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☆ Dianne Feinstein suffered more complications from illness than publicly disclosed, New York Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Dianne Feinstein, who returned to Washington in May after a months-long absence due to shingles, suffered more complications from the illness than were publicly disclosed, the New York Times reported on Thursday. The shingles caused a rare complication known as encephalitis, inflammation of the brain, the New York Times said, citing two people familiar with the senator's diagnosis. Feinstein on Thursday said she did not have encephalitis, saying it "really has never been diagnosed", according to CNN. I continue to work and get results for California." Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US Senator Feinstein still suffering complications from shingles, her office says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Costas Pitas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Dianne Feinstein, who returned to Washington last week after a months-long absence due to shingles, is continuing to suffer from a medical complication known as Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a spokesperson said on Thursday. Feinstein had also previously suffered encephalitis, her office said, after the New York Times reported on medical conditions that had not been publicly disclosed. Ramsay Hunt Syndrome affects the facial nerve and can cause partial facial paralysis or weakness. First elected to the Senate in 1992, Feinstein had been sidelined since February as she recovered from shingles. "I'm back in Washington, voting and attending committee meetings while I recover from complications related to a shingles diagnosis," Feinstein said in a statement provided earlier on Thursday to the New York Times.

☆ Blinken to visit Papua New Guinea and sign defense, maritime agreements
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea on May 21-22, sign bilateral defense and maritime security agreements and meet with Pacific Islands Forum leaders, the State Department said on Thursday, after President Joe Biden pulled out of a planned visit. An unfolding crisis over the U.S. debt ceiling prompted Biden on Tuesday to postpone a trip to Papua New Guinea. The U.S. is trying to counterbalance China's rising influence in the Indo-Pacific region and the Biden visit was seen as part of that effort. Blinken "plans to discuss a range of issues with Pacific Islands leaders, including shared priorities such as tackling the climate crisis (and) advancing inclusive economic growth for the people of the Pacific Islands...," the State Department said. Reporting by Eric Beech; writing by Costas PitasOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US opens embassy in Tonga in new pushback against China in Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The United States has opened a new embassy in Tonga, the State Department said on Tuesday, part of efforts to step up the U.S. diplomatic presence in the Pacific region to counter China. The United States "officially opened the U.S. Embassy in Nuku'alofa on May 9, 2023," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. Miller said the embassy would allow Washington to deploy additional diplomatic personnel and resources, including the potential appointment of a resident ambassador to Tonga, with which the United States has had diplomatic relations since 1972. Despite the diplomatic push, the Solomon Islands announced in March it had awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara. The United States and regional allies Australia and New Zealand have had concerns that China has ambitions to build a naval base in the region since the Solomon Islands struck a security pact with Beijing last year.

☆ The ‘Bad Boy’ of Shipping Cashes In on Russian Oil
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Joe Wallace | Costas Paris | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Most Western shipping companies stopped moving Russian oil after the U.S. and allies sanctioned Moscow’s prize export. In Greece, home to one of the world’s biggest merchant fleets, tanker owners are doubling down. At the front of the pack is George Economou , a 70-year-old shipping tycoon with a taste for art by Francis Bacon, minimalist superyachts and ventures some rivals say they wouldn’t dare attempt.

☆ Maersk Earnings Weighed Down by Sharp Drop in Freight Rates and Volumes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Costas Paris | Dominic Chopping | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The container ship Maersk Batam is loaded in the Port of Southampton, on the south coast of England. Photo: adrian dennis/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesA.P. Moller-Maersk on Thursday posted a sharp drop in first-quarter net profit as inventory corrections in Western economies sent shipping demand falling, pushing freight rates and volumes lower. The Danish shipping giant said it expects the destocking effort, the result of an enormous inventory buildup last year that left retailers swamped with goods, to wind down by the end of the second quarter but that trade volumes are still contracting.

☆ Biden expected to nominate Jefferson as next Federal Reserve vice chair -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to nominate Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson as the next vice chair, two sources familiar with the matter said on WednesdayIn addition, economist Adrian Kugler is expected to be nominated to an open Fed board seat, with an announcement anticipated in coming days, the sources said. Reporting by Costas Pitas; writing by Jasper Ward; editing by Dan WhitcombOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran Seizes Second Oil Tanker in a Week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Dion Nissenbaum | Costas Paris | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Iranian naval boats swarmed the Niovi after it left Dubai early Wednesday morning. Photo: HANDOUT FROM U.S.NAVAL FORCES CENTRAL COMMAND/VIA REUTERSIranian forces seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker on Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Navy said, marking the second time in less than a week that Iran has captured a commercial ship in the region. A dozen small Iranian naval boats swarmed the 360-yard-long Niovi after it left Dubai en route to the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah early Wednesday morning, the navy said. The Iranian boats forced the Niovi to reverse course and head toward Iran’s coast.

[1/3] Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Martin Gruenberg testify at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the response to the recent bank failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueMay 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee said on Tuesday it would hear from former top officials at the failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, as well as top U.S. banking regulators at separate hearings later this month. Gregory Becker, the former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, and Scott Shay and Eric Howell, former senior executives for Signature Bank, will appear on May 16. On Monday, regulators closed a third firm, First Republic, which then was sold to JP Morgan Chase. The panel will also hear from top regulators for the states of New York and California, which helped oversee the two failed firms.

The last few years have been hard in our marriage, and he sometimes says he's considering a no-fault divorce. But if you live in a community property state, your husband will be entitled to half. Is your state a fault or no-fault state? You mentioned in your letter that your husband has specifically threatened a "no-fault" divorce, but according to Costas, it isn't up to him. If you live in a no-fault state, outside of criminal factors, it won't matter whether one partner cheated or left.

WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence appeared before a grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump's role in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Pence was inside U.S. District Court in Washington for more than seven hours, ABC News and NBC News reported earlier. The former vice president's appearance before the grand jury comes as he is exploring a possible challenge to Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence addresses the National Review Institute's 2023 Ideas Summit in Washington, U.S., March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueOn Wednesday, Trump lost an appeal to block Pence from testifying in the special counsel probe, according to CNN.

☆ Iran Seizes U.S.-Bound Oil Tanker
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Costas Paris | Aresu Eqbali | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The oil tanker Advantage Sweet in Turkey earlier this year. Photo: YORUK ISIK/REUTERSIran’s naval forces on Thursday seized an oil tanker bound for Texas in the Gulf of Oman, a move that drew condemnation from the U.S. military at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seized the tanker, Advantage Sweet, while it moved through international waters at 1:15 p.m. local time, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is tasked with monitoring maritime activity in the area, is monitoring the situation, according to U.S. naval forces.

The Justice Department said the law violated the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment, which promises equal protection. The Justice Department also said it was asking the court to issue an immediate order to prevent the law from going into effect on July 1. But many medical associations have said the law is transphobic and that gender-affirming care can be life-saving. Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the ban into law last month along with a separate measure restricting drag performances in public. Several other U.S. states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, and over the last several weeks groups have sued over laws adopted in Utah, Florida, Indiana and Arkansas.

☆ Russian Shipbuilders Are Running Out of Parts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Costas Paris | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Russian shipbuilding sector is facing its biggest challenge since the collapse of the Soviet Union, some executives say. Photo: Peter Kovalev/Zuma PressRussian shipbuilding behemoth United Shipbuilding Corp. is running out of key engine parts, delaying or halting the production of tankers and ocean vessels the country needs to move its oil and cargo. Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. and Europe slapped Russia with sanctions and export controls that have disrupted the flow of engine parts, propellers and fuel pumps.

[1/2] Former U.S. President Donald Trump departs from Trump Tower to give a deposition to New York Attorney General Letitia James who sued Trump and his Trump Organization, in New York City, U.S., April 13, 2023. Former Manhattan prosecutor Mark Pomerantz will testify May 12, a spokesperson for the chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee said. The committee subpoenaed him in connection with the probe that led to Trump becoming the first ex-president to be criminally charged. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, sued Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the committee, to block the subpoena. Trump, the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential nominating campaign, pleaded not guilty on April 4 to 34 felony charges.

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - At a summit next week with South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol U.S. President Joe Biden will pledge "substantial" steps to underscore the U.S. commitment to deter a North Korean nuclear attack on South Korea, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. In a poll released on April 6 by the Asian Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, 64.3% of South Koreans supported developing nuclear weapons with 33.3% opposed. The survey showed 52.9% of South Koreans were confident the United States would use nuclear weapons to defend South Korea in the event of a nuclear attack by North Korea. A second official said the United States welcomed the role South Korea had played in supporting Ukraine and would "welcome additional steps (It) might be willing to take." Biden will also commend huge South Korean tech investment in the United States since he took office, which was now approaching $100 million, the official said.

☆ Biden to meet Philippine President at White House on May 1
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech as part of a joint press statement with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, at Malacanang Palace, in Manila, Philippines, April 17, 2023. Ezra Acayan/Pool via REUTERSSummary Treaty allies to reaffirm partnership - Philippines presidential officeTwo leaders to discuss economic cooperation - White HouseMarcos' second trip to U.S. since SeptemberApril 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will meet his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr at the White House on May 1 to discuss deepening economic cooperation and the Indo-Pacific region, Manila and Washington said on Friday. The two leaders will also discuss further economic cooperation, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. "During the visit, President Biden will reaffirm the United States' ironclad commitment to the defense of the Philippines, and the leaders will discuss efforts to strengthen the longstanding U.S.-Philippines alliance," the statement said. Reporting by Eric Beech in Washington and Costas Pitas in Los AngelesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Colombian President Gustavo Petro in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueApril 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden praised Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Thursday for his country's treatment of refugees from Venezuela and for his commitment to democracy and human rights. "As we begin the next century of our partnership, I believe we can do even more" to deepen and develop cooperation, Biden told Petro during Thursday's meeting. Biden thanked Petro for the hospitality and support that Colombia was showing to Venezuelan refugees. REGIONAL PARTNERS"We're working closely with regional partners to help Colombia meet this challenge," Biden said.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social profile shortly after arriving in New York from Florida on Monday, urging supporters to donate to his campaign. The arraignment, where Trump will be in court to hear charges and have a chance to enter a plea, was planned for 2:15 p.m. (1815 GMT) on Tuesday. Citing a single source briefed on Tuesday's arraignment procedures, Yahoo said none of the charges against Trump were misdemeanors. PROTESTS AND POPULARITYPolice over the weekend began erecting barricades near Trump Tower - where Trump arrived on Monday after flying in from Florida - and the Manhattan Criminal Court building, with demonstrations expected at both sites on Tuesday. On the Manhattan case, Trump in 2018 initially disputed knowing anything about the payment to Daniels.

☆ Factbox: Details from New York prosecutor's Trump hush-money indictment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Daniels said she and Trump had a sexual encounter in 2006, the year after he married Melania Knauss, his third wife. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal campaign-finance charges related to the payments and said he acted at Trump's direction. Pecker made the payment after discussing it with Cohen and Trump, according to the charges, with the understanding that Trump would pay him back. Trump and Cohen discussed repayment in a conversation captured in an audio recording in September 2016 and made plans to do so. Around that time, Pecker connected Cohen with a lawyer for Daniels, who said she had an affair with Trump as well.

'LET THE PROCESS PROCEED'Shortly after the news of his indictment broke, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. As news of Trump's indictment flashed across a news ticker on a Times Square skyscraper on Thursday evening, New York City resident Elizabeth Blaise welcomed the news. Trump lawyer Susan Necheles confirmed the Tuesday surrender date and said she did not expect charges to be unsealed until that day. "Do you really think that they're going to take President Trump out of the running for president because of some old horse-face story? The Manhattan District Attorney's office successfully prosecuted Trump's business on tax-fraud charges last year, leading to a $1.61 million criminal penalty.

The specific charges against Trump are not yet known as the indictment remains under seal, but CNN on Thursday reported Trump faced more than 30 counts related to business fraud. "This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. Shortly after, Trump appealed to supporters to provide money for a legal defense. The Manhattan charges will likely be unsealed by a judge in the coming days and Trump will have to travel there for fingerprinting and other processing at that point. Trump could use the case to stoke anger among his core supporters, though other Republican voters might tire of the drama.

☆ Trump faces at least one felony charge in New York indictment -AP
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

March 31 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump is facing at least one felony charge in the indictment involving a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, the Associated Press reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BNSF Cargo Train Hauling Ethanol Derails in Minnesota
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Costas Paris | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A freight train hauling ethanol, a highly flammable and toxic chemical, derailed in Minnesota early Thursday, sparking a fire and prompting residents to evacuate the area. The derailment occurred in Raymond, a town roughly 100 miles west of Minneapolis, and there were no injuries reported, according to an official at the Raymond fire department. Residents within a half-mile of the accident were asked to evacuate.

☆ Biden on Friday to visit Mississippi town devastated by tornado
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Rolling Fork, Mississippi, on Friday after the town was devastated by a tornado last week that killed 26 people, the White House said. The Bidens will meet with first responders, state and local officials and people impacted by the recent storms, and survey recovery efforts, the White House said in a statement. The powerful tornado ripped through the town of 1,900 on Friday night, destroying many of the community's 400 homes. On Saturday, Biden ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the affected areas. Reporting by Eric Beech; editing by Costas Pitas and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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