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Friday, September 15, 2017

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.

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 should be even wider.

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 guilty.

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 victims.

Drug industry on tenterhooks as Maryland price-gouging law nears

(Reuters) - As U.S. consumer outrage grows over prescription drug prices, state authorities and patient advocates in Maryland are preparing to enforce the nation's first law designed to punish drugmaker price-gouging.

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 Reuters review of company reports to the U.S. Coast Guard shows.

Dallas removes Robert E. Lee's statue from city park

DALLAS (Reuters) - Workers in Dallas removed a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a park on Thursday, with police on hand to provide protection after the mayor said the monument was a symbol of injustice and the city council voted to bring it down.

Harvard 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 leaders in the U.S. intelligence community distanced themselves from the school.

Student accused in Washington school shooting blamed 'bullying'

SPOKANE, Wash. (Reuters) - The teenager accused of opening fire at his Washington state high school, killing a student, told police he took the firearms from his father's gun safe and wanted to teach his classmates a lesson about "bullying," court papers showed on Thursday.

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.