Feb 20, 2018

Syria sees its deadliest day in 3 years

A Syrian civil defense member carries an injured child following bombing in the Eastern Ghouta region. Photo: Abdulmonam Eassa / AFP / Getty Images

127 people were killed on Monday in Eastern Ghouta from pro-government strikes, resulting in the "heaviest one-day death toll" the country has seen in three years, per Reuters.

Why it matters: The already-brutal civil war in Syria has escalated in recent weeks. Since Sunday, around 190 people have died and 850 have been injured. The "extreme escalation" in the conflict prompted the United Nations to call for an immediate ceasefire as it said the region was "spiraling out of control."

  • The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said of those killed, more than 30 were children and women.
  • Two weeks ago, more than 130 people were killed in Syria from Assad regime strikes; 80 of those in Eastern Ghouta, including 21 children in one day.
  • "Ghouta has not seen a single humanitarian aid convoy for two months," according to CBS.

Go deeper: The tangled mess of actors in Syria.

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Trump tightens screws on ByteDance to sell Tiktok

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

President Trump added more pressure Friday night on China-based TikTok parent ByteDance to exit the U.S., ordering it to divest all assets related to the U.S. operation of TikTok within 90 days.

Between the lines: The order means ByteDance must be wholly disentangled from TikTok in the U.S. by November. Trump had previously ordered TikTok banned if ByteDance hadn't struck a deal within 45 days. The new order likely means ByteDance has just another 45 days after that to fully close the deal, one White House source told Axios.

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Axios
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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m. ET: 21,056,850 — Total deaths: 762,293— Total recoveries: 13,100,902 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9:30 p.m ET: 5,306,215 — Total deaths: 168,334 — Total recoveries: 1,796,309 — Total tests: 65,676,624 — Map.
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  4. States: California passes 600,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.
  5. Cities: Coronavirus pandemic dims NYC's annual 9/11 Tribute in Light.
  6. Business: How small businesses got stiffed — Unemployment starts moving in the right direction.
  7. Politics: Biden signals fall strategy with new ads.
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Harris: "Women are going to be a priority" in Biden administration

Sen. Kamala Harris at an event in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In her first sit-down interview since being named Joe Biden's running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris talked about what she'll do to fight for women if elected VP, and how the Democrats are thinking about voter turnout strategies ahead of November.

What they're saying: "In a Biden-Harris administration women are going to be a priority, understanding that women have many priorities and all of them must be acknowledged," Harris told The 19th*'s Errin Haines-Whack.

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