Mar 6, 2020 - Health

SXSW 2020 canceled amid coronavirus concerns

Photo: Gerry Hanan/Getty Images for SXSW

South by Southwest, the annual film, music and technology convention held in Austin, has been canceled due to mounting concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, its organizers and the city announced on Friday.

The big picture: SXSW, which attracts more than 400,000 attendees per year to the city's downtown, made the move after a number of its biggest exhibitors, including Apple, Twitter, Amazon and Facebook, pulled out.

"We are exploring options to reschedule the event and are working to provide a virtual SXSW online experience as soon as possible for 2020 participants, starting with SXSW EDU," the event's organizers said.

Go deeper: Coronavirus drives more tech industry events to be postponed or canceled

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Stef W. Kight
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GAO finds Chad Wolf, Ken Cuccinelli are ineligible for top DHS roles

Photo: CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and his acting deputy Ken Cuccinelli are ineligible to be serving in their positions, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) decided in a report released Friday.

Why it matters: While the finding has no immediate power, it could be important evidence in litigation over policies enacted under Wolf and Cuccinelli's leadership, said America's Voice's Ur Jaddou, who served as chief counsel to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under President Obama.

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Ben Geman
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The many divisions over Trump's methane rollback

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

EPA's decision to cut regulation of methane is laying bare an oil-and-gas industry divide and setting the stage for political battles this fall and beyond.

Why it matters: Methane is an extremely powerful greenhouse gas and the industry is a key emissions source.

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Orion Rummler
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Kushner says Trump didn't promote false Kamala Harris birtherism theory

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner told "CBS This Morning" on Friday that he does not believe President Trump promoted a baseless claim that Sen. Kamala Harris is ineligible to be vice president.

Driving the news: During a press briefing on Thursday, Trump did not question the veracity of a Newsweek op-ed that inaccurately claimed Harris may be ineligible for the office due to her parents' naturalization status at the time of her birth. Harris is an American citizen and was born in Oakland, Calif.

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