| Retired colonel accused in Maduro drone 'attack' held in Venezuela: wife Posted: 30 Jan 2019 09:12 AM PST  A retired Venezuelan colonel accused of being a leader of the explosives-laden drone "attack" on President Nicolas Maduro in August has been arrested, his wife said on Wednesday. "He was kidnapped," Sorbay Padilla said in a video sent to journalists and human rights activists. Garcia Palomo, 54, had been in exile in neighboring Colombia but was captured at the end of last week in western Venezuela after secretly returning to the country, local press reported.
|
| The Latest: Extreme cold stops mail delivery in some states Posted: 29 Jan 2019 04:15 PM PST  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Latest on a major snowstorm and frigid weather in the Midwest (all times local):
|
| Trump calls his own intel chiefs 'extremely passive and naive' Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:29 AM PST  President Trump on Wednesday criticized his own intelligence chiefs a day after they broke with him in their assessments of the threats posed by North Korea, Iran and Syria.
|
| L.A. school board seeks pause on charter schools, after teachers' strike Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:34 PM PST  The Los Angeles school board voted on Tuesday to ask state lawmakers for a moratorium on new charter schools in the area, as demanded by a union for more than 30,000 teachers in a six-day strike that ended last week. The 5-1 vote by the school board represented a dramatic shift for a panel on which at least half the members had previously supported charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately managed. Charter schools operate in most of the United States with teachers who often are not represented by a union.
|
| Jaguar F-type Loses Its Manual Transmission and Costs More for 2020 Posted: 30 Jan 2019 09:45 AM PST  The British carmaker sticks a fork in its stick-shift sports car.
|
| Polar vortex stalks Midwest, 'El Chapo' trial, Roger Goodell talks state of NFL: 5 things to know Wednesday Posted: 30 Jan 2019 05:00 AM PST  Polar vortex expected to paralyze parts of U.S. with extreme cold, Roger Goodell talks state of the NFL and more things to start your Wednesday.
|
| Brexit deal 'best possible' and 'not renegotiable': Macron Posted: 29 Jan 2019 11:15 AM PST  French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday the Brexit deal is the "best agreement possible and is not renegotiable", as Britain's premier pushed to reopen talks with Brussels. Macron's comments during a summit in Cyprus came as Prime Minister Theresa May appealed to British lawmakers to give her a mandate to renegotiate, after parliament rejected an accord reached with the European Union. Macron urged the British government to "promptly" lay out to EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier "the next steps that will prevent an exit without an agreement, which nobody wants but for which we must all prepare ourselves".
|
| 'Do Not Let Him Escape Responsibility.' Prosecutors End Closing Arguments in El Chapo Trial With a Plea Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:54 PM PST  "Hold him accountable for his crimes."
|
| U.K. Parliament Rips Up Theresa May’s Brexit Deal Posted: 29 Jan 2019 01:59 PM PST  Theresa May promised to go back to Brussels to re-negotiate Brexit after Parliament ripped up the deal she's spent the past year and a half stitching together. On a rare good night for the U.K. prime minister, she won the backing of members of Parliament for her Plan B -- to scrap the most difficult part of the divorce package and re-open talks with the European Union. May chose to tear open the exit deal to unite her divided Conservative Party.
|
| When anti-corruption protests succeed Posted: 29 Jan 2019 11:22 AM PST ![When anti-corruption protests succeed]( "When anti-corruption protests succeed") In its latest survey of 180 countries by levels of corruption, Transparency International tried something different. For the first time, the global watchdog group measured links between public-sector corruption and each country's basic freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. In recent weeks, the world has witnessed mass protests in two of the most-corrupt countries, Sudan and Venezuela, which are also among the most nondemocratic.
|
| British Jews apply for German nationality as Brexit looms Posted: 29 Jan 2019 04:34 PM PST  BERLIN (AP) — Simon Wallfisch grew up in London as the grandson of an Auschwitz survivor who had sworn to never return to the country that murdered her parents and 6 million other Jews.
|
| Anger persists after Vale vows to make amends for Brazil dam disaster Posted: 31 Jan 2019 06:46 AM PST  "Too Late" read the newspaper of record here, O Estado de Minas, after Vale, the world's largest iron ore miner, said it would take up to 10 percent of its production offline and spend 5 billion reais ($1.36 billion) to decommission 10 dams like the one that collapsed at its Corrego do Feijao mine last Friday. With some 99 people confirmed dead and another 250 missing, according to firefighters, the tailings dam collapse in the town of Brumadinho may be Brazil's deadliest-ever mine disaster. In recent days, Vale has vowed to keep paying taxes on the paralyzed mine and donate 100,000 reais to the family of each victim.
|
| A Look at the 2019 Kia K900 Posted: 31 Jan 2019 09:14 AM PST |
| Southwest Airlines extends schedule, adds new seasonal routes Posted: 31 Jan 2019 07:51 AM PST ![Southwest Airlines extends schedule, adds new seasonal routes]( "Southwest Airlines extends schedule, adds new seasonal routes") Southwest announced addition of two weekend-only seasonal routes. It also confirmed the return of seven seasonal routes that will resume in August.
|
| What we know about husband and wife killed in Houston officer-involved shooting Posted: 29 Jan 2019 05:03 PM PST  The man and woman were killed after firing at Houston police, who were attempting to serve a warrant.
|
| Venezuela crisis: Maduro accuses Trump of hiring Colombian mafia to assassinate him Posted: 30 Jan 2019 11:57 AM PST  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused President Donald Trump of hiring the local mafia to assassinate him in an interview with a Russia state-run news agency. "Donald Trump has without doubt given an order to kill me and has told the government of Colombia and the Colombian mafia to kill me," Mr Maduro told RIA news agency on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Critics argue that the 56-year-old's claim is a red-herring tactic to rally up support in Venezuela amid mass protests against his socialist government, and the debilitating inflation and food and medicine shortages in the Latin American country.
|
| Americans warned not to go outside as polar vortex grips Midwest with record low temperatures Posted: 30 Jan 2019 01:59 AM PST  Tens of millions of people in the United States are battling under a potentially deadly arctic chill, with rail tracks set alight to keep trains running and officials warning against the risk of frostbite risks for those stepping outside. Companies have told their workers to stay home, schools are closed and hundreds of flights have been cancelled. America's National Weather Service has warned people who are exposed to the extreme cold are susceptible to frostbite "in a matter of minutes". The US Postal Service - known for its commitment to bringing the mail whatever the weather - has even reportedly suspended deliveries in Iowa due to the severe cold. Chicago, America's third largest city, was expected to be colder than parts of Antarctica. The extreme weather conditions prompted a number of rail companies to cancel all trains in and out of the city for Wednesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, crews from north east Illinois's Metra Commuter Rail used a gas-fed system to set rail tracks alight in Chicago in order to keep trains moving. A pedestrian stops to take a photo by Chicago River as bitter cold phenomenon called the polar vortex has descended on much of the central and eastern United States Credit: REUTERS Temperatures in almost a dozen states stretching more than 1,200 miles from the Dakotas to Ohio were forecast to be the coldest in a generation, if not on record. "One of the coldest arctic air mass intrusions in recent memory is surging south into the Upper Midwest before spreading across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country," the National Weather Service said. "Expect frigid temperatures, bitterly cold and life-threatening wind chills, likely leading to widespread record lows and low maximum temperatures from the Upper Midwest to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley." US weather: Polar vortex threatens record low temperatures, in pictures The cause is a swirl of arctic air that broke away from the polar vortex that usually encircles the North Pole. The National Weather Service forecast temperatures between -10 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 to -40 Celsius) by Wednesday across the Midwest, with wind chills making it seem as cold as -65 degrees Fahrenheit in one area of Minnesota. Authorities in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin put emergency measures in place to handle the frigid weather. "We need everyone to do your part and make sure you and your families are prepared," said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. The city skyline is seen from the North Avenue Beach at Lake Michigan Americans were asked to stay home if possible on Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to be at their coldest. Scores of schools, businesses and government agencies announced closures in multiple states. "People exposed to extreme cold are susceptible to frostbite in a matter of minutes," warned the NWS. Lawrence Gottlieb of the University of Chicago Medical Center said the threat was significant "when temps fall below zero, especially when there is a strong wind." Some 160 warming centers were opened in Chicago, where temperatures could potentially equal or exceed the all-time record of -27 degrees Fahrenheit. With the wind chill, it would feel like -40 or -50, officials said. "They are life-threatening conditions and temperatures," Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel told a news conference. In Minneapolis, officials allowed residents to stay on public buses and trains for warmth. The @NWSDesMoines regarding the upcoming cold in the Upper Midwst and Great Lakes: "This is the coldest air many of us will have ever experienced." https://t.co/OykrGHmgoU— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) January 27, 2019 In the northeastern and southern United States, snow was falling. A cold emergency was declared in the US capital Washington, with additional services put on for the homeless. In Atlanta, some 300 flights were cancelled Tuesday as the city prepares for the Super Bowl and more than 400 were cancelled in Chicago, a major regional hub for US airlines. In Canada, the icy temperatures - stretching from Manitoba in the western Prairies region to the Atlantic seaboard - prompted a rare "hazardous" cold warning from the government. Environment Canada reported record-breaking snowfall at the Ottawa airport, where some 50 flights were cancelled, with an accumulation of nearly a meter (more than three feet). An additional 200 flights were cancelled at Toronto's airport. A pedestrian walks by the frozen Chicago River Credit: REUTERS Scientists say climate change is causing more extreme weather, and one theory for polar vortex chills is that arctic air currents usually trapped around the North Pole are weakened and dislodged by a warming climate. President Donald Trump used the occasion to again voice skepticism about climate change, tweeting: "What the hell is going on with Global Waming? (sic) Please come back fast, we need you!" But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which operates NWS, tweeted, "Winter storms don't prove that global warming isn't happening," with a link to a 2015 explanatory article.
|
| LA Mayor Garcetti skips 2020 and big-name Democratic field Posted: 29 Jan 2019 09:15 PM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti explained his decision to sit out the 2020 presidential contest in simple terms — the city, he said, "is where I want to be."
|
| Bankrupted by deadly wildfires, PG&E vows to keep the lights on Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:57 AM PST ![Bankrupted by deadly wildfires, PG&E vows to keep the lights on]( "Bankrupted by deadly wildfires, PG&E vows to keep the lights on") (This Jan 29 story has been corrected in paragraph 10 to remove reference to top creditors, which erroneously included banks that act as trustees on bond indentures with no direct credit exposure) By Subrat Patnaik (Reuters) - Utility owner PG&E Corp filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in anticipation of liabilities from California wildfires, including a catastrophic 2018 blaze that killed 86 people. PG&E, which provides electricity and natural gas to 16 million customers in northern and central California and employs 24,000 people, vowed to keep the lights on as it grapples with fire-related costs it estimates at more than $30 billion. The San Francisco-based owner of the biggest U.S. power utility warned in November it could face significant liability in excess of its insurance coverage if its equipment was found to have caused the Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise, California, last year.
|
| More Than 36,000 Pounds of Tyson Chicken Nuggets Recalled Over Possible Rubber Contamination Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:22 AM PST  The contamination is considered a high health risk
|
| Canada’s Decision on Huawei and 5G ‘Some Ways Off,’ Goodale Says Posted: 29 Jan 2019 12:27 PM PST  "I'm not going to speculate about time but it's certainly beyond weeks," Goodale told reporters Tuesday after a cabinet meeting. Goodale said Canada will take the view of allies such as the U.S. into account when studying potential risks to national security, and will make its own decision in the end. China's ambassador to Canada and Huawei officials have denied the company's gear is used for spying.
|
| Huawei's founder faces fight for company and family Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:59 AM PST  Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei survived food shortages during China's Cultural Revolution, but now the reclusive billionaire identified as "Individual-1" in a US indictment faces an existential fight for his family and company. Ren, 74, founded Huawei in 1987 with just 21,000 yuan ($5,600) and watched it grow into a global behemoth with 180,000 employees operating in 170 countries, sales of 206 million smartphones last year, and revenue topping $100 billion. The accusations dealt a blow to Huawei's image just as the famously secretive company had mounted a media blitz to salvage its reputation, with Ren leading the charge to dispute espionage concerns.
|
| Russia and other foreign powers will attempt to exploit 2020 presidential elections, top US intelligence official says Posted: 29 Jan 2019 10:49 AM PST  America's top intelligence official says that Russia and other foreign powers will likely attempt to exploit the 2020 presidential elections in a continuance of efforts that US intelligence officials have warned of for years. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned Congress of that danger during testimony on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, where he and other intelligence chiefs discussed the annual "Worldwide Threat Assessment" report. In addition to the elections interference concerns, the report also raised concerns that contradicted Donald Trump on a variety of foreign policy issues including Iran, North Korea, and Syria.
|
| Sheriff: Suspect confesses to killing 5 with dad's gun Posted: 29 Jan 2019 12:54 PM PST  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A young man from Louisiana has confessed to killing his parents, his girlfriend, and two of her family members who had taken him in after he was kicked out of his house, authorities said Tuesday.
|
| Pentagon refuses to rule out US military deployment on Venezuela's border Posted: 29 Jan 2019 03:50 PM PST  The Pentagon has refused to rule out military intervention on Venezuela's border, a day after John Bolton, the US national security adviser, was photographed carrying a notepad that read: "5,000 troops to Colombia". Patrick Shanahan, the acting defence secretary, was asked repeatedly whether Mr Bolton's notes indicated a deployment. "I'm not commenting on it," he said. "I haven't discussed that with Secretary Bolton." Mr Bolton on Monday would not rule out the use of US troops in Venezuela. "The president has made it clear on this matter that all options are on the table," he said. John Bolton, carrying the notepad on Monday The US military currently has about 200 troops in Colombia, which was among the first to follow the US lead last week and recognise "interim president" Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate ruler, and Colombia and the US have developed close security ties over past decades. Colonel Rob Manning, Pentagon spokesman, said the number of US military personnel in Colombia remained unchanged, and Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Colombia's foreign minister, said Bogota had not been informed of any increase in the US military presence. "We are not aware of the significance or the reason" for Mr Bolton's notes, he said. The drum beat began on January 23 with Donald Trump's recognition of Mr Guaido, and has only got louder in the intervening six days. Over the weekend Australia and Israel joined the 20-odd countries that now accept Mr Guaido as the interim president, and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, told the UN security council that "the time is now" to move to oust the "illegitimate mafia state" of Mr Maduro. On Tuesday the drums got louder as the US raised the state department's travel warning to "do not travel" – putting Venezuela in the same category as only 12 countries worldwide, among them Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. Mr Pompeo also announced on Tuesday that Mr Guaido had full control of Venezuelan assets in US federal banks. Juan Guaido, the "interim president" of Venezuela Mr Guaido is currently petitioning the Bank of England to prevent Mr Maduro getting his hands on $1.3 billion (£1 billion) in gold held in London vaults. Venezuela, which is struggling to provide basic services, has some $8 billion in foreign reserves around the world. On Monday the US placed sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company – a move designed to cripple Mr Maduro's regime financially, and sway the military to defect. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Vladimir Putin – one of the main backers of Mr Maduro - said the Kremlin shares the view of the Venezuelan government that the sanctions are "illegal" and sees them as a tool of unfair competition on part of the United States. In Venezuela, meanwhile, the attorney-general – a Maduro loyalist – slapped a travel ban on Mr Guaido and froze his assets – both seen as symbolic gestures unlikely to have a significant impact. "More than a new threat against me, against this parliament, against the acting president of this republic, there's nothing new," said Mr Guaido. "I'm not dismissing the threats, the persecution at this time, but we're here, we're continuing to do our jobs."
|
| Tesla Restructures Model S and Model X Prices and Battery Options Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:55 AM PST  Gone are the familiar 75D, 100D, and P100D trim levels.
|
| 7 High-Yield Dividend Stocks With Rising Payouts Posted: 29 Jan 2019 11:04 AM PST ![7 High-Yield Dividend Stocks With Rising Payouts]( "7 High-Yield Dividend Stocks With Rising Payouts") The payouts for these dividend stocks are hard to top. In uncertain times for the stock market, dividend payments can be one of the few reliable sources of returns for investors. Unfortunately, some of the highest-yielding dividend stocks can be some of the most unreliable.
|
| Alibaba profit up 37% but revenue growth eases Posted: 29 Jan 2019 04:49 PM PST  Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba said Wednesday that net profit increased 37 percent in the latest quarter as growth in cloud computing and other business lines helped offset a slowing expansion in core online retail. The company's net profit grew to 33.0 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) in the October-December third quarter, compared to 24.1 billion yuan over the same period in 2017. Alibaba dominates China's emerging consumer culture and its corporate results were widely anticipated for any signs of whether a worsening Chinese economic slowdown and the US-China trade tussle was curbing the country's appetite for shopping.
|
| U.S. security aid to Palestinians to end Thursday, envoys seek workaround Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:36 AM PST  The loss of the some $60 million in annual funding would marks another tear in ties between the Trump administration and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and potentially undermines his security cooperation with Israel in the occupied West Bank. Diplomatic sources said Palestinian, U.S. and Israeli officials were seeking a way to keep the money flowing despite Abbas's decision to turn it down as of a Jan. 31 deadline set by Congress' Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act (ATCA) of 2018. The ATCA empowers Americans to sue foreign aid recipients in U.S. courts over alleged complicity in "acts of war".
|
| US: Mueller evidence used in disinformation campaign Posted: 30 Jan 2019 04:18 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors say confidential material from the Russia investigation was altered and released online as part of a disinformation campaign to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, according to a court filing Wednesday.
|
| Huawei CFO Meng arrives for Canada bail hearing Posted: 29 Jan 2019 10:26 AM PST  Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou arrived for a hearing before a Canadian court on Tuesday, in a case that has strained Beijing's ties with Canada and the United States. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
|
| VP Pence to rally support for Venezuela's Guaido in Miami on Friday Posted: 30 Jan 2019 04:21 PM PST ![VP Pence to rally support for Venezuela's Guaido in Miami on Friday]( "VP Pence to rally support for Venezuela's Guaido in Miami on Friday") U.S. Vice President Mike Pence plans to head to Miami on Friday, home to the country's largest community of Venezuelan exiles, to rally support for the opposition ahead of Venezuelan protests against President Nicolas Maduro, a White House official said. Pence, who has helped lead White House efforts to recognize self-declared president Juan Guaido as Venezuela's rightful leader, will be joined by Florida senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, and Governor Ron DeSantis, all fellow Republicans.
|
| Polar vortex blamed for at least eight deaths as deep freeze grips US Midwest Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:25 AM PST  A blast of icy polar air brought dangerously low temperatures to the US Midwest on Wednesday, causing at least three more deaths while halting mail deliveries and forcing residents who pride themselves on their winter hardiness to huddle indoors. Classes were cancelled for Wednesday and Thursday for students across the Midwest, including Chicago, home of the nation's third-largest school system, and police warned of the risk of accidents on icy highways. Michigan said all state offices would remain closed through Thursday. In a rare move, the US Postal Service appeared to set aside its credo that "neither snow nor rain ... nor gloom of night" would stop its work as it halted deliveries from parts of the Dakotas through Ohio. At least eight deaths related to extreme cold weather have been reported since Saturday in Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota, according to officials and media reports. Illinois State Police officers rescued 21 people who were stranded in a charter bus that broke down in sub-zero temperatures along Interstate 55 near Auburn after the vehicle's diesel fuel turned to gel in its engine, according to the agency. Cold front: Temperatures held at below -20C in Chicago, Illinois. The city's record low, -33C, was registered in 1985 Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images In Detroit, a 70-year-old man was found dead on Wednesday on a residential street, a Detroit police spokeswoman said. About 15 miles (24 km) south in the community of Ecorse, a former city councilman in his 70s and dressed only in sleepwear was also found dead on Wednesday, police there said. A University of Iowa student was found dead outside a building at the campus early on Wednesday, the school said in a statement. The death of Gerald Belz, a pre-med student, was believed to be weather-related. Streets in Chicago were nearly empty, with few people walking outside in the painfully cold air as temperatures hovered around minus 28 Celsius. "It's terrible!" Pasquale Cappellano, a 68-year-old waiter, said as he smoked a cigarette while waiting outside for a bus on Chicago's North Side. "I gotta pick up my medication at Walgreens or else I wouldn't be out the door." US weather: Polar vortex threatens record low temperatures, in pictures In Minneapolis, chilled to minus 26 Celsius, Brian Pierce ventured out to "embrace the elements" and found himself watching cars slipping on the roads. "The roads sound really weird, it seems there's a lack of grip," he said. "And my teeth hurt." Wind-chill temperatures in parts of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes plunged as low as minus 41 Celsius in Park Rapids, Minnesota, and minus 35 Celsius in Fargo, North Dakota, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The frigid winds were headed for the US East Coast later on Wednesday. Normally, the #PolarVortex �� swirls around the Arctic, trapping cold air near the Pole. Recently, this pressure system has been less stable, spilling colder air south & bringing record-low temperatures �� to parts of the continental U.S. https://t.co/PS83gEo5u0pic.twitter.com/zQP4sYS2Kh— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) January 30, 2019 More than a thousand flights, close to two-thirds of those scheduled, were canceled on Wednesday into or out of Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway international airports, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware. Amtrak canceled all trains in and out of Chicago on Wednesday. At the Morning Joy Farm in Mercer, North Dakota, Annie Carlson said her horses and sheep were doing fine. "They can go into the barn if they wish," she said. "They're snuggled in, warm and toasty." Her chickens, ducks and guinea hens were enjoying the 21 Celsius climate inside their greenhouse-like hoop house, she said. Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist with the NWS, said some of the coldest wind chills were recorded in International Falls, Minnesota, at minus 48 Celsius. Even the South Pole in Antarctica was warmer, with an expected low of minus 31 Celsius with wind chill. Out in the cold: goggles weather for Minneapolis residents Jen and Aaron Brackman Credit: STEPHEN MATUREN/AFP/Getty Images Temperatures in Chicago will drop again "quite precipitously" on Wednesday night, Orrison said, potentially breaking the record low of minus 33 Celsius on January 21, 1985, the day of Ronald Reagan's second presidential inauguration. Banks and stores closed for business. Waste Management Inc , a major trash collection company, said it cancelled pickups in counties across the Midwest on Wednesday and Thursday. The bitter cold was caused by a displacement of the polar vortex, a stream of air that normally spins around the stratosphere over the North Pole, but whose current was disrupted and was now pushing south. Officials opened warming centres across the Midwest, and in Chicago, police stations were open to anyone seeking refuge. Five city buses were also deployed to serve as mobile warming centres for homeless people, while city police handed out hats, jackets and blankets. In Ontario, Canada, steam rises from the frozen Niagara Falls Credit: LARS HAGBERG/AFP/Getty Images The Chicago Police Department said it could encourage people to get out of the cold. "But we will never force someone," police officer Michael Carroll said. US homes and businesses will likely use record amounts of natural gas for heating on Wednesday, according to energy analysts. Some residents just to the north and northwest of the Twin Cities in Minnesota were asked by Xcel Energy to dial down their thermostats 16C because of the strains on its natural gas supply system. The Michigan Agency for Energy said the state's utility companies had agreed not to shut off gas or electric supplies to delinquent customers for the rest of the week.
|
| Teased 2020 Toyota Tacoma debuting at Chicago Auto Show Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:53 AM PST  Toyota revealed that the 2020 Tacoma is "tacom-ing" to Chicago next week but gave out little more information about the upcoming truck apart for a picture of a shadowy top half. On Tuesday, Toyota shared a teaser image of the 2020 Tacoma showing only the top part of the truck as seen from the front at dusk. From what is barely pictured in the image, we can see that not much has changed in terms of exterior design -- at least, for the top half -- which makes sense considering that this 2020 update will likely just be a midcycle refresh.
|
| Denmark is building a 'wall' on its German border. To stop pigs Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:39 PM PST  Crews began working in Padborg, and the roughly 5-foot-tall fence is scheduled to be completed in the fall this year, the Danish government said.
|
| Boeing bullish on 2019 despite US-China tensions Posted: 30 Jan 2019 10:28 AM PST  Boeing reported a strong fourth quarter on Wednesday and offered a bullish 2019 outlook as executives expressed measured confidence in the prospects for a US-China trade agreement. Shares rallied on the report and 2019 forecast, which anticipates much higher than expected 2019 profits as the company ramps up commercial aircraft deliveries. "Across the enterprise, our team delivered strong core operating performance and customer focus, driving record revenues, earnings and cash flow and further extending our global aerospace industry leadership in 2018," said Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg.
|
| Trump orders ‘several thousand’ more troops to US-Mexico border, costing taxpayers over $600m Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:25 AM PST  Donald Trump's White House administration has ordered "several thousand" more troops to the US-Mexico border, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. Acting Defense Department Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the latest dispatch of troops to the southern border would occur "soon" following a new request from the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, reports indicate the president's demands for an increased US military presence along the border are expected to cost American taxpayers over $600m (£458m).
|
| NASA offers best look yet at surface of space rock Bennu Posted: 29 Jan 2019 08:07 PM PST  NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe has already had quite an eventful year. After initially arriving at the space rock known as Bennu in early December, the spacecraft ended 2018 by successfully entering orbit around the object, making Bennu the smallest body ever orbited by a man made spacecraft. Now, as NASA prepares for what will be a months-long investigation of the asteroid, the OSIRIS-REx team has revealed the most stunning images of the rock so far. Captured from orbit by the probe's NavCam imaging tools, the photos give us an even better look at the debris-littered surface of Bennu. The pair of photos NASA released are incredibly detailed and sharp, showing off the rocky surface of Bennu covered in debris of varying sizes. OSIRIS-REx, which will eventually have to pick a spot on which to snag a sample of asteroid material, will have its work cut out for it as it does its best to avoid the many jagged rocks we see here. "These two OpNav images of Bennu's southern hemisphere, which each have an exposure time of about 1.4 milliseconds, were captured Jan. 17 from a distance of about one mile," NASA writes. "They have been cropped and the contrast has been adjusted to better reveal surface features." To give you a better sense of the size of the asteroid and the smaller objects on its surface, NASA says that the large boulder seen in the second image posted above is roughly 165 feet wide. OSIRIS-REx will spend roughly the next year studying the asteroid's surface and taking various readings which it will relay back to Earth. Eventually, the spacecraft will performed a delicate sample gathering maneuver and then fly back to Earth to deliver material to eager scientists.
|
| Man arrested for killing 3 also accused of stealing $210K Posted: 29 Jan 2019 10:34 AM PST  SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man killed his parents and brother after he was kicked out of his home and accused of stealing $210,000 from his family to send to a woman he had met on a porn website, according to a sheriff's office.
|
| Should NYC Ride-Share Drivers Get a $17 Hourly Minimum? Lyft and Juno Say No Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:45 PM PST ![Should NYC Ride-Share Drivers Get a $17 Hourly Minimum? Lyft and Juno Say No]( "Should NYC Ride-Share Drivers Get a $17 Hourly Minimum? Lyft and Juno Say No") The rule, passed by New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission in December, requires that drivers for market leader Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft, Juno and Via earn at least $17.22 an hour. It's part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's effort to cap the growth of app-based, ride-for-hire platforms and reduce traffic congestion.
|
| 'Serious consequences,' U.S. warns, after Venezuela moves on Guaido Posted: 29 Jan 2019 03:43 PM PST  The sweeping U.S. sanctions on oil firm PDVSA, announced on Monday, means the state-run company may not be able to fulfill contracts with North American buyers, the government of President Nicolas Maduro said. Aimed at driving Maduro from power, the sanctions were the strongest measures yet against the 56-year-old former union leader, who has overseen economic collapse and an exodus of millions of Venezuelans in recent years. The measures triggered higher global oil prices, angry responses from China and Russia and the first serious moves against Guaido since he challenged Maduro's claim on the presidency last week.
|
