Jun 6, 2017

Trump delays his own admin confirmations

Trump and his team like to blame others, particularly Democrats, for many things, but especially for how slowly his administration nominees are going through the confirmation process. But the reality is that the Trump admin. is the reason they've been so delayed, per Politico. 17 formal nominations took over one month to arrive to the Senate for confirmation.

Bottom line: Trump admin likes to blame Democrats for the slow-moving Cabinet confirmation process, but it's matter of the WH sitting on the nominations. "OGE can't review reports until we receive them," a spokesman told Politico. "Once we have received them, OGE has been moving these reports faster than we did in the 2009 transition."U.S. ambassador to the UK: Trump announced in January his intention to nominate Robert "Woody" Johnson. More than four months later, the White House still hasn't submitted a formal nomination to the Senate.U.S. ambassador to Russia: Admin. sources said in early March they'd nominate Jon Huntsman, but nothing has come of that yet.Customs and Border Protection head: Tapped Kevin McAleenan on March 30, which is a key part of carrying out his immigration policies. WH didn't formally nominate him until May 22.

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Rebecca Falconer

In photos: How coronavirus is impacting cities around the world

Revellers take part in the "Plague Doctors Procession" in Venice on Tuesday night during the usual period of the Carnival festivities, most of which have been cancelled following the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy. Photo: Andrea Pattaro/AFP via Getty Images

The novel coronavirus has spread from China to infect people in more than 40 countries and territories around the world, killing over 2,700 people.

The big picture: Most of the 80,000 COVID-19 infections have occurred in mainland China. But cases are starting to surge elsewhere. By Wednesday morning, the worst affected countries outside China were South Korea (1,146), where a U.S. soldier tested positive to the virus, Italy (332), Japan (170), Iran (95) and Singapore (91). Just Tuesday, new cases were confirmed in Switzerland, Croatia and Algeria.

See photos2 hours ago - World

Orion Rummler

Debate night: Candidates' last face-off before Super Tuesday

Sanders, Biden, Klobuchar and Steyer in South Carolina on Feb. 25. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders wanted to keep his momentum after winning contests in New Hampshire and Nevada, while former Vice President Joe Biden hoped to keep his own campaign alive. The other five candidates were just trying to hang on.

What's happening: Seven contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination were in Charleston, South Carolina, for the tenth debate, just days before the South Carolina primary and a week before Super Tuesday. They spoke, sometimes over each other, about health care, Russian interference in the election, foreign policy the economy, gun control, marijuana, education, and race.

Go deeperUpdated 5 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Zachary Basu

4 takeaways from the South Carolina debate

Former Vice President Joe Biden, right, makes a point during Tuesday's Democratic presidential debate, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders listens. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The 10th Democratic debate was billed as the most consequential of the primary thus far, but Tuesday night's high-stakes affair was at times awkward and unfocused as moderators struggled to rein in candidates desperate to make one last splash before Saturday's primary in South Carolina and Super Tuesday.

The big picture: After cementing himself as the Democratic favorite with a sweeping win in Nevada, Sen. Bernie Sanders came under fire as the front-runner for the first time on the debate stage. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who will be on the ballot for the first time next Tuesday, was a progressive foil once again, but he appeared more prepared after taking a drubbing at the Nevada debate.

Go deeper5 hours ago - Politics & Policy