Mar 8, 2019

Venezuela enters second day of power outage

A Caracas street during the blackout. Photo: Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images

Venezuela is into its second day of a massive power outage that left schools and businesses closed on President Nicolás Maduro's orders, the Washington Post reports.

What's happening: Venezuelan authorities have provided no proof that the blackout was caused by sabotage (Maduro claimed Thursday that the U.S. caused it). Opposition leader Juan Guaidó used the blackout as an opportunity to denounce Maduro's power. Per the Post, local reports said the blackout affected nearly all of Venezuela's 23 states.

Go deeper: Stay up to date on Venezuela.

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Mike Allen, Margaret Talev
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Post-debate poll finds Biden strong on every major issue

Joe Biden speaks Friday about "The Biden Plan to Beat COVID-19," at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

This is one of the bigger signs of trouble for President Trump that we've seen in a poll: Of the final debate's seven topics, Joe Biden won or tied on all seven when viewers in a massive Axios-SurveyMonkey sample were asked who they trusted more to handle the issue.

Why it matters: In a time of unprecedented colliding crises for the nation, the polling considered Biden to be vastly more competent.

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Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Politics: COVID-19 looms over White House Halloween celebrations — Fauci: Trump hasn't been to a COVID task force meeting in months.
  2. Health: Fauci says if people won't wear masks, maybe it should be mandated — America was sick well before it ever got COVID-19 —U.S. hits highest daily COVID-19 case count since pandemic began —AstraZeneca to resume vaccine trial in U.S. — How to help save 130,000 lives.
  3. World: Polish president Andrzej Duda tests positive for COVID-19.
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Bryan Walsh, author of Future
4 hours ago - Science

The murder hornets are here

A braver man than me holds a speciment of the Asian giant hornet. Photo: Karen Ducey/Getty Images

Entomologists in Washington state on Thursday discovered the first Asian giant hornet nest in the U.S.

Why it matters: You may know this insect species by its nom de guerre: "the murder hornet." While the threat they pose to humans has been overstated, the invading hornets could decimate local honeybee populations if they establish themselves.

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