Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 12 February 2020.
Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, published Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.
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Key Articles
Global
- Chinese stocks surge as investors shrug off virus fears; Softbank surges nearly 12% (CNBC) Stocks in Asia rose on Wednesday as investors shrugged off concerns over the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Mainland Chinese stocks were among the biggest winners. The U.S. dollar index was lower last at 98.841. Oil prices rose in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 2.06% to $55.12 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also added 1.48% to $50.68 per barrel. Spot gold was flat at $1,567.82 per ounce by 0348 GMT.
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U.S.
- Bernie Sanders Scores Narrow Victory in New Hampshire Primary (The New York Times) Senator Bernie Sanders narrowly won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, consolidating support on the left and fending off a late charge by two moderate rivals to claim his second strong showing in two weeks and establish himself as a formidable contender for the Democratic nomination.
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- DOJ to Propose Shorter Stone Sentence as Prosecutor Resigns (Bloomberg) The Justice Department will reverse course and propose a shorter prison sentence for Roger Stone (pictured below leaving federal court in Washington Nov. 15) after he was convicted of lying to Congress and other crimes to protect President Donald Trump, according to a Justice Department official. See following articles.
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- All four Roger Stone prosecutors resign from case after DOJ backpedals on sentencing recommendation (NBC News) The prosecution team in Roger Stone’s criminal case abruptly resigned from the case on Tuesday after the Justice Department said it planned to reduce the recommended sentence for the longtime Trump associate. The DOJ urged the judge in the case, Amy Berman Jackson, to consider Stone’s
“advanced age, health, person circumstances, and lack of criminal history in fashioning an appropriate sentence.”
- Trump swipes at resigned prosecutors, judge in Roger Stone case (The Hill) President Trump on Tuesday swiped at the prosecutors and judge in the case of longtime confidant Roger Stone amid the fallout of the Justice Department’s decision to intervene in Stone’s sentencing recommendation. See Donald Trump unhappy with Roger Stone prosecution: ‘It’s a disgrace’ (The Guardian, YouTube)
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- The ‘remarkable’ DOJ controversy over Roger Stone’s sentencing (PBS) Roger Stone, the sixth former associate of President Trump to be convicted on charges stemming from the Mueller probe, is again at the center of controversy. Federal prosecutors recommended Stone be sentenced to seven to nine years in prison, but senior Justice Department officials intervened.
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Other important articles
Global
- A cruise ship has been turned away by 5 countries despite no passengers testing positive for the coronavirus (Business Insider)
- Realtime infection and death data from five sources (MedPage Today) See also Toward Coronavirus Crossroads?.
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U.S.
- Warren, with girl power plug, boosts Klobuchar in New Hampshire speech (Politico) It was clear that Sen. Elizabeth Warren was highly unlikely to win New Hampshire as the early results flowed in. So in her election night speech Tuesday, Warren gave a boost to someone else – the top remaining female contender in the first-in-the-nation primary.
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- Barr takes control of legal matters of interest to Trump, including Stone sentencing (NBC News)
- Trump created 1.5 million fewer jobs than Obama did during his final three years in office: data (Salon) Despite his boasts about “great economic success,” job growth under President Donald Trump significantly trails the gains made during former President Barack Obama’s final three years in office.
- With impeachment in rear view, Pelosi looks to next attack on Trump (Politico) Speaker Nancy Pelosi is looking to make a sharp pivot from the heated politics of impeachment and lash President Donald Trump in another key area: the economy.
- Trump says military may consider discipline for ousted aide Vindman (Reuters)
- Former Trump official predicts that the president will be impeached again (Raw Story) On CNN Monday, J. W. Verret, a George Mason University law professor and former member of the Trump transition team, predicted that President Donald Trump will end up impeached again.
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EU
- Bomb cyclones poised to form in the North Atlantic will rake Europe with high winds, ‘phenomenal seas’ (The Washington Post)
UK
Germany
Syria
Afghanistan
China
- The coronavirus appears to be sparing one group of people: Kids (CNBC)
- Coronavirus cases fall, experts disagree whether peak is near (Reuters) See also Toward Coronavirus Crossroads?.
Australia
Mexico
- U.S.-Mexico border crossings continue to drop, but Mexican migrants surging (The Washington Post)
- More than two-thirds of migrants fleeing Central American region had family taken or killed (The Guardian)
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