WorldReutersChina condemns Trudeau's remarks about Canadian's death sentence
China denounced Canada on Tuesday for "irresponsible" remarks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused it of "arbitrarily" sentencing a Canadian to death for drug smuggling, aggravating already icy relations. Hours later, in an apparent bid to ease tension, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland spoke of the "very important and long-standing ties" between the two nations. The countries have been at odds since December, when Canadian police arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL], on a U.S. extradition request as part of an investigation into suspected violations of U.S. trade sanctions.
NewsAssociated PressNo. of no-show airport security screeners soars in shutdown
The number of airport security screeners failing to show up for work is soaring as the partial government shutdown goes into its fourth week. No-shows among screeners jumped Sunday and again Monday, when the Transportation Security Administration reported a national absence rate of 7.6 percent compared with 3.2 percent on a comparable day a year ago. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest, some passengers waited more than an hour to get through checkpoints.
- BusinessArchitectural Digest
How Government Shutdowns Affect Housing and Design
Now into its third full week, the U.S. federal government shutdown—our country's longest ever—means that museums such as the Smithsonian and National Parks are closed, 380,000 federal workers are furloughed, and another 420,000 employees are working without pay. Fitch Ratings has warned that the U.S. is at risk of losing its AAA credit rating should the shutdown continue for several weeks more, especially considering the rising federal deficit. Where it comes to housing, many residents living in HUD-subsidized residences, who rely on the federal government for assistance, may not be able to pay rent, putting them at risk for homelessness.
- NewsUSA TODAY Opinion
Mike Pence: Democrats refuse to compromise on border wall funding to end the shutdown
America has a national security and humanitarian crisis at our southern border, and President Donald Trump has promised to end it. We've already taken important steps, but rather than work with us to make further progress, Democrats in Congress have refused to compromise on the wall, leading to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The American people deserve better.
- BusinessPopular Mechanics
2019 Ram Heavy Duty Has 1,000 Lb-Ft of Cummins Torque
Next time some oldtimer tells you the glory days of horsepower and torque were in the past, sock 'em in the teeth with this: The 2019 Ram HD pickup now offers 1000 lb-ft of torque from its optional Cummins diesel engine. The new top-spec 6.7-liter Cummins High Output turbodiesel straight-six churns out 1000 lb-ft at 1800 RPM and 400 horses at 2800 RPM. The heavily-redesigned oil-burner is actually 60 lbs lighter than the previous-gen Cummins engine, with a high-pressure turbo cramming up to 33 lbs of boost into the thing.
WorldAFPIndonesia recovers second black box from Lion Air crash
The cockpit voice recorder from an Indonesian Lion Air jet that crashed in October has been recovered, officials said Monday, a discovery that could be critical to explaining why a brand new plane fell out of the sky just after take-off. The Boeing 737 MAX vanished from radar about 13 minutes after departing Jakarta, slamming into the Java Sea moments after pilots had asked to return to the capital and killing all 189 people onboard. The bright orange voice recorder was discovered early Monday about 10 metres from a flight data recorder that was located back in November, authorities said.
NewsReutersStriking Los Angeles teachers picket in rain with no deal imminent
Students arriving at some 900 campuses across the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) were met by their teachers carrying laminated picket signs in the city's first teachers' strike in three decades. "It's an existential battle for the future of public education," teacher Mike Finn told Reuters outside John Marshall High School in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz. Officials for the LAUSD, which serves mostly working-class families who would lack child care if classes were canceled, kept schools open, staffed by administrators and substitute teachers.
- BusinessThe National Interest
F-22 vs. F-35: Which Stealth Fighter Wins in a Shootout?
TNI Staff Security, The U.S. Air Force's original plan was for the F-22 to be its high-end air superiority fighter while the F-35 was designed to be primarily an air-to-ground strike aircraft, but one which could defend itself. Key point: The answer is that the F-35 cannot match the F-22 as an air superiority fighter—it was never designed as such. Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter—which is built in three versions—recently completed its developmental test phase and is operational with the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Delta Air Lines passenger got a gun through security and onto plane in Atlanta
A Delta passenger managed to take a gun through security in Atlanta and onto a flight to Tokyo on Jan. 2. The Transportation Security Administration confirmed the incident of the in a statement to USA TODAY. Flight DL295 left Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for Japan's Narita International Airport.
- NewsAOL.com
Man accused of killing California police officer left behind cryptic suicide note: police
A man accused of gunning down a 22-year-old California police officer before turning the weapon on himself left behind a bizarre suicide note about "ultra sonic waves," according to authorities. Police say Kevin Douglas Limbaugh, 48, attacked Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona as she was responding to the scene of a three-car accident off Interstate-80 outside of Sacramento on Thursday evening. This 2018 booking photo released by the Yolo County Sheriff's Office shows Kevin Douglas Limbaugh.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Schumer Will Force Vote Tuesday on Deripaska-Firm Sanctions
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will force a vote Tuesday on a measure to block the Treasury Department's plans to lift sanctions on three Russian companies linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer said the Treasury Department's Dec. 19 decision was “deeply flawed and wrong,” and would benefit a Russian magnate who he said has “effectively acted as agent of Russian President Vladimir Putin's interests abroad. The Treasury Department's decision sparked a backlash from Democratic lawmakers who are questioning the administration's motives in lifting sanctions against three companies Deripaska controls: United Co. Rusal, En+ Group Plc and EuroSibEnerg...
NewsReutersWorst is over for winter storm that clobbered U.S. Midwest, D.C. and New England
The deadly winter storm that clobbered a swath of the U.S. Midwest and East Coast over the weekend is blowing out to sea, but leaves as much as 13 inches of snow in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, and frigid arctic air parked over New England. All Washington D.C. federal offices would be closed on Monday, but train and bus service in the metro D.C. area would resume after being shut down on Sunday, officials said. quot;There's some digging out to do," Jim Hayes, a forecaster with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said Monday.
PoliticsFOX News VideosRepublican's questions uncovered revelations that FBI leader
Rep. John Ratcliffe confirms his questions to former FBI general counsel James Baker uncovered the claims first reported by the New York Times; Catherine Herridge has the details.
- BusinessCar and Driver
The 2020 Volkswagen Passat in Photos
The 2020 Volkswagen Passat in Photos From Car and Driver
- PoliticsAssociated Press
West Virginia: Proposal to give $10M for Trump's border wall
Some lawmakers in drug-ravaged West Virginia want to pitch in millions of dollars for President Donald Trump's wall-building effort along the U.S.-Mexico border. The GOP-led House of Delegates issued a statement Monday that a bill planned by three delegates would divert $10 million from West Virginia's current $186 million budget surplus for wall construction. Trump is seeking $5.7 billion overall to fund construction of a wall along about 235 miles (375 kilometers) of the border, and the federal government has been partially shut down as Trump and Democratic lawmakers are at an impasse over his request.
WorldAFPAmerican citizen killed in Nairobi attack: official
A US citizen was killed Tuesday in an attack by Islamist militants on an upmarket hotel and office complex in Nairobi, a US official said. "We can confirm that a US citizen was killed in the attack. An AFP photographer in Nairobi saw the bodies of five victims and a police source said he had seen as many as 14 dead.
- NewsU.S.News & World Report
10 Public Universities Run by Highest-Paid Presidents
Presidents with high salaries The U.S. president makes $400,000 per year. Several university presidents make more than double that. At least 17 National University presidents earn twice what President Donald Trump does on a yearly basis, according to a 2017 report from The Chronicle of Higher Education.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
Delta CEO: Government shutdown tab $25 million and counting
Delta Air Lines is losing an estimated $25 million in business due to the longest government shutdown on record, the airline's CEO said Tuesday. Ed Bastian told CNBC the decline in revenue is due to fewer government employees and contractors traveling. He said the $25 million figure is a monthly impact that will continue as long as the shutdown, now in its 25th day, lingers.
- NewsThe Independent
Two women rescued after being taken hostage at UPS warehouse in New Jersey
Two women have been rescued after being taken hostage at a UPS facility in New Jersey, a local prosecutor has said. The women, both UPS employees, were not seriously injured during the hours-long standoff, Gloucester County Prosecutor Charles Fiore said at a news conference. The suspect has been apprehended after the incident at the UPS processing facility in Logan Township.
WorldBloombergMay Loses Brexit Vote in Landslide, Faces Confidence Vote
Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal was rejected by Parliament in a humiliating defeat, her plan for leaving the European Union all but dead. The House of Commons voted 432- 202 against the divorce she painstakingly brokered with the EU over 18 months. The largest parliamentary loss in over a century not only prompted the main opposition Labour Party to make its move to try force an election, it also hardened the EU's position.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsSUVs, trucks and sports cars take center stage at Detroit auto show
Trucks, SUVs and high-performance vehicles dominated the new debuts scheduled for the US's premier auto show. The exception was Volkswagen, which was to unveil a new Passat sedan. "Car companies are acknowledging that the crossover, sport utility vehicle boom is continuing," said analyst Michelle Krebs of Autotrader.
PoliticsReutersHouse Republicans move to reprimand King over white supremacy comments
Senior Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives moved on Monday to strip congressman Steve King of his committee assignments after the Iowa Republican gave a media interview in which he questioned why white supremacy is considered offensive. The decision by the House Republican Steering Committee to remove King from his posts on the Judiciary, Agriculture and Small Business committees must be ratified by the full caucus of House Republicans. The move comes as several House Democrats filed censure motions against King after he told the New York Times in an interview published last week: "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization - how did that language become offensive?" King, who has a history of making statements that critics have condemned as racist, said in a statement that his comments in the Times interview were "completely mischaracterized" and the committee's decision was "a political decision that ignores the truth." House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement that King's remarks were "beneath the dignity" of the party and the country.
- LifestyleBGR News
The top 5 benefits that make the American Express Platinum Card a must-have
Large financial institutions have historically enticed borrowers to spring for their most luxe credit options by offering incentives like free air travel and tons of points, though as The Wall Street Journal reported in recent days some banks are now looking to tweak that model — changing up the rewards so that you get less on the front end and you're induced to actually use the cards more to get the benefits over the long term. All of which is to say, when you consider all of the above and the various options on the market available to you, there are several reasons why the Platinum Card® from American Express is a smart choice for consumers who want the best mix of price and rewards.
PoliticsAssociated PressTrump denies ever working for Russia, blasts investigators
President Donald Trump on Monday denied he ever worked for Russia against U.S. interests, addressing an extraordinary question that has haunted his presidency and shows no sign of going away. Speaking from the South Lawn, Trump issued a flat denial: "I never worked for Russia." He blasted former FBI and Justice Department officials and repeated his claim that the investigation into his ties to Moscow is a hoax. Trump raised eyebrows over the weekend when he didn't directly answer the Russia question in an interview with Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, a personal friend.
WorldAFPChinese court sentences Canadian drug suspect to death
A Chinese court sentenced a Canadian man to death on drug trafficking charges on Monday after his previous 15-year prison sentence was deemed too lenient, deepening a diplomatic rift as Canadian premier Justin Trudeau accused Beijing of "arbitrarily" using capital punishment. Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, nodded as the judge in the northeast city of Dalian asked him whether he understood the verdict, following a day-long retrial in which he declared his innocence, saying, "I am not a drug smuggler. The sentence comes against the backdrop of Beijing's anger over the arrest in Canada of a top executive from telecom giant Huawei last month on a US extradition request related to Iran sanctions violations.
