'Do not travel': Americans urged to avoid Italy, South Korea amid coronavirus outbreak - USA TODAY
'Do not travel': Americans urged to avoid Italy, South Korea amid coronavirus outbreak - USA TODAY |
- 'Do not travel': Americans urged to avoid Italy, South Korea amid coronavirus outbreak - USA TODAY
- Star Trek has a lesson Bernie bros need to hear: We're not ready - USA TODAY
- Coronavirus fears prompt Russia to withdraw from World Cup gymnastics events in Milwaukee, Tokyo - USA TODAY
| Posted: 29 Feb 2020 01:33 PM PST CLOSE  Vice President Mike Pence increased travel restrictions in Iran, Italy and South Korea due to the coronavirus Wochit The Trump administration is urging Americans to avoid travel to parts of Italy and South Korea amid growing concern about the spread of coronavirus. In a press conference Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence announced that the U.S. has raised the travel warning to level 4 – its most severe warning – regarding travel to affected areas of Italy and South Korea. In addition, the existing travel ban on Iran is being extended to include any foreign national who has visited Iran in the last 14 days, Pence said. The "president has also directed the State Department to work with our allies in Italy and in South Korea to coordinate a screening, a medical screening, in their countries of any individuals that are coming in to the United States of America," Pence said. The new advisory applies to two regions in northern Italy: Lombardy, home to Milan, and Veneto, which includes Venice. Milan and Venice are major Italian vacation destinations. Coronavirus outbreak: Delta broadens waiver to cover all of Italy; United, American add Italy waivers U.S. airlines serving Italy already have waivers in place allowing travelers with upcoming trips to Italy to make fee-free changes for a certain period of time. But so far airlines have not cut flights between the United States and Italy like they have to China, Hong Kong and South Korea. American, Delta and United each offer nonstop flights between the United States and Milan and Venice. Flight cuts to and from Italy may be looming following the heightened State Department alert. "We want to lower the amount of travel to and from the most impacted areas," Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services, said at the news conference. The restrictions are part of a containment strategy, though the coronavirus will still spread in the U.S., said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. There are cases throughout the world, he said, and the "United States cannot be completely immune to that." Officials have not imposed domestic travel restrictions, particularly to states like Washington, where the first patient died Saturday, or California, where evidence of a community spread of coronavirus has emerged. Trump said that officials are also considering restrictions on the Southern border. Trump previously took steps to restrict travel from China when the outbreak began. In January, the State Department issued a level 4 travel advisory for all of China. The CDC recommends travelers avoid nonessential travel to China, a level 3 warning, also its most severe warning. This excludes Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Contributing: David Oliver, Dawn Gilbertson USA TODAY Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2020/02/29/coronavirus-trump-adds-travel-restrictions-italy-south-korea/4914822002/  |
| Star Trek has a lesson Bernie bros need to hear: We're not ready - USA TODAY Posted: 29 Feb 2020 07:10 AM PST
If you are a progressive, I understand you yearn for President Sanders with all your heart. But I beg you. Consider the rest of us.After watching the Democratic cage match in Charleston this week, I am reminded, once again, that answers to so many of life's difficult questions can be found in Star Trek. In one episode, the crew of the Enterprise is instructed to make "first contact" with a new world, let them know that aliens exist and invite them to join The Federation. The chancellor of the planet's government is thrilled with the idea but a traditionalist member of his cabinet is completely opposed, convinced that making this information public will destroy their culture. At the end, the traditionalist leader tries to force the chancellor to reject The Federation by attempting to kill himself and frame a member of the crew for his murder. When he eventually regains consciousness, he grabs the Chancellor's arm and says, "Chancellor, you must not do this!" The Chancellor responds, "I know, old friend, I know." He then explains to the Enterprise crew that, as much as he wants to take this step, it is too soon. His people just are not ready for it and that trying to do so prematurely would tear his planet apart. Someday, hopefully soon, his people would be ready for what The Federation has to offer. But not today. The Bernie Sanders campaign is based on an idea that the data just does not support, that there are millions of invisible voters who will rise up and help Bernie throw Donald Trump out of office. The reality is that Presidential Candidate Sanders would present voters in critical, must-win states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan with the question of who terrifies them less. And it is by no means certain that they will conclude that a committed socialist, even a democratic one, is the lesser of two evils. But suppose Bernie did win the presidency. What then? If there is no evidence that millions of previously-unseen voters will flock to his banner, there is massive, irrefutable evidence that huge swaths of America absolutely will not. We all saw the debate and the extreme discomfort that even many Democrats have with many of Bernie's ideas. Imagine how Independents and Republicans feel. Even if having Senator Sanders at the top of the ticket did not put at risk the moderate Democrats who won in 2018 and return the House to Republican control, no one can possibly imagine that Bernie's laundry list of socialist plans and government giveaways will sweep away all opposition once Bernie is sitting in the Oval Office. On the contrary, America is still fighting bitterly over Obamacare, a minor — at least compared to Bernie's plans — tweak of the health care system that was based on what was originally a Republican idea. Electing Bernie Sanders as president would mean war to the knife, with committed activists on both sides fighting to the (hopefully metaphorical) death with a lot of us trapped in no-man's land and taking fire from both camps. A vote for Bernie Sanders isn't a vote for a return to honest government and peace, it's a vote for class war. More: Hispanics in Nevada flocked to Bernie Sanders despite a horrible record. Why? Many of Sanders' most committed supporters think that's exactly what America needs and that the only way to save America is a revolution. But none of us should be comfortable with the idea of destroying America in order to save it. If you are a progressive activist and a Sanders supporter, I understand that you yearn for President Sanders and his re-making of America with all your heart. But I beg you. Consider the rest of us. Most of us are not ready for what Sanders would bring. After four years of Donald Trump's efforts to fray the bonds that bind us together, we need a period of peace and healing, not a new period of even more intensive conflict. Over the next four years, we need to recapture our common ground, not seize the high ground and use our advantage to batter our enemies. Doing so would damage this country and our institutions on a scale that would dwarf what Donald Trump has done. Even if blue America is ready for Bernie Sanders, red America is not. Purple America is not. Most of the country is not there and trying to drag it there will tear it apart. You must not do this. It is too soon. Someday, perhaps, America will be ready for what Bernie Sanders and his movement have to offer. But not today. Chris Truax, an appellate lawyer in San Diego and a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/02/29/star-trek-first-contact-bernie-sanders-democratic-primary-column/4913386002/  |
| Posted: 28 Feb 2020 09:33 AM PST CLOSE SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Nancy Armour shares her opinion on why we shouldn't jump to conclusions when it comes how the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be affected by the coronavirus. USA TODAY Russia is not sending gymnasts to next weekend's World Cup meet in Milwaukee because of coronavirus fears. Russia is also opting out of a World Cup event April 4-5 in Tokyo, all but assuring its men's and women's teams won't be able to claim one of the extra spots available for the Summer Olympics. "Imagine, if someone will sneeze on the plane, we will be left [in quarantine] for two weeks," Andrei Rodionenko, head coach of the Russian team, said in comments translated by Gymnovosti.com, which follows Russian gymnastics. "Russia is doing the right thing, protecting its citizens," Rodionenko added, "and we must protect our gymnasts." The lengthy trip was a factor in Russia's decision to withdraw from the American Cup, said Valentina Rodionenko, a senior national team coach. Reigning world champion Nikita Nagornyy and Lilia Akhaimova would have had to make two stops to get to Milwaukee, including one in Amsterdam, one of the world's largest airports. The American Cup is March 7 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. "If even one person will be suspected [of carrying coronavirus], all the passengers will be quarantined, and that's two weeks minimum," Valentina Rodionenko said, according to Gymnovosti. "Imagine what it means for a gymnast to be quarantined for two weeks, while the European Championships are around the corner." The American Cup is the first of four all-around World Cups, while Tokyo is the last, and the top three countries in the standings at the end of the series get an additional spot at the Olympics. But even if Russian gymnasts win the remaining two World Cups – in Birmingham, England, and Stuttgart, Germany – the chances of it cracking the top three are very slim. The International Gymnastics Federation did not return an email Friday from USA TODAY Sports asking about the impact on Olympic qualifying. It has said previously that it is consulting with the International Olympic Committee but did not give specifics. The Russians could still pick up the extra spots that go to the winners of the European championships, which are April 30-May 3 in Paris for the women and May 27-31 in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the men. And the Russian men are still in the running for a spot that's available through the individual event World Cups.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from "usa today world news" - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Comments
Post a Comment