USA

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The U.S. has lifted sanctions on a top Venezuelan general who broke ranks with President Nicolás Maduro, trying to help the opposition regain momentum in the face of a government crackdown following last week’s failed uprising.

Vice President Mike Pence said in a speech Tuesday that the immediate lifting of financial sanctions for Gen. Manuel Figuera, who was Venezuela’s spy chief, is intended to encourage others in the military to abandon their support for Maduro.

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) - A suburban Denver school where two gunmen opened fire, killing a teenager and wounding eight others, will be closed for the remainder of the week.

Douglas County School District officials made the announcement in an email Tuesday night and said crisis counselors would be available to all STEM School Highlands Ranch students, staff and families at a nearby church Wednesday.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration can make asylum seekers wait in Mexico for immigration court hearings while the policy is challenged in court, handing the president a major victory, even if it only proves temporary.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — a frequent target of the president’s complaints — reversed a decision by a San Francisco judge that would have prevented asylum seekers from being returned to Mexico during the legal challenge.

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (AP) — Two high school students shot and killed a classmate and injured eight others at a charter school in a Colorado community that marked the 20th anniversary of one of the nation’s worst school shootings just weeks ago.

Douglas County sheriff’s officials said Devon Erickson, 18, and a younger student walked into the STEM School Highlands Ranch Tuesday afternoon and opened fire on students in two classrooms, prompting students to run shouting through the halls or to hide out of sight as gunfire echoed through school.

7 May 2019; AFP: A former Goldman Sachs banker pleaded not guilty Monday in New York to bribery and other charges in the multi-billion-dollar 1MDB scandal after being extradited from Malaysia.

Malaysian Ng Chong Hwa, 51, a former managing director at the bank charged in both Malaysia and America over the 1MDB fraud, was extradited to the US on Friday, Malaysian attorney-general Tommy Thomas said.

7 May 2019; AFP: Tiger Woods, fresh off his epic comeback victory in the Masters, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Presenting the golfing great with the nation's highest honor, Trump praised Woods' "relentless will to win, win, win."

"These qualities embody the American spirit of pushing boundaries, defying limits and always striving for greatness," the president said.

SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 (Xinhua): Facebook announced Monday a series of updates that will change its video ranking system to focus on original content and loyal viewership.

The ranking updates, which will roll out over the next few months, will further prioritize original videos that people seek out, and help both creators and publishers succeed with their videos on Facebook, said David Miller, product management director at Facebook.

Washington, May 7 (PTI) The Trump administration is proposing a hike in the H-1B visa application fee to increase funding for the expansion of an apprentice programme, which trains American youths in technology related activities, Labour Secretary Alexander Acosta told US lawmakers.

Testifying before a Congressional committee on annual budget of the Department of Labour for the fiscal year 2020 beginning October 1, 2019, Acosta, however, did not give details of the proposed increase in H-1B filing fee and as to which categories of applicants it would be enforced on.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s ex-lawyer and fixer has arrived at an upstate New York prison to start a three-year sentence for crimes including campaign finance violations related to hush-money payments made on Trump’s behalf.

A vehicle carrying Michael Cohen arrived at around 11:30 a.m. EDT Monday at the federal prison in Otisville, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of New York City.

HOUSTON (AP) — Residents seeking compensation after their Houston-area homes and businesses were flooded by two federally owned reservoirs during Hurricane Harvey say authorities knew for decades that such an inundation was inevitable but did nothing to prevent it, an attorney for the property owners said in court Monday.