Trump cheers Bloomberg implosion, but Biden worries linger

MAR 4, 2020 @ 1800 GMT |Washington, United States | US President Donald Trump speaks at the Latino Coalition Legislative Summit at the JW Marriott, Wednesday, March 4, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — While Super Tuesday left the Democrats with a pair of front-runners President Donald Trump believes he can define and defeat, there are still some private worries in the White House.

There is concern that the Democrats’ messy nomination contest may end up producing an emboldened version of the very man who once worried Trump so much as a foe that it led to the president’s impeachment. That would be Biden.

Still, there was plenty for Trump to like in Tuesday’s 14-state round of voting that transformed the Democratic race into a delegate shootout between an avowed proponent of democratic socialism (Bernie Sanders) and a longtime Washington insider (Biden). It banished from the race former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, whose endless millions had gotten under the president’s skin, and it pushed aside Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who could have proved to be a formidable rhetorical challenger against Trump.

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Turkey, Syria fighting escalates; refugees mass at EU border

MAR 1, 2020 @ 1230 GMT | FILE – In this Friday, Feb. 28, 2020 file photo, a Turkish military convoy moves in the east of Idlib, Syria. Syria’s official news agency said Sunday, March 1, 2020, that two of its warplane were shot down by Turkish forces inside northwest Syria, amid a military escalation there that’s led to growing direct clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces. SANA said the jets were targeted over the Idlib region, and that the four pilots ejected with parachutes and landed safely. (AP Photo)

KASTANIES, Greece (AP) — Thousands of migrants and refugees massed at Turkey’s western frontier Sunday, trying to enter Greece by land and sea after Turkey said its borders were open to those hoping to head to Europe. In Syria, Turkish troops shot down two Syrian warplanes after the Syrian military downed a Turkish drone, a major escalation in the direct conflict between Syrian and Turkish forces.

Turkey’s decision to ease border restrictions came amid a Russia-backed Syrian government offensive into Syria’s northwestern Idlib province. That offensive has killed dozens of Turkish troops and led to a surge of nearly a million Syrian civilians fleeing the fighting toward Turkey’s sealed border.

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Al-Qaida, IS affiliates team up in West Africa

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FEB 27, 2020 @ 1400 GMT | FILE – In this Tuesday Feb. 18, 2020, photo, Burkina Faso paratroopers commando exercise under the supervision of Dutch special forces during U.S. military-led annual counterterrorism exercise in Thies, Senegal. More than 1,500 service members from the armies of 34 African and partner training nations have assembled for the Flintlock exercises in Senegal and Mauritania, the two countries in West Africa’s sprawling Sahel region that so far have not been hit by violence from extremists linked to al-Qaida or the Islamic State group. (AP Photo)

THIES, Senegal (AP) — The only place in the world where fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are cooperating is in West Africa’s sprawling Sahel region, giving the extremists greater depth as they push into new areas, according to the commander of the U.S. military’s special forces in Africa.

“I believe that if it‘s left unchecked it could very easily develop into a great threat to the West and the United States,” U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Dagvin Anderson told The Associated Press in an interview this week.

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The Latest : Trump hails India trip as ‘learning experience’

FEB 25, 2020 @ 1730 GMT | New Delhi, India | The U.S.President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump stand with Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind during the playing of the national anthem at a state banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in New Delhi, India. (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s visit to India.

US President Donald Trump says an India visit that featured a mega-rally, a tour of the Taj Mahal and meetings with business leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a “tremendous learning experience” for him. Trump is capping a jam-packed 36-hour visit as the guest of honor Tuesday at a state banquet at the presidential palace in New Delhi.

The president and first lady Melania Trump were shown around the grand palace and were introduced to a delegation of Indian officials before they were seated for a dinner that was unlikely to feature beef as cows are sacred in India.

Trump says India is “very, very special” to him. The Republican president has cultivated a close relationship with Modi since taking office.

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Armani to hold runway show in empty theater due to new virus

FEB 22, 2020 @ 1700 GMT | Milan, Italy | A Models wear creation as part of the Ermanno Scervino women’s Fall Winter 2020-21 collection, unveiled during the Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. (AP Photo)

MILAN (AP) — In a last-minute change, Giorgio Armani is holding his Milan Fashion Week runway show behind closed doors Sunday due to concerns raised by the coronavirus, and instead stream the event from inside the empty showroom.

The fashion house said in a statement early Sunday that ’’the decision was taken to safeguard the well-being of all his invited guests by not having them attend crowded spaces.″

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Computer scientist who pioneered ‘copy’ and ‘paste’ has died

FEB 21, 2020, 1400 GMT | FILE – In this 1970s photo provided by Xerox PARC, Larry Tesler uses the Xerox Parc Alto early personal computer system. Tesler, the Silicon Valley pioneer who created the now-ubiquitous computer concepts such as “cut,” “copy” and “paste,” has died. He was 74. (Xerox PARC via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Larry Tesler, the Silicon Valley pioneer who created the now-ubiquitous computer concepts such as “cut,” “copy” and “paste,” has died. He was 74.

He made using computers easier for generations as a proponent and pioneer of what he called “modeless editing.” That meant a user wouldn’t have to use a keyboard to switch between modes to write and edit, for example.

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Storm-swollen rivers surge in UK, severe flood alerts issued

FEB 18, 2020 1500 GMT | Monmouth, Wales | A man travels by boat through floodwater in Monmouth, Wales, Tuesday Feb. 18, 2020. Britain’s Environment Agency issued severe flood warnings Monday, advising of life-threatening danger after Storm Dennis dumped weeks’ worth of rain in some places. (AP Photo)

LONDON (AP) — Residents in central England and Wales piled up sandbags, readied water pumps and hoped for the best Tuesday as rivers peaked after a weekend storm brought up to 6 inches (150 mm) of rain to an already waterlogged region.

Environment agencies in England and Wales on Tuesday declared 8 severe flood warnings, meaning there was an immediate danger to life, for the rivers Severn, Wye and Lugg. Two other severe warnings were lifted. About 150 less severe flood warnings were also in place.

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UN: Antarctic high temp records will take months to verify

FEB 16, 2020 1230 GMT | FILE – In this undated file photo, a lonely penguin appears in Antarctica during the southern hemisphere’s summer season. The temperature in northern Antarctica hit nearly 65 degrees (18.3 degrees Celsius), a likely heat record on the continent best known for snow, ice, and penguins. The reading was taken Thursday, Feb. 5, 2020 at an Argentine research base and still needs to be verified by the World Meteorological Organization. (AP Photo File)

BERLIN (AP) — Record high temperatures reportedly measured in Antarctica will take months to verify, the U.N. weather agency said Sunday.

A spokesman for the World Meteorological Organization said the measurements made by researchers from Argentina and Brazil earlier this month have to undergo a formal process to ensure that they meet international standards.

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In win for Amazon, judge freezes work on Pentagon contract

FEB 14, 2020 @ 1500 GMT | FILE – This March 27, 2008, aerial file photo, shows the Pentagon in Washington. A Federal court has ordered the Pentagon to temporarily halt work with Microsoft on its $10 billion military cloud contract, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, after Amazon sued alleging that President Donald Trump’s bias against the company hurt its chances to win the project. Amazon requested the court issue the injunction last month. Both the documents requesting the block and the judge’s decision to issue the temporary injunction are sealed by the court. (AP File Photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered a temporary halt of Microsoft’s work on a $10 billion military cloud contract, a win for Amazon, which sued the U.S. government last year for awarding the contract to its rival.

Amazon’s lawsuit, filed in November, alleged that President Donald Trump’s bias against the company hurt its chances to win the project. Amazon and Microsoft were finalists for the lucrative contract, for which Amazon was considered an early front-runner.

The project, known as Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, will store and process vast amounts of classified data. It’s intended to improve the Pentagon’s communications with soldiers on the battlefield and would use artificial intelligence to speed up its war planning and fighting capabilities.

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In virus outbreak, fretting over a name that might go viral

FEB 5, 2020 @ 1849 GMT | FILE – This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Health officials hope to avoid stigma and error in naming the virus causing an international outbreak of respiratory illnesses. But some researchers say the current moniker, 2019 nCoV, which stands for 2019 novel coronavirus, probably won’t stick in the public’s mind. (CDC via AP, File Photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — West Nile virus, Lyme disease, Ebola virus.

And now: 2019-nCoV?

“Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?” said Trevor Hoppe, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who has studied the history of disease names.

The name, which stands for 2019 novel coronavirus, has been assigned to the virus behind the outbreak of flu-like illnesses that started in China late last year.

Scientists are still learning about the new virus, so it’s hard to come up with a good name, Hoppe said. The current one is likely temporary, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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