| U.S. intelligence on Venezuela 'very good,' acting defense chief says Posted: 03 May 2019 01:04 PM PDT  President Donald Trump's strategy on Venezuela has come under growing scrutiny as President Nicolas Maduro remains in power, raising questions about the way ahead for opposition leader Juan Guaido, who the United States and some 50 countries recognize as the legitimate head of state. U.S. officials, including National Security Adviser John Bolton, had expected broader defections from the Venezuelan military in support of Guaido after he called on the armed forces to help oust Maduro on Tuesday. "I don't feel like we have an intelligence gap.
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| Curacao to quarantine cruise ship for measles case Posted: 03 May 2019 02:03 PM PDT  WILLEMSTAD, Curacao (AP) — Authorities in Curacao announced Friday they will quarantine a ship with 300 people aboard that is heading to the Dutch Caribbean island after they were banned from disembarking in nearby St. Lucia because of a confirmed case of measles.
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| Don't be fooled: Joe Biden is no friend of unions Posted: 02 May 2019 05:22 AM PDT  The former vice-president is dressing up his candidacy in a blue-collar costume. But he's never taken a political risk for workersThe former vice-president Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally at Teamsters Local 249 union hall on Monday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photograph: Jeff Swensen/Getty ImagesIn San Francisco there's a high-end boutique called "Unionmade". There you will find expensive work jackets and overalls, lit by bare bulbs and displayed on unvarnished metal shelves. The aesthetic could not convey its message any more clearly: buy these clothes, and access a bygone era of authenticity and American craftsmanship. But it's a lie – the clothes on offer are largely not union-made. "The unfortunate reality is that there are not many unions left in the garment industry and so the name was cultivated as a signifier of well-made and aesthetically timeless goods," explains a spokesperson.As the industrial working class has faded, its afterimage has become available for appropriation in commerce, in culture and in politics. Such appropriation need not entail commitment to the workers' movement. Everyone from Levi's jeans to Donald Trump has made this move – and now, Joe Biden, the would-be candidate of labor.Biden is the Unionmade of politicians. The former vice-president is taking great care to dress up his new candidacy in a blue-collar costume; as Andrew Epstein puts it, he is an "aesthetic populist". His kickoff rally was on Monday in a union hall in Pittsburgh, where the president of the United Steelworkers of America promised his members would be present "wearing their USW gear".The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), whose president has long been close to Biden, has endorsed him. Bob Casey, the Pennsylvania senator of the old New Deal variety (anti-abortion, pro-labor), chimes in that Biden has an "electric" connection with "old-school union guys".When he was considering running in 2016, CNN observed, "Joe Biden's relationship with America's working men and women is at the core of his political soul." Yet the idea that Biden is some kind of working-class hero has no discernible substance. Like the myth on the right that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an empty-headed idiot, it's pure projection – though one that he's at great pains to encourage.To be sure, Biden is a nominally pro-union liberal. Like any Democrat, he won't cross a picket line. He loves to talk in union halls. He's always saying things like, "There's an old saying – all men are created equal but then a few became firefighters," and "The best place for me to be my whole career is surrounded by organized labor. And I know how to say 'union'."The notional blue-collar appeal of Joe from hard-luck Scranton was widely understood to be one of the main reasons that Barack Obama – famously the effete "wine track" candidate – selected him as a running mate. But where does this appeal come from? Biden's not a scion of wealth, but he grew up in the middle class: his father was a used-car salesman, not a factory worker.At no point in his career has Biden proven willing to take the slightest political risk on behalf of workers. His appearances in union halls occur when he needs something from labor. On the other hand, when Biden went to vacation in the Hamptons during the 2011 Verizon strike, workers in the area sought him out "just to possibly get a show of support, a thumb's-up, a head nod, anything" – to no avail. That same year in Wisconsin, labor leaders specifically asked Biden to come to rally their resistance to the brutal, ultimately successful attack by Scott Walker; Biden declined.In fact, I can find reports of only two instances of Biden appearing on a picket line or otherwise supporting embattled workers at any point in his very long public life: once in Iowa, during his 1987 presidential campaign, and just this month in Boston. Now, his first major presidential fundraiser is being hosted by the founder of one of the country's leading anti-union law firms. The man running to be labor's champion is sponsored by someone who has made millions choking the life out of the labor movement.Nor does Biden have a public policy record favorable to the working class. In 1977-1978, during unions' big push for labor law reform, he vacillated for months and sabotaged the proposal with public criticism. He voted for Nafta and supported the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He authored the punishing 2005 bankruptcy bill, a reward to creditors and punishment to debtors. Worse still, he has been one of the main legislative architects of mass incarceration, a regime that has devastated the heavily policed and punished American working class.But this brings us to the real substance of the problem. Biden would surely not recognize the targets of mass incarceration as members of what he imagines as the "working class". As he put it in a speech to the IAFF in March, "In my neighborhood you grew up either to be a firefighter or a cop, a tradesman or a priest." This stratum is what has often been called the "aristocracy of labor". These occupations and their unions have historically been hostile to women and people of color and de facto segregated. They are more economically comfortable and politically conservative than the rest of the working class, and are notorious for pursuing their own immediate interests over broader working-class solidarity. The building trades, for instance, have played a central role in leading organized labor's opposition to the Green New Deal.When Biden cracked a joke several weeks ago about his habit of touching women without consent, he was speaking to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. While the IBEW today takes a strong public stand for workplace equality, both the union and the industry have deep histories of ignoring sexual harassment and racial discrimination. According to a 2013 study, only one-quarter of women in the building trades believe they are equally respected on the job. This context makes Biden's joking about the accusation of a Latina before that particular crowd seem altogether more insidious. Harassment, after all, is nothing if not a workplace issue. You'd only joke about it to a union crowd if you didn't think women were really workers.But Biden's vision of a better deal for labor is, explicitly, to turn back the clock. "There used to be a basic bargain in this country," he is fond of saying. "All we're trying to do is get it back to where we were."The unions that are considering supporting Biden are the blue-collar ones that were party to what he calls the "basic bargain" of mid-century. The leaders of those organizations were unnerved by how strongly Donald Trump ran among their members, and it is this anxiety that fuels their attraction to Biden, who they hope will do their persuasion work for them.Unions closer to politicians than to their members are unions waiting to die. As labor's fortunes have declined, so has the imaginative scope of many labor leaders. Each year of shrinking membership has driven them to behave more narrowly and defensively, to abandon the initiative.This is all the worse in a moment that invites broad and radical vision. More workers went on strike in 2018 than in any year since 1986. Over 90% of those who did worked in either healthcare or education – sectors that were not included in the mid-century "basic bargain".What's remarkable is that Biden's proletarian minstrel act has worked for this long. When he dropped out of the 1988 presidential race, it was after getting caught plagiarizing a monologue by the British Labour party leader, Neil Kinnock, on his coalminer roots. Biden's spokesperson explained that, while Biden had no immediate relations who were coalminers, the "people that his ancestors grew up with in the Scranton region, and in general the people of that region were coalminers." In fact, Biden did have an ancestor in the coal industry, Patrick F Blewitt, who died in 1911. But he wasn't a miner – he was a boss.
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| UNC Charlotte shooting: Grieving students hear words of encouragement and hope at vigil Posted: 01 May 2019 06:58 PM PDT  Student body President Chandler Crean told the crowd that '"no one is going through this alone," and he urged students to lift each other up.
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| Robert Mueller told us everything we need to know Posted: 03 May 2019 07:56 AM PDT  Special counsel did so despite Justice rules stopping him from formally accusing President Trump of a crime, writes Sarah Longwell of Republicans for the Rule of Law
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| Surge in Anti-Semitic Attacks Has Caused a 'Sense of Emergency' Among Jews Worldwide, New Report Says Posted: 02 May 2019 05:55 AM PDT  Researchers at Tel Aviv University say anti-Semitism is rising around the world, creating a "sense of emergency" among Jews.
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| Putin challenges Washington in Venezuela power play Posted: 03 May 2019 07:22 AM PDT  Russia emerged as a crucial power broker in the crisis in far-away Venezuela this week when Washington accused Moscow of convincing President Nicolas Maduro not to flee to Cuba. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Maduro had a plane on the tarmac ready to fly to Havana when "the Russians indicated that he should stay". Moscow hit back, dismissing the claim as fake and accusing Washington of supporting a coup "that has nothing to do with democracy" by backing opposition leader Juan Guaido.
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| Hamas chief heads to Egypt after Gaza-Israel flare-up Posted: 02 May 2019 09:05 AM PDT  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas' leader in Gaza left for talks with Egyptian officials Thursday after a new outbreak of violence, as the militant group accused Israel of slowing down the implementation of Egyptian-mediated understandings aimed at easing the situation in the Palestinian enclave.
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| Accused gunman in North Carolina college shooting skips court appearance Posted: 02 May 2019 11:57 AM PDT  Trystan Terrell, 22, was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder after police and witnesses say he began firing a handgun in a classroom full of nearly 50 students on UNC Charlotte's campus shortly before 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
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| Scientology cruise ship quarantined in St. Lucia because of confirmed case of measles Posted: 02 May 2019 05:15 PM PDT  A cruise ship has been quarantined at the Caribbean port of St. Lucia because of a confirmed measles case, health officials said Wednesday.
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| Turns Out You Can Fall 70 Feet Into Kīlauea Volcano and Survive Posted: 03 May 2019 10:21 AM PDT  Not that you should follow this man's lead.
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| AJ Freund was forced to take cold shower before death because he lied about soiling underwear: court records Posted: 03 May 2019 12:36 PM PDT  AJ Freund, the 5-year-old Illinois boy found dead last month, was punished before he died, records show. He died of blunt force head trauma.
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| UPDATE 3-Pepsi withdraws Indian potato farmer lawsuits after political pressure Posted: 02 May 2019 06:45 AM PDT ![UPDATE 3-Pepsi withdraws Indian potato farmer lawsuits after political pressure]( "UPDATE 3-Pepsi withdraws Indian potato farmer lawsuits after political pressure") PepsiCo Inc has agreed to withdraw lawsuits against Indian potato farmers it alleged infringed a patent by cultivating a variety grown exclusively for its Lay's potato chips. "After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers," a PepsiCo India spokesman said on Thursday, adding that this applied to all nine. The decision comes at a particularly sensitive time in India, which is about halfway through a 39-day general election in which its rural population still has a dominant voice.
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| The 'Arya Challenge' Is the Best Game of Thrones Phenomenon in the Realm Posted: 02 May 2019 05:49 AM PDT  People are doing their best moves with a carrot, a remote control and keys
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| New details emerge of failed plot to oust Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro Posted: 02 May 2019 03:50 PM PDT  Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro appears to have seen off an attempt to oust him after American claims that key allies were about to defect failed to materialise. John Bolton, the White House national security adviser, went public with the names three senior Venezuelan figures earlier this week after Juan Guaido, the 35-year-old opposition leader, called for a military uprising. Vladimir Padrino, the defence minister, Maikel Moreno, the head of the Supreme Court, and Ivan Rafael Hernandez Dala the head of the presidential guard, were all named as being prepared to turn on the Venezuelan president. Mr Bolton said that the plan involved the Supreme Court saying that Mr Guaido, who has cited the constitution in declaring himself interim president, was the rightful leader, with that in turn giving "cover" for the military to defect. Elliott Abrams, the US envoy for Venezuela, went a step further, saying that a 15-point document had been discussed between Mr Guaido's allies and members of Mr Maduro's inner circle. However on Thursday it appeared that the plot had fallen short, with Mr Padrino appearing alongside Mr Maduro in a high profile show of support and criticising those behind the attempted military uprising. Venezuela | Read more Mr Padrino spoke out against "anti-democratic, fascist, extremist and far-right" figures in the country, saying they had nothing to offer Venezuela and shouting: "Always loyal, never traitors!" A Venezuelan court also issued an arrest warrant for Leopoldo Lopez, the well known opposition politician who had escaped from house arrest to take to the streets in protest. Mr Lopez had appeared by Mr Guaido's side on Tuesday in a video which called for a military uprising to topple Mr Maduro but has since sought refuge in the Spanish embassy. There were signs that some top figures have abandoned Mr Maduro, the embattled socialist president who remains clinging to power despite a slumping economy and nationwide blackouts. Manuel Ricardo Cristopher Figuera, the head of Venezuela's secret police, was sacked earlier this week, a move that senior US officials see as significant. Venezuela's self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido greets supporters during an attempted military uprising in Caracas Credit: AP Photo/Fernando Llano Fresh details of the plot - which Mr Maduro and his allies call a "coup" - have emerged in recent days as Trump administration figures have gone public with their support for Mr Guaido. The US is among more than 50 countries backing his claim to power. Mr Bolton gave a detailed account of the plot to Hugh Hewitt, a radio talkshow host, while insisting that the US was not involved the plans. Mr Bolton said: "Senior officials of the Maduro regime were flatly agreeing that Maduro had to go. "They had documents they were prepared to sign with opposition leader Juan Guaido that would embody their agreement and the steps that would be taken. "The Supreme Court would declare Maduro's constituent assembly illegitimate. That would clarify for everybody, if anybody needed clarification, the legitimacy of the national assembly led by Juan Guaido. "And then that would have allowed the military to cover themselves in a way, Defense Minister Padrino and others, to take action. Now for reasons that are still not clear, that didn't go forward [on Tuesday]." Elliott Abrams, the US envoy for Venezuela, gave more details to the Venezuelan channel, VPITV. He said: "There is a document. The US was not involved in the negotiations, but they tell me it is a long document – there are 15 points I think – it mentions guarantees for the military, a dignified exit for Maduro, Guaido as interim president, the Supreme Court and the high command stay in position, free elections within 12 months." The collapse of the plot leaves the next steps for the Venezuelan opposition clouded in uncertainty as an international row between US and Russia, which backs Mr Maduro, continues to rumble on. Donald Trump, the US president, said on Thursday: "I'd like to begin by sending our prayers to the people of Venezuela in their righteous struggle for freedom. The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end, and it must end soon."
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| 40+ Fresh Summer Vegetable Recipes To Bring To Your Next Cookout Posted: 03 May 2019 12:52 PM PDT |
| Trump urges 'fight with all our strength' against anti-Semitism Posted: 02 May 2019 11:07 AM PDT  US President Donald Trump called Thursday for an all-out fight against anti-Semitism as he hosted a rabbi shot in a deadly weekend gun rampage at a California synagogue. Yisroel Goldstein was among four worshipers hit -- one fatally -- as a gunman burst into a service and opened fire in the town of Poway, near San Diego, on Saturday. "We will fight with all our strength and everything that we have in our bodies to defeat anti-Semitism," Trump told a national prayer service at the White House.
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| Workers allege racism at Harley-Davidson plant in Missouri Posted: 03 May 2019 02:55 PM PDT ![Workers allege racism at Harley-Davidson plant in Missouri]( "Workers allege racism at Harley-Davidson plant in Missouri") KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Minority employees at Harley-Davidson's plant in Kansas City have been subjected to years of harassment and discrimination — including having swastikas and nooses posted in the plant, frequent racial epithets and at least one assault, several employees said at a news conference organized by the NAACP-Kansas City on Friday.
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| Jussie Smollett update: Petition to appoint special prosecutor in 'Empire' actor's case in court Thursday Posted: 02 May 2019 02:57 AM PDT  A hearing Thursday morning is expected to determine if a special prosecutor will be appointed to investigate Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's handling of the Jussie Smollett case, something Foxx does not want.
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| Two Neutron Stars Exploded in Our Cosmic Backyard Billions of Years Ago Posted: 03 May 2019 02:22 PM PDT  And some of the remnants are still inside of us.
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| UPDATE 1-Accused gunman in North Carolina college shooting skips court appearance Posted: 02 May 2019 11:49 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Accused gunman in North Carolina college shooting skips court appearance]( "UPDATE 1-Accused gunman in North Carolina college shooting skips court appearance") A former student at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte waived his right to a court appearance on Thursday, a prosecutor said, after police say the suspect opened fire in a crowded classroom on Tuesday, killing two students and injuring four. Trystan Terrell, 22, was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder after police and witnesses say he began firing a handgun in a classroom full of nearly 50 students on UNC Charlotte's campus shortly before 6 p.m. on Tuesday. The suspect was appointed a public defender and is due to appear in court for a bond hearing on May 15, an assistant district attorney for Mecklenburg County told reporters on Thursday.
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| College admissions scandal: Chinese family 'paid $6.5 million for spot at Stanford University’ Posted: 02 May 2019 03:27 AM PDT  The family of a Chinese student admitted to Stanford University paid $6.5m to the man at the heart of the college admissions scandal, according to reports.Yusi Zhao, also known as Molly, was admitted to Stanford in 2017 after her parents paid Newport Beach college consultant William Singer the seven-figure sum, the Los Angeles Times reported.Neither Ms Zhao nor her parents, who live in Beijing, have been charged, and it is unclear whether they are currently being investigated. Stanford University rescinded Ms Zhao's admission in April, and she is no longer a student there.The person with knowledge of the inquiry said that Ms Zhao's family was introduced to Mr Singer by Michael Wu, a financial adviser at Morgan Stanley based in Pasadena, California. A spokesperson for Morgan Stanley said that Wu had been terminated for not cooperating with an internal investigation into the matter and that the firm was cooperating with the officials. Mr Wu did not respond to a phone call.At a court hearing in March, the lead prosecutor in the admissions case, Eric S Rosen, said that Mr Singer had tried to get Ms Zhao – whom Rosen did not identify by name – recruited to the Stanford sailing team and created a false profile of her supposed sailing achievements.She was ultimately not recruited, but Mr Rosen said that she was admitted to Stanford University partly on the basis of those false credentials. He added that after Ms Zhao's admission, Mr Singer made a $500,000 donation to the Stanford sailing program.Mr Singer has pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges, for masterminding a scheme that prosecutors say included both cheating on college entrance exams and bribing coaches to recruit students who were not actually competitive athletes.The former Stanford sailing coach, John Vandemoer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering.According to Mr Rosen's comments in his plea hearing in March, Mr Vandemoer did not help Zhao's application "in any material way", but accepted other donations from Singer to his programme in exchange for agreeing to reserve recruiting spots for Mr Singer's clients.Mr Vandemoer's lawyer, Robert Fisher, declined to comment.Ms Zhao appears to have participated in a recent conference hosted by the Princeton-US China Coalition. Her biography on the group's website said she was planning to major in psychology and East Asian Studies and was interested in education policy in China. It added that she hoped to be involved in the Chinese government in the future.Ms Zhao worked during a recent summer in a biology and chemistry research lab at Harvard, under the direction of Daniel G Nocera, a professor of energy at the university. Mr Nocera said in an email that Ms Zhao was unpaid and worked for Stanford University credit.At the Stanford campus, several students seemed unfazed by the news that one of their colleagues had paid millions to be there. Tamara Morris, a 20-year-old junior studying political science and African American studies, said she was unaware of the Zhao case. Conversation about the college admissions scandal had died down in recent weeks on campus, Ms Morris said, adding that she was not particularly bothered by the news."I know how I got in," she said.New York Times
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| The Quick Read About… Venezuela’s Faltering Revolution Posted: 03 May 2019 02:34 PM PDT  This week Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido tried to oust President Maduro from office but seems to have failed. What happens next?
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| Man falls 70 feet into Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano — and survives Posted: 03 May 2019 11:34 AM PDT  A man was rescued but seriously injured after falling into Hawaii's Kīlauea caldera this week, National Park Service officials said.
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| Trump pick for Fed withdraws hours after saying he's 'all in' Posted: 02 May 2019 09:58 AM PDT  For the second time in as many weeks, the president announces that a prospective nominee to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors has withdrawn from consideration.
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| Measles-plagued Scientology ship leaves St Lucia Posted: 03 May 2019 08:54 AM PDT  A cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology that was quarantined in St Lucia for two days because of a measles case has left the Caribbean island and was headed toward Curacao on Friday, maritime tracking services said. The Freewinds left the port capital Castries on Thursday at 11:15pm (0315 GMT Friday) and was cruising toward Willemstad in Curacao, a distance it previously covered in two days, according to myshiptracking.com and cruisin.me. A spokeswoman for St Lucia's health ministry confirmed that the ship had left the island.
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| What Putin Wants with North Korea Posted: 02 May 2019 05:40 AM PDT  The Trump administration continues to pay a high price for treating Russia as an enemy. Vladimir Putin has dealt himself back into the Korea game. He could be helpful if it was worth his while. But as long as Washington undermines Moscow's interests, Putin will toss some cogs into the proverbial wheel.The collapse of the Soviet Union for a time turned Moscow into a geopolitical irrelevancy. Nowhere was that more obvious than in North Korea. The new Russian Federation recognized South Korea, earning a cascade of insults and fulminations from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Pyongyang's protestations bothered the Yeltsin government not at all since the South offered better economic opportunities.Since then Putin has returned Russia to the DPRK, though cautiously and modestly, to be sure. Last week he met North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un in Vladivostok.It was a low-key affair held on a university campus with no statement issued, very different from last year's dramatic meeting between Kim and Donald Trump in Singapore. The North Korean leader called Vladivostok a "very meaningful one-on-one exchange of opinions on issues of mutual interest and current issues," as if the two strongmen were buddies who grabbed a drink and talked sports. But Kim's latest diplomatic venture gave Russia at least a toehold in the peninsula's future.
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| EU's Tusk warns of risks in rise of U.S. tech giants Posted: 03 May 2019 09:07 AM PDT  The world needs to be wary of the rise of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, comparing their powers to those of countries such as China, European Council President Donald Tusk said in Warsaw on Friday. "In the East, we see the rise of those capable of controlling everyone's behavior, and in the West we've seen the rise of an uncontrolled, spontaneous empire," Tusk said in Warsaw in reference to the companies during a speech marking Constitution Day. The European Union has been in the forefront of efforts to tighten control on how social media companies handle the personal data of consumers, with rules introduced last May giving regulators the power to impose fines of up to 4 percent of global revenue for violations.
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| Man punches woman 3 times after fender bender: Police Posted: 02 May 2019 03:20 PM PDT  The victim was using her iPad to take some photos when the suspect began to punch the victim in the kidney area, she said.
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| Spain refuses to hand over Venezuela opposition leader taking refuge in embassy Posted: 03 May 2019 01:46 AM PDT  Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez said president Nicolas Maduro's generals are willing to defect from his regime imminently, as Spain vowed to protect the politician. Speaking from the gates of the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, on Friday Mr Lopez said: "It's a crack that will become a bigger crack... that will end up breaking the dam". Mr Lopez said he had spoken with senior members of the military who supported the end of Mr Maduro's socialist government amid a failing economy and nationwide blackouts. Spain has refused to hand Mr Lopez, a leading figure in the country's opposition movement, over to Venezuelan authorities, saying "Spain trusts that the Venezuelan authorities will respect the inviolability of the Spanish Ambassador's residence." The politician had been under house arrest for months but escaped to appear alongside his successor in the movement, Juan Guaido, on Tuesday as they called for a military uprising aimed at toppling Mr Maduro. Lopez emerged on Tuesday from two years of house arrest with the help of defecting soldiers Credit: Anadolu He later sought refuge in the Spanish embassy after the uprising stalled and a court issued a warrant for his arrest. Mr Lopez claimed he had met with generals who were committed to ending Mr Maduro's "usurpation" and helped him escape his house arrest. "I had meetings in my house when I was under house arrest. I met there with commanders, I met there with generals. I met there with representatives of specific parts of the armed forces and specific parts of the police forces," he said. He added that he believed Mr Maduro's government would fall "in weeks." That brought a rebuke from Venezuela's ambassador in Madrid Mario Isea, who accused Mr Lopez of using "the ambassador's residence as an operational base to abet a military uprising". Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro demonstrate against the US President Donald Trump Credit: YURI CORTEZ/ AFP Spain's acting foreign minister Josep Borrell later warned Mr Lopez not to turn the embassy into "a centre of political activism." After a week of growing tensions Donald Trump, the US president, and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin talked for more than an hour on Friday during which time they discussed Venezuela. Mr Trump said he stands by the Venezuelan people and urged a peaceful solution to the crisis during the phone call with Mr Putin. The two leaders also talked about a new arms control treaty, North Korea and briefly discussed special counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian election meddling. Mr Trump's national security team and the commander of US Southern Command said they held a meeting at the Pentagon to review and refine military planning and various options for responding to the crisis in Venezuela. The ongoing unrest claimed a fifth fatality on Friday when 15-year-old boy was killed during a protest in the northwestern state of Merida. The non-government Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict said Yonder Villasmil was killed during a demonstration over power outages on Thursday night. More than 200 people have been injured in clashes rocking the nation this week after Mr Guaido, called for protests to spark a military uprising. Mr Guaido has called for a return to the streets on Saturday morning, saying at a press conference that Venezuelans should try talking to soldiers directly and telling them to "join the movement."
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| 10-month-old baby dead, 3 missing after migrant raft overturns in Rio Grande along Mexico border Posted: 03 May 2019 07:42 AM PDT  A man told a border official that a raft carrying nine people had overturned and his baby son and nephew had been swept away.
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| One Democrat has a plan to run against Trump on immigration Posted: 02 May 2019 02:00 AM PDT  Three years into the presidency of Donald Trump, who launched his campaign with a call to crack down on illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America, the United States is on track to see the largest number of migrants arriving at the southwest border without proper documentation in more than a decade.
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| 2020 Toyota Prius Prime Gets Many Upgrades, Still Lags behind Its Competitors in EV Driving Range Posted: 03 May 2019 08:17 AM PDT  Toyota's uplevel Prius is a better car now, if not a better plug-in hybrid.
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| Scientology cruise ship quarantined for measles case is heading to Curacao Posted: 03 May 2019 08:18 AM PDT  A cruise ship under measles quarantine is heading to the island of Curacao, and authorities are debating how to respond.
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| PG&E says SEC investigating it for disclosures, losses for wildfires Posted: 02 May 2019 03:44 PM PDT ![PG&E says SEC investigating it for disclosures, losses for wildfires]( "PG&E says SEC investigating it for disclosures, losses for wildfires") PG&E Corp said on Thursday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company regarding public disclosures and losses related to wildfires. PG&E Corp said in a regulatory filing that it learned on March 20 that the SEC was investigating it in relation to its public disclosures and accounting for losses associated with the 2017 and 2018 Northern California wildfires and the 2015 Butte fire. PG&E, which provides electricity and natural gas to 16 million customers in northern and central California, faces widespread litigation, government investigations and liabilities that could potentially exceed $30 billion because of the fires in 2017 and 2018.
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| Economy Surges in April, Adding 263,000 Jobs Posted: 03 May 2019 09:59 AM PDT  Economic growth exceeded expectations in April as the market added 263,000 new jobs and unemployment sank to its lowest level in 49 years, according to Labor Department data released Friday.The 263,000 new jobs easily surpassed the 217,000 analysts had predicted, while unemployment dropped 0.2 points to 3.6 percent, its lowest level since December 1969.The average wage grew 0.2 percent, 6 cents, to $27.77 an hour, falling just short of expectations. Average hourly earnings growth held steady at 3.2 percent year over year, while the average work week shrank by a tenth of an hour to 34.4 hours.The economic expansion is months away from breaking the record for the longest in U.S. history as the economy continues to add jobs despite a labor market close to saturation: The drop in the unemployment rate was aided by the exit of 490,000 workers from the labor force, bringing the labor-force-participation rate down to 62.8 percent.The biggest gains were seen in professional and business services, which added 76,000 new jobs, construction, which added 33,000 new jobs, health care, which added 27,000 new jobs, and social assistance, which added 26,000 new jobs.The Labor Department also revised job-gain estimates for the previous two months to 189,000 new jobs in March and 56,000 in February, for a total of 16,000 more new jobs than previously estimated.
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| Warren Buffett: A strong stock picker with little tech appetite Posted: 02 May 2019 06:30 PM PDT  Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who jumped into the takeover battle for Anadarko Petroleum this week, has won renown and wealth for unearthing undervalued companies, a record countered only by his reticence towards high tech. Buffett, 88, discovered his zeal for investing early in life and has become a multi-billionaire because of his ability to sniff out value. "The year was 1942, I was 11, and I went all in, investing $114.75 I had begun accumulating at age 6," Buffett recalled in his annual letter to shareholders last year.
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| ‘Those Are Things You Don’t Forget.’ How a Young Audrey Hepburn Helped the Dutch Resistance During World War II Posted: 03 May 2019 12:30 PM PDT  Audrey Hepburn — born May 4, 1929 — was just a teenager when she first became involved in Dutch resistance against the Nazis
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| Venezuela opposition figure, facing arrest warrant, says he met with generals Posted: 03 May 2019 05:56 AM PDT  Suggesting coordination continues with armed forces figures in the campaign to oust Maduro, Lopez said more "military movements" were on the way. The pre-dawn military uprising on Tuesday, urged on by opposition leader and Lopez ally Juan Guaido, failed to gain steam as security forces loyal to Maduro cracked down on demonstrators who had taken to the streets in support of Guaido. Lopez, a firebrand politician and Guaido's mentor, was arrested during a protest movement in 2014 and transferred to house arrest in 2017.
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| 40 Foods Graduates Actually Want You To Serve At Their Graduation Party Posted: 03 May 2019 11:13 AM PDT |
| Biden's rise tests Trump plan of casting foes as socialists Posted: 01 May 2019 06:49 PM PDT  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump may want to cast his potential Democratic rivals as a band of angry socialists, but Joe Biden is not cooperating with Trump's reelection strategy, and that's giving the president growing unease.
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| The BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe Is Almost Here, Will Debut In June Posted: 03 May 2019 02:06 PM PDT  The 8GC will debut in June and sit atop a growing lineup of stylish four-door coupes.
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| Nadler threatens contempt proceedings if Barr doesn't respond to counteroffer Posted: 03 May 2019 12:55 PM PDT  Nadler is giving Barr until Monday at 9 a.m. to respond under the threat of holding the attorney general in contempt of Congress.
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