By Andrew Chung (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday left in place a Democratic-backed ban on assault-style rifles and large capacity magazines enacted in Illinois after a deadly mass shooting in Chicago’s Highland Park suburb in 2022, handing a setback to gun rights advocates. The court denied a request by the National Association for…
CANNES (Reuters) – Johnny Depp pushed back at suggestions he was making a comeback with the Cannes Film Festival’s opening movie “Jeanne du Barry” following a high-profile defamation trial a year ago, though he admitted people had “stopped calling” at the time. “I keep wondering about the word comeback, because I didn’t go anywhere,” Depp…
By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – The writers’ group PEN America, authors and parents on Wednesday sued a Florida school district over its book bans, alleging educators violated the First Amendment right to free speech and their own policies in removing titles from school libraries. The Escambia County School District and School Board have targeted books…
By Nerijus Adomaitis OSLO (Reuters) – A former commander of Russia’s Wagner group who sought asylum in Norway after crossing the Russian-Norwegian border in January said on Wednesday he wanted to return to Russia even though he believed this could pose a risk to his life. Andrei Medvedev, who has previously spoken about his time…
By Humeyra Pamuk and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department on Wednesday said two top members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee can view a redacted version of a classified cable about the chaotic August 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan sought by the committee’s Republican chairperson. The chairperson, Representative Michael McCaul, scheduled a…
By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose sharply on Wednesday, fueled by optimism over a potential deal on the $31.4 trillion federal debt ceiling and as a rebound in regional bank shares eased concerns about an escalation in the sector’s troubles. President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on…
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An Earth-sized planet orbiting a dim star in our galactic neighborhood is offering some of the best evidence to date of volcanism beyond our solar system, with observations suggesting a rugged and rocky world tormented by constant eruptions. Scientists said on Wednesday the planet, the third detected orbiting this…
By Pavel Polityuk and Olena Harmash KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s military said it had made new advances on Wednesday in heavy fighting near the eastern city of Bakhmut, and that Russia was continuing to send in new units including paratroopers. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned sustained Russian shelling in several regions, saying in a video address…
By Dave Sherwood and Nelson Acosta HAVANA (Reuters) – Russian and Cuban officials and business leaders on Wednesday announced new perks to entice Russian investors into the Cuban market, the latest sign of fast-growing economic ties between the two long-time political allies. Boris Titov, head of the Russian delegation of the Cuban-Russian Business Committee, told…
By Akash Sriram and Hyunjoo Jin (Reuters) – With Elon Musk outlining plans for Tesla Inc to use traditional advertising for the first time, viewers might see the electric-vehicle maker’s Model Y crossover or upcoming Cybertruck pickup – maybe even the billionaire CEO himself – on TV or online. Musk revealed those plans on Tuesday…
