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Feb 24 (Reuters) - Twelve Democratic-led states have sued the federal government to challenge special restrictions on the distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone, saying those restrictions are not supported by evidence. The lawsuit, led by Washington and Oregon and filed Thursday in Washington federal court against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, comes as a separate lawsuit by anti-abortion activists seeks to end access to the drug altogether. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Prosecutors will cross examine Richard "Alex" Murdaugh for a second day on Friday, one day after the disbarred South Carolina attorney took the stand and denied any involvement in the murder of his wife and son but admitted to lying to investigators. Waters told the judge that he stil had some financial matters to go over before tackling the "other evidence". He said would likely need three to four hours to finish cross examination when court resumes on Friday at 9:30 a.m. Murdaugh, 54, testified that he lied because he was suffering from paranoia tied to a years-long addiction to opiods, and did not trust the police. Murdaugh, the scion of an influential South Carolina legal family, was indicted by a grand jury in July on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in connection with the shootings.

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to offer a defense of the abortion drug mifepristone in a meeting on Friday, according to a White House official, as some activist groups work to end U.S. sales of the pill. Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S. Supreme Court last year reversed its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which had guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, directed federal agencies to expand access to medication abortion in response to the decision, which has allowed more than a dozen Republican-led states to adopt new abortion bans. Mifepristone is approved for medication abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in combination with another drug, misoprostol. Medication abortion accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions.

Prosecutors presented sufficient evidence to proceed with their case against Anderson Lee Aldrich on all charges filed in the Nov. 19 shooting rampage at Club Q club in Colorado Springs, the El Paso County district judge ruled. Besides multiple counts of first-degree murder, Aldrich faces dozens of counts of attempted murder and assault, as well as hate-crimes charges alleging the attack was motivated by prejudice against victims' sexual or gender identities. Thursday's ruling capped a two-day preliminary hearing in which prosecutors outlined their case for trying Aldrich on all charges. A hand-sketched map of Club Q was also found in a search of the defendant's home, Gasper said. Two patrons with military training subdued Aldrich and held the suspect until police arrived, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

In a Thursday filing in Manhattan federal court, the U.S. Virgin Islands said JPMorgan's wrongful conduct continued at least until August 2019, when Epstein killed himself. The U.S. Virgin Islands called Dimon "a likely source of relevant and unique information" about decisions to retain Epstein as a client, and discussions on Epstein's referrals of prominent and wealthy potential clients. According to the filing, the business referral relationship continued after Epstein stopped being a client. The U.S. Virgin Islands is suing JPMorgan for unspecified damages, saying the bank should have known about its "high-risk" former client's misconduct on a private island he owned there. The case is Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BofA) (BAC.N) amassed $1.2 billion in expenses for litigation and regulatory investigations last year including fines and settlements, according to a company filing on Wednesday. BofA also paid $225 million in penalties to U.S. financial regulators last year over employees' use of unauthorized messaging platforms including WhatsApp. A pair of banking regulators also fined the bank $225 million over what they called a "botched" handling of jobless benefits during the pandemic. While those three cases led to just over $800 million in combined expenses last year, BofA did not specify what accounted for the remaining $400 million. Some other U.S. banks also received hefty penalties in 2022.

NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A new superseding indictment against FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried containing 12 charges was unsealed on Thursday in Manhattan federal court. Bankman-Fried was previously charged with eight counts of fraud, money laundering and other charges over the collapse of the now-bankrupt exchange. He has pleaded not guilty. Reporting by Luc Cohen and Jonathan Stempel in New York;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Strzok and Page factored prominently in Trump's contention that the FBI was politically biased against him. Page, who resigned her position as a senior FBI lawyer, sued over alleged privacy violations stemming from the leak of the messages. The Justice Department has argued that Strzok was fired for violating FBI policies and undermining trust in the bureau. Both Trump and Wray had resisted subpoenas to appear for depositions, arguing that Strzok had not cleared the high bar to depose senior government officials by showing that Trump and Wray had information relevant to the case. Representatives for Trump and the U.S. Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

[1/8] Carlos Watson, CEO of Ozy Media, departs U.S. Federal Court in Brooklyn after being arrested and charged with fraud in New York City, New York, U.S., February 23, 2023. REUTERS/David Dee DelgadoFeb 23 (Reuters) - Ozy Media and its CEO Carlos Watson have been criminally charged for scheming to defraud investors of tens of millions dollars by misrepresenting the company’s debts, financial performance and audience size, Brooklyn federal prosecutors said Thursday. Watson and Ozy Media are charged with securities fraud and wire fraud. Rao, who was initially charged under a pseudonym, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and identity theft. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission separately filed a civil case against Ozy, Watson and Rao on Thursday.

Feb 23 (Reuters) - A group of four conservative-leaning U.S. states is challenging a new rule from Wall Street's top regulator that requires certain investment funds to reveal more about how they vote on shareholder ballots, including on pay packages for top executives. The new rule, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted in November, will put shareholders at increased risk of loss, encouraging political activism and raising administrative costs, according to the office of Utah's attorney general. West Virginia, Texas and Louisiana also joined the lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday before the 5th U.S. Republican legislators and elected officials have voiced increasing opposition in recent years to what they view as progressive activism among large Wall Street investors and attempts to enable this through regulation. Reporting by Douglas Gillison in Washington Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Companies Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc FollowFeb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Justice Department lawyers say that Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) destroyed internal corporate communications and have asked a federal judge to sanction the company as part of the government's antitrust case over its search business. The DOJ's sanctions bid marks at least the second time in the case that the government has sought to punish Google. Last year, the DOJ alleged Google unfairly kept internal documents away from antitrust investigators, claiming they were protected by attorney-client privilege. The judge declined in April 2022 to sanction Google for conduct that occurred prior to the start of the litigation in 2020. The case is United States v. Google LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No.

"If that (further revelations from Kohrs) occurs, then the question will be, do they have to start the grand jury process from scratch? The special grand jury heard testimony behind closed doors including from Trump allies such as Republican U.S. Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney steering the investigation, must decide whether to bring the panel's charging recommendations to a regular grand jury. "There still has to be an independent assessment by the district attorney and a subsequent grand jury who hands up the indictment," Weinstein said. "Any grand jury in Fulton County is going to have a huge diversity of viewpoints, politics and backgrounds," Cooke said.

"I didn’t shoot my wife or my son anytime, ever," Murdaugh said from the stand. Murdaugh, the scion of an influential South Carolina legal family, was indicted by a grand jury in July on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in connection with the shootings. Murdaugh said he was suffering from paranoia tied to a drug addiction and did not trust the police. Murdaugh testified that he left the kennels after removing a chicken from the mouth of Bubba, one of their dogs. Rocking back and forth and with tears running down his face, Murdaugh said he returned to the kennels and found his wife and son motionless and disfigured.

[1/3] Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Florence Regional Airport in Florence, South Carolina, U.S., March 12, 2022. Trump said his post was "clearly about" and merely repeated his formal response to the first lawsuit, and was therefore covered by "absolute litigation privilege" under New York law, dooming the defamation claim. Carroll's lawsuit also includes a battery claim under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which lets sexual abuse victims sue their attackers even if statutes of limitations have run out. A Washington appeals court is deciding whether Trump should be immune from Carroll's first lawsuit, but not her second, because he was acting as president when he spoke. The case is Carroll v. Trump, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Kelly, 56, the Grammy-winning R&B artist, has been convicted in two separate trials of luring multiple underage girls into sex by leveraging his wealth and fame, in some case recording the abuse on video. Prosecutors have argued in a sentencing memo that Kelly is so incorrigible that "the only way to ensure Kelly does not reoffend is to impose a sentence that will keep him in prison for the rest of his life." Defense attorneys say a 56-year-old African American man with diabetes is already facing an effective life sentence with the existing 30-year term. "There was a whole culture around it and so yes I do think there's a disproportionate attention on Mr. Kelly," Bonjean said in a telephone interview. Kelly will not address the judge, Bonjean said, because he still faces prosecution in other jurisdictions and any statement could be used against him.

Feb 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is preparing an antitrust lawsuit to block software maker Adobe Inc's (ADBE.O) $20 billion bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Responding to the report, Adobe said it and Figma were in different product areas, with Figma focusing on interactive designs. The Justice Department declined comment. Adobe shares edged lower in trading post-market trading after the story came out. Adobe, which makes Photoshop, said in September it would buy Figma, with investors concerned about the hefty price tag.

[1/2] Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationNEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - CoinEx was sued on Wednesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who accused the cryptocurrency exchange of transacting business without registering with the state. In a complaint filed with a New York state court in Manhattan, James said CoinEx's activities violated the Martin Act, a powerful state law used to fight financial fraud. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Television equipment is seen outside the U.S. Supreme Court as Justices hear oral arguments on Twitter's appeal to an anti-terror law violation, in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2023. Both lawsuits were brought under a U.S. law that enables Americans to recover damages related to "an act of international terrorism." Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch said the statute focuses liability on aiding a person who engaged in a terrorist act. Islamic State called the attack revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria. In the Twitter case, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S.

[1/2] Television equipment is seen outside the U.S. Supreme Court as Justices hear oral arguments on Twitter's appeal to an anti-terror law violation, in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2023. The lower court dismissed that case largely based on Section 230 immunity. In the Twitter case, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Islamic State called the attack revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria. Twitter in court papers has said that it has terminated more than 1.7 million accounts for violating rules against "threatening or promoting terrorism."

Both lawsuits were brought under a U.S. law that enables Americans to recover damages related to "an act of international terrorism." The lower court dismissed that case largely based on Section 230 immunity. In the Twitter case, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Islamic State called the attack revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria. Twitter in court papers has said that it has terminated more than 1.7 million accounts for violating rules against "threatening or promoting terrorism."

NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - The creator of a marketplace for National Basketball Association Top Shot non-fungible tokens must face a lawsuit claiming that the tokens are securities, a U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan rejected Dapper Labs Inc's bid to dismiss a proposed class action by purchasers of NBA Top Shot Moments, which are digital video clips of NBA game highlights. The lawsuit said Dapper should have registered the NFTs as securities because their value was tied to the success of Dapper's blockchain. It says there are more than 1.5 million users of NBA Top Shot, with sales exceeding $1 billion. The case is Friel v. Dapper Labs Inc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond's order in Philadelphia federal court granted a request by Unisys to depose Leon Gilbert and Michael McGarvey, former leaders of Unisys' "digital workplace solutions" business unit. Representatives for France-based Atos and lawyers for Gilbert and McGarvey did not immediately respond to messages on Wednesday seeking comment. Unisys in a court filing said that "this case involves the theft of huge quantities of Unisys trade secrets," including technologies and business strategies for digital workplaces. Attorneys for Gilbert and McGarvey disputed the allegation and said "Unisys has not identified a single trade secret." The case is Unisys Corp v. Leon Gilbert and Michael McGarvey, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The foreperson of a Georgia grand jury that investigated former U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the state told media on Tuesday that the panel recommended multiple criminal indictments. The foreperson of the recently concluded Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury, Emily Kohrs, did not discuss specific charges that the grand jury in interviews with outlets including CNN and the New York Times. The special grand jury did not have the authority to issue indictments. Willis opened the special grand jury investigation shortly after Trump's January 2021 phone call to a state official asking him to "find" more votes to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory. Trump called Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, and claimed falsely that the election results were fraudulent.

☆ Egypt to raise $1.5 billion with debut sukuk at 11% yield
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Yousef Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Egypt was set to raise $1.5 billion on Tuesday from its debut sale of Islamic bonds known as sukuk at a yield of 11%, a document on the deal showed. The three-year sukuk had initial guidance of around 11.625% and tightened after books closed with demand over $5.35 billion, the document reviewed by Reuters showed. Egypt's vulnerable finances fell into crisis after the war in Ukraine triggered heavy foreign investment outflows from Egyptian financial markets. The sukuk will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, issued through The Egyptian Financial Company for Sovereign Taskeek, with the finance ministry as obligor. The sukuk will help Egypt repay $1.25 billion in five-year Eurobonds, which carried a fixed interest rate of 5.577% and mature on Feb. 21.

The Supreme Court for the first time in this case is scrutinizing the scope of a much-debated 1996 federal law called Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from liability for content posted by their users. "These are not like the nine greatest experts on the internet," liberal Justice Elena Kagan said of the court's members, eliciting laughter in the courtroom. Kagan and conservative colleague Justice Brett Kavanaugh both suggested Congress might be better suited to adjust legal protections for internet companies if warranted. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts questioned whether Section 230 should apply given that recommendations are provided by YouTube itself. President Joe Biden's administration urged the Supreme Court to revive the lawsuit by Nohemi Gonzalez's family.

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