Venezuela is breaking relations with US

As Venezuela experiences a huge political and economic crisis, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido declared himself interim president on Wednesday, winning over the backing of the United States and many Latin American nations. In other words, Guaido is attempting to remove and replace the current president, Nicolas Maduro. As a result, Maduro said he is breaking relations with the United States and would give U.S. diplomatic personnel 72 hours to leave Venezuela, which is suffering from an economic collapse. President Donald Trump formally recognized Guaido shortly after that announcement. That was swiftly followed by similar statements from Canada and a slew of Latin American governments, including Venezuela’s neighbors Brazil and Colombia. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it would not remove American diplomats because it did not recognize the Maduro regime as the government of Venezuela: “The United States does not consider former president Nicolas Maduro to have the legal authority to break diplomatic relations with the United States or to declare our diplomats persona non grata.” Guaido’s declaration takes Venezuela into uncharted territory, with the possibility of the opposition now running a separate government recognized abroad as legitimate but without control over state functions. In a televised broadcast from the presidential palace, Maduro accused the opposition of seeking to stage a coup with the support of the United States, which he said was seeking to govern Venezuela from Washington. Venezuela, graced with the world’s largest oil reserves, was once the economic envy of South America. The oil-rich nation faces a collapsing economy sparked by government corruption and social unrest among other things.

In Other News President Donald Trump made a concession to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Wednesday, agreeing to not give a State of the Union address until after the government shutdown standoff has ended. "As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative - I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over," President Trump said in a tweet Wednesday. "I am not looking for an ... alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a 'great' State of the Union Address in the near future!” A company that donated $25,000 to a reward for the return of Wisconsin teen Jayme Closs says it will give her the money now that she has been found. The company is Hormel Foods which is the parent company of the Jennie-O Turkey Store that employed Jayme's parents, James and Denise Closs. Zephen Xaver, 21, took hostages at a SunTrust Bank in Florida on Wednesday afternoon and opened fire before barricading himself in the building. It resulted in a fatal shooting of five people. Police responded after a man called dispatch and said, "I have shot five people." It was unclear whether the victims were bank employees or customers. They have not yet been identified pending family notifications. The suspect eventually surrendered to the SWAT team at the bank. Authorities are still investigating the motive.