US lawmakers seek to strengthen bill to ensure quick airline refunds
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House and Senate negotiators have agreed to revise language in an aviation reform bill to ensure quick refunds for airline passengers whose flights are canceled and who are not seeking alternative fli...
May 08, 2024
US explores AI to train immigration officers on talking to refugees
By Jeffrey Dastin SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is piloting artificial intelligence to train officers who review applicants for refugee status in the United States, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters o...
May 08, 2024
Eurovision favourites Croatia, Ukraine qualify for grand final
By Tom Little and Isabelle Yr Carlsson MALMO (Reuters) - Croatia and Ukraine, two favourites to win Eurovision 2024, were among the first 10 contestants to qualify for the competition's grand final on Saturday, following an initial round of semi-fi...
May 07, 2024
John Krasinski's 'IF' brings imaginary world alive for daughters
By Hanna Rantala LONDON (Reuters) - John Krasinski says he made his new film "IF" for his children. The live-action and animated fantasy comedy is written, directed and produced by Krasinski, who also plays the main character's father and voices "M...
May 07, 2024
Factbox-How to vote for your favourite in Eurovision 2024
By Isabelle Yr Carlsson MALMÖ, Sweden (Reuters) - The world's biggest live music event, Eurovision Song Contest, will take place in Sweden in the second week of May with 37 participating countries. Roughly 100,000 visitors from 89 countries are exp...
May 07, 2024
Idaho will seek to revive 'abortion trafficking' law in US appeals court
By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) - Idaho will urge a federal appeals court on Tuesday to revive a 2023 law making it a crime to help a minor cross state lines for an abortion without her parent's consent, which a judge blocked in November. A three-judg...
May 07, 2024
Biden welcomes peaceful protests at college commencements, White House says
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden welcomes peaceful protests at college commencement ceremonies where he and other administration officials will speak, the White House said on Tuesday as pro-Pales...
May 07, 2024
US probe finds widespread sexual misconduct at FDIC
By Douglas Gillison and Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation must make sweeping changes to address widespread sexual harassment and other misconduct, according to a damning independent report released on Tuesda...
May 07, 2024
US lawmakers await Biden administration report on Israeli weapons use
By Patricia Zengerle, Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration is to report to U.S. lawmakers as soon as Wednesday on whether Israel is violating international humanitarian law or obstructing aid del...
May 07, 2024
Brazil floods disrupt rail, road access to major grains ports
By Roberto Samora and Ana Mano SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Road and rail links to a major grains port in southern Brazil have been disrupted by the impact of heavy floods, Anec, an association representing global grain exporters including Cargill and Bun...
May 07, 2024
Brazil floods death toll rises to 90, dozens still stranded
By Amanda Perobelli and Leonardo Benansatto ELDORADO DO SUL, Brazil (Reuters) - Rescuers rushed to evacuate people stranded by devastating floods across the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on Tuesday, with 90 reported dead and despera...
May 07, 2024
Biden to condemn antisemitism, praise free speech at Holocaust remembrance
By Trevor Hunnicutt and James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to honor 6 million Jews killed eight decades ago, his message will be as much about the present as the past. Biden wi...
May 07, 2024
TikTok, ByteDance sue to block US law seeking sale or ban of app
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance sued in U.S. federal court on Tuesday seeking to block a law signed by President Joe Biden that would force the divestiture of the short video app used by 170 mil...
May 07, 2024
US soldier detained in Russia travelled through China without clearance- Army
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier who has been detained in Russia travelled to the Russian city of Vladivostok through China without clearance from the military, the U.S. Army said on Tuesday. The soldier, who the Army identified as Staff Serge...
May 07, 2024
Oklahoma tornadoes kill at least one person, injure five
(Reuters) - A swarm of tornadoes touched down overnight in Oklahoma, according to local media reports, killing at least one person and injuring at least five as they flattened homes and ripped down trees in the northeast corner of the state. As the...
May 07, 2024
Payments in focus as prosecutors make their case in Trump hush money trial
By Jack Queen, Luc Cohen and Andy Sullivan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors in Donald Trump's criminal trial are expected to call more witnesses on Tuesday as they build out their argument that he was responsible for illegally covering up a hush mo...
May 07, 2024
As climate shifts, a leafhopper bug plagues Argentina's corn fields
By Maximilian Heath and Matias Baglietto CORDOBA PROVINCE, Argentina (Reuters) - Global warming has brought Argentina's corn farmers a dangerous new enemy: a yellow insect just four millimeters (0.16 inch) long that thrives in hotter temperatures a...
May 07, 2024
US soldier arrested in Russia on theft charges, RIA reports
(Reuters) - A U.S. soldier who was detained in Russia on charges of criminal misconduct was arrested by a Vladivostok court on theft charges, Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Tuesday. Citing the court's press office, RIA said that the sol...
May 07, 2024
Bank of America investment banker dies
By Saeed Azhar and Milana Vinn NEW YORK (Reuters) - An investment banker at Bank of America has died, the bank said on Monday. The person died of natural causes, according to an email from the New York Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who conf...
May 07, 2024
China's climate envoy to visit Washington this week, the State Department says
(Reuters) - The United States will host China's Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday, the State Department said. The Biden administration had previously said that U.S. climate change diplomat John Pod...
May 07, 2024
Zendaya in blue, sparkling J Lo arrive at garden-themed Met Gala
By Ben Kellerman NEW YORK (Reuters) - Zendaya posed wearing a blue gown adorned with clusters of grapes on the green and white carpeted entrance to the lavish annual Met Gala on Monday, which this year has a garden theme. Stars were told to dress i...
May 07, 2024
US must support critical mineral projects in risky nations, White House adviser says
(Reuters) - The United States and its allies must encourage mining projects in countries where Western corporations are reticent to do business to guarantee a reliable and sustainable global supply of the critical minerals needed to combat climate ...
May 06, 2024
US soldier detained in Russia, US official says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier has been detained in Russia during recent private travel there, a U.S. official told Reuters on Monday. The soldier's arrest was first reported by NBC News, which said Russian authorities accused the service me...
May 06, 2024
Exclusive-Ex-tabloid publisher David Pecker, witness at Trump trial, a 'swatting' target
By Alexandra Ulmer (Reuters) - Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, who testified at Donald Trump's criminal trial last month, was targeted in a fake emergency the same day he took the stand in New York, according to police records seen...
May 06, 2024
Israel's Eurovision contestant Eden Golan hopes to 'unite by music'
By Ilze Filks and Tom Little MALMO, Sweden (Reuters) - Eden Golan, Israel's contender in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, hopes to unite people through her music when she performs this week in Malmo, Sweden, she said in an interview. The 68th vers...
May 06, 2024