnell also said, “it’s just about time to take yes for an answer.” Democrats have said the coronavirus bill lacks new SNAP funds and were reportedly pushing for expanded emergency leave provisions and more than three months of unemployment insurance.

Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin, who has been negotiating with members of Congress on behalf of the White House, was spotted entering Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, 20 minutes away from the cloture vote.

McConnell voted no, which was not planned. He voted with the Democrats so he would have the option of recalling the vote, as Senate rules state.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday said she will halt negotiations with the Senate and move to pass her own coronavirus package in the House, which could drag things out longer than many expected. Pelosi’s legislation will be a $1.6 trillion emergency package, according to Politico.

The text for a phase-three Senate bill announced Friday would give $1,200 checks to every person, while couples would receive $2,400. That $1,200 check will go to Americans making less than $75,000 annually. Each child will receive $500. The amount is reduced by $5 for every $100 a person earns over $75,000. Those making above $99,000 would not get any money. (Read more from “Senate Democrats Block Coronavirus Stimulus Bill” HERE)

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Senate Democrats Block Mammoth Coronavirus Stimulus Package

By The Hill. Senate Democrats on Sunday blocked a coronavirus stimulus package from moving forward as talks on several key provisions remain stalled.

Senators voted 47-47 on advancing a “shell” bill, a placeholder that the text of the stimulus legislation would have been swapped into, falling short of the three-fifths threshold needed to advance the proposal. . .

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the bill includes “problematic” provisions and that McConnell should have made the negotiations include both chambers and the White House from the beginning.

“Unfortunately, the legislation has not improved enough in the past three hours,” he said.

McConnell appeared visibly angry as he spoke from the Senate floor after the bill failed, pledging to force the vote again. (Read more from “Senate Democrats Block Mammoth Coronavirus Stimulus Package” HERE)

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DNC Responds to Carter Page Lawsuit, Claiming Steele Dossier Is ‘Substantially True’

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Lawyers for the Democratic National Committee claimed in court filings this week that the Steele dossier’s statements regarding Trump campaign aide Carter Page were “substantially true,” a defense that is at odds with the findings of the Justice Department’s inspector general.

“Here, the ‘gist’ of the complained-of statements — that Page coordinated with Russian government contacts as an adviser to the Trump campaign — aligns with Page’s own description of his conduct,” the DNC lawyers asserted in a court filing on Monday.

The filing was the DNC’s first in response to a defamation lawsuit that Page filed on Jan. 30 accusing the DNC and two lawyers for its outside law firm, Perkins Coie, of providing false information to journalists that came from Christopher Steele, a former British spy.

Perkins Coie, which also represented the Clinton campaign, hired the firm Fusion GPS in April 2016 to investigate Donald Trump. Fusion GPS in turn hired Steele to investigate Trump’s possible ties to Russia. Steele produced 17 memos as part of the project, alleging a “well-developed conspiracy of cooperation” between the Trump campaign and Russian government.

The FBI relied heavily on Steele’s information to obtain four warrants to conduct electronic surveillance on Page. The special counsel and Justice Department inspector general (IG) have since poured cold water on Steele’s allegations of a Trump-Russia conspiracy. (Read more from “DNC Responds to Carter Page Lawsuit, Claiming Steele Dossier Is ‘Substantially True’” HERE)

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Report: Harvey Weinstein Tests Positive for Coronavirus

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Disgraced Hollywood producer turned convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for coronavirus, according to Deadline.

The Hollywood trade publication reported Sunday that “an Empire State law enforcement official” confirmed to them that Weinstein tested positive for the Chinese virus mere days after being transferred to the Wende Correctional Facility from Rikers Island in New York City. . .

Harvey Weinstein was moved to Wende Correction Facility from Riker on March 18. As of this reporting, there are roughly 40 inmates at Rikers who’ve tested positive for coronavirus in the past week, when Weinstein was incarcerated there. On March 6, Weinstein was moved to an infirmary unit at Rikers Island after undergoing a heart procedure at the hospital where he’d been held since his conviction on February 24. He is now in medial isolation. (Read more from “Report: Harvey Weinstein Tests Positive for Coronavirus” HERE)

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‘Gee That’s Too Bad’– Trump Reacts to News That Mitt Romney Isolated for Possible Coronavirus; Rand Paul Tests Positive

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By Breitbart. President Donald Trump reacted to the news on Sunday that Sen. Mitt Romney was currently isolated after spending time with Sen. Rand Paul who tested positive for the virus.

“Romney’s in isolation?” Trump asked. “Gee, that’s too bad.”

(Read more from “‘Gee That’s Too Bad’– Trump Reacts to News That Mitt Romney Isolated for Possible Coronavirus” HERE)

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Rand Paul Tests Positive for Coronavirus

By Buzzfeed News. Republican Sen. Rand Paul has tested positive for the coronavirus, a staff member announced on Sunday.

According to a tweet from the Kentucky Republican’s account, Paul does not have symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, though he tested positive.

“He is asymptomatic and was tested out of an abundance of caution due to his extensive travel and events,” the tweet said. “He was not aware of any direct contact with any infected person.”

Paul is the first US senator to test positive for the disease, and two members of the House of Representatives — Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, and Utah Democrat Ben McAdams — tested positive last week.

Paul was present at the US Capitol last week as the Senate has remained in session — in spite of recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people avoid gathering in groups of 10 or larger. His staff began working remotely 10 days ago, a tweet from Paul’s account said. (Read more from “Rand Paul Tests Positive for Coronavirus” HERE)

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Man Arrested for Lying About Having Coronavirus

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Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said Thursday that a man will face multiple charges after lying about testing positive for coronavirus.

Wright said Jeffery Travis Long worked at Sitel in Inman. The sheriff said the business was shut down and evacuated after Long provided a forged letter claiming he had the virus.

“He just wanted a two week vacation,” Wright said of the suspect.

Wright said Inman police charged Long with breach of peace and forgery. The sheriff’s office will also file an additional count of forgery, Wright said.

Long was granted a $10,000 bond and fined $200. (Read more from “Man Arrested for Lying About Having Coronavirus” HERE)

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