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Buttigieg questions 3rd place finish in Nevada, cites errors

Pete Buttigieg’s campaign has questioned his third-place finish in Nevada’s caucuses and called for the state’s Democratic party to release a more detailed breakdown of votes and address reports of more than 200 problems allocating votes in Saturday’s caucuses. The campaign also said it received reports that volunteers running caucuses did not appear to follow rules that could have allowed candidates to pick up more support on a second round of voting.

'Frankly it's bulls***': CNN anchor boils over in interview with corrupt politician pardoned by Trump

In a fiery CNN segment, host Anderson Cooper called out an unrepentant Rod Blagojevich, on his third day out of prison following the commutation of his sentence by Donald Trump.Mr Blagojevich, the former Democratic governor of Illinois, imprisoned in late 2011 following convictions in 17 out of 20 corruption charges, claimed that he was a “political prisoner” not dissimilar to Nelson Mandela and made excuses as to why he should not have been in prison.

A California man drove his Jeep off the roof of a six-level parking garage and crashed into a McDonald's, police say

Police say a California man drove a Jeep off a parking garage and into a McDonald's. Two people dove out of the car before it crashed.

Coronavirus challenges $45 billion cruise industry

'Business is soft, people are scared to travel,' said Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line.

Mike Bloomberg's social media strategy is under fire as Twitter suspends 70 pro-Bloomberg accounts for platform manipulation

A Twitter spokesman said the identical posts violated its policy against manipulation and spam that was created in response to the 2016 election.

Here Comes 1984: China's Regime Is An Existential Threat to the World

One expert tells you why.

Afghanistan confirms first coronavirus case in province bordering Iran

KABUL/HERAT (Reuters) - Afghanistan confirmed its first case of the coronavirus in the western province of Herat on Monday, declaring a state of emergency in a territory bordering Iran which itself reported a sharp rise in cases. Dozens of cases of the virus, which originated in the central Chinese province of Hubei in December, have been confirmed in Iran where 12 people have died, the highest death toll outside of China. "I ask people to try to stay at home and restrict their movements," Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz told reporters, referring to Heart, the gateway to Iran.

Xi says China facing 'big test' with virus, global impact spreads

China's leader said Sunday the new coronavirus epidemic is the communist country's largest-ever public health emergency, but other nations were also increasingly under pressure from the deadly outbreak's relentless global march. Italy and Iran began introducing the sort of containment measures previously seen only in China, which has put tens of millions of people under lockdown in Hubei province, the outbreak's epicentre. Italy reported a third death while cases spiked and the country's Venice carnival closed early.

China's Xi calls for action on economy amid virus outbreak

Warning that China’s virus epidemic is “still grim and complex,” President Xi Jinping called on Sunday for more efforts to stop the outbreak, revive industry and prevent the disease from derailing the spring planting of crops.

Three Weinstein Accusers Could Send Producer to Prison for Life

(Bloomberg) -- As the jurors in Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial wrestle with a pair of charges that could send the fallen movie mogul to prison for life, the testimony of three women who don’t even appear in his indictment could help seal his fate.They’re known as Molineux witnesses in New York, where Weinstein is being tried, and they testified to their own encounters with him as prosecutors sought to persuade the jury that the two women he is charged with attacking never gave their consent to sex. Such witnesses testified in the retrial of Bill Cosby in Pennsylvania, which ended in his conviction.On Friday the jury sent a note to the judge referring to two counts of predatory sexual assault -- counts one and three on the verdict sheet it’s working from -- and suggesting it might be deadlocked.“We the jury request to understand if we can be hung on one and/or three and unanimous on the other charges. Thank you,” the jurors told the judge. He told them to keep trying.The other charges are a criminal sexual act and rape. Weinstein is accused of forcing oral sex on “Project Runway” assistant Miriam Haley in his SoHo loft in 2006 and raping aspiring actor Jessica Mann in a midtown Manhattan hotel in 2013.In a category by herself is the actor Annabella Sciorra, who told the jury that Weinstein raped her in the early 1990s. Her allegations are a linchpin for the two predatory sexual assault counts, the gravest charges facing the former Hollywood power broker.Predatory sexual assault requires a serious attack on at least two people. To find Weinstein guilty on count one, the jury would need to be persuaded by the evidence for the alleged attacks on both Haley and Sciorra. To convict him on count three, it would need to find that he assaulted both Mann and Sciorra.Read More: Weinstein Jury Stuck on Most Serious Charges, Told to Keep at ItThe testimony of the Molineux witnesses may come into play as well. Weinstein’s lawyers argue that any encounters their client had were consensual. If the jury finds the allegations of assault from these three women credible, it may decide Haley and Mann never gave Weinstein their consent either, and convict him of rape and a criminal sexual act.And if the jurors believe Sciorra, too, that will meet the requirements of predatory sexual assault -- the two counts they seem to be stuck on -- and Weinstein, 67, could spend the rest of his life behind bars.Weinstein’s lawyers have told the jury that the women had consensual, and even transactional, sex with their client, and that they “re-labeled” the encounters as assaults years after the fact in the wake of the MeToo movement.The first of the three witnesses, Dawn Dunning, testified that in 2004, when she was an aspiring actor waiting tables, Weinstein lured her to a business meeting in a hotel room and digitally penetrated her. The second, Tarale Wulff, told the court that minutes after meeting the producer in 2005, when she was working as a cocktail waitress, he dragged her up a secluded stairwell and masturbated, and later raped her in his SoHo apartment. The third, Lauren Young, said she was a model trying to make it as a screenwriter in 2013 when Weinstein trapped her in his hotel suite’s bathroom, where he stripped off the top of her dress and groped her.Such testimony about uncharged crimes is typically considered too prejudicial to allow, but it’s permitted under limited circumstances. While it can’t be used to suggest a defendant has a propensity to commit a crime, it can explore the defendant’s intent or a common theme. In New York it dates back to a landmark 1901 decision involving a chemist named Roland Molineux who was accused in a fatal cyanide poisoning.Read More: Weinstein’s ‘Trial of the Century’ Gets Its Own PodcastNew York State Supreme Court Justice James Burke ruled in December, over the objections of the defense, that the three accusers could be called to rebut Weinstein’s argument that the encounters were consensual and to show his “intent to use forcible compulsion” on Haley and Mann. The decision was unsealed on Feb. 7, revealing that prosecutors sought to call a total of five such witnesses, the same number as at the Cosby trial.In the end, Burke allowed three.“The consistent theme is that the defendant used his business stature in the movie industry to lure women to believe that he would connect them to careers in the entertainment industry,” Burke wrote, adding that the testimony could help the jury of seven men and five women understand why Haley and Mann feared reprisals if they went to the police.He said it could help the jurors decide whether Weinstein “created an engineered situation where he could be alone” with Mann and Haley “and then sexually assault them.”Weinstein’s lawyers have cited Burke’s Molineux ruling, as well as other decisions that went against them, in calling for a mistrial. Burke has denied the requests.The case is People v. Weinstein, 450293/2018, New York State Supreme Court (Manhattan).Read MoreJurors Focus on Predatory Assault, Most Serious ChargeSciorra Describes Gift of Popcorn, Then RapeWeinstein Was Jekyll and Hyde, Witness Testifies‘I Think I Was Raped’: Jury Hears Rosie Perez Back Up SciorraJessica Mann Is Grilled on Contact After Alleged Assault Accuser Called Weinstein a ‘Soul Mate,’ Friend TestifiesWeinstein’s Dream Jury Is Conservative, Traditional, SkepticalA MeToo Moment Two Years in the MakingTo contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Hurtado in Federal Court in Manhattan at pathurtado@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter JeffreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Wrong-way crash on Interstate 95 in Georgia kills 6 people, including Virginia parents and their 3 children

Six people, including three children, were killed early Sunday in a head-on crash on Interstate 95, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

US accuses Russia of huge coronavirus disinformation campaign

US officials say thousands of social media accounts linked to Russia are part of a coordinated effort to spread disinformation about the new coronavirus.The campaign allegedly aims to damage the US’s image and spread unfounded conspiracy theories that it is behind the outbreak which has infected nearly 78,000 globally and killed over 2,500 people.

The coronavirus may run rampant in some countries least prepared to deal with it. If that happens experts say the virus could become endemic.

COVID-19 has been found in 30 countries, and as it continues to spread, experts told Business Insider many countries lack the capacity to contain it.

The Vegas way: Buttigieg backer pulls winning card to break tie at Nevada caucus

That's how Democrats settle matters in the state that's home to the nation's most famous gaming mecca.

Kuwait, Bahrain announce first coronavirus cases

Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Monday their first novel coronavirus cases, health ministries in the two Gulf states announced, adding all had come from Iran. Kuwait reported three infections and Bahrain one. "Tests conducted on those coming from the Iranian holy city of Mashhad showed there were three confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19)," the Kuwaiti health ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Bernie and Jane Sanders hire lawyers in response to FBI probe

FBI is probing whether Jane Sanders improperly acquired bank loans to expand Burlington College, which was forced to close because of heavy debt

Greyhound will stop allowing immigration checks on buses

Greyhound, the U.S.’s largest bus company, said on Friday that it will stop allowing Border Patrol agents without a warrant to board its buses to conduct routine immigration checks.

Extradition hearing to begin for WikiLeaks founder Assange

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I Live in South Korea Where Coronavirus Cases are Rising. Not Much Has Changed

It is important to keep perspective. There are fifty-three million people in South Korea. Only four hundred thirty or so of them have corona, and only two have died. The sensationalism of disease outbreak coverage does not help. We have all seen too many movies, and overwrought invocations of Contagion or zombie apocalypse movies generate paranoia and unnecessary anxiety. South Korea is safe.

China canceled the central event of its political calendar because of the coronavirus, a stark symbol of how it has lost control of the outbreak

Delaying the National People's Congress is an admission of China's struggle to control the deadly coronavirus that has killed more than 2,500 people.

CDC is preparing for the 'likely' spread of coronavirus in the US, officials say

While coronavirus has not spread in the United States, CDC officials said they're preparing for the coronavirus to become a pandemic.

Probe into abuse at America's oldest deaf school finds 'appalling truths'

Officials apologized for the "inexcusable actions" of staff and faculty members and the "fact that the school did not prevent or stop them."

Malaysia in turmoil as Anwar denounces bid to bring down govt

Malaysian politics was in turmoil Monday after leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim denounced a "betrayal" by coalition partners he said were trying to bring down the government, two years after it stormed to victory. Anwar's "Pact of Hope" alliance was thrown into crisis after his rivals within the coalition and opposition politicians met at the weekend reportedly to try to form a new government. Speculation is mounting that Anwar, who had been the presumptive successor to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, and his lawmakers would be left out of any new coalition, ending his hopes of becoming premier any time soon.

Outcry after MSNBC host compares Sanders’ Nevada win to Nazi invasion

* Calls for firing of Chris Matthews after widespread anger * Sanders, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist is JewishMSNBC host Chris Matthews compared Bernie Sanders’ victory in the Nevada caucuses on Saturday to the Nazi invasion of France, spurring calls for his firing.“I was reading last night about the fall of France in the summer of 1940 and the general, Reynaud, calls up Churchill and says, ‘It’s over,’” Matthews said on air on Saturday night.“And Churchill says, ‘How can that be? You’ve got the greatest army in Europe. How can it be over?’ He said, ‘It’s over.’”“So I had that suppressed feeling,” Matthews also said.Sanders, a senator from Vermont and self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is Jewish.He won the Nevada caucuses easily, helping solidify his status as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in a primary split between moderates and progressives. Sanders’ win came in the wake of a strong showing in Iowa and victory in New Hampshire.> MSNBC’s Chris Matthews likens Sanders victory in Nevada to Nazi Germany overrunning France in 1940: “It’s too late to stop him … it’s over” pic.twitter.com/6GJetLoDkq> > — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 22, 2020Matthews’ words prompted widespread anger.“Bernie is Jewish and his family was killed by the Nazis,” tweeted David Sirota, a Sanders speechwriter and former Guardian contributor. “None of this is OK.”“This is absolutely disgusting on [Matthews’] part,” tweeted Parker Molloy, editor-at-large at Media Matters for America. “Retire, get fired, whatever. Bottom line is that Matthews needs to be out of a job.”On air, Matthews said Republicans would disclose opposition research on Sanders that would “kill him” in the general election against Donald Trump.“It looks like Bernie Sanders is hard to beat,” Matthews said of the primary, adding: “I think it’s a little late to stop him, and I think that’s the problem.”MSNBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Netanyahu Seeks 300,000 Lost Votes From Vote-Weary Public

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading into Israel’s third back-to-back election struggling to recoup the hundreds of thousands of votes his party has lost since the country descended into political gridlock a year ago. It could be tough to finally defeat his challenger without them.In recent weeks, Netanyahu has parleyed at the White House and the Kremlin, met with once-hostile Muslim leaders now seeking better relations with Israel, and touted a consumer-friendly economic program trying to boost his party’s showing in the March 2 vote.But even then, most polls consistently showed his Likud party slightly trailing former military chief Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White bloc, even after the prime minister pulled out his Trump card: winning U.S. approval to annex war-won territory the Palestinians want for a state.President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which allows Israel to extend its sovereignty over 30% of the West Bank, thrilled many in Netanyahu’s right-wing camp and was supposed to be the springboard that would finally catapult him to victory after two inconclusive elections. That excitement quickly soured after the Trump administration said the process could take months, and wouldn’t begin before the vote, as Netanyahu had promised.Leaders of Israel’s right wing now doubt that their decades-long dream will ever materialize at all, and that could cost Netanyahu support.Why would someone from the settlements “vote for Netanyahu a third time if he doesn’t see anything tangible happening?” Israel Ganz, head of the Mateh Binyamin council -- one of the regions waiting to be annexed -- said in an interview in his West Bank office. “The prime minister has to understand that in order to get people out of their homes they have to see something happen. Call Trump and say, ‘If you don’t give me anything, I’ll lose the elections.’”With his campaign failing to gain traction, and voters burdened by election fatigue after three ballots in 11 months, Netanyahu’s messaging has shifted to turnout, much as it did in the last gasp of his 2015 campaign, when he whipped up 11th-hour support by warning of Arab voters coming out “in droves.” New polls showing Likud edging ahead, though the shift is not enough for the right-wing camp to form a government.“At the moment, the shift is fairly small and doesn’t change the overall picture,” said Simon Davies, a Tel Aviv-based pollster at Number 10 Strategies. “Netanyahu will hope it is an indicator of a growing trend over the next week, though he will also worry it galvanizes higher turnout among Blue and White supporters.”Likud lost about 300,000 votes last election, even after it swallowed up one rival party and persuaded a second to drop out of the running. If stay-at-home Likud supporters come out to the polls this time to recoup that loss, “we’ll cruise to victory,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Army Radio last week. The 300,000 supporters he spoke of would roughly equal eight more seats in Israel’s 120-member parliament.Netanyahu’s nationalist and religious camp is as many as seven seats short of a parliamentary majority, according to polls published last week. Pollsters cite a mix of apathy and discontent with the Israeli leader, who goes to trial on March 17 to face bribery and fraud charges.If the surveys don’t bode well for Netanyahu, then they don’t show a clear pathway to power for Gantz, either, even after two closely spaced revotes.“Everything is so baked in now that it’s very difficult to see movement anywhere on the map,” Davies said.“The game is going to be played out in the horse trading” during coalition talks, he said.(Updates with new polls in seventh paragraph)\--With assistance from Ivan Levingston.To contact the reporter on this story: Yaacov Benmeleh in Tel Aviv at ybenmeleh@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Michael GunnFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

New York's governor compares the 'virus of hate' to the coronavirus after bomb threats were emailed to 19 Jewish community centers in one morning

"People are worried about the coronavirus, which we're watching in this state — there's also a virus of hate, and it's spreading," Andrew Cuomo said.

Police: Couple forced boys off road, angered by Trump flags

A northwestern Indiana couple allegedly used a car to force two teenage boys off a road, angered that the twin brothers were riding bicycles adorned with flags supporting President Donald Trump, before ripping one of the sibling's flag from his bike, police said Friday. Hobart police said Snapchat videos helped officers secure charges against Kyren Gregory Perry-Jones, 23, and Cailyn Marie Smith, 18, in connection with a July 22 incident. Police Capt. James Gonzales said the Hobart couple are accused of driving in their car, running the 14-year-old boys off of the road, and making threats toward them.

Trump administration backs off sending coronavirus patients to Alabama -governor

The news came as worry grew over the spread outside China of the sometimes fatal virus, with a spike in the number of cases found in South Korea, Iran and Italy. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey tweeted that she had thanked Trump during a separate phone call.

Joe Biden says he was arrested in South Africa on a visit to see Nelson Mandela. He has never mentioned the arrest before.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, has mentioned at three campaign events about being arrested while trying to visit Nelson Mandela in the 1970s.

Coronavirus: Could It Takedown China's Communist Party?

It's up to Xi himself.

Lockdowns to curb coronavirus epidemic lead to a rise in mental health issues

Government-enforced moves to deal with coronavirus outbreak are forcing millions of Chinese people to deal with the emotional and psychological fallout.

Deadly coronavirus spreads around globe

The number of fatalities in China -- where the virus emerged late last year -- also continued to soar, with 150 more confirmed deaths, taking its official death toll to nearly 2,600. Afghanistan, Bahrain and Kuwait also announced on Monday their first cases of the virus, bringing the total number of countries with infections above 30.

Ira Hayes raised the flag on Iwo Jima. 75 years later, he still inspires this Indian community.

75 years ago, Ira Hayes was one of the six Marines captured in the historic photograph raising the American flag on Iwo Jima.

’Nearly insurmountable’: Bernie barrels toward Super Tuesday delegate windfall

Sanders already has a foothold in several delegate-rich states.

Couple who disappeared during California getaway found alive

A couple who vanished during a getaway in the woods of Northern California was found Saturday by search-and-rescue workers who spent almost a week looking for them.

Iran lawmaker says 50 dead from new virus in city of Qom

A staggering 50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, a lawmaker was quoted as saying on Monday, even as the Health Ministry insisted only 12 deaths have been recorded to date in the country. The new death toll reported by the Qom representative, Ahmad Amiriabadi Farahani, is significantly higher than the latest number of nationwide confirmed cases of infections that Iranian officials had reported just a few hours earlier, which stood at 12 deaths out of 47 cases, according to state TV. Health Ministry spokesman Iraj Harirchi rejected the Qom lawmaker's claims, insisting the death toll from the virus remains at 12.

20-Year-Old Woman, Boyfriend Arrested Over Rental Dispute Triple Homicide

A 20-year-old woman and her 18-year-old boyfriend were arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday after the woman’s three roommates were found dead inside their shared home in Hemet, California.Hemet police Chief Eddie Pust on Friday told reporters that Jordan Destinee Guzman, and her boyfriend, Anthony Damion McCloud, were apprehended in connection to the triple homicide—which allegedly stemmed from a dispute over the rental agreement. The three victims—46-year-old Wendy Araiza, her 21-year-old daughter Genesis Araiza, and Trinity Clyde, the 18-year-old girlfriend of Wendy’s son—were found dead Wednesday evening after officials received a call about a woman lying in a pool of blood.According to KABC, officials said they died of blunt force trauma and strangulation. Stabbing was also present, but it’s unclear if a knife was used.The father of one of the victims reportedly walked into the home while Guzman and McCloud were still there—but the pair fled the scene in Clyde’s car, which was also found in Las Vegas.A family member of Araiza, Cheryl Mead, said they were trying to get Guzman to move out of the house. “I guess that this is how she retaliated, which is pretty horrific,” Mead told KABC.Pust told reporters that police still didn’t know if the “horrific, egregious” crime was “interrupted” or if Guzman and McCloud were going to continue their alleged killing spree. According to news station KCAL 9, he said the investigation was still active.Guzman’s mother said the women let her stay in the home so her daughter could get back on her feet, and claimed Guzman was scared of McCloud. She also told KCAL 9 that her daughter was previously asked to leave other homes and did so without incident. “We can’t be more sorry to the families that have lost their family members,” she said.Guzman and McCloud face three counts of murder and are currently being held on $2 million bail at a Nevada jail. Police say they will soon be extradited to Riverside County, California.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Mike Bloomberg is roasting Donald Trump in billboards in two Western cities — see photos of the ads

Presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg is slamming Donald Trump for eating burnt stake and cheating at golf in his campaign's latest deluge of ads.

Russia's Relationship With China Is Growing Despite Setbacks

What are the strategic implications of Moscow and Beijing working closely together in a sensitive domain?

Grave of slain Iraq commander, a new anti-US magnet

Clad in black, they joined wailing women and men beating their chests in grief at Wadi al-Salam (valley of peace), an ever expanding cemetery. All eyes were on the grave of Iraqi paramilitary commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Killed alongside top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3, Muhandis is now revered as a martyred icon of anti-American resistance.

A dozen towns in northern Italy are locked down after coronavirus deaths

Schools, businesses and restaurant closed in a dozen northern Italian towns Saturday following reports of two deaths tied to the coronavirus outbreak

Two academics in their 70s who vanished from cottage are found alive

The pair survived by drinking water from a puddle, a sheriff's spokesman said.

South Korean cases jump, China counts 150 more virus deaths

South Korea reported another large jump in new virus cases Monday a day after the the president called for “unprecedented, powerful” steps to combat the outbreak that is increasingly confounding attempts to stop the spread. The231 new cases bring South Korea's total to833cases, and two more deaths raise its toll to seven. China also reported 409 new cases on Monday, raising the mainland's total to 77,150 after a zigzag pattern of increases in recent days.

Hawaii holds woman over missing children amid suspicious deaths

A 46-year-old American woman with reported links to a doomsday cult and to at least three people whose deaths are being investigated has been arrested in Hawaii over the disappearance of her two children. Lori Vallow was arrested Thursday on the island of Kauai and charged with felony desertion of the children, 7-year-old Joshua Vallow, who is autistic, and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan, police said in a statement. According to US media reports, the children, who have different fathers, were last seen on September 23, 2019.

Washington DC mayor: no Democrat is perfect, so consider Bloomberg

* Muriel Bowser says former New York mayor will ‘cast widest net’ * Nevada caucuses: crucial ‘first in the west’ contest – live * Trump calls John Bolton a ‘traitor’ and wants to block his bookDemocrats are not going to find the perfect candidate to take on Donald Trump, the Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser said in an interview published on Saturday, so they should consider backing Mike Bloomberg – as she has done.“We can say that we’re looking for the perfect candidate,” the only woman to be re-elected as Washington mayor told the Washington Post. “News flash: you’re not going to find him or her.“I’m not going to support a disreputable person, but I do want to make sure the person that we get behind has a programme to win that’s going to cast the widest net.”Bloomberg is a three-term mayor of New York City with a personal business and media empire and a fortune of around $60bn.He will not compete in any Democratic primary until Super Tuesday, 3 March, but he has surged in the polls behind huge spending on advertising, visibility in national coverage and stumbles by the former vice-president Joe Biden, previously the leading candidate from the moderate wing of the party.Bloomberg’s spell in the spotlight has attracted Trump’s attention but it has been harsh too: past comments about women, minorities and even farmers have been unearthed, published and pilloried and his use of the discriminatory “stop-and-frisk” policing policy while in office in New York – and subsequent defence of it – has been roundly slammed.Bloomberg kicked off his campaign with an apology for the policy, which was ruled unconstitutional in 2013.Bowser, who is African American, told the Post: “He can’t change history. He can only change what happens in the future.“And I think what’s important is that a real agenda affecting those young men who were targeted by these practices is what everybody is looking for.”The 47-year-old also said no candidate in the Democratic field had a perfect record on race, citing the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders’ and Biden’s votes for a 1994 crime bill that contained harsh provisions which disproportionately affected minority Americans.“I would argue that more people are in jail because of that crime bill than stop-and-frisk,” Bowser said.In a pointed message given the publication of the interview on the day of the Nevada caucuses, which Sanders was expected to win, Bowser said the party should be wary of fielding a nominee committed to tax increases and nationalised healthcare.“That is a tough message up against Donald Trump, who is presiding over a roaring economy,” Bowser said. “Even if he inherited it [from Barack Obama], he’s presiding over it. And many people won’t understand how taking away their health insurance or raising their taxes is a good thing.”Trump answered Bowser indirectly on Saturday, posting a video to his Twitter account in which he boasted about the economy and called claims he inherited it from his predecessor “the biggest con job I ever heard”.Bloomberg has admitted to some of his reported remarks about women and released testimony from female employees of his eponymous company.But in a torrid first appearance on the debate stage, in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren attacked him in stinging terms, comparing him to Trump for calling women “fat broads and horse-faced lesbians”.“I look at allegations as just that,” Bowser told the Post. “I think what Mike has said is that he’s used crude language. And I’m pretty sure that all of us can imagine Wall Street 30 years ago, male-dominated. And I think we would all be very naive if we thought a lot of crude remarks didn’t happen.”She added: “Now, as an African American woman who’s been in a lot of rooms, we can talk about discrimination. But one of the deadliest forms of discrimination is to be ignored and to be invisible and to not be heard.”Bowser described a close relationship with Bloomberg since 2014, when she first ran for mayor. According to the Post, Bowser backed a Bloomberg White House run after the California senator Kamala Harris dropped out of contention.Harris and the New Jersey senator Cory Booker, the other African American in the original field, consulted Bowser before ending their campaigns, the Post said. Only Bloomberg asked for her endorsement.Bowser said she thought mayors were well-qualified to run for president and commended Pete Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has made a strong run in the moderate lane of the primary.But, she said, Buttigieg has had “difficulty translating his small-town experience into [the] big time”.Bowser is a national co-chair of Bloomberg’s campaign and has appeared for him around the country. She refused to be drawn on whether she would accept an invitation to be his running mate, should he win the nomination.“I have the best job in Washington,” she said. “And I’m here to help Mike win the nomination and defeat Donald Trump.”