Clinton heads back to campaign trail after pneumonia scare

WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton hits the campaign trail once again Thursday after trying to put aside a badly handled health scare that rattled her bid for the US presidency.

The Democratic candidate had events planned in North Carolina and Washington as she resumed campaigning after a three-day break prompted by a bout of pneumonia.

Clinton, 68, fell ill during a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York on Sunday and was forced to leave. She was seen stumbling limp-legged into her vehicle.

It took several hours for her personal physician to disclose she had been diagnosed with pneumonia two days earlier, drawing criticism of her campaign's lack of transparency.

On Wednesday, Clinton looked to head off further questions about her health, releasing new medical records that purported to show she is fit to serve as president and is recovering from mild pneumonia.

The disclosure came as her Republican rival Donald Trump, 70, released health data of his own during the taping of a nationally televised medical chat show set to air Thursday.

Both candidates, among the oldest ever to run for the White House, were under intense pressure to share more medical information after Clinton fell ill.

Recent opinion polls have shown the gap between them narrowing with less than two months to go before Election Day, and the presidential hopefuls disclosed fresh information in a bid to score points with undecided voters.

In a detailed, two-page "summary update" on Clinton's health, her personal physician Lisa Bardack wrote that the candidate was bouncing back after a diagnosis of "mild, non-contagious" pneumonia.

She "is recovering well with antibiotics and rest" after being laid low over the weekend, when she suffered from fatigue and a low-grade fever, although her vital signs remained normal, Bardack said.

The nominee "continues to remain healthy and fit to serve as president of the United States," she wrote, noting she is in "excellent mental condition."

Clinton spent Wednesday at home in Chappaqua, New York for a third straight day.

News of Trump's appearance on "The Dr. Oz Show" -- though it appeared to reveal little detail -- had earlier flooded the US airwaves on Wednesday. This raised pressure on Clinton to share more health data before returning to the trail.

'I HAVE IT RIGHT HERE'

So far Trump had released only four, gushing paragraphs on his health, written by his doctor Harold Bornstein in December 2015.

Following the revelation of Clinton's pneumonia, Trump vowed soon to release specific numbers from a recent check-up with Bornstein.

Team Trump had raised -- then dropped -- the possibility of releasing them during an appearance on "Dr. Oz".

But during recording of the segment Wednesday morning, Trump finally did present its celebrity host with the results, according to a statement on the show's website.

In a snippet teased on the site, Mehmet Oz -- who is also a professor of surgery at Columbia University in New York -- is seen asking Trump:

"If your health is as strong as it seems... why not show your medical records?

"Well, I have really no problem in doing it," Trump responds. "I have it right here. Should I do it? I don't care."

The Republican nominee goes on to pull the documents from his pocket, to cheers and applause from the show audience.

A statement from the medical chat show said their hour-long one-one-one interview touched on Trump's cardiovascular health, family medical history and history of cancer, among other topics.

But the actual details revealed appeared to remain very generic.

According to US media who attended the taping, Oz declared Mr. Trump "slightly overweight" at 267 pounds (120 kilos) for roughly six foot two inches (1.88 meters).

Trump continued his barnstorming of key battleground states Wednesday with stops in Michigan and Ohio. On Thursday, he is due to deliver a major economic speech.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Clinton wins in Nevada, Trump seeks S.Carolina victory

COLUMBIA - Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton defeated Bernie Sanders in Nevada's Democratic caucuses on Saturday, breathing life into her sluggish campaign, as Republican frontrunner Donald Trump looked for a big win in South Carolina.

The two main US political parties parted ways for the third stage of the surprise-filled race for the White House, with the Democrats heading west and the Republicans campaigning in the south.

In Nevada, CNN, Fox News and NBC News called the contest for the former secretary of state. With more than 80 percent of precincts reporting, Clinton was at 52.1 percent to 47.8 percent for Sanders.

"This is your campaign, and it is a campaign to break down every barrier that holds you back," Clinton said in her victory speech at her Caesars Palace headquarters on the Las Vegas Strip.

"Americans are right to be angry. But we're also hungry for real solutions."

Sanders congratulated Clinton, but also said he was proud of having significantly narrowed the gap.

"We have the wind at our back as we head toward Super Tuesday," the 74-year-old Sanders said, looking ahead to the major March 1 showdown when about a dozen states will go to the polls to choose their White House candidates.

Voters meanwhile streamed to the polls in South Carolina, in what could be an important test of strength for the 69-year-old frontrunner Trump. Voting places were to close at 7:00 pm (0000 GMT Sunday).

- Clinton bets on immigration -
In the desert state of Nevada, both Clinton and Sanders worked hard to reach out to African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans, who make up roughly half of the state's population.

Clinton, who won by a hair in Iowa but was crushed by Sanders in New Hampshire, had counted on a major Hispanic voter turnout, especially among Las Vegas hotel and casino employees.

But according to CNN entrance polls, while she handily won the black vote, but did not convince Latinos to join her camp, losing that key demographic to Sanders by 53 percent to 45 percent-- evidence that his campaign may have much longer legs than first expected.

Clinton did well with women, but was stomped once again by Sanders with young voters, the polls showed.

The former top US diplomat needed a win in Nevada, a state once seen as a relatively easy victory for her -- but one where Sanders gathered steam after trouncing Clinton in New Hampshire on February 9.

Clinton won their first showdown in Iowa on February 1, but only by a razor-thin margin.

The 68-year-old Clinton worked hard to win votes from hotel and casino employees, making multiple stops on the Strip since Wednesday.

Clinton claims that Sanders is offering impractical, pie-in-the-sky ideas that he cannot bring to fruition as president, and on Saturday took aim at corporate America -- usually a message sounded by Sanders.

"If you cheat your employees, exploit consumers, pollute our environment, or rip off taxpayers, we're going to hold you accountable," she said.

"But if you do the right things, if you invest in your workers, contribute to your communities, help build a better America -- we're going to stand with you."

- Crunch time for Trump -
In South Carolina, pre-vote polls showed the billionaire businessman Trump with a lead over his five Republican rivals, although his advantage had shrunk in one poll in the lead-up to Saturday's primary in the Palmetto State.

Lynn Derrick, a regional vice president for Oracle Corporation and a first-time primary voter, said he had cast his ballot for Trump.

"We just think we want to take a risk with Trump. We think he's had success with everything he's touched," Derrick told AFP at a high school in the state capital Columbia.

Trump is banking on a big symbolic win ahead of "Super Tuesday", when about a quarter of the nominating delegates are up for grabs.

"It's crunch time, folks," Trump told voters at a North Charleston rally, his final pitch Friday before the primary.

He finished second to Texas Senator Ted Cruz in Iowa, but secured a commanding win in New Hampshire. The two have duked it out in the past week, with the campaign growing increasingly nasty.

On the eve of the primary, Trump led with about 28 percent of likely Republicans voters backing him, according to an NBC-Wall Street Journal poll.

The ultra-conservative Cruz followed with 23 percent. Trailing were Senator Marco Rubio at 15 percent and former Florida governor Jeb Bush at 13 percent.

Rubio and Bush are under pressure to fare well Saturday, as are Ohio Governor John Kasich and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.

Edwin Pearlstine, a retired beer distributor and brewery owner who said he voted for Kasich, said if Trump wins the Republican nomination, he'll leave the country.

"I got a pretty place right on the beach in the Bahamas. I'll just go stay there," he said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com