Wuhan coronavirus whistleblower doctor dies as confirmed cases top 30,000 - CNN

As of Friday morning, number of confirmed cases globally stood at 31,420, with more than 31,000 of those in mainland China. The number of cases in China grew by 3,143, or around 11%, on the previous day. That is a drop in the percentage increase, which had been around 15% every other day this week.

In total there have been 638 deaths, all but two of which were in mainland China, with one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong.

Li Wenliang, 34, was a Wuhan doctor who was widely hailed as a hero after it emerged he was targeted by police for spreading "rumors" about the virus, when he was in fact sharing accurate information to try and raise the alarm.

Speaking to CNN this week from his hospital bed, Li said that "I only wanted to remind my university classmates to be careful." At the time he was warning about a SARS-like virus spreading in the city, officials were still downplaying the outbreak and its danger.

Wuhan Central Hospital, where Li worked as an ophthalmologist, announced his death in the early hours of Friday morning local time, leading to an outpouring of grief and anger online. This was made worse by initial confusion as state media first published then retracted reports of his death, leading to allegations they were trying to cover it up or control the story.

"I knew you would post this in the middle of the night," read one popular post on Weibo, one of China's largest social media platforms. "You think we've all gone to sleep? No. We haven't."

Another said that "countless young people will mature overnight after today: the world is not as beautiful as we imagined. Are you angry? If any of us here is fortunate enough to speak up for the public in the future, please make sure you remember tonight's anger."

'No deserters'

The anger over Li's death comes as the Chinese authorities signaled an escalation in how they control the virus, after an initial lockdown of Wuhan and neighboring cities failed to contain the outbreak within Hubei province.

Speaking in Wuhan on Thursday, Sun Chunlan, one of China's vice premiers and member of the Politburo, said that every household must be checked and anyone with symptoms sent to one of dozens of newly designated quarantine centers.

"There can be no deserters in a time of war," she said. "They will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame forever."

As of Thursday, 132 quarantine centers have been established across the city, Hu Lishan, Wuhan deputy Party secretary, told reporters. They include a converted conference and exhibition center, and a building complex with the awkward name "Wuhan Living Room."

There are around 12,500 beds in the quarantine centers, Hu said, though he warned the city was running short of space in hospitals, with only 400 or so of the 8,500 beds across 28 coronavirus-designated hospitals available.

"To be honest, we did not do well enough in some areas and we need to do better," Hu said.

Several purpose-built hospitals have gone into action in Wuhan, built in less than a week by teams working around the clock, but they have not been enough to alleviate demand. Thousands of medical personnel have also been sent to the city to help with relief efforts.

Economic fears

"For a nation, the greatest glory consists not in never falling, but rising when it falls," Chinese state news agency Xinhua said in a commentary Thursday.

"While the virus battle continues, normal social and economic operations are being restored. People are on their way back to work after the Spring Festival holiday. Some are wearing masks, and some are working at home to prevent infections. Many years later, it will become an unforgettable memory for the Chinese."

The country's Ministry of Commerce encouraged supermarkets and grocery stores to resume operations Thursday, as the economic and societal toll of having much of the country on voluntary or mandatory quarantine began to take its toll. Businesses have also been asked to "resume operation in an orderly manner while continuing to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak."

The economic shocks from the virus -- and the prolonged shutdown of many factories and businesses across China -- are being felt worldwide, with ramifications for the global oil industry and automakers.

Hong Kong in particular is feeling the pain from the virus outbreak. The semi-autonomous Chinese city was already in a technical recession due to the US-China trade war and over six months of protests, and a massive drop in tourists and business due to the outbreak has further pushed down the economy.

Cruise ships quarantined

With more than two dozen countries reporting cases of the virus, there is an ongoing global race to contain it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Thursday it was convening a global research and innovation forum to mobilize international action in response to the outbreak.

"Harnessing the power of science is critical for bringing this outbreak under control," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "There are questions we need answers to, and tools we need developed as quickly as possible. WHO is playing an important coordinating role by bringing the scientific community together to identify research priorities and accelerate progress."

Some people at the frontline of the outbreak are the thousands currently holed up on two cruise ships in Japan and Hong Kong, on which all passengers and crew are being tested for the virus.

As of Friday morning, there were an additional 41 cases confirmed on the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship currently docked in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. That brings the total number of cases to 61, from 273 passengers and crew tested, or 22%, raising concerns of a major outbreak on board.

Another cruise ship in Hong Kong is awaiting test results with 1,800 passengers stuck after it was revealed that passengers from the previous voyage became infected.

Cruise ships can become hotbeds for viral infections, typically norovirus and other gastrointestinal bugs -- this time last year, a cruise in the Caribbean had to return to port early after more than 400 passengers got sick.

"Commercial maritime travel is characterized by the movement of large numbers of people in closed and semi-closed settings," according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). "Like other close-contact environments, these settings can facilitate the transmission of influenza viruses and other respiratory viruses from person to person through droplet spread or potentially through contact with contaminated surfaces."

CNN's Steven Jiang and Yong Xiong in Beijing; Kocha Alorn in Bangkok; Junko Ogura in Tokyo; and Carly Walsh, Laura He, Isaac Yee and Nectar Gan in Hong Kong; and Lindsay Isaac, Zahid Mahmood and Meera Senthilingam in London contributed reporting.

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2020-02-07 07:14:00Z
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White House announces death of terror leader Qassim al-Rimi - CNN

CNN reported last week that the US conducted a strike targeting Rimi, who led the terror group's franchise based in Yemen that has repeatedly expressed interest in conducting attacks targeting the United States, a US official said. The Pentagon did not comment when asked at the time about the report.

The US government had offered a $10 million reward for information on Rimi.

The news comes following several other successful US military efforts to remove high profile Middle Eastern leaders. President Donald Trump ordered a US airstrike in January that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, and in October, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died in a nighttime raid conducted by US forces on his compound in northern Syria.

While not on the same level as Baghdadi and Soleimani, the death of the leader of AQAP is still a significant moment. Rimi had been a US target since early in Trump's tenure. Rimi was a target of a January 2017 raid on an al Qaeda compound in Yemen that led to the first US military combat death under the President, a senior US military official told CNN at the time.

Rimi taunted Trump and condemned the operation in an 11-minute recording days after the raid, saying that "the new fool of the White House received a painful slap across his face."

Rimi's "death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qa'ida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security," the White House said in a statement Thursday. "The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm."

Rimi, formerly AQAP's military chief, reportedly became the group's leader following a 2015 drone strike that killed Nasir al-Wuhayshi. Rimi issued a video soon afterward calling supporters to attack the United States, urging that "all of you must direct and gather your arrows and swords against it."

Many observers have considered AQAP among the most dangerous, if not the most dangerous, branch of al Qaeda since its formation in 2009. The group claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack on the offices of French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people, though experts could not confirm the group was behind the attack.

The US has sought to prevent al Qaeda from exploiting the chaos of Yemen's civil war to establish a haven, but the number of US military strikes has declined sharply over the last few years.

The US military carried out 131 airstrikes in Yemen in 2017 and conducted 36 strikes in 2018, nearly all of them targeting al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Last April, the US military carried out a series of six airstrikes in Yemen targeting the al Qaeda affiliate there.

UPDATE: This story has been updated with additional information about Rimi.

CNN's Jim Sciutto, Barbara Starr, Zachary Cohen, Euan McKirdy, Eli Watkins and Ryan Browne contributed to this report.

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2020-02-07 00:57:00Z
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Coronavirus kills Chinese whistleblower doctor - BBC News

A Chinese doctor who tried to issue the first warnings about the deadly coronavirus outbreak has died, the hospital treating him has said.

Li Wenliang contracted the virus while working at Wuhan Central Hospital.

He had sent out a warning to fellow medics on 30 December but police told him to stop "making false comments".

There had been contradictory reports about his death, but the People's Daily now says he died at 02:58 on Friday (18:58 GMT Thursday).

The virus has killed more than 560 people and infected 28,000 in China.

• Five need-to-know things about virus

It causes severe acute respiratory infection and symptoms usually start with a fever, followed by a dry cough. Most people infected are likely to fully recover - just as they would from a flu.

How was the death reported?

Global Times, People's Daily and other Chinese media had reported Dr Li's death earlier on Thursday.

Dr Li, 34, was initially declared dead at 21:30 local time and the news triggered a huge wave of popular reaction on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.

The People's Daily sent out a tweet saying Dr Li's death had sparked "national grief".

However, Global Times then said he had been given a treatment known as ECMO (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation) which keeps a person's heart pumping and keeps their blood oxygenated without it going through their lungs.

Global Times said he was in a critical condition.

Journalists and doctors at the scene, who do not want their names used, told the BBC and other media that government officials had intervened.

Official media outlets had been told to change their reports to say the doctor was still being treated.

The media outlets then later reported the new time of Dr Li's death:

Most of those killed by coronavirus have been over the age of 60 or have suffered from other medical conditions, according to China's health authorities. Dr Li's medical history is not known.

What is Li Wenliang's story?

Dr Li, an ophthalmologist, posted his story on Weibo from a hospital bed a month after sending out his initial warning.

He had noticed seven cases of a virus that he thought looked like Sars - the virus that led to a global epidemic in 2003.

On 30 December he sent a message to fellow doctors in a chat group warning them to wear protective clothing to avoid infection.

Four days later he was summoned to the Public Security Bureau where he was told to sign a letter. In the letter he was accused of "making false comments" that had "severely disturbed the social order".

He was one of eight people who police said were being investigated for "spreading rumours" Local authorities later apologised to Dr Li.

In his Weibo post he describes how on 10 January he started coughing, the next day he had a fever and two days later he was in hospital. He was diagnosed with the coronavirus on 30 January.

What is the latest on the virus in China?

China is introducing more restrictive measures to try to control the outbreak.

Beijing has banned group dining for events such as birthdays and weddings while cities such as Hangzhou and Nanchang are limiting how many family members can leave home each day.

Hubei province, the worst hit by the virus, has switched off lifts in high-rise buildings to discourage residents from going outside.

Its capital, Wuhan, has a lack of beds and equipment, one senior city official said. Despite the rapid construction of two hospitals, the volume of patients is causing severe strain.

Reports on social media say the Wuhan government is to carry out door-to-door temperature checks on residents.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

The city of Dali in Yunnan province was accused of requisitioning a shipment of masks bound for Chongqing. Dali's government said it could not do anything as the boxes had already been distributed.

The cities of Qingdao and Shenyang also reportedly squabbled over a medical shipment.

There has been criticism of the crackdowns, with Human Rights Watch saying China was "treating public health with a sledgehammer".

Meanwhile, Hong Kong has seen panic buying of goods, including toilet rolls, and there have been huge queues for masks.

What's the latest on infections?

Although the virus has spread overseas, with confirmed infection in some 25 nations, there have so far been only two deaths outside mainland China - one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency, saying if funds are not allocated now to tackle the outbreak, nations would pay for it later.

• Coronavirus: What it does to the body

Although the official figures in China are of 28,000 infections, some scientists have estimated that the actual rate could be 10 times higher, with the majority of infected people only presenting mild symptoms, not receiving treatment, yet passing on the potentially deadly disease.

The UK on Thursday confirmed a third case of the virus.

Some 3,700 people on the Diamond Princess cruise vessel moored off Japan face testing and quarantine for at least two weeks. It has seen on 20 virus cases.

Another cruise ship with 3,600 passengers and crew is quarantined in Hong Kong with three cases on board.

Learn more about the new virus

Have you been affected by any of the issues raised? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

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2020-02-06 20:46:40Z
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Three Palestinians killed, 12 Israeli soldiers hurt in 24 hours of violence - CNN

Early Thursday morning, a Palestinian assailant carried out a ramming attack against Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. The soldiers, who were new recruits in the Golani infantry unit, were at the First Station in Jerusalem when the incident happened, the IDF said. The First Station is a popular tourist site near the Old City that's built upon an old train station. One soldier was seriously injured, but his condition is not believed to be life-threatening, said Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus. The others sustained minor injuries.

"On behalf of all citizens of Israel, I send wishes for a quick recovery to the wounded soldiers," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement. "It is only a question of time -- and not much time -- until we apprehend the attacker. Terrorism will not defeat us; we will win!"

Israeli counter-terror police arrested the suspect in the southern West Bank on Thursday evening, police said in a statement.

Hamas praised the ramming attack, calling it a "heroic operation" and hailing it as a "new stage of revolution" against Israel.

In the Old City of Jerusalem Thursday afternoon, an attacker opened fire at police officers standing near Lion's Gate, one of the entrances for Muslim worshippers to the al-Aqsa mosque. One border police officer was injured and the attacker was shot and killed, Israeli police said. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said entrances to the Old City of Jerusalem and alleyways leading to the al-Aqsa mosque were closed for a short time after the attack.

The attacks come amid a series of violent incidents over the last 24 hours in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.

Palestinian factions, including Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank, had called for two days of protests following the release of the Trump administration's Middle East plan. The initial wave of protests last week dissipated, but they appear to have returned this week with an increased intensity throughout the West Bank, including Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron, and Qalqilya.

"All options are open to our people to defend our rights, and to confront the deal of the century," a spokesman for Hamas said Thursday, referring to Trump's plan.

In the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, clashes broke out as the IDF demolished the home of Ahmad Qanba', who was convicted in the January 2018 killing of Rabbi Raziel Shevach.

During the unrest, Conricus said a Palestinian sniper had fired on Israeli troops "for the first time in a long time," and was shot dead. They were demolishing Qanba's house because he took part in the shooting and killing of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, IDF said.

"Our troops in Jenin were fired upon by what appears was sniper fire, retaliated, and reported that they were able to kill the sniper," Conricus said.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the deceased as 19-year-old Yazan Abu Tabikh. Fatah, the governing party in the Palestinian Authority, said he was an officer in the Palestinian security forces.

During the exchange of fire in Jenin, a Palestinian police officer was also shot and killed, according to Fatah. Twenty-four-year-old Tareq Badwan was shot in the stomach and died from his injuries Thursday afternoon, according to the Ministry of Health.

A video posted on social media by Fatah purports to show Badwan standing at the entrance to his work early Thursday morning when he is suddenly shot and collapses onto the ground. He is not seen taking part in any demonstrations or clashes with Israeli security forces in the video.

The deaths of Abu Tabikh and Badwan are likely to further strain the security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Last week, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas threatened to suspend the coordination -- seen as important to both sides -- though it remains at the level of a threat.

On Wednesday afternoon, during clashes in Hebron in the southern West Bank, a Palestinian teenager was shot and killed after throwing a Molotov cocktail at Israeli soldiers. 17-year-old Mohammad Haddad was shot in the chest and killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

"During a violent riot which was instigated a short while ago in the city of Hebron, IDF troops identified a Palestinian who hurled a Molotov cocktail at them. The troops responded with fire in order to remove the threat," the IDF said in a statement.

The last week has also seen increased rocket and mortar fire from Gaza, as well as a sharp increase in the launching of balloons carrying explosive devices.

Late Wednesday night, three mortars were fired from Gaza into southern Israel, the IDF said, hitting open areas. In response, the IDF struck Hamas military infrastructure in central and southern Gaza, including an underground complex.

The IDF holds Hamas responsible for the ongoing fire. Conricus said it is "very clear that they are involved in and facilitating" the rocket and mortar fire.

The European Union Ambassador to Israel, Emanuele Giaufret, warned of the dangers of escalation, saying on Twitter, "Following with concern the rise of tensions and spike of violence. My thoughts are with the families of victims and I wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured. Violence is never justified."

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2020-02-06 18:19:00Z
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Princess Cruises confirms 10 additional cases of coronavirus from quarantined ship - Fox News

An additional 10 people aboard the now-quarantined Diamond Princess cruise liner have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the current total to 20.

The rest of the ship’s 2,666 guests and 1,045 crew members, who are currently quarantined on the Diamond Princess at a port in Yokohama, are likely to remain that way for "at least 14 days as required by the Ministry of Health," according to a previous statement shared by the cruise line.

HONG KONG RAMPS UP CORONAVIRUS FIGHT BY QUARANTINING VISITORS FROM MAINLAND CHINA

The Diamond Princess, seen here anchored at Yokohama Port on Feb. 6, has so far reported 20 cases of the coronavirus among passengers and crew. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Kyodo News via AP)

Princess Cruises had previously confirmed that at least 10 passengers had tested positive for the virus in a statement released earlier this week. Screening for the novel illness initially began on Monday, after the ship returned to Yokohama after a 14-day cruise. Concerns arose after a passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong on Jan. 25 tested positive for the virus.

The first 10 passengers who tested positive were transported to local medical centers, Princess Cruises said Wednesday.

On Thursday, however, the cruise line released a subsequent statement confirming that “10 additional people” had tested positive.

A quarantined passenger stands outside on the balcony of the Diamond Princess on Feb. 6. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

“Princess Cruises can confirm that we have been notified that amongst the second set of samples that have completed testing,10 additional people have tested positive for Coronavirus.”

These persons, too, have been transported to local hospitals.

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The infected passengers currently include seven people from Japan, three from the U.S., three from Hong Kong, two from Australia, two from Canada, and one each from New Zealand, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The cruise line is reportedly still waiting on test results from roughly 170 other people, according to Reuters.

“The health and safety of our guests and crew remains our top priority.  We continue to work closely with the Japan Ministry of Health on all protocols and procedures while ensuring the comfort of our guests,” Princess cruises added.

Guests on the ship, meanwhile, have been trying to make the best of things despite fears of contamination.

“It’s not going to be a luxury cruise; it’s going to be like a floating prison,” passenger David Abel said on Facebook while quarantined aboard the ship, according to the Associated Press, which added that guests have taken to playing cards or holing up in their rooms.

“The people I feel really sorry for are those with inside cabins who've got no natural light, no fresh air. It's going to be pretty grim for them for two weeks," said Abel, who remarked that the prospect of a few more weeks on the ship equated to "absolute boredom."

Medical workers in protective suits are seen aboard the Diamond Princess earlier this week. (@daxa_tw via AP)

NO KNOWN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR CORONAVIRUS DESPITE REPORTS, WHO SAYS

The Diamond Princess was one of two major cruise liners ordered to be quarantined this past week, along with the World Dream out of Hong Kong, which was denied entry into Taiwan on Tuesday with over 3,600 passengers and crew members, some of whom reported feeling ill.

On Thursday, the cruise line confirmed that the 33 crew members who had previously reported feeling sick have tested negative for the coronavirus.

"However, as a further precaution, Department of Health Officials are also examining one additional Nepalese crew member who displayed a fever last night and has been transferred to a public hospital for further testing," Dream Cruises said in a statement shared with Fox News.

It was unclear how long passengers would be kept on the World Dream, which is currently docked at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. Dream Cruises currently says "no passengers or crew will be allowed to disembark from World Dream until the test results from the affected crew members have been confirmed."

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As of Thursday morning, the coronavirus had claimed the lives of 563 people, with over 28,000 infected worldwide. The U.S. had also reported 12 confirmed cases.

Fox News' David Aaro and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2020-02-06 13:43:12Z
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Confused about the Coronavirus? | Start Here - Al Jazeera English

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2020-02-06 13:37:52Z
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U.S. Futures Climb With Stocks on China Tariff Cut: Markets Wrap - Yahoo Finance

Stocks Hit Record on Tariff Relief; Bonds Slip: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose to records as the rally in risk assets powered into a fourth day after China’s plans for tariff cuts on American imports added to optimism the global economy will weather the hit from the coronavirus.

The S&P 500 extended its gain this week past 3.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average reclaimed an all-time high. Global stocks surged overnight after China said it will lower levies on $75 billion of U.S. goods next week, adding a tailwind to growth. While some warn of complacency as a gauge of global stocks inches toward a record, others flag support from central banks, and recent indicators showing the trajectory of growth was solid before the virus struck.

In corporate news, Twitter Inc. rallied after topping analysts’ projections for fourth-quarter revenue. Strong results also helped power the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to a record. ArcelorMittal SA jumped the most since 2016 after expressing optimism on the outlook for steel demand this year, and Societe Generale SA rose after pledging to boost shareholder returns. Japanese euqities rose more than 2% as Toyota Motor Corp. reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit.

China’s moves in recent days to reopen markets and inject stimulus “gave global investors a degree of confidence that the Chinese policy makers had at least taken the worst-case scenario off the table,” said Joe Zidle, chief investment strategist at Blackstone Group Inc.

Here are some key events coming up:

German industrial production is due on Friday.The U.S. employment report for January is set for Friday release.Australia’s central bank chief speaks and takes questions at a parliamentary committee.

And these are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.2% as of 9:31 a.m. New York time.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased 0.3%.MSCI’s emerging-market measure jumped 1.3%.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.8%.The MSCI Emerging Market Index gained 1.4%.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.The euro was little changed at $1.1001.The onshore yuan rose 0.1% to 6.968 per dollar.The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.88 per dollar.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose one basis point to 1.66%.The yield on two-year Treasuries added one basis point to 1.45%.Germany’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to -0.35%.Japan’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to -0.017%.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.4% to $50.58 a barrel.Brent crude sank 1.2% to $54.61 a barrel.Gold futures jumed 0.3% to $1,567.40 an ounce.

--With assistance from Yakob Peterseil and Adam Haigh.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeremy Herron in New York at jherron8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Potter at spotter33@bloomberg.net, Jeremy Herron

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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2020-02-06 13:31:00Z
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