Palm Desert

White House defends immigration policy as outrage grows over children

By Lisa Lambert and Makini Brice WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration defended its hardline immigration policy at the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday as furor grew over the separation of immigrant parents and children, including video of youngsters sitting in concrete-floored cages. Democrats blasted such treatment as "barbaric," while a few of President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans also voiced concern as the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives moved toward voting later this week on two pieces of immigration-related legislation. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, a Trump appointee, told reporters at a White House briefing that the administration was only strictly enforcing the law.

Honduras, El Salvador decry U.S. border separations impact on kids

By Nelson Renteria SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - Honduras called on Monday for the United States to stop separating immigrant children from their parents at the U.S. border, while El Salvador warned that the policy puts children's health at risk and could cause psychosocial scars. El Salvador's foreign ministry said in a statement that the Trump administration's hardline policy of separating immigrant parents and children violated human rights and "strongly urged" for an end to the practice. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has responded to an increase in immigration from Central America with a "zero tolerance" migration policy that provides for the arrest of all adults caught trying to enter the United States illegally, including those seeking asylum.

Kansas judge strikes down voter ID law

It was one of numerous voter ID laws passed by Republican-led state legislatures in recent years. Supporters of the law included Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, one of the United States' most prominent voter fraud crusaders and an adviser to President Donald Trump on the issue.

Trump orders creation of space-focused U.S. military branch

By Makini Brice and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he was ordering the creation of a sixth branch of the military to focus on space, a move critics said could harm the Air Force. "We are going to have the Air Force and we're going to have the 'Space Force.' Separate but equal. The idea of a Space Force has been raised before, by Trump and previous administrations, with proponents saying it would make the Pentagon more efficient.

Judge cancels hearing in Stormy Daniels case against Trump, Cohen

According to an order issued on Monday, U.S. District Judge James Otero decided it was unnecessary to hear arguments on the request by Daniels' lawyer Michael Avenatti to lift a 90-day stay imposed on April 28. In imposing the stay, the judge cited the potential overlap between Daniels' lawsuit and a separate criminal probe by federal prosecutors in Manhattan that he said could result in Cohen's indictment.

Woman trapped after building collapse in New York's Hudson Valley

At least one woman was trapped in rubble in Poughkeepsie, New York after a vacant seven-story building partially collapsed onto smaller buildings on Monday, according to the city's police department and local media reports. The trapped woman, who was not identified, was conscious and talking to firefighters, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported, citing Mayor Rob Rolison. The partial collapse appeared to have crushed parts of a neighboring building's rear, smothering it and at least two nearby parked vehicles with rubble, according to photographs posted online by the Connecticut Fire Photographers Association, which had a member at the scene.

Wendy's under fire after employee films mouse amid buns

A Wendy's restaurant in Oklahoma is under fire after an employee video showing a mouse inside a bag of hamburger buns was widely shared online. The Facebook video was filmed at a Wendy's restaurant in Catoosa, Oklahoma, the employee, Sky Frame, said in a post. "Not only does Wendy's now have mice - we have crew members who leave cigarettes all over the place.

Bid-rigging trial begins for ex-State University of New York official

The former president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute went to trial on Monday on charges that he helped rig a 2013 bidding process for a billion-dollar development project intended to revitalize the Buffalo, New York, region. Alain Kaloyeros has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors have said he helped fix bids for "Buffalo Billion," an economic development project to invest $1 billion in Buffalo, the state's second largest city.

Heat wave wilts much of U.S. Midwest, Northeast

By Suzannah Gonzales CHICAGO (Reuters) - Chicago and St. Louis sweltered on Monday at the center of a heat wave that stretched across the U.S. Midwest and Northeast, although relief could come as soon as Monday evening in some areas. After a hot weekend, the temperature reached 91 Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) in Chicago and 92F in St. Louis by early afternoon, the National Weather Service said, with both cities opening air-conditioned cooling centers to the public. The heat index, which factors in humidity, hit 100F in St. Louis.

Prosecution urges murder conviction of former New England mob boss

A federal prosecutor on Monday urged jurors to find a former New England mob boss guilty of murdering a nightclub manager in 1993, citing the eyewitness testimony of the ex-partner of convicted Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Ferland asked the federal jury in Boston to credit the testimony of Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, who said he saw the son of Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme strangle Steven DiSarro as the elder Salemme watched. Ferland said Flemmi told authorities about DiSarro's slaying when he cut a deal to plead guilty to 10 murders and become a cooperating witness in 2003, long before DiSarro's remains were found in Rhode Island in 2016.

Supreme Court sidesteps major rulings on electoral map manipulation

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday dealt a setback to election reformers by declining to use high-profile cases from Wisconsin and Maryland to curb the ability of state lawmakers to draw electoral districts purely for partisan advantage. Sidestepping major rulings, the nine justices decided both cases on narrow legal grounds and put off perhaps until their next term, which begins in October, a more definitive ruling on whether courts can step in to limit the contentious practice known as partisan gerrymandering. In the Wisconsin case, the court ruled 9-0 in favor of Republican legislators who drew state electoral districts that helped entrench their party in power, throwing out a lower court ruling that the map had deprived Democratic voters of their constitutional rights including equal protection under the law.

Embattled Rosenstein wins case at U.S. Supreme Court

Rod Rosenstein, the No. 2 U.S. Justice Department official who has come under criticism from President Donald Trump, picked up a legal victory for Trump's administration at the Supreme Court on Monday in the first case he ever argued there. In a 5-3 ruling in favor of the administration, the high court rejected convicted drug dealer Adaucto Chavez-Meza's bid to reduce his sentence by six months. Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein's 30-minute oral argument in April was a break from his regular job, which includes overseeing Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia in the 2016 U.S. election.

Trump administration seeks to limit court's 'sanctuary cities' order

By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration, escalating its fight with so-called sanctuary cities, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to narrow a lower court's nationwide order preventing the federal government from denying public safety grants to municipalities that limit cooperation on immigration enforcement. The Justice Department asked the high court to make the injunction issued by a federal judge in Chicago cover only that city and not the entire country. Republican President Donald Trump's administration has gone on an offensive against Democratic-governed cities and states that protect illegal immigrants as part of his hard-line immigration policies.

Americans own nearly half world's guns in civilian hands: survey

Americans make up 4 percent of the world's population but owned about 46 percent of the estimated 857 million weapons in civilian hands at the end of 2017, a survey showed on Monday. The Small Arms Survey, an independent global research project based in Geneva, Switzerland, found that there were more than 1 billion firearms in the world, of which civilians owned 85 percent, while the rest were held by militaries or law enforcement agencies. The number of guns owned by civilians globally rose to 857 million in 2017 from 650 million in 2006, the survey said.

GM plans $175 million retooling of Michigan plant for Cadillac sedans

General Motors Co will invest $175 million to modernize and retool a plant in Lansing, Michigan, to build the next generation of luxury Cadillac sedans, the company said on Monday. Much of Cadillac's growth is expected to come from China, the luxury brand's largest market. "We expect global luxury sales will continue grow, with Cadillac's global volume and profit expected to double by 2021, and our investments in the U.S. will be a major driver," GM said in a statement.

Americans grapple with recognizing facts in news stories: Pew survey

By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Only a quarter of U.S. adults in a recent survey could fully identify factual statements - as opposed to opinion - in news stories, the Pew Research Center found in a study released on Monday. The survey comes amid growing concerns about so-called fake news spread on the internet and social media. Facebook Inc , Alphabet Inc's Google and other tech companies have recently come under scrutiny for failing to promptly tackle the problem of fake news as more Americans consume news on social media platforms.

Too frail for death row? Texas inmate seeks execution reprieve

After two recent botched U.S. executions of inmates with compromised veins, a convicted murderer and rapist is arguing he is too ill to be put to death by lethal injection in Texas later this month. Lawyers for Danny Bible, a 66-year-old inmate set to be executed on June 27, said in a federal court filing in June that his health and vein access were worse than inmates in Alabama and Ohio whose executions were called off after IV placements failed. The cases have capital punishment critics questioning whether justice is served by executing a person convicted of horrific crimes but who is now too weak or sick to be considered a threat.

Democrats, activists rally against Trump's family separation policy

By Joseph Ax ELIZABETH, N.J. (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers joined protesters outside immigration detention facilities in New Jersey and Texas on Sunday for Father's Day demonstrations against the Trump administration's practice of separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. "This must not be who we are as a nation," said Representative Jerrold Nadler, one of seven members of Congress from New York and New Jersey who met with five detainees inside a facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, including three who said they had young relatives removed from their care after seeking asylum at the border.

Gang shootout at New Jersey arts festival kills one, injures 22

One of the shooting victims was a 13-year-old boy who was in extremely critical condition, Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo Onofri told a news conference. Three others were in critical condition. At least two people opened fire around 2:45 a.m. at the annual Art All Night event in Trenton, about 60 miles (100 km) southwest of New York City.

Fields of dreams: Texas project seeks new corn strains for whiskey

By Jon Herskovitz COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Reuters) - A master distiller and a crop scientist who specializes in corn breeding are working on a project they hope one day will help bring local identities to American whiskeys. Seth Murray, a top corn breeder at Texas A&M University, and Rob Arnold, working on a doctorate at the school while making whiskey for a Fort Worth distiller, are trying to develop commercially viable strains of corn with identifiable flavors, in the same way as specific grapes define the taste of wine from California's Napa Valley or a Bordeaux produced in southwest France. If the project proves successful, it might not be until the middle of the next decade that it will produce a commercial whiskey.

Suspect dead after 20 hurt in shooting at New Jersey arts festival

(Reuters) - A suspected gunman was fatally shot after multiple people opened fire at an all-night arts festival in New Jersey, wounding 20 people including a boy who is in critical condition, authorities said on Sunday. Prosecutors said a 33-year-old man was killed and a second suspect arrested after gunfire erupted at 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT) at the event in the city of Trenton, about 60 miles (100 km) southwest of New York City. ... Multiple weapons have been recovered," Angelo Onofri, prosecutor for Mercer County, told a news conference.

Flooding possible in U.S. Southwest where wildfires scorch earth

By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Heavy thunderstorms and widespread rains expected on Saturday in the U.S. Southwest could help douse the numerous unrelenting wildfires crews are battling in the parched region. "Water can rise quickly downstream of heavy rain, even when thunderstorms and heavy rain are miles away," the service said in an advisory. "When an area has burned, soil become hydrophobic, or water resistant, which causes water to rush over soil instead of soak in," The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team said in an advisory, noting that crews are in place to perform water rescues.

White House says Trump supports both House immigration bills, after all

By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday that President Donald Trump supported both Republican immigration bills being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives, offering a lifeline after the president suggested earlier he opposed the more moderate bill. In an interview on Fox News Channel early on Friday, Trump appeared to blast one of two delicately crafted immigration proposals that had a better chance of passing.

Kentucky man gets 30-day sentence in attack on Senator Rand Paul

Rene Boucher, 60, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, must also serve one year of supervised release following his prison stay and pay a $10,000 fine, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana said in a statement. During the period of supervised release, Boucher will also be ordered to serve 100 hours of community service, Boucher's attorney Matt Baker said.

Cut off by Hawaii lava, pot growers refuse to let go dream

HALEKAMAHINA HILL, Hawaii (Reuters) - Dale Altman and his grandson Josh Doran live on a 5-acre (2-hectare) plot atop a hill on Hawaii's Big Island by the erupting Kilauea volcano, where they grow medical marijuana. 

Attorney General Sessions hits out at Philadelphia over 'sanctuary' status

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in a speech at a local college on Friday, criticized Philadelphia and its mayor over the city's 'sanctuary' status, one that limits its cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities. Sessions accused the city of coddling dangerous criminals and refusing to turn them over to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials when requested. "Philadelphia is not giving sanctuary to Americans but to foreign criminals," he said.

U.S. judge sends ex-Trump campaign head Manafort to jail pre-trial

By Sarah N. Lynch and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge on Friday sent longtime Republican political operator and businessman Paul Manafort to jail pending trial after a charge of witness tampering, the latest episode in a slow fall from grace of a man who was President Donald Trump's campaign chairman in 2016. Manafort, a target of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election, has been indicted on mostly financial-related charges, including conspiring to launder money and defraud the United States. Manafort had been on home confinement in Virginia, and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

U.S. government says nearly 2,000 child separations at Mexico border in under two months

The government said on Friday that 1,995 children were separated from 1,940 adults at the U.S.-Mexico border between April 19 and May 31, as the Trump administration implements stricter border enforcement policies. The number represents a dramatic uptick from the nearly 1,800 family separations that Reuters reported had happened from October 2016 through February of this year. The official tally of separations is now nearly 4,000 children, not including March and the beginning of April 2018.

Trump's personal lawyer Cohen loses bid for quick Avenatti gag order

By Brendan O'Brien and Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, on Friday lost his bid for an emergency gag order to stop Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels, from maligning him in frequent media appearances. In a brief order, U.S. District Judge James Otero in Los Angeles said Cohen had not shown he would face "immediate, irreparable injury" without an immediate restraining order.

Harvard records show discrimination against Asian-Americans: group

By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University killed an internal investigation in 2013 that found evidence the Ivy League school's admissions system is biased against Asian-American applicants, a nonprofit group suing the university alleged in a court filing on Friday. The claim by Students for Fair Admissions Inc came in a brief that sought to have a federal judge in Boston rule in its favor without a trial in a closely watched lawsuit accusing Harvard of discriminating against Asian-Americans. The group, headed by prominent anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, said evidence showed that Harvard had allowed race to become a dominant consideration in considering applicants rather than just a legally allowed "plus" factor.