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VOA NEWS

February 25, 2020

This is VOA news. I'm Marissa Melton.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is putting together an urgent budget request to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports.

The administration's already tapped into a new emergency infectious disease rapid response fund and looked to transfer money from other accounts to fight the virus.

A senior administration official says the White House will likely request more money this week and while spokesman Hogan Gidley would not confirm that, "We have aggressively worked to combat the spread of this virus, tried to prevent it as best we could from coming into this country."

House Democrats want the Health and Human Services Department to request money for speeding vaccine development, boosting lab capacity and beefing up entry point screenings though the White House is unlikely to approve all the money the department wants.

Sagar Meghani, Washington.

On Monday, Los Angeles honored Kobe and Gianna Bryant and the seven others killed in a helicopter crash with a public memorial at Staples Center. AP's Ed Donahue reports.

Michael Jordan was in tears, talking about a man he felt was like a little brother. "When Kobe Bryant died, a piece of me died."

Vanessa Bryant not only lost her husband in a helicopter crash last month, she lost her 13-year-old daughter Gigi.

"God knew they couldn't be on this Earth without each other. He had to bring them home to have them together."

She told Kobe Bryant to take good care of Gigi.

There was also music from Alicia Keys, Beyoncé and Christina Aguilera.

The memorial concluded with Kobe Bryant's Academy Award-winning short film "Dear Basketball."

"I love you always, Kobe."

I'm Ed Donahue.

Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who aided the United States on early space missions, died today at age 101.

This is VOA news.

Haiti's capital is getting back to normal today after violent anti-government protests over the weekend. Reuters' Gloria Tso has more.

A police protest in Haiti turned violent this weekend during a street rally over low pay.

The sounds of gun battles and the smell of tear gas replaced celebrations for carnival in the capital of Port-au-Prince.

It wasn't immediately clear who fired the shoots or gas. However, it's just the latest flare-up of a nation in crisis.

Haiti has been wracked by a prolonged economic emergency. The worsening political situation has cut Haiti off from much needed international funding. The country is the poorest in the Americas and losing funding has hamstrung its ability to respond to spiraling crises, including massive food shortages.

That's Reuters' Gloria Tso reporting.

Lawyers for movie mogul Harvey Weinstein promised they will appeal his conviction on charges of rape and sexual assaults against two women. AP correspondent Margie Szaroleta has more.

Harvey Weinstein faces up to 29 years in prison when he is sentenced March 11. Weinstein was found guilty of rape and sexual assaults but acquitted on the most serious charges of predatory sexual assault.

Weinstein attorney Arthur Aidala says Weinstein had no emotion when her heard the verdict.

"There was no crying or anything like that. All he kept saying over and over again was, 'I'm innocent, I'm innocent, I'm innocent. How could this happen in America?'"

District Attorney Cyrus Vance says Weinstein deserves to go to jail.

"Weinstein is a vicious, serial sexual predator."

I'm Margie Szaroleta.

President Trump is on a 36-hour whirlwind trip to India. It's his first official state visit to the country, which is poured on the pageantry for him with stops at the Taj Mahal and Gandhi's home. AP correspondent Julie Walker.

At a "Namaste Trump" rally with India's prime minister at a huge cricket stadium that undoubtedly is the biggest audience the president has ever addressed, Trump spoke of a trade deal he has been hoping for but not gotten.

"He is a very tough negotiator."

One thing he did get - "Our representatives will sign deals to sell over $3 billion in the absolute finest state-of-the-art military helicopters and other equipment to the Indian armed forces."

And he got a lot of applause when he said the U.S. is working India's neighbor, Pakistan, to crackdown on militants operating on the Pakistani border.

I'm Julie Walker.

Protest groups on three eastern Greek islands have begun setting up blockades aimed at stopping the government from building new migrant detention centers. The groups on Lesbos, Chios and Samos have received broad support on the islands, including from municipal authorities and farming associations.

The government says it's determined to build detention centers on recently appropriated land to replace overcrowded camps on the islands.

I'm Marissa Melton. You're listening to VOA news.