Here are select headlines from major sources today.
No way out: Trump walks out, Dems remain firm
Donald Trump’s hatred of looking foolish and Democrats’ conviction that they have a winning hand is leaving the President with no way out of the stalemate over his border wall.
Trump walks out of shutdown meeting, calling talks ‘total waste of time’
President Donald Trump walked out of discussions to end a partial government shutdown, now in its third week, calling the talks with congressional Democrats “a total waste of time.”
DR Congo election: Opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi wins surprise victory
Joseph Kabila, who has ruled the country since 2001, seems set to relinquish his grip on power.
China’s ambassador accuses Canada of double standards, ‘white supremacy’ over Huawei
China’s ambassador to Canada has accused his host government of “Western egotism and white supremacy” over their handling of the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, amid an escalating dispute between Ottawa and Beijing.
Saudi Arabia has always claimed vast oil reserves. An audit just proved it’s right
Saudi Arabia has opened up its vast oil reserves to independent auditors for the first time.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro begins another six-year term as his country is in crisis
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro begins another six years in power Thursday with a collapsing economy that shows no sign of bottoming out and a threat from some Latin American neighbors who say they will not recognize his government.
A woman who was in a vegetative state for years gave birth. Police want DNA from men who work at the facility
Police investigators have begun to gather DNA from men who work at an Arizona care facility where a woman in a vegetative state gave birth last month.
Ransom demanded in suspected kidnapping of Norwegian businessman’s wife
The wife of a prominent Norwegian businessman is missing in a suspected kidnapping, and her suspected captors have demanded a ransom for her return, police said Wednesday.
Paris’ first naked restaurant to close
The first nudist restaurant in (CNN) – Paris is set to close after just over year of serving classic French dishes to diners in the buff. O’Naturel, in the French capital’s 12th district, will close on February 16, according to a Facebook post from the owners.
‘Bye-bye’ – Trump exits shutdown talks
President Donald Trump has walked out of a meeting with Democratic leaders as negotiations broke down on the 19th day of a partial US government shutdown. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer stuck by their refusal to fund his US-Mexico border wall, prompting Mr Trump to call the meeting “a total waste of time”.
Judge dismisses Judd’s Weinstein claim
Actress Ashley Judd’s sexual harassment lawsuit against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been dismissed by a Los Angeles federal court. Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled on Wednesday that Ms Judd’s allegations did not fall within the scope of the statute under which she had sued.
Blue tooth reveals hidden medieval artist
The weird habit of licking the end of a paintbrush has revealed new evidence about the life of an artist more than 900 years after her death. Scientists found tiny blue paint flecks had accumulated on the teeth of a medieval German nun.
Skiers rescued in dramatic helicopter manoeuvre
The pilot lowered the tilted helicopter until its nose was almost touching the snow.
How is Qatar coping with its economic embargo?
When four of Qatar’s neighbours hit it with an economic and diplomatic embargo back in June 2017, one expert says it faced two big problems. “The Qataris had a two-fold battle to fight,” says Michael Stephens, Middle East research fellow at London’s Royal United Services Institute.
Mysterious radio signals from deep space
Astronomers have revealed details of mysterious signals emanating from a distant galaxy, picked up by a telescope in Canada. The precise nature and origin of the blasts of radio waves is unknown. Among the 13 bursts of fast radio waves, known as FRBs, was a very unusual repeating signal, coming from the same source about 1.5 billion light years away.
Meet the flying cars, taxis, electric motorcycles, and scooters of CES 2019
Everyone talks about how CES has become the main auto show of the year, pushing the Detroit Auto Show from its long-running time in January to June starting in 2020. But it’s not just cars or what goes in them on display at the tech show in Las Vegas.
Lady Gaga apologizes for collaborating with R. Kelly, pulls duet from streaming
Lady Gaga is pulling her 2013 song with R. Kelly, “Do What U Want (With My Body)” from streaming services. It comes after pressure on the pop star to condemn Kelly, whose history of alleged sexual abuse has come under the spotlight again due to the release of Lifetime docuseries Surviving R.
A self-driving delivery car brought me a burger at CES
Burgers and fries delivered by robo-car. Stranger things have happened in Las Vegas. At the CES tech show this year, a car from AutoX showed off its autonomous driving skills by delivering burgers to the convention center. The San Jose, California-based company started out delivering groceries with cars equipped with backseats modified to keep produce fresh and unharmed.
Jeff Bezos is getting divorced and of course people are making Alexa jokes
People can’t help but make jokes about the richest couple in the world splitting up. Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos announced their divorce on Wednesday, after 25 years of marriage and attaining a $137 billion net worth. And while ending a marriage is undoubtedly an unhappy experience for their family, Twitter users started making Amazon-themed jokes about the couple’s end.
Twitter will broadcast NBA games with a camera focused on a single player
Twitter is preparing to run a new experiment with the National Basketball Association, and it could impact the way some of the biggest basketball fans watch games in the future. The social media company announced at CES 2019 that it will begin streaming parts of NBA games this year – but with a strange twist.
Now we know how fast a black hole spins when it shreds a star
Ages ago, in a galaxy some 300 million light years away, an unwitting star veered fatally close to a powerful black hole. After shredding the star apart, the black hole ejected pulses of energy into the cosmos. Astronomers received this ancient signal, made of x-rays, in 2014.
