Jun 19, 2018

Angela Merkel pushes back on Trump's claims about German crime

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Donald Trump. Photo: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, rebuking unsubstantiated claims President Trump made in a Tuesday morning tweet that crime in her country has increased since migrants were accepted, said the figures "speak for themselves," Politico EU reports.

“The interior ministry recently released the criminal statistics and they speak for themselves. We’re seeing small, positive developments, and we must of course continue to do more on the fight against crime.”

— Merkel said at a press conference

Be smart: Germany's Interior Ministry reported in May that the country saw its lowest crime levels since 1992.

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Rebecca Falconer

Heat wave melts 20% of snow cover from Antarctic island in days

The effects of February's record heat wave on Eagle Island in Antarctica. Photo: NASA

Antarctica's Eagle Island now has a side that's almost ice-free following this month's searing heat wave, images released by NASA show.

Why it maters: "The warm spell caused widespread melting on nearby glaciers," NASA said in its report. It's the third major melt event of the 2019-2020 Southern Hemisphere summer, following warm spells in January and last November, according to the United Nation's World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Go deeper4 mins ago - Energy & Environment

Axios

Bernie Sanders wins Nevada caucus

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders waves to supporters at a campaign rally on Friday in Las Vegas. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders is projected to handily win the Nevada Democratic primary caucus, becoming the clear frontrunner among 2020 Democratic presidential primary election candidates.

Why it matters: Nevada is the first state with a diverse population to hold a nominating contest, highlighting candidates' abilities to connect with voters of color — particularly Latino voters.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Axios

South Korea and Italy see spikes in coronavirus cases

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The novel coronavirus has spread to more nations, and the U.S. reports a doubling of its confirmed cases to 34 — while noting these are mostly due to repatriated citizens, emphasizing there's no "community spread" yet in the United States.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 2,362 people and infected more than 77,000 others, mostly in mainland China. New countries to announce infections recently include Israel and Lebanon, while Iran reported its sixth death from the virus. South Korea's confirmed cases jumped from 204 Friday to 433 on Saturday and Italy's case count rose from 3 to 62 by Saturday.

Go deeperUpdated 6 hours ago - Health