Senate confirms ACLU lawyer to NY federal court after GOP backlash

By Andrew Goudsward (Reuters) – A voting rights lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday overcame fierce Republican opposition to secure U.S. Senate confirmation as a judge on the Manhattan federal district court. Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, was confirmed on a nearly party-line 50-49 vote. Sen. Joe Manchin…

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Ahead of Modi visit, journalists’ group urges US to press India on media crackdown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday called on the U.S. government to urge India to end a media crackdown and release six detained journalists. A statement from CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg ahead of a state visit to Washington next week by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said there had been an…

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Alex Jones could face two more defamation trials over school shooting lies

By Dietrich Knauth (Reuters) – Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones could face two more defamation trials in 2023, under an agreement meant to put a price on lies that Jones told about school shootings in the U.S. Jones’ attorneys previewed the agreement at a Wednesday court hearing in Houston, telling U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez…

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‘Stop killing us’: Polish women protest against strict anti-abortion law

By Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska WARSAW (Reuters) – Abortion rights supporters marched through several cities in Poland on Wednesday after the death of a pregnant woman whose family believe she could have survived if she had been offered a termination. Protesters chanted “stop killing us” as they marched through the capital Warsaw towards the health ministry headquarters,…

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Miami Mayor Suarez launches long-shot bid for 2024 Republican nomination

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Francis X. Suarez, the mayor of Miami who has overseen a tech-driven economic boom in the city, became the latest Republican to join the burgeoning ranks of presidential aspirants, according to a Federal Election Commission filing on Wednesday. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm authenticity of the FEC filing. Suarez, 45, a…

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Canada freezes deportation of Indian students who used fraudulent university letters

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will freeze the planned deportation of dozens of students who entered the country using fraudulent university letters of acceptance, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said on Wednesday. Fraser spoke after the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported in March that several students from India had been served deportation papers for using forged documents to…

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Stocks rise, dollar pares losses after Fed signals more hikes ahead

By Sinéad Carew (Reuters) – MSCI’s global equity index closed slightly higher on Wednesday after a volatile afternoon while the dollar cut its losses after the U.S. Federal Reserve paused interest rate hikes as was widely expected but signalled that it could raise rates by another half percentage point by year-end. The central bank issued…

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