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GM said adjusted pre-tax profit and margins in its key North American market fell from the first quarter, despite a jump in revenue and per-vehicle transaction prices. GM said it now expects full-year net income of $9.3 billion to $10.7 billion, up from a previous forecast of $8.4 billion to $9.9 billion. GM's pre-tax profit margin for the first six months of the year fell to 8.3% of revenue, down from 8.9% a year ago. Barra said GM can cut capital spending by simplifying its product line, reducing the number of different combinations of colors and features offered. In the first half, GM built about 50,000 EVs, most of them the older Bolt model, which is priced from $27,495.

Persons: Mary Barra, Chevrolet Bolt, Sam Fiorani, Barra, Paul Jacobson, GM's, Jacobson, Tesla, Elon Musk's, We're, Garrett Nelson, Joseph White, Paul Lienert, Ben Klayman, Matthew Lewis, Louise Heavens, Nick Zieminski Organizations: DETROIT, General Motors, GM, Chevrolet, AutoForecast Solutions, LG Electronics, LG Energy, United Auto Workers, Thomson Locations: Lordstown , Ohio, North America, Barra, Detroit

☆ Adobe's Figma deal faces full-scale EU antitrust probe, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 24 (Reuters) - Adobe's (ADBE.O) $20 billion bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma will face a full-scale EU antitrust investigation following EU regulators' preliminary review, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The move underscores antitrust watchdogs' wariness of tech deals where bigger companies may acquire rival start-ups to shut them down. The European Commission earlier this year warned of the threat the deal poses to competition in the market for interactive product design and whiteboarding software. The EU competition enforcer, which is scheduled to finish its initial scrutiny by Aug. 7, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Figma's Web-based collaborative platform for designs and brainstorming is hugely popular among tech firms including Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O), Airbnb (ABNB.O) and Coinbase (COIN.O).

Persons: Foo Yun Chee, Matthew Lewis Organizations: European, EU, Adobe, Zoom Video Communications, Thomson Locations: Brussels

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed about 2% to a near three-month high on Monday on tightening supply, rising U.S. gasoline demand, hopes for Chinese stimulus measures and technical buying. The 200-day moving average had been a key point of technical resistance for both benchmarks since August 2022. Strong demand and worries about supply issues boosted U.S. gasoline futures to their highest level since October 2022. Higher interest rates increase borrowing costs and can slow economic growth and reduce oil demand. Analysts at Deutsche Bank said demand for oil in China "is now surpassing expectations," which "helps to add confidence in the ability of China to make up (two-thirds) of oil demand growth this year."

Persons: Brent, Bob Yawger, isn’t, Edward Moya, Jerome Powell, Christine Lagarde, Scott Disavino, Noah Browning, Florence Tan, Emily Chow, Susan Fenton, Matthew Lewis Organizations: YORK, U.S, West Texas, WTI, Mizuho Bank, Organization of, Petroleum, Citi Research, Fed, European Central Bank, ECB, Reuters, Deutsche Bank, Thomson Locations: Brent, Russia, OPEC, Europe, U.S, China, New York, London, Singapore

Although those factors caused Chicago corn and wheat futures to surge, speculators have held on to their bearish views thus far. In the week ended July 18, money managers reduced their net short position in CBOT corn futures and options to 46,926 contracts from 63,052 a week earlier. Managed money net position in CBOT corn futures and optionsCBOT December corn futures rallied 6.6% through Tuesday, July 18, though the week included a drop to new yearly lows after the Department of Agriculture expanded the U.S. corn crop outlook. Money managers’ net short in CBOT wheat futures and options has barely changed in the latest three weeks despite a 4% decline in most-active futures during the stretch. Money managers increased their net long in CBOT soybean futures and options to a three-week high of 95,814 contracts through July 18 from 82,748 a week earlier.

Persons: Soymeal, Karen Braun, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S, Department of Agriculture, Wednesday, Traders, Reuters, Thomson Locations: NAPERVILLE , Illinois, Ukraine, Chicago, U.S, soyoil

☆ Lebanon's Hezbollah sees Israel on path of 'collapse'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIRUT, July 24 (Reuters) - The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said on Monday its arch-foe Israel was on a "path of collapse and fragmentation," referring to divisions in Israeli society over a contested overhaul of its judiciary. "Today, in particular, is the worst day in the history of the entity, as some of its people say," Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech, referring to Israel. "This is what puts it on the path of collapse, fragmentation, and disappearance, God willing," he added. Shi'ite Hezbollah has fought numerous conflicts with Israel since being established by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982. Reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut Writing by Tom Perry Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Netanyahu, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Monday, Iran's, Guards, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Iran, Lebanese, Israel, Beirut

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - Electric-vehicle charger operator EVCS is looking to raise $125 million, according to a document seen by Reuters, as it races to expand its network of fast chargers eightfold by 2025 and capitalize on the U.S. government's push to boost EV adoption. EVCS, which operates its own network of fast chargers as well as stations for clients such as Hertz and Hilton, plans to increase its network to 2,100 fast chargers by 2025 from 260 currently and focus on the U.S. states of California, Washington and Oregon, according to the document. A person familiar with the matter said a $125 million investment would represent a large minority stake in the business. Reuters was not immediately able to ascertain what valuation the company or its advisers had arrived at for the entire business. The deals between Tesla and rivals also could make it easier for operators to cater to virtually all EVs.

Persons: Tesla, EVCS, Biden, Isla Binnie, Abhirup Roy, Peter Henderson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: YORK, Reuters, BNP, Hertz, Hilton, Tesla, Volta, stoke, Thomson Locations: California, EVCS, Washington and Oregon, New York, Francisco

☆ Focus: Shifting trends in travel demand bedevil US airlines
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Rajesh Kumar Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But travel patterns are shifting so often, partly due to work-life changes wrought by the pandemic, that airlines must constantly adapt on booking plane seats and remain cautious in forecasting demand and revenue. American Airlines (AAL.O) Chief Financial Officer Devon May attributed the challenge to the difficulty in forecasting demand. Worries about future demand were a reason American Airlines' stock fell 6% on Thursday even after it raised its full-year earnings forecast. It was a risky bet as booking data from the previous quarter had shown customers were booking trips well in advance. Delta said Southern Europe's summer travel season is now longer than it used to be, prompting the airline to adjust its network.

Persons: Devon, We're, United, United's, Andrew Nocella, Henry Harteveldt, Harteveldt, Rahul Sen Sharma, Sharma, Ed Bastian, Delta, Glen Hauenstein, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Ben Klayman, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Consumers, American Airlines, Reuters, United Airlines, Atmosphere Research, Airlines, Air Lines, Thomson Locations: Southern, Chicago

The names of the U.S. senator, the state senator and the state judge targeted were not disclosed. The disclosure by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) followed a secret court order reauthorizing the use of Section 702 - the part of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows the FBI to scour the vast troves of intelligence data for information that might be useful for its own investigations. Despite the missteps, the FBI was praised by the judge involved for doing "a better job" at curbing surveillance abuses. That skepticism only deepened when an earlier court order - declassified in May - revealed that the FBI had improperly searched for the foreign intelligence database more than a quarter million times over several years. Last year, an alleged Iranian agent was charged with trying to arrange the assassination of former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Chris Wray, John Bolton, Raphael Satter, Matthew Lewis Organizations: FBI, U.S, National Intelligence, U.S . Foreign Intelligence, Federal Bureau of, National Security Agency, U.S . House, Microsoft, U.S . National Security, Thomson Locations: U.S, Taiwan, United States, Asia, Washington

☆ US plans water heater standards, says they will save consumers $11 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday proposed energy efficiency standards on water heaters it said would save consumers $11.4 billion on energy and water bills annually. The standards on residential water heater efficiency, which are required by Congress, have not been updated in 13 years. The proposal would require the most common-sized electric water heaters to achieve efficiency gains with heat pump technology and gas-fired water heaters to achieve efficiency gains through condensing technology. Tankless water heater maker Rinnai (5947.T), however, said the proposed standards for its products were "technologically impossible" and would reduce consumer choice. Former President Donald Trump, a Republican, complained about efficiency standards for shower heads, saying that they interfered with the rinsing of his hair.

Persons: Jennifer Granholm, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Timothy Gardner, Nichola Groom, Alison Williams, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Department of Energy, Congress, DOE, Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Democrat, Republican, Energy Department, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington, Angeles

☆ Gambia 'advanced' in exploring legal action over toxic Indian cough syrup
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Pap Saine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Logo of the Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. company is seen on a board outside their office in New Delhi, India, October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File PhotoCompanies Maiden Pharmaceutical Ltd FollowBANJUL, July 21 (Reuters) - Gambia's government is "far advanced" in exploring avenues for potential legal action against Indian drugmaker Maiden Pharmaceuticals and a local distributor over toxic cough syrups believed to have killed dozens of children, it said on Friday. The small West African country has hired a U.S. law firm to explore legal action, the justice minister previously told Reuters. The Indian drugmaker Maiden Pharmaceuticals has denied wrongdoing, and the Indian government says that tests it conducted on the drugs showed they were not contaminated. The World Health Organization said last year that the India-made cough syrups contained lethal toxins ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol – commonly used in car brake fluid and other products not fit for human consumption.

Persons: Anushree, syrups, Pap, Nellie Peyton, Louise Heavens, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd, REUTERS, Maiden Pharmaceutical, Indian, Pharmaceuticals, Medicines Control Agency, MCA, Reuters, Atlantic Pharmaceuticals, Government of, World Health Organization, World Bank, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, BANJUL, Gambia, Government of India, Banjul

The pace of new-crop U.S. corn and soybean export sales usually starts to increase in July and especially into August. That covers only 8% of USDA’s 2023-24 U.S. corn export forecast of 53.3 million tonnes (2.1 billion bushels), below the five-year average of 13%. New U.S. corn export sales, July 13New-crop soybean sales account for 10% of USDA’s 2023-24 export target of 50.35 million tonnes (1.85 billion bushels). New U.S. soybean export sales, July 13Both of those export outlooks, especially the one for corn, are considered too optimistic by some analysts since cheaper Brazilian supplies are seen increasingly eating in to U.S. export shares. China has purchased 1.87 million tonnes of new-crop U.S. soybeans, the lowest mid-July, non-trade-war-year volume in at least 16 years.

Persons: Karen Braun, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Department of Agriculture, USDA, Japan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: NAPERVILLE , Illinois, United States, U.S, China, New U.S, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, South Korea, Canada

July 21 (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. Harris, the first Black and Asian-American woman to serve as vice president, flew to Florida, a political swing state whose governor, Ron DeSantis, is running for the Republican presidential nomination, to deliver a blistering speech condemning the new guidelines. The board of education approved the new teaching guidelines for kindergarten through high school on Wednesday. Florida's education commissioner, Manny Diaz Jr., said during the board meeting in Orlando that the guidelines go in to the "tougher subjects" of slavery and racist violence, as appropriate by age. President Joe Biden, with Harris as his vice president, is running for re-election in 2024.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Harris, Ron DeSantis, Manny Diaz Jr, William Allen, Frances Presley Rice, DeSantis, Donald Trump, Walt Disney, Joe Biden, Jeff Mason, Brad Brooks, Steve Holland, Andrea Shalal, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Republican, Thomson Locations: Florida, United States, Orlando, Washington, Texas

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, July 21 (Reuters) - Top AI companies including OpenAI, Alphabet (GOOGL.O) and Meta Platforms (META.O) have made voluntary commitments to the White House to implement measures such as watermarking AI-generated content to help make the technology safer, the Biden administration said. Congress is considering a bill that would require political ads to disclose whether AI was used to create imagery or other content. President Joe Biden, who is hosting executives from the seven companies at the White House on Friday, is also working on developing an executive order and bipartisan legislation on AI technology. Other commitments include developing AI solutions to scientific problems like medical research and mitigating climate change. Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington and Krystal Hu in New York Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Biden, Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, Diane Bartz, Krystal Hu, Matthew Lewis Organizations: WASHINGTON, Microsoft, White, Thomson Locations: cybersecurity, U.S, Washington, New York

☆ Tony Bennett, legendary American singer, dies at age 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/10] Singer Tony Bennett performs during Sinatra 100 - An All-Star Grammy Concert in Las Vegas, Nevada December 2, 2015. The star-studded tribute was held to mark the would be 100th birthday of legendary performer Frank Sinatra on December 12. The comedian was so impressed that he had the singer change his name to Tony Bennett and used him as an opening act. In 2016 a statue of Bennett was unveiled outside San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel, where Bennett first performed the song some 55 years before. "Tony Bennett has not just bridged the generation gap, he has demolished it," the New York Times wrote in 1994.

Persons: Tony Bennett, Sinatra, Frank Sinatra, Steve Marcus, Bennett, Sylvia Weiner, Gaga, Beatle Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Bono, Bruce Willis, John Travolta, Danny, Bob Hope, Anthony Dominick Benedetto, Joe Bari, Hope, Hank Williams, Basie, Count Basie, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, George, Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Singer, Harry Belafonte, Martin Luther King Jr, Belafonte, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Sharon, Danny Bennett, Sharon, Lady Gaga, Susan Crow, Patricia Beech, Sandra Grant, Bill Trott, Brendan O'Brien, Diane Craft, Jonathan Oatis, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, MTV, Partners, New York's Radio City Music, Columbia Records, Count Basie Orchestra, Twitter, New York Times, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, San Francisco, New York City, New York, Europe, New, Greenwich, Selma , Alabama, Francisco, San, Chicago

☆ Trump, Biden campaigns spar over support of UAW workers, EV mandates
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Trump, the former Republican president seeking a return to office in 2024, said Democrat Biden was "waging war on the U.S. auto industry" through "crippling" electric vehicle mandates and urged the UAW to endorse him. Biden's campaign responded that Trump was "the most anti-union president in modern history, stacking his cabinet with anti-union officials." Trump said he advocated trade policies to help U.S. autoworkers during his presidency, including renegotiating trade deals. Biden's campaign said that he supported incentives that helped dramatically add more U.S. electric vehicle and battery production. Earlier this month the UAW called on the Biden administration to soften its proposed vehicle emissions rules.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Biden's, Shawn Fain, Fain, David Shepardson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: United Auto Workers, Republican, U.S, UAW, autoworkers, General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, Republicans, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington

4 House Republican Elise Stefanik and hardline Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene last month introduced a bill aimed at expunging Trump's historic two impeachments, from 2019 and 2021. It is a move, however, that could make more moderate House Republicans squirm. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, called the idea of an expungement vote "a disgrace." If such a measure were to pass, the historical record of those impeachments would remain, as would the Senate trials that were triggered by the House impeachments. In return for delaying that endorsement, according to Politico, McCarthy promised to work to pass the legislation.

Persons: Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Trump's, Jack Smith, Republican Elise Stefanik, Marjorie Taylor Greene, impeachments, Greene, Republicans squirm, Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Smith, Joe Biden, McCarthy, impeaching Trump, McCarthy's, Politico, Moira Warburton, Josephine Walker, Nathan Layne, Richard Cowan, Scott Malone, Will Dunham, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Republican, U.S . House, NBC, Politico, Trump, Democratic, Republicans, Democrat, Capitol, U.S . Constitution, White, Thomson Locations: U.S, Fulton County , Georgia, Ukraine, U.S ., Washington, Wilton , Connecticut

July 19 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk signalled on Wednesday that he would cut prices again on electric vehicles in "turbulent times", even as his all-out price war on automaker rivals squeezes the company's own margins. The large price cuts have pressured Tesla's automotive gross margin, a closely watched indicator in the industry, but Musk has said Tesla would sacrifice margin to drive volume growth. As an example, Tesla this year cut U.S. prices of its Model Y long-range version by a quarter to $50,490. In 2020, Musk unveiled a plan to produce Tesla's own EV batteries called "4680" cells. Tesla said production of the long-delayed electric pickup Cybertruck remained on track for initial deliveries this year.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Tesla, Thomas Martin, Akash Sriram, Hyunjoo Jin, Abhirup Roy, Peter Henderson, Joe White, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis, Sam Holmes Organizations: Globalt Investments, EV, Ford, General Motors, Reuters, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Texas, Bengaluru, Hyunjoo, San Francsico

☆ Billion-dollar US Powerball ticket sold in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Rachel Nostrant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 20 (Reuters) - A very lucky Powerball player in Southern California has won the multistate lottery's $1 billion jackpot prize, ending a streak of 38 consecutive drawings without a grand prize winner. It was just the third time the Powerball jackpot prize has reached $1 billion. The winning ticket holder has yet to come forward, the California Lottery said in a statement, but the ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market in Los Angeles. Thirty-six other tickets sold across the country won million-dollar prizes, while an additional three won $2 million prizes, according to the Powerball website. Now that a winning ticket has been drawn, the jackpot will be reset to $20 million.

Persons: Rachel Nostrant, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Wednesday, California Lottery, Las, Mega, Thomson Locations: Southern California, Los Angeles, New York

Shares of the Austin, Texas-based automaker rose 2% after briefly falling 2% in trading after the bell. Under pressure from increasing competition and an uncertain economy, Tesla has cut prices and increased discounts and other incentives to reduce inventory. Recently, a lack of new models has made it tougher for Tesla to take on rivals in China, where glitzier offerings from local players have weighed on demand. The company reported revenue in the April-June period of $24.93 billion, compared with estimates of $24.48 billion, according to Refinitiv data. Tesla's share price has more than doubled this year, helped by rival automakers backing Tesla's charging standard, as well as expanded federal credits for Model 3s and investor excitement over artificial intelligence.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, Akash Sriram, Hyunjoo Jin, Sayantani Ghosh, Shounak Dasgupta, Matthew Lewis Organizations: EV, Thomson Locations: Austin , Texas, China, United States, Bengaluru, Hyunjoo

☆ UAW president meets with Biden as union opens automaker contract talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - United Auto Workers (UAW) President Shawn Fain met on Wednesday with President Joe Biden at the White House as the union briefed staff on contract talks with the Detroit Three automakers, a White House official told Reuters. The UAW leadership had asked for time to brief White House senior staff on negotiations, the official said. Fain, who is on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers to discuss the labor talks, has not yet endorsed Biden for re-election and has criticized some administration EV policies. "We have expectations and that's why we haven't made endorsements yet," Fain said last week. Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington Editing by Leslie Adler and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Joe Biden, Biden, Fain, David Shepardson, Leslie Adler, Matthew Lewis Organizations: United Auto Workers, UAW, White, Detroit Three, Reuters, White House, Capitol, U.S . Energy Department, Ford, South Korea's SK, Thomson Locations: Washington

A negotiating team representing the South American country has held settlement talks with some of those creditors and holders of defaulted PDVSA bonds. The U.S. has shielded Houston-based Citgo from creditors since the company in 2019 severed ties with its ultimate parent, Venezuela's state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA.UL), which is controlled by President Nicolas Maduro. Horacio Medina, chief of the board that supervises Citgo, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. A sales process for Citgo shares that could begin as soon as September is under consideration by a U.S. judge in Delaware. Venezuela this month lost a separate appeal trying to block new creditors from attaching to the Delaware case.

Persons: Nicolas Maduro, Horacio Medina, Citgo, PDVSA's, PDVSA, Katherine Polk Failla, Marianna Parraga, Gary McWilliams, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Treasury Department, Treasury, Crystallex International, ConocoPhillips, Siemens Energy, Tree Investments, U.S, Huntington Ingalls Industries, ACL1 Investments, Rusoro, Koch Industries, New, Thomson Locations: Venezuela, Petroleum, U.S, Houston, Petroleos, Delaware, New York, Manhattan

Voters appear to be persuadable on some of those issues, the poll showed, while they are finding fault with Republicans for their efforts to restrict abortion. Both he and Trump supported the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year to end the nationwide right to abortion. Republicans were solidly against teaching gender issues in public schools, with 76% opposed, 20% in favor and the rest unsure. Independents were less decided, with 49% against teaching gender issues, 27% in support and 24% unsure. Seventy percent described teaching of gender issues in schools that way and 61% saw importance in the issue of transgender athletes in children's sports.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Biden, Jacob Rubashkin, DeSantis, Trump, Rubashkin, Jason Lange, James Oliphant, Scott Malone, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Democratic, Republican, Reuters, Republicans, Biden, Florida, Elections, Trump, Democratic National Committee, U.S, Thomson Locations: Washington, Florida, U.S .

☆ AT&T does not intend to immediately remove lead cables from Lake Tahoe
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoJuly 18 (Reuters) - AT&T (T.N) said on Tuesday it does not intend to immediately remove lead cables from Lake Tahoe pending further analysis, according to its court filing. AT&T on Tuesday harshly criticized the newspaper's reporting and testing, saying it "differs dramatically from the expert testing commissioned by AT&T." In Tuesday's court filing, AT&T argued that lead-clad cables "make up a small part" of its network. EDF's goal was to use scientifically sound principles to determine the extent that lead-clad cables may pose health risks. We did not pick the lab - the Wall Street Journal did that."

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Tom Neltner, Neltner, David Shepardson, Chris Reese, Matthew Lewis, Muralikumar Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Journal, AT, Wall, EPA, . Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Defense, Safer Chemicals, Reuters, EDF, Marine Taxonomic Services, Street, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Tahoe, California, Nevada, Washington

WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) - Leaders of the U.S. Senate said on Wednesday they expected a sweeping defense policy bill to pass the chamber with strong bipartisan support, which could mean a clash with a largely party-line bill approved by the House of Representatives. The House passed its NDAA on Friday by a narrow 219-210, after Republicans added culturally conservative amendments addressing hot-button social issues. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, a departure from typical bipartisan support for a bill that has passed every year since 1961. That would not win the approval of the Democratic-controlled Senate, where a majority of lawmakers, including some Republicans, support abortion rights. The contrast is glaring, and we hope, hope, hope, hope that the House takes a lesson from the Senate and works in a productive way so we can pass these important bills."

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Schumer, Joe Biden, Patricia Zengerle, Katharine Jackson, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . Senate, Representatives, Democratic, Republicans, Republican, Democrats, Senate, NATO, White House, Thomson Locations: Washington

☆ US adds Central American ex-presidents, judges, lawmakers to corruption list
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Raul Cortes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Two former Salvadoran presidents - Mauricio Funes, who served from 2009 to 2014, and his successor Salvador Sanchez, whom Washington links to corruption, money laundering and embezzlement of public funds - were added to the list. Guatemala's government meanwhile rejected the accusations on Wednesday, labeling the report "used by the United States to impose its jurisdiction on people abroad, as despicable." It includes ex-officials from the government of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was extradited to the United States over drug trafficking links. Politicians from Honduras' opposition Liberal Party also appear, including Liberal leader Yani Rosenthal, previously convicted of money laundering in the United States. The Nicaraguan section includes all of the country's parliamentary leaders, barring its president, who Washington has already sanctioned, and several judges and directors of Nicaragua's money laundering watchdog.

Persons: Mauricio Funes, Salvador Sanchez, Funes, Sanchez, Daniel Ortega, Brian Nichols, Fredy Orellana, Bernardo Arevalo, Engel, Juan Orlando Hernandez, Yani Rosenthal, Rosenthal, Washington, Raul Cortes, Sofia Menchu, Gustavo Palencia, Nelson Renteria, Sarah Morland, Matthew Lewis Organizations: U.S . State Department, Salvadoran, Western Hemisphere, Liberal Party, Liberal, Thomson Locations: El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Washington, United States, Mexico City, Sofia, Guatemala City, Tegucigalpa, Nelson, San Salvador

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