Daily Tally of New Coronavirus Cases Now Higher Outside of China Than Inside

For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak began, the number of new confirmed cases outside of China has exceeded the number of new cases within the country where the epidemic originated, and for two consecutive days. Read

House Dems Foil Republican Attempt to Condemn Sanders’ Comments on Castro Regime

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ controversial comments on Cuba’s Castro regime were in the spotlight on the U.S. House floor on Thursday, but a Republican lawmaker’s effort to have the remarks condemned failed after Democrats criticized him for linking the amendment to an unrelated issue. Read

State Dep’t: Assad’s Russian-Backed Idlib Offensive is About ‘Hegemony,’ Not Fighting ‘Terrorists’

The Assad regime’s deadly Russian-backed offensive in Syria’s Idlib province has nothing to do with combating terrorism and everything to do with “reestablishing hegemony,” a senior State Department official charged on Wednesday. Read

Of Countries With Confirmed Coronavirus Cases, U.S. Has Fewest Per Capita

Of the 16 countries reporting the highest number of confirmed cases of the China-originated coronavirus COVID-19, the United States, as of Wednesday, has the smallest number in proportion to its population. Read

Pompeo Urges Iran to ‘Tell the Truth’ About Coronavirus Outbreak

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the Iranian regime on Tuesday over reports that it has not been transparent about the spread of the China-originated coronavirus, amid concerns that the real death toll in Iran may be significantly higher than the declared one. Read

Sanders Concedes China, Cuba Are Dictatorships, But Saves His Strongest Criticism for Israel’s Netanyahu

Sen. Bernie Sanders was asked during Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential debate about his views on despotic socialist regimes, but while he agreed Cuba was a “dictatorship” and called China’s president “an authoritarian leader,” he reserved the strongest language for the elected prime minister of a democratic U.S. ally, Israel. Read

Iranian Regime Targeted by Finance Watchdog for Refusing to Stop Sponsoring Terrorists

The Iranian regime’s devotion to supporting violent groups from Hezbollah to Hamas to anti-U.S. militias in Iraq is set to take a further toll on its already precarious financial situation. Read

Bernie Sanders Approved of Obama’s Condolence Statement on Death of Fidel Castro

When Cuban dictator Fidel Castro died in November 2016, the contrast between reactions from the outgoing and incoming American presidents, and from unsuccessful Democratic and Republican presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders and Marco Rubio, was striking. Read

Ilhan Omar, Linda Sarsour Welcome Sen. Sanders Decision Not to Attend AIPAC Conference

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Sunday praised Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders’ decision to stay away from the upcoming annual conference of the nation’s leading pro-Israel lobby, and said all the candidates should do the same. Read

Record-Low Election Turnout in Iran; Ayatollah Blames Propaganda, Coronavirus ‘Pretext’

Iran recorded its lowest election turnout since the 1979 revolution in Friday’s legislative election, but supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday congratulated Iranians for having frustrated “enemy” plots – including, he said, using the “pretext” of the coronavirus outbreak to discourage people from voting. Read

US Boosts Pressure on Tehran, As EU Seeks to Engage With Regime

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced new sanctions on Iranian regime officials ahead of elections on Friday, but as the administration steps up its “maximum pressure” campaign, two of Pompeo’s European counterparts are heading for Tehran for talks with the leadership. Read

Al Gore Quotes UN: ‘Every Child in the World Alive Today Will Be a Victim of the Climate Crisis’

According to the United Nations, “every child in the world alive today will be a victim of the climate crisis,” former Vice President Al Gore told students in Texas Thursday as he launched a campaign to boost voter registration in potential swing states and rally support for “climate action.” Read

Iran’s Ayatollah Attacks the U.S.--Borrowing Lines from Bernie Sanders

Weighing in on issues raised by Sen. Bernie Sanders on the presidential campaign trail, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday portrayed America in terms that directly echoed statements made by Sanders and which the Ayatollah attributed to "a member of the U.S. ruling body." Read

After Immigration Activists Heckle Biden During Debate, Biden Skewers Sanders on the Issue

As the six Democratic presidential candidates on the platform in Las Vegas gave their closing statements in a debate marked by confrontation and sometimes personal attacks, former Vice President Joe Biden was interrupted by hecklers yelling slogans about immigration. Read

Trump Accuses Sen. Murphy, John Kerry of Violating Logan Act by Meeting With Iran’s Zarif

President Trump on Wednesday accused Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) – and former Secretary of State John Kerry – of violating a two century-old law by holding meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. Read

Questions Swirl About Source of China’s Coronavirus Outbreak

Did the coronavirus that emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year originate from a market where live animals were sold alongside seafood? Or is there another explanation – one that may be linked to China’s leading institute dealing with virology, virus pathology, and emerging infectious diseases? Read

Sen. Murphy on Meeting With Zarif: ‘If Trump Isn’t Going to Talk to Iran, Then Someone Should’

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) confirmed Tuesday that he met with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on the sidelines of a security conference in Germany at the weekend, justifying his decision to do so by saying that “if [President] Trump isn’t going to talk to Iran, then someone should.” Read

Taiwan’s China-Enforced Isolation Hampers Its Efforts to Deal With Coronavirus Outbreak

As Taiwan grapples with the coronavirus outbreak that originated in its giant neighbor, the island democracy’s anomalous status in the international community continues to raise hurdles, and stoke frustration, for its government and citizens. Read

Sen. Murphy: Trump May Take Provocative Action Abroad Later This Year for His ‘Electoral Benefit’

As the November election nears, President Trump could decide, in the Middle East or elsewhere, to “act in provocative ways that may provide him electoral benefit,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said at a security conference in Germany at the weekend. Read

WHO Says Coronavirus Outbreak Shouldn’t Be Politicized, As Cases Surpass 71,000

The head of the World Health Organization appealed Saturday for people not to “politicize” the outbreak of the China-originated coronavirus, defending his praise for the way the Chinese authorities are dealing with the crisis even as criticism in the U.S. and elsewhere mounts. Read

Iran’s Zarif: ‘Revenge’ for U.S. Killing of Soleimani Is Not Over

Iran’s foreign minister demurred, twice, when asked at the weekend whether the “revenge” for the killing at President Trump’s orders of Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani was now over. Read

Senate Passes Iran War Powers Measure; Cotton Recalls IRGC’s Deadly Role in Iraq War

The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed an Iran war powers resolution introduced after the killing of Qassem Soleimani. Read

Threats and Adulation: Iran Marks 40 Days Since Soleimani’s 'Martyrdom'

The Iranian regime and its terrorist proxies on Thursday marked the 40-day commemoration of the “martyrdom” of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force chief Qassem Soleimani with a combination of adulatory rhetoric and threats directed at the U.S. and Israel. Read

Critic: U.N. Is Now ‘Ground Zero’ for the Global Anti-Israel BDS Movement

Senior Republican lawmakers on Wednesday condemned the U.N.’s human rights office for releasing a list of private companies, including American ones, doing business in Israeli “settlements” in disputed territory. Read

Ilhan Omar: Many Americans ‘Terrified' of the Movement That Bernie Sanders Is Building

Many Americans are “terrified of the kind of movement that Sen. [Bernie] Sanders is building,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) told a Sanders presidential campaign event in Nevada at the weekend. Read

Ilhan Omar’s ‘Progressive’ Foreign Policy Vision Embraces the International Criminal Court

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Wednesday launched her vision for a “progressive” foreign policy, a package of seven bills including one seeking to reverse four consecutive administrations’ positions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). Read

Esper: A Bigger NATO Role in Iraq, Mideast ‘Would Over Time Allow Us to Bring Some Forces Home’

NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Wednesday will discuss a Trump administration push for more help from allies in Iraq, and in the wider Middle East region. Read

Israel: Peace Not Possible Until Abbas, ‘In the 16th year of His Four-Year Term,’ Steps Down

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday took his complaints about President Trump’s Mideast peace plan to the U.N. Security Council, where Israel’s ambassador questioned the possibility of achieving a settlement with a recalcitrant leader “in the 16th year of his four-year term.” Read

WHO Now Concerned About Coronavirus Infections Not Associated With Travel to China

As the official number of deaths blamed on China’s respiratory coronavirus passed the 1,000 mark early Tuesday, the World Health Organization expressed concern about its spread outside the country to patients with no history of travel to China. Read

Omar on Refugees: ‘We Don’t Ever Pause to Think, What American Policy Made Them Come Over Here?’

As she prepares to launch her vision of what a “progressive” foreign policy looks like, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has suggested that U.S. policies are to blame for driving refugees to leave their home countries and for climate “catastrophes” abroad. Read

Chinese Communist Party Slams Pompeo After He Warns U.S. Governors of ‘Friendship’ Groups

A Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece in Beijing lashed out Monday at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for a weekend speech in which he warned U.S. governors to beware of underhanded CCP activities in their states, some carried out by innocuous-sounding “friendship” groups and cultural bodies. Read

Sanders: ‘Being Pro-Choice is an Absolutely Essential Part of Being a Democrat’

“Being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said on Saturday, in the clearest repudiation yet by a major 2020 presidential candidate of voters who support the Democratic Party and hold pro-life views. Read

Rejecting Trump Peace Deal, Ayatollah Vows Support for Palestinian Terrorists; Zarif Talks to Them

In a speech this week, Iran’s supreme leader rejected President Trump’s recently-unveiled Mideast peace plan and declared that “the solution is resistance” – Iranian regime-speak for terrorism. Read

U.S. Kills Another Top Terrorist, Days After His Group Claimed Responsibility for Pensacola Attack

The White House has confirmed that the leader of al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based affiliate – often considered the terror franchise’s most dangerous branch – has been killed in “a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.” Read

Iranian Regime Calls For Massive Rally Turnout After Trump’s SOTU Condemnation

Following President Trump’s tough criticism of the Iranian regime in his State of the Union address, its leaders are urging Iranians to turn out in huge numbers in rallies next week to show their support for the Islamic Republic. Read

Criminalizing ‘Matters of the Soul’: New Alliance to Target Blasphemy and Apostasy Laws

The United States joined 26 other countries on Wednesday in launching an international religious freedom alliance, with blasphemy laws and the persecution of people who leave their religion or convert to another high on the agenda. Read

UN Chief: ‘Wind of Madness is Sweeping the Globe’; Cites Libya, Syria

“A wind of madness is sweeping the globe,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday, drawing attention among other things to the violation of a U.N. arms embargo in Libya and a serious escalation of violence in northern Syria. Read

Trump Thanks Widow, Son of Fallen Soldier; Blames ‘Monster’ Qassem Soleimani

President Trump took flak from Democrats for ordering the airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani last month, but in his State of the Union on Tuesday night he struck an unapologetic tone, calling the Qods Force commander “the Iranian regime’s most ruthless butcher.” Read

Pelosi Rips Up Copy of President’s State of the Union Speech; Calls it a ‘Manifesto of Mistruths’

As President Trump completed his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) slowly and deliberately tore in half what appeared to be her copy of the speech, before tossing the bits of paper onto the desk. Read

Trump Administration and CDC Say US Has Offered China Coronavirus Help; Beijing Denies It

As it grapples with the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese government continues to accuse the United States of doing nothing to help, contradicting assertions by senior administration officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Read

Iran Reacts Angrily to Leaked Audio Indicating Cover-up in Aircraft Shootdown

The Iranian regime is refusing to share any more evidence with Ukraine relating to the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane last month, following the leak of an audio indicating that regime leaders likely lied when they said they did not know the cause of the crash for two days after it occurred. Read

Coronavirus Cases Soar; US Travel Restrictions Begin – And China Complains

Travel restrictions aimed at containing the novel China-originated coronavirus have taken effect in the United States, following sharp criticism from Beijing. Meanwhile the number of confirmed cases and deaths more than doubled over the weekend, passing 17,000 cases early Monday China time, with a total of 362 deaths. Read

As Coronavirus Spreads, Taiwan Impacted by UN Complying With Beijing’s ‘One China’ Stance

The outbreak of a contagious virus in China is drawing attention again to the costs to Taiwan of being lumped in with China. The United Nations has aligned with Beijing’s position that the self-governing island democracy is a part of China. Read