White supremacist mass murderer Dylann Roof staged a hunger strike this month while on federal death row, alleging in letters to The Associated Press that he’s been “targeted by staff,” “verbally harassed and abused without cause” and “treated disproportionately harsh.”The 25-year-old Roof, who killed nine black church members during a Bible study in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015, told the AP in a letter dated Feb. 13 that the staff at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, feel justified in their conduct “since I am hated by the general public.”FILE – Dylann Roof enters the court room at the Charleston County Judicial Center to enter his guilty plea on murder charges in Charleston, S.C., April 10, 2017.A person familiar with the matter said Roof had been on a hunger strike but was no longer on one, as of this week. The person couldn’t immediately provide specific details about the length of the hunger strike or whether medical staff needed to intervene. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.Roof wrote in his letter to the AP that he went on the hunger strike to protest the treatment he received from a Bureau of Prisons disciplinary hearing officer over earlier complaints that he was refused access to the law library and access to a copy machine to file legal papers.Roof’s Feb. 13 letter indicated he was already “several days” into a hunger strike, and he wrote in a follow-up letter that the protest ended a day later after corrections officers forcibly tried to take his blood and insert an IV into his arm, causing him to briefly pass out.”I feel confident I could have gone much, much longer without food,” Roof wrote in the Feb. 16 follow-up letter. “It’s just not worth being murdered over.”The allegations could not immediately be verified and a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Prisons said the agency had no comment on Roof’s allegations, citing privacy concerns.Roof’s lawyers said in a statement that they were “working with BOP to resolve the issues addressed in the letters.”‘Tainted’ sentencingRoof’s lawyers filed an appeal to his federal convictions and death sentence last month, arguing that he was mentally ill when he represented himself at his capital trial.In a 321-page legal brief, Roof’s lawyers asked a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, to review 20 issues, including errors they say were made by the judge and prosecutors that “tainted” his sentencing. One of their main arguments is that U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel should not have allowed Roof to represent himself during the penalty phase of his trial because he was a 22-year-old ninth-grade dropout “who believed his sentence didn’t matter because white nationalists would free him from prison after an impending race war.”Roof is the first person to be ordered executed for a federal hate crime. Attorney General William Barr announced in July that the government would resume executions and scheduled five executions — though Roof is not included among that group — ending an informal moratorium on federal capital punishment as the issue receded from the public domain. The Supreme Court has temporarily halted the executions after some of the chosen inmates challenged the new execution procedures in court.
 
…

A federal judge heard arguments Tuesday on whether to grant Trump ally Roger Stone a new trial based on his claims of juror bias in the trial that led to his conviction and sentencing on charges related to the Russia investigation.The hearing was initially sealed, but U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson agreed to open it as long as there was no identification of jurors who could potentially testify. Stone asked for a new trial Feb. 14 after a previous request had been denied.Following the verdict, one juror wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post, explaining why he felt they were right to convict. And the forewoman spoke about the case in a Facebook post.During a trial, jurors are not allowed to read about the case or speak about it to anyone, but after their verdict is rendered, they are released from duty and can speak publicly if they wish.Jackson said jurors in the case had faced harassment even before they commented, and she worried for their continued safety. She detailed comments about jurors made by Trump in tweets, by Fox News commentator and Trump supporter Tucker Carlson and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.”I think it’s without question then, that this is a highly publicized case in a highly polarized political climate in which the president himself has shone a spotlight on the jury,” she said. “Individuals who are angry about Mr. Stone’s conviction may choose to take it out on them personally.”Stone’s lawyers said they feel they were misled by the forewoman, even though they had her jury questionnaire and had a hired a jury consultant – who they said did no Google searches on potential jurors before the trial. They pointed to articles she sent online in posts made before the trial on Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, and other posts on the Russia investigation. Jackson asked why the posts suggest she misled them.”It’s a question about did she lie?” Jackson asked. “I want to know what she lied about in this questionnaire.”Stone was convicted in November on all seven counts of an indictment that accused him of lying to Congress, tampering with a witness and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.He was the sixth Trump aide or adviser to be convicted on charges brought as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.Before the Feb. 20 sentencing, the Justice Department leadership backed away from its initial recommendation just hours after Trump tweeted his displeasure at the recommendation of up to nine years in prison, saying it had been too harsh. The highly unusual move prompted the four trial prosecutors to quit the case, and one left the Justice Department altogether.Attorney General William Barr defended the decision in an ABC News interview where he also said the president’s tweets involving the Justice Department were making it “impossible” for him to do his job. He asked the president to stop tweeting, but just hours later Trump was back at it, saying he had never asked Barr to open criminal investigations – but he had the authority to do so if he wished.The continued spotlight, in turn, prompted Barr to consider quitting, an administration official told AP. The dust has settled a bit, but it’s not clear how Trump will take the most recent news of his longtime ally.On Tuesday while on a trip to India, he tweeted again about the forewoman, claiming she was biased and so was the judge.
At Stone’s sentencing, Jackson said the evidence clearly showed that Stone testified falsely to Congress and repeatedly pressured a potential witness either to back up his lie or refuse to testify.Near the end, her voice rose as she said that Stone’s entire defense strategy seemed to amount to “So What?” Stone did not testify and called no witnesses on his behalf.”This is NOT campaign hijinks. This was not Roger being Roger. You lied to Congress,” she told Stone. “The dismay and disgust . at the defendant’s actions in our polarized climate should transcend (political) parties.”She sentenced Stone to 40 months in prison, plus two years’ probation and a $20,000 fine. 
…

Національний банк України встановив на 26 лютого офіційний курс 24 гривні 53 копійки за долар США, це на три копійки більше за курс на 25 лютого.

Торги на українському міжбанківському ринку завершуються в цьому ж діапазоні. Станом на 16:05, за даними сайту Finance.ua, котирування складали 24 гривні 52,5–54,5 копійки за долар.

У коридорі від 24,4 до 24,6 гривні за долар курс тримається вже понад два тижні, хоча ще на початку лютого котирування перевищували 25 гривень за долар.
…

Spacesuits are extremely difficult to move in, making it challenging for astronauts to do basic tasks like picking up a rock. A NASA partner has teamed with a group of Norwegian engineering students to test a glove that controls equipment with small hand gestures. Matt Dibble has this story
…

На європейських та американських біржах другий день поспіль триває падіння котирувань: інвестори побоюються поширення коронавирусної інфекції після повідомлень про значне зростання числа заражених поза межами Китаю.

Напередодні європейські індекси впали на 3–5%, американський Dow Jones втратив понад 3% відсотки. За оцінкою агентства Bloomberg, 500 найбагатших людей світу з рейтингу Bloomberg Billionaires Index 24 лютого втратили в цілому 139 мільярдів доларів, це найзначніші одноденні втрати з жовтня 2016 року.

25 лютого падіння на провідних європейських біржах склало близько 2%, станом на 20:45 за Києвом такі ж втрати демонструють провідні індекси у США. Торги на американських біржах триватимуть до 23:00 за київським часом.

Президент США Дональд Трамп заявив у твітері, що поширення коронавірусу в його країні «під контролем», і в нього немає побоювань про долю фондових ринків.

Нові побоювання через поширення коронавірусної інфекції пов’язані перш за все з різким зростанням кількості хворих в Ірані, Італії та Південній Кореї. Лише на Апеннінах станом на вечір 25 лютого померли щонайменше 10 осіб, це літні люди, які мали й інші хронічні хвороби.
…

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday hit out at China and Iran for their response to the outbreak of coronavirus, accusing the two governments of censorship and of trying to cover up the severity of the spread of the deadly illness.Pompeo assailed Beijing for expelling three Wall Street Journal reporters and said a free press was needed to ensure accurate information about the virus is available to the public and medical personnel. He also said Iranian authorities must “tell the truth” about the virus amid signs the outbreak there may be far wider than officially acknowledged.
“Expelling our journalists exposes once again the government’s issue that led to SARS and now the coronavirus, namely censorship. It can have deadly consequences,” Pompeo said of China.
“Had China permitted its own and foreign journalists and medical personnel to speak and investigate freely, Chinese officials and other nations would have been far better prepared to address the challenge,” he told reporters at a State Department news conference.
On Iran, which now has the second highest number of infections after China and where officials said earlier Tuesday that the head of the country’s counter-coronavirus task force tested positive for the virus, Pompeo said the U.S. is “deeply concerned” that the government “may have suppressed vital details about the outbreak.”
 “All nations, including Iran, should tell the truth about the coronavirus and cooperate with international aid organizations,” he said.
The virus that originated in China has now infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 2,500, mostly in China.  
…

25 лютого Національний банк України вводить в обіг нову купюру номіналом 200 гривень.

Як і на старій, на лицьовому боці банкноти зображена українська поетеса Леся Українка, на зворотньому – будівля В’їзної вежі Луцького замку.

«Водночас суттєво посилений захист нової банкноти номіналом 200 гривень. Зокрема, тепер ця банкнота має кілька нових сучасних елементів захисту, що значно мінімізують можливість її підробки. Так, повертаючи банкноту в руках, легко перевірити такий елемент захисту як оптично-змінний елемент SPARK. Він має поступово змінювати колір від пурпурного до золотисто-зеленого», – мовиться у повідомленні.

За останні п’ять років в Україні ввели п’ять нових банкнот номіналами 20, 50, 100, 500 і 1000 гривень. Вони вважаються більш захищеними.
…

The chief of Iran’s counter-coronavirus task force has been infected with the deadly virus, as the country grapples with containing the illness.Iranian Health Ministry spokesman confirmed Tuesday that Iraj Harirchi tested positive for the virus.Harirchi himself said in an online video he had contracted the virus and had quarantined himself in his home. He vowed that Iranian authorities would bring the virus under control.The news about Harirchi came one day after he sought to minimize the danger presented by the virus’ spread at a Tehran news conference.Outside of China, Iran has been hardest hit by the coronavirus. Authorities raised the death toll Tuesday to 15 and said there were 95 confirmed infections.Iran suffered another blow Tuesday when the United Arab Emirates banned all fights to and from the country. UAE announced the move one day after Iran said the virus had spread beyond its borders into multiple Middle East countries.The UEA is home to long-haul air carriers and continues to be a significant international transit route for the 80 million people in Iran. 
…

 New York prosecutors are hailing Harvey Weinstein’s conviction as a pivotal moment that could change the way the legal system views a type of sexual assault case historically considered difficult to prove.Most of the women who testified against Weinstein stayed in contact with him — and sometimes had consensual sexual encounters with him — after alleged attacks. None promptly reported his crimes. There was little physical evidence to bolster their stories.The jury convicted anyway, finding the producer guilty of raping one woman in 2013 and sexually assaulting another in 2006.“This is a new day,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said after the verdict was announced. “Rape is rape whether the survivor reports within an hour, within a year or perhaps never. It’s rape despite the complicated dynamics of power and consent after an assault. It’s rape even if there is no physical evidence.”But some women’s advocates cautioned that it’s too soon to know how much the legal landscape has shifted.“This is not a signal that our systems and institutions are magically transformed,” said Sonia Ossorio, the president of the National Organization for Women’s New York chapter, who sat through most of the trial. “This is one case, one man. We’ve got to keep it in perspective.”If any case seemed to encapsulate the #MeToo reckoning with sexual misconduct, gender dynamics and power as a form of coercion, it was Weinstein’s.Dozens of women who crossed paths with Weinstein through the entertainment industry have said he bullied, pressured, coerced or overpowered them while demanding sexual favors. The alleged encounters took place over many decades, amid movie screenings in Los Angeles, film festivals in Cannes, and business meetings in New York or London.The New York case involved only six accusers: three directly linked to the charges and three whose testimony was meant to bolster the prosecution case.Weinstein’s defense team argued that the encounters were consensual, if perhaps “transactional”: He wanted sex, they wanted access to his power over the film world.While the law recognizes that people can be assaulted by intimate partners in ongoing relationships, those cases have rarely been prosecuted in the past, because they’re difficult to prove, several trial lawyers said. The tide is starting to change, however, as prosecutors take more risks and juries become more aware of the complexities of human behavior.“This case challenges our notions of what is force in a sexual relationship, what is lack of consent in a sexual relationship,” said Paul DerOhannesian, an Albany, New York, defense lawyer, former sex crimes prosecutor and author of a guide to sexual assault trials. He followed the trial coverage and found it telling that one of the first questions from the jury involved the legal definition of “consent” and “forcible compulsion.”Vance initially declined to prosecute Weinstein when a model claimed he’d groped her in 2015. Facing criticism of the 2015 decision after waves of additional women came forward two years later, Vance ultimately took some of their allegations to trial.One of the first witnesses at trial was an expert on victim behavior, who testified that it isn’t unusual for sexual assault victims to continue communicating with their attackers. A decade ago, that type of expert testimony was rarely allowed.The jury ultimately acquitted Weinstein of two of the most serious counts: one of first-degree rape, and a second charge that he was a sexual predator, linked to the testimony of actress Annabella Sciorra, who said Weinstein barged into her apartment and raped her in the early 1990s.But Weinstein, 67, still faces the possibility of up to 29 years in prison. He’s also facing separate charges in Los Angeles involving two more alleged sexual assault victims.The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sex crimes unless they grant permission, as Sciorra did.Criminal defense attorney Richard Kaplan said the New York case could both empower women to come forward and embolden prosecutors to take on tough cases.“Now there is a roadmap on how you can win this kind of case,” he said, predicting more people would come forward.“There’s always the fear of coming forward, you know, going through a trial, getting beat up and humiliated and then not getting that verdict. Now that they see it can be done, I think more people will come forward and definitely empower the movement.”Lawyer Carrie Goldberg represents Weinstein accuser Lucia Evans, whose complaint against him was initially part of the indictment, but Vance’s office ultimately dropped her allegations from the case. While Goldberg faults Vance for not sticking with her client, she said the conviction is a “watershed moment” — and a long time coming.“I hope that prosecutors, all over this country, and all over the world, look at this case and realize that rape trials can be won,” Goldberg said, “and that these aren’t just ‘he said, she said’ stories, but they’re actually crimes that are winnable and need to be brought.”
…