Town Hall News

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Australian government on Tuesday welcomed a defence cooperation agreement between its closest neighbour Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the U.S. aimed at bolstering regional security amid China’s plans to increase influence in the Pacific. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and PNG Prime Minister James Marape on Monday signed the defence pact in the Pacific nation’s capital of Port Moresby, which would make it easier for […]

(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Opiant Pharmaceuticals Inc’s nasal spray for reversing opioid-related overdoses, expanding treatment options in the country’s fight against a crisis that has killed hundreds of thousands. The approval of the spray for use in adults and children aged 12 years and older is expected to bolster addiction treatments of British drugmaker Indivior Plc, which recently acquired Opiant in a deal […]

By Nupur Anand, Lananh Nguyen and Mehnaz Yasmin NEW YORK (Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase & Co’s CEO Jamie Dimon said he leads the largest U.S. bank with the same intensity as when he was younger, but noted with a laugh on Monday that he plans to remain another “3-1/2” years. Dimon stressed the bank’s plans regarding his tenure were unchanged, although did not give specifics. “I’m not going to change, I’m […]

By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -China’s ban on the use of U.S.-based Micron Technology’s chips in certain sectors, announced on Sunday, is a stark reminder of risks facing the global chip industry as it braces for escalating Sino-U.S. trade tensions. China’s move against Micron, the biggest U.S. memory chipmaker, was widely seen as retaliation for Washington’s efforts to restrict Beijing’s access to key technology. It came just a day after […]

By Luc Cohen and Jack Queen NEW YORK (Reuters) – Writer E. Jean Carroll sought on Monday to amend the first of her two defamation lawsuits against Donald Trump to demand at least $10 million in additional damages, citing comments he made on CNN after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing her. A federal jury in Manhattan on May 9 found Trump sexually abused Carroll in the 1990s […]

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Energy Department decided on Monday to cancel contract negotiations on a $200 million award for Microvast Holdings, a lithium battery company, a source familiar with the matter said. The department had been in talks with Microvast over a grant of $200 million from the $1 trillion 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law for developing domestic manufacturing bases and supply chains. Last December, two Republican lawmakers […]

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Transportation Department (USDOT) said on Monday it had fined LATAM Airlines Group SA $1 million after the airline and several affiliates routinely failed to provide timely refunds to passengers for U.S. flights. The department said since March 1, 2020, it received over 750 complaints alleging LATAM, the biggest carrier in Latin America, failed to provide timely refunds after cancelling flights to or from […]

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – Abbott Laboratories persuaded a federal judge to dismiss some claims in nationwide litigation over recalled baby formula. In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly in Chicago dismissed claims by parents pursuing only “economic loss” claims related to Similac and other formula that they said had a “substantial risk” of bacteria contamination. The parents said they would not have bought or would have […]

By Jane Lanhee Lee and Stephen Nellis SANTA CLARA, California (Reuters) -U.S. semiconductor toolmaker Applied Materials Inc on Monday said it plans to spend up to $4 billion on a research center in the heart of Silicon Valley to speed up advances in semiconductor manufacturing. The center based in Sunnyvale, California, will come on line in 2026 and create up to 2,000 engineering jobs, said Applied, the world’s biggest maker […]