Booz Allen to pay $377.4 million to settle US charges over past billing practices

By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S.-based consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Holding agreed to pay the United States $377.4 million to resolve allegations of violating federal law by improperly billing commercial and international costs to its government contracts, the Justice Department said. Under government contracting rules, there must be a nexus between the costs…

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US VP Harris blasts Florida ‘extremists’ over education guidelines about slavery

By Jeff Mason and Brad Brooks (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris criticized Florida “extremists” on Friday for backing educational guidelines that taught “revisionist history” about slavery in the United States. Florida’s board of education approved new guidelines this week with “benchmark clarifications,” including one for middle school students that states “instruction includes how…

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California grid operator urges power conservation as temperatures soar

(Corrects to removes reference to ‘flex’ alert in first paragraph) (Reuters) – The California power grid operator issued an emergency alert from 1930 until 2200 hours on Thursday, urging customers to conserve electricity anticipating high loads and temperatures. Current demand stood at 41,100 megawatts, versus available capacity at 45,170 MW, the California ISO said. (Reporting…

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