WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Maduro says Trump sounds almost Nazi-like
Venezuela's embattled president, Nicolas Maduro, is rejecting President Donald Trump's call for a new day in Venezuela and comparing the tone of the American president's speech in Miami to that of a Nazi. Trump said Monday that the U.S. stands behind opposition leader Juan Guaido and condemns Maduro and his government's socialist policies. Trump pleaded with Venezuela's military to support Guaido and warned of dire consequences for standing with Maduro.
WorldAFPCardinals blame 'homosexual agenda' for abuse crisis
Two cardinals criticised on Wednesday Pope Francis's approach to the clerical paedophilia crisis, saying "abuse of power" was not to blame but homosexuality. "We turn to you with deep distress! The Catholic world is adrift," US Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke and German Cardinal Walter Brandmueller said in an open letter to the heads of the bishops' conferences. "Sexual abuse is blamed on clericalism.
PoliticsReutersU.S. agency to cancel $929 million in California high-speed rail funds
California Governor Gavin Newsom said last week the state will dramatically scale back a planned $77.3 billion high-speed rail project that has faced cost hikes, delays and management concerns, but will finish a smaller section of the line. The Transportation Department's Federal Railroad Administration said in a letter it wanted to halt funding because the state had "failed to make reasonable progress." It cited Newsom's announcement to scale back the project. Newsom, in a statement, linked the Trump administration action to California leading 15 other states in challenging what he called "the President's farcical 'national emergency,'" to obtain funds for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Southwest Airlines under FAA investigation for aircraft weight, balance calculations
The investigation, disclosed for the first time Monday by the Wall Street Journal, began in February 2018, FAA spokesman Gregory Martin confirmed to USA TODAY. There have been no fines nor enforcement action from the investigation to date. "Since that time, the FAA has directed the development of a comprehensive solution to the methods and processes used by Southwest Airlines to determine this (weight and balance) performance data,'' he said in a statement.
- WorldTime
Huawei Founder Says There's No Stopping China's Tech Giant, Despite U.S. Pressure
In an interview with the BBC, Ren Zhengfei spoke confidently about the company's fate despite mounting pressure from Washington. The U.S. has accused the company of circumventing sanctions against Iran and stealing trade secrets. The U.S. has leveled 23 charges against Huawei and Ren's daughter and Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested at Washington's request in Vancouver, where she is currently under house arrest awaiting possible extradition.
NewsAssociated PressAurora warehouse where 5 killed won't reopen until next week
The suburban Chicago manufacturing warehouse where five people were fatally shot won't reopen until next week, but its doors will be open to support workers, company officials said Monday. The Henry Pratt Co. facility in Aurora, Illinois, will be open any employees who want to spend time with colleagues and counselors will be available, spokeswoman Yolanda Kokayi said. A Henry Pratt employee who was about to lose his job opened fire at the warehouse Friday, killing five co-workers and wounding five police officers.
- BusinessThe Independent
Amazon announces plans to make half of shipments carbon neutral by 2030
Online retail giant Amazon has announced plans to make alf if its shipments carbon neutral by the year 2030. The company, which ships millions of packages a year to shoppers, said that it will achieve that goal by switching to renewable energy sources and by asking suppliers to reimagine their packaging. “It won't be easy to achieve this goal, but it's worth being focused and stubborn on this vision and we're committed to seeing it through,” Dave Clark, Amazon senior vice president of worldwide operations, said.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Shamima Begum: Being stripped of my British citizenship is hard to swallow and unjust
My family made it sound like it would be a lot easier for me to come back to the UK when I was speaking to them in Baghouz. International law forbids nations from making people stateless by revoking their only citizenship, prompting speculation that Begum held dual citizenship through her Bangladeshi parents. While her family have said they are "considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision", Begum said she may explore a potential citizenship route through her Dutch husband.
- BusinessCar and Driver
See Photos of the 2020 Mercedes-Benz SL Grand Edition
The current SL reminds us of Benzes bygone, so it's leaving the scene with exclusive colors and body trim. From Car and Driver
- PoliticsYahoo News
'Pathological liar' vs. 'Crazy Bernie': What Trump and Sanders have said about each other
Bernie Sanders announced his 2020 campaign with a blistering attack on President Trump. You know as well as I do that we are living in a pivotal and dangerous moment in American history,” the Vermont senator wrote in an email to supporters announcing his candidacy. We are running against a president who is a pathological liar, a fraud, a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe and someone who is undermining American democracy as he leads us in an authoritarian direction.
WorldAFPChina data leak exposes mass surveillance in Xinjiang
A Chinese technology firm has compiled a range of personal information on 2.6 million people in Xinjiang -- from their ethnicity to locations -- according to a data leak highlighting the wide extent of surveillance in the restive region. Xinjiang is home to most of China's Uighur ethnic minority lives and has been under heavy police surveillance in recent years after violent inter-ethnic tensions. Nearly one million Uighurs and other Turkic language-speaking minorities in Xinjiang are reportedly held in re-education camps, according to a UN panel of experts.
PoliticsReutersPresidents Day protests decry Trump's emergency declaration
Calling Trump's declaration an abuse of power and usurpation of Congress, organizers with the nonprofit advocacy group MoveOn.org and other participants said it was important to let the outrage over the move be heard. Trump invoked the emergency powers on Friday after Congress declined to fulfill his request for $5.7 billion to help build the wall that was his signature 2016 campaign promise. Protesters gathered in Chicago's Federal Plaza carried signs that read “Dump Trump” and “Fake Emergency" and chanted “No wall, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.” Cheryl Krugel-Lee, a 32-year-old student, said she brought her 4-year-old daughter to the protest in freezing weather to set an example for her.
- NewsAssociated Press
Trial over Delaware prison riot ends with no convictions
The trial for four inmates charged with murder in a 2017 Delaware prison riot ended Monday with no convictions. Jurors deliberated about five days before acquitting Abednego Baynes, 26, and Kevin Berry, 28, of all charges filed after the uprising at Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna in February 2017, The News Journal of Wilmington reported . Officer Steven Floyd died during the 18-hour standoff.
NewsUSA TODAYAirlines begin waiving change fees for new winter storm
TUESDAY UPDATE: Airlines are canceling flights and expanding their rebooking waivers ahead of a new winter storm that looks increasingly likely to disrupt flights at airports from the Great Plains into the Northeast. Full story: Airlines already canceling Wednesday flights for new winter storm PREVIOUS UPDATE: Air travelers faced disruptions this week from a new round of wintry weather. A developing storm system was expected to spread a mix of snow, rain and icy weather across a large swath of the United States this week.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY Opinion
Why Mueller tucked a big Roger Stone reveal in a Russia filing on a technical matter
One of the most intriguing recent court filings in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation came Friday in a brief arguing that Roger Stone's case is related to the indictment against 12 officers from Russia's GRU military intelligence agency. Stone was indicted in January on various charges of obstructing the House intelligence Committee investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Under local court rules, cases should be designated as “related” if they arise “from a common wiretap, search warrant, or activities which are a part of the same alleged criminal event or transaction.” Related cases are then assigned to the same judge.
WorldFOX News VideosFarrakhan to Omar: Don't apologize for Israel comments
Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan defends Minnesota congresswoman.
- WorldThe Telegraph
Pakistan will retaliate against any Indian attacks over Kashmir bombing, says Imran Khan
Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, has warned his country will retaliate against any Indian attack in the wake of last week's Kashmir suicide bombing and called instead for dialogue to calm the growing crisis. Mr Khan said he was willing to help Delhi investigate the blast which killed at least 40 paramilitary policemen last week and prompted outrage in India and calls for revenge. As tensions remained high, the senior Indian military commander in Kashmir told mothers to ensure their sons surrendered to an ongoing security crackdown or they would be killed.
WorldAFPAfter IS, ammunition among the IV drips at Syria clinic
At a clinic in eastern Syria, the Islamic State group have fled leaving a floor strewn with medical supplies -- but also explosives and a foreign passport. US-backed fighters took the three-storey building in the village of Baghouz in recent days, and now use its roof to survey the frontline against the jihadists. After a months-long campaign, the last IS fighters are pinned down in their last scrap of territory just hundreds of metres down the road in the same village.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Trump must be removed with 25th amendment because he is 'not well at all mentally', former White House ethics chief says
Donald Trump must be removed from office as he is “not well at all mentally”, a former White House ethics chief has said. Richard Painter, who served as George W Bush's ethics lawyer between 2005 and 2007, told cable network Msnbc Mr Trump's national emergency declaration over illegal immigration was “clearly illegal” and the product of the president's state of mind. The president is not well at all mentally.
WorldBloombergChina's Silicon Valley Blueprint Has Plenty of Holes
Late Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency released details of the State Council's Greater Bay Area plan – a project to knit together Hong Kong and Macau with nine mainland cities into a global innovation hub to rival California's Silicon Valley. The trouble is, there's little new on how authorities plan to make this grand vision into a reality. Announced by Premier Li Keqiang in March 2017, the Greater Bay Area forms part of China's push for supremacy in technology, while also binding the former European colonies more tightly into the country.
PoliticsReutersBernie Sanders faces new challenges in crowded 2020 U.S. presidential race
In the 2020 race, Sanders, who announced his latest bid on Tuesday, will have to fight to stand out in a crowded field of progressives touting issues he brought into the Democratic Party mainstream four years ago. While many of his supporters are sticking with him, some are waiting to see how the Democratic field seeking to challenge Republican President Donald Trump shapes up. Sanders enters the race with clear strengths: broad name recognition, an ability to raise money from small-dollar donors and passionate supporters who flocked to his insurgent 2016 campaign against one of the best-known figures in American politics, Hillary Clinton.
NewsAssociated PressPolice dismiss tip Smollett, 2 brothers together in elevator
Chicago police investigated but dismissed a tip that on the night "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett reported being attacked by two masked men he was in an elevator of his apartment building with two brothers later arrested and released from custody in the probe, a department spokesman said Tuesday. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said a person who lives in the building or was visiting someone there reported seeing the three together the night in question last month. Guglielmi said the two brothers did meet with prosecutors and police Tuesday in a Chicago courthouse.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Buckle up and hunker down: Coast-to-coast storm to bring weather misery to 200 million
A powerful storm that began its journey Sunday in California will roar across the country over the next two to three days, spreading heavy snow, torrential rain and crippling ice to more than 200 million Americans. By Tuesday, the storm will spread heavy snow and strong winds into the central U.S., the National Weather Service said. Late Tuesday and into Wednesday, the threat for heavy snow, ice and dangerous travel will expand across the Midwest, Ohio Valley, Mid Atlantic and the Northeast.
- BusinessU.S.News & World Report
7 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought or Sold
The biggest news from Buffett's filing is the disclosure that Berkshire sold shares of Apple in the fourth quarter. Buffett trimmed his stake in his largest holding from 253.4 million shares to 249.6 million shares, a 1.5 percent reduction. Apple investors knew the day would come at some point when Buffett would stop buying Apple, and it may have taken fears over a 2019 iPhone sales slowdown to finally reach that point.
WorldAFPPutin promises Russians better living conditions 'within this year'
President Vladimir Putin promised Russians rapid improvements in their living conditions as he kicked off his annual state of the nation address on Wednesday. "We cannot wait, the situation must change for the better now," Putin said. The Russian leader announced several policies that he said would boost living standards, while addressing the country's declining birth rate.
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