| In Trump era, Nancy Pelosi admits to nostalgia about George W. Bush. Here's why Posted: 03 Jan 2019 04:26 AM PST  Nancy Pelosi says taking on Donald Trump will differ from sparring with George W. Bush. With Trump, she says, there's no agreement on basic facts.
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| Why All Those Photos of Mike Pence Swearing In Newly Elected Senators Aren't What They Seem Posted: 03 Jan 2019 11:30 AM PST  The tradition of faking it goes back to as early as the 1930s
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| Saudi Arabia seeks death penalty for Khashoggi murder suspects Posted: 03 Jan 2019 02:15 AM PST  Saudi Arabia's attorney general sought the death penalty for five of 11 defendants charged with the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as their high-profile trial opened in Riyadh on Thursday. All 11 accused were present with their lawyers at the opening hearing in the capital, according to a statement by the attorney general carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. The attorney general said Saudi Arabia had twice submitted formal requests for evidence from Turkey - where Khashoggi was murdered inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate - but had received no response. The names of the defendants have not been officially released. Five top officials in Saudi Arabia - including royal court insider Saud al-Qahtani - were sacked over the Khashoggi murder, but there is no proof that they are among those charged. Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post, was murdered on October 2 in what Riyadh called a "rogue" operation. The 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic was strangled and his body cut into pieces by a team of 15 Saudis sent to Istanbul for the killing, according to Turkish officials. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been forced to do damage control in the wake of Khashoggi's death Credit: G20 Press Office via AP, File There have been reports that his remains, which have never been found, were dissolved in acid. The defence team on Thursday requested a copy of the indictment sheet and a timeframe within which to review the charges. The prosecutor agreed to both requests, SPA said. No date has been set for the next hearing. The Khashoggi murder shocked the world at a time when Saudi Arabia and its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were pushing an aggressive public relations campaign to rebrand the ultraconservative monarchy as a modern state. Among Prince Mohammed's strongest allies is US President Donald Trump, who now faces increased pressure to approve measures against Saudi Arabia. The US has sanctioned 17 Saudi citizens in connection with the Khashoggi murder. France and Canada have also sanctioned Saudi Arabian nationals. The US Central Intelligence Agency has reportedly concluded that Prince Mohammed very likely ordered Khashoggi's murder. A bipartisan resolution approved by the US Senate last month also holds the crown prince responsible for the killing. But in November the Saudi attorney general ruled out any involvement by the young crown prince, whose reformist credentials abroad have been seriously tarnished by the murder. The Khashoggi affair has also given Turkey - allied with Saudi rivals Qatar and Iran - unusual leverage in regional power plays. Ankara has sought the extradition of the suspects in Saudi custody to stand trial in Turkey but its requests have been repeatedly rebuffed by Riyadh. Rights groups and the United Nations have called for an independent investigation into Khashoggi's death, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres last month calling for a "credible" probe. "Given the possible involvement of Saudi authorities in Khashoggi's murder and the lack of independence of Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system, the impartiality of any investigation and trial would be in question," Samah Hadid, a Middle East director at Amnesty International, told AFP on Thursday. "This is why a UN-led and independent investigation is needed into the murder of Khashoggi."
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| 'No L-pocalypse!': New York's 'L' train to keep running during repairs Posted: 03 Jan 2019 03:00 PM PST  More than two years after news that one of New York City's busiest subway lines would stop running between Manhattan and Brooklyn to allow for repairs, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that the "L" train would keep rolling. The expected closure of the L train tunnel under the East River for at least 15 months had dismayed residents of the Brooklyn communities of Williamsburg, Bushwick and beyond. Cuomo told a news conference that engineering experts from Cornell and Columbia universities had looked at the plans over the last few weeks drawn up by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the subway, and found them needlessly disruptive.
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| New Petrobras boss seeks free-market 'efficiency' for oil giant Posted: 03 Jan 2019 03:49 PM PST  "Monopolies restrict liberty," Roberto Castello Branco told a crowd of officials and Petrobras executives on the day he took up his functions. Petrobras a couple of years ago "was looted by a criminal organization made up of corrupt politicians, enemies of capitalism, and a small group of employees," he said. The harsh words referred to a sprawling, multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal implicating Petrobras and political parties, including those from the Workers Party that ruled Brazil from 2003-2016.
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| Mexico urges thorough probe into border tear gas incident Posted: 03 Jan 2019 12:47 PM PST  MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's foreign affairs ministry has formally asked the United States government to conduct a thorough investigation into a Jan. 1 incident in which U.S. agents fired tear gas into Mexico to stop crossing migrants.
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| Chile's LATAM Airlines is world's most punctual airline 2019 Posted: 03 Jan 2019 08:03 AM PST  Flyers aboard LATAM Airlines are most likely to make their connecting flight and arrive at their destination on time, according to a new ranking of the world's most punctual airlines.
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| Government Shutdown 2019: Democrats pass funding plan without wall, Trump vows to veto Posted: 03 Jan 2019 08:50 PM PST  On their first day in the majority, House Democrats on Thursday night passed a plan to re-open the government without funding President Donald Trump's promised border wall.
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| These Democrats didn't vote for Nancy Pelosi for House speaker Posted: 03 Jan 2019 12:22 PM PST  Democrats who didn't vote for Pelosi offered strikingly similar reasons.
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| Best Bites: Spinach zucchini lasagna rolls Posted: 03 Jan 2019 05:00 AM PST  Welcome to Best Bites, a twice-weekly video series that aims to satisfy your
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| Top Taiwan court revokes conviction of ex-leader Ma, orders retrial Posted: 03 Jan 2019 03:59 AM PST  Taiwan's top court Thursday ordered a new trial of former president Ma Ying-jeou, revoking his conviction in a political leaks case, one of a raft of lawsuits brought against him since he stepped down in 2016. Ma was sentenced to four months in prison last year by the high court for violating the communication security and surveillance act, overturning a previous not guilty verdict from a lower court. Ma's Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party held power from 2008 to 2016, before it was trounced by Tsai Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
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| Senator Warren slams former Senator Lieberman for ZTE lobbying gig Posted: 03 Jan 2019 02:02 PM PST  Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is eyeing a presidential run, blasted former Senator Joseph Lieberman for becoming a lobbyist for ZTE Corp, a Chinese telecommunications equipment maker accused of ties to China's government. In a tweet posted on Wednesday night, Warren said Lieberman had "joined" lobbyists for ZTE, which she wrote had "violated serious U.S. sanctions" against Iran and North Korea. Lieberman, who ran unsuccessfully for vice president as a Democrat in 2000 and Kasowitz Benson Torres, the firm where he is a lobbyist, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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| A first class gaffe: Cathay to honour cheap ticket error Posted: 03 Jan 2019 02:09 AM PST  Scores of savvy travellers will be sipping heavily discounted champagne in first class recliners on Cathay Pacific flights this year after the airline agreed to honour tickets that were mistakenly sold at a fraction of their value. Airline and travel blogs went into overdrive on New Year's Eve after eagle-eyed shoppers noticed the carrier was offering first and business class tickets on its website from Vietnam to the United States and Canada for as little as $670. It took two days for Cathay to publicly acknowledge the error with the airline on Wednesday saying it would indeed honour the cheap fares.
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| Democrats to take on Trump as divided US Congress arrives in Washington Posted: 03 Jan 2019 06:16 AM PST  Democrats on Thursday took over the US House of Representatives, ushering in a new era of divided government in Washington with the goal of checking Donald Trump's turbulent presidency. Battle-tested Nancy Pelosi was poised to take over as speaker of the House as a partial federal government shutdown over Trump's insistence that lawmakers fund a southern border wall neared the two-week mark. The end of Trump's one-party rule in Washington lent air to Democrats deflated after the bombastic Republican's 2016 victory.
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| Video: Customer arrested for allegedly assaulting McDonald's employee over straw Posted: 03 Jan 2019 02:20 AM PST  Video shows the patron reach over an employee and forcefully shake the woman.
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| Fatal Shooting of 7-Year-Old Black Girl Outside Walmart Sparks Hate Crime Fears in Houston Posted: 03 Jan 2019 03:21 PM PST  'There exist no rationale for the attack other than hate,' her family's lawyer said
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| Sensible border security justifies government shutdown Posted: 02 Jan 2019 06:13 PM PST  While political parties squabble over funding, our enemies could weaponize illegal migration, writes James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation.
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| UK foreign minister Hunt: Syria's Assad will be around for a while Posted: 03 Jan 2019 04:26 AM PST ![UK foreign minister Hunt: Syria's Assad will be around for a while]( "UK foreign minister Hunt: Syria's Assad will be around for a while") British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will remain in place for "a while" thanks to support from Russia, even though Britain's position was still that he remains a block to lasting peace. "The British long-standing position is that we won't have lasting peace in Syria with that (Assad-led) regime, but regretfully, we do think he's going to be around for a while," Hunt told Sky News. Nearly eight years into a war that has displaced millions of Syrians, Assad has recovered control of most of the country with support from Russia, Iran, and Iranian-backed Shi'ite Muslim groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah.
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| Hurry, the $18 Crock-Pot with 7,000 5-star reviews is back on Amazon Posted: 03 Jan 2019 11:25 AM PST  If you want a great multi-use cooker that can perform all sorts of great cooking functions, there are plenty of options out there. The Instant Pot DUO60 is the most popular one, and Crock-Pot has a comparable model that's even more affordable. But if you just want a no-fuss slow cooker, then you don't have to spend anywhere close to $100. In fact, if you grab the Crock-Pot SCR300-SS 3-Quart Manual Slow Cooker right now while it's back in stock and on sale at a discount, you'll only pay $18.49! Here's some additional info from the product page: * Serves 3+ people. 3-quart capacity * High/Low cook settings, and convenient Warm setting * Crock-Pot features removable, dishwasher-safe stoneware insert, and dishwasher-safe glass lid * Polished silver, stainless steel exterior with black accents and plastic handles * Recipes included
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| What Happens When You Stop Making Credit Card Payments? Posted: 03 Jan 2019 06:00 AM PST ![What Happens When You Stop Making Credit Card Payments?]( "What Happens When You Stop Making Credit Card Payments?") Whether the reason is a layoff, a medical emergency or a pile of debt that is more than you can afford, struggling to pay credit card bills is a problem many people face. When you quit making credit card payments, you can be charged late fees and higher interest rates and take a hit on your credit. Brent Vallat, head of lending at Varo Money Inc., a provider of mobile banking services, says credit card issuers understand that sometimes people face circumstances where money gets tight.
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| 15 Stunning University Libraries Around the World You Need to See Posted: 04 Jan 2019 08:40 AM PST |
| Where do the investigations related to Trump stand? Posted: 04 Jan 2019 01:41 PM PST  A look at where the investigations related to President Donald Trump stand and what may lie ahead for him:
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| This Alpina Z1 showed BMW where it went wrong Posted: 03 Jan 2019 09:50 AM PST  Rarely seen but undoubtedly a star, the Alpina Z1 roadster is what BMW should have done with its own sports car
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| China's 'Jack the Ripper' executed Posted: 02 Jan 2019 10:48 PM PST  A serial killer dubbed China's "Jack the Ripper" for the way he mutilated several of his 11 female victims was executed Thursday morning, three decades after the first murder, the court which sentenced him said. The court in the northwest city of Baiyin, Gansu province, which handed him the death sentence in March last year announced on the Twitter-like Weibo that it had been carried out. China's supreme court had approved the execution, it said.
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| Yes, Elizabeth Warren is a politician. That's not a bad thing for her. Posted: 03 Jan 2019 02:00 AM PST  Back in 2015, I sat down with President Obama, during a visit to Nike's Oregon campus, to talk about the huge Asian trade pact he was trying to sell. It was what Obama said that day about Elizabeth Warren, who had become a vocal critic of the trade deal, that landed like a grenade. What crude and awful thing did Obama say?
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| For Shanahan, a very public debut in Trump's cabinet Posted: 03 Jan 2019 12:18 AM PST ![For Shanahan, a very public debut in Trump's cabinet]( "For Shanahan, a very public debut in Trump's cabinet") Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, sat silently at Trump's side, often expressionless, as television cameras rolled. Trump suggested that former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis - who abruptly resigned last month over policy differences with Trump - had been essentially fired and that Mattis had failed in Afghanistan, where Taliban insurgents are becoming increasingly confident of ending the 17-year-old war on terms favorable to them. "I'm not happy with what he's done in Afghanistan and I shouldn't be happy," Trump said.
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| The 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA Debuts Next Week with Motion-Activated Interior Lights Posted: 03 Jan 2019 08:39 AM PST  The second generation of Benz's smaller four-door coupe will be revealed at CES.
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| Where do the Kurds fit into Syria's war? Posted: 03 Jan 2019 07:10 AM PST  The future of Kurdish-led areas of northern and eastern Syria has been thrown into doubt by President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops who have helped to secure the region. Amounting to about one quarter of Syria, the area is the largest chunk of territory still outside the control of President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran. Trump said on Wednesday the United States would withdraw slowly "over a period of time" and would protect the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters as Washington withdraws troops, but without giving a timetable.
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| Why Tesla Just Dropped Its Car Prices by $2,000 Posted: 03 Jan 2019 07:56 AM PST  You can thank the disappearing tax credit.
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| A real roasting: Coffee startup Luckin set to overtake Starbucks in China Posted: 03 Jan 2019 03:14 AM PST  After only a year in business, startup Luckin Coffee said Thursday it will open 2,500 stores this year to dislodge Starbucks and become China's largest coffee chain. The company said it plans to have more than 4,500 stores in China by the end of 2019, taking it past the US coffee giant, which has over 3,600 stores across the country. China is Starbucks' second biggest market after the United States.
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| Smell of Cooking Fish Suspected in Death of Food Allergic 11-Year-Old Boy Posted: 03 Jan 2019 09:41 AM PST  An 11-year-old New York City boy died on New Year's Day after a possible allergic reaction to fish, police said Wednesday.
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| Florida's Scott delays oath, despite light public schedule Posted: 03 Jan 2019 07:56 PM PST  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott was supposed to start his new job as a U.S. senator Thursday, but he delayed his swearing in ostensibly to keep his promise to fight for Floridians every day of his term.
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| Every Photo of the One-Off BMW M850i Night Sky Posted: 03 Jan 2019 01:13 PM PST |
| Manicurist dies after being run over by customer who refused to pay $35 bill, police say Posted: 02 Jan 2019 05:51 PM PST  Police say a woman ran over 51-year-old Nhu "Annie" Ngoc Quynh Nguyen after skipping out on the bill for a $35 manicure.
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| Mexico demands US probe on use of force against migrants Posted: 03 Jan 2019 01:36 PM PST  Mexico called on the United States Thursday to investigate the use of force by border patrol agents against members of a Central American migrant caravan who tried to rush the US-Mexican border on New Year's. "The foreign ministry sent a diplomatic cable today to the United States embassy about the incident that occurred on January 1 in the border zone... In it, the ministry requested an exhaustive investigation of events that day," it said in a statement. Mexico also repeated its call for an investigation into a similar incident on November 25, when some 1,000 migrants from the caravan tried to force their way into the United States and were pushed back by border patrol agents.
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| Cozy up with this oh-so-good (and good for you!) slow cooker soup Posted: 04 Jan 2019 05:00 AM PST  Welcome to Best Bites, a twice-weekly video series that aims to satisfy your
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| U.S. House elects Democrat Pelosi to be speaker for 2019-2020 Posted: 03 Jan 2019 11:21 AM PST  Pelosi received 220 votes for speaker, while Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy got 192 votes. The election puts Pelosi in position to lead the opposition to President Donald Trump's agenda and to conduct in-depth investigations of his administration following two years during which Republicans have mainly given him a free pass. Pelosi, 78, was first elected to the House in 1987 and has pledged to push legislation that would spark large federal investments in infrastructure projects that Trump also has expressed an interest in tackling.
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| Buzz grows on 'flying cars' ahead of major tech show Posted: 03 Jan 2019 10:03 PM PST  Will flying cars take off at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show? NFT Inc. co-founders Maki and Guy Kaplinsky, a couple developing a flying vehicle in Israel and California, will have their vision on display at show, with a media session on Sunday. "We believe we have a winning design that will enable us to make the Model T of flying cars -- a low-cost production model," Guy Kaplinsky told AFP in a Silicon Valley office park where a prototype model was being assembled.
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| After historic flyby, New Horizons probe treks deeper on hunt for moons Posted: 03 Jan 2019 03:23 PM PST  The piano-sized probe is travelling deep into the ring of celestial bodies known as the Kuiper Belt looking for small, icy moons that spun off the snowman-shaped Ultima Thule formation, a pair of icy space rocks that fused in orbit billions of years ago. "If we've seen bodies one and two, the question is what about bodies three, four and five?" Mark Showalter, a New Horizons investigator, said during a news conference at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. New Horizons on New Year's day came within 2,200 miles (3,500 km) of Ultima Thule, which represents a pristine time capsule dating to the birth of the solar system.
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| Hindu hardliners clash with police over women at shrine Posted: 03 Jan 2019 10:18 AM PST  NEW DELHI (AP) — Hindu hardliners vandalized shops, shut businesses and clashed with police in a southern state Thursday to protest the entry of two women in one of India's largest Hindu pilgrimage sites, police said.
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