WorldUSA TODAYLive stream: Britain's Parliament holds no-confidence vote for Theresa May
LONDON – British Prime Minister Theresa May faced a new battle to save her job Wednesday following a defeat in Parliament over her Brexit deal to leave the European Union. May lost Tuesday's vote on the deal she agreed with the EU to leave the bloc by 432-202. But while the defeat was widely expected, the scale of the loss was not.
- 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.
PoliticsAssociated PressSome in GOP split with White House on Russia sanctions
Almost a dozen Senate Republicans broke with the White House Tuesday on Russia, voting to move forward on a resolution that would maintain sanctions on companies linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The Democratic resolution would stop the Treasury Department from lifting penalties against the Russian aluminum manufacturing giant Rusal and two other companies connected to Deripaska. Senators took two procedural votes to proceed to the resolution, with 11 Republicans voting with Democrats.
BusinessAFPFord, VW call off joint Detroit appearance to announce alliance
Automakers Ford and Volkswagen on Monday called off a joint appearance at the Detroit auto show set for the following day during which they were widely expected to announce an alliance. A highly-anticipated announcement at the US's premiere auto show in the Motor City was called off late Monday, and the two sides planned a conference call with reporters instead. "We don't have enough details yet to go out in front of more than 500 journalists, so we decided to call it off," Ford spokesman Mark Truby told AFP.
- WorldReuters
Brexit deal defeat makes 'softer, later' exit more likely: Goldman Sachs
A vote in Britain's parliament on Tuesday crushing Prime Minister May's deal to leave the European Union has made a softer, later Brexit, or even no Brexit at all, slightly more likely, Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday. quot;We think the prospect of a disorderly 'no deal' Brexit has faded further," Goldman Sachs' European economist Adrian Paul wrote in a note. The bank maintains its base case scenario that "a close variant" of the current Brexit deal will ultimately command a majority in the House of Commons.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand moves toward launching 2020 presidential campaign
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday moved toward launching a 2020 presidential campaign by forming an exploratory committee. The New York Democrat announced her intentions on CBS' “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” ahead of a trip to Iowa this weekend.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsClose shave: Gillette ad sparks online controversy
A commercial for the Gillette razor brand that supported #MeToo movement and called on men to change their behavior has triggered a heated controversy online. The spot, which features images of harassment and brutality, urges men to end a culture of "toxic masculinity" and turns the brand's 30-year-old slogan into a question: "Is this the best a man can get?" The broadcast of the spot, which was released Sunday and lasts just under two minutes, has earned the brand praise from those who see it as an example of brave communication, with the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs even paying tribute in a tweet on Tuesday.
BusinessAssociated PressCalifornia governor, lawmakers confront utility bankruptcy
The announcement by the nation's largest utility that it is filing for bankruptcy puts Pacific Gas & Electric Co.'s problems squarely in the hands of Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers, who now must try to keep ratepayer costs down, ensure wildfire victims get the money they're owed and rethink California's energy picture in the face of climate change. "This issue is all about three fundamental things: It is about safety, it's about reliability and it's about affordability," Newsom told reporters Monday afternoon after spending the day in and out of meetings with lawmakers about the pending bankruptcy.
- 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.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY
Top Judiciary Democrat: Vote to confirm Barr hinges on commitment to release final Mueller report
WASHINGTON – The Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat signaled Wednesday that she would vote to confirm William Barr as attorney general if the nominee provided greater assurances that he would make public the final report of Russia special counsel Robert Mueller. A day after Barr promised the committee that he would allow the special counsel to complete his investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, Feinstein said that she had become increasingly "concerned" about whether the nominee would be willing to share Mueller's work in full. Feinstein, during the second day of Senate confirmation hearings, characterized Barr's daylong testimony as "good" overall.
- WorldTime
American CEO Who Narrowly Avoided 9/11 Among 14 Killed in Nairobi Terrorist Attack
An American CEO who narrowly avoided the Sept. 11 terror attack was among at least 14 people killed in an attack on a hotel and shopping complex in Nairobi on Tuesday. Jason Spindler, the director of a business development firm, was a U.S. citizen based in Kenya who died in the attack. “We all miss him so much,” his mother, Sarah Spindler, told NBC News.
- PoliticsUSA TODAY Opinion
Colbert questions Trump's connection to Russia in a new game show. See who wins.
The latest reveals in the Trump-Russia-election saga? That President Donald Trump may have been secretly working for Russia, that the FBI started investigating that possibility back in 2017, and that Trump has gone to great lengths to hide records of his meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The news came from separate reports by "The Washington Post" and the "New York Times."
- U.S.KGO – San Francisco
Police searching for suspect after 2 women stabbed in Vacaville house fire
Police in Vacaville are searching for a suspect after two women were found stabbed when firefighters and police responded to a house fire.
- 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
WorldAFPBrexit deal vote: UK parliament's feuding factions
The British parliament is split into cross-party factions over the EU divorce deal. Parliament is to finally vote Tuesday on whether to support or vote against the agreement struck between Prime Minister Theresa May's government and the European Union. Here are the main camps in the Brexit battle among members of the 650-seat lower House of Commons: - FOR - The government: Everyone on the government payroll must back government policy -- or resign.
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."
NewsAssociated PressThe Latest: Snow, accidents shut Northern California freeway
Heavy snowfall, multiple spin-outs and a jack-knifed big rig forced the closing of a major Northern California freeway in the Sierra Nevada. The California Highway Patrol said multiple spin-outs prompted the closure of westbound Interstate 80 at the Nevada border. The heavy snowfall in the Sierra Nevada was an indication that one of the biggest winter storms of the season has arrived.
WorldBloombergPound Sentiment Improves in Traders' Positioning for Brexit Vote
A gauge of relative demand for bullish or bearish options on sterling has climbed to the highest since April even as the U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plan faces almost certain defeat in a House of Commons vote Tuesday. The pound may extend its rebound to above $1.30 should the Brexit deadline be delayed from the end of March, said Yuji Kameoka, chief foreign-exchange analyst at Daiwa Securities Co. in Tokyo. While still just bearish for one-month options, the move implies investors are assigning a smaller probability to a no-deal Brexit outcome amid speculation the March 29 deadline for the U.K. to leave the European Union may be set back, allowing more time for an agreement to be reached.
- 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.
BusinessUSA TODAYSears, Kmart may survive: Eddie Lampert wins Chapter 11 bankruptcy auction
Sears Holdings could escape its brush with annihilation after the retailer's chairman and largest investor prevailed in an auction for a shrunken version of the company. The owner of the Sears and Kmart chains will be sold to hedge fund manager and longtime Sears backer Eddie Lampert's ESL Investments if a judge signs off, according to a person familiar with the auction results. The deal would prevent Sears from liquidating the rest of its stores.
- ScienceAccuWeather
Venus-Jupiter conjunction: Set your alarm for this celestial meet-up on Tuesday morning
Jupiter and Venus will shine bright together before dawn on Tuesday in an astronomical event known as a conjunction. "A conjunction is a celestial event in which two planets or a planet and the moon or a planet and a star appear close together in the night sky," according to the NASA website. Close encounters of Jupiter and Venus in the sky occur on a fairly regular basis, most recently happening on Nov. 13, 2017.
- PoliticsYahoo News
Trump treats Clemson Tigers to 'great American' fast food shutdown feast
President Trump welcomed the national champion Clemson Tigers college football team to the White House Monday evening for a fast food feast whose menu was inspired by the ongoing government shutdown. Speaking with reporters ahead of the event, Trump ignored questions about the status of talks to end the shutdown and comments about white supremacy made by Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King. Instead, the president noted he had “ordered American fast food paid for by me” for a planned event with the players.
BusinessAFP Relax NewsNissan brings luxurious electric sports sedan concept to Detroit
After debuting the newer, longer range 2019 Leaf e+ at CES last week, Nissan brought a luxurious electric sedan concept to the Detroit Auto show to show off the company's plans to provide high-performing, premium vehicles in the EV era. Nissan debuted its newest concept model, the IMS Concept, in Detroit on Monday, representing the company's pure electric future with impressive range, full drive autonomy, and, last but not least, an innovative new seating arrangement. Beneath the sleek and futuristic light-up body of the EV is a high-performance AWD system powered by a pair of electric motors.
PoliticsReutersCongressional Democrats move to stop U.S. Census citizenship question
Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday were moving ahead with legislation to prevent the Trump administration from adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, following a court decision this week blocking inclusion of such information. Representative Carolyn Maloney, a senior Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told reporters that she is re-introducing her bill, which was ignored by Republicans in 2017-2018 when they controlled the House of Representatives. With the Democrats takeover of the House this year and the panel that oversees the decennial census, Maloney said she hoped that her "Census IDEA Act" would advance early in 2019.
WorldAFP'Humiliated': World media react to British PM's Brexit defeat
Britain is in "uncharted waters" after Prime Minister Theresa May was "humiliated" by the "crushing defeat" of her Brexit deal in parliament, according to scathing reactions in the British and world press on Wednesday. Here are some of the responses: - 'Brextinct' - "May's Brexit deal dead as a dodo", Britain's biggest-selling newspaper The Sun said, with a mock-up picture of the PM as the extinct flightless bird, under the front page headline "Brextinct". The Daily Telegraph's front page read: "A complete humiliation".
