Author: CensorBiz

Did the conservative Brigham Young University (BYU) update its student code of conduct and loosen restrictions on homosexuality … or not?Reports last week announced that the updated honor code was less restrictive about same-sex behavior among its nearly 34,000 students. BYU, which operates on four campuses in Utah, Idaho and Hawaii, is a private, not-for-profit school governed by the religious doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), also known as Mormons. Nearly all BYU students belong to the LDS church. “We have removed the more prescriptive language and kept the focus on the principles of the Honor Code, which have not changed,” wrote BYU spokesperson Todd Hollingshead in an email to VOA. “We did this to align the Honor Code with the doctrine and policies of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”Hollingshead said the university is trying to be more inclusive to its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students. The updated policy took out any negative connotations regarding homosexuality. “We believe that removing the more prescriptive language from the Honor Code is helpful for our LGBTQ students,” Hollingshead wrote.  “We want our LGBTQ students to feel welcome and included on our campus.”But the existing guidance and honor code on the BYU website and approved Feb. 12 is definitively hetero.“Be honest. … Live a chaste and virtuous life, including abstaining from any sexual relations outside a marriage between a man and a woman. … Encourage others in their commitment to comply with the Honor Code.”There are numerous references endorsing relationships between a man and a woman, but sexual relations are restricted to married church members.While the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints defines “same-sex attraction” as “emotional, physical, romantic, or sexual attraction to a person of the same gender,” it does not condone it. “There may have been some miscommunication as to what the Honor Code changes mean,” stated the official BYU Twitter account. “Even though we have removed the more prescriptive language, the principles of the Honor Code remain the same.”Some students celebrated the initial announcement.“I’m here, I’m queer and I deserve to feel safe,” Matty Easton tweeted. “Girls and gays, we did it!” Less than a year ago I joined my student body in protesting BYU’s honor code, a policy that banned same-gender romantic relationships. As of today, homosexual relationships are now treated the same as heterosexual ones at BYU :’) Girls and gays, we did it! ❤️🌈 pic.twitter.com/67VGLC3mgU— Matty Easton (@easton_matty) February 19, 2020Others say the policy toward LGBTQ students remains unclear.“Hey @BYU. If I wrote an essay with the same vagueness as your Honor Code, my writing professors would give me an F,” tweeted Andy Denison. “If you’re going to make an point, you must state it, not be vague about it so you can claim it might be there when it’s convenient to you.” Hey @BYUIf I wrote an essay with the same vagueness as your Honor Code, my writing professors would give me an F. If you’re going to make an point, you must state it, not be vague about it so you can claim it might be there when it’s convient to you.— NDY 🌈 (@andy_denison) February 20, 2020LGBTQ students and their supporters claimed the rule was unfair, since it was not required of heterosexual couples. In the past, students criticized language that barred gay couples from holding hands, which is permitted for heterosexual couples. The university bans all sex before marriage for all students.Behind the policy changes are complaints from students about the way the honor code is enforced. BYU has an honor code office to which anonymous charges can be made about student behavior on or off campus that violates the code. The office conducts an interview and investigation that may result in dismissal. Students posted their disagreement with honor code office policies and actions to Instagram last year, where they created @honorcodestories.  Posts compared BYU sexual assault investigations to victim-blaming and shaming.  View this post on InstagramPrior to this conversation, the student had already taken the sexual assault case to court and was granted a restraining order. Note that the victim has recounted these same details discussed on the call on multiple occasions with both Title IX and the HCO. This condensed version of the call is intended to provide a sample of the traumatizing, sexually explicit questions this sexual assault victim had to answer multiple times over the course of a 4 month investigation, fearing that refusal to comply would result in expulsion from BYU. Some parts of the call have been removed due to graphic content. This student wishes to remain anonymous, so her voice has been cut from the recording. All BYU employees on this call have since been promoted. We have received numerous reports of similar experiences with these employees since their promotions. The kind of conversations on this call are still happening inside of The Honor Code Office.A post shared by Honor Code Stories (@honorcodestories) on May 10, 2019 at 7:38am PDT“The goal of this Instagram account is to give students a voice and to let them know that they are not alone. We are here to shine a light on what goes on within The Honor Code Office.” 
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper says the U.S. and South Korean militaries are considering a reduction in training exercises on the Korean peninsula, as South Korea struggles to contain a coronavirus outbreak.The commander of U.S. forces in Korea and South Korea’s top general “are looking at scaling back the command post training due to concerns about the coronavirus,” Esper told reporters Monday at a Pentagon briefing with his Korean counterpart, Jeong Kyeong-doo.“The situation is quite serious,” Jeong said, adding that movement between military units had been limited.As of Sunday, 13 members of South Korea’s armed forces had tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Jeong. He added that members of the Korean armed forces are being prevented from taking vacation breaks or moving to different units in an effort to stop the virus from spreading further.Both officials said that the alliance’s defense posture would remain strong even in the event of changes to training due to the coronavirus.The number of coronavirus cases has jumped to 833 in South Korea, and the death toll has risen to seven.The United States has raised its travel advisories for South Korea and Japan, with fears across the globe that the two Asian nations could possibly become another hotbed of infections outside of China, where the virus originated.Emerging coronavirus outbreaks have also been seen in Iran and Italy.
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The United States wants Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to defer his second-term inauguration over concerns it could inflame an election feud with his political rival and jeopardize U.S.-led peacemaking efforts, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.Ghani claimed victory last week in a disputed Sept. 28 election and plans to take the oath of office on Thursday, an Afghan official said. His opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, Ghani’s former deputy, also proclaimed himself the winner and is planning a parallel inauguration, according to Afghan media reports.The competing claims, neither of which Washington has recognized, threaten a U.S.-led peace process that got a boost on Saturday with the start of a week-long reduction in violence that is to culminate on Saturday with the signing of a U.S.-Taliban deal on a U.S. troop withdrawal.Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, center, addresses the media following a conference with his party members, in Kabul, Feb. 18, 2020.The U.S.-Taliban agreement is to be followed by inter-Afghan talks on a political settlement to end decades of war.But the Ghani-Abdullah feud threatens to further complicate the naming of a delegation to negotiate with the insurgents, a process already mired in delays and disputes.A source familiar with the matter said that because of those concerns, U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been in Kabul since last week, wants Ghani to delay his planned inauguration to a second five-year term.The U.S. State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Afghan Embassy in Washington declined comment.President Donald Trump has made the withdrawal of the roughly 13,000 U.S. service members from Afghanistan a major foreign policy objective. An agreement with the Taliban to end America’s longest war could boost Trump’s re-election prospects.A former senior Afghan official said Khalilzad, an Afghan-born veteran U.S. diplomat, was pressing Ghani to postpone the ceremony and trying to persuade Abdullah to do the same to preserve the peace process.The sources requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.Vote-rigging allegationsThe former senior Afghan official said that even if there was an “inclusive” delegation chosen to talk with the Taliban, the Ghani-Abdullah feud could “spill into the negotiating process.”U.S. allies also appeared to share U.S. concerns that the dispute could hamper the peace process, with NATO’s civilian representative to Kabul calling on Monday for “calm, dialogue and compromise by all political leaders.”Writing on Twitter, Nicholas Kay urged “all parties to prioritize the peace process and national unity. NATO does not support actions by any party that increase tensions or the risk of violence.”There are about 4,000 non-U.S. NATO troops in Afghanistan. China, which has a border with Afghanistan, said it welcomed a “possible” U.S. Taliban deal.The official Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian as saying that foreign forces should be withdrawn in a way that avoids “a security vacuum, which terrorist organizations may take advantage of.”The Sept. 28 presidential election vote-counting process was beset by allegations of rigging, technical problems with biometric devices used for voting and other irregularities.The Independent Election Commission said on Feb. 18 that Ghani had won 50.64% of the vote, while Abdullah was named the runner-up with 39.52%.Abdullah rejected the results, and said he would name his own Cabinet. Last weekend, he named loyalists as governors to two provinces.U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to topple the Taliban rulers who provided the sanctuary in which the al Qaeda militant group planned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed almost 3,000 people.The U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan are part of a U.S-led NATO mission that is training and assisting Afghan forces and carrying out counterterrorism operations to prop up the Kabul government and prevent an al Qaeda resurgence.
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In the Democratic presidential race, all eyes are on South Carolina this week in anticipation of Saturday’s primary.Former Vice President Joe Biden is counting on a victory, with help from the state’s large number of African American voters, to get back in the race and stem the momentum of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the clear front-runner for the Democratic nomination.Recent polls show Sanders edging closer to Biden in the top spot after Sanders’ strong showing in the first three contests in Iowa, New Hampshire  and Nevada.The Democratic field is also looking ahead to next week’s Super Tuesday primaries, the single most important day on the primary election calendar.Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, with his wife Jane, raises his hand as he speaks during a campaign event in San Antonio, Feb. 22, 2020.What is Super Tuesday?Journalists and political experts coined the term decades ago to describe the day when more states hold presidential nominating elections — either primaries or caucuses — than any other day in the election year. Super Tuesday runs from early February to early June. This year, it falls on March 3.Why is it significant?Super Tuesday is a major political test for candidates seeking their party’s presidential nomination. A large number of states holding primaries on the same day presents huge challenges for presidential contenders, and can often make or break a campaign.  It is seen as the first truly national test for a presidential aspirant. Several larger states with numerous delegates at stake will be contested on Super Tuesday, including California and Texas, the nation’s two largest.Which states vote on Super Tuesday?This year, 14 states hold primaries. The popular-vote tallies in the various states will be used to award pledged delegates to the contenders. In total, 1,357 pledged delegates will be at stake, which is about 34% of the total number of delegates that will be allocated during the primary and caucus season.In order to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, a candidate must secure 1,991 delegates out of a total of 3,979 pledged delegates at the convention.The Democratic delegates will select the nominee at the party’s national convention in July in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  In addition to the Super Tuesday primaries, the territory of American Samoa will hold a Democratic caucus on March 3.  Registered Democrats who live overseas will vote in the Democrats Abroad primary March 3 through March 10.What is the history of Super Tuesday?  Beginning in the 1970s, a few states began to slowly cluster some of their primaries on the same date.  The effort to create a Super Tuesday of primaries gained momentum in 1988 when several southern states decided to hold their primaries on the same day in the hopes that southern candidates in the Democratic Party could improve their chances of winning the nomination.In 1992, Democratic candidate Bill Clinton won several southern primaries on his way to the party’s nomination. In 1996, Republican candidate Bob Dole’s strong showing helped him clinch the party nomination that year.During the 2000 campaign, Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush effectively secured their nominations with Super Tuesday victories.In 2016, Republican Donald Trump won seven of the 10 contested Super Tuesday states.Who is favored this year in Super Tuesday contests?The Democratic race is getting all the attention this year because Trump has only token opposition within the Republican Party.Sanders is perhaps best positioned to do well, due to his strong showings so far in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. He also has a strong fundraising base and a campaign organization that has him competitive in most of the states voting on March 3. Sanders is heavily favored in his home state of Vermont, and has been leading in polls in California and  other states.But he could get a strong challenge in several states from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and perhaps from Biden.FILE PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg holds a campaign rally in Salt Lake City, Feb. 20, 2020.  Bloomberg has spent an estimated $400 million on television ads to boost his candidacy in the Super Tuesday states after having skipped the first four contests.In addition to Sanders, Bloomberg and Biden, the Democratic contenders vying for delegates on Super Tuesday include Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar; and billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer.At the very least, Warren and Klobuchar expect to do well in their home states, both of which vote on Super Tuesday.But candidates who fail to do well may be forced to reassess their chances going forward, particularly if their fundraising begins to dwindle. That would limit their ability to compete in some of the larger states holding primaries later in March, including Florida, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio.
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The World Health Organization says the coronavirus outbreak does not yet fit the criterion for a pandemic — but warns a pandemic is possible and nations should prepare.There are now more than 77,000 cases of the virus in China and more than 2,000 elsewhere, and the overall death toll stands at over 2,600. The sudden surge of coronavirus cases in South Korea, Iran and Italy over the past few days has created fears that what had been an epidemic is now becoming a pandemic.  WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the virus has a potential for becoming a pandemic, but that time is not yet here.Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, attends a news conference on the coronavirus in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 24, 2020.”Our decision about whether to use the word pandemic to describe an epidemic is based on an ongoing assessment of the geographical spread of the virus, the severity of the disease it causes and the impact it has on the whole society,” Tedros said.  He says this is not a pandemic, but a series of epidemics in different parts of the world, requiring a tailored response to contain the spread of the disease.”We must focus on containment while doing everything we can to prepare for a potential pandemic,” Tedros said. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Every country must make its own risk assessment for its own context.”  The WHO chief says his agency continues to do its own risk assessment and is monitoring the evolution of the epidemic around the clock. He says there are several crucial measures countries should take to protect themselves and their people.All countries, he says, must protect health workers, who are the front-line responders of the deadly disease. Additionally, steps must be taken to protect the elderly with underlying health conditions, who are most at risk of becoming seriously ill.On a brighter note, Tedros says international experts investigating the origin and evolution of the disease in China found that the epidemic there peaked and plateaued between January 23 and February 2. Since then, they say cases have been declining steadily.The experts say there has been no change in the DNA of the virus. The fatality rate in China’s Wuhan province, the epicenter of the disease, is between two and four percent; outside Wuhan, it is less than one percent.
 
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South Korean schools closed, and major events — including concerts and the opening of the top Korean football league — were indefinitely postponed Monday, as the country attempted to limit the spread of the coronavirus.Warning of a “grave watershed moment,” South Korean President Moon Jae-in has placed South Korea on the highest alert level. The move gives authorities greater latitude to forcibly restrict public gatherings and enforce quarantines on those with the virus.  South Korea reported 231 new infections Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 833. Authorities also reported the seventh death from the highly transmissible virus, which causes a disease called Covid-19.The U.S. military, which has over 28,000 troops in South Korea, also raised its risk level  to “high” on Monday after reporting  its first coronavirus case:  a 61-year-old woman who visited a store at Camp Walker in the southeastern part of the country on February 12 and 15.  The country saw a spike in coronavirus infections starting last week. The outbreak has raised concerns the virus is spreading outside China, where it originated, and may turn into a global pandemic.Workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant at a market in the southeastern city of Daegu, South Korea, as a preventive measure after the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, Feb. 23, 2020.Most of the infections are in the southeastern part of the country, including Daegu, South Korea’s fourth-largest city, where authorities have warned residents to stay inside and many businesses have closed.  Local media showed long lines snaking around a Daegu department store, as residents tried to buy face masks and other emergency supplies, which in some cases have shot up in price.In Seoul, which reported a smaller surge in cases last week, many convenience and department stores ran out of face masks and other supplies.Yoon So-young, a 20-year-old student in Seoul, says he plans to buy extra water and food and has already purchased face masks and hand sanitizers. “I am worried,” he said. “I think the government should have taken firmer steps (to contain the virus).”Major campaignAuthorities have undertaken a massive public health campaign over the past week.Residents receive emergency text message alerts when they go near locations that have been visited by a coronavirus-infected patient. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sends out several alerts per day — in English and Korean — detailing the latest infection cases.  A huge screen about precautions against the COVID-19 is seen in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 23, 2020.Many major office buildings use thermal cameras to monitor the temperature of people who entered. Signs on sidewalks, buses, and train stations encourage residents to take proper hygiene steps. Many businesses are providing hand sanitizer.  Almost 32,000 people have been tested for the virus, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Around half of the confirmed infections are linked to the services of a fringe religious group in Daegu. Hundreds of police have been tasked with searching for the remaining members of the group who have not been tested, according to local media.Economic impactThere are concerns the outbreak could hurt South Korea’s economy, which had already seen lagging growth.  President Moon on Monday said the country is in an “emergency economic situation” and called for a “bold injection” of government funds to virus-hit areas, according to the Yonhap news agency.  South Korea’s benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed nearly 4 percent down Monday.Some major South Korean companies have been forced to temporarily halt or reduce production due to a shortage of parts from China, where many factories have closed.  Local businesses are also hurting from an apparent reduction in tourism.  At a street-side stand in Seoul’s tourist area of Myeongdong, a vendor selling a sweet, red bean-filled pastry said his sales have plummeted by about two-thirds. 
“My sales have shrunk. They’ve really shrunk a lot,” said the man, who did not want to provide his name. “I think it will take at least six months to recover.”  CriticismThe outbreak also threatens to become a sensitive political issue, just weeks ahead of an important legislative election.Many conservative and other critics have urged the government to tighten restrictions on the entry of people from China. An editorial in the conservative Chosun Ilbo compared the government’s virus containment efforts to trying to “catch flies with the windows wide open.”  But South Korean authorities have rejected those demands, noting the virus has now begun spreading locally among people with no links to China.  The coronavirus has infected nearly 80,000 people worldwide and killed over 2,600. Almost all of the infections and deaths have been in China.     
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Authorities in northern Italy have banned tourism and ordered closures of many public places in Lombardy and Veneto provinces to stop the spread of coronavirus which has killed three people and infected at least 152 people in the country. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports Italy now has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Europe. 
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Israel’s military says its warplanes struck Islamic Jihad targets in Palestinian-ruled Gaza and near Damascus in Syria after a barrage of rocket fire into Israel from Gaza Sunday.Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks. The group was infuriated by images of the body of a Palestinian militant dangling from an Israeli military bulldozer. Israeli soldiers shot the militant as he tried to plant a bomb along the Israeli-Gaza border fence.The bulldozer crossed into Gaza to move the body.Israel says at least 20 rockets were fired from Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. Israel’s Iron Dome defense system stopped most of the rockets.Israel retaliated with airstrikes on Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza and an Islamic Jihad facility near Damascus.Palestinian medical officials say four were wounded in Gaza. Syria says most of the Israeli missiles were intercepted and has so far not reported any injuries or damage.
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Barbara “B.” Smith, one of the nation’s top black models who went on to open restaurants, launch a successful home products line and write cookbooks, has died at her Long Island home at age 70 after battling early onset Alzheimer’s disease.Smith’s family announced on social media that she died Saturday evening.“Heaven is shining even brighter now that it is graced with B.’s dazzling and unforgettable smile,” Smith’s husband Dan Gasby said on Facebook.Smith’s eponymous Manhattan restaurant opened in 1986 and attracted a following among affluent black New Yorkers, The New York Times recalled. Essence magazine described it as the place “where the who’s who of black Manhattan meet, greet and eat regularly.”Smith wrote three cookbooks, founded three successful restaurants and launched a nationally syndicated television show and a magazine. Her successful home products line was the first from a black woman to be sold at a nationwide retailer when it debuted in 2001 at Bed Bath & Beyond.In 1976, she became the second black model to be on the cover of Mademoiselle magazine, after Joli Jones in 1969.“You epitomized class, true beauty and dignity. Rest well Queen,” actress Viola Davis wrote on Twitter.Smith was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2013. She and Gasby raised awareness of the disease, and particularly its impacts on the African-American community, following her diagnosis.Some described Smith as a “black Martha Stewart,” a comparison she said she didn’t mind though she believed the two lifestyle mavens were quite different.“Martha Stewart has presented herself doing the things domestics and African Americans have done for years,” she said in a 1997 interview with New York magazine. “We were always expected to redo the chairs and use everything in the garden. This is the legacy that I was left. Martha just got there first.”In the same interview, Gasby said, “Martha is perfection and Barbara is passion.”Smith began suffering from memory problems years before her diagnosis. She once froze for several seconds while being interviewed on the “Today Show,” prompting a doctor’s visit that led to her diagnosis. A few months later, she was missing in New York City for a day.In 2018, Gasby revealed that he was in a relationship with another woman while caring for his ailing wife, leading to harsh criticism from some of her fans. He fired back at critics with a Facebook post about the pain of living with Alzheimer’s in the family. “I love my wife but I can’t let her take away my life,” he wrote.The couple co-authored a book, “Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our fight Against Alzheimer’s,” and have partnered with the Brain Health Registry.Smith, a native of Pennsylvania, began her career as a fashion model in Pittsburgh and went on to serve as a spokeswoman for Verizon, Colgate, Palmolive Oxy and McCormick’s Lawry seasonings. She hosted the nationally syndicated television show “B. Smith with Style” for nearly a decade, which aired on NBC stations.Smith is survived by Gasby, whom she married in 1992, and her stepdaughter Dana Gasby.
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The Site Intelligence Group reported on Sunday that the al-Qaida confirmed the death of Qasim al-Rimi, the leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).According to reports, AQAP announced Khalid Battarfi is the new leader of al-Qaida in Yemen. Battarfi was Rimi’s deputy and had been responsible for the group’s media over the past years.U.S. President Donald Trump had announced early in February the United States had killed Rimi in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.  The U.S. government considers the AQAP as one of the deadliest branches of the al-Qaida network.”Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces,” Trump said. “His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security.”Rimi was one of 23 men who had escaped in the February 2006 prison-break in Yemen, along with other al-Qaida members. He was also connected to a July 2007 suicide bombing that killed eight Spanish tourists.  The U.S. government had offered a $10 million reward for information on Rimi.Rimi joined al-Qaida in the 1990s under the Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. He has been linked to several plots targeting Americans.Rimi’s death is the third significant terrorist killed in a U.S. operation in recent months.In October, U.S. officials confirmed that Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed. In January, the U.S. carried out a strike that killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.
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US national security adviser Robert O’Brien says that he has not seen “any evidence” that Russia is doing anything to help President Donald Trump get re-elected, but acknowledged he has not sought out intelligence reports that allege Moscow is interfering in the 2020 election.  Trump, who departed Sunday for a trip to India, has dismissed any suggestion Russia want him to win the November election.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more
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Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders won an emphatic victory in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, strengthening his claim to the party nomination, but drawing protests from his challengers about his chances to defeat Republican President Donald Trump in November’s national election.
“In Nevada we have just put together a multi-generational, multiracial coalition, which is going to not only win in Nevada, it is going to sweep this country,” Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, told cheering supporters at a rally in Texas, where voting takes place March 3, along with 13 other states.
“We are bringing our people together — black and white and Latino, Native American, Asian American, gay and straight,” he said.WATCH: Mike O’Sullivan’s video reportSorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Sanders led among those with college degrees and those without and in every age group except those over 65. In the first state to vote in the string of Democratic nominating contests with an ethnically diverse electorate, Sanders won more than half of Hispanics who voted and even narrowly won among those who identified as moderate or conservative.With more than half the vote counted, Sanders won 46%, Biden 20%, Buttigieg 15%, Warren 10% and Klobuchar 5%.Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks during a caucus night event, Feb. 22, 2020, in Las Vegas.Biden, once the national leader among Democrats to take on Trump, claimed success despite winning less than than half as many votes at Sanders.
“Y’all did it for me,” he told supporters at a Nevada union hall. “I ain’t a socialist. I’m not a plutocrat. I’m a Democrat, and proud of it,” he said.Biden, who now has lost the first three nominating contests, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” show, “I feel good about where we are. I feel good about going into South Carolina,” which votes next Saturday. “And I feel good about the kind of support I’ve had with African-Americans around the country.”Buttigieg, hoping to become the moderate Democrat to take on Sanders, claimed the Vermont senator is a divisive figure that would encounter headwinds against Trump when he seeks a second four-year term in the White House.Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign rally, Feb. 22, 2020, in Denver.”Before we rush to nominate Senator Sanders in our one shot to take on this president, let us take a sober look at the consequences,” Buttigieg said, adding that Sanders “believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans.”Warren, in Seattle, Washington, said, “I’ve got a word for Nevada, thank you for keeping me in the fight.”Warren, as she did at a Democratic debate last week, attacked former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has spent more than $400 million of his own money in a national advertising campaign to gain a foothold in the Democratic race, but stumbled badly on the debate stage with five other challengers seeking the nomination.Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.,speaks during a town hall, Feb. 21, 2020, in Las Vegas.Warren, making a joke about Bloomberg’s short stature, called Bloomberg “a big threat, not a tall one” who is trying to “buy this election.”Bloomberg, by his choice, was not on the Nevada ballot, nor will he be next week at the South Carolina primary, instead focusing on the Super Tuesday voting March 3, when he will be on the ballot as a third of the delegates to the July national nominating convention will be picked in one day in votes across the country.His advertising campaign has raised his profile nationally, but analysts are waiting to see whether he improves his debate performance when all six candidates debate again in South Carolina on Tuesday night.The challengers to Sanders are all looking to edge out other candidates to be left standing in a one-on-one face-off with him. Sanders, who also won the popular vote in Iowa and New Hampshire, now has the early lead in pledged delegates to the national convention and the prospect of winning a vast haul of delegates in the March 3 voting and in states that vote in the two weeks after that.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg holds a campaign rally in Salt Lake City, Utah, Feb. 20, 2020.Kevin Sheekey, Bloomberg’s campaign manager, said, “The Nevada results reinforce the reality that this fragmented field is putting Bernie Sanders on pace to amass an insurmountable delegate lead.” Bloomberg, at last week’s debate, contended that Sanders would lose a national election to Trump.A long-time Democratic strategist, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, told ABC’s “This Week” show, that Sanders can yet be stopped from winning the Democratic presidential nomination, but said that, “The moderates have to coalesce around one candidate.”As the votes were slowly counted in Nevada, Trump offered his assessment of the contest to be his opponent.”Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada,” Trump said on Twitter. “Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates. Congratulations Bernie, & don’t let them take it away from you!”Looks like Crazy Bernie is doing well in the Great State of Nevada. Biden & the rest look weak, & no way Mini Mike can restart his campaign after the worst debate performance in the history of Presidential Debates. Congratulations Bernie, & don’t let them take it away from you!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2020
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Pope Francis has cautioned against “unfair” solutions aimed at ending the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.In a speech Sunday during a visit to the Italian southern port city of Bari to reflect on peace in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Francis lamented the many areas of war and conflict, including in the Middle East and Northern Africa.Francis spoke of “the still unresolved conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, with the danger of not fair solutions, and, thus, presaging new crises.”The pope didn’t cite any specific proposals.A new U.S. peace plan would let Israel annex all of its settlements along with the strategic Jordan Valley. It would give the Palestinians limited autonomy in several chunks of territory with a capital on the outskirts of Jerusalem, but only if they meet stringent conditions.In the same speech, Francis took a swipe at populist politics. “It scares me when I hear some speeches by some leaders of the new forms of popularism,” he said. He also lamented that waves of refugees fleeing conflicts, climate change consequences and other adversity are “depicted as an invasion.”Among the prelates gathered for his speech in Bari’s Pontifical Basilica of St. Nicholas were churchmen from the Balkans, Jerusalem and Algeria. 
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Eight people were killed in Turkey in a magnitude 5.7 earthquake that struck western Iran early Sunday morning, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu said.
    
The quake centered west of the Iranian city of Khoy and affected villages in the Turkish province of Van.
    
Soylu told a news conference that three children and four adults were killed in Turkey’s Baskule district. He later said another person had died.
    
No one remained trapped under fallen buildings, Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez said.
    
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said at least 21 people had been injured, including eight who are in a critical condition.
    
Emergency teams have been sent to the remote mountainous region.
    
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the earthquake affected 43 villages in the mountainous Qotour area. It reported some residents were injured but didn’t say any were in critical condition.
    
According to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC), the quake, which happened at 9:22 a.m. local time (0552GMT), had a depth of 5 kilometers.
    
The region has a history of powerful earthquakes. Last month a quake centered on the eastern Turkish city of Elazig killed more than 40 people.
    
Turkish broadcaster NTV showed images of locals and soldiers digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings as families fearing further tremors sat in snowy streets. The EMSC reported several further quakes that measured up to magnitude 3.9.A man carries a wounded boy to an ambulance after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale town in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran, Feb. 23, 2020.The effects of the quake hit four villages in Van. Sevenof the fatalities occurred in Ozpinar village, where Soylu said search and rescue teams had arrived. He added that the quake caused 1,066 buildings to collapse while the Education Ministry said a number of schools were damaged.
    
Koca said 25 ambulances, a medical helicopter and 13 emergency teams had been sent to the region. The Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said 144 tents for families had been dispatched.
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When dancer Camila Prins entered Sao Paulo’s Carnival parade grounds, a costume of feathers clinging to her sinuous body, she fulfilled a dream of feminine beauty nearly three decades old.Prins says she first realized she wanted to be a woman at a Carnival party at age 11, when, like the other boys, she was allowed to dress like a girl as part of the burlesque festivities. Now, in the final minutes of Saturday, she became the first transgender woman to lead the drum section of a top samba school in either of the renowned Carnival parades put on in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.Prins, 40, was hand-picked to be “godmother” of the Colorado do Bras samba school’s drum section, an iconic role fought over by dozens of models and TV celebrities. Her duty was to dance infectiously for 65 minutes in front of the drummers, using her legs to drive their rhythm while judges assessed the school’s parade.“Gorgeous women wanted to be here. I’m very excited because this shows we can be anywhere. We can be godmother of the drummers, we can be owners of a samba school,” Prins told The Associated Press before the parade. “Soon they will see many other transgender girls, who will find it easier than I did.”Transgender godmother Camila Prins from the Colorado do Bras samba school performs during a Carnival parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Feb. 23, 2020. Prins fulfilled a dream nearly three decades old.Samba league’s bold decisionColorado do Bras, which rose to Sao Paulo’s top samba league only two years ago, made a bold decision in picking Prins for the role, despite Brazil’s Carnival being a party at which few things have never been tried.Transgender people remain something of a taboo among Brazilians, even in Sao Paulo, the country’s most cosmopolitan city and host to the world’s largest gay pride parade. Brazil has more killings of transvestites and transgender people than any country in the world. In 2019, 124 were killed, 21 of them in Sao Paulo state.As godmother of the drum section, Prins teamed up with a drum queen who has a similar role, and together they worked to dazzle fans in the Sambadrome bleachers with their beauty and sex appeal. Prins said she was counting on her penetrating brown eyes, long blond hair, strong legs, open smile and imposing breasts to help win points from the judges.Colorado do Bras finished the 2019 parade in 11th place, only two spots above the cutoff for being relegated back to a lower league. Directors of the samba school decided to try for something different this year, since the group has fewer resources than richer samba schools. Its floats and costumes were clearly less luxurious than the main challengers for the title.Camila Prins sits in a chair as she has her makeup done before performing for Colorado do Bras samba school in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Feb. 22, 2020. Her costume is ready on a nearby bed.A new normalKeila Simpson, president of Brazil’s National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals, was happy Prins secured her prominent Carnival role, and said their community aims to make cases like hers the new normal.“We have to be proud of Camila and hope her symbolic message allows us to think of reducing violence against trans people. Why can people celebrate her at the Sambadrome while trans people on the street are subject to violence?” Simpson said. “We don’t have data, but there are many violent cases against us during Carnival. Because there’s more of us outside, there’s more attacks.”Sao Paulo is trying to root out persecution of LGBT people during Carnival, and this year set up 20 tents spread among major street parties to handle cases of violence against the community. Psychologists, police officers and social workers are on hand until Wednesday for revelers who are victimized.English teacher Alessandra Salvador, a transgender woman who encouraged revelers to come to the city hall tent at the LGBT street party Minhoqueens, said she was excited by Prins’ selection.“I don’t even watch parades that much, but this year I will when she is on,” Salvador said. “It is good to see one of us being talked up. We don’t get it so often. If we don’t get that in Carnival, we won’t get it anywhere else.”Long road to big leaguesIt’s been a long road for Prins to reach the big leagues. She has worked as a professional dancer for 20 years and, though she lives in a small town in Switzerland with her husband, practices her steps at home all year and listens to samba incessantly. As Carnival nears, she splits her dance routine with ab workouts and squats at a gym, then makes her annual return to Brazil.Prins’ first time dancing as a samba school’s godmother came in 2018, in the second division of Sao Paulo’s Carnival league. And it wasn’t easy.“Many people turned their backs, because they thought I shouldn’t be there. They thought it was a role for a woman,” Prins said. “Little by little I won them over with a lot of respect and true dancing.”Prins said her friends in Switzerland feared for her because of the increase in violence against transgender people, and because of the rise of far-right political groups in Brazil. She said she was worried about an increase in hateful comments aimed at LGBT people since President Jair Bolsonaro took office Jan. 1, 2019, but she planned to keep her smile and march on.Just before midnight, when Colorado do Bras finally started its parade, a TV Globo reporter approached a tearful Prins in front of her drummers. She was already the most talked about of all 2,200 members of the samba school, even more than eight young topless women dressed as “goddesses of the sea.” “I feel so blessed this is happening. I came here to hold my banner and dance samba to the face of prejudice, for all the LGBT community,” she said. “Trans girls, I am sure your day will come, too. I am just the first, many more of you will follow.”
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Sen. Bernie Sanders cruised to victory in the Nevada caucuses, heartening his supporters and stoking alarm among moderates who fear he is too liberal and would lose to President Donald Trump.Here are some takeaways from the Nevada caucuses:Sanders’ presidential bid gets rocket fuelSanders’ convincing win means there is no longer an asterisk next to his status as the front-runner in the race. He proved his strength with a broad coalition that included Latino voters, union members and African Americans.Now Sanders claims three victories in a row heading into South Carolina next Saturday, and more important, Super Tuesday on March 3 when about one-third of the delegates needed for the nomination are at stake. The biggest prizes that day, California and Texas, look a lot like Nevada demographically.FILE – Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg at a campaign rally in Salt Lake City, Feb. 20, 2020.Another advantage: His opponents remain splintered and, with the exception of billionaire former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, underfunded to compete across such a vast terrain.But now there will be extraordinary pressure to try to consolidate moderate support in an effort to stop Sanders’ rise. And Sen. Elizabeth Warren will have a decision to make on how much she tries to draw separation from Sanders since they are both competing for the progressive vote.There is at least one strong note of caution about Sanders’ success. In Iowa and New Hampshire he didn’t seem to grow the electorate substantially. Data is still out in Nevada.Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign rally, Feb. 22, 2020, in Denver.Buttigieg issues warning about SandersFormer South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg ran well behind Sanders, but he tried to cast himself as the strongest alternative to Sanders.In language uncharacteristically blunt, Buttigieg issued a warning to Democrats about the perils of nominating Sanders, whom he characterized as inflexible and whose ideas are not in the American mainstream.“Sen. Sanders believes in an inflexible, ideological revolution that leaves out most Democrats, not to mention most Americans,” Buttigieg told supporters. He held himself out as the only viable alternative. “We can prioritize either ideological purity or inclusive victory,” Buttigieg said.He added: “Sen. Sanders sees capitalism as the root of all evil. He’d go beyond reform and reorder the economy in ways most Democrats — let alone most Americans — don’t support.”Despite his forceful argument, there’s a serious risk to Buttigieg in the upcoming calendar. He will have to win over black voters in South Carolina, then pivot to a multistate primary with comparatively limited resources. Buttigieg put out a plea for $13 million from donors before Super Tuesday.The former mayor of a city of 100,000 has repeatedly defied the odds in the presidential nominating contests, but the odds are getting longer.Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a Nevada Caucus night event in Las Vegas, Feb. 22, 2020.Biden has his back against a firewallFormer Vice President Joe Biden was hoping Nevada would turn things around for him after a disastrous showing in Iowa and then New Hampshire. He argued that he’d do better in a more diverse state.But Biden again lost badly even as he told supporters at a union hall, “We’re alive and coming back and we’re gonna win.”His last and best hope may be to win in South Carolina next Saturday. He’s counting on his support among the state’s black voters — they could make up two-thirds of the voters — to serve as his firewall.If Biden doesn’t win South Carolina, the rationale for his candidacy will much harder to maintain.In Las Vegas, he tried out a new rallying cry: “I ain’t a socialist. I ain’t a plutocrat. I’m a Democrat. And I’m proud of it.” Party loyalty may be all Biden has left.Maybe Culinary isn’t all-powerful after allThe 60,000-member Culinary Workers Local 226 represents workers in the casinos on the Las Vegas strip, and it’s routinely described, correctly, as the most powerful force in the state’s Democratic politics. But it’s not omnipotent.Culinary didn’t want Sanders to win. It has strongly opposed his “Medicare for All” plan, warning its members that it would eliminate their own generous health plan. Some observers thought the union might end up backing Biden. But after the former vice president’s embarrassing performances in Iowa and New Hampshire, Culinary instead stayed neutral.The calls from leadership went unheeded by many. Sanders had strong showings in some caucuses in casinos where crowds of Culinary members chanted the Vermont senator’s name and powered him to wins in most casinos. Culinary is driven by its members, many of whom are Sanders supporters, and there was no consensus among the rest about what they should do.Leadership decided to refrain from a divisive fight, helping pave the way for Sanders’ win. It’s a reminder that even in places like Nevada with strong political institutions, those institutions ultimately derive their power from voters.Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., reacts while meeting supporters at a campaign office, Feb. 22, 2020, in Las Vegas.No bounce for KlobucharSen. Amy Klobuchar produced one of the few surprises of the race when she surged to a third-place finish in New Hampshire, announced that she had raised more than $12 million, and vowed to prove her doubters wrong.Her momentum proved short-lived. She finished well behind the leading candidates, and in the process, prompted questions about her viability.But in a speech to supporters in her home state of Minnesota, she was defiant and said she would continue. She even tried to make a virtue of the fact that Trump mentioned her name at a rally. “By the way, for the first time ever, he mentioned me at a rally,” she said. “You know I’ve arrived now. You know they must be worried.”Probably not. Time is running out for candidates who haven’t finished higher than third in any contest. That also applies to Warren, also desperately needs a win. Her strong debate performance came after much of the state had already cast early votes.Not a great return on investmentTom Steyer, the billionaire who made his fortune running a hedge fund, bet heavily in Nevada, more than $12 million on advertising, and lost big, finishing sixth. Steyer has made strong appeals to minority voters, but in Nevada, failed decisively.But Steyer’s impact on the race could come next week in South Carolina, where he has spent even more money. Polls show that he has made significant inroads among African American voters. That would not be good news for Biden, who is counting on those votes to resuscitate his campaign.
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A person was struck by a float and fatally injured Saturday evening during one of the iconic parades of the Mardi Gras season in New Orleans, authorities said. It was the second death in days to mar this year’s Carnival festivities.A city agency tasked with emergency preparedness tweeted that the death occurred Saturday night as the popular parade of the Krewe of Endymion was rolling. The agency, NOLA Ready, said it had no immediate details about how the death occurred or the identity of the person.NOLA Ready tweeted that the remainder of Endymion’s parade was being canceled Saturday evening. Reports said 13 floats had already passed the area where the accident occurred and that the remaining floats and marching groups diverted elsewhere. Police said the accident occurred along Canal Street, a major downtown thoroughfare in this Mississippi River port city.Second deathThe fatality comes as New Orleans had already been mourning the death of a 58-year-old woman who witnesses said was run over by a parade float Wednesday night in the runup to Mardi Gras.That death occurred during the parade of the Mystic Krewe of Nyx, an all-female Carnival group. Witnesses said the woman, later identified by authorities as New Orleans native Geraldine Carmouche, had apparently tried to cross between two parts of a tandem float and tripped over a hitch connecting the sections.It wasn’t immediately clear if a tandem float was involved in Saturday night’s fatality, but the city agency NOLA Ready tweeted that tandem floats would not be allowed for the remainder of the 2020 season. Tandem floats are multiple floats connected together and pulled by one tractor.Mardi Gras concludes with the Fat Tuesday celebration that marks the raucous climax of a week or more of parades and parties each year.2019 attackThe 2020 Carnival season deaths come just a year after a car sped into a bicycle lane near a parade route, hitting nine people and killing two bicyclists not far from where the Krewe of Endymion formation had just passed. A man identified as the driver was subsequently charged with two counts of vehicular homicide.Before this year, the most recent Carnival float-related fatality happened in 2009, when a 23-year-old rider fell from a float and in front of its wheels in Carencro, about 120 miles (195 kilometers) west of New Orleans.In 2008, a rider getting off a three-part float after the Krewe of Endymion parade in New Orleans was killed when the float lurched forward and the third section ran over him, police said.
 
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