QUICK HITS

1 Venezuela weighs privatizing oil:

Facing economic collapse and painful sanctions, the socialist government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has proposed giving majority shares and control of its oil industry to big international corporations, a move that would forsake decades of state monopoly. Maduro’s representatives have held talks with Russia’s Rosneft, Repsol of Spain and Italy’s Eni. The idea is to allow them to take over government-controlled oil properties and restructure some debt of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela in exchange for assets

Virginia gov. proposes hike 2 to gas tax:

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, D, is proposing a 4-cent increase in the state’s gas tax to raise money to jump-start his $3.7-billion landmark rail plan and shore up a fund used to pay for roads, transit and rail projects. The gas tax increase, which is expected to yield around $1 billion over the next four years, is included as part of a broad transportation bill Northam announced Monday.

3 Israel to allow limited travel:

Israel said on Sunday it will allow its citizens to travel to Saudi Arabia for Islamic pilgrimages or business purposes.There was no immediate reaction from Saudi Arabia to Interior Minister Aryeh Deri’s decree, and Israeli visitors would still have to arrange for entry into the kingdom.

4 Workers criticize Amazon:

Hundreds of employees are openly criticizing Amazon’s record on climate change despite what they say is a company policy that puts their jobs at risk for speaking out. On Sunday, more than 300 employees of the online retail giant signed their names and job titles to statements on blog post on Medium. The online protest was organized by a group called Amazon Employees For Climate Justice.