10 things you need to know today: February 2, 2020

A crowd receives coronavirus masks in Philippines.

(Image credit: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

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1. First death resulting from Coronavirus outside China reported
2. Chiefs, 49ers set for Super Bowl clash
3. Court filing shows Justice Department has emails related to Trump, Ukraine aid freeze
4. Key Iowa poll cancels result reveal before caucuses
5. Arab League rejects Trump's Israel-Palestine plan
6. Pompeo urges Kazakhstan to take stand against Chinese repression
7. At least 20 killed in Church service stampede in Tanzania
8. Real estate veteran to take over as WeWork CEO
9. Parasite wins best original screenplay at WGA awards
10. Djokovic wins Australian Open

published 2 February 2020

1. First death resulting from Coronavirus outside China reported

The Philippines reported the first death resulting from the Wuhan coronavirus outside of China on Sunday. A 44-year-old man who tested positive for the new coronavirus died Saturday in the Philippines after developing what officials called "severe pneumonia." He was reportedly in stable condition until the final 24 hours. The patient was a native of Wuhan, China, where the virus appears to have originated. He arrived in the Philippines in January with a 38-year-old woman who also tested positive for the coronavirus and remains isolated in a hospital in Manila. In China, officials reported Sunday that the country's death toll rose to at least 304 people, and the worldwide total of confirmed cases — the vast majority within China — has reached nearly 14,380, per Chinese and World Health Organization data.

Super Bowl LIV will kick off at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, at 6:30 p.m. E.T. on Fox. The NFC champion San Francisco 49ers will take on their AFC counterpart, the Kansas City Chiefs, in what is expected to be a highly entertaining game. San Francisco finished 13-3 on the year and cruised in their two playoff games. Led by coach Kyle Shanahan, a dominant run game, and stalwart defense, the Niners are considered one of the league's most complete teams. Kansas City, meanwhile, finished 12-4 and has an electric offense featuring one of the game's most talented players in quarterback Patrick Mahomes. In other football news, five players — Troy Polamalu, Edgerrin James, Steve Atwater, Isaac Bruce, and Steve Hutchinson — were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.

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A court filing late Friday night revealed the Justice Department has two dozen emails related to President Trump's involvement in freezing military aid to Ukraine, CNN reports. The filing was released just a few hours after the Senate voted against calling additional witnesses to testify during Trump's impeachment trial. The Trump administration is reportedly still blocking their content from the public and has kept them away from Congress, but the court filing is the first time the administration has publicly acknowledged the emails' existence. A lawyer for the Office of Management and Budget wrote to the court that the emails should remain private because they describe communication by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, or Trump's immediate advisers "regarding presidential decision-making about the scope, duration, and purpose of the hold on military assistance to Ukraine."

With the Iowa caucuses swiftly approaching, the state's most highly regarded poll from CNN and The Des Moines Register was canceled Saturday. CNN decided to pull the plug on the highly anticipated survey in the lead up to Monday's caucuses after campaign aides to former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg raised concerns about how interviews were conducted. Buttigieg's name was reportedly left out of an interview, and it was unclear if other candidates were similarly omitted, a source familiar with the situation said. The Buttigieg campaign applauded CNN and the Register "for their integrity" after deciding against releasing the results of the poll, which have traditionally given leading candidates a momentum boost going into the caucuses.

The foreign ministers of the 22 member states of the Arab League unanimously rejected the Trump administration's proposal to end the Israel-Palestine conflict unveiled last week. The resolution said the plan "does not satisfy the minimum of the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people." It's considered a win for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who cut security ties with Israel and the U.S. on Saturday, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization because it means the White House can't claim to have support from neighboring Arab countries. Not every country condemned the plan. Some, like the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Morocco have suggested it could be the basis for future talks and applauded Washington's efforts, but they don't think the current iteration is viable.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a brief visit to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday where he urged the country, which neighbors — and has close ties to — China to join the U.S. "in pressing for an immediate end" to Beijing's repression of minority groups like the Uighurs and ethnic Kazakhs. Pompeo asked Kazakhstan and all countries to "provide safe refuge and asylum to those seeking to flee China." Both the U.S. and China are major investors in Kazakhstan, and Pompeo also took time to encourage the country to "partner with American companies," though he began by saying Washington fully supports their "freedom to choose to do business with whichever country it wants."

At least 20 people were killed and 16 others injured during a Pentacostal service at a stadium led by a popular preacher in the town of Moshi, Tanzania, on Saturday evening. Kippi Warioba, Moshi's district commissioner, said the casualties were a result of a stampede after attendees rushed forward to be anointed by oil the preacher, Boniface Mwamposa, poured on the ground. Witnesses said people were hoping to be cured of sickness. Police said Mwamposa was being held for questioning, and authorities are still looking into the possibility of more casualties because there were so many people at the service.

As the company looks to rebound from a failed initial public offering and departure of its founder and former CEO, Adam Neumann, WeWork reportedly plans to name Sandeep Mathrani as its new executive, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. Mithrani is a real estate industry veteran who previously led Brookfield Property Partners' retail group. He'll replace Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham, who led WeWork's parent company, We Co., as co-CEOs following Neumann's departure in September. Mathrani is expected to usher in WeWork's new era with a focus on recreating its image as a real estate company leasing office space, rather than a technology startup as was the case under Neumann, the Journal reports.

Parasite took home the honors for best original screenplay at the Writer's Guild of America awards ceremony Saturday evening, while JoJo Rabbit won for best adapted screenplay. Both movies are nominated in those categories, as well as for Best Picture, in next week's 92nd annual Academy Awards. On the television side, the WGA awarded Succession and Barry as best drama and comedy, respectively, while Watchmen was named best new series. The WGA awards wasn't the only major ceremony this weekend — the 73rd British Academy Film Awards will air Sunday.

Novak Djokovic captured his 17th Grand Slam title after rallying Sunday to defeat Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open's men's singles finals at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Djokovic was down two sets to one and at one point lost six straight games to Thiem, but he settled down and secured the victory in five sets, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. It's the 32-year-old Serbian's eighth Australian Open crown and his second in a row. With the win, Djokovic inches closer to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have 20 and 19 Grand Slam titles, respectively, and are both older than their on-court rival. Djokovic will also reportedly supplant Nadal as the world's no. 1 men's player as a result of the Melbourne win. The 26-year-old Austrian Thiem has now appeared in three major titles, but has yet to get his hands on a trophy.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.