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☆ Reuters wins George Polk Award for uncovering child labor in Hyundai supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Cheney OrrNew York, Feb 20 (Reuters) - A team of Reuters reporters on Monday won a George Polk Award for reports that revealed the widespread use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai Motor Co in the U.S. state of Alabama. The Polk jury, awarding the prize in its "state reporting" category, said Reuters "sparked increased scrutiny from federal and state agencies and led Hyundai to demand more accountability from its suppliers." Also in February, Hyundai itself said it was in discussions with the Labor Department to resolve concerns about the child labor. After discovering that staffing agencies hired child workers for employment in Alabama poultry plants, they learned that migrant minors were also building parts for Hyundai and Kia (000270.KS). Both companies have said they don't tolerate child labor and are taking measures to ensure underage workers don't find their way back into their supply chains.

☆ Atlanta protest against shooting death of activist briefly turns violent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Cheney Orr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Cheney OrrATLANTA, Jan 21 (Reuters) - A protest in Atlanta briefly turned violent on Saturday as demonstrators set a police car on fire and smashed windows of buildings. A Reuters photographer saw a protester who was carrying a banner being handcuffed by law enforcement. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), Teran shot a state trooper and was shot and killed by officers returning fire. On Friday, GBI released a photo of a handgun police say was in Teran's possession at the time of the shooting. Reporting by Cheney Orr in Atlanta, writing by Maria Caspani, Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Women living in states with abortion bans suffer greater economic insecurity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Women living in states that restrict or ban abortion face greater economic insecurity than those living in states where they have access, new research finds. “In many of these states, especially the states which have banned abortion, many of the women who are facing economic challenges already are also women of color,” she said. Raising the minimum wage is a powerful tool that has been known to have significant impact on closing racial income gaps. But nearly two-thirds of abortion restrictive states have a $7.25 minimum wage, the lowest legal hourly wage for most workers in the United States. The average minimum wage across the 26 states is $8.17, lower than the average $11.92 for states with no restrictions.

☆ Illinois bans semiautomatic gun sales, legal challenge expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Illinois has banned the sale of many common kinds of semiautomatic guns with immediate effect in response to a massacre at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park last year and other mass shootings. The new law, which Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed on Tuesday evening, bans selling many kinds of weapons that automatically load the next bullet after a shot, including semiautomatic rifles and pistols with detachable magazines. The law lists dozens of popular gun brands made by U.S. gun makers. Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, said the law affects nearly 2.5 million gun owners in the state and his group would sue to reverse the ban. Brady, a national group advocating against gun violence, said the ban would save lives.

☆ Child workers found throughout Hyundai-Kia supply chain in Alabama
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Hyundai and Kia now have dozens of suppliers in Alabama, according to the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, a business group. The agency, they said, hired underage workers while they worked there. “It was my first job in the United States and this is not what you would expect to see here.”Six other former workers told Reuters they, too, saw underage workers at Ajin’s two factories in Cusseta. Herrera said he raised concerns about the underage workers with managers at SMART, but was brushed off. The officials, wearing shirts that bore Hyundai logos, inspected the assembly line even as underage workers labored there, Herrera said.

[1/2] Activists protest in the Indiana Statehouse during a special session debating on banning abortion in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. July 25, 2022. REUTERS/Cheney OrrDec 2 (Reuters) - A second Indiana judge on Friday blocked the state from enforcing its law banning most abortions after Jewish, Muslim and other non-Christian women challenged it in a lawsuit. The plaintiffs have argued that the measure infringes on religious freedom protected by another state law. The law had already been on hold, as another judge in September blocked Indiana from enforcing it while Planned Parenthood and other healthcare providers challenge it in court. The ACLU said the plaintiffs represented religions including Judaism and Islam as well as "independent spiritual belief systems."

☆ Factbox: U.S. midterm elections: The race for control of the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Cheney OrrWASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Americans cast ballots on Tuesday in midterm elections that will determine whether President Joe Biden's Democrats keep control of the U.S. Senate, as 35 of its 100 seats are up for grabs. ET (0011 GMT, Nov. 9)Edison Research provides exit polling and vote count data to the National Election Pool, a consortium consisting of ABC News, CBS News, CNN and NBC News. Reuters has an agreement with NEP/Edison to distribute exit polling and vote count data to clients. The Associated Press has a separate polling and vote count operation and makes its own projections. Fox News relies on data from the AP and the University of Chicago's NORC to inform its projections.

Nov 8 (Reuters) - Thirty-six of the 50 states are electing governors in Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections. Crist is a former Republican governor who switched parties and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. MAINERecent opinion polls show Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, leading her Republican opponent, Paul LePage, who served as governor of the state from 2011 to 2019. NEVADA[1/6] Campaign signs for Georgia Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Herschel Walker and Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp are seen defaced during the midterm elections in Columbus, Georgia, U.S., November 8, 2022. Although Trump endorsed him, Lombardo has sought to distance himself from the former president, accepting the 2020 elections results as legitimate.

[1/3] Eliza Luna, a ballot designer with the Maricopa County Elections Department, counts ballots for the Arizona Presidential Preference Election at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., March 17, 2020. Between July 11 and Aug. 22, the county election office documented at least 140 threats and other hostile communications, the records show. Maricopa officials appeared at times overwhelmed by threatening posts on social media and right-wing message boards calling for workers to be executed or hung. Eight people face federal charges for threats, including two who targeted Maricopa County officials. The county election director had instructed him to shut down the server for delivery to the Arizona State Senate in response to a subpoena.

☆ Politics and your portfolio: Midterm elections create uncertainty for markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Stephanie Dhue | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Voters file down the hall as early voting begins for the midterm elections at the Citizens Service Center in Columbus, Georgia, on Oct. 17, 2022. So with the midterm elections now a week away but the outcome still not in focus, does it make sense to make those adjustments now? Financial advisors say it's best to adjust your portfolio based on your financial goals and not on the outcome of any event. The market has a 'very distinct' midterms patternHistorically, stocks tend to do better after midterm elections. In 17 of the 19 midterm elections held since 1946, stocks performed better in the six months after the election than they did in the six months prior.

REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Two in five U.S. voters say they are worried about threats of violence or voter intimidation at polling stations during the country's midterm elections, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. But officials in Arizona, a key battleground, have already asked the federal government to probe a case of possible voter intimidation, after people casting ballots were conspicuously filmed and followed. Kathy Boockvar, a former top election official for Pennsylvania, said fears of voter intimidation and violence run counter to American tradition. Among the registered voters polled by Reuters/Ipsos, 43% were concerned about threats of violence or voter intimidation while voting in person. About two-thirds of Republicans and one-third of Democrats think voter fraud is a widespread problem, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

☆ Oh my gourd! Pumpkin spice trend is a $500 mln industry in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-06 | by ( Eric Cox | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 6 (Reuters) - From the perennial popularity of Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Lattes to the annual introduction of creative new pumpkin-related products, like Hefty's already sold-out pumpkin-scented trash bags, the brightly-colored crop seems to hold a special place in the hearts, minds and wallets of Americans. Nielsen data reveals Americans spend about half a billion dollars on pumpkin spice products every year. According to coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX.O), Pumpkin Spice Lattes earned the company its best sales week of all time when the drink was reintroduced to fans on Aug. 30. "Pumpkins also created a nice culture with pumpkin spice donuts, drinks, everything. "But those modern-day traditions actually date back to much older traditions of associating the pumpkin with a small family farm.

Abortion rights demonstrators protest outside the House chambers in the Indiana Statehouse during a special session to debate banning abortion in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. August 2, 2022. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File PhotoSept 19 (Reuters) - A Planned Parenthood affiliate and other abortion rights groups and providers on Monday urged an Indiana judge to block the state's ban on most abortions, which took effect last Thursday. The ACLU sued to challenge the law alongside Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai'i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky and others. He argued the ban puts Indiana residents' health at risk and that Hanlon should put it on hold while she considers the case. "That history forecloses any legitimate claim to a right to have an abortion under the Indiana constitution," he said.

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