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As tensions over aid rise, Venezuelan troops fire on villagers, kill two

The United States, which is among dozens of Western nations to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president, has been stockpiling aid in the Colombian frontier town of Cucuta to ship across the border this weekend. With tensions running high after Guaido invoked the constitution to declare an interim presidency last month, Maduro has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela despite widespread shortages of food and medicine and hyperinflation. The socialist president has declared Venezuela's southern border with Brazil closed and threatened to do the same with the Colombian border ahead of a Saturday deadline by the opposition to bring in humanitarian assistance.

Girl banned from wearing MAGA hat claims school is violating her First Amendment rights

A California high school student who was banned from wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat on campus is challenging her school district for impinging on her First Amendment rights. Maddie Mueller, who attends Clovis North High School in Fresno, is a member of Valley Patriots. The conservative activist group asked its affiliates to wear the well-known hat bearing Donald Trump's campaign motto on Wednesday.

When rich men like Robert Kraft get charged with soliciting prostitutes, we forget so fast

Allegedly the New England Patriots owner went looking for prostitutes at 'Orchids of Asia', but don't forget trafficking victims across the country.

Should 'ISIS brides' be allowed to return home?

Two young women -- Hoda Muthana from the U.S. and Shamima Begum from Britain -- have ignited a debate about youths who left their countries to join the Islamic State but now want to come home. Here's where things stand.

Feinstein Unveils Green Deal Alternative After Kid Confrontation

Feinstein’s proposed draft plan seeks to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 - 20 years later than the Green New Deal - and also explicitly calls for achieving those reductions through a price on carbon, among other ways. During a meeting with youth activists from the progressive Sunrise Movement, some of whom the group said were as young as age 7, the California Democrat suggested the ambitious climate plan was not achievable. “You didn’t vote for me,” Feinstein told one 16-year-old after learning she was under the legal voting age.

Police say they have identified a potential suspect in the assault on a conservative activist on Berkeley campus

Reaction from founder and president of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk.

Sen. Warren: US needs to address 'ugly history of racism'

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who said earlier this week that she supports reparations for black Americans who have been affected by slavery, told reporters Friday that the nation needs to confront its "ugly history of racism" and "talk about the right way to address it and make change."

The Roman Farce

Pope Francis is conducting his extraordinary summit with cardinals on the problem of sexual abuse in the Church. And we can expect it will go nowhere.The summit is happening in light of two events outside of it. The first was Pope Francis’s recent laicization of the former cardinal archbishop of Washington, D.C., Theodore McCarrick, a man who was notorious for his sexual abuse of seminarians and other priests, while at the same time he was the public-relations face of the Church’s response to sexual abuse and cover-up in the early 2000s. McCarrick was finally publicly exposed when an investigation into his abuse of a minor became public last year.The second is the publication of a sensationalist book by sociologist Frédéric Martel, In the Closet of the Vatican, which claims to document the sexual hypocrisy at the top of the Roman Catholic Church. The book is fascinating because it relies on scores of interviews with cardinals and is written in a loose, gossipy style. Some of the pope’s trusted confidantes were sources for the book. We’ll come back to that in a minute.These two events also reveal the problems inherent to Pope Francis’s summit. The laicization of McCarrick is held up as a victory of accountability, even justice, but actually amounts to a public-relations move. McCarrick was not afforded the normal forms of defense given to men in his position. And far from solving the McCarrick issue, his laicization avoids the main question: How did McCarrick rise to his position while “everyone knew” of his sordid reputation? Why was he able to maneuver around the restrictions put on him by Benedict XVI? Why did Francis make him an informal adviser in his anxious desire to reshape the American episcopate? And how is it that his associates (co-conspirators?) continue to rise in the Church? Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who lived and worked with McCarrick for years (and claims to have noticed nothing unusual), was recently appointed cardinal camerlengo, who will govern the Vatican during the next interregnum.Francis’s preferred bishops have also been promoting their own line on the abuse crisis at the summit. In their eyes, the problem is not rampant immorality, a network of moral blackmail, and moral conspiracy but what they call “clericalism.” The term is used in two senses. The first, the one that makes it plausible to some as a problem, is the idea that bishops and priests protect each other. That’s true. But what Francis’s men mean by clericalism is the idea of a Church where a hierarchical priesthood plays a role in safeguarding the Church’s traditional doctrine. They believe that this conception of the priesthood, as having real moral responsibility for handing on the faith as they received it, makes priests irresponsible. It is in this way that they transmute the failure of bishops to exercise authority to remove abusive priests into a problem of “excessive authority.” And thus sexual immorality is blamed, not just on moral and doctrinal conservatives, but on moral and doctrinal conservatism itself.Then there is the matter of the book, which replicates the same error. Martel’s methodology for determining whether certain churchmen are gay is to stereotype them. Churchmen whom he deems to oppose homosexuality too much are deemed homosexual themselves. This logic does not apply, however, to Pope Francis, who has occasionally urged gay men to leave the priesthood or not enter it at all. Francis is held up as a hero to Martel. But the influence of Francis’s inner circle is evident in the choice of targets.Martel meets with the German conservative cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller and insinuates that the cardinal’s “perfumed voice” gives him away as a homosexual. Pope Benedict XVI is deemed a homosexual because he likes opera. The traditionalist cardinal Raymond Leo Burke is deemed homosexual or even transsexual because he prefers the Church’s most elaborate vestments. Just as the Vatican summit limits its scope to avoid addressing the culture of abuse in seminaries, so Martel avoids discussing the documented abuse at the seminary of the so-called “vice pope,” Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga.Martel’s preferred story is one of moral hypocrisy. That may be a real moral problem for some churchmen. But because this is Martel’s bias, he is incapable of looking at the crisis through the lens of moral indifference, moral lassitude, and moral cronyism, which are the major factors in the crisis of sexual abuse and predation in the Church.That Martel was helped in this sordid endeavor of cover-up and baseless accusation by the pope’s closest advisers should be a source of immense scandal to those in the Church and outside it. He likes opera. He must be gay. He likes vestments. Must be gay. He has a pleasant voice. Gay. This is the kind of moral enlightenment that Pope Francis’s allies have brought to the Church? The only stereotype that Martel doesn’t use is the one about men who engage in constant salacious sexual gossip and speculation, as it would indict all his sources.The book is trash. The supposed justice meted to McCarrick amounts to a cover-up. The pope’s summit is trash and a coverup. These men do not fear the justice of God or men. All their training in theology, and their great insight about man’s depravity, is the schoolyard taunt “Whoever smelt it, dealt it.” To hell with them all.

Decision time, not extra time, EU Brexit negotiator says

Brexit talks now require a "decision" rather than going into "extra time", the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier said Friday as the clock runs down on March 29 when Britain is set to leave the block, with or without an exit deal. Brussels however appears open to adopting a more ambitious political declaration that would set a roadmap for negotiating close EU-UK trade ties during a transition period after March 29.

Airlines admit having cameras installed on back of passengers’ seats

Three of the world’s biggest airlines have admitted some of their planes have cameras installed on the backs of passenger seats. American Airlines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines have new seat-back entertainment systems that include cameras. Companies that make the entertainment systems are fitting them with cameras to offer passengers options such as seat-to-seat video conferencing, according to an American Airlines spokesman.

Kim Jong-un heads to Vietnam by train ahead of Trump summit

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un was on a train to Vietnam on Sunday for his second summit with President Donald Trump. Mr Kim was accompanied by Kim Yong-chol, who has been a key negotiator in talks with the US, and Kim Yo-jong, the leader’s sister, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported. TV footage and photos distributed by the North’s state-run news agency showed Mr Kim inspecting a guard of honour at the Pyongyang station before waving from the train. Late on Saturday, an Associated Press reporter saw a green-and-yellow train similar to one used in the past by Mr Kim cross into the Chinese border city of Dandong via a bridge. The Trump-Kim meeting is slated for Wednesday and Thursday in Hanoi. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a guard of honour before boarding the train at Pyongyang Station Credit: AFP Their first summit last June in Singapore ended without substantive agreements on the North’s nuclear disarmament and triggered a months-long stalemate in negotiations as Washington and Pyongyang struggled with the sequencing of North Korea’s nuclear disarmament and the removal of US-led sanctions against the North. Mr Kim’s overseas travel plans are routinely kept secret. It could take more than two days for the train to travel thousands of miles through China to Vietnam. Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Mr Kim would pay an official goodwill visit to the country "in the coming days" in response to an invitation by President Nguyen Phu Trong, who is also the general secretary of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party. In his upcoming meeting with Mr Trump, experts say Mr Kim will seek a US commitment for improved bilateral relations and partial sanctions relief while trying to minimise any concessions on his nuclear facilities and weapons. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) departing Pyongyang Station for the second North Korea-US summit meeting in Hanoi Credit: AFP While Mr Kim wants to leverage his nuclear and missile programme for economic and security benefits, there continue to be doubts on whether he’s ready to fully deal away an arsenal that he may see as his strongest guarantee of survival. Last year, North Korea suspended its nuclear and long-range missile tests and unilaterally dismantled its nuclear testing ground and parts of a rocket launch facility without the presence of outside experts, but none of those steps were seen as meaningful cutbacks to the North’s weapons capability. While North Korea has repeatedly demanded that the United States take corresponding measures, including sanctions relief, Washington has called for more concrete steps from Pyongyang toward denuclearisation. A train believed to be carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un leaves from a train station in the Chinese border city of Dandong Credit: Reuters Hanoi has been gearing up for the summit with beefed-up security. Officials say the colonial-era Government Guest House in central Hanoi is expected to be the venue for the Trump-Kim meeting, with the nearby Metropole Hotel as a backup. Streets around the two places have been beautified with flowers and the flags of North Korea, the US and Vietnam. Workers were also putting final touches on the International Media Centre. Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry says some 2,600 members of the foreign press have registered for the event. Meanwhile, Vietnam has announced a traffic ban along Mr Kim’s possible arrival route. The Communist Party’s mouthpiece Nhan Dan newspaper quoted the Department of Roads as saying the ban will first apply to trucks 10 tons or bigger, and vehicles with nine seats or more on the 105-mile stretch of Highway One from Dong Dang, the border town with China, to Hanoi from 7 p.m. Monday to 2 p.m. Tuesday, followed by a complete ban Tuesday on all vehicles from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. The People’s Committee in Lang Son province, where the Dong Dang railway station is located, issued a statement on Friday instructing the road operator to clean the highway stretch and suspend road works, among other things, on Feb. 24-28 as "a political task."

Saudi Sisters Stranded for Months in Hong Kong After Fleeing the Kingdom, Rights Group Says

They were trying to seek asylum in Australia but were stopped in Hong Kong

Wild weather weekend: Blizzard, tornadoes, floods, ferocious winds all expected

The final weekend of February will deliver a wild potpourri of weather as winter and spring do battle across the United States.

Two killed as Venezuela aid showdown turns violent

Ureña (Venezuela) (AFP) - A high-risk operation to get humanitarian aid into Venezuela descended into deadly chaos Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro's security forces fired on demonstrators and aid trucks were set ablaze. Two people, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in clashes with security forces that left more than 300 people wounded at various border crossings. Despite a blockade by Maduro, opposition leader Juan Guaido had set a Saturday deadline for the delivery of food and medical aid stockpiled in Colombia and Brazil.

French bishops agree to compensation for sex abuse victims

PARIS (AP) — Still struggling to come to terms with their share of responsibility in the clerical sex abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church, France's bishops have agreed to award financial compensation to victims whose cases fall outside of France's statute of limitations.

Google improving Maps and Search to fight the opioid crisis

On Thursday Google announced that it is making it easier to locate drug disposal locations year-round with enhanced opioid-related query results. Since 2017, the opioid crisis has been officially a public health emergency with Google queries for "medication disposal near me" reaching an all-time high on the platform just last month. In response, the company has improved Maps and Search results of queries like "drug drop off near me" or "medication disposal near me" to display permanent disposal locations, typically pharmacies (like Walgreens or CVS Health), hospitals, or government buildings, where you can discard unused and unneeded medications.

Get the Insignia 8-Quart Multi-Function Pressure Cooker for less than $40 at Best Buy

When you get home from a long day, the last thing you want to do is spend an hour bent over a hot stove making dinner. Yeah you can pop something in a slow cooker before you leave for your day, but that takes advanced planning and sometimes you just don't have the time or energy for that. With a pressure cooker, you can just toss ingredients in like a slow cooker, but the food cooks in a fraction of the time. You've probably heard the craze about Instant Pots, but those can run a bit pricey. The Insignia 8-Quart Multi-Function Pressure Cooker does virtually the same thing as an Instant Pot at a lower price point. Right now you can snag the Insignia pressure cooker for $39.99 at Best Buy, a savings of $80.The multi-function cooker has 12 one-touch preset programs for easy operation. Some of these options include keep warm, slow cook, steak/meat, rice/risotto, cake, and more. You can cook almost anything in a multi-function cooker. If you're skeptical about jumping full throttle into the multi-cooker world, the Insignia is a good starter option because it has the same sort of functionality as the name-brand pricier models. You'll get similar features as the Instant Pot DUO Plus which will cost you $139.95 at Amazon. That's $100 more than you'll drop on the Insignia. Best Buy reviewer Websaver writes:Get the Insignia 8-Quart Multi-Function Pressure Cooker for $39.99 at Best Buy. Image: insignia Save $80 on the Insignia 8-Quart Multi-Function Pressure Cooker at Best Buy See Details

2020 Vision: Bernie Sanders launches, like a rocket

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders jumps into the race, raises $6 million and immediately mixes it up with the president.

Robert Kraft: New England Patriots owner charged in prostitution and human trafficking ring bust

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged in Florida after allegedly soliciting a prostitute, police say. Mr Kraft, 77, was charged by officials after an investigation in the city of Jupiter, where a sex sting operation targeted the Orchids of Asia Day Spa. Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr confirmed the sting on Friday, and said that there is video evidence of all 100 or so men being charged.

Venezuela braces for dueling government, opposition concerts

The spectacle will play out on opposite ends of a 300-meter bridge connecting Venezuela with Colombia to the west. The bridge is now blocked with freight containers left there by the military, with President Nicolas Maduro refusing to let aid in and arguing it would be the first step toward a foreign invasion. The opposition charity concert organized by British billionaire Richard Branson -- called "Venezuela Aid Live" will be held in the Colombian border town of Cucuta.

At Pope's abuse summit, Church seeks to fix 'systematic failures'

Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Oswald Gracias of Mumbai spoke on the second day of a conference of some 200 senior Church officials convened by Pope Francis to confront what he has called the scourge of sexual abuse by the clergy. Various aspects of the sexual abuse crisis made 2018 the worst year for the pope since his election in 2013. Last week, Theodore McCarrick, once a powerful cardinal in the U.S. Church, was dismissed from the priesthood after the Vatican found him guilty of sexual abuse of minors and adults over decades.

The Latest: Part of I-10 closed because of snow

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The Latest on winter weather in the U.S. Southwest (all times local):

Pakistan military warns India against 'misadventure'

Pakistan's military warned India on Friday against "misadventure", saying it was capable of responding to any threats as tensions simmer between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. "We hope you will not mess up with us," military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor told a press briefing in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the second such message Pakistan has sent to New Delhi in as many days. Tensions have risen in the days following a suicide attack in Kashmir that killed 41 Indian paramilitaries and was claimed by Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), based in Pakistan.

Milan fashion week: catwalk beauty looks from day two

Day two of Milan Fashion Week was all about classic red lipstick and glossy hair. At Fendi, the models had the front sections of their hair gelled into a wet-look texture and combed forward to curl off to one side of the forehead, forming a modern twist on the '50s quiff. The lipstick took on a fiery, orange-red hue at Emporio Armani, where it was teamed with feathery, uneven bangs and dramatic blusher for a raffish result.

Virginia GOP leader pushes for investigation into Lt. Gov. Fairfax

Republicans from the state's House of Delegates announce a hearing into sexual assault allegations against Virginia's Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax; Gillian Turner reports.

Fourth-grader dies same day she's diagnosed with flu, strep throat: 'Our hearts are completely broken'

An elementary school girl in Ohio died the same day she was told she had the flu and strep throat, her school and family says.

Worry about US-SKorea alliance grows before Trump-Kim summit

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As President Donald Trump seeks a nuclear deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next week in Vietnam, some in Seoul are wondering if the fate of Washington's decades-long military alliance with South Korea could be at stake.

Relatives of US oil industry ‘hostages’ in Venezuela make emotional appeal for their release

The six men – five US citizens and one permanent resident, and all employees of Citgo, the US subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) – were detained in November 2017 after being called to Caracas from Houston for a meeting. President Nicolas Maduro went on television to denounce them as “traitors”, saying: “They’re properly behind bars, and they should go to the worst prison in Venezuela.” Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of the late president, was appointed company’s new president. For 16 months, the relatives of the Venezuelan Americans, who have become known as the Citgo 6, were advised to remain silent.

As 2020 candidates turn left, some Democrats worry about the center

Party activists have been energized as Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and other candidates endorsed plans to provide Medicare coverage to every American, some form of tuition-free college, a national $15 minimum wage and the so-called “Green New Deal” advocated by U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Some Democrats fear the argument has potency.

Storm dumps record-breaking snow in Arizona on way to Texas

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A winter storm dumped record-breaking amounts of snow in Arizona and forced the closure Friday of roads, schools and government offices across the Southwest.

May Faces Revolt as Negotiations Stumble: Brexit Update

Talks on revising the Brexit deal aren’t making much progress, and officials on both sides are downplaying the chances of an imminent breakthrough. If Theresa May has nothing new to show Parliament next week, she’s likely to face a revolt that could force her to delay Brexit -- and take the threat of a no-deal exit off the table. Key Developments:EU and U.K. say don’t expect a breakthrough at Sharm El-Sheikh summit on SundayEU expects May to ask for a three-month delay to exit day, according to people familiar with the situation.

Ford launches probe into actual emissions of its vehicles

Ford has launched an investigation into the actual emissions of its vehicles after employees reported errors in data given to authorities, the automaker said. "In September, a handful of employees raised a concern... regarding the analytical modeling that is part of our US fuel economy and emissions compliance process," Kim Pittel, an executive responsible for sustainability, environment and safety engineering, said in a statement released late Thursday. "We have hired an outside firm to conduct an investigation" into specifications used in testing and "applications to certify emissions and fuel economy," Pittel said.

UK backlash at Meghan's lavish US baby shower

Meghan Markle drew fresh scorn from British media this week after celebrating the imminent arrival of her first baby with what they described as an "extravagant" trip to New York in a private jet. The Duchess of Sussex, due to give birth in the spring, returned to Britain Thursday after enjoying a party with celebrity friends at what British papers referred to as "the most expensive hotel suite in the US". The party, hosted at Manhattan's Mark Hotel by Serena Williams and attended by other high-profile figures including Amal Clooney, saw guests serenaded by a harpist and given expensive gifts, they reported.

Kid reporter confronts officer who threatened to arrest her near Arizona-Mexico border

Kid reporter Hilde Lysiak uploaded a YouTube video that shows her confronting a law enforcement officer who threatened to throw her in jail.

2020 Democratic presidential candidates Harris and Warren support reparations for African-Americans

The idea of reparations occasionally arises as a way to right America's historical wrong of slavery, but it's getting the attention of some presidential candidates now; Douglas McKelway reports.

Coast Guard officer, self-described white nationalist, planned terror attack to 'kill almost every last person,' feds say

A U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant and self-described white nationalist planned a domestic terrorist attack targeting politicians and journalists.

Venezuela: at least four dead and hundreds injured in border standoff

At least four people have been killed and hundreds injured in a wave of violence that convulsed Venezuela’s border regions on Saturday, as opposition activists tried to defy a government ban and bring food and medical supplies into the country. After the failed attempt to breach government blockades, opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared the fight would continue, and said “we must keep all our options open for the liberation of our homeland”. Florida senator Marco Rubio responded to Guaidó’s comments, saying he had spoken to regional leaders and the actions of President Nicolás Maduro’s regime on Saturday had “opened the door to various potential multilateral actions not on the table just 24 hours ago”.

CORRECTED: Microsoft workers demand it drop $480 million U.S. Army contract

The organising effort, described to Reuters by three Microsoft workers, offers the latest example in the last year of tech employees protesting cooperation with governments on emerging technologies. Microsoft won a contract in November to supply the Army with at least 2,500 prototypes of augmented reality headsets, which digitally displays contextual information in front of a user's eyes. In a petition to Microsoft executives, posted on Twitter, workers said they "did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used." They called on the company to develop "a public-facing acceptable use policy" for its technology and an external review board to publicly enforce it.

Kelly Knight Craft: Trump nominates businesswoman who donated $2m to his election campaign for UN ambassador role

Donald Trump has nominated Kelly Knight Craft – a Republican businesswoman and now diplomat who donated $2m to his 2016 campaign – to represent America at the UN. A week after state department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, Mr Trump’s first choice to replace Nikki Haley in the role of what is considered the country’s second most senior diplomat, withdraw from contention, the president said he was pleased to name Ms Craft for the role. A businesswoman who was also appointed by George W Bush as an alternate delegate to the UN, where she focussed on Africa, Ms Craft was in the summer of 2017 confirmed as the US’s ambassador to Canada, the first woman to hold that job.

Procter & Gamble backs the eradication of animal testing

Personal care giant Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is taking a bold stance against animal testing. The conglomerate, which counts Olay, Pantene and SK-II among its brands, has teamed up with the animal protection organization the Humane Society International (HSI) to back its #BeCrueltyFree campaign fighting to ban animal testing for cosmetics in all major global beauty markets by the year 2023. P&G will lend its support to the campaign -- which has been running since 2012 -- via joint education and capacity-building programs for non-animal alternatives as well as by continuing to explore animal-free approaches to safety assessment, and advocating for legislative change in key markets.

Tesla rolls out Model 3 in China ahead of schedule in sales push

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tesla Inc has started delivering Model 3 cars in China slightly ahead of schedule, as it looks to revive its sales that have been hit hard by Sino-U.S. trade tensions. The California-based firm has already adjusted prices and added a cheaper Model 3 variant to its line-up to make its U.S.-made cars more affordable in China amid high import tariffs. It had initially projected a March start for Model 3 deliveries in China - the world's biggest auto market where overall car sales contracted in 2018 for the first time in more than two decades.

An Organization-Obsessed Store Owner’s Top Storage Essentials

Your clutter never looked so good