AP News in Brief at 12:04 a.m. EST

Philippines reports 1st virus death outside of China

BEIJING (AP) — The Philippines on Sunday reported the first death of a new virus outside of China, where authorities delayed the opening of schools in the worst-hit province and tightened quarantine measures in another that allow only one family member to venture out to buy supplies.

The Philippine Department of Health said a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan was admitted on Jan. 25 after experiencing fever, cough, and sore throat. He developed severe pneumonia, and in his last few days, “the patient was stable and showed signs of improvement, however, the condition of the patient deteriorated within his last 24 hours resulting in his demise.”

The man’s 38-year-old female companion, also from Wuhan, first tested positive for the virus and remains in hospital isolation in Manila.

President Rodrigo Duterte approved a temporary ban on all travellers, except Filipinos, from China and its autonomous regions,. The U.S., Japan, Singapore and Australia have imposed similar restrictions despite criticism from China and an assessment from the World Health Organization that they were unnecessarily hurting trade and travel.

Meanwhile, six officials in the city of Huanggang, neighbouring the epicenter of Wuhan in Hubei province, have been fired over “poor performance” in handling the outbreak, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

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Fears of new virus trigger anti-China sentiment worldwide

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A scary new virus from China has spread around the world. So has rising anti-Chinese sentiment, calls for a full travel ban on Chinese visitors and indignities for Chinese and other Asians.

Restaurants in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Vietnam have refused to accept Chinese customers. Indonesians marched near a hotel and called on Chinese guests there to leave. French and Australian newspapers face criticism for racist headlines. Chinese and other Asians in Europe, the United States, Asia and the Pacific complain of racism.

Two dozen countries outside of China have reported cases of the new coronavirus, which has killed more than 300 people and sickened thousands of others in China. Many countries have sent planes to the Chinese city of Wuhan to evacuate their nationals.

The anti-China sentiments come as a powerful Beijing bolsters its global influence, and China’s rise has caused trade, political and diplomatic disputes with many countries.

But with rising fear of the mysterious disease has come a more acute anti-Chinese and, in some cases, anti-Asian backlash.

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Polling: Americans dissatisfied with the state of the union

WASHINGTON (AP) — The turbulence of impeachment, a contentious presidential campaign and a global virus health threat confront President Donald Trump as he prepares to deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night. But one thing about the Trump era has remained remarkably steady: public opinion on the president.

Approval of Trump has stayed persistently in negative territory, and the country is more polarized now than it has been under any other president in recent history. Polls also show Americans express significant dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and even more so with the state of politics.

Even with those downbeat numbers, Americans have largely positive views of both the economy and how Trump is handling it.

A look at public opinion on the president and the state of the union.

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

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Analysis: GOP sends message that Trump’s actions were OK

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have decided it was OK.

With their expected vote this coming week to acquit President Donald Trump of abusing power and obstructing Congress, GOP senators are giving their express approval to the conduct that landed Trump at the centre of the fourth impeachment case in American history. It’s the same message that House Republicans sent late last year with their unanimous votes against sending the case to trial.

It’s a fitting conclusion for a president who has spent three years testing the boundaries of his office and daring his own party to restrain him as his power and popularity within the GOP grew. It was already clear heading into the impeachment inquiry just how reluctant Republicans were to challenge Trump’s impulses. Coming out of the trial it’s uncertain whether there is anything he can do in office that would draw more than a passing, rhetorical rebuke from his party.

To Democrats, who initiated the impeachment process in hopes of pulling at least a handful of moderate or retiring GOP lawmakers to their side, Republicans are sending the message that, when it comes to Trump, nothing matters. His grip on the party is complete.

“No,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, one of the House Democratic impeachment managers, said in a retort to Republicans. “Lawlessness matters, abuse of power matters, corruption matters. The Constitution matters.”

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Sanders calls for unity, but his supporters have other ideas

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — When Bernie Sanders addresses throngs of supporters who gather at his rallies, the divisions that plague the Democratic Party can feel far away. The Vermont senator speaks of building a “mutliracial, mutli-generational movement” that will cut through economic divides, catapult him into the White House and transform the nation.

Some of the highest-profile surrogates campaigning on his behalf are less sanguine.

Speaking at a concert for Sanders on Friday night, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., led sustained booing from the stage at the mention of Hillary Clinton, his rival in the 2016 primary. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat who has campaigned for Sanders across Iowa, says the Democratic establishment should conform to the progressive movement, not the other way around. “We aren’t pushing the party left, we are bringing the party home,” she says.

Then there’s filmmaker Michael Moore, who fires up Sanders crowds by bashing “corporate Democrats” and suggesting that the party’s own leadership may swoop in and steal the 2020 nomination from Sanders in a way that some of the senator’s supporters believe it did in 2016.

Such episodes demonstrate the tension at the heart of Sanders’ campaign as he shows signs of strength heading into Monday’s caucuses. While the self-described democratic socialist has never backed away from his call for political revolution, the visions of unity he also articulates are sometimes at odds with the rhetoric espoused by his supporters. The dynamic is playing out at a precarious time for the Democratic Party, which will have to unite to unseat President Donald Trump.

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Emails show the fallout from Trump’s claims about Dorian

WASHINGTON (AP) — A flurry of newly released emails from scientists and top officials at the federal agency responsible for weather forecasting clearly illustrates the consternation and outright alarm caused by President Donald Trump’s false claim that Hurricane Dorian could hit Alabama.

A top National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official even called the president’s behaviour “crazy.”

What the scientists and officials found even more troubling was a statement later issued by an unnamed NOAA spokesman that supported Trump’s claim and repudiated the agency’s own forecasters.

The emails, released late Friday in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from The Associated Press and others, give an inside picture of the scramble to respond to the president and the turmoil it caused inside the federal agency.

“What’s next? Climate science is a hoax?” Craig McLean, NOAA’s acting chief scientist, wrote in an email sent to the agency’s top officials. “Flabbergasted to leave our forecasters hanging in the political wind.”

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Police: 2 dead, 1 wounded in shooting after Florida funeral

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Gunfire erupted after a funeral Saturday in Florida, killing a teenager and a man and leaving one other person wounded, police said.

Riviera Beach police said in a statement that the shooting happened near the Victory City Church shortly after 2:30 p.m. They said a 15-year-old boy and 47-year-old Royce Freeman died at the scene. The teen’s name wasn’t immediately released.

Police initially said a woman and a teenager were also wounded, but later released a statement Sunday night saying the juvenile male was shot at a different location in Riviera Beach. The woman, whose name police didn’t immediately release, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said. No arrests were announced as of late Saturday.

Police said listening devices in the area that detect the sound of gunshots counted 13 rounds fired.

Pastor Tywuante D. Lupoe said in a video statement posted on Facebook that the church was “very aware” that violence was a possibility at the funeral because of a family dispute and that it had provided armed security. A Riviera Beach police officer also was present, he said.

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Experts: Travel bans, business closures could hurt economy

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Travel restrictions and business closures aimed at stopping the spread of a new virus that has killed more than 300 people in China could end up causing ripple effects that harm the global economy, experts say.

“When you stop planes and ships, trains and and motor vehicles from moving, it starts to shut down the economy — and that can have a cascading effect throughout society,” Dr. Eric Toner, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said Saturday, after multiple airlines announced that they would suspend or cut back on flights to and from China, and several countries, including the U.S., imposed travel restrictions. “And it’s not just airline pilots who get out of work, I mean, it’s you know, it’s everybody that they depend on.”

It’s not just airlines that have cut back on business in China. Apple Inc. announced Saturday that it was temporarily close all of its offices and its 42 stores in mainland China. Google, Amazon and Microsoft previously announced plans to temporarily shutter offices, and Starbucks and McDonald’s have closed some chains.

Apple said it was acting “out of an abundance of caution and based on the latest advice from leading health experts.” Its stores will be closed until Feb. 9.

Toner said Apple’s decision could also be harmful to the economy and Apple itself, though he noted that many companies, including airlines, are trying to protect their employees.

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Amy Klobuchar helped jail teen for life, but case was flawed

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It was a prime-time moment for Amy Klobuchar.

Standing in the glare of television lights at a Democratic presidential debate last fall, she was asked about her years as a top Minnesota prosecutor and allegations she was not committed to racial justice.

“That’s not my record,” she said, staring into the camera.

Yes, she was tough on crime, Klobuchar said, but the African American community was angry about losing kids to gun violence. And she responded.

She told a story that she has cited throughout her political career, including during her 2006 campaign for the U.S. Senate: An 11-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet while doing homework at her dining room table in 2002. And Klobuchar’s office put Tyesha Edwards’ killer — a black teen — behind bars for life.

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AP FACT CHECK: Trump on Democrats, impeachment and cows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Contrary to a statement by President Donald Trump, Democrats are not aiming to kill cows, Iowa farmers or you.

Trump’s fictional take on murderous Democrats, which he played for laughs at an Iowa rally, came during a week dominated by the Senate impeachment trial and the multitude of distortions it produced. A look at recent rhetoric about impeachment, his newly signed trade deal and more:

COWS

TRUMP, assailing the “Green New Deal, which would crush our farms, destroy our wonderful cows. I love cows. They want to kill our cows. You know why, right? You know why? Don’t say it. They want to kill our cows. That means you are next.” — Iowa rally Thursday.

THE FACTS: No one is coming after cows or people because of the Green New Deal, a plan put forward by some liberal Democrats. It calls for huge spending to retool the economy to break its dependence on fossil fuels.

The Associated Press