On North Korea and Iran, Intelligence Chiefs Contradict Trump – The New York Times
On North Korea and Iran, Intelligence Chiefs Contradict Trump – The New York Times

Mr. Trump withdrew the United States from that agreement last year. He called it “defective at its core” and said if the deal remained in place, Iran would“be on the cusp of acquiring the world’s most dangerous weapons.” The agreement still stands, largely with support from European capitals.

Senator Angus King, the Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, asked Ms. Haspel point-blank if Iran remained in compliance with the nuclear deal. She said it was, but added that Iranian leaders were considering steps that would “lessen their adherence” to the agreement.

“They are making preparations that would increase their ability to take a step back if they make that decision,” Ms. Haspel said. “At the moment, technically they are in compliance, but we do see them debating among themselves because they haven’t seen the economic benefits they hoped for from the deal.”

Intelligence officials have long taken stronger positions than Mr. Trump on North Korea’s continuing nuclear activity, the strength of the Islamic State and Russia’s attempts to influence elections.

April F. Doss, a former associate general counsel at the National Security Agency, said the most recent National Intelligence Strategy made a point of highlighting the responsibility of the intelligence agencies to “speak truth to power” and to deliver intelligence objectively.

“They are going to be very mindful of reassuring the Intelligence Committee and the public they are committed to carrying out their work in an apolitical, nonpartisan fashion,” said Ms. Doss, now a partner at the law firm Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr.

Perhaps the strongest rebuke of Mr. Trump’s security priorities comes in what is missing from the threat assessment: any rationale for building a wall along the southwestern border, which Mr. Trump has advertised as among the most critical security threats facing the United States. The first mention of Mexico and drug cartels comes on Page 18 of the 42-page report, well after a range of other, more pressing threats are reviewed.

Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/us/politics/kim-jong-trump.html

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Howard Schultz meets the ‘ratio’ mob – Washington Examiner
Howard Schultz meets the ‘ratio’ mob – Washington Examiner

Potential 2020 candidate and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz made his debut Saturday on Twitter. He was immediately met by the mind-numbingly stupid “RATIO!” crowd.

For the uninitiated, the “ratio” here is the relationship between the number of replies and the number of shares. A message or sentiment in a specific tweet is measured for its value or the offense it causes by how low or high the ratio of (mostly negative) replies is to the number of (mostly positive) likes or retweets.

Schultz, as of this writing, has posted just seven tweets, and each one got the ratio effect. In other words, there is a concerted effort to assure the person who composed the original tweet that they’ve been shamed and ostracized for their opinion or comment.

At a public event Monday in New York, where Schultz continued his maybe-run for president, a heckler called out to Schultz, “Go back to getting ratioed on Twitter!”

CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski tweeted Tuesday that Schultz “could become the first person to run for office to have every [Twitter] post ratioed.”

Liberal activist Matt Ortega observed that all of Schultz’s tweets were “getting ratio’d.”

[Also read: Tom Steyer: Howard Schultz isn’t ‘ready for primetime’]

Brendan Nyhan, a New York Times contributor and professor at the University of Michigan, tweeted Tuesday, “Has any verified account ever had every single tweet get ratio’d before?”

There’s even a Twitter account called @RatioReport, which purports to track such incidents and then do the actual math on the ratio. It calculated on Sunday that one of Schultz’s tweets had a “like-to-comment ratio of .2791” and a “[re-tweet]-to-comment ratio of .0615.”

If you look through the replies to any one of Schultz’s tweets, there are thousands of replies, and easily a quarter of them are nothing more than remarks like, “i’m responding just because the ratio isn’t high enough,” from @willchop and, “Just here for the ratio,” by @colin_ball13.

This is the equivalent of yelling in someone’s face, “EVERYBODY HATES YOU, OKAY?!” It offers no criticism, carries no weight, and only leaves the “ratio” recipient mildly annoyed that he didn’t lead a life so small as to find joy in tweeting, “RATIO!”

Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/howard-schultz-meets-the-ratio-mob

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Theresa May ordered to reopen Brexit negotiations with Europe – CNN
Theresa May ordered to reopen Brexit negotiations with Europe – CNN

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By Bianca Britton, CNN

Updated 2224 GMT (0624 HKT) January 29, 2019

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what’s happening in the world as it unfolds.

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Brexit”,”duration”:”03:23″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:””,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2019/01/12/brexit-questions-answered-lon-orig.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2019/01/12/brexit-questions-answered-lon-orig.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/190111170156-brexit-questions-lead-image-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2019/01/12/brexit-questions-answered-lon-orig.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”CNN correspondents and producers go back to basics to guide you through everything you need to know about the divorce between the EU and the UK.”,”descriptionText”:”CNN correspondents and producers go back to basics to guide you through everything you need to know about the divorce between the EU and the UK.”},{“title”:”Why there is no easy path in the Brexit deal”,”duration”:”01:32″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”http://www.cnn.com”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2018/12/11/uk-brexit-deal-options-theresa-may-richard-quest-lkl-vpx.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2018/12/11/uk-brexit-deal-options-theresa-may-richard-quest-lkl-vpx.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/181211005530-richard-quest-brexit-paths-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2018/12/11/uk-brexit-deal-options-theresa-may-richard-quest-lkl-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”CNN’s \u003ca href=\”http://www.cnn.com/profiles/richard-quest-profile\” target=\”_blank\”>Richard Quest\u003c/a> takes a look at the different Brexit deal options facing the UK government, after Prime Minister Theresa May pulled the plug on a parliamentary vote.”,”descriptionText”:”CNN’s \u003ca href=\”http://www.cnn.com/profiles/richard-quest-profile\” target=\”_blank\”>Richard Quest\u003c/a> takes a look at the different Brexit deal options facing the UK government, after Prime Minister Theresa May pulled the plug on a parliamentary vote.”},{“title”:”Corbyn rips May, demands no confidence vote”,”duration”:”02:12″,”sourceName”:”Parliament TV”,”sourceLink”:”http://www.cnn.com/”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2019/01/15/jeremy-corbyn-uk-brexit-vote-may-no-confidence-sot-vpx.parliament-tv/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2019/01/15/jeremy-corbyn-uk-brexit-vote-may-no-confidence-sot-vpx.parliament-tv”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/190115152022-jeremy-corbyn-january-15-2019-01-large-169-1.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2019/01/15/jeremy-corbyn-uk-brexit-vote-may-no-confidence-sot-vpx.parliament-tv/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn called for a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Theresa May’s government following the defeat of her signature Brexit deal in the House of Commons.”,”descriptionText”:”UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn called for a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Theresa May’s government following the defeat of her signature Brexit deal in the House of Commons.”},{“title”:”Theresa May’s brexit deal suffers historic defeat”,”duration”:”01:19″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”https://www.cnn.com/”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2019/01/15/brexit-deal-fails-parliament-theresa-may-eu-cnni-vpx.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2019/01/15/brexit-deal-fails-parliament-theresa-may-eu-cnni-vpx.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/190115135338-theresa-may-brexit-debate-0115-large-169-1.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2019/01/15/brexit-deal-fails-parliament-theresa-may-eu-cnni-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”British MPs have voted down Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan in a record margin of 432 votes to 202.”,”descriptionText”:”British MPs have voted down Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan in a record margin of 432 votes to 202.”},{“title”:”How the EU negotiated its first-ever divorce”,”duration”:”02:32″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”http://www.cnn.com”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2019/01/14/brexit-backfire-mclaughlin-pkg-nr-vpx.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2019/01/14/brexit-backfire-mclaughlin-pkg-nr-vpx.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/190114185506-brexit-backfire-mclaughlin-pkg-nr-vpx-00005829-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2019/01/14/brexit-backfire-mclaughlin-pkg-nr-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”CNN’s\u003ca href=\”http://www.cnn.com/profiles/erin-mclaughlin\” target=\”_blank\”> Erin McLaughlin\u003c/a> reports on tensions ratcheting up in the UK ahead of a meaningful vote and looks back at the process that brought us here.”,”descriptionText”:”CNN’s\u003ca href=\”http://www.cnn.com/profiles/erin-mclaughlin\” target=\”_blank\”> Erin McLaughlin\u003c/a> reports on tensions ratcheting up in the UK ahead of a meaningful vote and looks back at the process that brought us here.”},{“title”:”Parliament member kicked out for grabbing mace”,”duration”:”01:05″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”http://www.cnn.com”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2018/12/11/brexit-labour-party-parliament-member-grabs-mace-protest-vpx.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2018/12/11/brexit-labour-party-parliament-member-grabs-mace-protest-vpx.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/181211040858-mace-brexit-protest-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2018/12/11/brexit-labour-party-parliament-member-grabs-mace-protest-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”The House of Commons expelled a Labour Party MP after he picked up the ceremonial mace in protest against the postponement of a vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal.”,”descriptionText”:”The House of Commons expelled a Labour Party MP after he picked up the ceremonial mace in protest against the postponement of a vote on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal.”},{“title”:”Once pro-leave town feels Brexit uncertainty”,”duration”:”01:24″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”https://www.cnn.com/”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2018/12/11/town-southend-brexit-uncertainty-gold-pkg-vpx.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2018/12/11/town-southend-brexit-uncertainty-gold-pkg-vpx.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/181211054258-southend-on-sea-gold-pkg-brexit-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2018/12/11/town-southend-brexit-uncertainty-gold-pkg-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”During the 2016 referendum, Southend-on-Sea, England, voted 58% in favor of Brexit, but now many of the voters have become disillusioned with the process or have changed their minds. CNN’s Hadas Gold reports.”,”descriptionText”:”During the 2016 referendum, Southend-on-Sea, England, voted 58% in favor of Brexit, but now many of the voters have become disillusioned with the process or have changed their minds. CNN’s Hadas Gold reports.”},{“title”:”Theresa May delays UK Brexit vote”,”duration”:”02:27″,”sourceName”:”Parliament TV”,”sourceLink”:”https://www.parliament.uk/”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2018/12/10/theresa-may-brexit-vote-delay-sot-vpx.parliament-tv/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2018/12/10/theresa-may-brexit-vote-delay-sot-vpx.parliament-tv”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/181210110017-theresa-may-parliament-brexit-speech-12-10-2018-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2018/12/10/theresa-may-brexit-vote-delay-sot-vpx.parliament-tv/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”UK Prime Minister Theresa May has told the House of Commons that she will postpone the vote on her Brexit deal which was scheduled to take place in the Parliament on December 11.”,”descriptionText”:”UK Prime Minister Theresa May has told the House of Commons that she will postpone the vote on her Brexit deal which was scheduled to take place in the Parliament on December 11.”},{“title”:”Theresa May: ‘We are at an impasse'”,”duration”:”00:41″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:””,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2018/09/21/theresa-may-brexit-speech-impasse.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2018/09/21/theresa-may-brexit-speech-impasse.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/180921082337-02-theresa-may-eu-summit-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2018/09/21/theresa-may-brexit-speech-impasse.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that negotiations with the European Union over Brexit were \”at an impasse\” after a disastrous summit at which her plan for Brexit was largely rejected. “,”descriptionText”:”UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that negotiations with the European Union over Brexit were \”at an impasse\” after a disastrous summit at which her plan for Brexit was largely rejected. “},{“title”:”Theresa May demands ‘respect’ from EU”,”duration”:”02:37″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:””,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2018/09/21/theresa-may-brexit-speech-demands-respect.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2018/09/21/theresa-may-brexit-speech-demands-respect.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/180921093820-01-theresa-may-0921-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2018/09/21/theresa-may-brexit-speech-demands-respect.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”UK Prime Minister Theresa May has called for the European Union to \”respect\” the British position and the result of the Brexit referendum.”,”descriptionText”:”UK Prime Minister Theresa May has called for the European Union to \”respect\” the British position and the result of the Brexit referendum.”},{“title”:”Why the Irish border is impacting Brexit “,”duration”:”01:59″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:””,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2017/12/04/irish-border-impact-brexit-lon-orig-hr.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2017/12/04/irish-border-impact-brexit-lon-orig-hr.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/171205071420-irish-border-drone-lon-orig-hr-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2017/12/04/irish-border-impact-brexit-lon-orig-hr.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”CNN looks at the complex history of the Irish border, and why it’s playing such a crucial role in Brexit negotiations.”,”descriptionText”:”CNN looks at the complex history of the Irish border, and why it’s playing such a crucial role in Brexit negotiations.”},{“title”:”Uncertainty in Wales as Brexit looms”,”duration”:”03:46″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”https://www.cnn.com/”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2018/08/27/brexit-impact-wales-mclaughlin-nr-vpx.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2018/08/27/brexit-impact-wales-mclaughlin-nr-vpx.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/180827023219-brexit-wales-mclaughlin-pkg-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2018/08/27/brexit-impact-wales-mclaughlin-nr-vpx.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”The United Kingdom’s decision to exit the EU has brought the economy to an uncertain future. CNN’s Erin McLaughlin reports on how Brexit could affect the United Kingdom’s poorest region: Wales. “,”descriptionText”:”The United Kingdom’s decision to exit the EU has brought the economy to an uncertain future. CNN’s Erin McLaughlin reports on how Brexit could affect the United Kingdom’s poorest region: Wales. “},{“title”:”Brexit: UK and EU concerned over slow progress”,”duration”:”02:37″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”http://edition.cnn.com/”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/world/2017/08/28/eu-brexit-talks-recap-mclaughlin-dnt.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”world/2017/08/28/eu-brexit-talks-recap-mclaughlin-dnt.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/170828171454-eu-brexit-talks-recap-mclaughlin-dnt-00000925-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/world/2017/08/28/eu-brexit-talks-recap-mclaughlin-dnt.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”As the third round of exit talks begin this week between the UK and the European Union, there are growing concerns over its slow progress and other key issues. 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CNN’s \u003ca href=\”/profiles/nina-dos-santos\” target=\”_blank\”>Nina dos Santos\u003c/a> reports.”,”descriptionText”:”Theresa May is facing the most serious crisis of her premiership after her Foreign Secretary and minister in charge of Brexit resigned within hours of each other. CNN’s \u003ca href=\”/profiles/nina-dos-santos\” target=\”_blank\”>Nina dos Santos\u003c/a> reports.”},{“title”:”Explaining the EU customs union with Legos”,”duration”:”01:45″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”http://www.cnn.com”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/cnnmoney/2018/05/14/brexit-customs-union-explainer-soares-pkg-hgt.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”cnnmoney/2018/05/14/brexit-customs-union-explainer-soares-pkg-hgt.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/180514183116-brexit-customs-union-explainer-soares-pkg-hgt-00011413-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/cnnmoney/2018/05/14/brexit-customs-union-explainer-soares-pkg-hgt.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”CNN’s Isa Soares uses Legos and stop-motion to break down the three options on the table for the United Kingdom and European Union customs arrangements post-Brexit.”,”descriptionText”:”CNN’s Isa Soares uses Legos and stop-motion to break down the three options on the table for the United Kingdom and European Union customs arrangements post-Brexit.”},{“title”:”How Brexit could end flights in and out of the UK”,”duration”:”03:30″,”sourceName”:”CNN”,”sourceLink”:”http://money.cnn.com/”,”videoCMSUrl”:”/video/data/3.0/video/cnnmoney/2018/04/26/brexit-flights-uk-aviation-sje-lon-orig.cnn/index.xml”,”videoId”:”cnnmoney/2018/04/26/brexit-flights-uk-aviation-sje-lon-orig.cnn”,”videoImage”:”http://www.noticiasdodia.onlinenewsbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/180426185455-brexit-plane-aviation-large-169.jpg”,”videoUrl”:”/videos/cnnmoney/2018/04/26/brexit-flights-uk-aviation-sje-lon-orig.cnn/video/playlists/intl-brexit/”,”description”:”It’s an unthinkable scenario, but experts say it might just happen. CNNMoney’s Alanna Petroff finds out why thousands of flights could be grounded after Brexit.”,”descriptionText”:”It’s an unthinkable scenario, but experts say it might just happen. CNNMoney’s Alanna Petroff finds out why thousands of flights could be grounded after Brexit.”}],’js-video_headline-featured-c0lgqi’,”,”js-video_source-featured-c0lgqi”,true,true,’intl-brexit’);if (typeof configObj.context !== ‘string’ || configObj.context.length

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London (CNN)Britain is heading for a new showdown with the European Union after Theresa May bowed to pressure from UK lawmakers who demanded she renegotiate her hard-fought Brexit deal.

      CNN’s Erin McLaughlin in Brussels contributed to this story.

    Source Article from https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/29/uk/brexit-amendments-vote-intl-gbr/index.html

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    Dems use legal pad notes to push back on a South American troop deployment | TheHill – The Hill
    Dems use legal pad notes to push back on a South American troop deployment | TheHill – The Hill

    A pair of Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday used yellow notepads to denounce the idea of the U.S. sending troops into South America amid increasing political turmoil in Venezuela.

    The lawmakers poked at the administration a day after national security adviser John Bolton was spotted holding a yellow legal pad with apparent details about troops being transferred to Colombia while the U.S. announced sanctions against Venezuela’s state oil company, PdVSA.

    “Since we’re sending cables by legal pad now,” Rep. Gregory MeeksGregory Weldon MeeksSome Dems float idea of primary challenge for Ocasio-Cortez Conservative leader Meadows condemns King comments ‘in strongest sense’ Corporate diversity is just another misguided policy from Democrats MORE (D-N.Y.) wrote on Twitter, with an accompanying image of a notepad that included the message: “President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump calls for global warming to ‘come back’ amid winter storm Meadows re-elected House Freedom Caucus chairman Schultz says he won’t respond to Trump’s ‘childish’ tweet MORE does not have the authority to invade Venezuela!”

    Rep. Mary Gay ScanlonMary Gay ScanlonMORE (D-Pa.) replied to the tweet with a picture of her own yellow legal pad. The message written on hers said, “Congress = Check & Balance.” 

    Photos of Bolton’s legal pad quickly went viral Monday on Twitter, with many users quickly noting that his notes appeared to included the phrase, “5,000 troops to Colombia.” 

    The White House said in a statement afterwards that “all options are on the table” in regards to the escalating political crisis in Venezuela, though three unnamed defense officials told NBC News that no troops or assets were being sent to Venezuela or Colombia despite the words scribbled on Bolton’s legal pad.

    Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Tuesday that he hasn’t discussed possible troop deployment to Colombia with Bolton. He declined to comment on if the Trump administration was considering that as an option.

    The Trump administration last week recognized Juan Guaidó, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, as Venezuela’s interim president. Several other nations, including Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, have also endorsed Guaidó.

    Election officials have said that President Nicolás Maduro won the most recent election in Venezuela. However, the U.S. and broader international community consider the elections to be a sham. Maduro has meanwhile vowed to hold on to power. 

    Source Article from https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/427525-dem-lawmakers-share-legal-pad-notes-saying-trump-doesnt-have

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    Venezuelan officials seek to block U.S.-supported opposition leader Juan Guaidó from leaving the country, freeze his assets – The Washington Post
    Venezuelan officials seek to block U.S.-supported opposition leader Juan Guaidó from leaving the country, freeze his assets – The Washington Post

    Anthony Faiola

    January 29 at 3:22 PM

    CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s chief prosecutor asked the pro-government Supreme Court on Tuesday to prohibit opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó from leaving the country and to freeze his bank accounts, prompting the United States, which a day earlier slapped sweeping sanctions on Venezuela’s state-run oil company, to say there would be “serious consequences” if Guaidó is harmed.

    “We request these preventive measures against Guaidó while we compile elements to stop the events that since January 22 have broken the peace of the Republic,” the prosecutor, Tarek Saab, said in a news conference.

    Speaking at the opposition-led National Assembly, which he heads, Guaidó responded to the move by dismissing it as “nothing new under the sun.” He said it came from “a regime that doesn’t give answers to Venezuelans” and whose “only answer is persecution and repression.” Guaidó added: “The world is clear on what’s happening in Venezuela . . . Let’s not desist because of threats and persecution. We will continue to advance in our fight.”

    The United States, which backs Guaidó as the legitimate leader of Venezuela, pushed back hard against the chief prosecutor’s effort. “We denounce the illegitimate former Venezuelan Attorney General’s threats against President Juan Guaido,” White House national security adviser John Bolton wrote on Twitter. “Let me reiterate—there will be serious consequences for those who attempt to subvert democracy and harm Guaido.”

    The chief prosecutor’s request came after the United States escalated its efforts to unseat leftist President Nicolás Maduro on Monday by punishing the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), in an effort to transfer control over it to the opposition. The U.S. move freezes $7 billion in U.S.-based assets and blocks more than $11 billion in revenue that Venezuela would get from oil sales next year through its U.S.-based company Citgo, which owns three refineries in the United States and employs thousands of workers.

    [Russia slams U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and vows to back Maduro]

    “Today’s designation of PDVSA will help prevent further diverting of Venezuela’s assets by Maduro and preserve these assets for the people of Venezuela,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement Monday. The Treasury Department said money would go to a fund that a transitional government headed by Guaidó would eventually have access to.

    On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also gave Guaidó control over certain Venezuelan government accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

    Revenue from oil sales to the United States and from Citgo, which imports Venezuela’s heavy crude oil, refines it and distributes gasoline throughout the United States, is one of the Maduro administration’s main sources of income. These oil sanctions, experts say, constitute the biggest blow that the populist Maduro, who rose to power in 2013 after leftist firebrand Hugo Chávez died and named him his successor, has ever confronted.

    “Venezuelan heavy oil is not easy to place. These sanctions leave the government with a tiny maneuvering margin,” said Henkel Garcia, head of local consulting firm Econometrica. “This is not just a big blow to Maduro but also to the Venezuelan people. It will hit the population hard in the short term with scarcity of food and medicines and even of gasoline.”

    [Trump administration announces sanctions targeting Venezuela’s oil industry]

    Venezuela’s government is responsible for more than half the country’s imports of food and medicine. The country, which depends on oil production that has steeply fallen in recent years, also depends on imports of raw materials to manufacture and distribute basic goods. Even the processing of the country’s heavy crude depends on imports of diluents and additives from the United States.

    The sanctions come during a tense week in Venezuela. Overnight protests are surging and are being met with harsh repression. At least 35 people have been killed and more than 800 detained in a week. More protest marches are scheduled this week.

    Many Venezuelans are desperate for change as they confront crippling hyperinflation and scarcity of vital medicines, but many worry that U.S. sanctions could make the dramatic situation even worse in the short term.

    At a supermarket in central Caracas on Tuesday, people were making nervous purchases amid predictions that food would become scarcer after the sanctions.

    Amaury Caraballo, 62, a businessman, said he has been trying to buy more food but that prices are too high to accumulate much. “I support the sanctions because it’s the only way to pressure the regime,” he said. “Everyone in the country is struggling to find food and medicines already. I’m definitely worried the sanctions will harden the situation for us, and I’m getting prepared for it, but I think it will be a good thing in the long term.”

    A 63-year-old textile businessman, Jacobo Benzaken, said the sanctions would hit the people harder than they would hit the government. “We will have no gasoline, no money, nothing,” he said. “I’m scared of not having transportation, food. Everything is scary. If we’re not doing well now, imagine what comes next?”

    Freddy Guevara, an opposition leader who who has taken refuge inside the Chilean Embassy, tweeted: “Yesterday President Guaidó achieved the protection of the republic’s accounts abroad to avoid further robbing. Today the usurpers respond by freezing his checking account with which he recharges his phone balance. We’re doing well Venezuela. #assymetricwar”

    In Washington, speculation about possible U.S. military intervention grew Monday after White House national security adviser John Bolton appeared at a news conference carrying a yellow notepad bearing the handwritten words, “5,000 troops to Colombia.”

    [Photo of John Bolton’s notes raises questions about U.S. military role in Venezuela crisis]

    Speaking to soldiers before they held a military exercise in the Caracas suburb of Maracay, Maduro said the U.S. was leading a coup against him by threatening to send troops to the Colombian border, referring to the Bolton notepad.

    “It’s an infantile way of leading an imperialist foreign policy,” Maduro said. “You, military leaders of our homeland have to stay loyal and subordinate, and defend us saying ‘Yankee go home, get out of here.”

    He announced the intention of creating 5,000 “defense units” across the country and to grow the country’s civilian militia to 2 million people. He then joined soldiers in the exercise, jogging with them.

    This is the second military exercise Maduro has attended since his swearing in.

    Separately, the State Department on Tuesday issued a new travel advisory for Venezuela, raising it to “Level 4 — Do Not Travel.” The advisory cited “crime, civil unrest, poor health infrastructure, and arbitrary arrest and detention of U.S. citizens.” In its previous travel advisory dated Jan. 24, the department ordered “the departure of non-emergency U.S. government employees and family members due to ongoing political instability.”

    Bolton has maintained that all options remain on the table when it comes to Venezuela, prompting questions about whether the top White House official showed off the notepad purposely as a warning and show of mettle.

    Acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan said Tuesday that he has not spoken with Bolton about the possibility of deploying 5,000 troops to the U.S.-allied nation along Venezuela’s western border. He declined to comment on whether he had spoken to anyone else in the administration about the possible involvement of American troops in the crisis.

    “We are supporting, we are monitoring the situation very carefully, and we’re watching,” Shanahan said. “We are working very much in real time.”

    Shanahan said the National Security Council, under Bolton’s leadership, has “created a number of options” with regard to Venezuela.

    “We support them with their policy development, and as the situation in Venezuela evolves, we are there to give them advice and counsel and support,” he said.

    In a televised meeting with diplomats on Monday, Maduro fired back at the United States. “John Bolton announced a series of immoral and illegal unilateral and criminal measures,” he said. “With this measure they want to rob our company Citgo. Be alert Venezuela.” He added that the state oil company would take “legal and political actions” shortly.

    Krygier reported from Miami and Faiola from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Paul Sonne in Washington contributed to this report.

    Read more

    John Bolton notepad photo showing ‘5,000 troops to Colombia’ raises questions about U.S. military in Venezuela

    Who is Juan Guaidó?

    How Citgo, a U.S. oil company, became Venezuela’s lifeline

    Millions flee Maduro’s Venezuela, only to become a new underclass in Latin America

    Venezuela’s economy is so bad, parents are leaving their children at orphanages

    Source Article from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/venezuelan-officials-seek-to-block-us-supported-opposition-leader-juan-guaido-from-leaving-the-country-freeze-his-assets/2019/01/29/1a4791a0-232c-11e9-b5b4-1d18dfb7b084_story.html

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    8 things you shouldn’t leave in your car in cold weather during polar vortex – Detroit Free Press
    8 things you shouldn’t leave in your car in cold weather during polar vortex – Detroit Free Press
    CLOSE

    Here are a few things you don’t want to leave in your car during a polar vortex.
    USA TODAY

    Editors’ note: This story is an updated version of an article published on Jan. 3, 2018.

    The polar vortex is swooping down from the North Pole once again this week, paralyzing a wide swath of the nation with frigid temperatures and howling winds.

    In Chicago, it is forecast to feel like minus-45 degrees with the wind chill, and Minneapolis could reach minus-54 degrees.

    As temperatures continue to drop, you might want to take a look at your car. While there are several ways to winter-proof your vehicle, here are some things you shouldn’t leave inside for a considerable length of time:

    Cellphones

    Apple advises against storing the iPhone or iPad at temperatures below negative-4 degrees, and they shouldn’t be operated at temperatures lower than 32 degrees. There are similar recommendations for Samsung phones and other electronics. Lithium-ion batteries popular in cellphones are the most vulnerable component to cold. They can stop working in extreme cold but should be OK once you get back indoors. However, repeated exposure to subzero temperatures can cause problems. 

    Polar Vortex 2019: Here are some tips for winter-proofing your car on any budget

    Inclement weather policies: Can you ask your employer to let you work from home in a storm?

    Weather forecast: Record-breaking winter freeze to hit 250 million across US

    Soda or beer

    Water expands when it freezes. And for canned liquids under pressure, that can mean explosion. The freeze temperature for Coca-Cola is 30 degrees, and the temperature for beer that’s 5 percent alcohol by volume is 27 degrees (higher-alcohol beers freeze at lower temperatures), as NJ.com reported. 

    Musical instruments

    Things contract when they freeze, so this can cause some instruments to go out of tune. More seriously, “damage can be done when an instrument shrinks as a result of the cold air. If your instrument is made of real wood, the cold air can cause cracking, which is very expensive to repair. Sometimes they are broken beyond repair,” according to The Real School of Music. If an instrument is left in a freezing car for a long period, try to make it warm up gradually. 

    Eggs

    Eggs shouldn’t be allowed to freeze in their shells; if that happens, throw away any cracked eggs. Keep the un-cracked ones frozen, and move them to the refrigerator before use. “These can be hard cooked successfully, but other uses may be limited. That’s because freezing causes the yolk to become thick and syrupy so it will not flow like an unfrozen yolk or blend very well with the egg white or other ingredients,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service. 

    Canned foods

    Letting a can of beans freeze allows for the water to freeze and expand in a similar way to beer and soda. The USDA advises that this can result in a broken seal, causing spoilage. If canned food freezes, allow it to thaw in a refrigerator. “If the product doesn’t look and/or smell normal, throw it out. DO NOT TASTE IT! If the seams have rusted or burst, throw the cans out immediately, wrapping the burst can in plastic and disposing the food where no one, including animals can get it,” according to the USDA.

    Medication

    If you’re visiting a pharmacy during the deep freeze, consider that some medications can be affected by low temperatures. “Drugs like insulin can lose their effectiveness if they freeze. The same goes for any so-called suspended medication that has to be shaken before use,” according to a report in The New York Times. 

    Loved ones

    This should be obvious. But it’s worth noting that children and elderly people can be more susceptible to hypothermia at cold temperatures, with symptoms such as shivering, confusion and exhaustion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So even limited amounts of time in an unheated vehicle could be dangerous. The same goes for pets.

    A low gas tank

    Keeping a fuel tank more than half-full helps to prevent fuel lines from freezing. It’s also a good idea to check fluids, such as antifreeze. The cold can affect tire pressure. “A temperature change of just 10 degrees can cause a 10 percent reduction, or constriction, of air in tires. So tire pressure can be affected from day to night temperature,” according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. 

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    Source Article from https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2019/01/29/polar-vortex-2019-cold-weather-car/2708668002/

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    NOAA posts cartoon which appears to challenge Trump’s climate change skepticism – CBS News
    NOAA posts cartoon which appears to challenge Trump’s climate change skepticism – CBS News

    The day after President Trump posted a tweet suggesting extreme cold temperatures in the Midwest cast doubt on the existence of global warming, the climate service for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tweeted a cartoon explaining warming oceans result in more extreme winter weather.

    “In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? [SIC] Please come back fast, we need you!” Mr. Trump tweeted.

    Forecasters say millions of people in the Midwest and Great Lakes will see record-shattering wind chills from 40 to 65 degrees below zero this week due to a “polar vortex.” And global warming may be playing a direct role in this: there is a theory that as areas near the North Pole warm more than two times faster than the rest of the globe, it weakens the polar vortex, displacing cold air masses southward into Europe, Asia and the United States.

    “Winter storms don’t prove that global warming isn’t happening,” the NOAA tweet said, linking to a 2015 article on Climate.gov which explains that “warmer air temperatures fuel more evaporation, leading to a wetter atmosphere, which increases rain or snow totals.” The tweet also included a descriptive cartoon from the 2015 article.

    In a statement to CBS News, NOAA said the tweet was not made in response to Mr. Trump, but was “something NOAA routinely puts out when we get an extreme cold snap such as the one we’re in now.”

    Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed on Twitter global warming is a “hoax.” In 2012, he tweeted global warming was created “by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Although he later said he was joking, he continued to refer to climate change as a hoax through the presidential campaign. One of his first actions as president was to announce the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, a global agreement to mitigate climate change.

    However, global climate change — the warming of the climate due to human activities — has been accepted almost universally by scientists. There is even a page on the NASA website providing evidence and consensus on the reality of climate change. Many of the states that are likely to see disproportionately negative effects in the coming years are some that supported Mr. Trump in 2016, like Florida and Texas, as well as others in the Southeast, which may sustain increased coastal damage because of more powerful storms, according to a new report by the Brookings Institute.

    The report found “climate-caused deaths will hurt the Southwest, as coastal storms and sea-level issues batter the Southeast, Florida, and the Gulf Coast.”

    And yet, some Democratic-leaning states could actually see an economic benefit from global warming, with a longer growing season that increases agricultural yields, the report also says.

    Jeff Berardelli contributed to this report.

    Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/noaa-responds-to-trumps-climate-change-skepticism-with-a-cartoon/

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    ‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett Beaten in Homophobic Attack By MAGA Supporters – TMZ
    ‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett Beaten in Homophobic Attack By MAGA Supporters – TMZ

    “Empire” star Jussie Smollett was brutally attacked by 2 men who beat him up, put his head in a noose and screamed, “This is MAGA country.”

    Sources directly connected to Jussie tell TMZ, the actor arrived in Chicago from New York late Monday, and at around 2 AM he was hungry and went to a Subway. We’re told when he walked out, someone yelled, “Aren’t you that f***ot ‘Empire’ n*****?” 

    The 2 men — both white and wearing ski masks — viciously attacked Jussie as he fought back, but they beat him badly and fractured a rib. They put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him and as they left they yelled, “This is MAGA country.” 

    Jussie was taken to Northwestern Memorial where he was treated. He was discharged later Tuesday morning.

    ThatGrapeJuice.Net first posted this letter which was sent to Fox Studios in Chicago with cut out letters spelling, “You will die black f**.” Our sources say the letter was sent 8 days ago.

    The envelope the letter arrived in appears to say MAGA in the upper left corner.

    Chicago PD tells us they are investigating the attack as a possible hate crime, and they are canvasing the area for any video.

    Originally published — 8:05 AM PT

    Source Article from https://www.tmz.com/2019/01/29/empire-star-jussie-smollett-attacked-hospitalized-homophobic-hate-crime/

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    Science Says: Get used to polar vortex outbreaks – Chronicle Telegram
    Science Says: Get used to polar vortex outbreaks – Chronicle Telegram

    WASHINGTON — It might seem counterintuitive, but the dreaded polar vortex is bringing its icy grip to the Midwest thanks to a sudden blast of warm air in the Arctic.





    Get used to it. The polar vortex has been wandering more often in recent years.


    <!–

    –>


    It all started with misplaced Moroccan heat. Last month, the normally super chilly air temperatures 20 miles above the North Pole rapidly rose by about 125 degrees (70 degrees Celsius), thanks to air flowing in from the south. It’s called “sudden stratospheric warming.”







    That warmth split the polar vortex, leaving the pieces to wander, said Judah Cohen, a winter storm expert for Atmospheric Environmental Research, a commercial firm outside Boston.





    “Where the polar vortex goes, so goes the cold air,” Cohen said.





    By Wednesday morning, one of those pieces will be over the Lower 48 states for the first time in years. The forecast calls for a low of minus 21 degrees (minus 29 Celsius) in Chicago and wind chills flirting with minus 65 degrees (minus 54 Celsius) in parts of Minnesota, according to the National Weather Service.





    The unusual cold could stick around another eight weeks, Cohen said.





    “The impacts from this split, we have a ways to go. It’s not the end of the movie yet,” Cohen said. “I think at a minimum, we’re looking at mid-February, possibly through mid-March.”





    Americans were introduced to the polar vortex five years ago. It was in early January 2014 when temperatures dropped to minus 16 degrees (minus 27 Celsius) in Chicago and meteorologists, who used the term for decades, started talking about it on social media.





    This outbreak may snap some daily records for cold and is likely to be even more brutal than five years ago, especially with added wind chill, said Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private weather firm Weather Underground.





    When warm air invades the polar region, it can split the vortex or displace it, usually toward Siberia, Cohen said. Recently, there have been more splits, which increase the odds of other places getting ultra-cold, he said. Pieces of the polar vortex have chilled Europe, Siberia and North America this time. (It’s not right to call the frigid center of cold air the polar vortex because it is just a piece or a lobe, not the entire vortex, said University of Oklahoma meteorology professor Jason Furtado.)





    When the forces penning the polar vortex in the Arctic are weak, it wanders, more often to Siberia than Michigan. And it’s happening more frequently in the last couple decades, Furtado said. A study a year ago in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society looked at decades of the Arctic system and found the polar vortex has shifted “toward more frequent weak states.”





    When the polar vortex pieces wander, warmth invades the Arctic, Alaska, Greenland and Canada, Masters said. While the Midwest chills, Australia has been broiling to record-breaking heat. The world as a whole on Monday was 0.7 degrees (0.4 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1979-2000 average, according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.





    Some scientists — but by no means most — see a connection between human-caused climate change and difference in atmospheric pressure that causes slower moving waves in the air.





    “It’s a complicated story that involves a hefty dose of chaos and an interplay among multiple influences, so extracting a clear signal of the Arctic’s role is challenging,” said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center. Several recent papers have made the case for the connection, she noted.





    “This symptom of global warming is counterintuitive for those in the cross-hairs of these extreme cold spells,” Francis said in an email. “But these events provide an excellent opportunity to help the public understand some of the ‘interesting’ ways that climate change will unfold.”





    Others, like Furtado, aren’t sold yet on the climate change connection.





    Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini, who has already felt temperatures that seem like 25 degrees below zero, said there’s “a growing body of literature” to support the climate connection. But he says more evidence is needed.





    “Either way,” Gensini said, “it’s going to be interesting being in the bullseye of the Midwest cold.”




    Source Article from http://www.chroniclet.com/national-news/2019/01/28/Science-Says-Get-used-to-polar-vortex-outbreaks.html

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    Kamala Harris Backs Medicare For All And She Isn’t Messing Around – HuffPost
    Kamala Harris Backs Medicare For All And She Isn’t Messing Around – HuffPost

    Medicare for All holds out the promise of addressing this problem, and finally reaching the elusive goal of universal coverage, by automatically enrolling everybody in the government plan and then using regulation to set prices for doctors, hospitals, and the rest of the health care industry. Typically, such proposals envision people paying for coverage entirely through taxes or income-related premiums, with little or no co-payments, deductibles, and other forms of cost-sharing.

    Source Article from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-medicare-for-all_us_5c505f9be4b0f43e410b1454

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    Life-Threatening Cold Coming – week.com
    Life-Threatening Cold Coming – week.com

    25 NEWS – WEEK
    2907 Springfield Road East Peoria, IL 61611
    News Tips: 309-698-3737
    or news25@week.com>

    Source Article from https://week.com/news/top-stories/2019/01/29/life-threatening-cold-coming/

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    "5,000 troops to Colombia"? Nation responds to Bolton’s note – CBS News
    "5,000 troops to Colombia"? Nation responds to Bolton’s note – CBS News

    Colombia’s foreign minister says his government doesn’t know why U.S. national security adviser John Bolton had “5,000 troops to Colombia” written on a notepad he held during a news conference announcing new Venezuela sanctions.

    In a brief address Monday evening, Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes said Colombia does not know the “importance and reason” for Bolton’s note. He added that Colombia will continue “acting politically and diplomatically” so that democratic order is restored in Venezuela and new elections are held.

    WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 28: With handwritten notes on a legal pad, National Security Advisor John Bolton listens to questions from reporters during a press briefing at the White House January 28, 2019 in Washington, DC. 

    Win McNamee / Getty Images


    Colombia shares a 1,370-mile border with Venezuela and has joined President Donald Trump in backing Venezuelan congress leader Juan Guaido, who has proclaimed himself interim president in the opposition’s confrontation with President Nicolas Maduro. Bolton’s note appeared to refer to the situation in Venezuela and were spotted while he and other officials were announcing the imposition of sanctions against a state-owned Venezuelan oil company.

    When asked to explain the words in Bolton’s notepad, the White House said in an email that “as the President has said, all options are on the table.”

    CBS News’ Kathryn Watson contributed to this report. 

    Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colombia-confused-by-boltons-note-on-5000-troops/

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    Kamala Harris Backs Medicare For All And She Isn’t Messing Around – HuffPost
    Kamala Harris Backs Medicare For All And She Isn’t Messing Around – HuffPost

    Medicare for All holds out the promise of addressing this problem, and finally reaching the elusive goal of universal coverage, by automatically enrolling everybody in the government plan and then using regulation to set prices for doctors, hospitals, and the rest of the health care industry. Typically, such proposals envision people paying for coverage entirely through taxes or income-related premiums, with little or no co-payments, deductibles, and other forms of cost-sharing.

    Source Article from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-medicare-for-all_us_5c505f9be4b0f43e410b1454

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    Huawei is accused of attempting to copycat a T-Mobile robot, and the charges read like a comical spy movie – Business Insider
    Huawei is accused of attempting to copycat a T-Mobile robot, and the charges read like a comical spy movie – Business Insider

    The US on Monday charged the Chinese phone giant Huawei, Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, and a couple of affiliates with bank and wire fraud and theft of trade secrets.

    The two indictments are the latest development in a saga that exploded when the Canadian government arrested Meng in December at the request of US authorities.

    Read more: US calls Huawei and CFO Meng Wanzhou national-security threats, indicts company and exec on fraud and IP theft charges

    While the situation for Huawei is grave, the indictment outlining the charges of trade-secret theft makes for slightly comical reading, particularly where it touches on allegations that the Chinese firm attempted to obtain T-Mobile’s trade secrets starting in 2012.

    At the time, T-Mobile was touting a device-testing robot called Tappy, which comprised a robotic arm and camera that tapped new phones to test their responsiveness and catch any software bugs.

    The image below shows what Tappy looks like, and this T-Mobile video features the robot in action.

    Tappy, T-Mobile’s device-testing robot.
    Tappy

    At one point, T-Mobile considered licensing Tappy to phone makers like Huawei who might use the robot to catch software bugs earlier in development. In 2012, it allowed these prospective partners limited access to Tappy in its lab, where engineers could play around with the robot. That included Huawei, whose US engineers were able to test Tappy.

    This quickly spiraled into Huawei trying to gather a bunch of information about the robot, as detailed in internal emails included in the indictment. Prosecutors characterized Huawei’s efforts as an attempt to “steal” data on Tappy to develop its own robot, called xDeviceRobot.

    Read more: Chinese electronics giant Huawei allegedly offered bonuses to any employee who stole trade secrets

    Prosecutors say the emails describe Huawei’s Chinese engineers working on their equivalent to Tappy and pressuring their US counterparts to steal as much information as possible — and the US engineers trying to avoid doing any such thing.

    Huawei engineers pressured into information gathering

    At the beginning of 2013, Huawei’s Chinese engineers came up with a list of questions about Tappy for T-Mobile engineers. They also asked their US colleagues, who had access to Tappy, to take some photos of the robot and send them back, the indictment said.

    T-Mobile quickly grew suspicious. The indictment said a Huawei US employee wrote to colleagues: “We CAN’T ask TMO any questions about the robot. TMO is VERY angry the questions that we asked.”

    Huawei’s Chinese engineers continued to pester their US colleagues for more information through the spring of 2013, repeatedly requesting photos of the robot and measurement data, the indictment said. A Huawei US employee bluntly replied that Huawei China should question Tappy’s manufacturer, not T-Mobile.

    Eventually, the US employee suggested that the Chinese engineers come out to see Tappy for themselves.

    “I suggested HQ to send an engineer to TMO for a hands-on experience by playing the robot system,” the employee said. “I believe this would give HQ robot team a huge benefit in understanding TMO robot system from hardware and software, as well as operation.”

    At this point, Huawei’s US engineers had asked so many questions that T-Mobile had complained. Here’s an excerpt from an email from the US employee included in the indictment:

    US Justice Department

    Huawei China persisted, flying out an engineer to sneak his way into T-Mobile’s lab, the indictment said.

    Though the engineer had no clearance to visit the lab, two US colleagues snuck him in, the indictment said. The Chinese engineer was asked to leave, but he returned the next day and took photos and gathered information. He was once again discovered and booted, but he returned to China with the information.

    Deeply suspicious at this point, T-Mobile revoked access to Tappy, allowing only one US Huawei engineer, referred to in the indictment as “A.X.,” to test the robot. Huawei China continued to pester this engineer to send photos and information.

    “No need for home to keep reminding me,” A.X. replied to their email at one point, per the indictment.

    On May 29, 2013, after Huawei China asked A.X. to provide detailed measurements of Tappy’s robot arm, A.X. walked into T-Mobile’s lab, took one of Tappy’s arms, and put it in his bag, the indictment said. When T-Mobile discovered the arm was missing, A.X. gave it back, but the damage had been done.

    The indictment alleges that Huawei China did everything it could to cover up the coordinated effort, saying that A.X. and the Chinese engineer had “acted on their own” and that the pair had been fired.

    Huawei says the T-Mobile case is settled

    Huawei said this whole episode was settled in an earlier civil lawsuit, and it denied any wrongdoing in a statement to Business Insider:

    “Huawei is disappointed to learn of the charges brought against the company today … The allegations in the Western District of Washington trade secret indictment were already the subject of a civil suit that was settled by the parties after a Seattle jury found neither damages nor willful and malicious conduct on the trade secret claim.

    “The Company denies that it or its subsidiary or affiliate have committed any of the asserted violations of U.S. law set forth in each of the indictments … and believes the U.S. courts will ultimately reach the same conclusion.”

    Source Article from https://www.businessinsider.com/us-indictment-against-huawei-t-mobile-reads-spy-movie-2019-1

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    "5,000 troops to Colombia"? Nation responds to Bolton’s note – CBS News
    "5,000 troops to Colombia"? Nation responds to Bolton’s note – CBS News

    Colombia’s foreign minister says his government doesn’t know why U.S. national security adviser John Bolton had “5,000 troops to Colombia” written on a notepad he held during a news conference announcing new Venezuela sanctions.

    In a brief address Monday evening, Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes said Colombia does not know the “importance and reason” for Bolton’s note. He added that Colombia will continue “acting politically and diplomatically” so that democratic order is restored in Venezuela and new elections are held.

    WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 28: With handwritten notes on a legal pad, National Security Advisor John Bolton listens to questions from reporters during a press briefing at the White House January 28, 2019 in Washington, DC. 

    Win McNamee / Getty Images


    Colombia shares a 1,370-mile border with Venezuela and has joined President Donald Trump in backing Venezuelan congress leader Juan Guaido, who has proclaimed himself interim president in the opposition’s confrontation with President Nicolas Maduro. Bolton’s note appeared to refer to the situation in Venezuela and were spotted while he and other officials were announcing the imposition of sanctions against a state-owned Venezuelan oil company.

    When asked to explain the words in Bolton’s notepad, the White House said in an email that “as the President has said, all options are on the table.”

    CBS News’ Kathryn Watson contributed to this report. 

    Source Article from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colombia-confused-by-boltons-note-on-5000-troops/

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    Spy chief says Russia will attempt interfere in 2020, contradicts Trump on North Korea’s denuclearization, … – Fox News
    Spy chief says Russia will attempt interfere in 2020, contradicts Trump on North Korea’s denuclearization, … – Fox News
    Video

    Daniel Coats, Director of National Intelligence at Senate Intelligence Committee hearing

    Russia and other actors will attempt to interfere in the 2020 elections, U.S. intelligence agencies told Congress on Tuesday, saying such actors will use the tactics they deployed in the 2016 and 2018 campaigns.

    Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee that foreign actors see the upcoming elections as a chance for them to push for their interests by disrupting the process and dividing the electorate.

    From left, FBI Director Christopher Wray, CIA Director Gina Haspel and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats arrive to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington Tuesday, Jan. 29.
    (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

    “We assess that foreign actors will view the 2020 U.S. elections as an opportunity to advance their interests,” he said. “We expect them to refine their capabilities and add new tactics as they learn from each other’s experiences and efforts.”

    Coats said Russia and perhaps other countries such as China – which is increasingly aligned with Moscow – are likely to use social media other means to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

    RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN US ELECTIONS FAR FROM OVER – HERE’S WHAT TO WATCH FOR

    “Our adversaries and strategic competitors probably already are looking to the 2020 U.S. elections as an opportunity to advance their interests,” read the Worldwide Threat Assessment released by Coats on Tuesday.

    “Russia’s social media efforts will continue to focus on aggravating social and racial tensions, undermining trust in authorities, and criticizing perceived anti-Russia politicians,” it continued. “Moscow may employ additional influence toolkits — such as spreading disinformation, conducting hack-and-leak operations, or manipulating data — in a more targeted fashion to influence U.S. policy, actions, and elections.”

    Video

    Coats’s testimony went on to cast doubt on President Trump’s goal of a nuclear-free North Korea, saying it’s unlikely the regime will entirely dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

    NORTH KOREANS ORDERED TO PRODUCE IMPOSSIBLE AMOUNT OF HUMAN MANURE EVERY DAY TO HELP SAVE AGRICULTURE: REPORT

    While admitting that Kim Jong Un has expressed support for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and has not recently tested a nuclear-capable missile, Coats said the intelligence assessment indicates will continue to seek to retain its nuclear capabilities and “is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capability because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival.”

    “Our assessment is bolstered by our observations of some activity that is inconsistent with full denuclearization,” he added, without providing more details.

    The assessment deals a blow to the Trump administration’s view that North Korea, thanks to the historic summit last year where the North agreed to denuclearization of the peninsula, no longer seeks to develop their nuclear arsenal or poses the threat of nuclear weapons to its neighbors and American allies.

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

    The threat assessment report also contradicts the Trump administration’s insistence that ISIS has been defeated, with the report claiming the terror group “very likely will continue to pursue external attacks from Iraq and Syria against regional and Western adversaries, including the United States.”

    Coats told the committee that the terror group, which since has been decimated territory-wise in the Middle East, has “returned to its guerrilla warfare roots while continuing to plot attacks and direct its supporters worldwide.”

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/spy-chief-says-russia-will-attempt-interfere-in-2020-contradicts-trump-on-north-koreas-denuclearization-isis-defeat

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    Trump made the right call with his new sanctions on Nicolas Maduro’s oil exports – Washington Examiner
    Trump made the right call with his new sanctions on Nicolas Maduro’s oil exports – Washington Examiner

    Cutting off cash to illegitimate president Nicolas Maduro through an oil embargo was a good move by the Trump administration, and it brings us one step closer to ending the disastrous socialist regime of Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez.

    Maduro’s power is almost entirely sustained by his oil sales. Without that revenue, Chavez’s ludicrous successor will struggle to pay off senior military officers he relies upon for protection. But this isn’t a sanctions action in the conventional sense. Because by granting interim president Juan Guaido access to the newly restricted oil revenue accounts, the U.S. is showing deference to the legitimate executive political authority in Caracas. Guaido was rightly recognized by the U.S. last week following mass street protests against Maduro’s illegitimate rule.

    This sanctions decision, then, represents a calibrated step towards increasing pressure on Maduro in a way that attempts to peacefully drive him out of power. Importantly, the U.S. refused last week to recognize Maduro’s demand that we withdraw U.S. diplomats from Venezuela.

    Keeping those diplomats there is treating Guiado with the respect the position deserves. Guaido wants those U.S. diplomats to remain in Caracas.

    At present, there is no good justification for U.S. military action in Venezuela. But short of that, it is in U.S. and regional political interests, and Venezuelan moral interests to see Maduro leave power as soon as possible.

    Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/welcome-the-new-sanctions-on-nicolas-maduros-oil-exports

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    5G networks, the Trump administration, and Beijing’s delicious fear – Washington Examiner
    5G networks, the Trump administration, and Beijing’s delicious fear – Washington Examiner

    On Monday, Chinese state media published a new editorial of great importance to U.S. interests. The Global Times declared that “referring to 5G competition as an arms race and attaching so much importance to the dominance of the technology is typical American thinking.”

    It isn’t that hard to understand why President Xi Jinping is so mad about 5G. To achieve that which drives his global hegemonic ambition, Xi must usurp U.S. trading relationships, undercut U.S. alliances, and, most relevant here, steal U.S. intellectual property.

    But that task is a lot harder if the U.S. limits China’s appropriation of technology and hacking of global information flows. And that’s exactly what the Trump administration is now doing. The U.S. issued new sanctions against Huawei on Monday. That adds to the motivation for the Global Times editorial.

    And what prompted the Global Times’ editorial was a New York Times report from Saturday, describing U.S. efforts to lobby foreign governments to stop Huawei and other Chinese technology firms from building 5G data networks. This shows, the Global Times says, that the U.S. is “completely ignoring business rules and savagely suppressing Huawei … But Washington has no evidence of Huawei espionage, only imaginary accusations. Washington wants to deprive Chinese companies of their right to lead 5G technology. The U.S. is using geopolitics rather than market rules in 5G construction.”

    Coming from a government that treats business rules as a joke, that capriciously uses its technology firms as intelligence service cutouts, and that denies foreign companies any fair competition in China, this lament is the very summit of hypocrisy. Still, it targets a specific audience. Aware that its best strategy here is to manipulate global anti-American sentiments, the Global Times presents its argument as a moral narrative for global political equality: “Globalization greatly promoted the integration of all countries’ interests and brought about a great evolution in distribution of profits. In the future, the power of a few select countries can no longer dominate the whole world.”

    No one should take China at its word. Instead, we should unequivocally endorse Trump administration and congressional action to restrain China’s 5G activity. The simple point is that when it comes to international order, China is a master at saying the right thing and doing the opposite. In the New York Times report, for example, we see a reference to Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei’s recent declaration that “I support the Communist Party of China. But I will never do anything to harm any other nation.”

    It sounds good, and alongside vast Chinese investments, these words are very tempting for many nations. But like those party elites he serves, Ren is a liar. This is an increasingly understood truth among U.S. and allied governments. The New York Times hints at it, but the U.S. and British intelligence communities have excelled in identifying the truly vast scale of Chinese cyber-espionage. It must be said here that Prime Minister Theresa May’s support for the U.S. on China is far greater than that of her predecessor, David Cameron.

    So where does all this leave Xi? With an understandable sense of fear. The Global Times shows Xi’s fear that America that is slowly waking up to his game. If so, its editorial ends with a rather pathetic rejoinder. “The U.S. strategic vision for 5G,” it says, “is lame and runs counter to the spirit of the times.”

    Wrong. This U.S. strategic vision is critical toward protecting free markets and preserving liberal democratic order in the 21st century. Accepting China’s lie would be to kneel to a dragon that is determined to burn our better future.

    Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/5g-networks-the-trump-administration-and-beijings-delicious-fear

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    If Trump can’t get ‘the wall,’ give border agents ‘more wall’ – Washington Examiner
    If Trump can’t get ‘the wall,’ give border agents ‘more wall’ – Washington Examiner

    Talking about “the wall” is now like banging your head against one. President Trump did a fantastic job selling the idea to the public, but the debate on controlling our jungle-like immigration system has shifted and now he needs to adjust. Otherwise, the border will be no more secure when he leaves the White House than when he arrived.

    That means he needs to stop yelling about “the wall,” where Democrats are completely uncompromising and screaming “racism” for entirely political reasons. He needs to start talking about “more wall,” which all the border patrol agents I spoke to in Texas (mostly Latinos, by the way) are asking for.

    There is no “the wall” that will ever get built — not least because Trump has never explained what it would look like or where it would go. But more importantly, there is already “wall” in place. We just need more of it, and depending on where it goes, it’s going to look different.

    In the Rio Grande Valley sector at the southern border of Texas, more people are illegally crossing into the U.S. than anywhere else. There are sections of wall there — 25 feet of concrete and steel — that work to slow down or stop aliens, aiding in their apprehension by agents.

    A portion of the border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley sector of the Texas southern border.

    When I went there two weeks ago, they said they want more of that wall to fill in gaps where it hasn’t been built. They also want more money for cameras and additional agents.

    This has nothing to do with Trump. The pieces of wall that are there now were recommended by the border patrol in the 1990s and were built in 2008.

    But Trump on Saturday, after caving on the government shutdown, tweeted again about a “a powerful Wall” necessary to keep illegals at bay.

    Okay, maybe? But if Democrats are simply going to call that “racist” and never say yes to building it, force them instead to say no to what the border patrol wants.

    If they do, then we can once and for all drop the lie that Democrats are “for border security.”

    Border agents aren’t asking for “a powerful Wall.” They’re asking for more of what they already have, which Democrats said yes to in the past. Some in the conservative media aren’t helping by making dumb demands about “the wall,” insisting we replicate the barrier Israel has up around Gaza. Yes, Israel has a “wall” there, but guess what: It’s 40 miles long on mostly flat desert. You can’t build that over the 1,000 miles of canyons, mountains, and forest that make up our border with Mexico.

    Trump moved the country in the right direction on immigration. His repeated “We either have a country, or we don’t” argument in favor of border control was essential to his victory and should go down as one of the great political lines of all time.

    But he dragged his feet on fixing the problem when he had Republicans controlling both houses of Congress. Now he has to deal with Democrats who, if unwilling to build “the wall,” should at least be forced on the record to opposing what the Border Patrol wants: “more wall.”

    Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/if-trump-cant-get-the-wall-give-border-agents-more-wall

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    If Trump can’t get ‘the wall,’ give border agents ‘more wall’ – Washington Examiner
    If Trump can’t get ‘the wall,’ give border agents ‘more wall’ – Washington Examiner

    Talking about “the wall” is now like banging your head against one. President Trump did a fantastic job selling the idea to the public, but the debate on controlling our jungle-like immigration system has shifted and now he needs to adjust. Otherwise, the border will be no more secure when he leaves the White House than when he arrived.

    That means he needs to stop yelling about “the wall,” where Democrats are completely uncompromising and screaming “racism” for entirely political reasons. He needs to start talking about “more wall,” which all the border patrol agents I spoke to in Texas (mostly Latinos, by the way) are asking for.

    There is no “the wall” that will ever get built — not least because Trump has never explained what it would look like or where it would go. But more importantly, there is already “wall” in place. We just need more of it, and depending on where it goes, it’s going to look different.

    In the Rio Grande Valley sector at the southern border of Texas, more people are illegally crossing into the U.S. than anywhere else. There are sections of wall there — 25 feet of concrete and steel — that work to slow down or stop aliens, aiding in their apprehension by agents.

    A portion of the border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley sector of the Texas southern border.

    When I went there two weeks ago, they said they want more of that wall to fill in gaps where it hasn’t been built. They also want more money for cameras and additional agents.

    This has nothing to do with Trump. The pieces of wall that are there now were recommended by the border patrol in the 1990s and were built in 2008.

    But Trump on Saturday, after caving on the government shutdown, tweeted again about a “a powerful Wall” necessary to keep illegals at bay.

    Okay, maybe? But if Democrats are simply going to call that “racist” and never say yes to building it, force them instead to say no to what the border patrol wants.

    If they do, then we can once and for all drop the lie that Democrats are “for border security.”

    Border agents aren’t asking for “a powerful Wall.” They’re asking for more of what they already have, which Democrats said yes to in the past. Some in the conservative media aren’t helping by making dumb demands about “the wall,” insisting we replicate the barrier Israel has up around Gaza. Yes, Israel has a “wall” there, but guess what: It’s 40 miles long on mostly flat desert. You can’t build that over the 1,000 miles of canyons, mountains, and forest that make up our border with Mexico.

    Trump moved the country in the right direction on immigration. His repeated “We either have a country, or we don’t” argument in favor of border control was essential to his victory and should go down as one of the great political lines of all time.

    But he dragged his feet on fixing the problem when he had Republicans controlling both houses of Congress. Now he has to deal with Democrats who, if unwilling to build “the wall,” should at least be forced on the record to opposing what the Border Patrol wants: “more wall.”

    Source Article from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/if-trump-cant-get-the-wall-give-border-agents-more-wall

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    Whitaker: Mueller probe is ‘close to being completed’ – Fox News
    Whitaker: Mueller probe is ‘close to being completed’ – Fox News
    Video

    Roger Stone’s arrest sparks new questions on direction of Mueller probe

    Former Trump adviser Roger Stone says his indictment has nothing to do with Russian collusion; analysis from Robert Ray, former Whitewater independent counsel.

    In his first question-and-answer session with reporters since becoming Acting Attorney General last November, Matthew Whitaker on Monday announced that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is “close to being completed.”

    Whitaker’s remarks came just days after Mueller ordered the dramatic predawn arrest of former Trump adviser Roger Stone on charges he allegedly lied to Congress and directed another witness to do the same.

    “I’ve been fully briefed, and I look forward to Mueller delivering the final report,” Whitaker said. “Right now, the investigation is, I think, close to being completed.”

    In response, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., tweeted that Whitaker’s remark was inappropriate.

    “While the probe is ongoing, Mueller can speak for himself,” Schiff wrote, after asserting that Whitaker should have recused himself from overseeing the Russia probe in part because of his past comments favoring limits on Mueller’s authority. Whitaker has also attracted scrutiny for earning nearly $1 million from a secretive right-leaning nonprofit prior to joining the Justice Department.

    Earlier this month, Trump’s legal team pushed back on the suggestion the White House could seek to keep parts of Mueller’s final report under wraps.

    “We prefer that as much of the report as possible is public,” Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told Fox News. “We believe a selective release would be problematic.”

    In his remarks to reporters Monday, Whitaker added, “Fundamentally, the Mueller investigation has a very defined scope.”

    Mueller was appointed in May 2017, shortly after President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, to conduct an investigation into “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government” and individuals associated with then-candidate Trump’s presidential campaign, as well as any matters arising “directly” from the probe.

    Asked by Fox News if the Justice Department would investigate witnesses who Republicans have accused of misleading Congress — including Comey and fired FBI agent Peter Strzok — Whitaker responded, “We take very seriously lying to Congress. If referrals are made by committees, we would investigate.”

    AG NOMINEE BARR ACKNOWLEDGES TALKING ABOUT RUSSIA PROBE WITH PENCE

    In the course of the investigation, Mueller has secured criminal convictions of numerous former Trump advisers — including his onetime campaign manager Paul Manafort and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn — but none of the charges directly pertained to a criminal conspiracy with Russian officials related to efforts to meddle in the 2016 elections.

    For example, the special counsel’s 24-page indictment unsealed on Friday alleged that Stone worked to obstruct the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian interference by making false statements to the committee, denying he had records sought by the committee and persuading a witness to provide false testimony.

    Roger Stone was arrested Friday in the special counsel’s Russia investigation and was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the probe.
    (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

    According to the indictment, Stone told an associate, Randy Credico, to do a “Frank Pentangeli’” when testifying before Congress — a reference to a character in “The Godfather: Part II.” Stone also told Credico, “I guarantee you you are the one who gets indicted for perjury if you’re stupid enough to testify.”

    Stone has insisted he was joking, and the indictment does not charge Stone with conspiring with WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website that published emails of Democrats during the 2016 campaign, or with the Russian officers Mueller says hacked them.

    Flynn, like former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, was charged only with lying to investigators after the Russia probe began. (Prosecutors maintained that they could have also secured convictions for procedural violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act violations against Flynn as well)

    Manafort’s convictions related largely to bank and tax fraud.

    Meanwhile, William Barr, Trump’s nominee to replace Whitaker as attorney general on a full-time basis, sent written responses to questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier Monday.

    In his responses, Barr stressed he would not interfere with Mueller’s investigation and that his previous memorandum critical of Mueller’s authority did not necessarily reflect his current views.

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    Barr also acknowleged he previously had spoken with Vice President Mike Pence about the Mueller investigation in 2017, but said he had provided no legal advice to the White House and denied that Pence had provided any classified information.

    Barr, who served previously as attorney general in President George H.W. Bush’s administration, appeared headed for confirmation in the Republican-controlled Senate.

    Fox News’ Jake Gibson and Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.

    Source Article from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/whitaker-mueller-probe-is-close-to-being-completed

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