Auroras dazzle in Latin America as solar storm causes rare displays
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The biggest geomagnetic storm in two decades, sparked by solar flares, caused dazzling lights displays in parts of Latin America overnight on Friday, including a rare appearance in Mexico. In Mexicali, a desert city on Mexic...
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Billionaire investor Ken Griffin calls on Harvard to embrace 'western values'
(Reuters) - Billionaire investor Kenneth Griffin called on his alma mater Harvard University on Saturday to embrace "western values", saying that the turmoil across college campuses was the product of a "cultural revolution" in U.S. education. Grif...
May 11, 2024
Death toll from floods in Brazil's south climbs to 136
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state has climbed to 136, local civil defense said on Saturday, up from 126 in the previous day, while another 125 people remain unaccounted for. Storms and fl...
May 11, 2024
Nikki Haley under active consideration by Trump campaign to be running mate, Axios reports
(Reuters) - Nikki Haley is under active consideration by Donald Trump's campaign to be his running mate, Axios reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the dynamic. Trump could pick Haley if he were convinced she could help him win the pre...
May 11, 2024
Death toll in Afghanistan floods rises to 151, says Taliban interior ministry
KABUL (Reuters) - The official death toll from devastating flash floods in northern Afghanistan has risen to 151 people, the Taliban's interior ministry said on Saturday. At least 135 people have been injured in the flooding, induced by heavy rain ...
May 11, 2024
Prosecutors urge 40 years in prison for attacker of Pelosi's husband
By Steve Gorman (Reuters) - The man who broke into former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home and clubbed her husband with a hammer should serve 40 years in prison for his conviction on federal offenses that amount to a crime of terrorism, prose...
May 11, 2024
US judge blocks rule capping credit card late fees at $8
By Nate Raymond (Reuters) -A federal judge in Texas on Friday blocked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rule for an $8 cap on credit card late fees, a victory for business and banking groups that said the regulator exceeded its authority. ...
May 10, 2024
Court rejects Republican states' challenge to SEC's ESG proxy vote rule
By Clark Mindock (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit by four Republican-led states that sought to block a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring investment funds to categorize and disclose their proxy v...
May 10, 2024
US discussed 'overcapacity' in Chinese solar manufacturing, coal in climate talks
By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China discussed Chinese overcapacity in solar and battery manufacturing, steel production and coal power during two days of bilateral meetings on climate change, senior State Departm...
May 10, 2024
US, China to discuss methane at COP29 summit, says State Dept
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S.-China Climate Working Group intends to discuss methane and non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gasses at the upcoming United Nations COP29 climate summit, the U.S. Department of State said on Friday following the group's t...
May 10, 2024
Senator Warren chides US Treasury for slow progress in tackling racial discrimination
By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren this week called on the Treasury Department to more swiftly address racial discrimination in the U.S. tax and banking systems by advancing reforms proposed by an advisory board s...
May 10, 2024
US CFTC seeks to ban derivatives bets on elections, calamities
By Laura Matthews NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday was poised to propose a ban on listed derivatives used to bet on U.S. elections and other major real world events, its chair said. The agency is s...
May 10, 2024
At least 50 dead in flooding in northern Afghanistan, interior ministry says
(Reuters) -At least 50 people have died in Afghanistan in flooding following heavy rain in the northern province of Baghlan on Friday, a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior said, adding that the death toll may rise. Ministry spokesman Abdul Mate...
May 10, 2024
Investor and philanthropist Jim Simons dies at age 86
(Reuters) - Investor and philanthropist Jim Simons has died at the age of 86 in New York City, the Simons Foundation said in a statement on Friday. (Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
May 10, 2024
Dozens arrested at Penn, MIT in latest crackdowns on Gaza protests
(Reuters) - Police dismantled encampments and arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania on Friday morning, in the latest crackdowns on protests roiling U.S. campuse...
May 10, 2024
US to provide nearly $200 million to contain bird flu spread on dairy farms
By Leah Douglas WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration said on Friday it will provide nearly $200 million to fight the spread of avian flu among dairy cows, in the government's latest bid to contain outbreaks that have fueled concerns abou...
May 10, 2024
McDonald's to launch $5 meal deal to lure back customers, Bloomberg News reports
(Reuters) -McDonald's is preparing to launch a $5 meal deal at its U.S. restaurants to lure more inflation-hit customers back to its chains, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The deal could include a McChicken...
May 10, 2024
Trump ally Steve Bannon loses appeal of conviction for defying Jan. 6 probe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to Donald Trump, for defying a subpoena from the congressional panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Cap...
May 10, 2024
Death toll from floods in southern Brazil hits 113
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The death toll from heavy rains in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state has climbed to 113, local civil defense said on Friday, up from 107 in the previous day, while another 146 people were still unaccounted for. Storms and flood...
May 10, 2024
Explainer-US agency to unveil plan to ease power transmission crunch
By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is expected on Monday to issue a final rule to address the crunch in U.S. electricity transmission as the grid struggles to connect enormous amounts of clea...
May 10, 2024
Trump prosecutors prepare to call final witnesses in hush money trial
By Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy NEW YORK (Reuters) - Donald Trump is set to return to court Friday after porn star Stormy Daniels' lurid testimony about her alleged sexual encounter with him, as prosecutors prepare to call their final witnesses in the ...
May 10, 2024
Elderly climate activists damage Magna Carta case at British Library
LONDON (Reuters) - Two climate protesters aged 82 and 85 smashed parts of the reinforced case holding an original text of the Magna Carta in the British Library in London on Friday before the pair - one an Anglican priest - were stopped by security...
May 10, 2024
Education board in Virginia votes to restore schools' Confederate names
By Evelyn Hockstein and Julia Harte WOODSTOCK, Virginia (Reuters) - The education board for Shenandoah County, Virginia, voted early on Friday to restore Confederate generals' names to two public schools in the predominantly white, rural and solidl...
May 10, 2024
A whale makes a comeback off Argentina's coast 100 years after vanishing
By Anna Portella BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Giant blue-grey sei whales that vanished from Argentina's Patagonian coast a century ago due to hunting are starting to flourish once again, demonstrating how species can recover when measures to protect th...
May 10, 2024
Japan weather bureau says 90% chance of El Nino ending by May
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's weather bureau said on Friday there was a 90% chance that the El Nino phenomenon will dissipate by the end of May, while there was a 60% chance of the La Nina phenomenon occurring in the months up until November. El Nino i...
May 10, 2024