| Odd Truce Takes Hold in Caracas After Day of Violent Clashes Posted: 01 May 2019 11:07 AM PDT  Maduro let them do it. The country settled back into its strange status quo, with the armed forces sticking by Maduro, who won a rigged re-election last year, and the Trump administration standing by Guaido, the lawmaker more than 50 nations recognize as Venezuela's legitimate leader.
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| Georgia woman sentenced to die for murder of stepdaughter Posted: 30 Apr 2019 09:03 AM PDT  ATLANTA (AP) — A woman has been sentenced to die by lethal injection for starving her stepdaughter to death in an Atlanta suburb in 2013.
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| Sri Lanka says 42 foreigners among Easter victims Posted: 29 Apr 2019 10:40 PM PDT  Sri Lankan authorities have identified 42 foreign nationals among the 253 people killed in the string of Easter suicide bombings, officials said Tuesday. Another 12 foreigners remain unaccounted for and could be among still unidentified bodies at Colombo's police morgue, foreign ministry officials said. Five wounded foreigners were still in hospital after the April 21 blasts at churches and hotels claimed by the Islamic State group.
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| Biden: Democrats may have 'no alternative' but to impeach President Trump Posted: 30 Apr 2019 08:52 AM PDT  Biden said Congress would have "no alternative" but to impeach President Trump if the White House tries to block investigations spurred by the Mueller report.
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| Student killed in University of North Carolina-Charlotte shooting 'died a hero' Posted: 01 May 2019 02:45 PM PDT  One of the two students who were killed in a shooting at the University ofNorth Carolina at Charlotte on Tuesday attempted to stop the gunman by jumpingon him
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| The media is failing on climate change – here's how they can do better ahead of 2020 Posted: 30 Apr 2019 06:40 AM PDT  We spoke to climate change experts for advice on how news outlets can cover the environment in ways that make voters listen Young protestors hold placards at the office of U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell during a Green New Deal demonstration. Photograph: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock America elected Donald Trump at the end of the hottest year ever recorded, without debate moderators asking him a single question about global warming.But after three years of record temperatures, devastating wildfires and some of the most destructive hurricanes in US history, the media is facing new pressure – often from the candidates themselves – to give the subject more prominence during the 2020 election. Yesterday, MSNBC devoted more than five minutes to Beto O'Rourke's rollout of a $5tn climate plan, calling climate a "kitchen table issue" for 2020. Jay Inslee, the Washington governor who is seeking to make climate change the central thrust of his campaign, is calling on the Democratic National Committee to host a debate solely focused on climate. Bernie Sanders raised the issue during his town hall on Fox News earlier this month – and even drew cheers from the audience when he talked about new jobs in the renewable energy sector. Rising temperatures and the crisis they pose for humans were part of every Democratic candidate's pitch during CNN's marathon of hour-long town halls last week. In the run-up to 2020, as newsroom leaders grapple with their mistakes in the 2016 election – from reliance on inaccurate polls to underestimating the impact of fake news – the failure to press candidates on climate change is emerging as an area of self-examination. "In 2016 there were almost no questions asked , which is insane," says Tony Bartelme, a senior reporter who covers climate change for the Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. "It's a good start that we're starting to hear questions for 2020." The Guardian is joining forces with Columbia Journalism Review and the Nation to launch Covering Climate Change: A New Playbook for a 1.5-Degree World, a project aimed at dramatically improving US media coverage of the climate crisis. The project kicks off today with an event at Columbia Journalism School featuring CJR's editor-in-chief, Kyle Pope, the Nation's environment correspondent, Mark Hertsgaard, and the Guardian climate columnist Bill McKibben. The Green New Deal – progressives' vision for slowing climate change without further burdening the poor – has also helped catapult the subject into the 2020 conversation. In March, MSNBC's Chris Hayes took the highly unusual step of devoting an hour to the idea, in a show featuring the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But even as there are signs that airtime for climate is beginning to increase, questions remain about the depth and quality of the coverage. "I don't see the media paying much attention to differentiating how serious each candidate is on the climate question," said David Gelber, the creator and executive producer for the Showtime series on climate change, Years Of Living Dangerously. More Americans than ever are worried about climate change. A poll of likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa ranked climate change about on par with healthcare as the top issues they want candidates to talk about. Research indicates that major national newspapers are beginning to pay more attention to climate – but local publications and TV news haven't kept up. The major broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX – spent just 142 minutes on climate change last year, according to one calculation from the progressive group Media Matters. And about half of Americans hear about global warming in the media once a month or less, according to surveys by climate communications programs at Yale and George Mason universities. Meanwhile, five major national US newspapers – the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times – have, in aggregate, roughly tripled their coverage of climate change since four years ago, according to the Media and Climate Change Observatory at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The New York Times now has a desk of about a dozen covering climate . Climate editor Hannah Fairfield said the team is collaborating with the politics desk to report on the 2020 candidates' climate positions. But climate coverage is not just a question of volume– it's also a question of approach. We spoke to experts in the field for their advice on how news outlets should cover climate in ways that make voters listen during the 2020 race. Quote conservatives Adam Berinsky, who studies why some people believe political rumors – such as that climate change is a hoax – said people who buy into political rumors are driven by a "combination of conspiratorial dispositions and political motivations". They are more likely to change their minds if they hear from sources they identify with, often fellow conservatives. Aaron McCright, a sociology professor who studies public opinion at Michigan State University, said journalists should give the small but growing numbers of conservatives who care about climate change "more of a mouthpiece so that their message could start competing" with science denialism. Republicans who want to limit climate pollution for the sake of national security or as part of a plan for energy independence need to compete better with climate deniers, said McCright. "Those could be effective messages if they're promoted hour by hour, day by day, week by week, by dozens or hundreds of conservatives in everyday life, TV, papers, Congress." Bring up climate, even when the candidates don't Gelber says reporters should bring the campaign story back to climate change, even if the candidates aren't discussing their proposed solutions. He said they should help audiences differentiate between the candidates, explaining to viewers and readers how specific they have gotten in their plans. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez greets audiences following a televised town hall event on the Green New Deal in New York City on 29 March 2019. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters Cover climate as a local news story Edward Maibach, a George Mason climate communications scientist, said "most people are saying they rarely hear climate change news because most people pay attention to local news. Most climate news in America is not local news". Maibach's program, Climate Matters, trains weathercasters and local reporters to explain the local consequences of a warming world. Bartelme suggests trying to connect local catastrophes to the climate story and explain why the extreme weather is happening. "What we can do is make those connections for people," Fairfield said. Reporters can seek out "local stories that have climate fingerprints on them". Focus on solutions Elizabeth Arnold, a longtime reporter and professor at the University of Alaska, argues that "doom and gloom" coverage alone may force the public to disengage. "Repetition of a narrow narrative that focuses exclusively on the impacts of climate change leaves the public with an overall sense of powerlessness," she said in an introduction to one paper. Choose words carefully Susan Hassol, director of the organization Climate Communication, said the phrase "heat-trapping pollution" is easier to understand than "greenhouse gas", and "global warming" conveys more meaning than "climate change". The Guardian is partnering with Columbia Journalism Review and the Nation today on "Covering Climate Change," a town hall event with media leaders about how to change the media narrative on climate change. Watch the event live here between 9am and 2pm.
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| 'Only medical exemptions': Buttigieg campaign clarifies vaccine position after uproar Posted: 01 May 2019 06:45 AM PDT  Buttigieg's campaign tried to clarify the mayor's position on vaccines after earlier comments indicated support for personal or religious exemptions.
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| U.S. small business owners are preparing for a recession - Bank of America survey Posted: 30 Apr 2019 09:42 AM PDT ![U.S. small business owners are preparing for a recession - Bank of America survey]( "U.S. small business owners are preparing for a recession - Bank of America survey") Small business owners around the country are preparing for a recession, according to a new survey by Bank of America Corp, and the bank wants to put more business specialists in branches to help, an executive told Reuters. More than two-thirds of business owners surveyed by the bank said they had taken steps to prepare for an economic downturn, including setting cash aside or planning to reduce expenses. Of the 69 percent of owners who had started preparing for a recession, only 19 percent had opened a line of credit, a figure that Bank of America's head of small business Sharon Miller said was too low.
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| Will the Culture War Kill the NRA? Posted: 01 May 2019 03:30 AM PDT  The National Rifle Association has big troubles. It's wildly in debt. The attorney general of New York — where the NRA was founded in 1871 and where it remains incorporated — is investigating the tax-exempt status of what she has called a "terrorist organization." The NRA's longtime chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, is in a bitter feud with its outgoing president, Oliver North. Accusations are flying, including of attempted extortion and misuse of perhaps millions of dollars.On the surface, the NRA's problems have little to do with the typical criticisms hurled at it by its biggest detractors. To them, the villainous NRA is too rich, too powerful, and too well-run, not an outfit drowning in red ink and dysfunction. But it turns out that its real problems, in part, may stem from its outsized ambitions.For most of its history, the NRA was a sporting club dedicated to teaching gun safety and promoting hunting and marksmanship as a pastime. It was founded by two Union Army officers who had noticed that the Confederates tended to be better shots. In the 1930s, it started to dip its toes into lobbying, but in favor of limited gun control. The NRA, for instance, supported the Federal Firearms Act of 1938, which established federal gun licensing requirements. It wasn't until the mid-1970s, after passage of the federal Gun Control Act, that new leadership at the NRA made lobbying for gun rights central to its mission.Still, that mission was notably bipartisan. Working from the common-sense assumption that gun rights would be better protected if support came from both parties, the NRA once supported candidates on either side of the aisle. In the 2000 campaign cycle, it spent $372,000 on some 66 Democratic incumbents. But by 2016, it contributed to just four.What happened? The easy answer is that as the GOP increasingly embraced gun rights, the Democrats embraced gun control — or the other way around. Which side is guilty of policy extremism depends on your views on gun policy. Asking which side is guilty of rhetorical extremism is pointless, because both are. The NRA is not a "terrorist organization," but neither are its opponents a horde of anarchists, socialists, and goons, as the NRA's media arm often portrays them.The GOP-NRA alliance came downstream from two larger social shifts. The first is the "Big Sort" — shorthand for how American society has self-organized not just into "red" and "blue" regions, but also worldviews. The end of the NRA's bipartisan lobbying strategy simply reflected the facts on the ground. In 1989, 64 percent of Republicans had a favorable view of the NRA, and so did 49 percent of Democrats. Today, those numbers are 88 percent and 24 percent, respectively.The second reason is that the parties are weaker than they have ever been. The common assertion that Republican politicians are pro-gun because they've been bought off with NRA blood money is mostly a paranoid conspiracy theory. The NRA doesn't actually give very much money to politicians, at least compared with, say, organized labor or trial lawyers.What the NRA does do — incredibly effectively — is organize and inform voters, mobilizing them to vote reliably for philosophically aligned candidates. Historically, that was a function of political parties, but now it's been largely outsourced to special-interest groups such as the NRA but also Planned Parenthood for the Democrats. These groups are motivated to get out the vote, but they're also incentivized to monetize the voters.The net effect has been for these interest groups to go all in for the culture war — which is highly effective for fundraising — and take our elections with them.NRA folks today inveigh against "the socialists" with the same vehemence they used to reserve for gun-grabbers. UCLA law professor Adam Winkler, author of Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America, observes that NRATV, the online media outlet of the NRA, has strayed far from the gun lane. "Now it's focused on immigration, race, health care," he told The New Republic. Dana Loesch, an NRA spokeswoman, has called the mainstream news media "the rat bastards of the earth" who deserve to be "curb-stomped."We've come a long way since William F. Buckley came out in favor of the Brady Bill.Political parties once had the desire and resources to manage their own brands — keeping activists and interests at a more healthy distance. Those days are gone. Parties — and the institutions that really run them — are simply uniforms for combatants in the culture war. In such a climate, it's no surprise that things such as good corporate governance became an afterthought at the NRA.© 2019 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY LLC
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| Violent clashes in Venezuela after opposition leader Juan Guaido calls for military uprising Posted: 30 Apr 2019 09:31 AM PDT  Violent clashes broke out in Venezuela's capital on Tuesday as opposition leader Juan Guaido took to the streets alongside armed soldiers and supporters after calling for a military uprising. A few thousand protesters were pelted with tear gas in Caracas and at one point an armoured vehicle rammed into the crowds, appearing to leave some people injured. Earlier in the day Mr Guaido, who has declared himself interim president, released a video of himself alongside around a dozen soldiers who he claimed had defected. He praised the "braze soldiers" and urged more to do likewise, saying the "final push" toward removing embattled socialist president Nicolas Maduro was underway. Leopoldo Lopez, a fellow opposition politician, also appeared in the video despite being under house arrest since 2017. He claimed forces loyal to Mr Guaido had released him. En el marco de nuestra constitución. Y por el cese definitivo de la usurpación. https://t.co/3RD2bnQhxt— Juan Guaidó (@jguaido) April 30, 2019 Mr Maduro's government labelled the move an attempted "coup", a description echoed by supportive politicians abroad, and vowed to crack down on the "military traitors". Mr Maduro later said military leaders had assured him they remained loyal. There were few public signs that Mr Guaido's call had triggered a broader revolt among commanders. Senior US administration figures gave their vocal backing, with president Donald Trump, vice president Mike Pence, secretary of state Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton all issuing supportive statements. But Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, urged "maximum restraint" on all sides, while the body's spokesman said the dispute must be resolved "peacefully". Sir Alan Duncan, the UK government minister for the Americas, said he was watching events "very closely", adding that Mr Guaido had shown "courage, creativity and resolution". Mr Guaido and his supporters gathered near the Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Air Base, the military airport in Caracas where his video appeared to have been shot. Around 70 soldiers wearing blue armbands in support for Mr Guaido reportedly squared off against security forces loyal to the regime. One pro-Guaido solider was injured in the clashes. As more supporters joined, the scenes turned increasingly ugly. Footage showed water cannons being used on the crowds and, at one moment, a military vehicle smashing into protesters. The call for a military uprising was the boldest attempt yet by Mr Guaido, who cited constitutional powers back in January to declare himself interim president, to force Mr Maduro from power. Opposition demonstrators clashes with soldiers loyal to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after troops joined opposition leader Juan Guaido Credit: Matias DELACROIX / AFP His claim has been supported by America and more than 50 other countries, some of whom have implemented sanctions. But others, including Russia, are backing Mr Maduro. In the video, Mr Guaido, 35, spoke directly to camera as more than a dozen soldiers dressed in military uniform, some holding guns, stood to attention behind him. "Today, brave soldiers, brave patriots, brave men loyal to the Constitution have followed our call," said Mr Guaido, who is also president of the country's National Assembly. He called on people to take to the streets all over Venezuela and claimed that "the definitive end of the usurpation starts today". He added: "Today as the caretaker president of Venezuela, as the legitimate commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I call on all soldiers, the military family, to accompany us in this mission." Support for Venezuela leadership Mr Lopez, seen as Mr Guaido's political mentor, stood behind him and watched on. He later said he had been released from house arrest by security forces adhering to an order from Mr Guaido. "I want to tell the Venezuelan people: This is the moment to take to the streets and accompany these patriotic soldiers," Mr Lopez said. Soon after the video, which appeared to have been filmed in the early morning, was posted online the move was condemned by Mr Maduro's ministers. Vladimir Padrino, the Venezuelan defence minister, said: "We reject this coup movement, which aims to fill the country with violence." He insisted the country's forces remained loyal to Mr Maduro. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido posted a video of himself near the Generalisimo Francisco de Miranda Airbase in Caracas Credit: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Jorge Rodriguez, the country's information minister, wrote on Twitter that the "military traitors" who were seeking to promote a "coup" were being confronted. A Kremlin spokesman and the Bolivan president Evo Morales, key allies of Mr Maduro, called the uprising a "coup" attempt. Cuba's foreign minister also denounced the move. But Donald Trump's administration issued statements of support. Mr Trump himself tweeted that "the United States stands with the People of Venezuela and their Freedom!" and that he was monitoring the situation "very closely". Mr Pence tweeted to Mr Guaido and his supporters: "We are with you! America will stand with you until freedom and democracy are restored." Sprain, instrumental in shaping the European Union's stance on Venezuela, was more cautious, with a government spokesman calling for a "peaceful democratic process" rather than "bloodshed". It was unclear whether Mr Guaido's message had resonated with the military leaders whose support is critical in keeping Mr Maduro in power despite a crumbling economy and electricity blackouts. A soldier in the group with Mr Guaido denied government claims they had been tricked into acting, telling Reuters: "We're all afraid, but we had to do it." Another protest called for by Mr Guaido and his supporters is due to take place on Wednesday.
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| Events in Minneapolis officer's shooting of 911 caller Posted: 30 Apr 2019 03:28 PM PDT  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A timeline of key moments in the July 15, 2017, fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, an unarmed woman who had called 911 to report a possible crime, and the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Mohamed Noor:
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| Follower of Sri Lanka bomber sought India attack: police Posted: 30 Apr 2019 02:16 AM PDT  An alleged follower of Sri Lankan bombing mastermind Zahran Hashim was set to appear before an Indian court Tuesday after admitting he wanted to carry out an attack in India, investigators said. India has been concerned about Islamist extremists on its soil for some time and the April 21 Sri Lanka bombings that killed 253 people has left authorities alarmed that India might be at risk of a jihadist attack. The Indian national, identified as Riyas A, alias Riyas Aboobacker, 29, was arrested on Monday by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), which handles counter-terrorism cases.
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| State's attorney opposes special prosecutor in Jussie Smollett case Posted: 30 Apr 2019 11:32 AM PDT  Kim Foxx, Chicago's top prosecutor, is fighting a push to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her office's handling of the case against Jussie Smollett.
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| Experts: Missing pins possibly caused Seattle crane collapse Posted: 29 Apr 2019 10:06 PM PDT  SEATTLE (AP) — It appears workers who were disassembling a construction crane had prematurely removed pins securing the sections of the crane's mast to each other, and that could explain why it toppled Saturday, killing four people, experts said.
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| ANALYSIS-Why Airbus isn't pouncing on Boeing's 737 MAX turmoil Posted: 30 Apr 2019 02:05 AM PDT ![ANALYSIS-Why Airbus isn't pouncing on Boeing's 737 MAX turmoil]( "ANALYSIS-Why Airbus isn't pouncing on Boeing's 737 MAX turmoil") When Boeing launched its 737 MAX jetliner in response to Airbus's record-selling A320neo, a wave of poker-faced satisfaction spread through Airbus headquarters in France. Its reasons for cheering Boeing's decision to make a similar jet, based on a similar strategy of engine efficiencies, partly explain why Airbus is wary of exploiting Boeing's misery over the global grounding of the MAX today, industry sources say.
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| House panel chairman says Barr must testify Thursday Posted: 29 Apr 2019 07:11 PM PDT  Barr has to come. It's none of the business of a witness to try to dictate to a congressional committee what our procedures for questioning him are," Nadler told reporters. Justice Department officials had no immediate comment on the lawmaker's remarks.
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| Just How Bad a South China Sea War Could Get Posted: 29 Apr 2019 07:00 PM PDT  Thus, China began its war for the South China Sea.China's claims of South China Sea (SCS) ownership are illegal, but Beijing's hyper-nationalistic officials increasingly encourage its forces to attack U.S. Navy ships operating lawfully there.The People's Republic of China (PRC) appears to be calling for war—a war it may well get. But it is a war that will not stay confined to that body of water, and a war that could ultimately end with regime change in Beijing.(This first appeared last month.)One People's Liberation Army (PLA) officer recently exhorted PLA Navy vessels to ram and sink U.S. Navy ships conducting freedom of navigation operations in the SCS. Another called for the sinking of two U.S. aircraft carriers and killing upward of 10,000 U.S. sailors to force the U.S. from these hotly contested waters."If the US warships break into Chinese waters again, I suggest that two warships should be sent: one to stop it, and another one to ram it," said PLA Air Force Colonel Commandant Dai Xu on December 8, 2018. Dai, president of China's Institute of Marine Safety and Cooperation, proposed these unprovoked acts of war in a highly publicized forum: at a conference sponsored by Beijing Global Times.
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| The Latest: 7 Tennessee victims died of blunt force injuries Posted: 30 Apr 2019 02:53 PM PDT  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Latest on the investigation into seven people killed in rural Tennessee (all times local):
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| This is a fully electric Ford Bronco, and you can own one Posted: 30 Apr 2019 03:04 PM PDT  Electric vehicles might very well be the future, with nearly ever major automaker at least dabbling in fully electric cars and some of them betting big on the end of gas-guzzling cars entirely, but we're not there yet. An automotive revolution takes time, and people tend to look back on classic cars and trucks with near fanatical fondness.A company called Zero Labs Automotive has been doing its best to combine the two, marrying classic designs with all-electric technology. Its first big project is the production of a "new" electric Ford Bronco, complete with the body of the now-retro truck sitting atop all new guts, and boy does it look awesome.Gutting an old Bronco of its gas-burning motor and replacing it with a new electric powertrain is already a bold departure from what the vehicles were originally designed to be, but these reborn Fords will pull more than their fair share of weight. Zero Labs promises as much as 440 horsepower and a range of 190 miles from the truck's electric upgrades.Final specifications are still being hashed out, but Zero Labs says it's using over 1,000 totally redesigned parts for each restoration. The fact that these vehicles are being treated as restorations is also very important, since no company besides Ford would have the right to actually reproduce a classic Bronco and stick a Ford badge on it. The donor vehicles are registered with the DMV and will have to pass inspection after being completed, allowing them to retain their original branding.There's definitely something about the old Ford Broncos that tugs at the heartstrings of classic auto fans. It's big, boxy, and purely utilitarian, but it's also incredibly charming in its own way. It makes sense that Zero Labs would choose it as their first project, but if you want to get your hands on the all-electric version you're going to need to get lucky.Because of the nature of these restorations only a limited number can be produced at one time, by law. Just 150 of these reimagined classics will hit the road, and we don't know anything about pricing yet. Zero Labs is already taking reservations, however, through a no-money-down application process.
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| PG&E still lacks estimate on compensating wildfire victims Posted: 29 Apr 2019 07:52 PM PDT  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.'s top financial executives said during a bankruptcy meeting Monday they still haven't determined when the utility can start compensating victims of recent wildfires started by the utility's equipment.
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| GM reports lower sales in China, North America Posted: 30 Apr 2019 06:32 AM PDT  US automaker General Motors saw profits more than double in the first quarter, but said Tuesday that lower sales in China and North America ate into total revenues. GM has been projecting auto sales in China to hold steady in 2019 compared to 2018, despite an economic slowdown that has dented auto demand. While there are expectations that government stimulus will help spur a recovery in the Chinese market, "we have yet to see that translate into auto demand," said Chief Financial Officer Dhivya Suryadevara.
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| Refile: Foxconn chairman travels to White House to discuss Wisconsin - source Posted: 30 Apr 2019 06:19 AM PDT ![Refile: Foxconn chairman travels to White House to discuss Wisconsin - source]( "Refile: Foxconn chairman travels to White House to discuss Wisconsin - source") The chairman of Apple supplier Foxconn will travel to the United States on Tuesday for a meeting in the White House that is believed to be related to an investment in Wisconsin, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Foxconn said this month it remains committed to its contract to build a display plant and tech research facilities in Wisconsin, days after the U.S. state's governor said he wanted to renegotiate the deal. In January, Reuters reported that Foxconn is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10 billion Wisconsin campus, and said it intends to hire mostly engineers and researchers rather than the manufacturing workforce the project originally promised.
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| Pelosi Invokes Obama to Head Off Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal Posted: 01 May 2019 01:00 AM PDT  Pelosi is planning a vote by the House this week on a bill that would prohibit President Donald Trump's administration from going through with plans to pull out of the Paris climate agreement. Liberal Democrats are leaving little doubt that the legislation won't be enough.
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| Trump directs officials to toughen asylum rules Posted: 30 Apr 2019 05:59 AM PDT  The moves are the latest effort by the Trump administration to stem a growing number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border, many of whom then seek asylum in the United States. Many of the changes would be dramatic shifts in how asylum seekers are treated, but would also require time-intensive regulatory procedures before they go into effect, which will likely take months. Trump administration officials have repeatedly blamed U.S. laws protecting asylum seekers for encouraging fraudulent or non-deserving claims.
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| Report: Violent anti-Semitic attacks in US doubled in 2018 Posted: 30 Apr 2019 09:32 AM PDT  Violent attacks against the Jewish community in the United States doubled last year, while overall attacks that also include vandalism and harassment remained near record-high levels, the Anti-Defamation League reported Tuesday.
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| Rep. Ilhan Omar blames U.S. policy for Venezuela upheaval Posted: 01 May 2019 03:53 PM PDT  Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) blamed the U.S. on Wednesday for the "devastation" in Venezuela and accused America of "bullying" the country's socialist regime.
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| Correction: Synagogue Shooting-California story Posted: 30 Apr 2019 09:04 AM PDT  POWAY, Calif. (AP) — In versions of a story April 28-30 about a shooting at a California synagogue, The Associated Press misspelled the first name of the wounded rabbi. It is Yisroel, not Yishoel.
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| Melinda Gates: Sharing school drop-off, kitchen duties changed my marriage Posted: 29 Apr 2019 09:33 PM PDT  Melinda Gates shares stories from her marriage and foundation in her new book, 'The Moment of Lift.'
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| When Ford Nearly Produced A Mid-Engined Mustang Posted: 30 Apr 2019 08:17 AM PDT  The up and coming mid-engined Chevrolet Corvette is arguably the industry's worst kept secret. Ford toyed with he idea of a mid-engine Mustang way back in the late 1960s. This is the story of the Ford Mustang sports car that never happened.
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| Trump sues banks in bid to block Congress subpoenas Posted: 29 Apr 2019 10:55 PM PDT  US President Donald Trump, along with his family and businesses, on Monday sued Deutsche Bank and Capital One in an attempt to stop them from complying with Congressional subpoenas issued as part of a probe into foreign political influence. "The subpoenas were issued to harass President Donald J. Trump, to rummage through every aspect of his personal finances, his businesses, and the private information of the President and his family, and to ferret about for any material that might be used to cause him political damage," said the suit, filed with the US federal court in the Southern District of New York. The suit accuses Congress of stepping beyond its law-making mandate into law enforcement, and says the subpoenas violate the privacy rights of Trump and his family.
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| New Mexico opens state migrant shelter, criticizes federal inaction Posted: 30 Apr 2019 07:57 PM PDT ![New Mexico opens state migrant shelter, criticizes federal inaction]( "New Mexico opens state migrant shelter, criticizes federal inaction") New Mexico's state fairgrounds will begin to house dozens of migrant families to take pressure off border cities facing a surge in asylum seekers with no help from the federal government, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Tuesday. Dormitories at state-run Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque could eventually provide temporary accommodation to up to 240 people, making it one of the largest migrant shelters in the state, according to state and city authorities. Lujan Grisham has called for a humanitarian response to the rise in asylum seekers, condemning a "charade of fear-mongering" by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has variously warned of a migrant "crisis" and "invasion" at the country's southern border with Mexico.
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| FAA mandates changes to Boeing 787 Dreamliner Posted: 01 May 2019 08:27 AM PDT ![FAA mandates changes to Boeing 787 Dreamliner]( "FAA mandates changes to Boeing 787 Dreamliner") The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday said it was mandating new flight control software and parts to Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner to address what it called an unsafe operating condition of certain products on the plane. The FAA's new airworthiness directive was prompted by a finding that certain areas in the 787's tire and wheel "threat zones" could be susceptible to damage, resulting in the loss of braking and steering power on the ground at certain speeds. Boeing did not immediately return requests for comment.
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| Armored Coffin: The M-4 Sherman Tank Was Hell on Wheels Posted: 30 Apr 2019 05:00 AM PDT  Heavily-modified "Super Shermans" even saw combat with the Israeli Defense Force during the Six Day War in 1967 and the Yom Kippur War in 1973.The M-4 Sherman was the workhorse medium tank of the U.S. Army and Marine Corps during World War II. It fought in every theater of operation—North Africa, the Pacific and Europe.The Sherman was renown for its mechanical reliability, owing to its standardized parts and quality construction on the assembly line. It was roomy, easily repaired, easy to drive. It should have been the ideal tank.But the Sherman was also a death trap.Most tanks at the time ran on diesel, a safer and less flammable fuel than gasoline. The Sherman's powerplant was a 400-horsepower gas engine that, combined with the ammo on board, could transform the tank into a Hellish inferno after taking a hit.All it took was a German adversary like the awe-inspiring Tiger tank with its 88-millimeter gun. One round could punch through the Sherman's comparatively thin armor. If they were lucky, the tank's five crew might have seconds to escape before they burned alive.
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| Tim Cook knows Apple TV+ won’t compete with Netflix, and he says it’s not supposed to Posted: 01 May 2019 09:30 AM PDT  Apple in late March unveiled its brand new Apple TV platform, which includes support for several stand-alone streaming apps, as well as its own Netflix-rival, Apple TV+. Weeks later, Disney came out with its own streaming service, Disney+, which will launch later this year. Unlike Apple, Disney actually revealed the price of its upcoming streaming package, a price that makes Disney+ extremely appealing. Add to that Amazon, HBO, Hulu, and YouTube, and it's pretty clear the streaming wars are well underway. Apple, however, doesn't see it that way, saying that it can coexist with the likes of Netflix, which is easily the most popular streaming platform in the world right now.Apple CEO Tim Cook said on Tuesday during Apple's earnings conference call that its Apple TV+ service is one that can exist alongside other services, Reuters reports."There's a huge move from the cable bundle to over-the-top," Cook said. "We think that most users are going to get multiple over-the-top products, and we're going to do our best to convince them that the Apple TV+ product should be one of them."Services are a big part of Apple's bottom line, with revenue reaching $11.5 billion in the March quarter, a new record for Apple. In other words, Apple already does a great job converting iPhone and Mac users into subscribers. "We have 390 million paid subscriptions, all growing in strong double-digits," Apple CFO Luca Maestri said during the call. "And we expect the number of paid subscriptions to pass half a billion in 2020."It'll be interesting to see how Apple plans to convert its customers to Apple TV+ subs, especially considering that it hasn't even announced what the streaming service will cost. Also of note is the fact that Apple it'll initially have a very limited number of original shows for subscribers to watch, although Apple plans to spend $2 billion on programming.
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| Police, FBI thwart Army veteran's plan to bomb Nazi rally Posted: 29 Apr 2019 06:56 PM PDT  LOS ANGELES (AP) — An Army veteran who converted to Islam and discussed launching various terror attacks throughout Southern California was arrested as he plotted to bomb a white supremacist rally as retribution for the New Zealand mosque attacks, federal prosecutors said Monday.
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| Avengers: End Game — Bernie Sanders calls on Disney to use box office profits to pay workers ‘middle class wage’ Posted: 30 Apr 2019 12:47 PM PDT  Bernie Sanders has an idea of how Disney can write a "truly heroic" story following the box-office record shattering weekend from Avengers: End Game this past week: Spread the profits around.Mr Sanders, in a tweet, took the entertainment behemoth to task, criticising the salary of the company's CEO, Bob Iger, and urging better pay for the rest of the employees there.Mr Iger makes a reported $65.6m a year from his post as the head honcho at Disney — a salary that is 1,400 times as much as the income of an average worker there."What would be truly heroic is if Disney used its profits from 'Avengers' to pay all of its workers a middle class wage, instead of paying its CEO Bob Iger $65.6mn — over 1,400 times as much as the average worker at Disney makes," Mr Sanders wrote on Twitter.Avengers: End Game shattered box office records by taking in $356m in the US over the weekend, and more than $1.22bn internationally in its first week in theatres.> What would be truly heroic is if Disney used its profits from Avengers to pay all of its workers a middle class wage, instead of paying its CEO Bob Iger $65.6 million – over 1,400 times as much as the average worker at Disney makes. https://t.co/NrcFSk4LZc> > — Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) > > April 29, 2019
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| Norway fisherman removes harness from whale Posted: 30 Apr 2019 08:35 AM PDT  A beluga whale found with a tight harness that appeared to be Russian made has raised the alarm of Norwegian officials and prompted speculation that the animal may have escaped from a Russian military facility. (April 30)
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| April deals: Get a Chipotle freebie through DoorDash, plus other specials to end the month Posted: 30 Apr 2019 05:36 PM PDT  DoorDash and Chipotle are marking the first anniversary of their partnership with two deals. Find out the details and other April deals and freebies.
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| Anti-Jewish hate consuming Europe and America, says French Nazi hunter Posted: 29 Apr 2019 10:47 PM PDT  France's most famous Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld on Monday slammed the resurgence of "anti-Jewish hate," days after a teenage gunman's deadly attack on a synagogue in California. "There is no safe place on earth right now for Jews," the 83-year-old told AFP in an interview in Washington. John Earnest, 19, posted a virulently anti-Semitic letter on right-wing internet forums and armed himself with an assault rifle before carrying out the attack on the Chabad of Poway synagogue, near San Diego, on Saturday.
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| 10 Things to Know for Today Posted: 30 Apr 2019 05:05 AM PDT  Your daily look at late breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
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| Massachusetts says Wynn Resorts can retain gaming license with fine, other conditions Posted: 30 Apr 2019 04:41 PM PDT  The watchdog said it would impose a $35 million fine on Wynn and a $500,000 fine on Chief Executive Officer Matthew Maddox, in addition to a series of license conditions, including an independent monitor to oversee the company's adherence to policies. The decision follows the Massachusetts Gaming Commission's investigative report earlier in April that concluded that former executives of Wynn Resorts concealed sexual misconduct allegations against the casino operator's billionaire founder, Steve Wynn.
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| Photos of Our Battle Between the Ford Ranger vs. Gladiator, Colorado, and Ridgeline Posted: 01 May 2019 07:12 AM PDT |
| Boeing names special adviser to CEO amid 737 MAX crisis Posted: 01 May 2019 08:40 AM PDT ![Boeing names special adviser to CEO amid 737 MAX crisis]( "Boeing names special adviser to CEO amid 737 MAX crisis") Boeing Co on Wednesday named a new senior adviser to Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg and the board of directors as the world's largest planemaker faces its biggest crisis in years after two deadly crashes of its 737 MAX jetliner. Crashes in Ethiopia in March and Indonesia in October have triggered the grounding of Boeing's fastest-selling plane, lawsuits, investigations and lingering concerns over the 737 MAX's safety. The company named Michael Luttig to the newly created position of counselor and senior adviser to Muilenburg and the Boeing board of directors.
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| After Sri Lanka blasts, government targets the niqab veil Posted: 29 Apr 2019 08:34 PM PDT  KATTANKUDY, Sri Lanka (AP) — As Sri Lanka's long civil war ended in this once-contested region along its eastern coast, Muslim women eager to show their piousness began wearing the black niqab veil to hide their faces.
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