Sep 25, 2018

Murkowski urges senators to take Kavanaugh accusers' allegations seriously

Lisa Murkowski. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) warned senators not to push Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation through without seriously vetting the claims of those who have accused him of sexual assault, the New York Times reports.

"We are now in a place where it’s not about whether or not Judge Kavanaugh is qualified... It is about whether or not a woman who has been a victim at some point in her life is to be believed."

— Sen. Murkowski

Why it matters: Murkowski is seen as a key swing vote for Republicans in Kavanaugh's upcoming confirmation hearing, and the allegations against him could sway her decision.

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Axios

Coronavirus updates: Market ends worst week since financial crisis

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 stock market ended its worst week since the financial crisis, prompting the Fed to release a statement. Meanwhile, the WHO warned that countries are losing their chance to contain the novel coronavirus and raised its global risk assessment to "very high" Friday.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,860 people and infected more than 84,000 others in over 60 countries and territories outside the epicenter in mainland China. The number of new cases reported outside China now exceed those inside the country.

Go deeperUpdated 8 hours ago - Health

Marisa Fernandez, Orion Rummler

California coronavirus: Latest case has no recent history of international travel

Gov. Gavin Newsom. Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

A new case of the novel coronavirus in California was announced on Friday after Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that 33 people had tested positive for the virus, noting the risk to the public remains low.

What's new: An adult woman with chronic health conditions in Santa Clara County who "did not recently travel overseas" or come into contact with anyone known to be ill was confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus on Friday by CDC and California Department of Public Health officials.

Go deeperUpdated 9 hours ago - Health

Ina Fried

Big video game conference delayed amid coronavirus concerns

Photo: GDC

Next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco became the latest tech event to be cancelled or postponed amid growing concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The big picture: A growing number of events are being scrapped, including Mobile World Congress and Facebook's F8 developer conference. Some, like the giant SXSW event in Austin, insist they are moving forward.

Go deeper9 hours ago - Technology