Epstein sought to pay off potential witnesses, U.S. prosecutors say
Jailed American financier Jeffrey Epstein made payments to two potential witnesses seeking to influence them in the child sex trafficking case against him late last year, prosecutors said late on Friday.
Sandy Hook parents lose state court appeal against Newtown over school shooting
A Connecticut state appeals court has rejected an appeal by the parents of two shooting victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre to hold the town of Newtown and its school district liable.
U.S. appeals court blocks Trump administration birth control exemptions
A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing new rules allowing employers to obtain exemptions from an Obamacare requirement they provide health insurance that covers women’s birth control.
California governor signs bill for $21 billion wildfire fund
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill approved by lawmakers a day earlier that creates a $21 billion fund to help bankrupt PG&E Corp and the state’s other investor-owned utilities cover liabilities arising from future wildfires caused by their equipment.
Magnitude 4.9 aftershock hits near California town rocked by big quakes
A magnitude 4.9 aftershock struck on Friday roughly 5 miles east of the remote California town of Ridgecrest, which was rocked by a pair of major earthquakes over the past week, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
U.S. shale firms put up $16.5 million to build West Texas charter schools
Twenty top U.S. energy companies agreed to contribute $16.5 million to open new schools in West Texas, where an influx of oil and gas workers have strained schools, roads and other civic services.
U.S. Gulf of Mexico crude oil output cut by 59% due to storm: government
Almost 59 percent, or 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd), of crude oil production in the U.S.-regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico has been cut because of Tropical Storm Barry, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Frid…
U.S. House approves funding for 9/11 responders, sends to Senate
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday approved legislation to permanently compensate first responders to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center who have been suffering from cancers and other illnesses as a result of working at the c…
Storm Barry’s threat to New Orleans heightened by climate change: scientists
Tropical Storm Barry, which is expected to flood New Orleans and threaten lives along the Mississippi River, is being fueled by warmth in the Gulf of Mexico that was likely exacerbated by climate change, scientists said on Friday.
In ‘Harry Met Sally’ tribute, New York deli invites contestants to ‘have what she’s having’
In the 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally,” actor Meg Ryan’s loud rendition of a woman faking an orgasm while seated at a New York deli stands as one of the most memorable moments in film history.
