AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EST
Front-runners Buttigieg and Sanders beat back debate attacks
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Democratic presidential front-runners Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg beat back a barrage of attacks during a debate as rivals raised persistent questions about their ideology and experience, hoping to sow doubts about their ability to defeat President Donald Trump.
Reeling from a weak finish in this week's Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden was a chief aggressor throughout Friday night. He questioned Sanders' status as a democratic socialist and said Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, doesn't have the background to lead in a complicated world. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who is struggling to break into the top tier, voiced similar criticisms.
But Sanders and Buttigieg, who are essentially tied in Iowa, largely brushed off the broadsides.
“Donald Trump lies all the time," Sanders said in response to suggestions that Trump would use his self-described identity as a democratic socialist to brand him — and all Democrats — as radical.
Buttigieg sought to turn skepticism of his resume into a positive, portraying himself as a fresh face from outside Washington with experience in dealing with real-life problems and ready to lead a weary nation in a new direction.
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Key takeaways from Democratic debate in New Hampshire
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Three days before the critical New Hampshire Primary, seven Democratic presidential candidates debated, with many of them fighting to survive in the race to challenge President Donald Trump.
Here are some key takeaways.
MAYOR PETE MAKES HIS CASE
Pete Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend., Ind., was the candidate of the moment Friday. All eyes were on him Friday night to see if he could make his case.
And he did — with one significant stumble.
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Payback: Trump ousts officials who testified on impeachment
WASHINGTON (AP) — Exacting swift punishment against those who crossed him, an emboldened President Donald Trump ousted two government officials who had delivered damaging testimony against him during his impeachment hearings. The president took retribution just two days after his acquittal by the Senate.
First came news Friday that Trump had ousted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the decorated soldier and national security aide who played a central role in the Democrats' impeachment case. Vindman's lawyer said his client was escorted out of the White House complex Friday, told to leave in retaliation for “telling the truth.”
“The truth has cost Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman his job, his career, and his privacy,” attorney David Pressman said in a statement. Vindman's twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, also was asked to leave his job as a White House lawyer on Friday, the Army said in a statement. Both men were reassigned to the Army.
Next came word that Gordon Sondland, Trump's ambassador to the European Union, also was out.
“I was advised today that the President intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union," Sondland said in a statement.
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Anger and virus cases grow in China with 722 total deaths
BEIJING (AP) — The number of confirmed cases of the new virus has risen again in China while fatalities increased to 722 on Saturday including an American, as the ruling Communist Party faced anger and recriminations from the public over the death of a doctor who was threatened by police after trying to sound the alarm about the disease over a month ago.
The government announced that another 3,399 people had been diagnosed over the last 24 hours, reversing two days of declines, and raising the total accumulated number of cases on the mainland to 34,546.
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said a 60-year-old U.S. citizen diagnosed with the virus died in Wuhan on Wednesday, apparently the first American fatality of the outbreak.
Japan's Foreign Ministry said a Japanese being treated in Wuhan had died of pneumonia and also was likely infected with the virus.
Cruise ship passengers faced more woe as Japan reported three more cases for a total of 64 on one quarantined vessel and turned away another. President Xi Jinping spoke with President Donald Trump on Friday and urged the U.S. to “respond reasonably" to the outbreak, echoing complaints that some countries are overreacting by restricting Chinese travelers.
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Air Force suicides surged last year to highest in 3 decades
WASHINGTON (AP) — Suicides in the active-duty Air Force surged last year to the highest total in at least three decades, even as the other military services saw their numbers stabilize or decline, according to officials and unpublished preliminary data.
The reasons for the Air Force increase are not fully understood, coming after years of effort by all of the military services to counter a problem that seems to defy solution and that parallels increases in suicide in the U.S. civilian population.
According to preliminary figures, the Air Force had 84 suicides among active-duty members last year, up from 60 the year before. The jump followed five years of relative stability, with the service's yearly totals fluctuating between 60 and 64. Official figures won't be published until later this year and could vary slightly from preliminary data.
Air Force officials, who confirmed the 2019 total, said they knew of no higher number in recent years. Data and studies previously published by the Pentagon and Air Force show that 64 suicides in 2015 had been the highest total for the Air Force in this century. A 2009 Air Force study said suicides between 1990 and 2004 averaged 42 a year and never exceeded 62.
“Suicide is a difficult national problem without easily identifiable solutions that has the full attention of leadership,” Lt. Gen. Brian Kelly, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services, said in a statement. He said the Air Force is focused on immediate, midterm and long-range solutions to a problem faced throughout the military.
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'We're definitely not prepared': Africa braces for new virus
LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — At a Chinese-run hospital in Zambia, some employees watched as people who recently returned from China showed up with coughs but were not placed in isolation. A doctor tending to those patients has stopped coming to work, and health workers have been ordered not to speak publicly about the new virus that has killed hundreds around the world.
The virus that has spread through much of China has yet to be confirmed in Africa, but global health authorities are increasingly worried about the threat to the continent where an estimated 1 million Chinese now live, as some health workers on the ground warn they are not ready to handle an outbreak.
Countries are racing to take precautions as hundreds of travelers arrive from China every day. Safeguards include stronger surveillance at ports of entry and improved quarantine and testing measures across Africa, home to 1.2 billion people and some of the world’s weakest systems for detecting and treating disease.
But the effort has been complicated by a critical shortage of testing kits and numerous illnesses that display symptoms similar to the flu-like virus.
“The problem is, even if it’s mild, it can paralyze the whole community,” said Dr. Michel Yao, emergency operations manager in Africa for the World Health Organization.
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NH campaigns expected to shift into overdrive after debate
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — The final stretch before the New Hampshire primary is typically a frenetic period for White House hopefuls eager to make their mark early in the nomination process. But with just a few days left before the next contest, the scene in New Hampshire is downright calm.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders made a morning appearance Friday, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren made an impromptu stop in a cafe to meet winners of a contest. But otherwise, most major candidates were off the trail before Friday night's debate.
It was a fitting end to a week in which the fallout from the chaotic Iowa caucuses, the climax of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, the need to replenish campaign coffers and the demands of national television appearances have distracted candidates from the traditional New Hampshire glad-handing. The pace will pick up this weekend, but Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, acknowledged Friday that the nature of politics has changed as campaigns prioritize TV hits and digital outreach.
“There's a lot of people who make a lot of money on TV ads and a lot of money on other things that convince the campaigns to do everything flashy versus good old shoe leather,” he said, adding that he thought the candidates and campaigns have done a good job connecting with voters in New Hampshire.
Scott Spradling, the former political director for WMUR-TV, New Hampshire's major TV station, said campaigns are “running more of a controlled exercise where access ... is limited.
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FDA crackdown on vaping flavors has blind spot: disposables
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government on Thursday began enforcing restrictions on flavored electronic cigarettes aimed at curbing underage vaping. But some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules.
Parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isn't covered by the flavor ban.
These disposable e-cigarettes are sold under brands like Puff Bar, Stig and Fogg in flavors such as pink lemonade, blueberry ice and tropical mango.
The Food and Drug Administration’s crackdown narrowly targets reusable vaping devices like Juul, the blockbuster brand that helped trigger the teen vaping craze in the U.S. Under the new policy, only menthol and tobacco flavors are allowed for those devices.
Critics of the FDA policy fear teens will simply switch to the cheaper disposables, which are widely available at convenience stores and gas stations.
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Kobe Bryant helicopter had nearly cleared blinding clouds
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The pilot of the helicopter that crashed and killed Kobe Bryant and eight others was almost out of blinding clouds when he suddenly plunged and crashed into a Southern California hillside, investigators and aviation experts indicated.
Ara Zobayan had told air traffic control he was climbing to 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) and he rose to 2,300 feet (701 meters), according to an investigative update released Friday from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The helicopter was just 100 feet (30 meters) from the cloud tops and conceivably would have broken through into clear air in a matter of seconds. Air traffic controllers had advised Zobayan that the cloud tops were at 2,400 feet (731.5 meters.) Camera footage later reviewed by the NTSB showed nearby clouds at that estimated height.
The NTSB update didn’t make any conclusion about what caused the Jan. 26 crash in Calabasas, northwest of Los Angeles, because the investigation remains underway and a final report isn’t expected for a year or so. However, the update did say there was no sign of mechanical failure based on wreckage examined by experts at the scene.
Investigators also believe that since a tree branch at the crash site was cut, the twin engines were working and the rotors turning at the time of impact. All four of the helicopter's blades had similar damage, the update stated.
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PHOTO GALLERY: A selection of pictures from the past week
Here's your look at highlights from the weekly AP photo report, a gallery featuring a mix of front-page photography, the odd image you might have missed and lasting moments our editors think you should see.
This week's gallery includes couples wearing face masks during a mass wedding in Korea; an indigenous man sitting on the stump of a tree to protest development near his community’s land in Brazil; and U.S. President Donald Trump finishing his State of the Union address in Washington.
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This gallery contains photos from the week of Feb. 1-7, 2020.
See the latest AP photo galleries: https://apimagesblog.com