Feb 18, 2018

Pruitt nixes Israel trip amid scrutiny over travel expenses

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Scott Pruitt at White House press briefing. Photo: Cheriss May / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt has postponed a planned trip to Israel that was to last almost a week, The Washington Post reports, citing agency officials.

Why it matters: Pruitt is under intense scrutiny over the cost of his travel, including numerous first-class and charter flights at the expense of taxpayers. Last week, he blamed the "very toxic environment politically" and security decisions for his expensive flights. Per The Post, Pruitt was slated to arrive in Israel on Sunday and stay at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem until Thursday for state business.

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Mike Allen

Bernie's juggernaut

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks in San Antonio last night with his wife, Jane. Photo: Eric Gay/AP

Sen. Bernie Sanders won so big in the Nevada caucuses that Democrats are hard-pressed to sketch a way he's not their nominee.

Driving the news: With 60% of precincts counted (slow, but better than Iowa!), Sanders is running away with 46% of delegates — crushing Joe Biden's 20%, Pete Buttigieg's 15%, Sen. Elizabeth Warren's 10% and Sen. Amy Klobuchar's 5%.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Jacob Knutson

Buttigieg campaign claims Nevada caucuses were "plagued with errors"

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Pete Buttigieg's campaign wrote a letter on Sunday asking the Nevada State Democratic Party to release early vote and in-person vote totals by precinct and address certain caucus errors identified by campaigns, The Nevada Independent reports.

The big picture: The campaign alleges that the process of integrating early votes on caucus day was “plagued with errors and inconsistencies,” and says it received more than 200 incident reports from precincts around the state.

Go deeperUpdated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Axios

Coronavirus threat grows, threatening some drug supplies

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.

As the novel coronavirus continues spreading globally and China grapples with a limited production capability, there's a growing risk to about 150 prescription drugs in the U.S., sources tell Axios.

The big picture: The coronavirus has spread to more countries, with both South Korea and Italy stepping up emergency measures amid rising case numbers on Sunday. COVID-19 has killed at least 2,467 people and infected almost 79,000 others, mostly in mainland China.

Go deeperUpdated 3 hours ago - Health