Trump says travel ban should be ‘larger, tougher and more specific’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday pushed back against efforts to rein in his administration’s ban on people entering the United States from six Muslim-majority countries that also limits refugees, saying the controversial ban…
Oil and chemical spills from Hurricane Harvey big, but dwarfed by Katrina
NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) – More than 22,000 barrels of oil, refined fuels and chemicals spilled at sites across Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, along with millions of cubic feet of natural gas and hundreds of tons of other toxic substances, a R…
Irma death toll at 82 as 1.5 million without power in storm’s wake
FORT MYERS, Fla. (Reuters) – The death toll from Hurricane Irma was at 82 early on Friday as 1.5 million homes and businesses in Florida remained without power in sweltering heat, five days after the historic storm ripped through southeast U.S.
Missouri braces for verdict in murder trial of ex-St. Louis policeman
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – A decision is expected on Friday in the murder trial of a former St. Louis police officer charged with fatally shooting a black man in 2011 after a car chase, and state officials fear a violent reaction if the officer is found not…
Pastors stand firm as Trump’s U.S. evangelical base weakens
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As President Donald Trump bowed his head in the Oval Office earlier this month, Texas Southern Baptist Pastor Robert Jeffress and other U.S. religious leaders laid their hands on Trump’s back and prayed for Hurricane Harvey’s vic…
Macy’s to hire 80,000 workers for holidays, fewer than last year
(Reuters) – Macy’s Inc will increase by 20 percent the number of workers it hires during the holiday shopping season to staff distribution and warehouses that support its online business, but total holiday hiring will fall.
Harvard University withdraws fellowship invitation to Chelsea Manning
(Reuters) – Harvard University on Friday withdrew a fellowship invitation to Chelsea Manning, the transgender U.S. Army soldier who was convicted of leaking classified data, after two top intelligence experts distanced themselves from the school over t…
Business interrupted: hurricane-damaged firms dig in for insurance fight
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Business owners who are trying to get back on track after hurricanes Harvey and Irma now face a different sort of challenge: trying to recoup lost income from their insurers.
Police obtain search warrant in probe of 8 nursing home deaths
FORT MYERS, Fla. (Reuters) – Police obtained a search warrant on Thursday in their criminal investigation of the deaths of eight elderly patients exposed to sweltering heat inside a Miami-area nursing home left with little or no air conditioning after …
Liquid cats, crocodile bets and didgeridoos win Ig Nobel science prizes
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) – Scientists taking on the deep questions of whether cats are liquid or solid, how holding a crocodile influences gambling and whether playing the didgeridoo can help cure snoring were honored Thursday at the Ig Nobel Prize s…
