Monarch butterflies are recommended for protected status
Federal wildlife officials proposed Tuesday that monarch butterflies receive protection as a threatened species.
Uber and Lyft found a loophole in a driver pay law. Drivers pushed back.
NEW YORK — New York City was the first place in the United States to mandate minimum pay rates for drivers for companies such as Uber and Lyft. But after the companies found a loophole that made it much harder for some drivers to get by, the city is looking to change its law, prompting dueling pressure campaigns as both sides seek to influence the outcome.
McKinsey to pay $650 million in opioid settlement with Justice Department
McKinsey &Co. has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a Justice Department investigation of its work with opioid maker Purdue Pharma. A former senior partner, Martin Elling, has also agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice for destroying internal company records in connection with that work.
Kennedy’s lawyer has asked the FDA to revoke approval of the polio vaccine
The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death.
Yellen won’t rule out sanctions on Chinese banks, curbs on ‘dark fleet’ oil tankers
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters on Friday that the U.S. is looking at further sanctions on “dark fleet” tankers and will not rule out sanctions on Chinese banks as it seeks to reduce Russia’s oil revenue and access to foreign supplies to fuel its war in Ukraine. Yellen said in an interview that the U.S. and its allies also could consider lowering their $60-per-barrel oil price cap on Russian oil, which prohibits Western insurance and maritime services on cargoes above that level. The Treasury has already sanctioned individual tankers and their owners for operating above the price cap and can do more in this area, Yellen added, suggesting additional measures in the five weeks before she leaves office.
Trump’s deportations could shake up the restaurant industry, but Wall Street isn’t worried
Sweeping deportations pledged by President-elect Donald Trump could pose an economic shock for the restaurant industry in ways that echo the pandemic: pricier menus, rising wages, and shuttered storefronts, economists and some restaurateurs worry.
South Korea’s Yoon faces second impeachment vote over martial law bid
A defiant South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a second impeachment vote on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, a move that shocked the country, split his party and imperilled his presidency half way through his term.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after injury in Luxembourg
Former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was injured on a trip to Luxembourg and has been admitted to a hospital for evaluation, her office said in a statement on Friday.
Weight-loss drug craze appears to be curbing US obesity epidemic
For the first time in a decade, obesity in the U.S. is declining — and a new study suggests it’s because of wildly popular medications such as Ozempic.
Court rejects Tiktok request to temporarily halt pending US ban
A U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected an emergency bid by TikTok to temporarily block a law that would require its Chinese parent company ByteDance to divest the short-video app by Jan. 19 or face a ban on the app.
Moldova declares state of emergency as risk of Russian gas cutoff looms
Moldova’s parliament voted early on Friday to impose a national state of emergency for 60 days starting on Dec. 16 due to an expected cut-off of Russian gas supplies from Jan. 1.
Trump says his first acts will include deportations and Jan. 6 pardons
President-elect Donald Trump said in a new interview that he will use the opening hours of his presidency to pardon people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault, begin deportations of immigrants lacking permanent legal status and increase oil production.
Biden commutes the sentences of 1,500 Americans, a record for one day
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes in a sweeping act of clemency during his final weeks in office. The White House said it was the largest number of commutations by an American president in a single day.
New Federal rule limits overdraft fees at large banks
WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday finalized a rule that would limit overdraft charges at large banks and credit unions, a move that federal officials said could help save Americans billions in fees each year.
Two US states sue Glock over machine gun conversion
Attorneys general in Minnesota and New Jersey sued Glock on Thursday, accusing the company of making handguns that are easily modified to fire as illegal machine guns through a cheap add-on known as a “Glock switch.”
Genomes reveal timing of Homo sapiens interbreeding with Neanderthals
Neanderthals went extinct roughly 39,000 years ago, but in some sense these close cousins of our species are not gone. Their legacy lives on in the genomes of most people on Earth, thanks to interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.
White House releases strategy to counter anti-Muslim, anti-Arab hate
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday released a long-awaited strategy for countering anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate, up sharply since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, calling for urgent, continued work to reduce discrimination and bias.
Israel kills at least 66 Palestinians in Gaza, strikes post office used as shelter
An Israeli strike killed at least 30 Palestinians and wounded 50 others who were sheltering in a post office in central Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll on Thursday in the enclave to 66.
Ex-FBI informant agrees to plead guilty to lying about Bidens
A former FBI informant accused of fabricating a claim that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were each paid a $5 million bribe by a Ukrainian oligarch has agreed to plead guilty to a range of federal charges, according to a court filing Thursday.
Trump says he will use military for deportations to fullest extent of law
President-elect Donald Trump will use the U.S. military to the fullest extent of the law to support his mass deportation effort, he told TIME magazine in an interview published on Thursday, committing to his plan to utilize troops to try to remove record numbers of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
