| Donald Trump, GOP look to settle score with Democrats, media over Mueller investigation Posted: 26 Mar 2019 07:13 AM PDT  Emboldened by special counsel Robert Mueller's finding there was "no collusion" with Russia, Donald Trump's allies are urging him to go on offense.
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| Avenatti arrested and charged with extortion, embezzlement, bank and tax fraud Posted: 25 Mar 2019 12:35 PM PDT  The lawyer who represented Stormy Daniels faces the prosepect of spending the rest of his life behind bars.
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| Wary calm as Egyptian-brokered ceasefire ends fighting between Hamas and Israel in Gaza Posted: 26 Mar 2019 04:05 AM PDT  A wary calm returned to Gaza and southern Israel on Tuesday after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire brought an end to hours of intense fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas. Israeli jets struck targets throughout Gaza on Monday night, including the offices of the Islamist group's leader, while Hamas and other Palestinian factions fired rockets at Israeli towns and cities. No fatalities were reported on either side although several people were injured in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The escalation was sparked by Hamas firing a rocket that wounded several members of a British-Israeli family on Monday morning. At around 10pm on Monday, Egyptian mediators managed to broker a ceasefire between the two sides, as they have done during several other flare-ups of violence in recent months. The ceasefire took several hours to take hold and airstrikes and rocket fire continued in the early hours of Tuesday. Millions of civilians on both sides spent the night in fear as the fighting continued. Palestinians sit with their belongings in a street outside their destroyed house after an Israeli missile targeted a nearby Hamas site, in Gaza City Credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem However, by mid-morning the situation was tense but calm. Palestinian children went to school in Gaza as usual but school was cancelled for Israeli children in several districts in the country's south. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, cut short a trip to Washington to return to Israel to manage the situation. Mr Netanyahu, who is also Israel's defence minister, was due to arrive in Israel in the afternoon and hold meetings with security chiefs. "We have responded very, very forcefully," Mr Netanyahu said before departing Washington. "Hamas needs to know that we will not hesitate to go in and take all necessary steps – regardless of anything, any date, other than Israel's security needs." The Israeli leader is seeking re-election for a fifth term in office when Israelis go to the polls on April 9. He is under pressure from political opponents on both the Centre and the Right to strike forcefully against Hamas. Hamas hailed Monday night's violence as a victory for its cause. "Gaza and the resistance in Gaza are unbreakable. The will of Gaza will always defeat the occupation; Gaza will break the siege and live free and in dignity," a spokesman said. Hamas is under intense pressure within Gaza to raise living standards and deal with horrendous economic conditions in the strip, where unemployment is at around 50 per cent. Anti-Hamas protesters took to the streets last week under the slogan "We Want To Live". Hamas responded with a major crackdown and arrested dozens of people. Egypt and the UN have been trying to broker a long-term deal which would see Hamas promise to stop attacks on Israel in return for Israel lifting its crushing 12-year blockade on Gaza. However, the negotiations have yielded few results and Hamas is believed to be trying to inject fresh urgency into the talks by firing rockets while at the same time avoiding a full-blown war.
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| Widespread computer outage briefly affects passengers on American, Alaska and JetBlue airlines Posted: 26 Mar 2019 01:05 PM PDT  The troubles, which lasted about 30 minutes, were due to a technical glitch at Sabre, a major airline reservations system.
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| Anti-stall system likely activated in crash: Ethiopian Airlines CEO Posted: 25 Mar 2019 08:24 AM PDT  An anti-stall system believed to have caused a fatal October jet crash in Indonesia was probably also involved in this month's crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that killed all 157 people onboard, the carrier's CEO said on Monday. Tewolde GebreMariam told The Wall Street Journal an automatic anti-stalling system specific to the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft was "to the best of our knowledge" activated on the fatal March 10 crash of Flight ET 302 minutes into its journey to Nairobi. Although he is not a part of the official crash probe and gave no details on how he knew of the system's activation, Tewolde's comment adds pressure on Boeing to fix the popular aircraft model, which was grounded worldwide after the disaster.
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| Xi Jinping and Huawei Are a Serious Threat to European Unity Posted: 26 Mar 2019 04:30 AM PDT  It is going to become a 2 square kilometer test bed for a new 5G mobile network from Huawei, the Chinese telecoms equipment maker. The deal has been promoted by Monaco as an attempt to build a "smart nation," and China is happy no doubt to have a display window in the heart of Europe. China's president Xi Jinping visited the principality this week, on his way to see Emmanuel Macron and other leaders in Paris.
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| No more indictments from Robert Mueller, but Russia is a habit Trump won't break in 2020 Posted: 26 Mar 2019 04:59 AM PDT  Trump knew he and Russia were aiming for the same goal. So he fawned over Putin, undercut US foreign policy and sold out his own intelligence agencies.
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| Father of Sandy Hook victim found dead in apparent suicide, Newtown police say Posted: 25 Mar 2019 09:14 AM PDT  Jeremy Richman's death follows the apparent suicides in the last week of two survivors of the 2018 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
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| Norway opens probe into why cruise ship ventured into storm Posted: 25 Mar 2019 11:23 AM PDT  COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian officials have opened an investigation into why a cruise ship carrying more than 1,370 people set sail along the country's often wild western coast despite storm warnings, forcing a major evacuation by helicopter.
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| Kosovo PM fires deputy minister over comments about NATO Posted: 25 Mar 2019 05:37 AM PDT  Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has fired the country's ethnic Serb deputy justice minister after she called NATO's 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia a "planned genocide". Deputy minister Vesna Mikic comes from Kosovo's Serb minority which accounts for about 5 percent of the country's population of 1.8 million.
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| British Airways flight ends up in wrong city Posted: 25 Mar 2019 08:19 AM PDT  A British Airways plane flew by mistake from London to Edinburgh instead of Dusseldorf in Germany on Monday. Passengers only found out about the mishap when the pilot said the plane was coming in to land in Edinburgh, which is around 500 miles (800 kilometres) from Dusseldorf. After the crew realised the mistake, the plane was refuelled and flown to Dusseldorf, landing in Germany with a delay of more than three and a half hours.
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| Sen. Kamala Harris releases details for plans to raise average teacher pay by $13,500 Posted: 26 Mar 2019 04:20 AM PDT  Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said she would use federal resources to close the pay gap between the average teacher salary and other college graduates.
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| Trump facing investigations 'more threatening than Mueller probe' Posted: 25 Mar 2019 03:03 AM PDT  Donald Trump may be revelling in what he claims to be "complete and total exoneration" from Robert Mueller's investigation, but his legal jeopardy is far from over. Ongoing federal and state probes in New York could pose "an even greater threat than the Russia probe", experts said, after the special counsel cleared the president's campaign team of colluding with the Kremlin to interfere in the 2016 election. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are pursuing at least two known criminal inquiries, one focused on possible corruption in Mr Trump's inaugural committee and the other on the hush-money scandal that has left his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, facing prison for campaign finance violations.
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| Not enough support yet for third Brexit vote, says UK PM May Posted: 25 Mar 2019 08:56 AM PDT ![Not enough support yet for third Brexit vote, says UK PM May]( "Not enough support yet for third Brexit vote, says UK PM May") Prime Minister Theresa May said there was not yet enough support for her to put her Brexit deal to a vote in parliament for a third time, but she would continue with talks with lawmakers to try to get their backing.
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| Cruise ship from Norway reaches port with remaining passengers after mayday, air rescues Posted: 25 Mar 2019 09:27 AM PDT  A cruise ship stranded off Norway's western coast that airlifted more than half its passengers to safety amid a ferocious storm has now reached port.
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| Malian leader vows security as massacre toll hits 160 Posted: 25 Mar 2019 02:46 PM PDT  Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita vowed Monday to beef up security as he visited a village where more some 160 people were killed by suspected militiamen from a rival ethnic group. "We need security here -- this is your mission," Keita said, giving a public order to military chief General Aboulaye Coulibaly, who was abruptly appointed on Sunday after the massacre. The deadly raid took place on Saturday in the village of Ogassogou, home to the Fulani herding community, near the town of Mopti in central Mali.
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| Second Parkland survivor dies in 'apparent suicide', police say Posted: 25 Mar 2019 02:47 AM PDT  Two teenagers who survived America's deadliest high school shooting have committed suicide in the last week, bringing fresh tragedy to the Florida community. A 17-year-old boy who attended the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - where 17 people were killed last year - died on Saturday in what police are treating as a suicide. The boy, who has not been named, was in his second year of high school and reportedly died from a gun shot wound to the head. It comes just days after Sydney Aiello, a 19-year-old recent graduate of the school, took her own life. Ms Aiello's family said the teenager had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered from survivor's guilt after the shooting, in which one of her best friends, Meadow Pollack, was shot dead. Former student Nikolas Cruz entered the high school armed with a semi-automatic rifle on February 14, 2018 and left 14 students and three staff members dead, with 17 others wounded. Students gather at a gun control rally at the West Front of the US Capitol March 14, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Credit: Getty Images Sydney, who was not in the room during the shooting, went on to study at Florida Atlantic University but struggled to attend classes because she was afraid of being in a classroom. Meadow's father Andrew Pollack, who has since become a gun reform activist, told the Miami Herald "Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time". "It's terrible what happened," he said. "Killing yourself is not the answer". The fresh tragedy has drawn calls in Florida for increased spending on suicide prevention programmes and more mental health services for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school community. More than 60 local school, child services and law enforcement officials met with teachers and parents for an emergency meeting on Sunday. "Now is the time for the Florida Legislature to help," said Jared Moskowitz, Florida's emergency management director and a former state representative from Parkland. Another survivor, David Hogg, who has become a prominent gun control advocate since the massacre, added his voice to calls. "How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government/school district to do anything?" he tweeted. The city's mayor Christine Hunschofsky said Monday that officials are publicising the available counseling services. In a separate development, the father of a 6-year-old killed in the Sandy Hook school massacre died of an apparent suicide on Monday. Jeremy Richman's body was found in his Connecticut office building Monday morning, Newtown police said. Mr Richman, 49, had dedicated his time to helping prevent mass shootings after his daughter Avielle was among 20 children and six adults killed in the elementary school in 2012. Police said they will not disclose the method or any other details surrounding Mr Richman's death but said that it does not appear to be suspicious.
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| Some Democrats Ask: Now That Mueller’s Over, Where Are Trump’s Tax Returns? Posted: 25 Mar 2019 10:18 AM PDT  House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal is being pulled in two directions, by progressives to quickly demand Trump's personal returns from the Treasury Department and by some moderates to wait for the full special counsel's report before proceeding. A Democratic aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Neal may be facing new pressure from moderate Democrats who want to read the full report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller before making the request.
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| Congo Ebola epidemic exceeds 1,000 cases - health ministry Posted: 25 Mar 2019 05:35 AM PDT ![Congo Ebola epidemic exceeds 1,000 cases - health ministry]( "Congo Ebola epidemic exceeds 1,000 cases - health ministry") Congo's Ebola epidemic has now exceeded 1,000 cases, the Health Ministry said on Monday, with a death toll of 629 in the world's second worst ever outbreak. Health workers have been better prepared than ever for this latest epidemic of the hemorrhagic fever, which causes severe vomiting, diarrhea and bleeding, and kills more than half those it infects. New technologies like a trial vaccine, experimental treatments and futuristic cube-shaped mobile units for treating patients have helped curb the spread of the virus.
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| After Viking cruise ship rescue, passengers concerned about cruising safety Posted: 25 Mar 2019 01:01 PM PDT  Although cruising is one of the 'safest forms of travel,' passengers are concerned after this weekend's Viking Sky rescue.
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| What Next? UK lawmakers torn on fate of Brexit, and May Posted: 25 Mar 2019 04:44 PM PDT  LONDON (AP) — Britain has just a few weeks to break its Brexit impasse, with the fate of the country's departure from the European Union and that of Prime Minister Theresa May both hanging in the balance.
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| Bahrain to use Huawei in 5G rollout despite U.S. warnings Posted: 26 Mar 2019 06:23 AM PDT  Washington has warned countries against using Chinese technology, saying Huawei could be used by Beijing to spy on the West. China and Huawei have strongly rejected the allegations. VIVA Bahrain, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian state-controlled telecoms firm STC, last month signed an agreement to use Huawei products in its 5G network, one of several Gulf telecoms companies working with the Chinese company.
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| IS attack on US-backed fighters kills 7 in northern Syria Posted: 26 Mar 2019 09:44 AM PDT  BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack on a checkpoint of U.S.-backed forces in the northern Syrian town on Manbij that killed seven fighters on Tuesday.
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| Easter 2019: Forbidden eggs, Eostre and how the date is decided Posted: 26 Mar 2019 02:06 AM PDT  Easter weekend is fast approaching with all the fondant-filled Creme Eggs, sticky hot cross buns and sugar-coated Mini Eggs our stretchiest waistbands can withstand. Of course, the Christian festival is far more than its associated confectionery. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ who, according to the New Testament, died on the cross on Good Friday and came back to life three days later. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Sunday, which also marks the end of Lent's 40-day period of fasting. From the origins of the Easter bunny to the celebrations' ever-changing dates, here is your essential guide to the holiday. Jump to it, bunny: Your complete guide to Easter decorations When is Easter 2019? This year, Good Friday falls on April 19, Easter Sunday on April 21 and Easter Monday on April 22 - three weeks later than they did last year. While the holiday is a movable feast, it always falls somewhere between March 21 and April 25 every year. It is calculated as the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring. The full moon is known as the Paschal (Passover) Full Moon. Methods for calculating Easter are fiendishly complicated and a uniquely baffling synthesis of mathematics, astronomy and theology. As Christians believe Jesus was crucified during the Jewish Passover festival, Easter is celebrated around the same time. Nonetheless, different Christian groups were already marking it on separate dates by the end of the 2nd Century. Q&A; | Maundy Thursday These date-led disagreements even set the course of history for the British Isles at the Synod of Whitby in 664AD when the preferred date of the Roman - rather than the Celtic - church became the standard. The decision is said to have catapulted Britain into the European sphere of influence. Though disputes over Easter's exact timing have been used as proxies for deeper power struggles for centuries, most now accept that it falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox - which the Church approximated as March 21. This year, Easter Sunday falls on April 21, the longest stretch following March 21's full moon – which falls on a Sunday. In 2016, the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested Easter should fall on the same Sunday every year and the Most Rev Justin Welby said Anglican leaders would join discussions with other church leaders to fix the date for the first time, theoretically putting an end to almost 2,000 years of controversy. The 10 best destinations for Easter sun What do eggs have to do with Easter? Eggs illustrate new life, just as Jesus began his new life on Easter Sunday after the miracle of his resurrection. When eggs are cracked open they are said to symbolise an empty tomb. Originally, eating eggs was forbidden in the week leading up to Easter (known as Holy Week). They were saved and decorated in the run-up to the celebration and given to children as gifts. Sometimes they were coloured red, in recognition of the blood sacrificed by Jesus when he was crucified. Green was also used to symbolise spring re-growth after the winter. The first chocolate eggs appeared in France and Germany during the 19th century. As chocolate-making techniques improved, the Easter egg as we know it was popularised. Where does the Easter Bunny fit in to all of this? Rabbits and hares have been associated with spring for hundreds of years. It is thought that the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring, Eostre – who many believe the Christian event is named after – had a hare as her companion, symbolising fertility and rebirth. It's hardly surprising that rabbits and hares have become associated with fertility as they are both prolific breeders and regularly give birth to large litters in early spring. The legend of the Easter Bunny is thought to have originated among German Lutherans, where the 'Easter Hare' judged whether children had been good or bad in the run-up to Easter. Easter bunnies and eggs are symbols of spring and fertility. Over time it has been incorporated into Christian celebrations, becoming especially popular in Britain during the 19th century. Many children believe that the Easter Bunny lays and hides baskets of coloured eggs, sweets and toys in their homes or around the garden the night before Easter Sunday – much like Father Christmas delivering gifts on Christmas Eve. This has given rise to the tradition of the Easter egg hunt which is still popular among children today. Why do we eat hot cross buns? A hot cross bun is a spiced, sweet bun marked with a cross on top. They are traditionally eaten on Good Friday as the cross represents the crucifixion of Jesus, while the spices are said to remind Christians of the spices put on his body. Hot cross buns appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1733 but they are believed to have existed long before. Enriched, sweetened bread dough dates back to the Romans. Long before Christianity, loaves and buns were baked with symbols on them, one of which was a cross. Small, spiced cakes were also baked to honour the Saxon goddess Eoestre and celebrate spring, but it was the Tudors who began to link the spiced currant buns we know today with feast days, celebrations and - eventually - Lent. Delicious recipes to cook this Easter Wild garlic and parsley soup Jose Pizarro's roast rack of lamb with braised peas and lemon-thyme salsa Hot cross bun panna cotta Paul Hollywood's Easter simnel cake How is Easter celebrated around the world? In many central and eastern European countries decorating eggs with beautiful patterns is especially popular. In Switzerland, Easter eggs are delivered by a cuckoo and, in some areas of Germany, a fox. The egg-giving tradition arrived in the United States in the 18th century via protestant German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area. Traditional Easter foods from around the world On Easter Monday, the President of the United States holds an annual Easter egg roll on the lawn of the White House for young children. In the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland it is a day of remembrance for the men and women who died in the Easter Rising which began on Easter Monday 1916.
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| Behind in polls, Democrat Gillibrand vows transparency at rally Posted: 24 Mar 2019 06:06 PM PDT  Branding US President Donald Trump "a coward" who is "tearing apart the moral fabric" of America, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on Sunday held her first rally for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination outside the Trump International Hotel in New York. Gillibrand emphasized transparency as she presented herself as a candidate defined by the courage and integrity she claims Trump lacks. "Look a this tower!" said Gillibrand, her hair blowing in the wind.
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| Apple's new credit card gets compared to Billy McFarland's credit card scam Posted: 25 Mar 2019 11:55 AM PDT  Someone didn't watch the Fyre Festival documentaries. Apple announced its groundbreaking new pay feature during its event on Monday: A titanium credit card with no card number, no signature, no CVV, and no expiration date. All of the vital information would be stored in the Wallet app, so it's less of a credit card and more of a physical way to pay through the app. As wonderful as it seems, Twitter users couldn't help but compare it to Magnises, the credit card/social club scam that Fyre Fest grifter Billy McFarland came up with before the disastrous music festival. Like Apple Card, Magnises' appeal was that the card was metal, not just plastic. Apple's new card will apparently be made of titanium.And of course, the whole cool factor. > Tim Cook after announcing Titanium Apple Card AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/QT1fsySyQA> > -- branchclarke (@branchclarke) March 25, 2019SEE ALSO: What you should know about Billy McFarland's pre-Fyre Fest scam Magnises> Incredible: Apple brought back the Magnises card> > -- nick lucchesi (@nicklucchesi) March 25, 2019> Apple Card is the new Magnises. pic.twitter.com/rYqkONHqnA> > -- William Needham Finley IV (@WNFIV) March 25, 2019> [throws Magnises card in the TRASH]> > -- Ryan Perry (@rynprry) March 25, 2019> Apple just dropped the new magnises titanium card AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/0U70GkUb3a> > -- B E A N Z | Currently stuck in Raccoon City (@PhotosByBeanz) March 25, 2019> Someone at Apple must have watched the Fyre Festival documentary and was like, "THAT. MAKE THAT. THE COOL CREDIT CARD."> > -- Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) March 25, 2019> Billy McFarland when he heard about Apple's Magnises rip-off, the Apple Card. AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/EL9v9GIREh> > -- chris harihar (@chrisharihar) March 25, 2019> this whole fetishization of a physical credit card is literally what billy macfarland did before fyre fest but ok apple> > -- Julia Carrie Wong (@juliacarriew) March 25, 2019> oh my god apple is launching a magnises pic.twitter.com/EapV8fS3g9> > -- Erik Hinton (@erikhinton) March 25, 2019> The Apple card is literally just Magnises. AppleEvent> > -- Eric Anderson (@Eric42Anderson) March 25, 2019> Apple just announced their own fyre bucks> > -- kraig (@kraigadams) March 25, 2019> Why should I use an Apple Card when I already have Magnises, the ultimate symbol of status?> > -- Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman) March 25, 2019If Tim Cook promises Bahamian bungalows and beachfront sets, it's probably time to run. UPDATE: March 25, 2019, 1:34 p.m. PDT Corrected "Apple Pay app" to "Wallet app." WATCH: The Simpsons is dropping its Michael Jackson episode
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| Man Charged After Kicking Elderly Woman in the Face on NYC Subway: Police Posted: 25 Mar 2019 08:43 AM PDT  A Yonkers man has been identified and charged with assault after he was seen in cellphone video kicking a 78-year-old woman in the face on a subway in the Bronx, police said Saturday.
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| Cruise ship off Norway issues mayday, begins evacuating 1,300 passengers and crew Posted: 25 Mar 2019 09:22 AM PDT A cruise ship with engine problems has sent a mayday call off Norway's western coast and is making plans to evacuate its 1,300 passengers and crew.
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| May Says No-Deal Won't Occur Without Commons Vote: Brexit Update Posted: 25 Mar 2019 11:24 AM PDT  Theresa May said she doesn't yet have enough support to put her Brexit deal to a vote in Parliament but will continue to try to convince MPs to back it. David Lidington, May's effective deputy, tried to win MPs over by promising that the government will set aside a day this week for votes on Brexit options -- if Parliament rejects tonight the so-called Letwin-Grieve amendment (see 5:50 p.m.) which seeks to give Parliament control of the process. When asked by Oliver Letwin himself if it would match the strategy laid out in his amendment, Lidington said he couldn't commit to the details.
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| Fewer first-time home buyers likely to qualify for mortgages under tougher FHA standards Posted: 25 Mar 2019 02:48 PM PDT ![Fewer first-time home buyers likely to qualify for mortgages under tougher FHA standards]( "Fewer first-time home buyers likely to qualify for mortgages under tougher FHA standards") Fewer first-time and lower-income homebuyers are likely to get mortgages under tougher standards adopted by the Federal Housing Administration
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| Oklahoma top court clears way for Purdue, J&J, Teva to face opioid trial Posted: 25 Mar 2019 01:54 PM PDT  The Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision was a win for the state's attorney general, whose case is set to be the first to face trial of roughly 2,000 lawsuits nationally seeking to hold opioid manufacturers responsible for contributing to the epidemic. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter's 2017 lawsuit accuses Purdue, Johnson & Johnson & Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd of engaging in deceptive marketing that downplayed the risks of addiction associated with opioid pain drugs while overstating their benefits. The trial delay bid came as Purdue, owned by members of the wealthy Sackler family, was exploring filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to address potential liabilities stemming from the lawsuits, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
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| U.S. calls Russia deployment of planes to Venezuela 'reckless escalation' Posted: 26 Mar 2019 04:01 AM PDT ![U.S. calls Russia deployment of planes to Venezuela 'reckless escalation']( "U.S. calls Russia deployment of planes to Venezuela 'reckless escalation'") The Russian planes and military personnel arrived outside the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Saturday, according to local media reports, two months after the Trump administration disavowed President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate president and demands that Maduro leave power, which Russia has described as a U.S.-backed coup against the socialist government. "The United States condemns Russia's deployment of military aircraft and personnel to Caracas, which is another contradiction of both Nicolas Maduro's and Russia's calls for non-intervention in Venezuela and is a reckless escalation of the situation," a State Department spokesman said.
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| KITCHEN SMARTS: Slow cooker or Instant Pot? Posted: 26 Mar 2019 07:06 AM PDT  Now that the viral craze surrounding the Instant Pot has quieted down a bit, let's look at whether it really is an appliance you should add to your kitchen, or whether the classic slow cooker will do just fine.
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| Mueller report: 5 good things we learned from William Barr's summary of the special counsel's findings Posted: 25 Mar 2019 10:48 AM PDT  On Sunday, Attorney General William Barr sent a letter to Congress summarising special counsel Robert Mueller's "Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election." Barr's four-page summary can be condensed into three findings. Second, to quote from Mueller's report, "the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." Third, Mueller drew no conclusions about whether Donald Trump obstructed justice, and left it to Barr to decide based on the assembled facts. Barr decided that, even putting aside the constitutional questions, prosecution would not be warranted.
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| HTC unveils a new VR headset for workplace use that ships next month for $799 Posted: 26 Mar 2019 03:50 AM PDT  HTC Vive used the occasion of its annual Vive Ecosystem Conference in Shenzhen on Monday to unveil a new workplace-focused VR headset -- the VIVE Focus Plus, which promises a slew of features for enterprise customers like enhanced optics and upgraded lenses in the head-mounted display. And all of it, in a package that costs $799 and will be available starting April 15 from Vive's website.Among the new headset's specs, HTC says it sports new 'fresnel' lenses that offer a sharper visual and create a more true-to-life effect for users. The headset also comes with newly added six-degrees-of-freedom controllers, paving the way for more comfortable extended VR sessions that enterprise customers who may use this for more than cursory experiences will no doubt appreciate.Additionally, in most markets the headset will include an enterprise license at no additional cost."With the unveiling of these enhancements for Vive Focus Plus, the VR industry is taking a big step forward with this new generation of full-fidelity standalone VR devices enabling total freedom of interaction and freedom of connection," said HTC's China president Alvin Wang Graylin, in a release about the device. "We're thrilled so many developers and partners are supporting this product with exciting experiences across a wide range of use cases, showcasing the incredible opportunity for VR/AR to enter all facets of our lives"https://twitter.com/htcvive/status/1110358205266157569The headset includes a 3K AMOLED display, and it's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor. Users will enjoy a 110-degree field of view, and the headset also comes with a 4,000 mAh battery.Among other features, users will have access to almost 250 Vive Wave applications at launch that run natively on the headset, and a "Viveport Infinity Wave" subscription program for the headset will include more than 70 premium VR application titles. The headset also has a multi-mode capability, which will let users access existing content across a range of devices. Thanks to this capability, the headset is compatible with everything from PCs and laptops to smartphones, game consoles, 2D video streaming devices, live 360 camera streaming and more.
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