USA

19 Mar 2019; DW: Envoys of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Monday took control of several diplomatic properties in the US.

Venezuela's acting president, Nicolas Maduro, has cut ties diplomatic ties with the US, accusing it of attempting to oust him from power. Guaido, who invoked Venezuela's constitution and declared himself interim president, has pushed Western countries to isolate Maduro's regime.

What happened:

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan on Monday met with French Defense Minister Florence Parly amidst Paris' increasing questions over the U.S. commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) were linked to risks of premature death, particularly death from cardiovascular diseases, according to a Harvard study published on Monday in the journal Circulation.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from 80,647 women and 37,716 men who answered questionnaires about lifestyle factors and health status every two years.

WASHINGTON, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense said Monday it had requested 22.95 billion U.S. dollars to fund its military intelligence program (MIP) in fiscal year 2020.

"The total, which includes both the base budget and Overseas Contingency Operations funding, is 22.95 billion and is aligned to support the national defense strategy," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The statement said it will not release any detailed figures regarding this part of the budget for security reasons.

17 Mar 2019; AFP: Democrats led by an Arab-American lawmaker attacked President Donald Trump's "silence" on the rise of white supremacy Sunday as reaction to the New Zealand mosque massacre spilled into a heated US debate over religious and racial bigotry.

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out at General Motors (GM), pressuring the auto giant to reopen an Ohio plant, whose closure has put 1,700 people out of work.

"Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors about the Lordstown Ohio plant ... I asked her to sell it or do something quickly," Trump tweeted Sunday.

"She blamed the UAW (United Automobile Workers) Union -- I don't care, I just want it open!" the tweet reads.

CHICAGO, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Boeing said Sunday it is finalizing a software update and pilot training revision related to MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) in 737 Max, following two deadly air crashes in less than five months.

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military is mulling about leaving up to 1,000 troops in Syria, further drifting away from President Donald Trump's original plan of a total withdrawal, said U.S. media on Sunday.

The troops will be deployed from northern Syria to the south, continuing to work with Kurdish fighters, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous administration officials.

The U.S. officials said the number of Western troops to be left in Syria is still to be decided.

March 17, 2019; AP: Surgery for certain bad heart valves may soon become a thing of the past. New studies suggest it’s OK and often better to have a new valve placed through a tube into an artery instead.

The results are expected to quickly transform treatment of a problem that affects millions of people — a stiff or narrowed aortic valve that doesn’t let blood pass as it should. Until recently, fixing severe cases required a major operation using a heart-lung machine while surgeons cut out the old valve and sewed in a new one.

HOUSTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The fast-growing U.S. oil and natural gas industry, which is seeking export markets around the globe, are overshadowed as sticky trade tensions have added uncertainty and costs to U.S. businesses.