BitGou: Wednesday Morning Briefing: A newly emboldened Trump gives Democrats a reason to fret

Trump

A bitter feud between President Donald Trump and top Democrat Nancy Pelosi boiled over at his State of the Union speech, with Trump denying her a handshake and Pelosi ripping apart a copy of his remarks behind his back. Trump avoided the subject of his impeachment drama in a pugnacious 80-minute speech, but the raw wounds from the battle were evident with fellow Republicans giving him standing ovations while rival Democrats for the most part remained seated. Trump displayed reality TV flair to underscore his pledge to wind down the war in Afghanistan, engineering the return of an Army sergeant who surprised his wife and two young children as a national broadcast audience looked on.

Four months after Democrats in the House of Representatives launched a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate will reconvene and senators will vote on whether to convict or acquit Trump on charges lodged against him.

Democrats

Pete Buttigieg held a narrow lead over Bernie Sanders in long-delayed results from the chaotic Iowa Democratic Party caucuses, and former Vice President Joe Biden trailed badly in fourth place with about 71% of precincts reporting. In the end, Biden, who bills himself as the most electable candidate in the 2020 U.S. Democratic presidential field, could not convince nearly enough Iowans that he is the best person to take on Trump in November.

The Nevada Democratic Party said it will not use the same app that led to delayed reporting of Iowa’s Monday presidential caucus results for Nevada’s caucuses on Feb. 22. A technology meltdown triggered chaos in the hours after the Iowa caucuses were held. From excitement to embarrassment to full-on rage, Iowa Democrats who took part in the first of the state-by-state nominating contests in this year’s presidential race ran the gamut of emotions as their quadrennial moment in the spotlight descended into chaos.

World

Thousands of passengers and crew on two cruise ships in Asian waters were placed in quarantine, as the death toll from an outbreak of a fast-spreading coronavirus rose to nearly 500. Fatalities from the coronavirus epidemic are overwhelmingly concentrated in central China’s Wuhan city, which accounts for over 73% of deaths despite having only one-third the number of confirmed infections. Click here for the latest on the coronavirus spreading in China and beyond.

The bodies of two U.S. firefighters killed battling Australian blazes were sent home in emotional ceremonies attended by officials and relatives. Mourners gathered on the tarmac at Sydney Airport to see off Captain Ian H. McBeth, 44, of Great Falls, Montana, and First Officer Paul Clyde Hudson, 42, of Buckeye, Arizona, as their flag-draped caskets were lifted into aircraft for the journey home.

Returning to his fields for the first time in 14 years, Palestinian farmer Naser Abu Isaeed surveyed the toll taken by conflict on formerly productive soil. He is one of about 600 Palestinian farmers who regained access to their fields along the border to cultivate crops under a project launched by the International Committee of the Red Cross. “I saw an empty area full of holes and dry weeds,” said Abu Isaeed, who once grew fruit on the tracts along Gaza’s volatile border with Israel.

A draft United Nations Security Council resolution condemned an Israeli plan to annex its settlements in the West Bank in a rebuke of Trump’s pro-Israel peace proposal. The draft text, circulated to council members by Tunisia and Indonesia, would seemingly face a U.S. veto, but nonetheless offered some members’ dim view of the peace plan that Trump rolled out last week with great fanfare.

Business

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Intel bets on smart buildings in Israel to attract tech talent

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European shares surge on reports of drug breakthrough for coronavirus

European shares on Wednesday jumped more than 1% after media reports of significant breakthroughs in treating people affected with the new coronavirus, with a slate of upbeat earnings reports also lifting the mood.

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