Oct 31, 2018

Turkey confirms Khashoggi was strangled, dismembered in consulate

Saudi Arabian flag waving on the Saudi consulate building in Istanbul. Photo: Serhat Cagdas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The Turkish prosecutor investigating the death of Jamal Khashoggi said Wednesday that the journalist was strangled and dismembered during a pre-planned attack inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul — the Turkish government's first official account explaining how Khashoggi was murdered.

The big picture: A few questions remain about Khashoggi's murder, including the whereabouts of his remains and the identity of a "local collaborator" who helped the Saudis involved in the operation dispose of the evidence. The Saudi government, which recently changed its story and admitted Khashoggi's death "appeared to have been premeditated," has said the 18 men detained in connection with the incident will be tried in Saudi Arabia, not in Istanbul as Turkish authorities have requested.

Go deeper

Rashaan Ayesh

Bernie Sanders wins Nevada caucus

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders waves to supporters at a campaign rally on Friday in Las Vegas. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders is projected to handily win the Nevada Democratic primary caucus, becoming the clear frontrunner among 2020 Democratic presidential primary election candidates.

Why it matters: Nevada is the first state with a diverse population to hold a nominating contest, highlighting candidates' abilities to connect with voters of color — particularly Latino voters.

Go deeperUpdated 28 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Axios

South Korea and Italy see spikes in coronavirus cases

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 novel coronavirus has spread to more nations, and the U.S. reports a doubling of its confirmed cases to 34 — while noting these are mostly due to repatriated citizens, emphasizing there's no "community spread" yet in the United States.

The big picture: COVID-19 has now killed at least 2,362 people and infected more than 77,000 others, mostly in mainland China. New countries to announce infections recently include Israel and Lebanon, while Iran reported its sixth death from the virus. South Korea's confirmed cases jumped from 204 Friday to 433 on Saturday and Italy's case count rose from 3 to 62 by Saturday.

Go deeperUpdated 1 hour ago - Health

Rashaan Ayesh

America's rundown roads add to farmers' struggles

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

American farmers are struggling to safely use the roads that cut through their fields; decades of neglect and lack of funding have made the routes dangerous.

The big picture: President Trump has long promised to invest billions in rural infrastructure, and his latest proposal would allocate $1 trillion for such projects. Rural America, where many of Trump's supporters live, would see a large chunk of that money.

Go deeper6 hours ago - Economy & Business