Coronavirus death tolls continue to rise in China
China reported an increase in new virus cases Monday, suggesting that isolating major cities and implementing other disease control measures are not working, according to AP News.
The mainland death toll rose to 908, and 3,062 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, according to Chinese government authorities.
The death toll has now passed the 774 who died from the 2002-03 epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The Lunar New Year in China was also extended to discourage travel and reduce the spread of the virus.
Best Picture winner makes history at the Oscars
“Parasite” became the first non-English language film to win Best Picture at the Oscars Sunday night, according to NBC News.
In addition to the academy’s top prize, “Parasite” won three other awards: Best International Feature, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.
This victory symbolized the “increasingly multinational voting body’s taste for international films and dynamism of South Korean cinema” and showed that Hollywood is receptive to nontraditional projects.
(The Academy, Twitter)
Facebook settles for $550 million in Illinois lawsuit
Facebook agreed to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of millions of Illinois residents who claimed that the site violated their biometric privacy rights, according to Fox News.
The suit was one of more than 400 filed against technology companies in the past five years.
Illinois has a biometric privacy law that allows people to sue if companies did not get consent before receiving the consumer data.
The case was brought to courtrooms in Illinois and California for about five years before the announcement of the $550 million settlement, which came days after the U.S. Supreme Court denied to hear arguments for the case.
Sanders, Buttigieg clash in New Hampshire
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana Pete Buttigieg are looking to narrow the Democratic field to two candidates after they both finished strong in the Iowa caucuses, according to the New York Times.
The candidates’ decision to treat the upcoming New Hampshire primary was evident over the weekend.
Sanders called out Buttigieg for depending on campaign contributions from the wealthy, while Buttigieg does not think voters know the true cost of Sanders’ policy ambitions.
The New Hampshire primary is set for this Tuesday.
