| Greetings, QuickTake readers! In this edition: U.S. obesity keeps rising, Obama takes aim at Biden attack ad and astronomers find the biggest explosion ever seen in the universe.  World not ready for outbreak: WHO On the second day the number of new coronavirus cases in the rest of the world exceeded those in China, the World Health Organization issued a dire warning: The world isn't ready. Instead, health officials are "playing catch up," since "individual governments have not invested adequately in disease preparedness." Earlier Thursday, the head of the UN agency said the outbreak had reached a "decisive point" with "pandemic potential." The virus that causes Covid-19 has hit at least four continents, with rising case counts in South Korea, Italy, Japan and, notably, in Iran, which has the highest infection rate in the Middle East. More than 82,000 cases have been reported globally, including some 2,800 deaths, putting researchers and disease trackers "on the knife-edge" of calling it a pandemic, a crisis that will likely affect the entire world. More: - The Dow plunged nearly 1,200 points Thursday as investors' growing virus fears continued to rattle markets.
- A school in Beirut began spraying students with disinfectant as part of a coronavirus-prevention campaign.
- A UN human rights commissioner urged member states to combat a "disturbing wave of prejudice against people of Chinese ethnicity."
- A Chinese respiratory disease expert said he's confident the outbreak will be largely contained by the end of April.
$ignificant figures 23.2 million. The number of naturalized U.S. immigrants who'll be eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election, making up roughly 10% of the overall electorate and marking a 93% increase from 2000. 390 million. Astronomers say the biggest explosion seen in the universe occurred that many light-years away, originating from a supermassive black hole and carving out a crater big enough to hold 15 Milky Ways. 42%. The percentage of American adults considered obese, with roughly 1 in 10 severely so, a CDC survey found, suggesting that more people will get diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Highly quotable "Despicable." Barack Obama slammed a racially charged attack ad against Joe Biden that uses his voice and aims to deter black voters in South Carolina as "straight out of the Republican disinformation playbook." "Significant swarm movements." The UN says the locust outbreak in East Africa has spread to nine countries in the region: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Tanzania, Uganda, and Congo. "Useless gossip and tittle-tattle." Distressed by a culture with "too much verbal violence amplified by the internet," Pope Frances urged Catholics to give up trolling on social media for the 40 days of Lent. This is not normal Submerged. In Jakarta, thousands of homes, electrical substations and the presidential palace flooded after twin tropical cyclones off Indonesia's coast set off extreme rain two months after its deadliest floods in years.  The future is now Robo-force. Police in Russia may soon get a hand from Scorpio, a Kremlin-backed robot that patrols territory, throws a net over suspected criminals and launches its own drone to monitor high-speed chases.  What's good Hero arm. A former British paratrooper is giving hope to U.K. veterans after he became the first to receive a 3D-printed bionic arm that can detect muscle movements, thanks to a special NHS fund for ex-servicemen.  Now that you're caught up... Tell your friends to sign up to receive our newsletter five days a week. Follow QuickTake on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. BTW: This vegan catering biz is turning the humble plantain into burgers, cookies—and even ice cream. Take a look. Thanks for reading!
-Andrew Mach | 
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