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Happening Today: Stock Markets, Memo, Steve Bannon, Flu Deaths, John Mahoney, Paul Simon

What to Know

  • Stock markets around the world are taking a battering, following a dramatic sell-off on Wall Street
  • Two NYC children died from the flu in what health officials said are the first pediatric deaths linked to the virus this season in the city
  • John Mahoney, who as the cranky, blue-collar dad in "Frasier" played counterpoint to pompous sons Frasier and Niles, has died, manager says

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Global Stock Markets Tumble After Wall Street Battering

Stock markets around the world are taking a battering, following a dramatic sell-off on Wall Street that triggered concerns that a potentially healthy pullback from record highs could turn into a protracted bear market. However, signs that Wall Street will stabilize when it opens later helped ease the selling pressure during European trading hours. The drop, which gathered pace when the Dow Jones industrial average posted its biggest percentage decline since August 2011, has been fueled by fears the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates faster than expected due to a pick-up in wages. "If investors look at underlying earnings growth and the fundamentals of the global economy, there is reason for optimism," said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital. Among the biggest fallers was Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average, which ended 4.7 percent lower at 21,610.24, having earlier been down a massive 7 percent. All other Asian bourses tanked, too, including the Shanghai Composite index, which closed 3.4 percent lower at 3,370.65 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng, which skidded 5.1 percent to 30,595.42. Australia's benchmark S&P ASX 200 slid 3.2 percent to 5,833.30 and South Korea's Kospi declined 1.5 percent to 2,453.31.

House Committee Votes to Release Democrats' Classified Memo

The House intelligence committee's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election spun further into charges and counter-charges among angry U.S. lawmakers and President Trump as the panel voted to release a second classified memo about whether the FBI and Justice Department conspired against him. This memo was written by Democrats on the panel who are pushing back against a GOP document, declassified by Trump last week that criticizes the methods the FBI used to obtain a surveillance warrant on a onetime Trump campaign associate. The Democratic document attempts to counter some of the arguments and evidence put forward by the Republicans. The battle of classified memos has further deepened the partisan divide on the committee, which is supposed to be jointly investigating the Russian meddling and possible connections between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign. It also takes attention from the separate investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate intelligence committee. Trump said over the weekend that the GOP memo "totally vindicates" him. Both Republicans and Democrats disputed that, and Democrats also bemoaned the release of formerly classified information and the possibility the precedent could compromise future investigations. The president now has five days to decide whether to allow the material's publication.

House Panel's Interview With Bannon Delayed Again, Sources Say

The former chief strategist to President Trump, Steve Bannon, was scheduled to be interviewed behind closed doors by the House intelligence committee, but the meeting has now been delayed. Republican congressman Mike Conaway of Texas said earlier that Bannon was under active subpoena and scheduled to appear as part of the committee's investigation into Russian election interference. But two people familiar with the panel's schedule say that meeting has now been put off. They declined to be named because the schedule is private. A meeting last week was also postponed. Bannon's lawyer has been negotiating with the committee and the White House about the interview's terms. At issue is whether the White House will allow Bannon to answer questions about his time in the Trump administration.

2 Children Die in NYC's 1st Pediatric Flu Deaths of Season, Health Officials Say

Two New York City children died from the flu in what health officials said were the first confirmed pediatric fatalities linked to the virus this season in the five boroughs. City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene officials said the deaths of an 8-year-old girl from Queens and another child could both be attributed to the virus that has also been blamed for at least one other death in the Empire State and at least 50 others across the nation. According to the New York Post and other media outlets, the 8-year-old died Monday morning after being prescribed the flu-fighting drug Tamiflu. No other details were provided about the other child. This year's flu is especially strong and has caused widespread impact.

John Mahoney, Known as Dad on “Frasier,” Dies at 77, Manager Says

John Mahoney, who as the cranky, blue-collar dad in "Frasier" played counterpoint to pompous sons Frasier and Niles, has died. Mahoney was 77. The actor died in Chicago after a brief hospitalization, Paul Martino, his manager for more than 30 years, said. The cause of death was not immediately provided. In "Frasier," the hit "Cheers" spinoff that aired from 1993 to 2004, Mahoney played Martin Crane, a disabled ex-policeman who parked himself in a battered old armchair in Frasier's chic Seattle living room. Kelsey Grammer's Frasier and David Hyde Pierce's Niles, both psychiatrists with lofty views of their own intellect, squabbled constantly with their dad but, when needed, the family closed ranks. Mahoney, a British native who made Chicago his home town, was a two-time Emmy nominee for "Frasier," won a 1986 Tony Award for "The House of Blue Leaves," and worked steadily in movies.

After All These Years, Paul Simon Says Upcoming Tour Will Be His Last

Only a few days after Elton John announced he will retire from touring in three years, another venerable music figure is throwing in the touring towel: Paul Simon. Simon, 76, took to social media to say his upcoming tour will be his last, citing the personal toll of touring and the death of his lead guitarist, Vincent N'guini. Tickets for his "Homeward Bound — The Farewell Tour" will go on sale Feb. 8. It kicks off in May in Vancouver, Canada, and will take him across North America and Europe. His last date is July 15 in London with James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt as special guests. Simon's best-known songs include "The Sound of Silence," ''Mrs. Robinson," ''Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes."

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