10 things you need to know today: February 3, 2019

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D), flanked by his wife Pam, speaks with reporters at a press conference at the Governor's mansion on February 2, 2019 in Richmond, Virginia.

(Image credit: Alex Edelman/Getty Images)

Jump to category:

1. Northam refuses to resign over racist yearbook page
2. Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard officially launches 2020 campaign
3. Trump nominates his former physician for promotion despite Pentagon probe
4. Trump administration says reuniting separated migrant children with family may be impossible
5. Venezeula's Maduro concedes early elections amid protests, military opposition
6. Pope Francis calls for humanitarian relief in Yemen
7. Partial power outage leaves Brooklyn prison without heat, light for days
8. Denver to vote on decriminalizing 'magic mushrooms'
9. Orlando TSA agent dies after apparently jumping from airport balcony
10. Rams face Patriots in Super Bowl LIII

last updated 3 February 2019

1. Northam refuses to resign over racist yearbook page

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Saturday again refused to resign over the Friday revelation that his 1984 medical school yearbook page contains a photo of a man in blackface and one in Ku Klux Klan robes. At an afternoon press conference, Northam walked back his initial admission that he was in the photo, denying he was the man in either costume. However, he did admit to once using shoe polish on his face to dress as Michael Jackson for another event in 1984. The Democratic Party of Virginia and a host of high-profile Democrats have called on Northam to resign.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) officially launched her 2020 presidential campaign with a rally in her home state Saturday afternoon. "We must stand against powerful politicians from both parties who sit in ivory towers thinking up new wars to wage and new places for people to die," Gabbard said in her announcement speech. A veteran and Samoan-American, she was the first Hindu to be elected to Congress and endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2016. Other declared Democratic candidates include Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). So far, President Trump's GOP bid goes unchallenged.

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President Trump has nominated former White House physician Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson to a new role as assistant to the president and chief medical adviser, the White House announced Saturday. Trump also proposed giving Jackson a second star. This comes despite the Pentagon's ongoing investigation into Jackson's alleged workplace misconduct — including creating a hostile work environment and engaging in medical malpractice while drinking on the job — which last year resulted in Jackson withdrawing his nomination to be secretary of Veterans Affairs and stepping down from his White House post. Jackson has denied all allegations.

It may not be "within the realm of the possible" to reunite thousands of migrant children separated from their families at the southern border with their parents or guardians, the Trump administration said in court filings late Friday. The statement from the Office of Refugee Resettlement said at this point it would "destabilize the permanency of [the children's] existing home environment, and could be traumatic to the children" to remove them from the sponsor homes where they were placed after separation. These filings come in response to an ACLU suit that returns to court Feb. 21.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday proposed the early parliamentary elections demanded by opposition leader and U.S.-backed interim president Juan Guaidó. Maduro's concession came amid large-scale protests of his government and a statement of support for the opposition from Venezuelan Air Force General Francisco Yanez, the first active general to publicly break with Maduro. "People of Venezuela, 90 percent of the armed forces of Venezuela are not with the dictator; they are with the people of Venezuela," Yanez said in a video message Saturday. "Given the happenings of the last few hours, already the transition to democracy is imminent."

Pope Francis called for an end to war and provision of humanitarian relief in Yemen at the start of his first papal trip to the Arabian Peninsula on Sunday. "The people are exhausted by the long conflict, and many children are hungry, but humanitarian aid isn't accessible. The cries of these children and their parents rise up to God," Francis said. He urged world leaders "to urgently promote compliance with the agreements reached, to ensure the distribution of food, and to work for the good of the population."

A partial power outage at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, has left inmates without lights or heat since Thursday, and authorities say the problem will not be fixed before Monday. Temperatures in the prison are as low as 49 degrees as outside temperatures dip below freezing. "The reported conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center are appalling," said New York Attorney General Letitia A. James. "Prisoners and detainees have rights, and those rights must be enforced." Protesters including inmates' relatives assembled outside the facility to denounce the situation Saturday.

Denver residents will vote in early May on whether to decriminalize psilocybin, commonly known as "magic mushrooms," the city's elections division has announced. Should the measure pass, adults over the age of 21 could possess and grow the drug in any quantity within city limits. Retails sales, however, would not be legalized. "We're a pretty progressive city when it comes to drug policy," said Kevin Matthews, who leads the Denver Psilocybin Mushroom Decriminalization Initiative. "In some ways marijuana did open the door."

A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent died Saturday morning after apparently jumping from a balcony in the Orlando International Airport. "At 9:30 a.m., an individual jumped from the Hyatt Regency Hotel into the atrium area of the airport," the Orlando Police Department tweeted. "A male in his 40s was found in critical condition and transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Preliminary information suggests an apparent suicide." Authorities have confirmed the man's role as a TSA employee but have not identified him.

The Los Angeles Rams will face the New England Patriots in Atlanta at the 2019 Super Bowl Sunday evening. Kickoff for Super Bowl LIII is at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, and the game will air on CBS, CBSSports.com, and the CBS All-Access app. Led by veteran quarterback Tom Brady, this will be the Patriots' 9th appearance in the championship since 2002, and the team is favored to take home its 6th victory in that span. The Rams, then of St. Louis, last won in 2000 and lost to the Patriots in 2002. The halftime show will be headlined by Maroon 5, featuring Big Boi and Travis Scott.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.