Thursday, January 31, 2019

Dems hysteria over Starbucks CEO Schultz is all about power, not political views – Tucker Carlson

Democratic outrage over Starbucks founder Howard Schultz’s presidential campaign shows they care only about power, not political agenda, Fox anchor Tucker Carlson said.

While Schulz’s political views are “indistinguishable” from those of establishment Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, his third-party campaign status is the only thing that matters, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said in his latest remarks on Tuesday.

What Democrats really want, what they're not kidding about, at all, is political power… Poor, hapless Howard Schultz and his overfunded midlife crisis just got in their way. So, they have to crush him,” Carlson said.

Schultz, a billionaire responsible for putting a Starbucks in every strip-mall in America, quit the firm last year. The former coffee kingpin announced on Sunday that he is “seriously considering” a shot at the presidency in 2020, as an independent candidate.

Schultz was immediately lambasted by the liberal establishment and media. Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg warned that Schultz would “just split the anti-Trump vote and end up re-electing the president,” while liberal think-tank head Neera Tanden announced that she would spearhead a Starbucks boycott.

Federal Reserve says it will be ‘patient’ on rate hikes, a change likely to please Trump after he criticized earlier increases

The Federal Reserve is not in a hurry to raise interest in 2019, a change that is likely to please President Trump and Wall Street investors who urged the central bank to hit the pause button on any future interest rate increases.

The Fed opted Wednesday to leave interest rates unchanged -- at a range of 2.25 to 2.5 percent -- and the central bank signaled it was unlikely to hike soon.

“In light of global economic and financial developments and muted inflation pressures, the [Fed] will be patient as it determines what future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate may be appropriate,” the Fed said in a statement.

The wording was a noticeable change from last year when the Fed said that “further gradual increases” in interest rates were likely. That phrase was dropped from the statement.

The Fed described the U.S. economy as “solid,” a slight downgrade from last year when the central bank called it “strong,” but Fed leaders remain upbeat and said the most likely path for the economy is sustained growth, low unemployment and modest inflation.

“I don’t see a recession” in 2019, said Fed chair Jerome Powell earlier this month. “The U.S. economy is solid. It has good momentum coming into this year.”

Injury reported in presidential motorcade incident outside White House

One man was injured in an incident involving President Donald Trump's motorcade outside the White House on Wednesday.

According to reports from the scene, a protester jumped in front of Trump's motorcade, and a uniformed Secret Service officer started to confront him, when they were both struck by one of the vehicles.

Apple prevents Facebook from offering research app that could monitor online activity

By Hamza Shaban
Apple announced on Wednesday that Facebook violated an agreement by distributing a data-collecting app to consumers, bypassing Apple’s normal review for an app intended for the public.

Apple said it is cutting off Facebook’s ability to offer the app to consumers.

The announcement comes after TechCrunch revealed Facebook has been paying some users $20 per month to install a research app on their phones that can collect intimate information about their online behavior and communications.

Apple’s developer program allows companies to create their own apps for employees, giving them a way to test and use apps outside of the app store, which are not subject to the same privacy and data policies as those intended for public consumption. But Facebook used this process to sidestep the app store and offer a research app directly to consumers, which Apple has ruled is a breach of the agreement.

“We designed our Enterprise Developer Program solely for the internal distribution of apps within an organization, Apple said. “Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple.”

Since 2016, Facebook had allowed users aged 13 to 35 to exchange their privacy for payment through a Facebook research app on iOS and Android devices, TechCrunch reported. In some advertisements for the app displayed on Instagram and Snapchat, teens were targeted to participate in a paid social media research study, and if they tried to sign up were asked to get their parent’s approval through a Web form.

According to the report, the app could have given Facebook access to a young person’s emails, web browsing activity, instant messages, photos and videos sent to contacts and location data.

acebook told The Washington Post in a statement Wednesday that the nature of the data collecting app was not secret. “It wasn’t 'spying’ as all of the people who signed up to participate went through a clear on-boarding process asking for their permission and were paid to participate,” the company said. Facebook added that less than 5 percent of the users who participated in the research were teens, who signed parental consent forms. But Facebook declined to how say how many young people actually signed up for the app.

Following TechCrunch’s report, Facebook said it is shutting down the app to Apple customers.

Last year, Facebook yanked a data-security app called Onavo from the app store after Apple ruled the app violated its data collection policies. Onavo, which was billed as a virtual private network designed to keep users safe from malicious websites, allowed Facebook to track and analyze users’ activity on their phones, the Wall Street Journal reported, giving the company insight into rival apps and new software offerings.

Facebook did not respond to questions about it is still operating the same app for Android users.

The latest privacy-related issue at Facebook comes on the same day the company will report its quarterly earnings. Last period, the company disclosed slowing user growth, as it loses users in Europe and invests more resources in combating misinformation on the network.

Trump digs in on border-wall funds as congressional negotiators prepare to convene

President Trump warned Wednesday that lawmakers would be “wasting their time” if they do not discuss a wall or physical barrier along the southern border as part of a deal to stave off another government shutdown. But some Democrats said their starting point in the new negotiation is no money for physical barriers of any kind.

“The wall doesn’t work. You can go under. You can climb over. You can go around,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.), a member of the bipartisan House-Senate conference committee created as part of a deal to end the 35-day partial government shutdown Friday. The group meets for the first time Wednesday afternoon.

“The bottom line is, is my position is no,” said Cuellar, who represents a district along the U.S.-Mexico border and said he was reflecting the unified stance of House Democrats on the conference committee.

The comments underscored the difficulty the 17-member committee will have in resolving the central dispute that led to the shutdown in the first place and threatens to prompt another one when short-term government spending runs out Feb. 15.

The president continues to demand funding for his long-promised border wall, while Democrats — emboldened after they forced Trump to back down last week and accept a short-term solution with no wall money — do not want to give it to him.

The president’s message was delivered in a morning tweet hours before the committee was to hold its first meeting.

“If the committee of Republicans and Democrats now meeting on Border Security is not discussing or contemplating a Wall or Physical Barrier, they are Wasting their time!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

In a separate tweet, Trump referred to a “Fox & Friends” segment about migrant caravans heading in the direction of the border — a tactic Trump also employed last month before negotiations broke down over his demand for $5.7 billion in border-wall funding.

Despite some uncompromising positions being staked out ahead of their first meeting, other lawmakers expressed optimism that the committee, filled with dealmakers rather than hard-liners, could find a path toward agreement.

“There’s good people in that conference committee,” said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), another committee member. “I think we can come to an amiable conclusion if we’re left to our own device.”

What Is the Irish Backstop, and Why Is It Holding Up Brexit?

LONDON — The Irish backstop — convenient shorthand for a devilishly complex subject. It sounds almost like a fence, but the issue is about not having a fence at all — an apt paradox for a problem that may not have a solution.

And it has become one of the overriding sticking points in Brexit, Britain’s halting, seemingly interminable effort to leave the European Union.

Government officials debate it daily, in London and on the Continent, and ordinary Britons and Irish people are discussing it, too, if only to say that they don’t understand what it means.

For the Kremlin, Venezuela Is Not the Next Syria

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has long made the buttressing of beleaguered despots a pillar of his foreign policy — most successfully by deploying the military in Syria — to drive home the point that outside powers should not dabble in other countries’ internal affairs.

On the face of it, the upheaval in Venezuela would seem to check all his boxes. Venezuela, however, is not Syria.

It is separated from Russia by thousands of miles of ocean; there is no allied regional power like Iran that Moscow can rely on to do the dirty work on the ground; and with the Russian economy suffering long-term anemia, the Kremlin does not really have the means or the domestic support for another costly overseas adventure.

Nevertheless, the question “What should Russia do?” is raised daily by newspaper columnists and television pundits.

Venezuela protests: Maduro rejects calls for fresh elections

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro has dismissed calls for new presidential elections amid fresh protests against his leadership.

In a show of defiance, he insisted his victory in polls last spring had been legitimate.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself interim president last week, prompting an escalating power struggle.

In an interview with a Russian news agency, Mr Maduro said he was prepared to hold talks with the opposition.

"I am ready to sit down at the negotiating table with the opposition so that we could talk for the good of Venezuela," he told Russian news agency RIA in Caracas.

Mr Maduro said that if the US and others wanted a fresh vote, they would have to wait until 2025, but added that he would support early parliamentary elections as "a good form of political discussion".

He added that he was not prepared to accept ultimatums or blackmail, and insisted that he has the backing of Venezuela's military, and accused deserters of conspiring to plot a coup.

"Military deserters have become mercenaries of the Colombian oligarchy and conspire from Colombia to divide the armed forces," he said, without providing further details.

Corsica gunfire: Bastia attack leaves one dead and several hurt

One person has been killed and six injured after a man opened fire in the town of Bastia on the French island of Corsica, police say.

The suspect began firing on the street at around 16:25 local time (15:45 GMT) in Bastia's Montesoro neighbourhood.

After the attack, the suspect reportedly returned home and security forces have surrounded the building.

The motive for the attack is still unclear, though initial reports have ruled out terrorism.

The suspect is said to be in his 60s and has at least one previous conviction, media reports say.

One of the casualties is said to be a police officer.

Polar vortex brings deadly cold snap to US states

Cities are all but shutting down across the US Midwest as the region shivers through a deadly cold snap known as a polar vortex.

At least six people have been killed across several states as a result of the arctic weather.

Temperatures have dropped as low as -30C (-22F) in Chicago and -37C in North Dakota.

Freezing weather will chill 250 million Americans, and 90 million will experience -17C (0F) or below.

wenty million people in the continental US will experience temperatures of -28C or lower by the week's end.

Snow is expected to fall throughout Wednesday, from the Great Lakes region into New England. As much as 24in (60cm) is forecast in the state of Wisconsin, and 6in in Illinois.

States of emergency have been declared in Midwestern Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois, and even in the Deep South states of Alabama and Mississippi.

"This could possibly be history-making," said Ricky Castro, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Illinois.

How did the fatalities occur?

A man was killed by a snow plough in Chicago and another man froze to death in a Milwaukee garage.

An 82-year-old man died from hypothermia outside his home in Pekin, Illinois, NBC News reported.

Roads made dangerous by ice and snow have also caused fatal accidents - a young couple died after a collision on snowy roads in northern Indiana.

How is it affecting daily life?

Hundreds of schools have been closed in the affected states.

At least 1,300 flights were grounded early on Wednesday, mainly out of Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway international airports, said FlightAware.com.

Amtrak, the US inter-city train operator, has cancelled all rail services to and from Chicago on Wednesday.