Focus Washington February 2020

Airbus Unveils ‘Blended Wing Body’ Plane Design After Secret Flight Tests

February 13, 2020 Focus Washington

Airbus on Tuesday unveiled a curvaceous aircraft design that blends wing and body, designed to slash carbon emissions by some 20%, Reuters informed. The European planemaker has been carrying out flight tests of a 3.2-metre-wide (10.5 […]

Follow

Democrats Turn Focus to Nevada and South Carolina

February 13, 2020 Focus Washington

Democrats vying for the right to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump turned their focus on Wednesday to Nevada and South Carolina after Bernie Sanders solidified his front-runner status by narrowly beating Pete Buttigieg in New […]

Follow

China Reports 254 New Virus Deaths Using New Method

February 13, 2020 Focus Washington

China on Thursday reported 254 new daily deaths and a spike in daily virus cases of 15,152, after new methodology was applied in the hardest-hit province of Hubei as to how cases are categorized, The […]

Follow

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: New Hampshire Observations, Exit Poll Data – Arkansas Primary

February 12, 2020 John Ganjei

Your Daily Polling Update for Wednesday, February 12, 2020 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 45%Down 1 from yesterday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on five polls, ranging from 43% (Politico, Quinnipiac) to 50% (Rasmussen). Without […]

Follow

Trump Takes Aim at Democratic Presidential Candidates, Media, on Twitter

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump has attacked the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls in the past two days following the New Hampshire results of the first-in-the-nation primary vote. In his string of tweets the President took aim at […]

Follow

GOP Senate Chairmen Spark Tensions with Biden and Ukraine Probe

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

A couple of GOP chairmen of the Senate have carried on with their sweeping investigation into the Bidens and Ukraine which has sparked a new round of tensions. With the months-long impeachment fight in the […]

Follow

Over 50,000 Sign Petition for Probe Into DOJ’s Roger Stone Reversal

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

At least 50,000 people have already signed a petition that calls for the investigation into a decision by the Department of Justice to reduce the prison sentence for Roger Stone, a former adviser of President […]

Follow

Coronavirus Cases Fall, Experts Doubtful Whether Peak Is Near

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

China reported on Wednesday its smallest number of new coronavirus cases since January, lending weight to a prediction by its top medical adviser for the outbreak to end by April, but a global diseases expert […]

Follow

Haftar Forces Block U.N. Flights in and out of Libya

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

Forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar have blocked flights carrying United Nations staff to and from Libya, hampering humanitarian and mediation efforts, the U.N. mission said on Wednesday, Reuters writes. Haftar’s eastern-based Libya National Army (LNA) […]

Follow

Andrew Yang Ends Presidential Bid

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur whose unlikely White House bid evolved into a serious campaign thanks to grassroots enthusiasm, pulled out of the Democratic presidential race on Tuesday after New Hampshire delivered him a second straight […]

Follow

Former NASA Chief Gerstenmaier Joins SpaceX

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

SpaceX has confirmed that NASA’s former chief of human spaceflight, William Gerstenmaier, has joined the company as a consultant as it prepares to launch astronauts for the first time, ArsTechnica reported. This is a consequential […]

Follow

Sanders Beats Buttigieg in New Hampshire Democratic Primary

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

Bernie Sanders narrowly won New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday, solidifying his front-runner status in the race to take on Donald Trump and dealing a setback to moderate rival Joe Biden, who finished a […]

Follow

AP: White Supremacist Propaganda Spreading, Anti-Bias Group Says

February 12, 2020 Focus Washington

Incidents of white supremacist propaganda distributed across the nation jumped by more than 120% between 2018 and last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League, making 2019 the second straight year that the circulation of propaganda […]

Follow

Fed’s Powell Says Economy in Good Place

February 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress on Tuesday that the U.S. economy is in a good place, even as he cited the potential threat from the coronavirus in China and concerns about the economy’s […]

Follow

Sudan to Have Al-Bashir Appear Before the ICC to Face War Crimes Charges

February 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir will be handed over to the International Criminal Court to face war crimes charges, it was announced Tuesday, CNN informed. Bashir, who was ousted in April 2019 after months of […]

Follow

Saudi Prince Says U.S. Peace Plan Takes Away Palestine’s Heart and Soul

February 11, 2020 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan is a “monstrous conception” of a Palestinian state that is not going to progress any further, according to a former chief of Saudi intelligence, CNBC reported. The U.S. […]

Follow

Philippines Says It Will End U.S. Security Agreement

February 11, 2020 Focus Washington

At the direction of President Rodrigo Duterte, a fierce critic of the United States, the Philippines announced Tuesday that it would scrap a security pact that allows American forces to train there, NPR reported. Duterte’s […]

Follow

Bloomberg Could Be in Trouble Over ‘Stop-And-Frisk’ Audio Clip

February 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg was swiftly condemned Tuesday after a years-old audio clip surfaced in which he appears to discuss in starkly racial terms the “stop-and-frisk” policing practice he presided over as mayor of […]

Follow

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: Biden’s Base Cracking Up – Bloomberg Moves Up – Tuesday Trivia

February 11, 2020 John Ganjei

Your Daily Polling Update for Tuesday, February 11, 2020 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 46%Same as yesterday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on four polls, ranging from 43% (Quinnipiac) to 49% (The Hill, Rasmussen). The […]

Follow

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Signs City’s Enhanced ‘Green New Deal’

February 11, 2020 Focus Washington

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday signed an executive directive aimed at boosting the city’s Green New Deal initiative to fight climate change, Fox News informed. In signing the executive directive – Garcetti’s 25th since taking office – the […]

Follow

North Korea Enhanced Nuke Program despite Trump Overtures: Report

February 11, 2020 Focus Washington

North Korea spent the last year defying United Nations sanctions and proceeded with its effort to enhance its nuclear and ballistic programs, a report said on Monday, Fox News informed. Reuters, citing a confidential U.N. paper, […]

Follow

Trump Stirs Pardon Speculation with Condemnation of DOJ’s Roger Stone Treatment

February 11, 2020 Focus Washington

President Donald Trump’s fiery reaction to the Justice Department’s sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone is stoking renewed speculation that he could end up pardoning his former associate, Fox News informed. Stone is awaiting sentencing for his conviction […]

Follow

Trump Administration to Increase NASA Budget

February 10, 2020 Focus Washington

Sending Americans back to the moon and beyond with a budget payload of 25 billion dollars is a go, according to NASA Chief Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “That’s a 12 percent increase, and it includes 3.3 […]

Follow

SpaceX to Launch First Manned Flight in May

February 10, 2020 Focus Washington

Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX has made big progress into making space travel affordable by the private sector with reusable rockets. According to TechCrunch, the date in consideration for the SpaceX Demo-2 launch is May […]

Follow

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: New Hampshire Update

February 10, 2020 John Ganjei

Your Daily Polling Update for Monday, February 10, 2020 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 46%Up 1 from Friday RON’S COMMENT: Today’s average is based on four polls, ranging from 42% (Reuters) to 50% (Rasmussen). Without these […]

Follow

Trump’s Pro Hunting Council Disbands

February 10, 2020 Focus Washington

The controversial International Wildlife Conservation Council (IWCC), a government entity that advises the Trump administration on international big game hunting, has disbanded. According to The Washington Post, the Interior Department in a court filing stated […]

Follow

Romney Says Oath He Swore under Constitution Made Him Vote for Trump’s Impeachment

February 10, 2020 Focus Washington

GOP Senator Mitt Romney said in an interview recently that the oath he swore under the Constitution and “before God to apply impartial justice as a Senate juror” during President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial was the reason he voted to […]

Follow

Novak: Nord Stream 2 to Be Finished Despite U.S. Pressure

February 10, 2020 Focus Washington

Russia and its European partners will finish the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline despite “unprecedented” resistance from the United States, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an article in the Energy Policy magazine […]

Follow

Schumer Urges 74 Inspectors General to Probe Witness Retaliation after Vindman’s Firing

February 10, 2020 Focus Washington

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter on Monday to the acting Department of Defense Inspector General requesting investigations into “any and all instances of retaliation” against witnesses who have made “protected disclosures of presidential misconduct.” […]

Follow

Washington to Extend Sanctions Waivers against Iran

February 10, 2020 Focus Washington

The Trump administration has considered extending sanctions against Iran’s import of electricity and gas to Iraq, The Hill reported citing Iraqi officials. An existing waiver granted to Iraq is set to expire on Thursday. Three unidentified Iraqi officials told The […]

Follow