By Brad Brooks (Reuters) – A New Mexico state judge denied a prosecutor’s request on Wednesday that the armorer for the movie “Rust” submit to random drug testing. During Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s court appearance on the felonies she faces, First Judicial District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said prosecutors had not presented any evidence that would…
By Sarah N. Lynch and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. federal public defenders system could need to cut as many as 500 from its staff charged with protecting the rights of poor criminal defendants, because of a budgeting error by Congress that could leave it with a 3% to 5% shortfall, officials said….
By Stephanie Kelly NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, as investors took profits following earlier gains on tighter U.S. crude supplies and China’s pledge to reinvigorate its economic growth. Brent futures dipped 17 cents at $79.46 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 40 cents at $75.35 a barrel. Prices…
(Reuters) -Juul Labs said on Wednesday it was seeking U.S. authorization for a new e-cigarette that has age-verification capabilities and prevents the use of unauthorized refill cartridges.The vaporizer, which has a unique Pod ID chip to prevent the use of counterfeit cartridges and an app to restrict underage access, is already on sale in Britain…
By Saeed Azhar and Niket Nishant NEW YORK (Reuters) -Goldman Sachs’ profit dropped 60% in the second quarter, missing estimates, as writedowns on the investment bank’s consumer businesses and real estate investments weighed on earnings. But shares rose almost 2% as CEO David Solomon cited signs of a recovery in investment banking. The results were…
By Rachna Uppal and Yousef Saba ABU DHABI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates and Turkey inked on Wednesday several deals estimated to be worth $50.7 billion during a visit by President Tayyip Erdogan to Abu Dhabi as he toured wealthy Gulf Arab nations for investment and funds. Erdogan and UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed…
By Max Hunder and Olena Harmash KYIV (Reuters) – Russia warned that from Thursday any ships sailing to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports would be seen as potentially carrying military cargoes, as Kyiv accused Moscow of carrying out “hellish” overnight strikes that damaged grain export infrastructure. Russia attacked the Odesa region for the second consecutive night…
By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – A group of Democratic U.S. state attorneys general on Wednesday pushed back against claims by some of their Republican counterparts that many corporate workforce diversity programs amount to illegal discrimination. In a call with reporters, the attorneys general (AGs) of New York, Illinois, Nevada and four other states said 13…
By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England should speed up the pace at which it is unwinding its 800 billion-pound ($1 trillion) stockpile of government bonds bought as part of its quantitative easing operations, Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said on Wednesday. Last September the BoE said it would reduce its gilt holdings…
By Marianna Parraga HOUSTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday renewed a license that protects Venezuela-owned refiner Citgo Petroleum from creditors seeking to seize the company’s assets to recoup claims against the country’s state oil firm. The renewal would allow the supervisory board that oversees Citgo to continue efforts to reach settlements with nearly…
