A lawyer for a columnist who last year won a $5 million jury award against Donald Trump for sex abuse and defamation says the former president's recent behavior shows he'll try to “sow chaos” when a new jury considers if he owes even more in damages. The attorney, Roberta Kaplan, asked a judge Friday to take strong measures to ensure Trump can't taint a jury that next week will consider whether columnist E. Jean Carroll should get more money. Trump has strenuously denied sexually abusing Carroll... Читать дальше...
Oil and natural gas companies would have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed certain levels under a new rule proposed by the Biden administration. The rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency follows through on a directive from Congress included in the 2022 climate law. The new fee is intended to encourage industry to adopt best practices that reduce emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the proposed fee would work in tandem with... Читать дальше...
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a $3.5 million settlement with the online food delivery service platform Grubhub. Friday's settlement resolves a 2021 lawsuit brought by Campbell alleging Grubhub illegally overcharged fees to Massachusetts restaurants. The alleged overcharging violates a state fee cap put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Campbell says Grubhub will pay a combined total of over $3.5 million to impacted restaurants under the terms of the settlement. Grubhub will also pay $125,000 to the state. Читать дальше...
House Speaker Mike Johnson insists he is sticking with the bipartisan budget deal he struck with the other congressional leaders. But he has offered no clear path for overcoming hard-right opposition within his own party to prevent an impending partial government shutdown next week. On Friday Johnson emerged from days of testy closed-door Capitol meetings to read a terse statement. The new speaker says that he won't renege on the budget deal he just made. But in his first big test as the new leader... Читать дальше...
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed fierce retaliation for American and British strikes against them, further raising the prospect of a wider conflict in a region already beset by Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it will increase oversight of Boeing and audit the production of the 737 Max 9 jetliner after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines plane in midflight last week. It was the latest in a string of mishaps at the troubled aircraft maker. The FAA said Friday that it would judge whether Boeing and its suppliers followed approved quality procedures. The agency also indicated that it is reconsidering its longstanding practice of relying on employees at aircraft manufacturers... Читать дальше...
Taiwanese are preparing to elect a new president and legislature Saturday in what many see as a test of control with China which claims the self-governing island republic as its own. The presidential race pits Vice President Lai Ching-te against Hou Yu-ih of the Nationalist Party and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party. The U.S. strongly backs Taiwan against China's military threats and the Biden administration plans to send an unofficial delegation to meet with the winner. By law all forms of campaigning must end by midnight.
Republicans say President Joe Biden's plan to start canceling student loans for some borrowers in February is an attempt to win voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Cancellation was set to begin in July under the new SAVE repayment plan but is being unrolled earlier to provide faster relief to borrowers. The Democratic president said Friday it’s part of an effort “to give more borrowers breathing room." Borrowers will be eligible if they're enrolled in the new SAVE plan, they originally borrowed $12,000 or less to attend college... Читать дальше...
Iowa's caucuses started modestly some 50 years ago. But they grew to hold a pivotal role in how the U.S. chooses a president. The state's voters propelled little-known one-time peanut farmer Jimmy Carter’s bid for the White House in 1976. In 2008, the state gave Illinois Sen. Barack Obama his first win over Hillary Clinton. But when Iowa’s GOP caucuses start the 2024 election process, the way voters begin choosing the two major parties’ nominees will look different. The order in which states vote has changed. Читать дальше...
BlackRock is buying independent infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners in a cash-and-stock deal valued at more than $12 billion. The deal announced Friday includes $3 billion in cash and approximately 12 million shares of BlackRock. About 30% of the total consideration, all in stock, will be deferred and is expected to be issued in approximately five years. GIP, which was founded in 2006, manages more than $100 billion in client assets across infrastructure equity and debt, with a focus on energy... Читать дальше...
Delta Air Lines says it closed 2023 strong and expects another good year in 2024. The airline said Friday that it earned $2 billion in the fourth quarter, and revenue for all of last year was a record. CEO Ed Bastian says the Atlanta-based airline just had the best single day for cash sales in its history this week. The airline is feeling flush, and so it's ordering more planes. Delta says it will buy 20 Airbus A350s for international service, and take options to get 20 more.
An approaching storm is expected to deliver snow to Portland, Oregon, a city more accustomed to winter rain. It’s one of a number of sprawling storms bringing everything from what the National Weather Service called “life-threatening wind chills” in South Dakota to the possibility of tornadoes in the South. School and flights were canceled in advance in parts of the South and Midwest. Republican contestants campaigning ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses were contending with a blizzard warning covering most of the state. Читать дальше...
When the U.S. and U.K. warships launched waves of air, ship and submarine-launched missiles at Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen late Thursday it was the culmination of weeks of warnings to the rebel group to cease their destructive attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Even after issuing a final warning last week that was signed by the U.S. and a dozen other countries, this week Houthis launched their largest-ever barrage of 18 one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, and an anti-ship ballistic missile. Читать дальше...
Israel will defend itself against South Africa’s allegation that the war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians at the United Nations’ top court Friday. Israel strongly denies the claim, and its prime minister has blasted the allegations as hypocrisy. South Africa is asking the International Court of Justice to order an immediate suspension of Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, United States and British militaries launched strikes Thursday on sites used by Houthi... Читать дальше...
Asian shares are mostly lower, though Tokyo's benchmark extended its New Year rally, trading well above 35,000 and at its highest level since 1990. U.S. futures were nearly unchanged and oil prices surged. China reported its exports and imports edged higher in December. On Thursday, a U.S. inflation report forced some investors to push back forecasts for when the Federal Reserve will deliver long-sought cuts to interest rates. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% after swinging up and down a few times through the day. Читать дальше...
Russian tourists going on a ski trip will be the first international travelers to visit North Korea since the country’s borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown. A report on Russia's state-run Tass news agency on Wednesday said an unspecified number of tourists from the region of Primorye in Russia’s far east will first fly to Pyongyang and visit monuments there before traveling on to the North’s Masik Pass on the east coast, where the country’s most modern ski resort is located.... Читать дальше...
A leading human rights group says people's rights are being suppressed and threatened everywhere in the world, from wars to selective outrage about some abuses and silence about others. Human Rights Watch released its global report on 2023 on Thursday. It says the challenges of the past year show what needs to be done differently in 2024. The group’s executive director said armed conflicts have mushroomed and how governments respond to them needs to change. She said there "needs to be an end to double... Читать дальше...
Washington’s relationship with Beijing will face its biggest test since the leaders of the two countries met in November, as the United States seeks to keep the Taiwan Straits calm after Taiwanese voters select a new president this weekend. At stake is the peace and stability of the strip of water between the Chinese mainland and the self-governed island. Any armed conflict could put Washington head-to-head against Beijing and disrupt the global economy. China fears that a victory in Saturday's election... Читать дальше...
Japan has launched a rocket carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite on a mission to watch movements at military sites in North Korea and improve natural disaster response. The H2A rocket, launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan on Friday. It is carrying the optical satellite as part of Tokyo’s reconnaissance and military buildup. A launch is also planned of a new flagship rocket H3, developed by Mitsubishi and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency... Читать дальше...
Federal prosecutors are expected to provide an update in the legal case against a gunman who has admitted to killing 10 Black people in a racist shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. The Justice Department has called relatives of the victims to federal court Friday ahead of a previously scheduled status conference. The families have been waiting to hear whether prosecutors would seek the death penalty against 20-year-old Payton Gendron, who is awaiting trial on federal hate crimes and weapons charges. Читать дальше...
China’s exports grew slightly for a second consecutive month in December even as deflationary pressures continue, according to official data released Friday, underscoring an uneven recovery in 2023. Customs data showed that exports in December rose by 2.3% year-on-year to $303.6 billion in a sign that demand may be picking up after months of decline earlier in the year. Imports also rose by 0.2% to $228.2 billion. However, deflationary pressures persisted in China’s economy, with consumer prices in December declining 0.3%... Читать дальше...
A Black woman hired by a northern Utah school district to investigate racial harassment complaints says that she also experienced discrimination from district officials. Joscelin Thomas alleges in a federal lawsuit that Davis School District administrators treated her “as if she were stupid.” Thomas also says they denied her training and mentorship opportunities that were offered to her white colleagues. The U.S. Department of Justice has investigated the school district in 2021. It found widespread... Читать дальше...
