| Retired colonel accused in Maduro drone 'attack' held in Venezuela: wife Posted: 30 Jan 2019 09:12 AM PST  A retired Venezuelan colonel accused of being a leader of the explosives-laden drone "attack" on President Nicolas Maduro in August has been arrested, his wife said on Wednesday. "He was kidnapped," Sorbay Padilla said in a video sent to journalists and human rights activists. Garcia Palomo, 54, had been in exile in neighboring Colombia but was captured at the end of last week in western Venezuela after secretly returning to the country, local press reported.
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| The Polar Vortex Might Be Causing 'Frost Quakes' in Chicago Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:56 PM PST  It might be cold enough in Chicago right now to make the ground shake. Local news station WGN reported today (Jan. 30) that its viewers had heard "frost quakes" in the city overnight. And though the reports in Chicago are still unconfirmed, frost quakes are indeed a real thing. Frost quakes, or "cryoseisms," occur when water trapped underground freezes suddenly as the temperature drops, causing it to expand. (Water expands as it freezes.) All that rapidly expanding water underground can split rocks and put stress on the soil, causing loud booms. Frost quakes are fairly rare events and difficult to positively identify. A huge blast that shook northwest Calgary, Canada, in 2014 was widely attributed to a loud cryoseism, but researchers never confirmed that as the cause. [9 Tips for Exercising in Winter Weather] Charles Mott, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) office serving Chicago, told Live Science he hasn't personally heard any frost quakes in recent days, but added "that has to do with being inside all day." But Mott said that there's been some chatter about the possibility of them around the office, and that he has no reason to doubt WGN's report. For a frost quake to occur, at least three conditions are required, according to "Frost Quakes: Forecasting the Unanticipated Clatter," published online in 2015 in the meteorology journal Weatherwise. First, rain or snowmelt saturates the ground with water. Second, there's little to no snow on the ground, which otherwise blankets the soil and protects it from sudden temperature changes. Third, the temperature rapidly drops, freezing the earth. There's some evidence that frost quakes have become more common recently, at least in the Toronto area. The authors of "Forecasting the Unanticipated Clatter" published a different paper online in June 2016 suggesting that this increase might be the result of the changing climate. Warmer, wetter air masses have become more common in the area over the winter, leaving the ground wet and free of snow. When those air masses do turn frigid, frost quakes can result. It's unclear if frost quakes are occurring elsewhere in areas impacted by the current polar vortex event. But meteorologists in the Grand Forks, North Dakota, NWS office laughed when contacted by Live Science with the question and said they'd never heard the term "frost quake" before. ("Cryoseisms" rang a bell, one forecaster said, but he was unsure of the details and would "have to google it, just like you.") Brent Hewett, a meteorologist at the NWS office in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, said that there had been no reports of cryoseisms in that area, probably because there's snow on the ground. * The 9 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics * The Large Numbers That Define the Universe * Twisted Physics: 7 Mind-Blowing Findings Originally published on Live Science.
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| Warren Faults ‘Capitalism Without Rules’ in Pushing Wealth Tax Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:27 PM PST  "I believe in capitalism. Warren, who announced her exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential bid, pushed back on criticisms of her wealth tax proposal -- a 2 percent tax on household assets in excess of $50 million and a 3 percent tax on fortunes above $1 billion.
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| Tesla Model X owner caught sleeping on the highway with Autopilot turned on Posted: 30 Jan 2019 04:06 PM PST ![Tesla Model X owner caught sleeping on the highway with Autopilot turned on]( "Tesla Model X owner caught sleeping on the highway with Autopilot turned on") A wild, if not disturbing, video that originally surfaced on Jalopnik shows a Tesla Model X owner taking a full-on snooze while his car drives down the highway. Tesla's Autopilot feature is of course activated but it's clearly not designed to let people fall asleep at the wheel. If anything, the Tesla driver in the video is so relaxed that he's not even at the wheel; he's full-on reclining. The Model X in question was reportedly on a highway headed to Las Vegas and thankfully didn't get into any type of serious crash. Indeed, there have been cases where Tesla vehicles on Autopilot get into serious crashes even with a fully alert and attentive driver. Tesla, to its credit, began implementing safety measures around its Autopilot feature in response to Tesla owners abusing the feature in downright dangerous ways. In one widely circulated video that has since been removed from YouTube, a Model S owner a few years ago turned on Autopilot and actually went into the backseat while the Tesla handled all the driving. The slo-mo video of the sleeping Tesla driver can be seen below. While there's no denying that Tesla's Autopilot feature works well when used correctly -- and has even been known to help save lives -- some folks believe that the Autopilot name itself is misleading and can cause drivers to rely on the feature too heavily. A few months ago, for example, a consumer watchdog group penned a letter to the FTC arguing that the Autopilot name should be changed. The letter reads in part: > The marketing and advertising practices of Tesla, combined with Elon Musk's public statements, have made it reasonable for Tesla owners to believe, and act on that belief, that a Tesla with Autopilot is an autonomous vehicle capable of "self-driving > > ... > > Tesla is the only automaker to market its Level 2 vehicles as "self-driving", and the name of its driver assistance suite of features, Autopilot, connotes full autonomy. In addition to these formal marketing and advertising ploys, Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, frequently misleads and deceives consumers about Autopilot's safety and capabilities. There's no indication, however, that Tesla will tweak the Autopilot name in the slightest. At the time of the aforementioned letter, a Tesla spokesperson said that Tesla owners have a "very clear understanding of what Autopilot is, how to properly use it, and what features it consists of."
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| Life in #Chiberia: It's so cold in the Midwest, beer is exploding and we're setting fire to train tracks to keep them running Posted: 30 Jan 2019 10:00 AM PST  A polar vortex has sent temperatures plunging well below zero in the Midwest, and residents are going to social media to share just how cold it is.
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| Trump backs down in US intelligence chiefs row after claiming he hadn't read 'complete' testimony on Iran and North Korea Posted: 31 Jan 2019 08:51 AM PST  Donald Trump has backtracked on his suggestion that American intelligence chiefs should "go back to school" after they contradicted his stance on Iran and North Korea. The US leader criticised them after they presented the Worldwide Threat Assessment report to the Senate earlier this week. It said Iran was not making nuclear weapons and North Korea remained "unlikely to give up" its weapons stockpiles and production abilities, apparently contradicting Mr Trump's views on the nations.
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| 'I had to get in there' says Houston officer shot for third time in career Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:05 PM PST !['I had to get in there' says Houston officer shot for third time in career]( "'I had to get in there' says Houston officer shot for third time in career") The 54-year-old officer was one of four shot on Monday evening after Dennis Tuttle, 59, opened fire on police after they broke open the door of his home to serve a narcotics warrant, Acevedo told reporters. The first officer to enter the home in southeast Houston was attacked by a large pitbull dog, which he shot to death, Acevedo said. When the wounded officer fell on a sofa, Tuttle's partner, Rhogena Nicholas, 58, tried to pick up the fallen officer's shotgun but was shot by other police entering the home, Acevedo said.
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| A Look at the 2019 Kia K900 Posted: 31 Jan 2019 09:14 AM PST |
| Correction: Brazil Dam Collapse-Glance story Posted: 30 Jan 2019 04:02 PM PST  In a story Jan. 29 about mining waste accidents, The Associated Press reported erroneously the location of a 1966 mining accident. It was in Aberfan, Wales, not South Wales, Australia.
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| Howard Schultz Did Not Leave His Party Posted: 30 Jan 2019 03:30 AM PST  The Clinton era is over. It was a decade epitomized in these United States by Nirvana, the Clinton presidency, and Starbucks — each of which in its way exhibited the characteristic style of the Nineties, in which the countercultural ambitions of the Sixties were wedded to the frank cheerful materialism of the Eighties. Schultz was a Clinton Democrat back when that meant Bill Clinton, though as a reliable donor he stuck with Herself, and he dutifully wrote checks to Barack Obama, John Edwards, the DNC, and others.
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| Huawei's founder faces fight for company and family Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:59 AM PST  Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei survived food shortages during China's Cultural Revolution, but now the reclusive billionaire identified as "Individual-1" in a US indictment faces an existential fight for his family and company. Ren, 74, founded Huawei in 1987 with just 21,000 yuan ($5,600) and watched it grow into a global behemoth with 180,000 employees operating in 170 countries, sales of 206 million smartphones last year, and revenue topping $100 billion. The accusations dealt a blow to Huawei's image just as the famously secretive company had mounted a media blitz to salvage its reputation, with Ren leading the charge to dispute espionage concerns.
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| Mueller says Russians are altering evidence from special counsel’s investigation to discredit the probe Posted: 30 Jan 2019 03:32 PM PST  Russians have obtained evidence from special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into Moscow's interference in US politics and altered it in a bid to discredit the probe, federal prosecutors have claimed. The files were shared with attorneys working for Concord Management and Consulting, a Russian company that allegedly funded hacking operations by Russia's Internet Research Agency (IRA), they said in a court filing. The sharing evidence and documents between prosecutors and defence lawyer as part of routine discovery is common legal practice.
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| JetBlue flight diverted after fumes started coming from cockpit Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:54 AM PST ![JetBlue flight diverted after fumes started coming from cockpit]( "JetBlue flight diverted after fumes started coming from cockpit") A JetBlue flight headed to New York from Florida Wednesday morning had to turn due to fumes, and six people requested a medical check.
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| Trump calls his own intel chiefs 'extremely passive and naive' Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:29 AM PST  President Trump on Wednesday criticized his own intelligence chiefs a day after they broke with him in their assessments of the threats posed by North Korea, Iran and Syria.
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| Twitter Removed Accounts From Iran, Russia Related to Midterms Posted: 31 Jan 2019 01:23 PM PST  The company said it continues to see activity on the service related to the Russian Internet Research Agency, the troll farm that spread divisive information during the U.S. Presidential Election. It found 418 additional accounts that appeared to originate in Russia and posted 73,398 tweets related to the midterm elections with hashtags like #MAGA and #ReleasetheMemo.
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| Southwest Airlines is selling tickets for as low as $66 today Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:16 PM PST  After what felt like potentially the longest collective month of all of our
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| L.A. school board seeks pause on charter schools, after teachers' strike Posted: 29 Jan 2019 07:34 PM PST  The Los Angeles school board voted on Tuesday to ask state lawmakers for a moratorium on new charter schools in the area, as demanded by a union for more than 30,000 teachers in a six-day strike that ended last week. The 5-1 vote by the school board represented a dramatic shift for a panel on which at least half the members had previously supported charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately managed. Charter schools operate in most of the United States with teachers who often are not represented by a union.
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| Ex-Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn Says He's Wrongly Accused of Financial Misconduct Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:39 PM PST  Ghosn proclaims to French reporters that he believes he has done nothing wrong as he remains in jail in Japan.
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| Trump orders ‘several thousand’ more troops to US-Mexico border, costing taxpayers over $600m Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:25 AM PST  Donald Trump's White House administration has ordered "several thousand" more troops to the US-Mexico border, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. Acting Defense Department Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the latest dispatch of troops to the southern border would occur "soon" following a new request from the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, reports indicate the president's demands for an increased US military presence along the border are expected to cost American taxpayers over $600m (£458m).
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| More Than 36,000 Pounds of Tyson Chicken Nuggets Recalled Over Possible Rubber Contamination Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:22 AM PST  The contamination is considered a high health risk
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| Jeremy Corbyn Is Worse Than a ‘No-Deal’ Brexit Posted: 30 Jan 2019 03:17 AM PST  On Tuesday night that idea was tested to destruction. A parliamentary proposal from MPs Nick Boles and Yvette Cooper to delay Brexit rather than leave without a deal was comfortably beaten. What this tells us is that the restored unity of May's ruling Conservative party (even if temporary) is being given at least equal weight among traders to the avoidance of a no-deal Brexit — or a messy extension to the process.
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| Mother dies after falling down subway stairs carrying 1-year-old daughter Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:20 AM PST  A young mother died after falling down a flight of stairs at a Manhattan
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| The Latest: Pence praises DEA help in convict Maduro allies Posted: 31 Jan 2019 02:38 PM PST  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):
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| Texas lawmaker: If you want to stop drugs, people coming across the border you need to focus on ports of entry Posted: 31 Jan 2019 02:22 PM PST  Texas Rep. Henry Cueller weighs in on bipartisan negotiations for border wall funding.
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| IEA chief: Too early to assess impact of latest U.S. sanctions on Venezuela Posted: 30 Jan 2019 04:04 AM PST ![IEA chief: Too early to assess impact of latest U.S. sanctions on Venezuela]( "IEA chief: Too early to assess impact of latest U.S. sanctions on Venezuela") NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The International Energy Agency is yet to assess the impact of the latest U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil supplies, its chief Fatih Birol said on Wednesday. "Far too early to speak about Venezuela and we are following the events very closely," Birol told Reuters on the sidelines of an industry event in New Delhi. The Trump administration on Monday imposed sweeping sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil firm PDVSA, aimed at severely curbing the OPEC member's crude exports to the United States and at pressuring Nicolas Maduro to step down as president. ...
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| Proof That Doing Good Can Look Good Too Posted: 31 Jan 2019 01:43 PM PST |
| US weather: Hell freezes over as polar vortex triggers coldest freeze in a generation Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:05 PM PST  At least 12 people have died in record-low temperatures trigged by the polar vortex, which has stretched parts of the nation's infrastructure to breaking point. Thousands of flights have been cancelled, and the US postal service is partially suspended. In Chicago, which has been as cold as the Arctic at times, heavily dressed repair crews hustled to keep public utilities from failing, while officials lit train tracks on fire in order to prevent them from malfunctioning in the historic cold.
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| Missouri school bans substitute after report of racist, threatening comments to black students Posted: 31 Jan 2019 12:30 PM PST  A Springfield school official called the alleged comment "disturbing, unacceptable" and "completely at odds with who we are as a district."
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| Pelosi: ‘There’s Not Going to Be Any Wall Money’ in Spending Bill Posted: 31 Jan 2019 08:38 AM PST  The 17-member bipartisan, bicameral conference committee was created to negotiate a compromise after President Trump agreed last week to sign a three-week spending bill, which did not include any border-security funding, to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in history. Pelosi's comments echo those made by members of her caucus 0n the committee following its initial meeting Wednesday, in which they reportedly expressed willingness to consider funding a number of technology-based border-security measures but did not offer to provide any of the $5.7 billion Trump has long demanded for the construction of additional physical barriers. "If you're asking if there is any money for the border wall?
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| Should NYC Ride-Share Drivers Get a $17 Hourly Minimum? Lyft and Juno Say No Posted: 30 Jan 2019 02:45 PM PST ![Should NYC Ride-Share Drivers Get a $17 Hourly Minimum? Lyft and Juno Say No]( "Should NYC Ride-Share Drivers Get a $17 Hourly Minimum? Lyft and Juno Say No") The rule, passed by New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission in December, requires that drivers for market leader Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft, Juno and Via earn at least $17.22 an hour. It's part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's effort to cap the growth of app-based, ride-for-hire platforms and reduce traffic congestion.
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| A last throw of the Brexit dice for Britain's May Posted: 30 Jan 2019 05:47 AM PST  Theresa May's bid to reopen the Brexit deal could be a final throw of the dice or another delay to get MPs to back it -- but either way, she is running out of options. Analysts have warned of the growing risk of Britain leaving the European Union on March 29 with no agreement at all or even a general election in a desperate bid to break the impasse. May finally secured a parliamentary majority on Brexit on Tuesday night but it was to change the divorce deal that she herself agreed with EU leaders only last month.
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| Southwest Airlines extends schedule, adds new seasonal routes Posted: 31 Jan 2019 07:51 AM PST ![Southwest Airlines extends schedule, adds new seasonal routes]( "Southwest Airlines extends schedule, adds new seasonal routes") Southwest announced addition of two weekend-only seasonal routes. It also confirmed the return of seven seasonal routes that will resume in August.
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| Israel leader scorned for wooing Holocaust-distorting allies Posted: 30 Jan 2019 01:35 PM PST  JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's warm welcome to Lithuania's prime minister marks his latest embrace of an eastern European leader who has offered strong political support while promoting a distorted image of the Holocaust.
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| Bankrupted by deadly wildfires, PG&E vows to keep the lights on Posted: 30 Jan 2019 07:57 AM PST ![Bankrupted by deadly wildfires, PG&E vows to keep the lights on]( "Bankrupted by deadly wildfires, PG&E vows to keep the lights on") (This Jan 29 story has been corrected in paragraph 10 to remove reference to top creditors, which erroneously included banks that act as trustees on bond indentures with no direct credit exposure) By Subrat Patnaik (Reuters) - Utility owner PG&E Corp filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday in anticipation of liabilities from California wildfires, including a catastrophic 2018 blaze that killed 86 people. PG&E, which provides electricity and natural gas to 16 million customers in northern and central California and employs 24,000 people, vowed to keep the lights on as it grapples with fire-related costs it estimates at more than $30 billion. The San Francisco-based owner of the biggest U.S. power utility warned in November it could face significant liability in excess of its insurance coverage if its equipment was found to have caused the Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise, California, last year.
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| Teased 2020 Toyota Tacoma debuting at Chicago Auto Show Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:53 AM PST  Toyota revealed that the 2020 Tacoma is "tacom-ing" to Chicago next week but gave out little more information about the upcoming truck apart for a picture of a shadowy top half. On Tuesday, Toyota shared a teaser image of the 2020 Tacoma showing only the top part of the truck as seen from the front at dusk. From what is barely pictured in the image, we can see that not much has changed in terms of exterior design -- at least, for the top half -- which makes sense considering that this 2020 update will likely just be a midcycle refresh.
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| Student Launches 'Pass the Skirt' Campaign Following School Dress Code Controversy Posted: 31 Jan 2019 07:12 AM PST  An Arkansas high school student is taking to social media to try and get the dress code changed.
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| US weather forecast: Record low temperatures caused by polar vortex ‘threaten 110 million Americans’ Posted: 29 Jan 2019 11:00 PM PST  Life-threatening temperatures across the United States and a polar vortex in the Midwest is set to impact nearly 110 million Americans this week. The extreme cold and record-breaking temperatures are blasting a swathe of states spanning from North Dakota to Missouri and into Ohio after a powerful snowstorm pounded the region earlier this week. A blast of warm air from misplaced Moroccan heat last month made the normally super chilly air temperatures above the region rapidly increase.
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| Eliminator Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:40 AM PST  Kamala Harris has a big idea for your health-care plan: elimination. The early contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination are working feverishly to out-radical each other. Senator Elizabeth Warren has come out with a confiscatory wealth tax that in practice proved too oppressive for Sweden and Denmark, both of which abolished theirs years ago.
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| Is Eddie Lampert set to 'steal' Kenmore brand? Courtroom clash will decide fate of Sears Posted: 31 Jan 2019 06:39 AM PST  The U.S. government's pension agency and major creditors are lining up to block a last-minute bid to save Sears Holdings from liquidation.
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| U.S. Debt Sales Hit Records Again, Feeding Deficit Criticism Posted: 30 Jan 2019 12:31 PM PST  The federal budget shortfall is set to swell, driven by tax cuts, spending increases and an aging American population. As a result, the Treasury is raising its long-term debt issuance at its quarterly refunding auctions to $84 billion, the department said Wednesday, $1 billion more than three months ago. Such elevated levels of borrowing will finance the widening deficit, with Wall Street strategists projecting new debt issuance will top $1 trillion for a second straight year.
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| Trump disputes intel chiefs on North Korea, Iran Posted: 30 Jan 2019 08:58 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump lashed out at his intelligence chiefs on Wednesday after they told Congress that North Korea is unlikely to dismantle its nuclear arsenal and that the Iran nuclear deal is working.
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| Alibaba sales grow at weakest pace in three years as slowing China bites Posted: 30 Jan 2019 06:43 AM PST  E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's quarterly revenue grew at its weakest pace since 2016, as the impact of a slowing Chinese economy and a crippling Sino-U.S. trade war kept buyers away during its top-sale season. Net income rose 33 percent to 30.96 billion yuan, however, beating estimates and sending Alibaba's stock up by about 1.6 percent in pre-market trade. Alibaba typically posts its highest revenue in the December quarter due to its mega "Singles' Day" in November - the world's biggest online sales event that outstrips the sales of U.S. shopping holidays Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
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| GM Brands Have Cut Complimentary Maintenance from Three Years to One Posted: 30 Jan 2019 09:05 AM PST  Cadillac, GMC, and Buick will now only cover the first maintenance visit. Chevrolet isn't yet saying.
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