Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks to supporters at a primary night election rally in Manchester, N.H., Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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Democratic Party establishment panicking over possible Sanders nomination
With populist Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont now considered the front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination, concern and resistance is growing among mainstream and establishment Democrats inside and outside the nation’s capital.
Moderate lawmakers sounded the alarm bells Thursday, Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Marisa Schultz reported from Capitol Hill. “It’s bad,” one freshman Democrat from a swing district said. “We are having conversations about how to deal with this.”
“If [Sanders] is the nominee, we lose,” another Democrat told Fox News.
Two other vulnerable Democrats said a Sanders nomination would almost certainly cede their states to President Trump and could hurt their down-ballot races for the House and Senate. Click here for more on our top story.
Other developments in the 2020 presidential race
- James Carville embraces Sanders' 'political hack' label: 'At least I'm not a communist'
- Juan Williams: Democrats 'anxious' that Bernie Sanders could cost 'winnable' Senate seats
- Biden faces NYC protesters chanting ‘Drop out, Joe!’
- Democracy 2020: Full coverage.
White House: President Trump not 'bothered' about Barr's comments on his tweets amid Roger Stone controversy
The White House says President Trump isn't "bothered" or deterred after Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News on Thursday that the president's tweets "make it impossible for me to do my job," in an unusual swipe at the president -- although Barr emphasized that Trump "has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case."
Barr's unexpected comments came days after Trump, in a late-night tweet earlier this week, criticized career Justice Department prosecutors for recommending a nine-year prison sentence for his former adviser Roger Stone. Senior DOJ leaders then intervened and adjusted the sentencing recommendation downward, saying it was clearly excessive given Stone's obstruction-related offenses. All four prosecutors on the case stepped down within hours.
"I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases," Barr said. "I'm not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody ... whether it’s Congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president.”
Barr continued, "I'm gonna do what I think is right, and you know ... I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me." Click here for more.
China reports another sharp rise in coronavirus infections with 5,090 new cases; death toll approaching 1,400
China on Friday reported another sharp rise in the number of people infected with coronavirus as the death toll neared 1,400.
The National Health Commission said 121 more people had died and there were 5,090 new confirmed cases. The illness, officially known as COVID-19, has killed nearly 1,400 people worldwide and sickened more than 64,000 others. The vast majority of the cases are in mainland China, where the virus first began in the Hubei province. (There are now 63,851 confirmed cases in mainland China, of which 1,380 have died.)
The number of reported cases has been rising more quickly after Hubei, the hardest-hit province, changed its method of counting them Thursday. There have been 15 confirmed cases of the novel virus in the U.S., the most recent of which was reported in Texas on Thursday. Click here for more.
- Click here for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
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SOME PARTING WORDS
Laura Ingraham says former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg should never become president because of his cozy relationship with China.
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