WorldUSA TODAYVenezuelan forces kidnap opposition leader Juan Guaido's chief of staff in raid
WASHINGTON – Venezuelan intelligence officials kidnapped opposition leader Juan Guaido's chief of staff and ransacked a second opposition official's residence Thursday, Guaido and other officials said Thursday. During an early morning raid that escalated an already tense political standoff, armed officers descended on the apartment of Roberto Marrero, a lawyer and top adviser to Guaido. The intelligence officials, who are loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, planted two rifles and a grenade at the apartment and took Marrero to an undisclosed location, according to an account posted by Guaido on Twitter.
- BusinessReuters
WRAPUP 3-Indonesian airline cancels Boeing order, citing passenger fear
JAKARTA/OSLO, March 22 (Reuters) - Indonesian airline Garuda plans to cancel a $6 billion order for Boeing 737 MAX jets, it said on Friday, saying some passengers would be frightened to board the plane after two fatal crashes, although analysts said the deal had long been in doubt. The news came as another 737 MAX customer, Norwegian Air , played down the significance of a move by Boeing to make a previously optional cockpit warning light compulsory. Norwegian said that, according to Boeing, the warning light would not have been able to prevent erroneous signals that Lion Air pilots received before their new 737 MAX plane crashed off Indonesia in October, killing 189 people.
WorldAssociated Press10 Things to Know for Today
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today: 1. NEW ZEALANDERS OBSERVE MUSLIM CALL TO PRAYER New Zealanders observed the Muslim call to prayer in reflecting on the moment one week ago when 50 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques were slain. SYRIA SLAMS TRUMP ON GOLAN HEIGHTS Damascus said Trump's abrupt declaration that the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the annexed territory was "irresponsible" and a threat to international peace and stability.
- WorldThe Telegraph
New Zealand Prime Minister announces immediate ban on all assault weapons
New Zealand will ban military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles under tough new gun laws following the killing of 50 people in the country's worst mass shooting, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday. In the immediate aftermath of Friday's shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, Ms Ardern labelled the attack as terrorism and said New Zealand's gun laws would change. "On 15 March our history changed forever.
- BusinessThe National Interest
Bringing the Sting: The U.S. Navy Is Getting New F/A-18E/F Super Hornets
David Axe Security, The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can do and also is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are. The U.S. Navy in mid-March 2019 awarded Chicago plane-maker Boeing a $4-billion contract to build 78 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for the U.S. Navy. The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can do and also is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are.
NewsUSA TODAYHarvard University sued over allegedly profiting from what are believed to be the earliest photos of American slaves
Among the photographed: an African man named Renty and his daughter, Delia. Former professor Louis Agassiz, a biologist, had the photos taken to support an erroneous theory called polygenism that he and others used to argue that African-Americans were inferior to white people. Now, a woman who says she is a direct descendant of that father and child – Tamara Lanier, the great-great-great granddaughter of Renty – is suing Harvard over the photos.
- SportsTime
'Unprecedented' Spring Flood Season to Put 200 Million People in the U.S. at Risk, NOAA Warns
Large parts of the U.S. could experience a “potentially unprecedented flood season” through May as forecasts anticipate record levels of precipitation, according to a report released Thursday. More than 200 million people in 25 states are at risk, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned. Much of the Midwest, including Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa, has already be hit with historic flooding this year after the wettest winter in known history.
WorldAFPUS-backed forces press offensive against IS Syria enclave
US-backed forces pressed an offensive against the Islamic State group in its last redoubt in Syria on Thursday, denying reports the jihadist enclave had fallen. "Mopping up operations continue in Baghouz camp," the command of the Syrian Democratic Forces said in a brief statement. The SDF, which launched a final assault against the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria on February 9, denied reports that the IS enclave had completely fallen to its forces.
- NewsThe Independent
JetBlue pilots who drugged and raped flight attendants continued working for airline without repercussion, lawsuit says
Three female flight attendants claim they were drugged and two of them raped by two JetBlue pilots during a layover in Puerto Rico, a new lawsuit filed this week in New York federal court has claimed. At least one of the female flight attendants said she was forced to work with one of the accused pilots after the alleged rape. After making their way to a beach in Puerto Rico near the hotel they were staying during their layover in May of last year, the women were offered sips from one of the flight attendant's alcoholic beverages.
- PoliticsMashable
Hillary Clinton replied to AOC's take down of Jared Kushner and we all need a minute
Brace yourself: AOC and Hillary Clinton have joined forces on Twitter to create a clapback so powerful that you may need to take a some deep breaths to compose yourself. It went down on Thursday night, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a very straightforward "But his WhatsApp," after it was alleged that Jared Kushner had been communicating with foreign officials using WhatsApp. Kushner's behavior is obviously problematic on any number of levels, not least of which is that his father-in-law, President Donald Trump, ran his campaign against Hillary Clinton almost exclusively on the charge that she'd used a private email server while she was secretary of state.
WorldReutersCitigroup to sell Venezuelan gold in setback to President Maduro: sources
Maduro's government has since 2014 used financial operations known as gold swaps to use its international reserves to gain access to cash after a slump in oil revenues left it struggling to obtain hard currency. Under the terms of the 2015 deal with Citigroup's Citibank, Venezuela was due to repay $1.1 billion of the loan on March 11, according to four sources familiar with the situation. Citibank plans to sell the gold held as a guarantee - which has a market value of roughly $1.358 billion - to recover the first tranche of the loan and will deposit the excess of roughly $258 million in a bank account in New York, two of the sources said.
BusinessConsumer ReportsSome Pickups Lag in Passenger Crash Protection
Because of the results, CR's Overall Score for the Toyota Tundra fell below the threshhold for the vehicle to be recommended, leaving only the Ford F-150 as a CR recommended truck in the full-size category. Pickup trucks are becoming increasingly popular for hauling families as well as cargo,” says Jennifer Stockburger, director of operations at CR's Auto Test Center. That means assessments like this one—that look at passenger safety as well as driver safety—are just as important for pickups as they are for cars and SUVs.
- NewsUSA TODAY
Catholic Church scandal: 395 Illinois priests, deacons accused of sexual misconduct
CHICAGO – Nearly 400 Catholic clergy members in Illinois have been accused of sexual misconduct, but church officials have only informed congregants of a fraction of those who have faced allegations, according to attorneys who represented clergy sex abuse victims across the USA. A 182-page report, published Wednesday by the Minnesota-based law firm Jeff Anderson and Associates, includes the names, background information, photos and assignment histories of each accused clergy member. The danger of sexual abuse in Illinois is clearly a problem of today, not just the past,” the report concludes.
- WorldWPVI – Philadelphia
New Zealand bans all assault weapons after mosque shootings, prime minister says
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand is immediately banning assault rifles, high-capacity magazines and "military style semi-automatic rifles" like the weapons used in last Friday's attacks on two Christchurch mosques.
- BusinessCar and Driver
See Photos of the New 2020 Porsche Cayenne Coupe
Porsche joins competitors Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz with a coupe version of its Cayenne SUV at a modest price premium over the standard Cayenne and Cayenne Turbo. From Car and Driver
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Nebraska puts flood damage at more than $640 mln
Figures compiled by the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency put damage statewide from recent flooding at more than $640 million. Nebraska's governor earlier said the state suffered nearly $1.4 billion in estimated losses and damage, including $840 million in crop and cattle losses. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has added nine counties to the state flash flooding disaster proclamation, bringing the total to 52 out of Iowa's 99 counties.
WorldAFPAustralian PM welcomes 'moderation' from Turkey's Erdogan
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday welcomed some "moderation" in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's comments in the wake of the Christchurch massacre. Trying to take the sting out of a diplomatic row that has threatened relations between Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, Morrison pointed to a recent Erdogan column in the Washington Post as progress. "Overnight, progress has been made on this issue and overnight we've already seen a moderation of the president's views," Morrison said, citing the article in which Erdogan stepped away from direct criticism of New Zealand.
- SportsTime
USC Just Named a New President. Here's What She Said About the Admissions Scandal
As the University of Southern California (USC) grapples with the fallout from a sweeping college admissions scandal, officials announced the appointment of a new president who vowed to bring lasting change to a campus that has been plagued by controversy. Carol Folt, who stepped down in January as chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), will take over as USC president on July 1, becoming the first permanent female president at the school. USC was one of several schools named in last week's indictment of wealthy parents who are accused of bribing athletic coaches and facilitating cheating on standardized tests to get their children into elite colleges, including Georgetown, Yale, Stanford and USC.
- WorldThe Independent
World united in condemnation of Trump over call to recognise Israel's claim to Golan Heights
Germany and France have led a global backlash against Donald Trump after he said it was time to recognise Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights. Iran, Turkey and Russia joined European powers in sharply criticising the US president, while Syria vowed to recover the area using “all available means”. Mr Trump took many – including the Israeli government – by surprise on Thursday when he tweeted his backing for Israel's claim over the territory, marking a dramatic shift in policy over the status of an area captured in the 1967 Middle East war.
- BusinessReuters
Indonesia's Garuda asks to cancel 737 MAX order it had been reconsidering before Ethiopia crash
Garuda Indonesia has asked to cancel an order for 49 Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 jets, citing a loss of passenger trust following two crashes, although it had been reconsidering the order before the latest disaster in Ethiopia last week. Garuda is the first airline to publicly confirm plans to scrap an order for the jets after the Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 people. That accident came five months after a Lion Air 737 MAX crashed off Indonesia killing 189, and led to the grounding of the world's entire fleet of the aircraft.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
'I want to set the record straight': Jared Kushner's father comes to his defense in op-ed
WASHINGTON – The father of Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and a key White House adviser, authored an opinion piece in the Washington Post pushing back against accusations of corruption and conflicts of interest. "Over the past two years, the news media have told a story about my family and our business with little regard for nuance, logic or even facts," Charles Kushner writes. "Though I am a private person and prefer to keep the details of my family's business as private as possible, I want to set the record straight."
SportsFOX News VideosCNN takes over a week to report Covington lawsuit
What happened to 'facts first'? Reaction from former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino.
NewsAssociated PressEx-cop says he thought he saw a gun when he shot black teen
A white former police officer said Thursday he thought a weapon was pointed at him when he shot and killed an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer. Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld took the stand at his homicide trial and insisted he was in fear for his life when he gunned down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II. Rosfeld, 30, got choked up and dabbed away tears as he recounted finding the mortally wounded Rose on the ground.
- BusinessU.S.News & World Report
Strengthen Your Retirement Security in 7 Steps
Retirement security is the ability to live a comfortable retirement without the burden of financial stress. Early planning is the best way to ensure a financially secure retirement, but not everyone has the luxury of time to prepare. The financial decisions you make in the years approaching retirement will have a significant impact on your retirement security.
- WorldLiveScience.com
'Inland Oceans' from One of Southern Hemisphere's Worst Storms Seen from Space
A deadly cyclone that hit southern Africa left extensive flooding that looked like "inland oceans" in images from space taken just days after the storm made landfall. Sentinel-1, a satellite mission that's part of the European Union's Earth-observation program, Copernicus, captured imagery on March 19 that showed far-reaching floodwaters around Mozambique's town of Beira on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Cyclone Idai could turn out to be "one of the worst weather-related disasters" in the Southern Hemisphere, said Clare Nullis, spokesperson for the World Meteorological Organization.
