Klobuchar to End Bid for 2020 Democratic Nomination

China’s Factories at Risk of Double Whammy as Coronavirus Hits South Korea, Japan

BEIJING鈥擳he spread of the coronavirus in South Korea and Japan could mean a second wave of disruption at Chinese factories after the disease triggered a record contraction in activity last month. Cases of the flu-like outbreak have jumped in South Korea and Japan, prompting some manufacturers there to partially suspend operations and risking a reduction in the supply of spare parts to factories in China as they restart work. Chinese authorities have eased some travel restrictions and enabled some businesses to reopen. But imports from South Korea and Japan play a key role in China’s manufacturing economy, particularly the production and assembly of electronics goods. “The lack of a few components can halt the entire production process, so if Japanese and Korean firms can’t supply goods, then they’ll increase headaches…

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) will end her presidential campaign, her campaign said, making her the third candidate to exit the race in as many days.

Klobuchar, 59, was flying to Dallas, where she was planning to appear March 2 with former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, at his rally and announce the end to her bid and her endorsement of Biden, her campaign told news outlets.

Klobuchar struggled to win delegates in the early voting states, ending sixth in Nevada and South Carolina after a third-place finish in New Hampshire and a fifth-place finish in the Iowa caucus.

Klobuchar to End Bid for 2020 Democratic Nomination

A prosecutor before being elected to the Senate in 2007, Klobuchar was considered a moderate in the Democratic field, repeatedly critical of government expansion plans touted by rivals Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Klobuchar and Biden regularly condemned the Medicare for All plans put forward by Warren and Sanders, asserting that such plans would prove too expensive and kick tens of millions of Americans off of their current health care plans.

The end to Klobuchar’s campaign will come just one day after former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, announced he was quitting the 2020 race.

Buttigieg didn’t endorse another candidate but called on supporters to vote for whoever wins the Democratic nomination.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure that we have a new Democratic president come January,” he said in South Bend.

A campaign adviser said March 2 that Buttigieg plans to endorse Biden.

Buttigieg had views that some considered radical but sought to position himself to the right of Warren and Sanders on issues including health care.

Tom Steyer, a billionaire businessman, also dropped out over the weekend.

With Buttigieg and Klobuchar bowing out, Biden could more easily win additional states on Super Tuesday after defeating rivals in South Carolina on Feb. 29 by a large margin. Biden and Sanders will be joined for the first time on the ballot by Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, who announced his candidacy in November 2019 and proceeded to skip the first four states on the calendar, instead focusing on March 3 Super Tuesday states and beyond.

In addition to Sanders, Biden, Bloomberg, and Warren, the only remaining Democratic presidential candidate is Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), 38. She has won zero delegates so far as has Bloomberg, who bypassed Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.

Sanders is in front with 60 delegates, Biden has 54, and Warren has eight. Buttigieg had 26 and Klobuchar had seven.

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Pakistan’s Largest City Shuts Schools for 2 Weeks Over Virus Fears

Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh extended the closure of all educational institutions following the confirmation of a second coronavirus case in Karachi, the country’s largest city. Pakistan has confirmed four cases of coronavirus, three of them involving people who had traveled to neighboring Iran, one of the countries hardest hit by the outbreak that began in China in December. While two of the confirmed cases were in the southern port city of Karachi, the other two were in the capital Islamabad. Rescue workers wearing masks and protective clothing move a man during a mock drill on handling suspected carriers of coronavirus, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on March 2, 2020. (Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)Schools in Sindh have been closed since Feb. 27, after the first case in Karachi was confirmed. “The Sindh government has…