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CNN —New York City’s Broadway theaters plan to dim the lights on Saturday evening in tribute to the late actress Angela Lansbury, who died this week. The Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights for one minute at 7:45 p.m. in her honor, the Broadway League said in a statement. Not yet 20 years old, Lansbury garnered her first Oscar nomination for her movie debut in “Gaslight” in 1944. She also accepted an honorary Oscar in 2013 and amassed 11 Emmy nominations for her role as Jessica Fletcher in “Murder, She Wrote,” but never won. She also hosted or co-hosted the Tony Awards five times, more than any other individual.

☆ U.S. fines 16 Wall Street firms $1.8 bln for talking deals, trades on personal apps
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Michelle Price | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sept 27 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Tuesday fined 16 financial firms, including Barclays (BARC.L), Bank of America , Citigroup , Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), Goldman Sachs , Morgan Stanley and UBS (UBSG.S), a combined $1.8 billion after staff discussed deals and trades on their personal devices and apps. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe institutions did not preserve the majority of those personal chats, violating federal rules which require broker-dealers and other financial institutions to preserve business communications. The failings occurred across all 16 firms and involved employees at multiple levels, including senior and junior investment bankers and traders, the SEC said. In one example cited by her office, Bank of America staff used WhatsApp, with one trader writing: "We use WhatsApp all the time but we delete convos regularly." The head of a trading desk routinely directed traders to delete messages on personal devices and to use Signal, including during the CFTC's probe.

☆ U.S. fines 16 Wall Street firms $1.1 billion over record-keeping failures
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday fined 16 financial firms, including Barclays (BARC.L), Bank of America , Citigroup , Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), Goldman Sachs , Morgan Stanley and UBS, a combined $1.1 billion over failing to maintain and preserve electronic communications. The sweeping industry probe, which was first reported by Reuters last year and had since been disclosed by multiple lenders, is a landmark case for the agency, regulatory experts said. "The firms admitted the facts...acknowledged that their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws... and have begun implementing improvements to their compliance policies and procedures to settle these matters," the SEC said. That likely impeded the SEC's ability to gather evidence in other, unrelated investigations, the agency said. The failings occurred across all 16 firms and involved employees at multiple levels of authority, including supervisors and senior executives, the SEC said.

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's executive actions cancelling some student loan debt will cost about $400 billion, about a quarter of funds owed, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said on Monday. As of June 30, 43 million borrowers held $1.6 trillion in federal student loans. The U.S. government in March 2020 temporarily suspended interest and payments on federal student loans at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extension of that pause from September through Dec. 31 will increase outstanding student loan costs by a further $20 billion, CBO said. After accounting for those suspensions, CBO estimates that the cost of student loans will increase by about an additional $400 billion.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationBOSTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Biogen Inc (BIIB.O) has finalized a $900 million settlement resolving a whistleblower lawsuit accusing the biotech company of paying doctors kickbacks to prescribe multiple sclerosis drugs, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday. The settlement resolves a long-running whistleblower lawsuit in Boston federal court that a former employee pursued on the government's behalf. Biogen in July disclosed it reached a potential settlement, which was subject to government approval. As a reward, Bawduniak will receive $250 million of the federal government's $843.8 million share of the settlement. Another $56.2 million will be paid to 15 states, the Justice Department said.

The appeals court also said it would agree to reverse a portion of the lower court's order that required the government to hand over records with classification markings for the special master's review. A Justice Department spokesperson did not have an immediate comment. Cannon, a Trump appointee herself, appointed Dearie to serve as special master in the case at Trump's request, despite the Justice Department's objections about a special master. While it voiced disagreement, however, the Justice Department did not appeal that portion of Cannon's order. It is not clear if prosecutors may separately seek to appeal other parts of Cannon's ruling on the special master appointment.

REUTERS/Gaelen Morse/File PhotoSept 20 (Reuters) - My Pillow Inc's chief executive, Mike Lindell, an ally of former President Donald Trump, sued the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday seeking the return of his cellphone, which FBI agents seized last week. In addition to the return of his phone, Lindell wants to stop the Justice Department from accessing any data collected from the device, the filing showed. The FBI and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment late on Tuesday. Lindell told the media last week that FBI agents had asked him about Tina Peters, a Mesa County, Colorado clerk. "Not only do I run five businesses off of it, I don't use a laptop, I don't use a computer, everything was on that phone," Lindell said.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterFILE PHOTO - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas arrives with his wife, Ginni Thomas, for a State Dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the White House in Washington, U.S. September 20, 2019. REUTERS/Erin ScottSept 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. congressional panel probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol reached an agreement to interview Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in the coming weeks, her lawyer told Reuters on Wednesday. The Washington Post has previously reported the committee obtained emails between Ginni Thomas and attorney John Eastman, who advised Donald Trump that then-Vice President Mike Pence could thwart formal congressional certification of Trump's 2020 election loss. "I can confirm that Ginni Thomas has agreed to participate in a voluntary interview with the Committee," Mark Paoletta, an attorney for Thomas, said in an email, confirming an earlier CNN report. A lawyer for Thomas has said previously Thomas had no role in the Jan. 6 attack and never discussed election litigation strategy with Eastman.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment Conference in New York, U.S., September 21, 2022. REUTERS/Leah MillisUNITED NATIONS/NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria on Wednesday reached $14.25 billion pledged as world leaders seek to fight the killer diseases after progress was knocked off course by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Global Fund said the $14.25 billion figure is likely to increase as more donations are expected. We will end AIDS, we will end tuberculosis, we will end malaria – once and for all," she said. Nigeria pledged $13.2 million, the Netherlands pledged 180 million euros and Indonesia pledged $15.5 million, alongside private sector pledges.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not have an immediate comment. Cannon, a Trump appointee herself, appointed Dearie to serve as special master in the case at Trump's request. The Justice Department had objected to the appointment of a special master. As one of his defenses, Trump has claimed on social media posts without evidence that he declassified the records. While it voiced disagreement, however, the Justice Department did not appeal that portion of Cannon's order.

☆ Biden to nominate career diplomat Tracy as ambassador to Russia, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWASHINGTON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will nominate career diplomat Lynne Tracy, currently the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, as ambassador to Russia, the White House said on Tuesday. The post in Russia has been vacant since Sept. 4, when envoy John Sullivan concluded his tenure there amid soaring bilateral tensions due to Moscow's war in Ukraine. Tracy was deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow from 2014 to 2017. Before being sworn in as ambassador to Yerevan in 2019, she served as senior adviser for Russia affairs in the State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Kanishka Singh and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

An American flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington, U.S., December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Monday laid out the list of topics prosecutors hope to discuss at a Tuesday hearing in Brooklyn, New York, before Judge Raymond Dearie, who was appointed last week as special master to review all of the records the FBI seized from former President Donald Trump's Florida estate. The proposed agenda is mostly logistical in nature, including a recommendation to hire a third-party vendor to scan documents. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sarah N. Lynch, Eric Beech; Editing by Caitlin WebberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pelosi says U.S. House will pass Inflation Reduction Act on Friday
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday the House of Representatives would pass the Inflation Reduction Act on Friday. In a letter to Democratic colleagues, Pelosi called the $430 billion climate, tax and healthcare bill approved by the Senate over the weekend "life-changing legislation." Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Chris GallagherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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