WorldAssociated PressThe Latest: Guaido asks nations to keep 'all options' open
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido says he will ask the international community to keep "all options open" in the fight to oust President Nicolas Maduro from power. Guaido's call came after a turbulent day in which a U.S.-backed campaign to send humanitarian aid into Venezuela met strong resistance from security forces who fired tear gas on protesters, leaving two people dead and some 300 injured. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said he will meet U.S. Vice President Mike Pence at a meeting Monday of regional diplomats.
BusinessUSA TODAYSouthwest Airlines flights temporarily grounded due to computer outage
Southwest Airlines suffered a computer outage early Friday that temporarily grounded flights across the country, adding to a string of flight woes at the airline this week. Southwest had some issues with a computer system that automatically uploads flight plans to the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford said. Southwest said in a statement that it suspended operations for about 50 minutes early Friday to "ensure performance'' of software systems that were upgraded overnight.
WorldAFPVietnam readying for Kim train arrival next week: sources
Vietnamese authorities are preparing for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to arrive by train next week ahead of his summit with US president Donald Trump, several sources told AFP Friday. The leaders are slated to meet in Hanoi on February 27-28 to follow up on their first meeting last June in Singapore that ended with vaguely worded commitments on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programme. In the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong, which borders on North Korea, there were signs that Kim's train could be crossing over into China imminently en route to Vietnam.
- NewsUSA TODAY Opinion
When rich men like Robert Kraft get charged with soliciting prostitutes, we forget so fast
If ever there was a doubt that sex trafficking involves both the poor and disenfranchised (often times as victims) as well as the very wealthy, today's announcement should erase those doubts. The fact that Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, was charged with two counts of soliciting prostitution will be out of people's memories at some point. Human trafficking is happening to both foreign born nationals and American born citizens on American soil.
- WorldReuters
Pakistan reimposes ban on Islamist charities linked to militant leader
Pakistan has re-instated a ban on two charities linked to the founder of an Islamist militant group that has carried out attacks in India, the interior ministry said on Friday. The ban comes as Pakistan faces international pressure to act against militant groups, amid escalating tension with its nuclear-armed neighbor, India, following a suicide bomb attack on Indian police in the disputed region of Kashmir. The attack, in which 40 Indian paramilitary troops were killed, was claimed by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant group.
NewsThe IndependentTucker Carlson: Fox News host laughs along with guest after he suggests black people 'need to move on' from slavery
A guest who appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show said African Americans “need to move on” from slavery because it was abolished “a century-and-a-half ago”. Mark Steyn, a cultural commentator, made the comments on Thursday during a segment discussing 2020 presidential candidates who are in favour of reparations for African Americans. During his rant, Steyn said: “Slavery was abolished a century and a half ago, nobody alive today has a grandparent who was a slave, and in that sense I think you reach a point where, you know, you need to move on.
PoliticsAssociated PressSen. Warren: US needs to address 'ugly history of racism'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said earlier this week that she supports reparations for black Americans who have been affected by slavery, told reporters Friday that the nation needs to confront its "ugly history of racism" and "talk about the right way to address it and make change." Warren addressed race in a speech Friday to New Hampshire Democrats, but didn't speak specifically about reparations.
- U.S.WPVI – Philadelphia
Video shows young conservative activists being assaulted on U.C. Berkeley Campus
A conservative organization has released a video of an assault on the U.C. Berkeley campus involving a conservative activist and another man.
- WorldTime
Saudi Sisters Stranded for Months in Hong Kong After Fleeing the Kingdom, Rights Group Says
Two Saudi Arabian sisters have spent almost six months hiding in Hong Kong after authorities reportedly foiled an attempt to flee the conservative kingdom, a human rights group says. Using aliases to protect their identities, non-profit Justice Centre Hong Kong said in a statement that Reem, 20, and Rawan, 18, arrived in the city on Sept. 6, 2018, after escaping during a family holiday in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. The pair had booked a connecting flight to Melbourne Australia, where they planned to seek asylum, but they were intercepted upon landing and told their flight had been cancelled.
WorldReutersChina says humanitarian aid should not be forced into Venezuela
Humanitarian aid should not be forced into Venezuela, lest it cause violence, China's Foreign Ministry said on Friday, warning that Beijing opposed military intervention in the country. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro threatened to close the border with Colombia on Thursday as opposition leader Juan Guaido and some 80 lawmakers ran a gauntlet of roadblocks trying to get to the frontier to receive humanitarian aid. Guaido, who is recognized by dozens of countries as Venezuela's legitimate head of state, was poised for a showdown with Maduro's government on Saturday, when the opposition will attempt to bring in food and medicine being stockpiled in neighboring countries.
PoliticsUSA TODAYRobert Mueller: Justice Department says special counsel won't finish report next week
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department sought Friday to dampen expectations for the completion of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, saying the report is not expected next week. Speculation was rampant about what the report might contain and what Attorney General William Barr would release publicly in the wake of a CNN report that Mueller could finish as early as next week. A senior Justice Department official said Friday that such reports are incorrect.
WorldReutersVietnam announces traffic ban for possible Kim Jong Un summit arrival route
Vietnam will ban traffic on the road North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is expected to take from a train station on the Chinese border to the capital, Hanoi, ahead of his summit next week with U.S. President Donald Trump, state media reported on Friday. Vietnam has been preparing for Kim to arrive by train for the Feb. 27-28 summit in Hanoi, two sources with direct knowledge of security and logistics planning told Reuters on Wednesday. Kim's train will stop at the border station of Dong Dang where he will disembark and proceed 170 km (105 miles) to Hanoi by car, the sources said.
WorldAssociated PressFrench bishops agree to compensation for sex abuse victims
Still struggling to come to terms with their share of responsibility in the clerical sex abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church, France's bishops have agreed to award financial compensation to victims whose cases fall outside of France's statute of limitations. "We have agreed in principle to make a financial gesture," Vincent Neymon, head of communications for the French bishops'conference, told The Associated Press in an interview this week. France has not been immune to the scandal that has prompted a credibility crisis for the Catholic hierarchy, and that is the topic of a summit at the Vatican this week on preventing sex abuse and prosecuting pedophile priests.
- BusinessThe Independent
Airlines admit having cameras installed on back of passengers' seats
Three of the world's biggest airlines have admitted some of their planes have cameras installed on the backs of passenger seats. American Airlines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have new seat-back entertainment systems that include cameras. Companies that make the entertainment systems are fitting them with cameras to offer passengers options such as seat-to-seat video conferencing, according to an American Airlines spokesman.
- PoliticsYahoo News
2020 Vision: Bernie Sanders launches, like a rocket
On Tuesday, the Sanders campaign said it raised nearly $6 million in its first 24 hours, or roughly four times as much as Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. raised in the first 24 hours of her campaign's much-heralded launch. The same day, the Daily Beast reported that Sanders had hired Faiz Shakir, national political director of the American Civil Liberties Union, to serve as his campaign manager.
BusinessAFPGlobal equities climb on hopeful trade talk vibes
World stock markets advanced Friday as investors awaited what they hoped will be encouraging news from US-China trade talks in Washington, dealers said. Europe's key equity markets were modestly higher at the close, building on earlier Asian gains. Wall Street was also higher in the late New York morning as US economic concerns appeared to be eclipsed by hopes that high-level talks between the United States and China will seal a trade war truce.
- LifestyleMashable
Get the Insignia 8-Quart Multi-Function Pressure Cooker for less than $40 at Best Buy
When you get home from a long day, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour bent over a hot stove making dinner. Yeah you can pop something in a slow cooker before you leave for your day, but that takes advanced planning and sometimes you just don't have the time or energy for that. With a pressure cooker, you can just toss ingredients in like a slow cooker, but the food cooks in a fraction of the time.
- WorldThe Independent
Venezuela: Two killed in clashes over humanitarian aid as Maduro breaks relations with Colombia
At least two people have been killed in Venezuela in clashes with security forces over the opposition's plan to bring in humanitarian aid from neighbouring Brazil and Colombia, doctors said. Hospital staff in a town near the border said another 18 were injured as violence between residents and soldiers erupted, though Bogota later claimed a much higher figure of 285. Trucks loaded with food were set ablaze after president Nicolas Maduro deployed troops and armoured vehicles to turn back humanitarian assistance at border crossings.
- CelebrityUSA TODAY
Twitter rips PETA for criticizing Steve Irwin's Google doodle on the late conservationist's birthday
After tweeting criticism of the late wildlife conservationist and TV personality Steve Irwin, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is facing backlash on social media. Irwin would have turned 57 on Friday, and to honor the host of "The Crocodile Hunter," Google changed the logo on its search page. The doodle was a slideshow featuring illustrations of Irwin searching for crocodiles and feeding the animals while working at the Australia Zoo.
PoliticsReuters'Too early' to tell if Ocasio-Cortez will help New York: Governor Cuomo
"It's early yet to find out what she actually produces," Cuomo told reporters after a news conference in Washington in which he argued for Congress to reverse a provision in the new federal tax code that disproportionately hurts his constituents. "You know, New York is very basic in our approach, we're sort of, 'What have you brought home for us lately?' I think it's a little early in the session yet for the evaluation." Ocasio-Cortez, who defeated a long-time Democratic lawmaker to get elected to Congress in 2018, has pushed her party to embrace a more liberal platform and ruffled feathers with her quick rise. Cuomo and Ocasio-Cortez ended up on opposite sides of the debate about Amazon.com opening a new headquarters in New York.
- NewsUSA TODAY Opinion
'Surviving R. Kelly' creator: Sex abuse charges should shame all of us who ignore victims
From the moment I began seeing lengthy investigations into R. Kelly's history as a alleged sexual predator, I knew, that as a black woman, this wasn't something I could ignore. Over the next year and half, creating the documentary "Surviving R. Kelly" was a major part of my life. These women were telling their stories, and no one in authority was listening. Nothing was happening. Thankfully, it appears that "Surviving R. Kelly" is not the end of the story.
NewsAssociated PressStorm dumps record-breaking snow in Arizona on way to Texas
A winter storm dumped record-breaking amounts of snow in Arizona and forced the closure Friday of roads, schools and government offices across the Southwest. The storm was pushing through eastern Arizona and heading for New Mexico and Texas after dumping nearly 3 feet (0.9 meters) of snow Thursday at the Flagstaff airport during the city's snowiest day on record, and more than 2 feet (0.6 meters) in Payson, a town that logs that much snow as its yearly average. Residents were digging out from the weather that the National Weather Service characterized as "not your average" storm.
- LifestyleCar and Driver
View Photos of the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 2.7T Four-Cylinder
It tows more than you'd expect but also drinks more fuel than you'd expect. From Car and Driver
- WorldThe National Interest
The Trump-Kim Summit Show Will Yield Positive Results—for Vietnam
Pending the outcome of the second summit, the fact that Vietnam would be chosen as the location illustrates much of North Korea's intentions as well as the complexity in achieving a denuclearization deal with Pyongyang. Vietnam as the Ideal Summit Location Kim Jong-un picked Vietnam for reasons regarding secrecy and security. The Vietnamese government, with a state-controlled media, a strong domestic security apparatus and a tight-lipped bureaucracy, will be able to preserve the confidentiality of the Trump-Kim meetings before, during and after the event.
