| Trump changes his mind on Electoral College, now wants to keep it Posted: 20 Mar 2019 06:50 AM PDT  In a not-totally-unexpected reversal of policy, President Trump, who before being elected president called the Electoral College "a disaster for democracy," now says it's "far better for the U.S.A."
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| The Latest: New Zealanders to observe Muslim call to prayer Posted: 21 Mar 2019 02:34 PM PDT  CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The Latest on the mosque attacks in New Zealand (all times local):
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| Venezuela doctors under regime pressure during UN visit Posted: 19 Mar 2019 11:46 PM PDT  Venezuelan doctors have come under pressure from President Nicolas Maduro's government for trying to alert a visiting UN mission about the severe lack of hospital medicine and equipment, NGOs say. Venezuelan authorities say that US sanctions freezing $30 billion in assets have blocked imports of basic items including medicine. "They forcibly booted out the head of a medical school in Maracay (west of Caracas) and since then we haven't heard from her," said Jaime Lorenzo, executive director of one association called Medicos Unidos (Doctors United).
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| Justice Clarence Thomas breaks three-year silence in Mississippi case about racial bias in jury selection Posted: 20 Mar 2019 04:04 PM PDT  The Supreme Court's senior justice, who seldom speaks during oral argument, broke a three-year silence to ask questions in a race discrimination case.
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| Some Pickups Lag in Passenger Crash Protection Posted: 20 Mar 2019 09:01 PM PDT  Crash Tests Show Some Pickup Trucks Lag in Passenger Protection Most pickup trucks fall short when it comes to protecting passengers in certain types of crashes, according to new findings from t...
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| The Pentagon's Watchdog Is Investigating Whether the Acting Defense Secretary Boosted Boeing Posted: 20 Mar 2019 11:22 AM PDT  The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General has launched an investigation into Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan.
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| Samantha Bee skewers Democratic 2020 hopefuls on late-night talk show Posted: 21 Mar 2019 07:53 AM PDT  Late-night TV host Samantha Bee ripped into the growing field of Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls Wednesday night. The 'Full Frontal' host commented on everything from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's campaign slogan, to former Vice President Joe Biden not making a decision on his third potential presidential run. The TBS star also went after former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke, Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
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| Trump Pours Gas on GM's Already Smoldering Relations With UAW Posted: 20 Mar 2019 03:00 AM PDT  In a series of tweets starting Saturday, Trump attacked both General Motors Co. and the UAW over the closing of a Chevrolet Cruze factory in Lordstown, Ohio. GM and the UAW each pushed back, but the two have otherwise been very much at odds entering bargaining over a new four-year labor contract.
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| US woman sues Harvard over 'slave ancestor' pictures Posted: 20 Mar 2019 06:49 PM PDT  A US woman who says she is descended from slaves who were photographed in 1850 by a racist Harvard University professor on Wednesday sued the university over the "exploitation" of the images of her ancestors. Tamara Lanier filed suit in the northeastern state of Massachusetts over the photographs taken in South Carolina of a slave and his daughter, known only by their first names: Renty -- the patriarch of her family -- and Delia. The images, thought to be the earliest known photographs of American slaves, are currently in a museum at the university near Boston.
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| Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido says senior aide was kidnapped by intelligence agents Posted: 21 Mar 2019 09:05 AM PDT  The Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido has said intelligence agents arrested his chief of staff after a pre-dawn raid, signalling that president Nicolas Maduro may be cracking down on the opposition's challenge to his rule. Mr Guaido invoked the constitution in January to assume the interim presidency after declaring Maduro's 2018 re-election a fraud, and has been recognised by dozens of Western nations as the country's legitimate leader. Mr Maduro, who has overseen a dramatic collapse of the country's economy, has called Mr Guaido a puppet of the United States and said he should "face justice", but has not explicitly ordered his arrest.
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| The Latest: Forecasters: 'historic' flooding could hit South Posted: 21 Mar 2019 08:33 AM PDT  The Latest on the upcoming flood threat in the South (all times local):
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| What we know about Olivia Jade, Lori Loughlin's daughter caught up in admissions scandal Posted: 19 Mar 2019 07:34 PM PDT  Lori Loughlin's USC student daughter, Olivia Jade Giannulli, has been swept up in the college admission scandal. Here's what you need to know.
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| Robert Kraft's plea deal offer for prostitution charges hinders real progress on sex trafficking Posted: 21 Mar 2019 05:05 AM PDT  Those who buy sex have more power and privilege than those who sell it. There's a disgusting imbalance in every commercial sex interaction.
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| Crashed Boeing jets lacked two safety features that would have cost extra Posted: 21 Mar 2019 01:53 PM PDT  Two Boeing jets that crashed in Ethiopia and Indonesia each lacked a pair of cockpit safety features that the plane manufacturer charged extra for. The systems might have helped the pilots as they struggled to control their planes, aviation experts said. Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in October killing 189 people, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 went down on March 10, shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, with the loss of 157 lives. Both Boeing 737 Max aircraft were new but did not have an angle of attack indicator, which shows how much the nose is tilted. They also did not have an angle of attack disagree light, which is triggered if other sensors are giving conflicting information, the New York Times reported. Such safety features were not required on new planes by the US Federal Aviation Administration, and Boeing charged a fee to have them put in if an airline requested them. Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines had opted not to. Boeing has now announced the angle of attack disagree light will be free on new 737 Max planes. Ethiopia Airlines crash Bjorn Fehrm, an aviation analyst, told the New York Times: "They're critical and cost almost nothing for the airlines to install. Boeing charges for them because it can. But they're vital for safety." The various extra customised features offered by plane manufacturers can be expensive, with airlines paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for them. Many low-cost airlines opt not to do so if regulators have not made them mandatory. Airlines with Boeing 737 Max 8s in their fleet The US Justice Department has reportedly issued a number of subpoenas as part of an investigation, which is in its early stages, looking at Boeing's safety procedures. In a statement Ethiopian Airlines said its pilots went through all the extra training required by Boeing and the FAA to fly the 737 Max. As investigators look into the crashes attention has turned to a new software in the planes that can push the nose down in some circumstances, for example when the sensors suggest the plane may be stalling. The FAA has said satellite-based tracking data showed the movements of both flights were similar before they crashed. It has emerged that the Lion Air pilots frantically scrambled through a handbook to understand why the jet was lurching downwards.
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| Biden building 2020 White House campaign ahead of expected bid: sources Posted: 20 Mar 2019 12:38 PM PDT  Biden has told supporters and former staff that he will run, according to one source who has knowledge of discussions. Biden and his aides also have reached out to donors and potential bundlers - people who volunteer to raise money on behalf of the candidate - to assess support, according to another source. A third source with direct knowledge of Biden's plans offered a caveat, saying the former vice president was very close to running, but "it's not 100 percent." "We're leaning into that moment" when Biden gives the green light, the source said.
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| Don’t leave home without this tiny Apple Watch travel charger, currently down to its lowest price Posted: 20 Mar 2019 09:25 AM PDT ![Don't leave home without this tiny Apple Watch travel charger, currently down to its lowest price]( "Don't leave home without this tiny Apple Watch travel charger, currently down to its lowest price") You would never travel without your Apple Watch, of course, but wouldn't you love it if you could travel without the Apple Watch's mile-long charging cable? Clip the 5% coupon on the Amazon page and use the exclusive coupon code BGRSAVING15 when you check out, and you'll get the UGREEN Apple Watch Travel Charger for an all-time low of just $32.79. This essential accessory is tiny enough to fit on a keychain and it has an MFi certified wireless charging disc just like the charger that came with your Apple Watch. Definitely pick one up before these sales end.Here's some additional information from the product page: * Apple MFi Certified: Built-in MFI certified (PPID: 219693-0102) magnetic wireless charging module, combine MagSafe technology with inductive charging; Compatible for all 44mm 42mm 40mm 38mm Apple Watch Series 4 3 2 1, Apple Watch Sport, Apple Watch Nike plus, Apple Watch Hermes, Apple Watch Edition; * Cable-free Charging: No extra charging cables are needed---saves you from the hassles of tangling cables! Simply plug it into a wall charger/power bank or any other USB charging devices and charging is on the go! * Original Charging Speed: Offers a fast original charging speed for your Apple watch series 4 3 2 1; This apple watch charger cable only takes 2h to fully charge your Apple watch; * Portable and Compact: Lightweight and portable apple watch charger is a perfect accessory for your apple watch. With lanyard design, you can hang it on your bag or put it in your pocket. * Multiple Protections: Built-in over current, over voltage, short circuit and over temperature protection, offers you a safe environment for both watch and the charger.
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| Ocasio-Cortez fires back at Fox News for 'Latina thing' segment Posted: 21 Mar 2019 07:04 AM PDT  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to Laura Igraham after the Fox News host and a guest mocked the freshman Democratic from New York for the way in which she pronounces her name.
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| New Zealand Bans Assault Rifles in Wake of Deadly Attacks Posted: 20 Mar 2019 09:43 PM PDT  The ban takes immediate effect to prevent stockpiling of firearms while the legislation is being drafted, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters on Thursday. Further changes in gun laws to tighten licensing and increase controls over ammunition will be made in coming months. "I strongly believe that the vast majority of legitimate gun owners in New Zealand will understand that these moves are in the national interest, and will take these changes in their stride," she said.
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| Citigroup to sell Venezuelan gold in setback to President Maduro: sources Posted: 20 Mar 2019 05:37 PM PDT  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.
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| Aspirin is out. Here's how healthy older adults can prevent heart attacks, strokes without pills Posted: 19 Mar 2019 06:07 PM PDT  The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association say these diet and lifestyle changes can keep hearts healthy.
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| Records show special counsel zeroed in on Cohen early on Posted: 19 Mar 2019 07:47 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of pages of court records made public Tuesday revealed that special counsel Robert Mueller quickly zeroed in on Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney and fixer, in the early stages of his Russia probe.
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| FBI joins criminal probe into Boeing 737 Max 8 safety certification in wake of crashes Posted: 20 Mar 2019 04:28 PM PDT  The FBI has joined the widening criminal probe into how Boeing's 737 Max 8 jets were deemed as safe in the months before two of them crashed in Indonesia and Ethiopia,
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| The Supreme Court Ruled That Immigrants With a Criminal Past Can Be Detained Years After Serving Time Posted: 20 Mar 2019 01:28 AM PDT  The 5-4 ruling gives the federal government the power to detain immigrants with a criminal past years after they finish serving time
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| Loesch: CNN's gun control townhall was an embarrassing display of bias Posted: 20 Mar 2019 06:00 PM PDT  CNN townhall on gun control wins award; radio host Dana Loesch on the hostility she faced during the townhall.
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| Missouri River towns face deluge as floods move downstream Posted: 20 Mar 2019 05:36 PM PDT ![Missouri River towns face deluge as floods move downstream]( "Missouri River towns face deluge as floods move downstream") A string of small Missouri towns prepared for the next deluge along the raging Missouri River on Wednesday after flooding wreaked nearly $1.5 billion in damage in Nebraska, killing at least four people and leaving another man missing. High water unleashed by last week's late-winter storm and melting snow has already inundated a large swath of Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa along the Missouri River, North America's longest river. The Missouri River's next major flood crest was forecast to hit St. Joseph, Missouri, at 6 a.m. on Friday and Kansas City, Missouri, 55 miles (88 km) to the south, about 24 hours later, said Mike Glasch of the Omaha District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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| 'Generation Nazarbayev' jokes, hopes after Kazakh leader resigns Posted: 20 Mar 2019 04:04 AM PDT  People under 30 in Kazakhstan have only known one leader -- Nursultan Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation this week after shepherding the country from the Soviet era. "The word 'Nazarbayev' means something like the word 'parent'," said 18-year-old film student Madi Makanov, who lives in the country's largest city Almaty. Kazakhstan has a young population, with around 40 percent of people under 24, according to estimates based on UN figures.
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| Australian fury as Erdogan invokes Gallipoli after Christchurch massacre Posted: 20 Mar 2019 02:36 AM PDT  Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, has sparked a diplomatic confrontation with Australia and New Zealand over the Christchurch massacre by threatening that anti-Muslim Westerners would be sent home "in coffins" like those killed the Battle of Gallipoli. The Turkish leader has made the killings in New Zealand a centre-piece of his political campaign ahead of local elections at the end of the month and has been playing footage of the mass killing before crowds at his rallies. In a speech near the site where thousands of New Zealander and Australian troops were buried after the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli, Mr Erdogan said the Christchurch shooter and the First World War soldiers were both motivated by anti-Islamic sentiments. "Your grandfathers came and saw that we're here. Then some of them walked back, while others left in coffins," Mr Erdogan said. "If you come with the same intention, we'll be waiting for you." His comments were met with fury in Australia, where Scott Morrison, the prime minister, summoned Turkey's ambassador and demanded that Mr Erdogan retract his remarks. "Remarks have been made by the Turkish President Erdogan that I consider highly offensive to Australians, and highly reckless in this very sensitive environment," Mr Morrison said. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would consider 'all options' in reviewing ties Credit: Getty "I will wait to see what the response is from the Turkish government before taking further action, but I can tell you that all options are on the table." Mr Morrison said Australia was reviewing its travel advice for Turkey. Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders are expected in Turkey on April 25 to commemorate Anzac Day, marking the first landings in Gallipoli. Around 8,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders were killed during the disastrous year-long campaign against Ottoman forces, which was overseen by Winston Churchill. Around 130,000 were killed in total on both sides. Mr Morrison said Mr Erdogan's comments violated a pledge made by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, who reportedly said "after having lost their lives on this land [the fallen soldiers] have become our sons as well." New Zealand mosque massacre - In pictures Mr Erdogan had already been sharply rebuked by New Zealand for his comments and for using gruesome video shot by the Christchurch mosque gunman as an election campaign prop. New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters protested on Monday that such politicisation of the massacre "imperils the future and safety of the New Zealand people and our people abroad, and it's totally unfair". Mr Peters announced on Tuesday that he would be travelling to Turkey this week at Istanbul's request to attend a special meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. "Our deputy prime minister will be confronting those comments in Turkey," Ms Ardern told reporters in Christchurch. "He is going there to set the record straight, face-to-face." Turkey's Vice-President Fuat Oktay (R) and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (C) speak to the media after visiting Al Noor mosque in Christchurch Credit: Getty Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand, said she was dispatching her deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, to Turkey to confront Mr Erdogan's comments about the massacre which left 50 people dead at the hands of a white supremacist gunman. "Our deputy prime minister will be confronting those comments in Turkey," Ms Ardern said in Christchurch. "He is going there to set the record straight, face-to-face." Mr Erdogan earlier threatened that if "If New Zealand fails to hold the attacker accountable, one way or another we will hold him to account." However, in a comment piece in the Washington Post, Mr Erdogan praised Ms Ardern for showing "courage, leadership and sincerity". He called on all Western leaders to follow her example and "embrace Muslims living in their respective countries". He also said there was no difference between the hateful ideology of Brenton Tarrant, the mosque gunman, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). Mr Erdogan has made a habit of provoking fights with foreign governments ahead of elections as a way of whipping up his base of nationalist voters. Ahead of a referendum to change Turkey's constitution in 2017, Mr Erdogan accused Dutch and German ministers of being Nazis. He expelled Israel's ambassador from Ankara a month before the 2018 presidential elections. Mr Erdogan often presents himself as a global champion of Muslims facing repression, from the occupied Palestinian territories to western China, where up to 1 million Uighur Muslims are believed to be detained by the Chinese government. Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter.
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| T-Mobile unveils home broadband service that could expand after Sprint merger Posted: 21 Mar 2019 03:04 PM PDT  T-Mobile on Thursday unveiled a limited home internet service that it plans to pilot for 50,000 mobile customers at $50 a month, with the company promising it could build on that, and eventually offer a lot more once its $26.5 billion merger with Sprint finally goes through.For now, the new invitation-only service will focus on areas where the carrier can deliver high-speed internet access to connect up to 50,000 homes in rural and underserved parts of the country. Once it merges with Sprint, however, T-Mobile says it should be able to cover more than half of the US with broadband service by 2024.This seems to be one attempt by T-Mobile to push back against critics of the proposed merger who worry it will leave customers with less choice and the potential for prices to rise. "We're walking the walk and laying the foundation for a world where we can take the fight to Big Cable on behalf of consumers and offer real choice, competition and savings to Americans nationwide," T-Mobile CEO John Legere about the home broadband pilot.The service will be offered only in areas where T-Mobile expects to deliver speeds of around 50 Mbps through fixed unlimited wireless service over LTE, with no data caps. The carrier points to one economist's estimate that showed while customers today pay around $80 a month for wired in-home broadband service, "the new T-Mobile will save customers up to $13.65 billion a year on home broadband by 2024".As context for why it decided to pursue the new service, T-Mobile went on to note in its announcement that almost half of Americans today have no competitive choice for high-speed in-home broadband. "The New T-Mobile," the company declares, "will be armed with spectrum and network assets that will build the highest capacity wireless network in US history, covering millions with 5G, not just a few people in a few blocks of a few cities like the other guys."If you're eligible to participate in the home broadband pilot, T-Mobile plans to start sending out invitations by email and regular mail this week.We mentioned T-Mobile's pending merger with Sprint, and it's also worth pointing out, as a reminder, that it's still under review by federal regulators. T-Mobile has said it feels optimistic everything will be approved in the first half of this year.
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| Delta declared America's best airline: The Points Guy Posted: 20 Mar 2019 02:16 AM PDT  Delta Air Lines tops a new list of the best -- and worst -- airlines in America for its impressive on-time performance and network of lounges.
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| Correction: Mob Shooting story Posted: 20 Mar 2019 01:01 PM PDT  NEW YORK (AP) — In a story March 16 about an arrest in the killing of a reputed Gambino crime boss, The Associated Press erroneously reported where the victim was born. Francesco Cali was born in New York City, not in Sicily.
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| Trump visits tank factory and renews attack on war hero McCain Posted: 20 Mar 2019 01:35 PM PDT  The president complains that he was never thanked for giving McCain the "kind of funeral he wanted."
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| Kentucky Governor Signs Law Prohibiting Abortions Based on Unborn’s Sex, Race, or Disabilities Posted: 20 Mar 2019 12:06 PM PDT  Kentucky governor Matt Bevin on Tuesday signed a bill that bans abortions chosen on the basis of an unborn child's sex, race, or disability.A court filing in the U.S. District Court in Louisville indicated that the governor has signed the bill, which included an "emergency clause" stipulating that it would go into effect immediately.Physicians must now certify in writing that the patient did not request the abortion for a reason related to the baby's sex, race, or disabilities. Flouting the new law puts doctors at risk of losing their medical license or being prosecuted for a felony, although the mother of the unborn child would not be targeted.The American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the bill in federal court as an unconstitutional restriction on a woman's right to abortion."Instituting laws that instantly affect critical patient care should not be a cat-and-mouse game," the group said, asking that it be notified when the bill is signed.Another new law that bans abortions after about six weeks or when a heartbeat can be detected forced Kentucky's sole abortion clinic, EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville, to cancel some appointments on Friday until a federal judge intervened."EMW and its abortionists have responded with a novel claim: Women have a constitutional right to undergo race-based abortions, gender-based abortions, and disability-based abortions. In plaintiffs' view, somewhere in the Fourteenth Amendment's penumbra lies a protection for eugenics," the governor's lawyer M. Stephen Pitt wrote in defending the ban on eugenics-based abortions. "This is a perverse distortion of Roe v. Wade."
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| Pilots searched for right checklist before Lion Air crash: investigators Posted: 21 Mar 2019 04:05 AM PDT  The details revealed at a press conference corroborated a Reuters report on Wednesday that was based on three sources with knowledge of the cockpit voice recorder's contents. Investigators said they have 90 percent of the data needed for a final report on the October crash that killed 189 people. Nurcahyo Utomo, an investigator at Indonesia's national transportation committee (KNKT) said the recording showed there was "panic" in the cockpit in the last 20 seconds of the flight.
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| Earth Studies Posted: 20 Mar 2019 05:00 AM PDT |
| Chief of staff to Venezuela's Guaido arrested Posted: 20 Mar 2019 05:07 PM PDT  Venezuelan intelligence officers Thursday arrested the chief of staff of Juan Guaido, the opposition leader recognized by the US and other countries as interim leader, Guaido and the opposition-ruled congress said on Twitter. Roberto Marrero was grabbed by SEBIN officers when they staged a pre-dawn raid on his Caracas home, according to Guaido and a recorded voice message by Marrero published on social media. The United States has repeatedly warned Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government against arresting Guaido or his aides, and Washington's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo quickly called for Marrero's release.
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| It's not just you: 4 in 5 Americans stressed out from poor office communication Posted: 20 Mar 2019 11:01 AM PDT ![It's not just you: 4 in 5 Americans stressed out from poor office communication]( "It's not just you: 4 in 5 Americans stressed out from poor office communication") Poor company communication has not only led employees to feel more stressed, but also to resent their bosses.
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| USC Just Named a New President. Here's What She Said About the Admissions Scandal Posted: 20 Mar 2019 07:03 PM PDT  "I am not afraid about taking on challenges," Carol Folt said.
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| New Zealand bans all assault weapons after mosque shootings, prime minister says Posted: 20 Mar 2019 08:52 PM PDT  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.
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| Republican senator Johnny Isakson says Trump will get a major ‘whipping’ after McCain attacks: ‘The country deserves better’ Posted: 20 Mar 2019 08:45 AM PDT  The Republican chairman of the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee was slated to deliver a major rebuke of Donald Trump after his repeated attacks against the late war hero and former Senator John McCain. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican who heads the veterans committee in the US Senate, told journalist AB Stoddard he would deliver a "whipping" towards Mr Trump after he attacked Mr McCain in a series of misleading tweets over the weekend. Mr Isakson, who has previously described Mr Trump's attacks against Mr McCain as "unthinkable," told the journalist he wanted to "elevate John" with a speech scheduled on Wednesday.
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| UK's May urges lawmakers to back her Brexit deal now Posted: 20 Mar 2019 01:54 PM PDT  Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday she deeply regretted her decision to seek a Brexit extension from the European Union and she urged lawmakers, who have twice previously rejected her plan, to back her now. "I passionately hope that (lawmakers) will find a way to back the deal I have negotiated with the EU, a deal that delivers on the referendum and is the very best deal negotiable, and I will continue to work night and day to secure the support" for the deal. Earlier on Wednesday, May asked the EU to allow Britain to delay its departure date by three months to June 30, and EU leaders are expected to discuss the matter at a summit on Thursday.
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| Australia says tensions with Turkey ease after WWI remarks Posted: 20 Mar 2019 08:22 PM PDT  SYDNEY (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday tensions between his country and Turkey had eased after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said comments by the Turkish leader that sparked the row had been taken out of context.
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| Google slapped with massive $1.7 billion antitrust fine – its third in three years Posted: 20 Mar 2019 05:17 AM PDT  Reports a few days ago said that Google would receive a new massive fine in Europe, and the EU on Wednesday delivered its latest ruling against the tech giant. This time around we're looking at a €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) antitrust fine as a result of illegal practices in Google's AdSense business.The EU says that Google abused its dominant position again, this time concerning its AdSense business. The company did it for more than a decade, the European Commission explained, preventing AdSense customers from inking advertising deals with rivals. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager had this to say alongside the judgement:> Today the Commission has fined Google €1.49 billion for illegal misuse of its dominant position in the market for the brokering of online search adverts. Google has cemented its dominance in online search adverts and shielded itself from competitive pressure by imposing anti-competitive contractual restrictions on third-party websites. This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. The misconduct lasted over 10 years and denied other companies the possibility to compete on the merits and to innovate - and consumers the benefits of competition.Google was slapped with a €4.3 billion ($4.88 billion) antitrust fine last year related to Android, and a €2.4 billion ($2.73 billion) fine the year before for its search business. In total, Google is looking at fines totalling €8.2 billion ($9.31 billion) from the EU in just the last three years. The company has appealed the previous two rulings, and it's likely to do it again with this new fine.What's interesting is that Google earlier this week announced a massive change for Android in Europe that's meant to appease an earlier ruling by the Commission. Users will soon see prompts that will allow them to select the default Internet browser and search engine on their Android devices. That doesn't mean the previous fine relating to Google's Android platform will go away, of course.The EU's full ruling on the AdSense antitrust case is available at this link.
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| Key witness in Israel corruption case arrested after reneging on deal Posted: 20 Mar 2019 11:41 AM PDT  A key witness in a high-profile corruption case implicating allies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been arrested after backing out of a deal to testify for the state, police said Wednesday. Michael Ganor was arrested on Tuesday after informing police of his intention to "change the version he gave during the investigation" into corruption suspicions around the purchase of submarines from Germany's ThyssenKrupp for Israel's navy, police said. Police said in November there was evidence to press charges against a number of suspects, including Netanyahu's cousin and lawyer David Shimron.
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| Seats aboard JetBlue now feature most legroom of any US airline Posted: 21 Mar 2019 07:54 AM PDT  Long-legged flyers may be interested to learn that JetBlue's newest cabin redesign now features the most legroom of any US airline for economy-class cabins.
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| 'Change Is Closer Than We Think.' Inside Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Unlikely Rise Posted: 21 Mar 2019 02:55 AM PDT  Every 10 minutes or so, someone knocks on the big wooden door of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's office on Capitol Hill. The noise makes staffers stiffen. It's…
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