Is the U.S. Going for Round Two With Iran After Latest Rocket Attack?DEJA VUIf you thought Iran’s attack on an Iraqi base housing U.S. troops was as far as the Islamic Republic was willing to go to avenge Qasem Soleimani, it looks like you were wrong.Adam RawnsleyUpdated Mar. 13, 2020 2:04PM ET / Published Mar. 12, 2020 10:26PM ET BEAST INSIDEGettyThink the recent round of U.S.-Iran tensions died with the killing of Tehran’s top general, Qasem Soleimani? Think again. Once again, a rocket attack attributed to an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq has killed two American troops and one British service member. And once again, the U.S. has carried out an airstrike on the same militia it says was behind both the recent attack and the one that led to a burst of rocket attacks in late December and early January. So are we headed for another clash with the Islamic Republic?Welcome to Rabbit Hole.It takes two, baby: The conventional wisdom after the U.S. strike against Qasem Soleimani was that Iran’s ballistic missile attack on an Iraqi base housing American troops represented the sum total of the Islamic Republic’s willingness to retaliate for the death of one of its most powerful generals—particularly after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down a civilian airliner, provoking mass outrage and diminishing some of the national unity built up in the wake of Soleimani’s death.

Pete Buttigieg officially launched his run for the White House on Sunday, against a backdrop of surging poll numbers and increasing national interest. The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, the fourth-largest city in Indiana, madethe announcement at an afternoon rally in his hometown.Buttigieg said he was running “to tell a different story than ‘Make America Great Again’. Because there’s a myth being sold … the myth that we can stop the clock and turn it back.“The problem is that they’re telling us to look for greatness in all the wrong places. As South Bend has shown, there is no such thing as an honest politics that revolves around the word ‘again’. It is time to walk away from the politics of the past and towards something totally different.”“They call me mayor Pete. I’m a proud son of South Bend, Indiana, and I am running for president of the United States.”Saying he was part of the first generation to grow up with school shootings and to expect to live with the fallout from climate change – “Climate security” is “a life-and-death issue for our generation”, he said – Buttigieg outlined a campaign he said would spotlight the themes of freedom, security and democracy.“I recognize the audacity of doing this as a midwestern millennial mayor,” he said. “More than a little bold … But we live in a moment that compels us each to act. The forces changing our country today are tectonic.“This time, it’s not just about winning an election. It’s about winning an era. It’s not just about the next four years, it’s about preparing our country for a better life in 2030, in 2040. And in 2054 when, god willing, I get to be the same age as our current president.”Donald Trump is 72.“The horror show in Washington is mesmerizing, it’s all-consuming,” Buttigieg said. “But starting today, we’re going to change the channel.”Saying “politics is personal”, Buttigieg listed ways from healthcare to spousal visitation rights for same-sex couples that connect legislation in Washington to life across the country. His prescription for change included electoral reform, “healthcare for every American”, racial justice, women’s equality and organized labor.“It will take courage to move on from our past,” he said. “We’re not going back.”As he concluded, Buttigieg was engulfed in cheers which swelled to the first chords of his playoff song, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Up Around the Bend.Earlier, a big day for the openly gay Rhodes scholar Afghanistan veteran broke with a new website, peteforamerica.com, a New York magazine cover – headline, “Wonder Boy” – and an interview with the tabloid website TMZ in which he revealed a love for “classic rock” like Creedence and was duly given a guitar.“Mayor Pete didn’t disappoint,” TMZ said, “as he started riffin’ Hey Joe by Hendrix!”Buttigieg was also asked what he would do if he made it to a campaign against Trump in which homophobia became a factor.“I’m kind of used to that by now,” Buttigieg said. “I’m from Indiana, I’m gay as a … I don’t know, think of something really gay, that’s how gay I am. So I’m used to bullying. I think you confront it initially and then you move on.“So when [Trump] does something, not just targeting the LGBT community but all the things about immigrants, putting down working people, people of colour, whoever’s being attacked at that moment, you’ve gotta confront that but you can’t let that be the end of the story.“When he lies or does something wrong you confront that and then you change the channel, change the subject back to you.”At his rally, Buttigieg thanked his husband of one year. “And to Chasten, my love,” he said – interjecting in response to cheers, “Yeah I’m pretty fond of him too” – [thank you] “for giving me the strength to do this and the grounding to be myself as we go.”He also name-checked his two dogs, Buddy and Truman.Since forming an exploratory committee, Buttigieg has published a well-received memoir, toured TV studios and early voting states and performed impressively as a fundraiser, sailing past the number of donors needed to make the debates.Some observers have counselled caution, pointing out that third-place polling in Iowa and New Hampshire – behind Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden but ahead of Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke – means little a year away from the primary.Others are beginning to focus on the mayor’s record. On Saturday CNN published a report headlined: “Pete Buttigieg pushed an aggressive plan to revitalize South Bend. Not everyone felt its benefits.”Also up for debate is whether Buttigieg’s mix of a strong personal story, charismatically expressed progressive priorities and faith-based appeal to middle America may prove too good – or lightweight – to be true.On Sunday, Buttigieg told the New York Times he was “focused on the interaction of ‘narrative and politics’ and how parties connect with people beyond policy decrees”.Dan Glickman, a secretary of agriculture under Bill Clinton who taught at Harvard when Buttigieg was there, told the Times the mayor had a “way of articulating a vision which is progressive but not off-putting”.George Lakoff, a Berkeley linguist, said: “He knows how to talk plainly. Usually, Democrats are saying: What are your 10 most important policy areas? He doesn’t do that.”In the days before his launch, Buttigieg’s expression of support for Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota congresswoman targeted by Trump for her remarks about 9/11, was feverishly parsed and debated.“The president today made America smaller,” Buttigieg wrote. “It is not enough to condemn him; we must model something better.”His speech on Sunday was meant to begin that process, to present a young president – he would be the youngest ever, at 39 – who might bridge a deepening political divide. Topics Pete Buttigieg US elections 2020 US politics Democrats news

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday that the number of 2019 novel coronavirus cases in the United States rose from 34 on Friday to 53 as more passengers from the Diamond Princess cruise ship tested positive for the disease. The virus quickly spread among 695 passengers aboard the Carnival cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, and has since killed at least two and forced many of the rest into quarantine and isolation. The U.S. State Department eventually repatriated those Americans who wished to come home, though local officials across the United States have shown signs of resistance to housing the potentially infected in state or federal facilities. COVID-19, as the virus is officially known, has infected more than 79,000 people in two dozen countries and killed at least 2,600. Businesses across the world have responded by canceling conferences and restricting travel, especially to China. U.S. financial markets plunged Monday as the number of confirmed cases rose in South Korea, Italy, and Iran. Meanwhile, at least one man in Miami was facing a medical bill for up to thousands of dollars after a coronavirus scare. He was ultimately diagnosed with the flu, but the case showed the potential for people with high cost health plans to rack up fees as panic spreads in a country without universal health care.Even as the petri dish of the Diamond Princess and the surge in cases in Europe and the Middle East have captured the world’s attention, the vast majority of cases remain in China, where the virus was first documented in December.Still, the emergence of the virus has produced a range of emotional responses across American professions and demographic groups. The possibility of infection has previously caused panic among ride-share drivers, while teenagers have pretended to be infected with the virus to prompt others to share their videos. There have also been reports of bullying and discrimination against students of Asian descent.Now residents of Salt Lake City appear to be projecting their fears of the virus onto Shen Yun, a dance troupe known as much for its ubiquitous marketing as for its traditional Chinese performances. The group was slated to perform Feb. 25 and 26 in Salt Lake, and residents began calling the local and state public health departments to ask whether dancers might be contagious.Nicholas Rupp, a spokesman for the Salt Lake City health department, said his agency had received four calls since Friday from residents concerned over the risk of infection because of rumors they saw on social media. There is, he said, no basis for the rumors, as the group’s North American branch only tours in North America and therefore would not be likely to come into contact with coronavirus patients.“We’ve investigated, and we have no reason to believe that anyone associated with the troupe is ill,” he told The Daily Beast.The Utah State Department of Health has also received calls about this week’s Shen Yun performance and coronavirus, according to spokeswoman Charla Haley, though she said she did not know how many. She reiterated Rupp's point that the claims have no basis.One email to public health officials obtained by The Daily Beast describes a medical conspiracy by Shen Yun leadership, though the message offers no evidence. “A friend gave me news that this group just finished performing In Korea and a few of their members returned to the US with coronavirus symptoms but was prevented to seek medical help from their leader. They are suppressing their members to leak the news so no performing schedules will be interrupted,” the email reads. The writer’s name has been redacted. The emailer expressed doubts about the provenance of the information but decided acting on it was better than staying silent.“A group of SL local people are asking the public to call Mitt Romney, SL mayor Office and the health department to stop them from coming. I don’t know where this source is from. Too many fake news these days but if this one happens to be true I would do my share of citizen duties to call to the officials.”Staffers at Shen Yun appear to be aware of the perception, however baseless, that dancers might be infected, as well. The group published an undated press release dispelling the whispers: “Shen Yun Is Not From China, Shows In No Way Affected By Coronavirus.”

The people of Japan and millions of tourists should now be enjoying the start of the cherry blossom viewing, or hanami, season.It's an extremely important time of year for the country, both economically and culturally.Traditionally friends and family get together, and for a new generation it's a perfect Instagram opportunity.But this year the coronavirus pandemic means events have been cancelled and foreign visitors are staying away.Katsuhiro Miyamoto from Kansai University highlighted the financial importance of hanami: "Japan's cherry blossom season has very big economic effects every year".He estimated that almost 8.5m tourists visited the country during the cherry blossom season between March and May last year, bringing in some 650 billion yen ($6bn; £5.2bn). Seijiro Takeshita from the University of Shizuoka underscored why the gatherings, at which people eat and drink and make merry, are so important to the Japanese economy."We use an expression 'the wallet becomes loose', meaning people tend to a have a very high propensity to spend.""We have so much emotional attachment to this flower and the viewing season... It has a lot of cultural factors, a lot of historical factors behind it," Professor Takeshita added as he explained the wider significance of the cherry blossom season. Coronavirus: A visual guide to the economic impact Glastonbury festival axed due to virus concerns Eurovision Song Contest cancelled over coronavirus Are refunds being offered for cancelled events? This year though hanami events are being cancelled across the country as authorities attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.Last week the governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike urged people to not hold their traditional parties. At the same time Ms Koike made reference to the cultural importance of hanami as she said that it was like "taking hugs away from Italians."Professor Miyamoto expects such measures to tackle the pandemic will hit tourism numbers hard this season, with revenue falling by more than a third to less than 400 billion yen.It's not all gloom and doom though. "Once the coronavirus outbreak is over, I believe that the cherry blossom season in Japan will come to life again," he concluded.

A cruise ship docked in Yokohama, Japan, recorded 41 new cases of the novel coronavirus today, taking the total number of infected passengers to 61.The number of cases on the Diamond Princess now far exceeds that of any country outside of China, where the outbreak began. As of today, Singapore has 28 cases, and Thailand and Japan (excluding the numbers on the cruise) both have 25. Japan’s health ministry said (link in Japanese) 21 of the 41 people infected on the cruise are Japanese nationals.China has reported over 31,100 cases of the illness with 636 dead.The Diamond Princess has been under quarantine in the Japanese port city since Monday (Feb. 3) with over 3,700 people on board. A man who disembarked in Hong Kong on Jan. 25 was found to have the virus, prompting the quarantine. Japanese health workers have been screening people for symptoms. Until yesterday, the number of infected passengers stood at 20. The ship is operated by Princess Cruises, part of the Carnival Corporation, one of the world’s largest cruise companies.A second cruise ship in Hong Kong is also under quarantine. The World Dream, with about 3,600 people on board, has been docked in the city since Wednesday (Feb. 5) after it was turned away from Taiwan. Hong Kong authorities said eight people who had been on the ship had tested positive for the illness, and are appealing to people who took the cruise on the ship in January to get in touch. They estimate that more than 5,000 passengers on three cruises have potentially been exposed to the virus. The ship is operated by leisure conglomerate Genting Hong Kong.

SAPPORO, Japan (Reuters) - Japan’s J.League says it has postponed seven Levian Cup soccer matches scheduled for Wednesday due to concern about the coronavirus outbreak and all domestic games through the first half of March. The death toll from the flu-like virus, which originated in China, has exceeded 2,600 while more than 80,000 have been infected. Japan has 850 cases, most from a cruise ship, and has recorded four deaths. The J.League said the decision to postpone Wednesday’s matches was part of efforts to contain the spread of the virus. “The J.League will make maximum efforts to prevent infection and prevent its spread,” it said in a statement. The spread of the coronavirus has forced the cancellation of many sports events in recent weeks, including Serie A soccer matches in Italy, and raised alarm bells for organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said it was too early to talk about cancelling the Olympics, which start on July 24, due to the coronavirus. Questions have risen about whether the Olympics should be moved or canceled, with one London mayoral candidate saying the British capital was ready to host the games if needed. The International Olympic Committee has said it had been advised by the World Health Organization that there is no case for contingency plans to cancel or relocate the Games. Reporting by Jack Tarrant; Editing by Peter RutherfordOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

TOKYO (Reuters) - At the beginning of April, a young Japanese sumo wrestler known as Shobushi came down with a fever. His coaches tried calling a local public health centre to get him a coronavirus test, but the phone lines were busy. FILE PHOTO: A medical worker conducts a simulation for drive-through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Edogawa ward in Tokyo, Japan April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File PhotoFor four days, he was turned away by clinics in Tokyo overwhelmed during a surge of COVID-19 cases. He was finally admitted to hospital on April 8 when he began coughing up blood, but died of the disease on May 13, the Japan Sumo Association said. Shobushi’s death caused a public outcry over Japan’s testing limitations and reliance on overstretched public health centres at a time when most experts say widespread virus checks are crucial to contain the pandemic. With Japan lifting its state of emergency and reopening its economy this week, its pandemic response has been hailed as an unlikely success. In a global death toll of more than 300,000, Japan has confirmed around 800 deaths from 16,000 cases. Yet at the same time, Japan ranks the second lowest in its testing among OECD countries. As of May 20, Japan conducted 3.4 tests per 1,000 people, far below Italy’s 52.5 and 39 in the United States, according to Oxford University data. South Korea has carried out tests on 15 people per 1,000 people. In more than a dozen interviews with Reuters, public health officials, doctors and experts warned Japan’s slow scaling up of tests could mask the scale of infections and make its population vulnerable to future outbreaks. Critics say vested interests and bureaucracy inside Japan’s health ministry caused bottlenecks at overworked public health centres, and officials waited too long to allow private labs to run tests. “It is true that announced figures for infection and deaths are low, but those are based on the tests that were curbed,” said Yasuharu Tokuda, the director of the Muribushi Okinawa Center for Teaching Hospitals. “It is clear that there are quite a few (cases) that have fallen through the cracks.” Even the government’s top advisor, Shigeru Omi, told parliament “nobody knows” whether the true number of coronavirus cases “could be 10 times, 12 times or 20 times more than reported.” Omi’s panel of experts has called on the government to speed up testing, including of people with mild symptoms. The health ministry said it is ramping up the use of private labs to reduce the workload on public health centres. “Our stance that tests should be conducted on people in need has been consistent from the beginning. We have had testing capacity increased continuously,” Takuma Kato, a senior health ministry official, told Reuters. Public health centres are at the forefront of Japan’s response to the pandemic. While South Korea bolstered its public health system in the wake of past epidemics, Japan has halved the number of public health centres since the 1990s. Struggling with overworked staff and flooded with calls, public health centres have asked the government to allow more private clinics to administer polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. Japan says it can run up to 22,000 PCR tests a day, but less than a third - around 6,000 tests - are actually conducted on a daily basis. About 75% of tests have been processed through public health centres and government institutions, according to the health ministry. In a previously unreported May 6 letter, the association of public health centre directors urged Katsunobu Kato, the minister of health, to overhaul Japan’s testing policy. “Currently, there are not enough PCR tests conducted for the coronavirus,” they wrote in the letter seen by Reuters. Some regional governments have begun running temporary testing stations with the help of local medical associations in April, bypassing public centres. While public health centres are overwhelmed, university labs are sitting idle. Shinya Yamanaka, a Nobel Prize-winning stem cell biologist at Kyoto University, has offered his lab to boost testing capacity. “If we can make good use of resources at places like university labs, PCR testing can exceed 100,000 (per day), far more than 20,000,” Yamanaka said in an internet TV debate with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 6. The health ministry welcomed his proposal, but said further considerations were needed. “We are grateful for their offer of help at this time of emergency. We want to work together, carefully matching our needs to their offer,” Masami Sakoi, the assistant health minister, told Reuters. Critics say testing was limited, in part, by health ministry technocrats who wanted to maintain a tight grip on information, rather than cooperate with private institutions. Kenji Shibuya, who heads the Institute for Population Health at King’s College London, said officials wanted to gather high-quality research data using public health centres. The health ministry denies suggestions that ministry technocrats are intentionally curbing testing, and say their approach has proven successful so far. Sakoi from the health ministry said it was important to carry out PCR tests that doctors deemed necessary, and pointed out Japan’s public insurance system started covering the tests in March as part of the government’s effort to make them more accessible. “When we think about using the test results to form policy measures, the current method needs to be maintained for the time being though concerns that it lacks flexibility for boosting the number of tests is understandable,” Sakoi said. Still, the approach is alarming some experts. “It’s safer to assume that Japan has just been lucky than to believe it has taken the right steps,” said Tokuda, the epidemiology expert. Reporting by Ju-min Park, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Antoni Slodkowski, Ami Miyazaki, Sakura Murakami; Editing by Mari Saito and Lincoln Feast.Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

(Reuters) - A growing number of countries around the world are evacuating or planning to evacuate diplomatic staff and citizens from parts of China and a cruise ship in Japan hit by the new coronavirus. Following are some countries’ evacuation plans, and how they aim to manage the health risk from those who are returning. - A flight carrying 129 Canadians evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in quarantine near Tokyo landed in Ontario on Feb. 21. There were 256 Canadians on board the ship, of which 47 have tested positive. All repatriated passengers on the chartered flight had tested negative. - Canada, after evacuating 215 people earlier, flew back 185 citizens from Wuhan on Feb. 11. All evacuees are quarantined on the Trenton, Ontario, base for two weeks. - More than 150 Australians arrived home on Thursday to begin two weeks of quarantine after finally leaving the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan. - British passengers will be evacuated from the British-flagged Diamond Princess cruise ship and face another 14-day quarantine upon arrival in the UK. There were more than 70 British passengers on the cruise liner when cases of Covid-19 started to emerge. - Britain’s final evacuation flight from Wuhan, carrying more than 200 people, landed at a Royal Air Force base in central England on Feb. 9. A plane carrying 83 British and 27 European Union nationals from Wuhan landed in Britain at the end of January. - Six South Koreans and one Japanese spouse flew to South Korea on Wednesday morning on a chartered flight. - Taiwan plans this week to send a chartered flight, which could arrive as early as Friday afternoon, to evacuate its more than 20 citizens from the virus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship, the Taiwan government said on Wednesday. It evacuated 247 of the estimated 500 Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan on Feb. 3. - Indonesia is “committed” to evacuating 74 of its nationals from the Diamond Princess cruise, a senior minister said on Thursday. Four Indonesians who were part of the crew on the cruise liner were infected with the coronavirus, according to a foreign ministry official. - Indonesia’s government flew 243 Indonesians from Hubei on Feb. 2 and placed them under quarantine at a military base on an island northwest of Borneo. - In central Ukraine residents protested the arrival of a plane carrying evacuees from Hubei on Thursday, despite official assurances there was no danger of infection. In addition to 45 Ukrainians, there were 27 citizens of Argentina on the plane, as well as citizens from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Costa Rica and other countries. - Bangladesh evacuated 312 people, mostly students, from the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan on a special flight on Feb. 1, the foreign minister told media after they were brought back. - A plane load of New Zealanders, Australians and Pacific Islanders evacuated from Wuhan arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Feb. 5, officials said. - Nepal on Feb. 16 evacuated 175 of its nationals from Wuhan. - The United States flew back on Feb. 17 over 300 Americans who had been stuck on a cruise ship affected by the coronavirus. They will face two more weeks of quarantine after spending the previous 14 days docked in Japan. - Hong Kong said on Feb. 15 it would send an aircraft to Japan to bring back passengers from a quarantined cruise ship, which has seen the most coronavirus infections outside of China. - The United States authorized the voluntary departure of its government employees and their family members from Hong Kong on Feb 11. On Feb. 6, two planes with about 300 passengers, mostly U.S. citizens, took off from Wuhan for the United States, the State Department said. - A second evacuation flight is bringing back another 174 Singaporeans and their family members from Wuhan to the city state on Feb. 9, Singapore’s foreign ministry said. - Thirty Filipinos returned to the Philippines on Feb. 9 from Wuhan, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. The returning passengers and a 10-member government team are quarantined for 14 days. - Uzbekistan has evacuated 251 people from China and quarantined them on arrival in Tashkent, the Central Asian nation’s state airline said on Feb. 6. - The 34 Brazilians evacuated from Wuhan landed in Brazil on Feb. 9, facing 18 days of quarantine. Passengers wait for transportation after leaving the coronavirus-hit Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama Port, south of Tokyo, Japan, February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon- Italy flew back 56 nationals from Wuhan to Rome on Feb. 3. The government said the group would spend two weeks in quarantine in a military hospital. - Saudi Arabia has evacuated 10 students from Wuhan, Saudi state television reported on Feb. 2. - South Korea evacuated 147 people on a third chartered flight from Wuhan that arrived on Feb. 12. The country flew 368 people on a charter flight that arrived on Jan. 31. Compiled by Aditya Soni, Milla Nissi, Sarah Morland and Uttaresh.V; Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s J.League decided to postpone all domestic soccer games through to the first half of March due to the coronavirus, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said on Wednesday. Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp. said it believed the worst of the economic impact from the coronavirus pandemic was over and auto sales could recover by the end of the year in its biggest markets.“The lockdown regulations are being lifted in the U.S., and production is resuming,” said Kenta Kon, Toyota’s chief financial officer. In the U.S. and Europe, the combination of a recovering economy and government stimulus means car sales could rebound to 2019 levels by the end of the year, he said....

LONDON (Reuters) - British passengers will be evacuated from a cruise ship that had been quarantined for two weeks off the coast of Japan after hundreds of people on board fell ill with the coronavirus. The repatriated passengers face another 14-day quarantine upon arrival in the UK after being stranded on the ship at a port near Tokyo. The British-flagged Diamond Princess arrived in Yokohama on Feb 3. with about 3,700 people onboard after the virus was diagnosed in a man who disembarked last month in Hong Kong. Over 600 passengers have tested positive for the virus. Britain’s foreign minister, Dominic Raab, said that the flight will leave from Tokyo, and urged any other Britons who wanted to leave to get in touch. Raab urged “other British nationals still seeking to leave to contact us”. He said: “We will continue to support British nationals who wish to stay in Japan.” The repatriated will be quarantined at accommodation at Arrowe Park Hospital, near Liverpool, in northern England on their return, according to the health ministry. There were more than 70 British passengers on the cruise liner when cases of the coronavirus strain known as Covid-19 started to emerge. Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

(Reuters) - Pete Buttigieg, the millennial-aged mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has enjoyed a surge in opinion polls and a torrent of media coverage, formally launched a bid on Sunday for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. South Bend's Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a rally to announce his 2020 Democratic presidential candidacy in South Bend, Indiana, U.S., April 14, 2019. REUTERS/John Gress“It is time to walk away from the politics of the past and toward something totally different,” he said at a launch event in South Bend. No potential contender in the burgeoning Democratic field has seen as rapid a rise in the early stages of the campaign as Buttigieg, who has gone from obscure Midwestern politician to top-tier contender in a matter of weeks. At 37, Buttigieg becomes the youngest entrant in a field that features 77-year-old U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and, likely soon, 76-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden - a contrast Buttigieg has embraced. “I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor,” he told the crowd. “More than a little bold —at age 37 — to seek the highest office in the land.” The man known as “Mayor Pete” has styled himself as the voice of the millennial generation, often talking about what the United States might look like decades from now. “I take that long view because I have to,” Buttigieg said. “I come from that generation that grew up with school shootings as the norm, the generation that produced the bulk of the troops in the post-9/11 conflicts, the generation that is going to be on the business end of climate change for as long as we live.” Buttigieg is the first openly gay major presidential candidate, which has given him inroads into a Democratic base that increasingly values diversity and progressivism. During the event, he frequently mentioned his husband, Chasten, and spoke of the struggle to legalize same-sex marriage. “Our marriage exists by the grace of a single vote on the U.S. Supreme Court,” he said. As mayor of South Bend since 2012, he has presided over an economic turnaround that has brought new investment into the struggling northwestern Indiana industrial town, an achievement likely to be a central plank of his presidential campaign. Indeed, his kick-off event was held inside the cavernous former plant that once made Studebaker autos. It closed in 1963 and only now is being redeveloped. Polls of voters in Iowa and New Hampshire released last week showed Buttigieg in third place in both early-voting states, although still well behind Biden and Sanders. Buttigieg raised $7 million in the first quarter of the year, surpassing more established rivals such as U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. More than a dozen Democrats have announced a run for the chance to take on President Donald Trump, a Republican, in the November 2020 general election. Democratic voters will begin the process of selecting a nominee in a series of contests beginning early next year. A former Rhodes Scholar, consultant for the firm McKinsey and Co and U.S. Navy reservist who served in Afghanistan, Buttigieg has the kind of background that could appeal to both moderates and progressives in the party. But questions will persist about whether the mayor of an Indiana city of 100,000 residents is ready to run a nation of 330 million. Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Jonathan Oatis and Nick ZieminskiOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Pacific Gas & Electric's plan for getting out of bankruptcy has won overwhelming support from the victims of deadly Northern California wildfires ignited by the utility's fraying electrical grid, despite concerns that they will be shortchanged by a $13.5 billion fund that's supposed to cover their losses. The company announced the preliminary results of the vote on Monday without providing a specific tally. Those numbers are supposed to be filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali by Friday. The backing of the wildfire victims keeps PG&E on track to meet a June 30 deadline to emerge from bankruptcy in time to qualify for a coverage from a California wildfire insurance fund created to help protect the utility from getting into financial trouble again. The current bankruptcy case, which began early last year, will require PG&E to pay out about $25.5 billion to cover the devastation caused by its neglect. It's the second time in less than 20 years that PG&E has filed for bankruptcy. The backing for PG&E's plan isn't a surprise, even though some of the roughly 80,000 wildfire victims had been trying to rally resistance to what they consider to be a deeply flawed plan. The misgivings mostly center on the massive debt that the utility will take on to finance the plan and uncertainties about the fluctuating value of the $6.75 billion in company stock that comprises half of the $13.5 billion promised them. As it became apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic would drive the economy into a deep recession, PG&E's shares plunged along with the rest of the stock market during March. That led one financial expert to estimate the PG&E stock earmarked for the wildfire victims' trust would be worth only $4.85 billion, a nearly 30% markdown. But PG&E's stock price has rebounded in recent weeks and it's now worth more than it was when the deal setting up the victims' trust was struck last December. The shares surged more than 8% to $12.28 in Monday's late afternoon trading. The stock stood at $9.65 when PG&E reached its settlement the wildfire victims. Critics of the utility's plan also are upset because the company still hasn't specified when the fire victims will be able to sell the shares. It now seems likely the victims will have to hold the stock through the upcoming wildfire season in Northern California, raising the specter that another calamity caused by the utility's badly outdated equipment could cause the shares to plummet before they can cash out. A petition signed by more than 3,100 wildfire victims recently urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to consider pushing back the deadline for qualifying for the state's wildfire from June 30 to late August to allow for more time to revise PG&E's plan. Newsom's office hasn't responded to inquiry about the plan from The Associated Press. But the lawyers representing the wildfire victims advised their clients to vote in favor of PG&E's plan, contending that it's the best deal they are going to get. PG&E still must get its plan approved by the judge supervising its case. The confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin May 27. The judge, though, has indicated he will give great weight to the wishes of the wildfire victims. California state regulators also must approve PG&E's plan. A vote on that is scheduled Thursday before the Public Utilities Commission.

TOKYO -- Toyota Chief Executive Akio Toyoda promised Friday that the Japanese auto industry would seek to protect jobs worldwide as it endures the coronavirus pandemic. Toyoda, speaking as head of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, said he was worried the Japanese economy might be destroyed before the world can win the fight against the sickness caused by COVID-19. “If our hospitals get overloaded to the point of devastation, then Japan may never be able to recover,” Toyoda said on an online news conference. The group that brings together Japanese automakers, including Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co., and also parts makers, will set up a special fund to help those laid off find jobs, Toyoda said. Toyoda said the biggest threat to the industry is the potential loss of skilled workers with their manufacturing and engineering finesse. After World War II, Toyota made pots and pans and grew potatoes on farms, Toyoda said, emphasizing automakers' determination to make practically anything to protect jobs and survive. Like its counterparts in the U.S., Toyota has begun making face masks, although they were too wrinkly to be sold and will instead be used at Toyota facilities to reduce demand elsewhere, Toyoda said. Japan declared a state of emergency this week as cases have continued to surge, especially in Tokyo and other urban areas. Japan has about 5,500 coronavirus cases, but the fear is that there may be an exponential jump. The world has 1.6 million confirmed cases, with more than 466,000 in the U.S. Toyoda said 3,000 rooms now being used to quarantine auto workers returning from abroad, could, if needed, be used for other people. He compared the current uncertainty and the need to stay home to enduring a long winter. Some assembly plants have halted production because cars aren’t selling. “We are now feeling more than ever that being able to go wherever you want is a truly moving experience,” Toyoda said. “We must survive. Or else there can be no spring.” ——— Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Mixed reality startup Magic Leap istrying to tempt potential buyers with a package for people stuck working from home. The Verge reports: The "Collaboration Package" is a 45-day trial of four Magic Leap headsets, plus access to Spatial, a virtual collaboration program. It costs $5,000, with the option to extend the license or send the headsets back afterward. Spatial creates avatars of users based on photos, then lets them hold meetings with these avatars and virtual screens. It isn't exclusive to Magic Leap or mixed reality headsets; the software also works across computers and phones. But headsets can (in some ways) more realistically simulate sharing a room with a distant colleague.

Out of his foxhole, raining mortar shells in every direction, comes Michael Moore, with this fiery, furious account of the rise of one Donald Trump. No one is shielded from Moore’s scattershot aim as he searches for a culprit for Trump’s ascendency. Clinton, Comey, Putin, the Republican party establishment, the New York Times, even the millions who happily watched him yuk it up on TV: we’re all complicit.Complicit too, according to Moore, is Gwen Stefani, whose performance fees on NBC’s The Voice were higher than the money Trump was receiving for the network’s other reality series, The Celebrity Apprentice. According to Moore, Trump ran for president solely to prove his popularity to the NBC suits and thus negotiate a higher wage, but he soon got a taste of the adulation heaped upon him by the MAGA-hat wearing mobs and the rest is (horrible) history.It’s a cracking, if entirely unsubstantiated theory, the sort of wild digressive tale that Moore tells better than anyone. Indeed, it’s one component of a far larger shaggy dog tale here, one that seeks to locate the original sin of Trumpism. Fahrenheit 11/9 – a nod, you’ll have already twigged, to Moore’s war on terror movie Fahrenheit 9/11, with the numbers this time referring to the day following the 2016 election – is the documentarian’s biggest, baggiest film yet, an overstuffed American epic that invokes everything from the West Virginian teachers’ strike to the Nuremberg trials.For its first 25 minutes, the film sets itself up as a straightforward retelling of the 2016 campaign, replete with those all too familiar clips of liberal celebrities and politicians pooh-poohing Trump’s chances. It’s the sort of montage that the news channels have left us grimly inured to, though it’s unlikely that CNN, say, would ever dare air a supercut of the many times Trump luridly referenced his daughter Ivanka’s sexuality.What happens next is unexpected and possibly ill-advised, as Moore attempts to tie the emergence of squalid, uncaring Trumpism to the recent water crisis in his home town of Flint, Michigan, the fault for which he lays at the feet of the state’s Republican governor, Rick Snyder. As a segue, it seems tenuous at best – Moore’s argument goes that Trump learned from Snyder that he could get away with negligence and cronyism, though his own behaviour predates that by several decades – but it does prompt some of the film’s strongest moments. In a wonderful piece of stunt journalism, Moore tries to get a spokesperson for Snyder to try some of the water he claims is safe to drink. In another scene, a medical expert calmly and chillingly explains that the levels of lead in Flint’s water supply is high enough to stunt the IQ levels of those drinking it.For a while, there’s the suspicion that Moore has attempted an audacious bait-and-switch here, using the headline-grabbing topic of Trump to tell a smaller, but no less urgent story. But soon we’re zagging off into other tangentially related topics: a five-minute treatise against the electoral college, a celebration of the Parkland high school activists, a furious denunciation of the Democratic party.The danger of the whole thing collapsing under the weight of its own convolutedness is ever present. That it doesn’t is due to the power of Moore’s closing argument, which uses the potentially creaky conceit of overlaying Trump’s dialogue on to footage of Adolf Hitler to troubling effect. Few can match Moore’s gift for agitprop mischief when he’s in this mood, and things build in an apocalyptic crescendo, complete with warnings of authoritarianism, armed insurrection and even nuclear war.Perhaps with all its disparate strands, Fahrenheit 11/9 would have made more structural sense in series form, like Moore’s early work on TV Nation. But a small-screen setting would undersell the blunt force of his message. He’s best off at the back of the multiplex, lobbing bombs at whoever he sees fit. Topics Toronto film festival 2018 First look review Toronto film festival Donald Trump Festivals Michael Moore Documentary films reviews

Go ahead. Donate or recycle your computers and cancel all your internet services, phone service, etc. Let us know how it works out. (Sadly, there isn't ... hmmm... actually, now that I think of it...)Hm. I remember using computers before the internet. For like 15 years before I got my first dialup. There were these things called "BBS" where I could say things, read things, and download and upload things. Besides, my two computers are already recycles from 10 years ago or more.remember to restart paper delivery of all your bills, subscribe to whatever newspapers as may still exist and be deliverable in your area, Most of my bills are on paper anyway, except for the overtly techy stuff. And newspapers? Why on god's green earth would I give money to the Sun-Sentinel? What, in exchange for hearing all about progressive socialist agenda?

Japan has lifted a state of emergency imposed due to the coronavirus in 39 out of 47 prefectures, after a sharp fall in new infections.The order still applies in Tokyo, Osaka and on the northern island of Hokkaido, where new cases are emerging daily.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan's rate of infection had reduced to one seventh of the country's peak. He urged the public to be vigilant, wear masks, and keep following distancing guidance. "If possible, before 31 May, we would like to lift the state of emergency for the other regions as well," Mr Abe said. Why is there so little coronavirus testing in Japan? Lessons from Hokkaido's return to virus lockdown Japan sumo wrestler dies after virus infection Japan faced early criticism for its handling of a mass outbreak on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, docked off the city of Yokohama, but appears to have avoided an epidemic on the scale of those seen in the US or Russia.There have been 16,049 confirmed infections in the country and 678 people have died with the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Doctors' warnings in mid-April that Japan's medical system could collapse under a wave of new Covid-19 cases have not come to pass.The country's low level of testing has raised questions, but Mr Abe said its strategy of tracking virus clusters had worked in many areas."We were able to contain (the spread of infections) to the level at which it can be prevented with a thorough cluster-focused approach," he told reporters.Unlike governments elsewhere, Japan's leaders have no legal power to enforce a lockdown. While local governors can call on businesses to stay closed and suggest people stay at home, there are no punishments if they choose not to do so. Despite this, mobility data has shown a striking drop in public movement. LOCKDOWN UPDATE: What's changing, where? SCHOOLS: When will children be returning? EXERCISE: What are the guidelines on getting out? THE R NUMBER: What it means and why it matters AIR TRAVELLERS: The new quarantine rules LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area? GLOBAL SPREAD: Tracking the pandemic RECOVERY: How long does it take to get better? A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?

All you need is for a significant portion of the populace to be careful, and most were.You and I clearly have different views on this. My part-time work was deemed "essential", so I got out a bit more than most people did. At least where I live...- Traffic remained high until the shelter-in-place orders went into effect, then it dropped to practically nothing, but it's right back to normal again now that restrictions are easing.- Outside of food prep, I saw almost no one wearing masks until just a few weeks ago, at which point a slim majority of people were finally wearing them, but now that restrictions are being eased, mask wearing is already way, way down. Only around 1/4 of the people I saw at the grocery store a few days ago were wearing them, and that's even including the employees who were supposedly required to wear them.- Outdoor seating at bars and restaurants didn't stop being packed until they were ordered to stop, but now that restrictions have eased those places are packed again when I drive by.The vast, vast majority of the people I've seen have not been demonstrating care other than when they have been required to, and even then, only marginally so. I know the situation is different in other parts of the country, and I don't mean to suggest that my experience is indicative of the US as a whole, but at least here, a mandatory lockdown was absolutely necessary if you wanted to make a dent in the spread of this disease. People are definitely not engaging in best practices when left to themselves.

On a bright spring afternoon, hundreds of cars snaked up and down the parking lot in front of a community college in the industrial suburb of Pittsburg, California. One by one, students, teachers, young families and groups of elderly neighbors pulled up to visit a makeshift emergency food bank.To minimize the risk of spreading coronavirus, workers from the food bank asked drivers to pop open their trunks so they could drop in a sack of produce and a box of pantry staples.“This is my first time ever coming to a food bank,” said Dalia Garcia, as she drove through in an SUV with her husband, baby and mother. “I didn’t need it before,” she said as she collected a flyer explaining how to sign up for the state food benefits program. The pandemic put the 26-year-old hairdresser out of work. “I found out this was happening on Facebook, and I’m glad it’s here,” she said.A few cars down, Terri Birdzull, 59, agreed. “This is really needed,” she said. “There’s nothing at the stores! And if there is, it’s only the most expensive stuff left over.”The event was organized by the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, part of the national Feeding America network of food charities, to meet a sudden, unprecedented need. The demand for food aid has increased as much as eightfold in some areas, according to an investigation by the Guardian.In California, despite efforts from federal and state governments to free up emergency food stores and mobilize the national guard to pack and distribute groceries, advocates worry about keeping apace as the logistics of feeding the hungry become more complicated.When Leslie Bacho and the staff at the Second Harvest food bank in California’s Bay Area developed a disaster plan not too long ago, they planned for a big earthquake, widespread wildfires and other natural disasters. “Global pandemic was not even on the list of what we were thinking about,” Bacho said. “What we’re facing right now is truly unprecedented.”After a natural disaster, local food banks are usually able to call upon other charities, based in unaffected areas, to send staff and supplies, she said. “But everybody is facing this pandemic at the same time,” she added.Even before coronavirus hit California, Second Harvest was aggressively fundraising, in order to feed the hundreds of thousands of families struggling to survive in one of the most expensive regions of the US. “Now,” she said, “it’s really like a tsunami of need suddenly hitting.”Across the state, food banks said they were scrambling to meet the need, even as the pandemic and distancing measures to mitigate the spread of disease created hurdles.Grocery stores and food manufacturers – which routinely donate excess produce and staples – are now giving less food, due to higher demands from consumers stockpiling, said Paul Ash, executive director of the San Francisco-Marin food bank. “We’re probably going to have to buy more food than we would,” he said.The costs of certain staples are rising as well. As Americans hunker down and stock up their larders, the wholesale price of common “midwest large” eggs was triple what it was in early March. Such cost increases have already hit food banks, which are depleting their budgets as they buy more to keep up with demand.“We are ramping up our purchasing, and we’re buying in bulk,” said Michael Altfest, at the Alameda County Food Bank, which serves parts of the East Bay region. “Right now what we need is money.”Distributing the food has also proved to be a challenge, as soup kitchens and free pantries across the country close down. Many of these distribution sites were based at schools, which have now been shut. “On day one of school closures, we lost access to 45 distribution sites,” said Ash. Some of those schools have allowed food banks to use the grounds to set up food distribution centers. “But still, we have been scrambling to provide alternate sites and publicize the information,” he said.Another reason for the closures is a lack of volunteers. The seniors and retirees who normally pitch in have been told to shelter at home to avoid contracting coronavirus. Corporate groups and students – who would often show up in big groups to help out – are unable to volunteer as much, with colleges shut and companies mandating that staff work from home, Ash said.In response to volunteer shortages in California, the governor, Gavin Newsom, enlisted the state’s national guard to help food banks package food for distribution. But staff at the state’s largest food banks said they were worried about how they would keep up with thousands who had never needed assistance before. “The thing is we don’t know how long we’ll have this help,” said Cassidie Carmen Bates at the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. “And with that demand growing so quickly, we don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to put out food at this rate.”Guardsmen had helped pack the weighty box that Roxana Samayoa, 38, struggled to carry back home after stopping by the emergency distribution center in Pittsburg. “I never thought we’d need food like this,” said Samayoa. She came to the US from El Salvador a year ago, along with her husband and three children, fleeing violence. “We were professionals there. My husband was a lawyer, and I a teacher,” she said in Spanish. Now, her husband – who had been working as a gardener – has been put out of work. And the preschool where she’d been helping out has closed. “I came here seeking safety,” she said. “But now I don’t feel safe.” Topics Coronavirus outbreak California Food banks features