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Glacier Northwest is a unit of Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement Corp. (5233.T)Glacier Northwest filed a lawsuit in Washington state court accusing the union of intentional property destruction during a 2017 strike. The Washington state Supreme Court in 2021 ruled that the company's claims were preempted by a statute called the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), saying the company's loss of concrete was incidental to a strike that could be considered arguably protected under federal labor law. The Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has leaned toward curbing the power of labor unions in rulings in recent years. Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said the Supreme Court had "again voted in favor of corporations over working people." While the Supreme Court has found that labor unions can be sued in state court for violent or threatening conduct, the union had argued, this narrow exception should not be expanded to permit property damage claims brought under state law.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Noel Francisco, Sean O'Brien, O'Brien, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Glacier Northwest Inc, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, National Labor Relations, Taiheiyo Cement Corp, Conservative, Liberal, Teamsters, Thomson Locations: Washington, Japan, California

June 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday gave Salesforce Inc's (CRM.N) Slack Technologies another chance to avoid a lawsuit over the workplace communications software company's 2019 direct listing. A direct listing is an alternative to a traditional initial public offering. The registration statement was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That differs from an IPO, under which newly registered shares are offered to the public while existing shareholders are typically barred from selling their unregistered shares for months. Slack's direct listing released 118 million shares that were registered under its registration statement and 165 million pre-existing shares that were exempt from registration.

Persons: Salesforce Inc's, Fiyyaz Pirani, Pirani, Slack, Neil Gorsuch, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Slack Technologies, San, Circuit, Securities, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, falsities, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, New York

WASHINGTON, June 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday gave a boost to whistleblowers in their bid to revive lawsuits accusing pharmacy operators of knowingly overbilling government health insurance programs for prescription drugs at taxpayers' expense. Whistleblower advocacy groups as well as a number of states had said a Supreme Court ruling against the whistleblowers would make it easier for fraudsters to evade accountability for filing false claims to the government and risked undermining state-administered Medicaid programs. They also said both companies knew they were defrauding the government and worked to conceal their pricing practices. President Joe Biden's administration backed the whistleblowers in their appeal to the Supreme Court. Lawyers for the administration urged the justices to reverse the 7th Circuit, saying the ruling undermined the False Claims Act.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Thomas Proctor, Tracy Schutte, Michael Yarberry, SuperValu, Joe Biden's, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Safeway Inc, Albertsons Companies Inc, SuperValu Inc, United Natural Foods Inc, Government, Conservative, Safeway, Circuit, Lawyers, Thomson Locations: Chicago

☆ What makes us human? Primate genome study offers some clues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While some genetic variations previously thought to be exclusive to people were found in other primate species, the researchers pinpointed others that were uniquely human involving brain function and development. They also used the primate genomes to train an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict disease-causing genetic mutations in humans. Human-related threats such as habitat destruction, climate change and hunting have left about 60% of primate species threatened with extinction and about 75% with declining populations. "The vast majority of primate species have significantly more genetic variation per individual than do humans," said genomicist and study co-author Jeffrey Rogers of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. The genome data can help identify the primate species in the most dire need of conservation efforts.

Persons: Thomas Mukoya, genomicist Lukas Kuderna, gibbons, Kuderna, Jeffrey Rogers, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park's Institute, Evolutionary, Illumina Inc, Baylor College of Medicine, Thomson Locations: Kinigi, Rwanda, Barcelona, Spain, Americas, Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Texas, China, Laos, Vietnam

☆ Rising risk appetite lifts Canadian dollar to two-week high
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The loonie was trading 0.9% higher at 1.3445 to the greenback, or 74.38 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest intraday level since May 16 at 1.3434. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend the U.S. debt ceiling on Wednesday evening. The Senate will stay in session until it passes the measure, Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday. The rebound in oil prices was also supportive of the loonie, Sahota said. Domestic data showed manufacturing activity slowed in May as high inflation and inventory cutting held back customer demand.

Persons: Amo Sahota, Chuck Schumer, Sahota, Fergal Smith, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Canadian, FX, The U.S . House, Democratic, Wall, P Global Canada Manufacturing, Thomson Locations: TORONTO, U.S, Australia, New Zealand, San Francisco, The

☆ Cost of insuring vs US default increases before vote on debt ceiling bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, May 31 (Reuters) - The cost of insuring exposure to a U.S. debt default rose on Wednesday, with investors focused on a debt ceiling vote in the House of Representatives later in the day. The U.S. one-year credit default swap (CDS) - a market-based gauge of the risk of default - climbed to 76 basis points (bps) from 56 bps late on Tuesday, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed. U.S. five-year CDS also edged up to 43 bps versus 42 bps the previous session. The House Rules Committee late on Tuesday, in the first procedural vote on the legislation, cleared the measure for debate in the full House on Wednesday. Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted that the evening vote would succeed, telling reporters, "It's going to become law."

Persons: Kevin McCarthy, Karl Schamotta, Schamotta, Gertrude Chavez, Dreyfuss, Will Dunham Organizations: YORK, U.S, P Global Market Intelligence, Republicans, Republican Freedom Caucus, Democratic Party, Thomson Locations: U.S, Toronto

☆ Scientists expand search for signs of intelligent alien life
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Efforts to detect alien technological signatures previously have focused on a narrowband radio signal type concentrated in a limited frequency range or on single unusual transmissions. The search involves a frequency range covering a bit less than a tenth the width of an average FM radio station. "Aliens may possibly use such beacons for galaxy-wide communications, for which the core of the Milky Way is ideally placed. The scientists in the various monitoring efforts passively scan for signals of alien beings and do not actively send their own signals advertising our presence on Earth. "In my personal opinion, as a relatively young species in the grand cosmic scale, it would be prudent for us to focus on listening and investigating before embarking on deliberate transmissions," Gajjar said.

Persons: Akshay Suresh, Suresh, Vishal Gajjar, Gajjar, BLIPSS, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Cornell University, Cornell, SETI Institute, SETI Institute and University of California, Thomson Locations: Berkeley, West Virginia

[1/2] Former U.S. President Donald Trump visits an unfinished section of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in Pharr, Texas, June 30, 2021. While president in 2018, Trump said he planned to issue an executive order to limit birthright citizenship, but never followed through. Many legal scholars at the time were skeptical that Trump could use executive authority to roll back the right. Trump noted that many countries restrict birthright citizenship for non-citizens. As president, Trump pursued hardline policies toward immigration and took steps toward building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that he had promised as a candidate in 2016.

Persons: Donald Trump, Callaghan O'Hare, Trump, Joe Biden, Ted Hesson, Will Dunham, Mica Rosenberg Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Callaghan O'Hare WASHINGTON, Republican, Twitter, Trump, Democrat, Thomson Locations: U.S, Mexico, Pharr , Texas, United States, Southern, American, Washington

☆ NASA looks to spice up astronaut menu with deep space food production
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/4] A team member from Interstellar Lab of Merritt Island, Florida, prepares Daikon Radish sprouts during NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge Phase 2 prize announcement on May 19, 2023. The NASA-sponsored Deep Space Food Challenge prompted Sheehan to modify his invention as a way of producing edible proteins, carbohydrates and fats from the same system. TASTES LIKE ... SEITANThe resulting single-cell protein drink entered in NASA's contest has the consistency of a whey protein shake, Sheehan said. But the imperative for self-contained, low-waste food production requiring minimal resources has become more pronounced as NASA sets its sights on returning astronauts to the moon and eventual human exploration of Mars and beyond. Advances in space-based food production also have direct applications for feeding Earth's ever-growing population in an era when climate change is making food more scarce and harder to produce, Fritsche said.

"Things are looking good," Biden told reporters. "I'm hopeful," said McHenry, one of House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy's lead negotiators with the White House. Negotiators are discussing a deal that would lift the limit for two years, but remain at odds over whether to stiffen work requirements for some anti-poverty programs. WORK REQUIREMENTS IN DISPUTEThe safety-net programs remained a sticking point. Biden in particular has resisted the work requirements for Medicaid, which covered 85 million Americans as of January.

[1/4] JPMorgan Chase Bank is seen in New York City, U.S., March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/Companies JPMorgan Chase & Co FollowNEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said in a deposition on Friday that he had never met or communicated with late sex offender and former bank client Jeffrey Epstein, the bank said. Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 2000 to 2013, remaining so after pleading guilty in 2008 to a Florida state prostitution charge. It has accused Staley, who was friendly with Epstein, of concealing what he knew about Epstein’s crimes. Epstein died in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

☆ Scientists identify polar cyclone swirling on mysterious Uranus
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] NASA scientists uses microwave observations to spot the first polar cyclone on Uranus, seen here as a light-colored dot to the right of center in each image of the planet, in this handout image released on May 25, 2023. But new observations from a telescope located in New Mexico are providing a fuller understanding of its atmosphere, including the detection of a polar cyclone whose center measures a quarter of Earth's diameter, swirling near its north pole. Scientists were able to gaze more deeply into the atmosphere of Uranus - a planet classified as an ice giant, like its planetary neighbor Neptune - than ever before. The research confirmed that polar cyclones are present on every body in our solar system with a substantial atmosphere - all the planets but Mercury and even Saturn's moon Titan. "The way they form is different from planet to planet," Akins added.

With only 1% of support among registered Republicans according to Reuters/Ipsos polling, Scott faces an uphill battle in his bid to win the Republican nomination to take on Democratic President Joe Biden next year. Some 49% of Republicans plan to vote for Trump, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. Scott, 57, is likely to be the only Republican senator to jump into the race, an oddity given that the Senate has traditionally been a staging ground for Republicans with presidential aspirations. Among his political assets are his popularity in South Carolina, which plays a key role in the Republican race. Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott MaloneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US Supreme Court backs three men in Cuomo-era New York corruption cases
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Joseph Percoco (L), former aid to New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, walks out of the Manhattan Federal Courthouse in New York, September 22, 2016. The court has limited prosecutors in a series of political corruption cases in recent years. In overturning Ciminelli's guilty verdict, the justices said that theory of fraud, known as "right to control," is "inconsistent with the structure and history of the federal fraud statutes." The Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority, increasingly has limited prosecutors in political corruption cases. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ California grid operator signs off on $7.3 billion of power lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 19 (Reuters) - California's electric grid operator has approved a plan expected to cost $7.3 billion for 45 new power transmission projects over the next decade and made it easier for new power plants in high-priority areas to connect to the grid. The projects will support the development of more than 40 gigawatts (GW) of new generation resources, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) said on Thursday. The vast majority of the transmission projects will be built in California, with some in neighboring Arizona, it said. CAISO will prioritize connecting power plants to the grid in specific geographical zones identified by its plan where developing new power lines and plants "make the most economic and operational sense." The grid operator also approved proposed reforms to account for "increasing levels of net load forecast uncertainty between day-ahead and real-time markets ... as the generation fleet evolves towards a cleaner, but more variable, resource mix."

☆ Silver Lake acquires minority stake in TeamSystem for $660 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Italian cloud software maker TeamSystem said on Friday that private equity firm Silver Lake has agreed to acquire a minority stake in the company from Hellman & Friedman (H&F). The investment is worth 600 million euros ($660.48 million), TeamSystem said in a statement, adding that H&F will remain the majority shareholder after the transaction closes. TeamSystem, founded in 1979, provides accounting, payroll and business management software for small and medium-sized enterprises. Reuters reported in January that H&F was weighing options for TeamSystem including a sale of a minority stake in the business which could be valued at several billion euros. TeamSystem's management reinvested in the company as part of the 2021 transaction, and private-equity firm Hg held a minority stake.

The justices in a second ruling shielded Twitter Inc from litigation seeking to apply a federal law called the Anti-Terrorism Act. This case marked the first time the Supreme Court had examined Section 230's reach. Many conservatives have said voices on the right are censored by social media companies under the guise of content moderation. Gonzalez's family argued that YouTube provided unlawful assistance to the Islamic State by recommending the militant group's content to users. In the Twitter case, the 9th Circuit did not consider whether Section 230 barred the family's lawsuit.

The court in a separate case involving Google LLC sidestepped a bid to weaken legal protections for internet firms. In the Twitter case, the 9th Circuit did not consider whether Section 230 barred the family's lawsuit. Islamic State called the Istanbul 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." The family had argued that YouTube provided unlawful assistance to the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack, by recommending the militant group's content to users.

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Amgen Inc (AMGN.O) in its bid to revive patents on its cholesterol-lowering drug Repatha over a legal challenge by French rival Sanofi SA (SASY.PA). Amgen sought to patent a group of antibodies that help reduce so-called "bad" cholesterol. In 2014, Amgen sued Sanofi and Regeneron for patent infringement over their rival drug Praluent, which works by a similar mechanism as Repatha. The justices said that Supreme Court precedent weighed against Amgen. President Joe Biden's administration, arguing in support of Sanofi, told the justices that Amgen had not disclosed the information needed to make to make its patents valid.

That case involved a lawsuit by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old college student from California who was fatally shot in an Islamic State attack in Paris in 2015, of a lower court's decision to throw out their lawsuit. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021 allowed it to proceed, concluding that Twitter had refused to take "meaningful steps" to prevent Islamic State's use of the platform. In the Twitter case, the 9th Circuit did not consider whether Section 230 barred the family's lawsuit. Islamic State called the Istanbul 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 dinosaur found in Spain illuminates history of meat-eating group
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Living about 126 to 127 million years ago, the bipedal dinosaur, named Protathlitis cinctorrensis, was about 33 to 36 feet (10 to 11 meters) long and weighed about 2 tons. It was part of a group called spinosaurs whose biggest member, Spinosaurus, was among the largest meat-eating dinosaurs on record. Spinosaurs lived in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America during the Cretaceous - the last of the three chapters of the age of dinosaurs. Spinosaurus, about 50 feet (15 meters) long and weighing seven tons, lived 95 million years ago in Africa. Unlike Protathlitis, Spinosaurus possessed unserrated teeth - better to capture slippery aquatic prey.

☆ Genome data sheds light on how Homo sapiens arose in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Our species arose in Africa more than 300,000 years ago, with the oldest-known Homo sapiens fossils discovered at a site in Morocco called Jebel Irhoud, located between Marrakech and the Atlantic coast. A new study tapping into genome data from modern-day African populations is offering insight into how this may have unfolded. The research indicated that multiple ancestral groups from across Africa contributed to the emergence of Homo sapiens in a patchwork manner, migrating from one region to another and mixing with one another over hundreds of thousands of years. The findings did not support a longstanding hypothesis that a single region in Africa gave rise to Homo sapiens or a scenario involving mixture with an unidentified closely related species in the human evolutionary lineage within Africa. "By building models of how these transmissions occurred, we can test detailed models that relate past populations to present-day populations."

The justices upheld a lower court's ruling that Warhol's works based on Goldsmith's 1981 photo were not immune from her copyright infringement lawsuit. Warhol, who died in 1987, was a foremost participant in the pop art movement that germinated in the 1950s. At issue in the litigation involving Goldsmith was Warhol's "Orange Prince" series. She countersued the Andy Warhol Foundation in 2017 after it asked a court to find that the works did not violate her copyright. Under that standard, the circuit court said Warhol's paintings were closer to adapting Goldsmith's photo in a different medium than transforming it.

Companies Google Inc FollowAlphabet Inc FollowMay 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday sidestepped a challenge to federal protections for internet and social media companies that free them of liability for content posted by users in a case involving a lawsuit against Google LLC involving the practices of video-sharing platform YouTube. The justices, in a brief and unsigned ruling, returned to a lower court a lawsuit by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old college student from California who was fatally shot in an Islamic State attack in Paris in 2015, of a lower court's decision to throw out their lawsuit. Google and YouTube are part of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O). Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. Supreme Court dismisses dispute over Title 42 border expulsions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Andrew Chung | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] Migrants stand near the border wall after having crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to turn themselves in to U.S. Border Patrol agents, after the lifting of COVID-19 era Title 42 restrictions that have... Read moreMay 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a case in which Republicans sought to keep in place a policy introduced under former President Donald Trump that had let American officials quickly expel hundreds of thousands of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The now-expired policy, known as Title 42, was implemented by Trump's administration in March 2020 - early in the COVID-19 pandemic - as a measure tied to a public health emergency. The court had canceled arguments in the case in February. Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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