10 things you need to know today: February 29, 2020

1. U.S., Taliban sign peace deal

The United States signed a peace agreement with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, which is poised to end an 18-year conflict between the sides in Afghanistan. Under the terms of the deal, the U.S. will phase its troops out of Afghanistan, first whittling the number down from 13,000 to 8,600 in the next three to four months. If the Taliban holds up its end of the commitment — which, The Associated Press reports, includes preventing extremists from using Afghanistan as a "staging ground" for attacking the U.S. and its allies — from that point forward, there will be a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces in 14 months. Washington remains very cautious about trusting the Taliban, and Afghanistan's future remains in flux. The next step toward peace in the country will involve complicated talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

The Associated Press The New York Times

2. Biden the focus as South Carolina prepares for primary

Voters will head to the polls Saturday for the South Carolina Democratic primary, the last contest before next week's Super Tuesday. It's a crucial state for former Vice President Joe Biden, who struggled in Iowa and New Hampshire before finishing in a distant second to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) last weekend in Nevada. Biden is considered the favorite in South Carolina, where he is buoyed by strong support among African American voters, but Sanders has cut into his lead in recent polls. Still, Biden appears to be in good position and his campaign is confident they'll emerge victorious, though Sanders likely won't relinquish his standing as the national frontrunner without a win.

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The Associated Press Reuters

3. Coronavirus cases of unknown origin increase on West Coast

There are now four presumptive cases of the coronavirus with no known origin in the United States — one in Oregon, one in Washington state, and two in Northern California. The patients tested positive locally, but are still awaiting confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control. Most of the cases in the United States so far have been traced to travel to Asia, where the disease originated in Wuhan, China, but the four cases mentioned have occurred without any related travel history. Instead they're being labeled as "community spread" cases, though the extent is unclear. The CDC is now working to increase the number of labs who can test for the virus after it expanded its testing guidelines to include people showing symptoms despite not having an identified source of exposure.

CNN NBC News

4. Stock market ends worst week since the financial crisis

U.S. stocks on Friday continued their historic slide, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down over 350 points, or over 1 percent. The S&P 500 also fell 0.8 percent and the NASDAQ ended the day flat. Pummeled by fears of the coronavirus, all three major indexes were pushed into corrections this week and lost more than 10 percent of their value. Over the course of the past week, the Dow fell 12 percent, and the S&P 500 tumbled 11.5 percent. It was the worst weekly drop since the financial crisis in 2008 for both. The NASDAQ dropped 10.5 percent, 13 percentage points down from a record high.

CNBC

5. WHO raises global risk for coronavirus to 'very high'

The World Health Organization designated the risk of the global coronavirus outbreak "very high," upgrading it to the second-highest assessment below "pandemic." "The continued increase in the number of cases and the number of affected countries over the last few days are clearly of concern," WHO director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The WHO said it is unlikely to declare the virus, which has infected more than 83,000 people worldwide, an official pandemic because it could encourage governments to focus on treatment rather than containment and prevention. "To accept that mitigation is the only option is to accept that the virus cannot be stopped," said Michael Ryan, WHO director for health emergencies. Despite the official designation, many health officials say a global pandemic may be inevitable.

The Washington Post The New York Times

6. Trump intends to nominate Ratcliffe for DNI post

President Trump said Friday he will nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) to serve as the United States' next director of national intelligence. It's the second time Trump put the congressman — who is considered an ardent Trump loyalist — up for the role. The president eventually advised Ratcliffe last July not to take the job because he would have "gone through months of slander and libel." It's not entirely clear why that's changed, but Ratcliffe is still expected to face confirmation hurdles, though Republican senators, despite their past concerns over Ratcliffe's credentials and experience, are expected to be more open to confirmation this time around. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called him a "highly partisan operative."

NPR The Wall Street Journal

7. Court: Don McGahn can defy congressional subpoena

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that former White House counsel Don McGahn can defy a congressional subpoena that sought to compel him to testify and turn over documents related to former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump administration's possible obstruction of justice. President Trump had blocked McGahn from complying with the subpoena. The Justice Department argued courts should not be involved in such "interbranch disputes," and Congress can conduct oversight "without dragging judges into the fray." The court agreed. The argument was the opposite of what attorneys said during Trump's impeachment trial; at that time Trump's legal team said subpoenas for executive branch witnesses should be handled in court. The White House has argued its advisers are "absolutely immune from compelled congressional testimony."

The Washington Post HuffPost

8. Appeals court blocks Trump's 'remain in Mexico' policy

A federal appeals court on Friday blocked President Trump's policy requiring asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases work their way through the immigration court system. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in its ruling called the policy "invalid in its entirety." This Migrant Protection Protocols policy, also referred to as the "Remain in Mexico" policy, was a key component of Trump's immigration agenda. A federal judge in April 2019 issued an injunction against the Trump administration's policy after it was enacted that January, but a court of appeals later allowed it to go into effect while legal challenges against it continued. Almost 60,000 people have been sent back to Mexico under the program.

The New York Times NBC News

9. Erdogan says Turkey has 'opened the doors' into Europe for refugees

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Ankara has "opened the doors" for refugees to travel on to Europe from Turkey, arguing the country can no longer withstand the influx of people crossing the border after fleeing from the war in Syria. The two sides had signed a deal in 2016 which stopped refugees from crossing EU borders from Turkey, but nevertheless Erdogan said the European Union should "keep its promises" and accept the refugees that Turkey can no longer help. Ankara has previously threatened to allow refugees to continue to Europe unless Turkey received more international support. Additionally, in his address to the Turkish parliament, Erdogan called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop its military support of government forces in Syria, where tensions between Damascus and Ankara have increased.

Al Jazeera Reuters

10. The Invisible Man set to dominate weekend box office

The Invisible Man, starring Elisabeth Moss, is expected to take the top slot at the box office this weekend, with the sci-fi thriller predicted to beat out Sonic the Hedgehog and The Call of the Wild. The Universal-Blumhouse film could "deliver the highest opening for a horror title since last year's It Chapter Two," writes Box Office Mojo. The film, which features Moss depicting a woman being hunted by a man nobody can see, is expected to rake in about $23 million over its debut weekend after making a solid $1.7 million in Thursday night previews. The Invisible Man is written and directed by Leigh Whannell, the co-creator of the Saw franchise.

Box Office Mojo Variety