| Venezuela crisis: Nicolas Maduro on brink as military top brass turn against him Posted: 02 Feb 2019 01:45 PM PST  Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Caracas to back opposition leader Juan Guaido's calls for early elections as international pressure increased on President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Mr Maduro addressed a rally in Caracas on Saturday and proposed bringing forward parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2020, to this year, as he sought to damp down demands for presidential elections. "You want elections? You want early elections? We are going to have parliamentary elections," he said. "There is no dictatorship in Venezuela, nor will there be." He said the constituent assembly, which he controls, would debate ordering elections in the rival national assembly, which is opposition controlled and headed by Mr Guaido. The suggestion will likely have little impact, however, as he ignored Mr Guaido and his supporters' demands to resign, and stopped short of the four EU nations' demand for presidential elections. It certainly had little impact on the tens of thousands of anti-Maduro demonstrators in the streets. Protests were held across the country, and remarkably, as the day edged towards evening, there was no reported violence, and no tear gas fired. Wearing t-shirts saying "Let's take back our country" and holding aloft banners and placards criticising Mr Maduro, they processed through Caracas demanding change. Nakary Coelho, 28, broke down in tears, Venezuelan flag around her neck, as she told why she was supporting Mr Guaido. "I want my country to be free, and I want freedom to be the way here again," she told The Telegraph. "There is too much suffering, and we have to bring democracy back. Today we are doing it." Opposition activists pour onto the streets on Saturday, to back Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's calls for early elections Bekis Seijas, a 60-year-old retired health ministry employee, said he and his two children were the only members of his family not to have fled the country. "We need humanitarian aid," he told The Telegraph. "We need medicines, we need food, and this government blocks everything. That's why I'm here." Mr Guaido announced on Twitter that humanitarian aid was on its way. The move is being seen as a test of whether the military remains loyal to Mr Maduro, and turns it away, or defies the commander in chief and helps the people. "You, soldier... have the decision in your hands" to allow it in or not, said Mr Guaido. In the northwestern city of Barquisimeto video on social media appeared to show riot police refusing to repress protesters, and walking away from the demonstrations. One officer hugged a protester. The demonstrations came as a general from the Venezuelan air force announced he no longer recognises Mr Maduro as the country's president, in what appears to be the highest ranking military defection to hit the regime. Major European countries have set a Sunday deadline for Mr Maduro to call snap presidential elections. Failing that, they will join the United States in recognising Mr Guaido, leader of the national assembly, as Venezuela's interim president. His announcement on Saturday does not meet their demands. "Maduro's tyranny must end and must end now," said Mike Pence, the US vice president, at a rally of exiled Venezuelans in Miami on the eve of the protest. An anti-government protester wears signs asking for humanitarian aid and a message on his chest that reads in Spanish: "Venezuelans die for lack of medicines. Maduro is an assassin" Mr Guaido in an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa said he wanted the Vatican to intervene in his favour. "We hope to soon hear a pronouncement by the pope," he said. But the Argentine-born pontiff said a few days earlier that, although he is terrified there could be a bloodbath in Venezuela, his pastoral role does not let him take sides. Mr Guaido's call for a massive show of popular support coincides with a huge pro-Maduro demonstration. The ruling Socialist party celebrated the 20th anniversary of the rise to power of Hugo Chavez, Mr Maduro's deceased predecessor, on Saturday. Mr Maduro told the crowd that the armed forces were "the spinal column" of the country, and that he had every faith in them. "If Venezuela wants a future, peace, then we must preserve our country's integrity," he said, praising his armed forces. "If you want peace, prepare yourself to defend it. We are a peaceful population. But we are warriors. The United States empire threatens us every day. We don't want another Vietnam. And I have a message for the people of the United States: stop the madness of Donald Trump." Clashes last week around the country left some 40 people dead, according to the United Nations. Chavez, the army officer whose oil-fueled spending raised millions of Venezuelans out of poverty, assumed office as Venezuela's president February 2, 1999 at the head of a socialist movement. Government supporters are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hugo Chavez's rise to power Credit: Ariana Cubillos/AP His hand-picked successor, Mr Maduro, has presided over the oil-rich country's economic collapse and is widely denounced as a dictator for ruthlessly cracking down on dissent amid chronic shortages of food and medicines. Mr Guaido, 35, is trying to force the socialist leader from power so he can set up a transitional government and hold new presidential elections. The United States and a dozen Latin American countries rapidly recognised Mr Guaido after he declared himself acting president in a January 23 speech, posing a direct challenge to Mr Maduro's authority. European Parliament politicians recognised Mr Guaido on Thursday as the acting head of state. And four major European powers - Britain, France, Germany and Spain - have said they will do so if Mr Maduro fails to call presidential elections by midnight on Sunday. The international heave against Mr Maduro's leftist regime came after weeks of behind-the-scenes diplomacy including secret talks in Washington between Mr Guaido and US officials. "Nicolas Maduro will do well not to test the resolve of the United States of America," Mr Pence warned on Friday. "Let me be very clear: this is no time for dialogue. This is time for action," the vice president said. "The time has come to end Maduro's dictatorship once and for all." Evo Morales, president of Bolivia, flew into Venezuela on Friday to offer Mr Maduro his support In a letter to the presidents of Mexico and Uruguay published Friday, Mr Guaido ruled out any negotiations with Maduro unless they "start the transition process, culminating in the holding of free elections." Mexico's Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Uruguay's Tabare Vazquez have jointly called a conference in Montevideo next Thursday for "neutral" countries to discuss the crisis. Previous negotiations all had the same "unsatisfactory result," Mr Guaido wrote. "The dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro has not changed its position. They have mocked the Venezuelan people to their face." The last 10 days of political upheaval have exacerbated economic meltdown in Venezuela, which has the world's largest proven oil reserves but has suffered hyperinflation and shortages of basic necessities. The UN says 2.3 million people have fled the country, unleashing a migration crisis in South America. Mr Guaido has acknowledged "clandestine meetings" with members of the armed forces and security forces, who he is trying to woo with an amnesty offer. So far, the military high command has remained loyal to Mr Maduro.
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| President Trump Appoints Ronny Jackson, Who Withdrew From VA Head Consideration, to Chief Medical Advisor Posted: 03 Feb 2019 11:10 AM PST  His nomination to head the VA was derailed by allegations of professional misconduct
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| Erdogan says cannot understand US 'silence' over Khashoggi murder Posted: 03 Feb 2019 12:42 PM PST  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday accused the United States of maintaining a "silence" on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who killed by a Saudi hit team in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate. "I cannot understand America's silence... We want everything to be clarified because there is an atrocity, there is a murder," Erdogan told an interview with state-run TRT television. Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and Saudi regime critic, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
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| The 2020 Kia Telluride Is Shaping Up to Be a Good Value Posted: 03 Feb 2019 03:42 PM PST  Here is the info you need on the new three-row SUV's pricing and trim levels.
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| Trump wants U.S. military in Iraq to 'watch Iran': CBS interview Posted: 03 Feb 2019 10:27 AM PST  The Republican president lamented "endless wars" in Syria and Afghanistan in an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation" and made clear he wants to reduce the costly U.S. military presence in those countries despite warnings against such moves from his military advisers and spy chiefs. The United States could rely heavily on intelligence work in Afghanistan, he said, and respond to developments in Syria from U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq. Iran's Revolutionary Guards have sent weapons and thousands of soldiers to Syria to help shore up the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a 7-year civil war there.
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| TSA officer jumps to his death at Orlando airport Posted: 02 Feb 2019 03:35 PM PST  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An officer from the Transportation Security Administration jumped to his death from a balcony inside Florida's busiest airport Saturday, creating panic that brought some security checkpoints to a halt for hours, grounded flights and caused serious delays.
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| WATCH LIVE TUESDAY: President Donald Trump to deliver State of the Union address Posted: 02 Feb 2019 03:02 PM PST  The president will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday in the House chambers.
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| The 12 Iconic Movie Cars You Missed in Walmart's Super Bowl Commercial Posted: 03 Feb 2019 06:34 PM PST |
| Maduro rejects European ultimatum on elections Posted: 03 Feb 2019 05:14 PM PST  Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro rejected Sunday an ultimatum by European countries to call snap elections after opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself the Latin American country's legitimate leader. Seven EU states had given Maduro a Sunday deadline to call presidential elections or they would recognize the 35-year-old National Assembly head as the interim president. A defiant Maduro said in an interview with Spanish television station Sexta that he would not "cave in to pressure" from those calling for his departure.
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| Will Sears survive? 5 things to watch at Monday's hearing to decide the company's fate Posted: 03 Feb 2019 09:01 PM PST ![Will Sears survive? 5 things to watch at Monday's hearing to decide the company's fate]( "Will Sears survive? 5 things to watch at Monday's hearing to decide the company's fate") The fate of Sears Holdings will be decided in a dramatic showdown that begins Monday in a federal bankruptcy court in New York.
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| Trump Says He’s Inclined to Keep Base in Iraq to ‘Watch’ Iran Posted: 03 Feb 2019 08:17 AM PST  Trump also said he'd ignore the advice of intelligence community officials on Iran if their views run counter to his own. "When my intelligence people tell me how wonderful Iran is -- if you don't mind, I'm going to just go by my own counsel," Trump said in an interview with CBS News.
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| Russia to abandon nuclear arms treaty after US accuses Moscow of deploying banned missiles Posted: 02 Feb 2019 04:30 AM PST  Vladimir Putin has said Russia will develop nuclear weapons prohibited by a centerpiece arms treaty, after Moscow and Washington both abandoned the pact amid a dispute over alleged violations. The Kremlin said on Saturday that it was pulling out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty a day after the US announced its withdrawal, accusing Russia of deploying missiles that violated the terms of the Cold War agreement. In a deepening standoff that has prompted warnings of a repeat of a Cold War showdown and calls for deescalation from China, Mr Putin said he was ordering the military to develop new land-based weapons banned by the INF pact. His defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said in the televised meeting that they would include a land-based version of the Kalibr ship-based cruise missile and a new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile. The Russian leader said they would not be deployed unless the US also did so, but vowed a "quid pro quo" response. "Our American partners have announced they were suspending their participation in the treaty and will do the same. They have announced they will conduct research and development, and we will act accordingly," Mr Putin said. "Russia will not station intermediate-range weapons in Europe or other regions until similar US weapons appear in those regions," he added. Donald Trump, the US president, claimed on Friday that Moscow was violating the treaty with "impunity" and said Washington would move forward with developing its own military response to Russia's deployment of banned cruise missiles capable of reaching Western Europe. Moscow has dismissed the claims as fabrications aimed at putting the blame onto Russia for the demise of the bilateral 1987 treaty, which was negotiated by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev to end a Cold War buildup of warheads. The ratcheting tensions drew calls from Beijing for the two rival powers to "resolve differences through constructive dialogue". Geng Shuang, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, warned the US withdrawal from the treaty could trigger "a series of negative consequences". But Beijing ruled out joining a new multilateral pact - another irritant to Washington, which says that some 95 per cent of China's ballistic and cruise missiles would fall foul of the INF treaty if it were party to it. Mr Putin also said he would review progress on building other weapons not covered by the INF treaty, including the intercontinental Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle and the Poseidon underwater nuclear drone. The Russian president used his annual address last year to unveil an array of new "invincible" nuclear weapons, including the Avangard and the Poseidon. The Avangard, he claimed, could travel at 20 times the speed of sound and strike "like a fireball". Mr Putin also said he wanted the Russian military to prepare a response to the possible deployment of weapons in space - a move that follows Mr Trump's announcement last month that he wants to develop space-based sensors and missile defence systems. The US leader said at the time that space was the new arena for war as he called for the sensors to detect missile launches, as part of his Space Force proposal for a military department specifically focused on space. On Saturday, Iran also announced the "successful test" of a new cruise missile with a range of over 1,350 kilometres (839 miles), coinciding with anniversary celebrations for the country's 1979 Islamic revolution.
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| Outsider wins El Salvador presidency, breaking two-party system Posted: 03 Feb 2019 10:51 PM PST  Nayib Bukele, the 37-year-old former mayor of the capital, San Salvador, won 54 percent of votes with returns counted from 88 percent of polling stations, said Julio Olivo, the head of the electoral tribunal. This day El Salvador destroyed the two-party system," Bukele told hundreds of Salvadorans who danced, waved flags and blew whistles in a San Salvador plaza that Bukele revitalized when he was mayor from 2015 to 2018. Bukele must now contend with U.S. President Donald Trump's frequent threats to cut aid to El Salvador - as well as neighboring Guatemala and Honduras - if they do not do more to curb migration to the United States.
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| Eastern Virginia Medical School officials and alumni react to racist yearbook photo Posted: 03 Feb 2019 07:07 AM PST  Eastern Virginia Medical School alumni began defending their school – and in some cases the photo from the 1984 yearbook page of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam
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| Passenger slits Uber driver's throat, survives injuries Posted: 03 Feb 2019 05:45 AM PST  The attacker has been charged with second degree attempted murder and aggravated assault with a weapon.
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| What to Know About the 2020 Toyota Supra Posted: 03 Feb 2019 09:07 PM PST  It's the return of the almighty Supra, but this Japanese car has a German flair.
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| Nissan scraps plan to build new X-Trail model in Britain Posted: 03 Feb 2019 07:28 PM PST ![Nissan scraps plan to build new X-Trail model in Britain]( "Nissan scraps plan to build new X-Trail model in Britain") Carmaker Nissan has scrapped plans to build its new X-Trail SUV in Britain and will produce it solely in Japan, warning two months before Brexit that uncertainty over Britain's departure was making it harder to plan for the future. Falling demand for diesel cars in Europe has forced Nissan to invest in other technologies and save costs. It cut hundreds of jobs at its Sunderland factory in the north of England, Britain's biggest car plant, last year as output slumped 11 percent, hit by levies and crackdowns on diesel.
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| 15 panorama fails that are actually art Posted: 03 Feb 2019 05:00 AM PST  Over the past few years, our camera-equipped phones have given us the gift/curse of the panorama fail. Some of these photos end up being truly hilarious, while others look like something that walked straight out of a Stephen King novel. From distorted dogs to disturbingly flat faces, here are some of the funniest, and most horrifying panorama fails that are honestly real works of art. ## 1\. This man is truly a pano fail king > View this post on Instagram > > These honestly never fail to make me laugh #PanoramaFail > > A post shared by Miles Myerscough-Harris (@milesmh) on Mar 23, 2018 at 8:31am PDT ## 2\. Poetry in motion > View this post on Instagram > > Wally's beach St Mary's reservoir #skimboarding #skimboard #beach #panofail #panofails #panoramafails #nofilter #panowin #funny #funnypano #funnypanorama #funnypanofail > > A post shared by Corinne (@claod_idia) on Jul 31, 2016 at 8:44pm PDT ## 3\. I often feel like I've forgotten my head, but this isn't what I had in mind > @PanoramaFails the headless bearded drinker pic.twitter.com/wZYd2mca9l > > -- Mia & Dolly (@Miameeze) May 6, 2018 ## 4\. We're not entirely sure if this is a sheep or a dog, but either way it's a baaaaa-d panorama > @PanoramaFails pic.twitter.com/J6vA1WJ8KK > > -- Gemma Thomas (@gemma_thomas7) September 3, 2017 ## 5\. "Who you callin' pinhead?" ## 6\. Nice ## 7\. It's a twin thing > Ever feel two-faced? Yeah, me neither.#universalorlando #Throwback #panoramafail pic.twitter.com/0oVJ3E9vPb > > -- CharWer (@char_wer) August 3, 2018 ## 8\. This one's actually pretty smooth > Sooo I love my Google Pixel, but the AI/auto image creator doesn't know it's cattle! You can't just stitch a black #brangus heifer onto the rear end of a red bull to make a Panorama! Photo fail at #ekka. @BushBabeofOz @pipcourtney @troysetter @FinlayBrent pic.twitter.com/UKGQWuRitG > > -- Sam Trethewey (@Sam_Trethewey) August 9, 2018 ## 9\. These dogs seem to have the opposite problem > Don't worry your dog could have been like mine #panoramafail pic.twitter.com/xeYD4V8UPI > > -- Nat Miller (@natmiller) June 1, 2018 ## 10\. Just a very normal 2-legged horse > Sometimes, my #panorama #photo can go wrong. Can you spot it?..#London #oopsiedaisies #fail pic.twitter.com/xaamTHBWHD > > -- Alastair Hilton (@London_W4) May 25, 2016 ## 11\. Don't worry, girl, I have close-set eyes too > when panorama fails you pic.twitter.com/JhZsmbNR60 > > -- Krystina (@ktinastan) December 21, 2015 ## 12\. Heads up, bro ## 13\. Riding the bus is for squares ## 14\. Ahh, the ghosts of Crocs past > View this post on Instagram > > A post shared by Vera Vang (@vera_z_vang) on Oct 20, 2018 at 8:29pm PDT ## 15\. This is like the slinky dog just like the one in Toy Story > View this post on Instagram > > I do what I want-Harley #panoramafail #forpugssake > > A post shared by Harley the Pug (@forpugssake) on Sep 24, 2018 at 1:30pm PDT Hope you enjoyed these pano fails, which if you did makes them more of pano wins. ## WATCH: In a killer SAG Awards monologue, host Megan Mullally goes after ageism and sexism in Hollywood
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| India's prime minister visits Kashmir amid protest strike Posted: 03 Feb 2019 04:41 AM PST  SRINAGAR, India (AP) — India's prime minster paid a daylong visit to disputed Kashmir on Sunday to review development work as separatists fighting Indian rule called for a shutdown in the Himalayan region.
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| Chicago police Sgt. Lori Rice found dead in apparent suicide Posted: 03 Feb 2019 03:46 PM PST  A 47-year-old off-duty Chicago police sergeant was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
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| Employers add booming 304,000 jobs in January, marking 100th straight month of employment gains Posted: 03 Feb 2019 02:38 PM PST  Employers added 304,000 jobs in January, the 100th straight month of gains. Economists expected 165,000. Government shutdown was set to have modest impact
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| Trump sees 'good chance' of deals with N.Korea, China Posted: 03 Feb 2019 09:47 AM PST  President Donald Trump said in remarks aired Sunday he saw a "good chance" of reaching deals on two key US foreign policy challenges: North Korean nuclear disarmament and trade relations with China. Interviewed on CBS's "Face the Nation," Trump said the date and venue of his upcoming second summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un had been agreed -- and would likely be announced before or during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
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| Here are two truths to help you build a successful career and future Posted: 03 Feb 2019 07:13 AM PST ![Here are two truths to help you build a successful career and future]( "Here are two truths to help you build a successful career and future") What makes companies like Coca-Cola and Merck endure? It's a culture that stays restless. You need that same attitude to build your career.
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