| Change of Venezuelan government favors creditors China, Russia: Guaido Posted: 31 Jan 2019 02:39 PM PST  Guaido said he had sent communications to both allies of President Nicolas Maduro, who accuses Guaido of staging a coup against his socialist administration. The United States and a number of other countries now recognize Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate head of state. "What most suits Russia and China is the country's stability and a change of government," he said.
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| Tesla Model X owner caught sleeping on the highway with Autopilot turned on Posted: 30 Jan 2019 04:06 PM PST ![Tesla Model X owner caught sleeping on the highway with Autopilot turned on]( "Tesla Model X owner caught sleeping on the highway with Autopilot turned on") A wild, if not disturbing, video that originally surfaced on Jalopnik shows a Tesla Model X owner taking a full-on snooze while his car drives down the highway. Tesla's Autopilot feature is of course activated but it's clearly not designed to let people fall asleep at the wheel. If anything, the Tesla driver in the video is so relaxed that he's not even at the wheel; he's full-on reclining. The Model X in question was reportedly on a highway headed to Las Vegas and thankfully didn't get into any type of serious crash. Indeed, there have been cases where Tesla vehicles on Autopilot get into serious crashes even with a fully alert and attentive driver. Tesla, to its credit, began implementing safety measures around its Autopilot feature in response to Tesla owners abusing the feature in downright dangerous ways. In one widely circulated video that has since been removed from YouTube, a Model S owner a few years ago turned on Autopilot and actually went into the backseat while the Tesla handled all the driving. The slo-mo video of the sleeping Tesla driver can be seen below. While there's no denying that Tesla's Autopilot feature works well when used correctly -- and has even been known to help save lives -- some folks believe that the Autopilot name itself is misleading and can cause drivers to rely on the feature too heavily. A few months ago, for example, a consumer watchdog group penned a letter to the FTC arguing that the Autopilot name should be changed. The letter reads in part: > The marketing and advertising practices of Tesla, combined with Elon Musk's public statements, have made it reasonable for Tesla owners to believe, and act on that belief, that a Tesla with Autopilot is an autonomous vehicle capable of "self-driving > > ... > > Tesla is the only automaker to market its Level 2 vehicles as "self-driving", and the name of its driver assistance suite of features, Autopilot, connotes full autonomy. In addition to these formal marketing and advertising ploys, Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, frequently misleads and deceives consumers about Autopilot's safety and capabilities. There's no indication, however, that Tesla will tweak the Autopilot name in the slightest. At the time of the aforementioned letter, a Tesla spokesperson said that Tesla owners have a "very clear understanding of what Autopilot is, how to properly use it, and what features it consists of."
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| Kamala Harris could be the big winner as California moves up its 2020 primary Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:05 PM PST  Having already won three statewide elections, Harris will enter the California primary with name recognition.
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| Polar vortex causes another lousy travel day for fliers, over 3,500 flights canceled Posted: 30 Jan 2019 06:33 PM PST  Brrr! The polar vortex caused hordes of flights to be canceled across the country on Wednesday.
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| A Look at the 2019 Kia K900 Posted: 31 Jan 2019 09:14 AM PST |
| Correction: Brazil Dam Collapse-Glance story Posted: 30 Jan 2019 04:02 PM PST  In a story Jan. 29 about mining waste accidents, The Associated Press reported erroneously the location of a 1966 mining accident. It was in Aberfan, Wales, not South Wales, Australia.
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| 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.
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| Goldman Sachs ups 'no-deal' likelihood after UK parliament amendment vote Posted: 29 Jan 2019 10:29 PM PST  Goldman Sachs nudged up its estimated probability of a "no-deal" Brexit on Wednesday after British lawmakers instructed Prime Minister Theresa May to reopen a Brexit treaty with the European Union to replace a controversial Irish border arrangement. Britain's parliament rejected a proposal to give parliament a path to prevent a potentially chaotic "no-deal" exit, but accepted two amendments - one seeking to replace the Irish backstop with alternative arrangements, and another rejecting the notion of a "no-deal" Brexit. Goldman Sachs analysts upped their "no-deal" Brexit probability to 15 percent from 10 percent, and cut their probability of Brexit not happening at all to 35 percent from 40 percent.
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| Jeremy Corbyn Is Worse Than a ‘No-Deal’ Brexit Posted: 30 Jan 2019 03:17 AM PST  On Tuesday night that idea was tested to destruction. A parliamentary proposal from MPs Nick Boles and Yvette Cooper to delay Brexit rather than leave without a deal was comfortably beaten. What this tells us is that the restored unity of May's ruling Conservative party (even if temporary) is being given at least equal weight among traders to the avoidance of a no-deal Brexit — or a messy extension to the process.
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| 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).
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| Mummified skin, hypothermia: What happens to your body in minus 50 degree wind chill? Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:03 PM PST  Dr. Michael DeFrank, emergency medicine physician at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, talked to us about extreme cold.
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| Eliminator Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:40 AM PST  Kamala Harris has a big idea for your health-care plan: elimination. The early contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are working feverishly to out-radical each other. Senator Elizabeth Warren has come out with a confiscatory wealth tax that in practice proved too oppressive for Sweden and Denmark, both of which abolished theirs years ago.
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| 'El Chapo' must not 'escape' again, U.S. prosecutor tells jury Posted: 30 Jan 2019 03:59 PM PST  Accused Mexican drug boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's repeated escapes from the law prove that he "knows he's guilty," a U.S. prosecutor told jurors in closing arguments at his trial on Wednesday, urging them not to let him escape again. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Goldbarg's description of Guzman's history of dramatic prison escapes capped off a day-long summation in federal court in Brooklyn in which she also attacked the defense argument that Guzman was a scapegoat.
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| Arctic air sends temperatures well below zero in midwest US Posted: 30 Jan 2019 11:38 PM PST  A brutal cold wave moved eastward Thursday after bringing temperatures in the US Midwest lower than those in Antarctica, grounding flights, closing schools and businesses and raising fears of hypothermia. Mail deliveries were suspended and people were encouraged to stay home in nearly a dozen US states where the mercury plunged into the negative double digits, the worst freeze to grip the region in a generation. The phenomenon stemming from a blast of Arctic air caused surreal scenes throughout the region, such as steam rising off the waters of Lake Michigan -- the result of extremely cold air passing over warmer water below.
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| The Latest: Pence praises DEA help in convict Maduro allies Posted: 31 Jan 2019 02:38 PM PST  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):
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| Twitter Removed Accounts From Iran, Russia Related to Midterms Posted: 31 Jan 2019 01:23 PM PST  The company said it continues to see activity on the service related to the Russian Internet Research Agency, the troll farm that spread divisive information during the U.S. Presidential Election. It found 418 additional accounts that appeared to originate in Russia and posted 73,398 tweets related to the midterm elections with hashtags like #MAGA and #ReleasetheMemo.
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| 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.
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| JetBlue flight diverted after fumes started coming from cockpit Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:54 AM PST ![JetBlue flight diverted after fumes started coming from cockpit]( "JetBlue flight diverted after fumes started coming from cockpit") A JetBlue flight headed to New York from Florida Wednesday morning had to turn due to fumes, and six people requested a medical check.
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| Missouri school bans substitute after report of racist, threatening comments to black students Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:30 PM PST  A Springfield school official called the alleged comment "disturbing, unacceptable" and "completely at odds with who we are as a district."
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| Ex-Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn Says He's Wrongly Accused of Financial Misconduct Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:39 PM PST  Ghosn proclaims to French reporters that he believes he has done nothing wrong as he remains in jail in Japan.
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| Proof That Doing Good Can Look Good Too Posted: 31 Jan 2019 01:43 PM PST |
| 'I had to get in there' says Houston officer shot for third time in career Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:05 PM PST !['I had to get in there' says Houston officer shot for third time in career]( "'I had to get in there' says Houston officer shot for third time in career") The 54-year-old officer was one of four shot on Monday evening after Dennis Tuttle, 59, opened fire on police after they broke open the door of his home to serve a narcotics warrant, Acevedo told reporters. The first officer to enter the home in southeast Houston was attacked by a large pitbull dog, which he shot to death, Acevedo said. When the wounded officer fell on a sofa, Tuttle's partner, Rhogena Nicholas, 58, tried to pick up the fallen officer's shotgun but was shot by other police entering the home, Acevedo said.
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| US shivers as extreme cold invades, but is this climate change? Posted: 30 Jan 2019 01:17 PM PST  An Arctic-like deep freeze gripping much of the United States with double-digit subzero temperatures is the coldest of its kind in two decades, but is it linked to climate change? Experts say it could be, but whether global warming plays a role in this particular extreme weather phenomenon is still up for debate. - What is a polar vortex?
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| 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."
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| U.S. Debt Sales Hit Records Again, Feeding Deficit Criticism Posted: 30 Jan 2019 12:31 PM PST  The federal budget shortfall is set to swell, driven by tax cuts, spending increases and an aging American population. As a result, the Treasury is raising its long-term debt issuance at its quarterly refunding auctions to $84 billion, the department said Wednesday, $1 billion more than three months ago. Such elevated levels of borrowing will finance the widening deficit, with Wall Street strategists projecting new debt issuance will top $1 trillion for a second straight year.
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| Mother dies after falling down subway stairs carrying 1-year-old daughter Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:20 AM PST  A young mother died after falling down a flight of stairs at a Manhattan
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| 'Empire' star Jussie Smollett's family speaks out: 'This was a racial and homophobic hate crime' Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:57 PM PST  The family of "Empire" star Jussie Smollett, who was attacked in the early hours of Tuesday morning, is speaking out about the incident.
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| Student Launches 'Pass the Skirt' Campaign Following School Dress Code Controversy Posted: 31 Jan 2019 07:12 AM PST  An Arkansas high school student is taking to social media to try and get the dress code changed.
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| 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.
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| 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
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| 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.
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| 2019 Tax Filing Tips for Retirees Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:13 AM PST ![2019 Tax Filing Tips for Retirees]( "2019 Tax Filing Tips for Retirees") The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law in 2017, brings adjustments for 2018 tax returns. "The impact of the TCJA's changes in the tax law could substantially reduce a retiree's income tax liability," says Mike Herzog, a tax attorney with Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott in Pittsburgh. -- The standard deduction has increased.
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| Trump branded 'extraordinarily inappropriate' amid widespread astonishment at president's attack on intelligence chiefs Posted: 31 Jan 2019 02:25 AM PST  Donald Trump's criticism of the US intelligence community as "extremely passive and naïve" has provoked widespread astonishment among lawmakers in Washington. The president was reportedly seething on Wednesday morning as he watched highlights of intelligence chiefs, including director of national intelligence Dan Coats, counter his views on a number of foreign policy issues during testimony on Capitol Hill. Mr Coats had suggested during the Senate intelligence committee briefing on Tuesday that Iran was avoiding steps towards a nuclear bomb, Isis was returning in Iraq and Syria, and North Korea was unlikely to give up its nuclear weapons.
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| 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.
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| APNewsBreak: ICE force-feeding detainees on hunger strike Posted: 31 Jan 2019 11:32 AM PST  Immigrants have gone on hunger strikes over the past month to protest conditions inside detention facilities, prompting officials to force-feed six of them through plastic nasal tubes at a Texas location, The Associated Press has learned.
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| 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.
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| Venezuela opposition leader says family threatened by Maduro agents Posted: 31 Jan 2019 01:19 PM PST  Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido said Thursday elite security forces had entered his home to threaten his family, blaming the government of Nicolas Maduro as international support grew for his bid to oust the embattled president. The move heightened fears for the security of the 35-year-old National Assembly leader, who declared himself acting president last week in a direct challenge to Maduro's authority. The police's special action force, FAES, had visited his home to interview his wife Fabiana Rosales, Guaido told his audience during a speech at Caracas university.
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| The Polar Vortex Is Causing Striking Solar Phenomena Called 'Sundogs.' Here's What to Know Posted: 31 Jan 2019 01:06 PM PST  Sundogs form when sunlight refracts off ice crystals in the atmosphere and result in colored spots of light near the sun.
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| Apple lowers some iPhone prices outside U.S. to offset strong dollar Posted: 29 Jan 2019 06:57 PM PST  The move is an attempt to stem weak sales of the iPhone, particularly in overseas markets such as China, where a 10 percent rise in the U.S. dollar over the past year or so has made Apple's products - which already compete at the top end of the market - much pricier than rivals. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook disclosed the plan on Tuesday after the company reported the first-ever dip in iPhone sales during the key holiday shopping period. The company has only once before cut iPhone prices, shortly after it debuted in 2007.
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| Trump privately met Putin at G20 accompanied only by Melania, report says Posted: 30 Jan 2019 01:47 AM PST  Donald Trump reportedly sat down for a meeting with Vladimir Putin in November accompanied only by his wife Melania. In a revelation likely to trigger fresh concerns about the US president's relationship with Moscow, the Financial Times reported that Mr Trump met the Russian leader during the G20 summit in Buenos Aires without any of his translators or aides present. As other world leaders and guests left the building, Mr Trump and Melania sat down at a table with Mr Putin and one of his translators.
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| Democrats and Republicans Begin Negotiations For Border Security Posted: 31 Jan 2019 09:09 AM PST  Democrats and Republicans Begin Negotiations For Border Security
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| Kids (not just infants!) can now fly for free on Frontier Airlines, but there's a catch Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:37 AM PST ![Kids (not just infants!) can now fly for free on Frontier Airlines, but there's a catch]( "Kids (not just infants!) can now fly for free on Frontier Airlines, but there's a catch") Frontier Airlines is letting kids fly for free as part of their Discount Den program, which costs about $60 a year. Here's what you need to know.
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| Graham asks FBI director for briefing on Roger Stone raid Posted: 30 Jan 2019 05:08 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that he wants a briefing from the FBI on the tactics it used last week when agents arrested President Donald Trump's confidant Roger Stone as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.
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| Firms in Continental Europe Are Dusting Off No-Deal Brexit Plans Posted: 30 Jan 2019 09:00 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- Robert Bosch GmbH, the world's largest auto-parts maker, is stocking up components in the U.K. LVMH, the maker of Moet & Chandon champagne and Hennessy cognac, is building up its inventory there. Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel is expanding its parking lot for trucks in France.
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| Amazon profit jumps while shares slip Posted: 31 Jan 2019 04:51 PM PST  Amazon on Thursday reported its profit in the past quarter surged on strong holiday retail sales and its soaring cloud computing business. The results reflected growth in Amazon's ever-expanding online retail operations as well as its large cloud computing division, known as Amazon Web Services. Shares, however, slid 5.4 percent to $1,625 in after-market trades that followed release of the earnings results.
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| U.S. warns Venezuela's Maduro about intimidation, 'looting' Posted: 31 Jan 2019 03:31 PM PST ![U.S. warns Venezuela's Maduro about intimidation, 'looting']( "U.S. warns Venezuela's Maduro about intimidation, 'looting'") Juan Guaido, Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president, said on Thursday that agents from a feared special police unit had visited his home. "There will be consequences for those engaged in such acts, they will be held accountable and they will be missing this unique opportunity to move on." Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official urged Venezuelan military officials to accept Guaido's offer of amnesty if they backed his claim. Washington also warned Maduro, Russia and other international players against making deals for Venezuelan commodities like gold and oil.
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