California governor issues second drought emergency proclamation
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California’s drought is so severe that the state will roll back some environmental protections and loosen the rules on transferring water to farmers, Governor Jerry Brown said on Friday.
Japan, U.S. tiptoe into new phase of Pacific trade talks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Japan are edging into a new phase of trade negotiations after U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s summit, people with knowledge of talks to create one of the world’s biggest …
Kerry to visit Ethiopia, Congo and Angola next week
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola from April 29 to May 5 to promote democracy and human rights, the State Department said on Friday.
GAO affirms Army decision to skip vehicle prototype
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Government Accountability Office on Friday told lawmakers the U.S. Army made a “sound” decision when it decided to skip prototypes in a $6 billion competition for a new combat vehicle that was unsuccessfully challenged by Gen…
SEC probing New Jersey Governor Christie’s transport funding: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal securities regulators are probing whether New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s administration improperly diverted funds from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for use on transport projects in New Jersey, the pub…
Two key IRS executives in Obamacare rollout to retire: memo
(Reuters) – Two senior Internal Revenue Service executives who were instrumental in the rollout of President Barack Obama’s new healthcare law are retiring, according to an internal IRS memorandum obtained by Reuters on Friday.
Oregon’s broken healthcare exchange to shift to federal network
PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) – Oregon, whose health insurance network has been dogged by technical glitches that have prevented even a single subscriber from enrolling online, will move its state health exchange to the federal system, officials said on F…
New York Republican congressman Grimm to be indicted, lawyer says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal prosecutors intend to bring criminal charges against Michael Grimm, a Republican U.S. congressman from New York who has been under investigation for campaign finance violations, his lawyer said on Friday.
Football players are first college athletes to vote on union
CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Football players at Northwestern University on Friday became the first U.S. student athletes to cast ballots in an election to decide whether to unionize.
Florida legislators seek changes to U.S. baseball draft for Cubans
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – Florida state legislators voted on Friday to pressure Major League Baseball into changing its rules so players in Cuba will be in a better bargaining position when dealing with professional teams in the United States.