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BEIJING (AP) – China on Wednesday reported another drop in the number of new cases of a viral infection and 97 more deaths, pushing the total dead past 1,100 even as the country remains largely closed down to prevent the spread of the disease. 
  
The National Health Commission on Wednesday said 2,015 new cases had been reported over the last 24 hours, declining for a second day. The total number of cases in mainland China is 44,653, although many experts say a large number of others infected have gone uncounted.
  
The 97 additional deaths from the virus raised the mainland toll to 1,113. 
  
Despite the official end o the extended Lunar New Year holiday, China remained mostly closed for business as many remained at home, with some 60 million people under virtual quarantine. 
  
The World Health Organization has named the disease caused by the virus as COVID-19, avoiding any animal or geographic designation to avoid stigmatization and to show the disease comes from a new coronavirus discovered in 2019. 
  
The illness was first reported in December and connected to a food market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the outbreak has largely been concentrated.
  
China’s official media reported Tuesday that the top health officials in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, have been relieved of their duties. No reasons were given, although the province’s initial response was deemed slow and ineffective. Speculation that higher-level officials could be sacked has simmered, but doing so could spark political infighting and be a tacit admission of responsibility. 
  
The virus outbreak has become the latest political challenge for the party and its leader, Xi Jinping, who despite accruing more political power than any Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, has struggled to handle crises on multiple fronts. These include a sharply slowing domestic economy, the trade war with the U.S. and push-back on China’s increasingly aggressive foreign policies. 
  
Zhong Nanshan, a leading Chinese epidemiologist, said that while the virus outbreak in China may peak this month, the situation at the center of the crisis remains more challenging. 
  
“We still need more time of hard working in Wuhan,” he said, describing the isolation of infected patients there a priorityon.
  
“We have to stop more people from being infected,” he said. “The problem of human to human transmission has not yet been resolved.” 
  
Without enough facilities to handle the number of cases, Wuhan has been building prefabricated hospitals and converting a gym and other large spaces to house patients and try to isolate them from others.
  
The restart of business poses a risk of further spreading the virus, but China has little recourse, said Cong Liang, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s main economic planning body.
  
“Without the reopening of businesses, in the short term, it will affect the supply of medical material and … in the long run, it will affect the supply of all kinds of production and life materials and will make the control and prevention efforts on the front line unsustainable. The target of defeating the epidemic will not be reached,” Cong said at a news conference. 
  
In Hong Kong, authorities evacuated part of an apartment block after cases among its residents raised suspicion the virus may be spreading through the building’s plumbing. Three residents in one apartment were confirmed to have the virus days after a resident who lives 10 floors above them.
  
During the 2002-03 outbreak of SARS, an illness caused by a related virus, a number of infections in Hong Kong were linked to one building’s sewage pipes.
  
Hong Kong has confirmed 49 cases in the current outbreak.
  
Postal operators in the United States, China, Singapore and elsewhere said the suspension of flights to slow the virus spread was having a major impact on the global flow of letters and parcels.
  
The United States Postal Service informed its counterparts around the world on Tuesday that it was “experiencing significant difficulties” in dispatching letters, parcels and express mail to China, including Hong Kong and Macau, because airlines have suspended flights to those destinations.
  
It said the USPS said can no longer accept items destined for China “until sufficient transport capacity becomes available.” 
  
The Universal Postal Union, a U.N. agency for postal cooperation between its 192 member countries, said the flight suspensions would impact mail delivery “for the foreseeable future.”
  
The Chinese mail service, China Post, said it was disinfecting postal offices, processing centers and vehicles to ensure the virus doesn’t spread via the mail and to protect postal staff.
  
The virus does “not survive for long on objects. It is therefore safe to receive postal items from China,” China Post said. 

(Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
 

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The president of Jackson State University has been arrested alongside a fellow employee as part of a prostitution sting in central Mississippi that involved 15 others.

William Bynum Jr., 57, and Shonda McCarthy were taken into custody this weekend after they responded to ad for prostitution services, listed on the ‘dark web’.

After agreeing on services with an undercover officer, they arrived together to the Fairfield Inn hotel near Interstate 20, where others were arrested for charges including prostitution and promoting prostitution.

‘We do believe that they arrived at the hotel together,’ spokesperson Mark Jones told the New York Post Tuesday.

William Bynum Jr., 57, and Shonda McCarthy were taken into custody this weekend after they responded to ad for prostitution services, listed on the ‘dark web’. After agreeing on services with an undercover officer, they arrived together to the Fairfield Inn hotel near Interstate 20, where others were arrested for charges including prostitution and promoting prostitution

Bynum had been president of Jackson State since 2017 after serving four years as president of Mississippi Valley State University. McCarthy, 46, the director of the Jackson State University art galleries

When asked why they were together, the rep said: ‘It’s pure speculation at this point. I guess that will come out at another time.’

Bynum was arrested late Saturday or early Sunday and charged with procuring services of a prostitute, false statement of identity and simple possession of marijuana.

When asked if Bynum tried to convince police he was someone else, Clinton Police Chief Ford Hayman said in a press conference Monday: ‘Without getting into particulars, yes, he was charged with that – providing a false identity.’

But he wouldn’t elaborate on their connection.

‘They were arrested,’ the police chief said Monday in a news conference. ‘It’s an ongoing investigation. As everybody that was arrested in this operation, an ad was online and they saw that ad, they called and set this up with our undercover officers. So that’s to the extent I can answer that question.’

According to the Clarion Ledger, he has been married for four decades and has six children.

He was released from jail Sunday after posting $3,000 bail. Bynum submitted his resignation Monday and it took effect immediately.

Images show her posing with hip-hop and fashion mogul Russell Simmons at an event for her brand. She appears alongside Russell’s nephew Jamel Simmons in a September 2009 image

An interview with Shonda McCarthy states that she used to live in New York and owned a popular boutique named Lolli by Reincarnation. But she moved back to Jackson to raise her son. Danny Simmons and his son, Jamel Simmons during Rush East New York Celebration Hosted By Russell Simmons at Time Warner Center in New York City

Within hours, the governing board for Mississippi’s eight public universities met and named another Jackson State administrator, Thomas Hudson, as interim president. Hudson has been special assistant to the president and chief diversity officer.

Bynum had been president of the 5,300-student Jackson State since 2017 after serving four years as president of Mississippi Valley State University.

A biography of Bynum on the Jackson State University website said his personal and professional motto is, ‘Look back and thank God. Look forward and trust God. Look around and serve God. Look within and find God.’

Bynum faced protests from some alumni and students when he was first chosen for the Jackson State presidency because he was not among the three initial finalists.

The university was having financial problems after overspending by a previous president. Bynum said the university would face three to five years of austerity.

‘I understand I may not be your choice,’ Bynum told one angry student in 2017. ‘All I say to you is, watch me work.’

McCarthy, 46, the director of the Jackson State University art galleries, was charged with procuring services of a prostitute and possession of marijuana while operating a motor vehicle.

McCarthy went by Shon (or Shonda) McCarthy Simmons in 2015, according to the Jackson Free Press.

An interview with her states that she used to live in New York and owned a popular boutique named Lolli by Reincarnation.  The article states celebrities including Lindsay Lohan and Cameron Diaz purchased items she designed and sold.

Images show her posing with hip-hop and fashion mogul Russell Simmons at an event for her brand. She appears alongside Russell’s nephew Jamel Simmons in a September 2009 image.

Four suspects from Memphis are charged with promoting or conspiracy to promote prostitution as police said the suspects could be part of a multi-state prostitution ring.  Pictured clockwise from top left; Alexis Miller, Temeela Palmer, Joseph Jones, and Jesus Porrata

Sheena Stanford (left), age 35, of Jackson, Mississippi: Promoting Prostitution. Sierra Case (right), age 23, of Jackson, Mississippi: Prostitution

Rosella Brown (left), age 25, of Canton, Mississippi: Prostitution. Naketa Williams (right), age 37, of Jackson, Mississippi: Prostitution

‘(Jackson), is a goldmine, and we don’t realize it,’ she told the publication at the time. ‘I had to move away from home (in 1999) and live in New York for 12 years to realize how great a place this is.’

The article states she moved back to Jackson to raise her son Cody who was six at the time.

According to the university website McCarthy is a member of the Advisory Board of Hip Hop Hall of Fame (Arts Education), New York, and the JSU Jazz Series Committee.

McCarthy was also released Sunday on $2,000 bail.

She and Bynum are due in court for their arraignment on March 11.

Four suspects from Memphis are charged with promoting or conspiracy to promote prostitution as police said the suspects could be part of a multi-state prostitution ring.

The Clinton Police Department did not identify any patterns or activity to suggest that prostitution or human trafficking is prevalent in Clinton.

The Clinton Police Department encourages anyone who might information pertaining to human trafficking to contact CPD or CRIMESTOPPERS with tips for further investigation.

National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888.

Steve Hampton (left), age 57, of Jackson, Mississippi: Promoting Prostitution, Possession of Crack Cocaine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Eric Jackson (right), age 34, of Jackson, Mississippi: Promoting Prostitution

Fredrick Robinson (left), age 41, of Jackson, Mississippi: Promoting Prostitution. Anthony Bowman (right), age 48, of Vicksburg, Mississippi: Procuring Services of a Prostitute

Holly Ann Wheaton, age 35, of Springfield, Tennessee: Prostitution

Steve Hampton, age 57, of Jackson, Mississippi: Promoting Prostitution, Possession of Crack Cocaine, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

Anthony Bowman, age 48, of Vicksburg, Mississippi: Procuring Services of a Prostitute

William Bynum Jr., age 57, of Jackson, Mississippi: Procuring Services of a Prostitute, False Statement of Identity, and Simple Possession of Marijuana.

Fredrick Robinson, age 41, of Jackson, Mississippi: Promoting Prostitution

Holly Ann Wheaton (left), age 35, of Springfield, Tennessee: Prostitution. Taylor Ducre (right), age 30, of Angie, Louisiana: Prostitution and Possession of Cocaine

Sierra Case, age 23, of Jackson, Mississippi: Prostitution

Sheena Stanford, age 35, of Jackson, Mississippi: Promoting Prostitution

Taylor Ducre, age 30, of Angie, Louisiana: Prostitution and Possession of Cocaine

Eric Jackson, age 34, of Jackson, Mississippi: Promoting Prostitution

Naketa Williams, age 37, of Jackson, Mississippi: Prostitution

Shonda McCarthy, age 46, of Jackson, Mississippi: Procuring Services of a Prostitute and Possession of Marijuana while Operating a Motor Vehicle.

Rosella Brown, age 25, of Canton, Mississippi: Prostitution

Alexis Miller, age 23, of Memphis, Tennessee: Conspiracy to Promote Prostitution

Temeela Palmer, age 31, of Memphis, Tennessee: Prostitution and Conspiracy to Promote Prostitution

Joseph Jones, age 30, of Memphis, Tennessee: Conspiracy to Promote Prostitution

Jesus Porrata, age 31, of Memphis, Tennessee: Promoting Prostitution

Source: Daily Mail

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CBN News has learned new details about the imminent threat that led to the killing of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani.  

The information came from Michael Pregent of the Hudson Institute, a well-connected Middle East intelligence expert who’s also fought in that region.  

During an interview with CBN News on Tuesday, Pregent said the so-called “chatter” regarding the situation could not be ignored.

“He was worse than Osama bin Laden. He was worse than Baghdadi. He was worse than Zarqawi,” he said.

Last month President Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, another well-known terrorist.  

“It was the best move we could have made,” Pregent said. 

Pregent said his sources provided a clear picture of the threat Soleimani posed to the US Embassy in Baghdad, making his demise a must.

“The chatter was they were going to do a 1979 hostage siege,” Pregent told CBN News.

“They were going to take over the embassy, take all the Americans in the embassy hostage and then broker their release in exchange for sanctions relief,” he explained. 

While Soleimani was the main target, Pregent says the other terror leader killed in the strike would have also played a key role in the siege.  

“The chatter was they were going to put Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in as prime minister,” Pregent said. “So do a coup and then seize the embassy.” 

Pregent said when militia forces penetrated the embassy on Dec. 31, it was essentially a dress rehearsal for what was to come.

“They’d walked into the embassy without weapons. Trashed it. Saw how close they could get to it. Saw they could throw things over. Saw they could get as close as to almost break the windows with the US guards on the other side,” he noted.

“The next thing they wanted to do was roll through the embassy in a protest with civilians with Iraqi flags and make it look like the protestors were taking the embassy when it was really the militias,” the intelligence expert continued. 

Pregent says if Soleimani and Al Muhandis had lived, the coup was all but certain.  

“Killing Quasem Solemani was actually a de-escalating event,” he said. “It sent a message to the regime that the President was really serious about hurting Iran.” 

Pregent also addressed the tidal wave of criticism against President Trump as Democrats demanded intelligence that led to the decision to take out Soleimani. Pregent said it’s important to remember that intelligence doesn’t confirm an imminent attack, it only hints at one.

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