Top story: ‘Beginning of the end for Trump’
Hello, Warren Murray here with a few candidates for your attention this morning.
Bernie Sanders has declared victory in the New Hampshire primary overnight with Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, coming in a close second. “Let me say that this victory here is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump,” said Sanders. “We’re going to Nevada, we’re going to South Carolina, we’re going to win those next as well.”
With 77% of New Hampshire precincts reporting, Sanders had taken 25.8% compared with Buttigieg’s 24.2%. Senator Amy Klobuchar made a surprise surge into third place. The Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren appeared to place fourth, with the former vice-president Joe Biden in fifth, another disappointing result for the long-favoured frontrunner. Sanders said: “What I can tell you with absolute certainty … is that no matter who wins … we are going to unite together and defeat the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country.” Here’s what our panel made of this early Democratic race. Richard Wolffe thinks Joe Biden’s campaign is on life support.
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Up in smoke – Air pollution from burning fossil fuels is responsible for more than 4m premature deaths around the world each year and costs the global economy about $8bn a day, according to a study from Greenpeace. Separately, analysis by the World Wildlife Fund estimates that loss of nature will wipe £368bn a year off global economic growth by 2050. The UK will be the third-worst hit – sustaining a £16bn annual loss, according to the Global Futures Report, because of loss of habitats that provide homes for marine life, support fisheries and give natural protection against flooding and erosion.
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Midweek catch-up
> The novel coronavirus has been officially dubbed Covid-19. Officials in China are reporting a slowdown in the rate of new infections but experts are cautious. A cruise ship carrying 2,000 people has now been refused port by four countries despite no confirmed cases on board. A Chinese man living under lockdown has run 31 miles in his living room, saying he was sick of sitting around. Latest updates at our live blog.
> Four unprepared climbers have been plucked by helicopter from Ben Nevis which they tried to climb in blizzard conditions. A British hiker is missing in New Zealand in an area where there has just been heavy flooding.
> In the Labour leadership race, Keir Starmer, the frontrunner, has announced he would keep Jeremy Corbyn’s pledge to scrap tuition fees, calling the burden of borrowing faced by students to get a degree a “national scandal”.
> Four US prosecutors have resigned in protest after the Trump administration blocked their call for Roger Stone to get up to nine years’ jail. Stone was convicted as part of the Mueller investigation. The intervention, which has incensed Democrats, came after Donald Trump tweeted his displeasure at the sentencing submission.
> The Bell Inn, Berkshire, run by the same family for 250 years, has been named pub of the year by the Campaign for Real Ale. Judges hailed its strong community focus, relaxed atmosphere and top-quality beer.
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Universal credit strands the vulnerable – Thousands of vulnerable people on low incomes are at risk of being “steamrolled” into poverty because they do not have the skills or support to use the universal credit system, the Salvation Army has warned. It says there is “overwhelming evidence” that many people find it a struggle to engage with the mainly digital benefit. Daniel, a young man with dyslexia, told of having his benefits stopped and ending up homeless after putting the wrong phone number on his online form and missing an appointment. There are 750,000 ill and disabled benefit claimants slated to move on to universal credit later this year and the Salvation Army has called on the government to make more support available to the vulnerable before then.
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HS2 runners and riders – Boris Johnson has announced that work on laying the new “spine” of British transport could start as early as April. And activists are ramping up, including the Cubbington Action Group Against HS2. They are out to protect a beloved nature spot that will be partly razed to put the track through – incredulous that a nearby golf course managed to get the route altered to avoid losing one of its 18 holes. Tories originally opposed to HS2 appear to have jumped on board the juggernaut now that the PM has given his approval. But pockets of reticence remain. “HS2 is unloved, unwanted and has been grossly mismanaged. It very adversely affects my constituents,” Andrew Bridgen, the MP for North West Leicestershire, told the Commons, to which Boris Johnson replied: “Every single infrastructure project is opposed at these critical moments. We have got to have the guts and the foresight to drive it through.”
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Crunch time – The town of Arteixo Galicia has its own unique reason to toast Parasite’s Oscar-night triumphs: the South Korean film featured its locally made Bonilla a la Vista patatas fritas brand, and sales are booming as a result.
Bonilla a la Vista was founded in 1932 when Salvador Bonilla began travelling around Galicia to sell his crisps and churros at fairs. His son César still heads the family business at the age of 87. “We’ve always used good potatoes, good olive oil and sea salt – that gives them a great taste and texture,” he said.
Today in Focus podcast: Back from the brink of death
The anti-overdose drug naloxone has been in clinical use since the 1970s but not always where it’s needed most. The Guardian’s Jamie Grierson visited Redcar in North Yorkshire where a group of former drug users provide at-risk people with kits that could save their lives. Plus George Monbiot on Storm Ciara and the flooding that has once again devastated parts of England.
Lunchtime read: Regrets, we all have a few
We spend on average 110 hours a year considering what might have been – from loves lost to jobs we should have pursued. But it is possible to escape this cycle, writes Amy Fleming.
Sport
The Rugby Football Union is to cut its funding of the Championship by 50%, throwing England’s second tier into turmoil and handing “ring-fencing to the Premiership on a plate”. UK Sport has begun an unprecedented comprehensive review into UK Athletics after admitting it had “major concerns” following a series of crises, scandals and poor decisions that have plunged the organisation into disarray. Mauricio Pochettino, who was sacked by Tottenham in November, says he would relish another opportunity to manage in the Premier League.
Tiger Woods has been approached by the organisers of a proposed Premier Golf League, but admits he is still trying to “figure it all out”. Concern is growing at Sheffield Wednesday about South Yorkshire police’s methods at matches following the shocking incident on Saturday when an officer struck a 16-year-old supporter over the head with a baton. The Six Nations and the private equity firm CVC’s impending deal is threatening to take some games off free-to-air TV, and that could be a dangerous move, writes Andy Bull. And an Italian football referee has been banned from officiating or attending football matches for one year after headbutting a goalkeeper following a regional league match.
Business
Complaints about high-cost loans have shot up by 250%, figures from the financial ombudsman show. The ombudsman dealt with 4,535 new cases about so-called instalment loans, which have replaced payday loans in the wake of the collapse of Wonga, during the three months to 31 December 2019. Asian shares rose again in the wake of strong gains in Europe and the US in the previous session. The FTSE is set for a modest gain this morning while the pound is on $1.296 and €1.188.
The papers
Much ado about HS2 and the news we have been awaiting for days. The Guardian reports that the PM “stakes his reputation” on the transport “spine”. Our front-page picture is Steve Walsh who unknowingly caught and spread the Covid-19 virus.
The Metro calls the rail line “High Spend 2” – the i, “High Speed North”. The FT says Boris Johnson’s decision “promises revolution in transport” while the Express calls it “His biggest gamble yet”. The Telegraph carries the BBC chairman’s warning that “Scrapping licence fee will weaken the nation”.
The Times says Boris Johnson is understood to be “furious” after deportations to Jamaica were challenged in the courts: “Dangerous criminals out in days, No 10 fears”. The Mirror splashes with Steve Walsh, the Covid-19 survivor: “Don’t turn me into a scapegoat”. The Mail reports on “Our old-age health crisis” as diagnosed by the new chief medical officer. The Sun promotes an “exclusive” on Paul Hollywood’s past love life.
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