USA

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States said it still did not consider Nicolas Maduro to be the legitimate president of Venezuela and would maintain sanctions after the fledgling opposition dissolved its “interim government.”

President Joe Biden’s administration said that Venezuelan government assets in the United States, notably of the state oil company, would remain legally under the authority of the opposition-led National Assembly, which was elected in 2015 but has been disempowered by Maduro’s leftist government.

Jan 3 (Reuters) - The first major U.S. winter storm system of the year dumped a frosty mix of snow, freezing rain and sleet from the Northern Plains to the Upper Great Lakes region on Tuesday while posing a tornado and flood threat to a large swath of the South.

The National Weather Service (NWS) forecast intense snowfall of 1 to 3 inches (2-1/2 to 7-1/2 cm) per hour in parts of Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota on Tuesday, accompanied at times by thunder, with more than a foot of snow expected to accumulate.

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell will make a rare joint appearance on Wednesday at a bridge in Kentucky in a display of bipartisanship that offers a guide to how the White House hopes to govern in months to come.

As hardline Republicans create turmoil in the House of Representatives by blocking the rest of the party's chosen leader, Kevin McCarthy, Biden and McConnell's visit is likely to paint a sharp contrast - and that's just what Biden aides and allies are hoping for.

BOSTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The architect of the largest U.S. college admissions fraud scheme ever uncovered will be sentenced on Wednesday for helping wealthy parents secure the admission of their children to elite universities through cheating and bribery.

Federal prosecutors in Boston are seeking a six-year prison term for William "Rick" Singer. The former college admissions consultant played a key role as a cooperating witness in the "Operation Varsity Blues" investigation.

WASHINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Republican Kevin McCarthy's bruising quest to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives entered a second day on Wednesday, with the party's new majority fractured by a revolt among hardline members of his party who oppose his candidacy.

McCarthy weathered three failed votes for speaker on Tuesday as about 20 hardliners representing less than 10% of the caucus blocked his path to the powerful post that is second in line to the presidency. It was the first time in 100 years that the House has not elected a speaker on its first day.

Jan 3 (Reuters) - A former Colorado funeral home owner was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on Tuesday for defrauding relatives of the dead by dissecting 560 corpses and selling body parts without permission.

Megan Hess, 46, pleaded guilty to fraud in July. She operated a funeral home, Sunset Mesa, and a body parts entity, Donor Services, from the same building in Montrose, Colorado. The 20-year term was the maximum allowed under law.

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A spokesman for the United Nations on Tuesday underscored the importance of upholding the status quo in the holy sites, in reaction to the controversial visit by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has always stressed the importance of upholding the status quo in the holy sites, "in line with the special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for Guterres, told a regular press briefing.

HOUSTON, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. astronaut Walt Cunningham, who flew into space on Apollo 7, the first crewed Apollo flight, died at 90 on Tuesday in Houston, according to a news release from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

"On Apollo 7, the first launch of a crewed Apollo mission, Walt and his crewmates made history, paving the way for the Artemis Generation we see today," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Cunningham died of complications of a fall, his family said. A public memorial service will be held on Jan. 24 in Houston.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned on Tuesday evening after its members failed to elect a speaker for the lower chamber.

U.S. Congressman Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, failed to secure enough votes in three ballots earlier in the day after a group of House Republicans voted against him.

There will be at least a fourth vote as House members agreed to adjourn until Wednesday noon. McCarthy is reportedly negotiating with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Mega Millions jackpot increased to an estimated $940 million after another drawing resulted in plenty of losers but not a single grand prize winner.

The numbers drawn late Tuesday were: 25, 29, 33, 41, 44 and gold Mega Ball 18.

The next drawing is scheduled to be held Friday night.

The new $940 million jackpot is for a winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity over 29 years. Nearly all winners opt for a cash payout, which for Friday night’s drawing would be an estimated $483.5 million.