Tuesday morning news, February 4, 2020

Iowa caucuses suffer delays amid “inconsistencies” » The first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses did not go according to plan on Monday. 

When the clock struck midnight in the Hawkeye State, frustrated campaigns and volunteers huddled around television screens hoping for answers. 

The results were delayed after the Iowa Democratic Party “found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results.” That according to spokeswoman Mandy McClure.

Still, the candidates projected optimism. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar told supporters…

KLOBUCHAR: We know there’s delays, but we know one thing, we are punching above our weight! 

And South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg all but declared victory. 

BUTTIGIEG: We don’t know all the results, but we know, by the time all is said and done, Iowa, you have shocked the nation! 

Des Moines County Democratic Chair Tom Courtney blamed technology issues in his county for the delays. He said relaying precinct reports using an app created for caucus organizers was—in his words—“a mess.” 

Precinct leaders were forced to phone in the results to state party headquarters, which in some cases was too busy to answer their calls.

Impeachment trial wraps up closing arguments » House Democrats and attorneys for President Trump made one final appeal on the Senate floor Monday as the impeachment trial draws to a close.

House impeachment manager Jason Crow told senators… 

CROW: What you decide on these articles will have lasting implications for the future of the presidency, not only for this president, but for all future presidents. Whether or not the office of the presidency of the United States of America is above the law, that is the question. 

But Trump attorney Patrick Philbin countered… 

PHILBIN: The House of Representatives also is not above the law in the way they conduct the impeachment proceedings, and bring a matter here before the Senate, because in very significant and important respects, they didn’t follow the law. 

Philbin charged that the House unlawfully launched its impeachment inquiry before bringing the matter to the House floor for a vote. 

But neither side is likely to win any converts before tomorrow’s vote on a final verdict. 

Senators began explaining how they plan to vote and why in a series of floor speeches Monday. Those speeches will likely continue until tomorrow’s vote. 

Al-Qaeda affiliate claims Pensacola base attack » Al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen has claimed responsibility for the deadly December shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola. WORLD Radio’s Kristen Flavin reports. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, released a video claiming the attack. SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online terror messaging, reported the claim.

The shooter in the December 6th attack was an aviation student from Saudi Arabia. He opened fire inside a classroom and killed three people before a sheriff’s deputy shot and killed him. 

The 18-minute video reportedly indicated the shooter had been in communication with AQAP. It included audio from top AQAP leader Qassim al-Rimi claiming “full responsibility” for the attack—calling the shooter a “courageous knight.”

Last week, a suspected U.S. drone strike destroyed a building housing al-Qaeda militants in eastern Yemen. Numerous reports suggested the drone strike killed al-Rimi. And President Trump retweeted several of those reports, seemingly confirming al-Rimi’s death. 

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Kristen Flavin. 

China opens 1,000-bed hospital to counter coronavirus » China on Monday opened a new hospital built in just 10 days. It was part of a series of new steps aimed at containing the rapidly spreading coronavirus.

Medical teams from the People’s Liberation Army are arriving in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. They are relieving overwhelmed health workers and helping to staff the new 1,000-bed hospital.

Its prefabricated wards are equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and ventilation systems. A second hospital with 1,500 beds is due to open within days.

Chinese health officials have now reported 361 deaths and more than 17,000 confirmed cases. The World Health Organization said the number of cases will keep growing because tests are pending on thousands of suspected cases.

WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said Monday that to stop the virus, the world must work together. 

GHEBREYESUS: We can only stop it together. So the rule of the game is solidarity, solidarity, solidarity. But we see this missing in many corners, and that has to be addressed. 

Ghebreyesus has expressed concern that some countries are unable or unwilling to take all the steps necessary to stop the disease from spreading faster outside China.

Rush Limbaugh announces cancer diagnosis » Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh has been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. WORLD Radio’s Anna Johansen has that story. 

ANNA JOHANSEN, REPORTER: Addressing listeners on his program Monday, Limbaugh said he will take some days off for further medical tests and to determine treatment.

He said he’d been experiencing shortness of breath that he initially thought might be heart-related, but turned out to be a pulmonary malignancy.

Limbaugh started his first national radio show in 1988 from New York. He later relocated to Palm Beach, Florida. His show soon became the top-rated syndicated radio show in the country. 

On Monday, Limbaugh said he intends to continue working as much as possible. He also said he has focused more “intensely” in the past two weeks on what he called his “deeply personal relationship” with God.

Reporting for WORLD Radio, I’m Anna Johansen.

(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) A Precinct 68 Iowa Caucus voters seated in the Elizabeth Warren section waits to have his first vote counted as the night of caucusing gets underway at the Knapp Center on the Drake University campus in Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, Feb. 3, 2020. 

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