- BusinessThe Independent
Venezuela president Maduro increases minimum wage by 300 per cent as inflation approaches 2 million per cent
Venezuela's president has raised the country's minimum wage by 300 per cent as part of routine wage increases as his government battles hyperinflation. Nicolas Maduro increased the minimum wage to 18,000 bolivars, around £5.20, per month amid an economy suffering from annual inflation nearing two million per cent. Mr Maduro announced his economic plans at the start of his second, disputed, term on Monday, as calls increased for him to surrender power.
- PoliticsBloomberg
Barr Say He, Not Mueller, May Write the Public Report on Russia Probe
William Barr vowed to protect Robert Mueller's Russia investigation from political interference but said he -- not Mueller -- may ultimately write the public version of the special counsel's findings if he's confirmed as attorney general. I will commit to providing as much information as I can consistent with the regulations” on special counsels, Barr, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Justice Department, said Tuesday in the first of two days of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Barr, 68, has been through the confirmation process before and served as attorney general in the 1990s.
NewsAssociated PressAmerican anchor for Iranian TV is arrested on visit to US
A prominent American anchorwoman on Iranian state television has been arrested by the FBI during a visit to the U.S., the broadcaster reported Wednesday, and her son said she was being held in a prison, apparently as a material witness. Marzieh Hashemi, who worked for the network's English-language service, was detained in St. Louis, where she had filmed a Black Lives Matter documentary after visiting relatives in the New Orleans area. The FBI said in an email that it had no comment on the arrest of the woman who was born Melanie Franklin in New Orleans and has worked for Iran's state television network for 25 years.
NewsReutersLos Angeles teachers strike for second day as mayor seeks to restart talks
Some 30,000 Los Angeles teachers on strike for higher pay, smaller classes and more staff walked picket lines in the rain for a second day on Tuesday as Mayor Eric Garcetti embraced their cause while trying to nudge the two sides back to the bargaining table. Negotiators for the Los Angeles Unified School District and the United Teachers Los Angeles have not met since union leaders rejected the LAUSD's latest contract offer on Friday night, calling the proposal an "insult." Asked on Tuesday afternoon whether the two parties had any intention of resuming labor talks, an LAUSD spokeswoman said: "Nothing is scheduled at this time."
- NewsUSA TODAY
Navajo Code Talker Alfred K. Newman, among the last of the World War II heroes, has died
Alfred K. Newman, one of the last of the Navajo Code Talkers, has died in New Mexico at age 94. Newman was among 400 Navajos who helped defeat the Japanese during World War II by developing an unbreakable code for military transmissions using the Dine language. The Code Talkers have been celebrated in books, movies and poems for their vital role in the war, their courage in combat and the unusual encryption system that stymied enemy intelligence. Newman's death was first reported by KAFF News, a northern Arizona radio station, and was announced on a code talker Facebook page.
- CelebrityMashable
Who's behind the egg that broke the Instagram world record?
The egg account holder goes by "Henrietta." Henrietta is, according to a report from BuzzFeed News, a "chicken from the British countryside." The account holder, however, claims to live in London.
BusinessAFPIconic US retailer Sears saved from the brink - for now: reports
Historic but failing US retail chain Sears got a reprieve on Wednesday after a billionaire hedge fund manager won an auction to keep the remaining stores alive -- for now, according to reports. Edward Lampert, who steered the company into bankruptcy last year in order to restructure it, won the bid to buy the remaining assets, beating out others who would have killed off the brand, according to news reports. The deal with Lampert's ESL hedge fund could keep up to 50,000 people in work and 425 stores open, but requires approval from a bankruptcy court.
- BusinessCar and Driver
What Ford and Volkswagen's Tie-Up on Trucks Means for the Ranger in America
Ford and Volkswagen have committed to co-develop vans and trucks that will see showrooms starting in 2022, both automakers announced Tuesday. The Ford Ranger will continue as a U.S. product, even as the new joint agreement sees collaboration on non-U.S. versions of the Ranger and the Ford Transit van. Ford will build an all-new Ranger, which will also underpin the next-gen VW Amarok that is likely to remain outside the U.S., and continue to engineer the next-gen Transit full-size van that VW may rebrand into its future Transporter.
- 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.
- PoliticsTime
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Joins 2020 Race for President
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand took a major step toward joining the 2020 race for President on Tuesday, announcing on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert that she was forming an exploratory committee for her campaign. I'm going to run for President of the United States because as a young mom, I'm going to fight for other people's kids as hard as I would fight for my own — which is why I believe that health care should be a right and not a privilege,” Gillibrand told Colbert in a clip released ahead of Tuesday night's show. It's why I believe we should have better public schools for our kids, because it shouldn't matter what block you grow up on.
- PoliticsThe Independent
Pelosi tells Trump to postpone State of the Union over record-long government shutdown
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has asked Donald Trump to postpone his annual State of the Union address amid a government shutdown now into its 26th day. The move could deny the president the grandeur of the annual platform, which he is likely to use to criticise Ms Pelosi and Democrats over the shutdown. Democrats have said they will not sanction $5.7bn (£4.4bn) funding for Mr Trump's proposed border wall which the president has made a central demand for reopening the government.
PoliticsFOX News VideosWhite House hosts Democrats to discuss shutdown as Pelosi targets State of the Union
President Trump and Democrats at impasse as shutdown continues; reaction and analysis from the 'Special Report' All-Stars.
- WorldBloomberg
Kenya Hunts Gunmen in Fatal Hotel Attack Claimed by Al-Qaeda
The attack on 14 Riverside Drive in Nairobi began with an explosion targeting three vehicles in the parking lot and then a suicide-bombing in the foyer of a Dusit Hotels & Resorts Co. outlet, police Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet said Tuesday in a televised briefing. Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda based in neighboring Somalia, said it killed 47 people in the attack, according to Radio Andalus, a broadcaster that supports its insurgency. The group didn't say how it obtained the figure, but if its involvement was confirmed it would be the Islamists' first significant assault in Kenya since a raid on a university campus in Garissa county in April 2015 that killed at least 147 people.
- BusinessUSA TODAY
PG&E ex-CEO receives $2.5 million in severance as company announces plans for bankruptcy
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s former CEO Geisha Williams will receive a severance package of approximately $2.5 million as the utility gears up to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The ex-chief executive officer announced her resignation from the company on Sunday in anticipation that PG&E would declare insolvency due to the billions of dollars it potentially faces for liability in its role in recent California wildfires. State fire investigators previously blamed the utility's power lines for causing a number of California wildfires in October 2017. The following day, PG&E announced its plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on or about January 29.
NewsAssociated PressCalifornia storms bring mudslide fears, blizzard warning
A Pacific storm that brought fears of dangerous mudslides and a rare blizzard warning in the Sierra Nevada was less fierce than expected but hundreds of homes in fire-scarred California areas remained under evacuation orders as more rain was expected. "Please heed disaster messages and prepare to leave immediately," officials in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles warned residents. The blaze that broke out in November destroyed more than 1,500 homes and other buildings from Ventura County to Malibu and killed four people.
- BusinessCar and Driver
A Look at the 2020 BMW 7-series
The BMW flagship sedan also gets revised engines and plenty of new tech. From Car and Driver
WorldAFPMay tells MPs they have 'duty to deliver' on Brexit vote
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday urged MPs to vote in favour of her Brexit deal with the EU, telling them they had a duty to deliver on the 2016 referendum result. "I believe we have a duty to deliver on the democratic decision of the British people," she said, warning MPs that the EU would not offer any "alternative deal". "The responsibility of each and every one of us at this moment is profound, for this is a historic decision that will set the future of our country for generations," she said.
- BusinessReuters
McDonald's loses 'Big Mac' trademark case to Irish chain Supermac's
McDonald's Corp has lost its rights to the trademark "Big Mac" in a European Union case ruling in favour of Ireland-based fast-food chain Supermac's, a decision from the EU's Spain-based Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) showed. The judgement, provided to Reuters by Supermac's, revoked McDonald's registration of the trademark, saying that the world's largest fast-food chain had not proven genuine use of it over the five years prior to the case being lodged in 2017. The EUIPO did not respond to phone calls and emails requesting comment.
BusinessConsumer Reports2020 Ford Explorer Gets Evolutionary, High-Tech Redesign
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Ford has completely redesigned the Explorer for 2020, but you might not realize it from the photos. The 2020 Explorer's platform is all new, moving from a front-drive setup to a rear-drive configuration that's more often used for truck-grade work abilities.
- PoliticsTime
'Indefensible.' Why Republicans Finally Condemned Steve King
For anyone who has paid attention to Rep. Steve King's career, it was hardly shocking that he would be quoted wondering when “white supremacy” became offensive. After years of tolerating the Iowa Republican's controversial comments on immigration and diversity, his fellow GOP lawmakers came out strongly against him, and the consequences are piling up. “There is no room for white supremacy,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the top Republican in the House.
BusinessUSA TODAYJamie Dimon says shutdown could reduce economic growth to zero this quarter if it continues
“Someone estimated that if it goes on for the whole quarter, it can reduce growth to zero,” Dimon told reporters on a media call to discuss fourth-quarter results. In the earnings release, Dimon addressed the U.S. political dysfunction that is now threatening to slow economic growth: In 2019, “we urge our country's leaders to strike a collaborative, constructive tone, which would reinforce already-strong consumer and business sentiment.
- WorldBloomberg
Kenya Forces Battle to End Attack as Death Toll Climbs
Explosions and heavy gunfire were heard early on Wednesday morning as security officers engaged the assailants at the Dusit Hotel on the outskirts of the city center, the Nairobi-based Daily Nation newspaper reported. The attack began on Tuesday afternoon with an explosion targeting three vehicles in the parking lot and then a suicide-bombing in the foyer of a Dusit Hotels & Resorts Co. outlet, police Inspector-General Joseph Boinnet said. Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda based in neighboring Somalia, said it killed 47 people in the attack, according to Radio Andalus, a broadcaster that supports its insurgency.
- ScienceBGR News
Plans revealed for a massive atom smasher that dwarfs the Large Hadron Collider
The famous Large Hadron Collider, an insanely massive particle accelerator that's helped scientists crack some of the most deeply hidden mysteries of the universe, is about to be dwarfed by an atom smasher that's much bigger and more powerful. European physicists have just unveiled their proposal for the construction of a new particle smasher that calls for a 62-mile circular collider costing roughly the equivalent of $10 billion. Plans for the so-called Future Circular Collider were revealed Tuesday in a report by officials associated with the European Organization for Nuclear Research, better known by its acronym of CERN.
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Falling tree kills 1 as storm lashes California
The Latest on California storms (all times local): 7:30 p.m. A storm that's lashed Northern California with rain and high winds may have killed a man in Oakland. California Highway Patrol Officer Herman Baza says a tree fell on a homeless man at an embankment near a freeway Wednesday, killing him.
PoliticsFOX News VideosDHS responds to Pelosi's request to delay the State of the Union address for security concerns
Senior DHS official says the Secret Service is ready for President Trump's State of the Union on January 29 and that no one from Nancy Pelosi's office checked with the Secret Service before requesting delay; chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports.
