Town Hall News

By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – Montana statehouse Republicans on Wednesday silenced Democratic transgender legislator Zooey Zephyr from floor debates for breaking decorum after she said lawmakers who backed a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors would have “blood on your hands.” Under the motion that passed with a vote of 68-32, Zephyr will be allowed to vote but is barred from the House floor, anteroom or gallery for the remainder […]

By Doina Chiacu WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday suggested that China uses slave labor in the production of lithium as he discussed Canada’s efforts to ramp up production of the critical metal used in electric vehicle and other batteries. Canada last fall announced a tougher policy on critical mineral investment – particularly from dominant producer China – as it worked to shore up its domestic supply […]

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not invited the Taliban administration to a meeting that he is convening with special envoys on Afghanistan from various countries in Doha next week, a U.N. spokesperson said on Friday. “The Secretary-General has not extended an invitation to the de facto authorities,” said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. Last week the United Nations had to stress that the meeting […]

By Eric Onstad, Siyi Liu and Mai Nguyen LONDON/BEIJING/HANOI (Reuters) – Lithium prices rebounded this week for the first time in five months after tumbling from record highs, but new supply of the key mineral for electric vehicle (EV) batteries coming on stream is likely to weigh on the market next year. A decision by world No. 2 producer Chile to nationalise its lithium sector may curb long-term supply growth, […]

By Lori Ewing MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Canada and Portland Thorns forward Janine Beckie has joined the growing chorus calling for better research into the prevalence of injuries in women’s soccer, saying that alarm bells would ring if their male counterparts were suffering the same fate.         The 28-year-old, who helped Canada capture gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is among a group of players who will miss the Women’s […]

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A prominent moderate U.S. House of Representatives Democrat said Friday that it is time for President Joe Biden to begin daily talks with Republicans on government spending and debt, to avoid a calamitous default. Representative Josh Gottheimer rejected Republican demands to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling only in exchange for deep spending cuts. But he joined a growing number of moderates in Biden’s […]

By Joseph Ax (Reuters) – North Carolina’s highest court on Friday ruled that state law does not bar lawmakers from drawing congressional and state legislative lines for partisan benefit, boosting Republicans’ odds next year of maintaining their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The decision threw out the court’s previous decision, issued barely more than a year ago when liberal judges controlled the court, that had found partisan […]

By Supantha Mukherjee and Giselda Vagnoni (Reuters) -The ChatGPT chatbot was reactivated in Italy after its maker OpenAI addressed issues raised by Italy’s data protection authority, the agency and the company confirmed on Friday. Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI took ChatGPT offline in Italy last month after the country’s data protection authority, also known as Garante, temporarily banned the chatbot and launched a probe over the artificial intelligence application’s suspected breach of […]

By Joseph Ax (Reuters) – North Carolina’s highest court on Friday ruled that state law does not bar lawmakers from drawing congressional and state legislative lines for partisan benefit, boosting Republicans’ odds next year of maintaining their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The decision threw out the court’s previous decision, issued barely more than a year ago when liberal judges controlled the court, that had found partisan […]