Town Hall News

By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) – The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday will hear the Biden administration’s bid to overturn a Texas judge’s order that, if allowed to take effect, would make the abortion drug mifepristone illegal. However the 5th Circuit rules, the case will likely continue for months or years. Here is what you need to know about the case as it further unfolds: […]

(Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Wednesday that three scientists under investigation for state treason faced “very serious accusations”, and that it could not comment on the case. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was aware of an open letter from Siberian scientists in defence of the three men but the case was a matter for the security services. In the open letter published on Monday, colleagues of the three […]

By Brendan Pierson and Jacqueline Thomsen (Reuters) – All three of the judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that will hear the Biden administration’s appeal to keep the abortion pill mifepristone on the market are staunchly conservative, with a record of opposing abortion rights. Here is a look at their records. Jennifer Walker Elrod Appointed by: George W. Bush Year appointed: 2007 Previous positions: Judge, 190th […]

By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission proposed on Wednesday a reform of customs rules for the surge of incoming packages ordered online and to cope with increased environmental and labour standards and sanctions on imported goods. Under the proposal, the European Union will have a new customs authority and a single online data system. At present, importers need to deal with 27 national customs authorities and more […]

By Anna Tong (Reuters) – The swift growth of artificial intelligence technology could put the future of humanity at risk, according to most Americans surveyed in a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday. More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the negative effects of AI and 61% believe it could threaten civilization. Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot became the fastest growing application of all time, the widespread integration of AI into […]

By Jessica DiNapoli NEW YORK (Reuters) – Makers of brand-name household basics like Dunkin’ coffee and Schick razors are bulking up sales teams and adding specialized and lower-cost products to the shelves of America’s ubiquitous dollar stores in a bid to reach more budget-conscious shoppers. Razor manufacturer Edgewell Personal Care Co and Kraft Heinz Co have overhauled or built new teams dedicated to working with the biggest U.S. dollar stores […]

By Tomasz Janowski, Oliver Hirt and Selena Li ZURICH (Reuters) -UBS has flagged tens of billions of dollars of potential costs – and benefits – from its takeover of Credit Suisse, underscoring the high stakes involved as it prepares to complete the rescue of its struggling Swiss rival. In a regulatory presentation, UBS estimated a negative impact of $13 billion from fair value adjustments of the combined group’s financial assets […]

By Gloria Dickie LONDON (Reuters) – For the first time ever, global temperatures are now more likely than not to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7F) of warming within the next five years, the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. But that did not necessarily mean the world would cross the long-term warming threshold of 1.5C above preindustrial levels set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. With a 66% chance of […]

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s main opposition party said on Wednesday it had filed complaints over suspected irregularities at thousands of ballot boxes in Sunday’s landmark election, in which President Tayyip Erdogan performed better than expected. Muharrem Erkek, a deputy chairman of the secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP), said the irregularities at each ballot box ranged from one single wrongly counted vote to hundreds of such votes. He said the CHP […]