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Iowa early News Headlines: Friday, Feb. 7, 2020

News

February 7th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 3:40 a.m. CST

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Associated Press is unable to declare a winner of Iowa’s Democratic caucuses. Following the Iowa Democratic Party’s release of new results late Thursday night, Pete Buttigieg leads Bernie Sanders by two state delegate equivalents out of 2,152 counted. That is a margin of 0.09 percentage points. However, there is evidence the party has not accurately tabulated some of its results, including those released late Thursday that the party reported as complete. The AP’s tabulation of the party’s results are at 99% of precincts reporting, with data missing from one of 1,765 precincts, among other issues.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders will emerge from Iowa’s Democratic caucuses with the most delegates to the party’s national convention, regardless of which one eventually wins the contest. According to The Associated Press delegate count, Buttigieg and Sanders have each won at least 11 national delegates, with a handful of delegates still to be awarded. Elizabeth Warren has won at least five delegates, while Joe Biden has won at least two and Amy Klobuchar has at least one. Iowa will award 41 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention this summer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Will the Iowa caucuses ever wrap up? Now the chairman of the Democratic National Committee is calling for a “recanvass” of the results. Party leader Tom Perez tweeted Thursday that “enough is enough” after three days of technical issues and delays. Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders are nearly tied for the lead after the delays. Both candidates have declared themselves victorious in Monday’s contest. The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner in the contest. The Iowa Democratic Party suggested it may not comply with Perez’s request, issuing a statement that said it would conduct a recanvass if one was requested by one of the candidates.

AKRON, Iowa (AP) — Factory livestock farms are spreading across rural America, raising concerns about environmental damage and health risks for people living nearby. An industry once based on small, independent farms is evolving into large operations housing thousands of animals under one roof. The change is helping make beef, poultry and pork more affordable. But animal waste from the mega-farms has fouled waters. The enclosures spew air pollutants that promote climate change and are implicated in illnesses such as asthma. The stench of manure can make life miserable for people nearby. The spread of corporate animal farms is turning neighbor against neighbor in town halls and courtrooms across rural America. Iowa is a major battleground as the top U.S. producer of swine and egg-laying chickens.