North America

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 02 (APP): The United Nations announced Sunday it is releasing US $15 million from an emergency fund to help countries with fragile health systems contain the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The announcement came as the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the global risk of the coronavirus outbreak to “very high” – its top level of risk assessment. The WHO has said there is still a chance of containing the virus if its chain of transmission is broken.

WASHINGTON, March 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Health officials in Washington state said a second person infected with the coronavirus had died there, while New York’s governor said his state confirmed its first case of the illness.

The Washington death was in the Seattle area and was reported on the website of the Seattle and King County public health department.

On Saturday, the same officials reported the first death from coronavirus in the United States.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s peace deal with the Taliban opens the door for an initial American troop withdrawal that Defense Secretary Mark Esper sees as a step toward the broader goal of preparing for potential future war with China.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Democratic presidential primary contest (all times EST):

6:45 p.m.

Bernie Sanders says Joe Biden is “a friend” but that it’s time to be honest about which of the two can beat President Donald Trump.

The mention of Biden’s name caused boos among a crowd of Sanders’ supporters at a rally in San Jose, California. Sanders told the crowd “nope,” as a way of rejecting the boos, then went on to detail what he called bad votes by Biden over the years.

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar canceled a rally in her home state Sunday after protesters took over the stage shouting for her to drop out of the presidential race over the case of a black teen sentenced to life in prison while Klobuchar was the county’s top prosecutor.

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Joe Biden received a warm reception Sunday in this crucible of the civil rights movement as he and other Democratic presidential hopefuls appealed for black support in a town where demonstrators were once beaten for marching for the right to vote.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to lead the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency and, as a result, lacked authority to give asylum seekers less time to prepare for initial screening interviews.

Cuccinelli, a former Virginia attorney general and an immigration hardliner, was named to a new position of “principal deputy director” in June, which immediately made him acting director because Lee Francis Cissna had just resigned. The agency grants green cards and other visas and also oversees asylum officers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Buttigieg, who rose from relative obscurity as an Indiana mayor to a barrier-breaking, top-tier candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, ended his campaign on Sunday.

The decision by the first openly gay candidate to seriously contend for the presidency — and among the youngest ever — came just a day after a leading rival, Joe Biden, scored a resounding victory in South Carolina. That sparked new pressure on the party’s moderate wing to coalesce behind the former vice president.

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — An emboldened Joe Biden tried to cast himself as the clear moderate alternative to progressive Bernie Sanders on Sunday as the Democrats’ shrinking presidential field raced toward Super Tuesday.

One of Biden’s leading moderate rivals, former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, dropped out of the campaign just 24 hours after Biden scored a resounding victory in South Carolina, his first of the 2020 rollercoaster nomination fight.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 01 (APP): The World Health Organization (WHO), a Geneva-based UN agency, has warned that criminals are taking advantage of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, to steal money or sensitive information.

Criminal elements are posing as WHO representatives, the agency said, adding that if anyone is contacting by a person or organization claiming to be from the WHO, they should take steps to verify their authenticity.