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☆ Alito says Congress lacks authority to regulate US Supreme Court, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said that Congress lacks the power to regulate the court, in an interview published by the Wall Street Journal on Friday a week after Senate Democrats advanced a bill to impose an ethics code. The Democratic-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved the bill, which would mandate a binding code for the court following revelations that some justices - including Alito - had failed to disclose luxury trips funded by wealthy benefactors. "I know this is a controversial view, but I'm willing to say it," Alito said in the interview published in the Journal's opinion section. "No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period." That bill, which cleared the committee on an 11-10 party-line vote, is unlikely to gain the Republican support needed to pass Congress.

Persons: Samuel Alito, Alito, John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, preemptively, ProPublica, Thomas, Harlan Crow, Sheldon Whitehouse, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Scott Malone, Alistair Bell Organizations: Conservative U.S, Supreme, Wall, Democrats, Democratic, Republicans, Republican, Thomson Locations: Alaska

WASHINGTON/LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Friday that it has reached a staff-level agreement with Argentina to unlock about $7.5 billion and complete the fifth and sixth reviews of the struggling country's $44 billion loan program. Reuters first reported that the agreement would combine the fifth and sixth reviews of Argentina's IMF program -- a move that provides additional loan funds sooner. The IMF said its board would meet to consider the agreement in the second half of August. The Fund said that the program will need waivers because these measures are "against the introduction of multiple currency practices." Argentina is set to have another three reviews on its 2022 IMF programme by September 2024, though the IMF statement didn't specify what would happen with those.

Persons: Sergio Massa, David Lawder, Hugh Lawson, Alistair Bell Organizations: WASHINGTON, Monetary Fund, Reuters, IMF, Argentine, Thomson Locations: LONDON, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Beijing, Washington, Rosario, London

☆ DeSantis' Bud Light brawl marks his latest move in anti-corporate gambit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

DeSantis trails Republican front-runner Donald Trump by more than 20 points nationally in the 2024 primary race. But a Republican lobbyist in Washington who represents several Fortune 500 companies said DeSantis’ approach is sound for winning the Republican primary. “DeSantis is doing what he’s doing because it's good politics,” said the lobbyist, who asked to remain unidentified so as to not take sides in the presidential race. A company spokesman told Reuters that "Anheuser-Busch InBev takes our responsibility to our shareholders, employees, distributors and customers seriously." On the trail, DeSantis has accused the Food and Drug Administration of being “captured” by the pharmaceutical industry.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Donald Trump, Alex Conant, ” Conant, “, ”, Bob Iger, Trump, Bud Light, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Trump’s, Donald Trump Jr, Bud Light’s, Morningstar, James Oliphant, Colleen Jenkins, Alistair Bell Organizations: Bud Light, Republican, Republican Party, Disney, Republicans, Reuters, Fortune, Democratic Party, Anheuser, Busch InBev, and Drug Administration, Thomson Locations: Florida, Washington, America

☆ Mexican president refutes DEA estimates of cartel strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The comments come in response to testimony from U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Chief Anne Milgram on Mexican cartels as part of a hearing in the U.S. Congress. Speaking at a press conference, Lopez Obrador questioned her figures and urged the DEA to share more details. The pushback from Lopez Obrador is the latest in ongoing tensions between the Mexican government and the DEA. His government dropped the case against Mexico's former Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos, who the DEA alleged colluded with drug lords. Lopez Obrador accused the DEA of fabricating the case.

Persons: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Anne Milgram, Milgram, Lopez Obrador, Salvador Cienfuegos, Sarah Kinosian, Alistair Bell, Richard Chang Organizations: Mexico Presidency, REUTERS, REUTERS MEXICO CITY, U.S, . Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S . Congress, Jalisco New Generation, U.S ., DEA, Mexico's, Defense, Thomson Locations: Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico, REUTERS MEXICO, United, Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco, Sinaloa, CJNG

☆ Brazil's jobless rate hits lowest since 2014 for a quarter through June
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, July 28 (Reuters) - Brazil's jobless rate fell in the quarter through June to its lowest level for the period in nine years, statistics agency IBGE said on Friday, underscoring the labor market's resilience despite its high interest rates. It was the fourth consecutive drop for a rolling quarter, according to IBGE, which said the move reflected seasonally lower vacancy rates. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad cautioned that despite the positive data, the unemployment rate should not be perceived as an indicator of a strong economy, given the country's 10% real interest rate leading to an activity slowdown. Some economists also expect high interest rates to take their toll going ahead, as economic growth softens in the country. "All in all, the labor market remained strong in the second quarter, defying the drag from stiflingly high interest rates," Pantheon Macroeconomics' chief economist for Latin America, Andres Abadia, said.

Persons: Fernando Haddad, Haddad, Andres Abadia, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's, Rui Costa, Gabriel Araujo, Steven Grattan, Alistair Bell Organizations: SAO PAULO, IBGE, Reuters, Finance, Macroeconomics, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Brazil, America

☆ Canadian dollar hits 2-week low as rate hikes 'begin to bite'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Fergal Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The loonie was trading 0.1% lower at 1.3240 to the greenback, or 75.53 U.S. cents, after touching its weakest intraday level since July 11 at 1.3249. The data suggests "that underlying momentum is weakening as higher borrowing costs begin to bite," Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, said in a note. Hopes of a soft landing for the U.S. economy boosted Wall Street and the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports. The 10-year was down 8.1 basis points at 3.536%, while it dropped 4.1 basis points further below the U.S. equivalent to a gap of 43.6 basis points. Reporting by Fergal Smith Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Karl Schamotta, Fergal Smith, Alistair Bell Organizations: greenback, U.S, Bank, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: TORONTO, U.S

☆ Democratic US lawmakers propose banning legacy admissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Legacy admissions at schools such as Harvard University have been shown to overwhelmingly favor white, wealthy students over students of color from disadvantaged backgrounds. The bill announced on Wednesday, the Fair College Admissions for Students Act, was introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley in 2022, but did not make it beyond a Senate committee. Viet Nguyen, executive director of EdMobilizer, a non-profit that has been campaigning against legacy admissions since 2018, joined the lawmakers at Wednesday's press conference. EdMobilizer is pushing alumni of 30 top colleges and universities to withhold donations from their schools until they end legacy admissions. Wesleyan University and the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus announced they would stop using legacy admissions in July, following a handful of other U.S. higher education institutions that have ended them in recent years.

Persons: Jeff Merkley, Merkley, Jamaal Bowman, Chris Van Hollen, Nguyen, Brown, Julia Harte, Donna Bryson, Alistair Bell Organizations: Democratic U.S, U.S . Education Department, Harvard, Harvard University, University of North, Fair College, Stanford, Wesleyan University, University of Minnesota's, University of Minnesota's Twin Cities, Thomson Locations: U.S, University of North Carolina, University of Minnesota's Twin

☆ Mexico announces plan with US to boost firearm tracing
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY, July 26 (Reuters) - Mexico and the United States have agreed to step up oversight of arms trafficking with a system to electronically track firearms seized from criminal organizations, Mexican Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez said on Wednesday. "The United States and Mexico have agreed to the electronic monitoring of all the firearms seized in our country from criminal organizations," Rodriguez told a press conference. Barcena said the plan aimed to keep track of where guns are found in Mexico to help inform seizure strategies. One of Mexico's main proposals to the U.S. was that it revoke licenses of gun stores that sell firearms to cartels, she said. According to U.S. gun-tracing bureau ATF, some 70% of traced firearms used to commit crimes and seized in Mexico come from the U.S.

Persons: Rosa Icela Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Alicia Barcena, Barcena, Raul Cortes, Adriana Barrera, Sarah Morland, Alistair Bell Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Mexican, U.S, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Mexico, United States, Caribbean, U.S

☆ Factbox: A look at Americans held in the past in North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here are some other Americans held in the past by North Korea. - The last American detained by North Korea was Bruce Byron Lowrance, who was caught after entering from China in October 2018. -Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary, returned to the United States in November 2014 after being imprisoned in North Korea for two years. North Korean media said Park confessed to entering the state illegally and had changed his mind about North Korea after being treated kindly there. - In 1996, Evan Hunziker, then 26, was held for three months in North Korea on spying charges.

Persons: Donald Trump, Tony Kim, Kim Hak, Kim Dong, Jonathan Ernst, Bruce Byron Lowrance, Kim Jong, Otto Warmbier, Joseph Yun, Mike Pompeo, Kim, Kim Sang, Euna Lee, Laura Ling, Bill Clinton, Kenneth Bae, Matthew Todd Miller, Bae, Miller, Robert Park, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, Jimmy Carter, Gomes, Evan Hunziker, Hunziker, Bill Richardson, Thomas Hubbard, Bobby Hall, David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick, Alistair Bell Organizations: Base Andrews, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, North, CIA, U.S . State Department, U.S, Korean, Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Base Andrews , Maryland, U.S, North, Washington, China, North Korean, United States, Ohio, Pyongyang, American, Korean, Korea, Boston, South Korea

☆ Senator Manchin speech stokes speculation of White House run
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Should Manchin seek another term, he would likely face a serious challenge from Governor Jim Justice who is seeking the Republican Party nomination in the Senate race. Meanwhile, Manchin has not swatted away reporters' questions over whether he might consider what would be a long-shot run for the White House as an independent candidate. Trump, a 77-year-old former president, leads a crowded field of Republican presidential aspirants and many voters express worries about 80-year-old President Joe Biden seeking a second term. With more than a decade in Congress, Manchin at times has complicated legislative initiatives being pushed by his party leaders. But Democratic leaders have treaded softly as Manchin also has been key to the party holding onto its Senate majority.

Persons: Joe Manchin, Manchin, Jim Justice, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Biden, Joe Lieberman, We're, Lieberman, Richard Cowan, Alistair Bell, Howard Goller Organizations: Maverick Democratic, West, U.S . Senate, Democratic, U.S, Senate, Republican Party, Republican, White, Saint Anselm College in, Trump, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New Hampshire, West Virginia, Monday's, Saint Anselm College in Manchester, Montana , Nevada , Ohio, Pennsylvania

☆ Macron decides to keep French PM in role despite pension unrest, riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Months of unrest and strikes over Macron's pension reform in the spring as well as five days of riots and looting in French cities earlier this month had fuelled calls among political opponents and some government insiders for a reshuffle. "To ensure stability and in-depth work, the President has decided to maintain the Prime Minister," Macron's office said. But Macron said last week he needed more time to draft policy in response to the riots, which he said required more than "knee-jerk" reactions. A source close to Macron told Reuters changing prime minister now made no sense, since Macron's minority government had not managed to strike a deal with potential right-wing conservative allies in parliament. Macron was keeping the option of offering the conservative Les Republicains the prime minister seat as a prize for a formal coalition, the source added.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne, Borne, Macron, Les, Liu Zhifan, Dominique Vidalon, Michel Rose, Sandra Maler, Alistair Bell Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Borne

☆ Trump a no-show at Iowa evangelical forum, leaving opening for 2024 rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( James Oliphant | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S., July 7, 2023. Iowa will hold the first Republican nominating contest on Jan. 15, when voters will select their preferences to take on Democratic President Joe Biden in November 2024. With a national poll lead of around 30 percentage points, Trump appears to want to engage with Iowa voters on his own terms. After he was criticized for skipping the evangelical event, his campaign announced that he will return to Iowa for a town hall next week. Reynolds is expected to appear at the forum on Friday and sign the six-week abortion ban passed this week by the Iowa legislature.

Persons: Donald Trump, Scott Morgan, Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Tucker Carlson, Trump's, Trump, Kim Reynolds, Bob Vander Plaats, Reynolds, Cody Hoefert, James Oliphant, Colleen Jenkins, Alistair Bell Organizations: U.S, Republican, REUTERS, Democratic, United, Fox News Channel, Trump, Iowa, Twitter, Republican Party, Thomson Locations: Bluffs , Iowa, U.S, Iowa, Florida

Biden, who launched his campaign on April 25, had $77 million in cash on hand at the end of June across several affiliated fundraising entities and the Democratic Party. The Republican front-runner, former President Donald Trump, raised more than $35 million during the April-June period, a campaign official had said. Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis raised $20 million in the same period, his campaign said. Trump launched his campaign in June that year but had already started raising money, while Obama launched his campaign on April 4. Reuters GraphicsThe Biden campaign is required to submit more detailed financial records to the Federal Election Commission by Saturday.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Biden, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Trump, Barack Obama, Obama, MAGA, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Chavez Rodriguez, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Katzenberg, Steven Cheung, Trevor Hunnicutt, Nandita Bose, Nathan Layne, Alistair Bell Organizations: Democratic Party, Republican, Florida Governor, Democratic National, Republicans, Biden, Trump, Republican National Committee, Reuters, Federal, Disney, Thomson Locations: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Washington

July 13 (Reuters) - A group of Republican U.S. state attorney generals on Thursday warned the country's largest companies that certain workforce diversity policies could be illegal in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision effectively striking down affirmative action in higher education. The attorney generals urged the companies to abandon race-based quotas or preferences in hiring, promotion and contracting and threatened legal action "sooner rather than later" if they do not. "Companies that engage in racial discrimination should and will face serious legal consequences," the attorney generals wrote. They were joined by the attorney generals of Indiana, South Carolina and Missouri, among others. But in Thursday's letter, the attorney generals said well-intentioned race discrimination is still illegal.

Persons: Kris Kobach, Jonathan Skrmetti, Harvard University's, Neil Gorsuch, George Floyd, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Alistair Bell Organizations: Republican, U.S, Companies, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Uber Technologies Corp, Harvard, University of North, Federal, Thomson Locations: Republican U.S, U.S ., Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana , South Carolina, Missouri, Albany , New York

DeSantis is scheduled to visit Iowa on Friday, his third trip to the state since declaring his presidential bid. His wife, Casey DeSantis, last week traveled to Iowa to launch a national "Mamas for DeSantis" campaign focused on parental rights, hoping to win over the swing vote of suburban Republican women. DeSantis' supporters are also emphasizing what they see as the similarities between DeSantis and Kim Reynolds, Iowa's popular Republican governor, said one person close to the campaign. "The campaign has the most sophisticated and experienced team ever in Iowa, and is poised to crush DeSantis," Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said. A dearth of reliable polling in Iowa makes it difficult to assess the real strength of both DeSantis and Trump in the state.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump's, DeSantis, Trump, Chris Stirewalt, Stirewalt, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Steve Cortes, Donald Trump, They've, Ryan Frederick, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, Casey DeSantis, Kim Reynolds, Iowa's, Reynolds, Steven Cheung, Ann Selzer, Selzer, James Oliphant, Gram Slattery, Alexandra Ulmer, Ross Colvin, Alistair Bell Organizations: Republican, Trump, American Enterprise Institute, Arkansas, Fox Business, Republican Party, Iowa, Thomson Locations: Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, U.S, Trump, Adair County

☆ Biden's approval rating lingers at 40%, economy remains top worry, Reuters/Ipsos poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Josephine Walker | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval rating held steady at 40% in early July, close to the lowest levels of his presidency, as economic worries continued to trouble Americans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week. and ended on Monday, showed a marginal decrease from his 41% approval rating a month earlier, within the survey's three percentage point margin of error. Respondents were evenly split in their views of the Supreme Court's decision last month to strike down Biden's student loan forgiveness program, with 49% supporting the decision and 48% opposed. The poll was conducted following the high court’s term, which saw the court strike down college affirmative action programs as well as Biden's student debt plan. The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, and collected responses from 1,028 adults, using a nationally representative sample.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Joe Biden, Donald Trump's, Barack Obama, Republican George W, Bush, Josephine Walker, Scott Malone, Alistair Bell Organizations: Reuters, Democratic, Republican, Supreme, Thomson

☆ Trump seeks to delay trial in classified documents case
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 11 (Reuters) - Former President Donald Trump and his aide Walt Nauta have asked a federal court in Florida to postpone their criminal trial in a classified documents case, saying Trump's busy presidential campaign schedule ahead of the 2024 election will make the current trial schedule "untenable." "President Trump is running for President of the United States and is currently the likely Republican Party nominee. In addition to citing his campaign schedule, Trump's lawyers also told the judge that the unprecedented indictment raises "significant" legal questions and challenges that will be posed by the classified nature of the evidence. The documents case will unfold under a strict set of rules prescribed by the Classified Information Procedures Act, which aims to protect classified evidence and manage disclosure of such records at a public jury trial. Nauta, Trump's aide, pleaded not guilty last week in a Miami federal courthouse to charges that he had helped Trump hide top secret documents taken when he left the White House.

Persons: Donald Trump, Walt Nauta, Trump's, Trump, Nauta, Wilkie D, Ferguson Jr, Chris Kise, Todd Blanche, Jane, Read, Aileen Cannon, Jack Smith's, Cannon, Sarah N, Lynch, Bharat Govind Gautam, Clarence Fernandez, Alistair Bell Organizations: Republican Party, Trump, U.S, United, REUTERS, White House, Thomson Locations: Florida, United States, Miami, Miami , Florida, U.S, Washington, Bengaluru

☆ Nassar, disgraced doctor who abused US gymnasts, is stabbed in prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

July 10 (Reuters) - Larry Nassar, the disgraced doctor of USA Gymnastics who was convicted of sexually abusing young female gymnasts, has been stabbed multiple times by another inmate in prison and was in stable condition on Monday, U.S. media reported. Since the Nassar scandal, USA Gymnastics has overhauled its leadership and filed for bankruptcy, saying at the time it was staggering under the weight of lawsuits filed by hundreds of women who were sexually abused by the former team doctor. USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee reached a $380 million settlement. In September 2021, Biles and Maroney were among the high profile Olympic gymnasts who gave heart-wrenching testimony before a U.S. Senate panel about the sexual abuse they endured for years under Nassar's care. At that hearing, the gymnasts blasted the FBI for its mishandling of the investigation, with Biles accusing the bureau of turning a blind eye to all of Nassar's victims.

Persons: Larry Nassar, Penitentiary Coleman, Benjamin O'Cone, O'Cone, Nassar, Joe Rojas, Rebecca Cook, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, unflinchingly, General Michael Horowitz, Biles, Maroney, Rami Ayyub, Frank Pingue, Doina Chiacu, Alistair Bell Organizations: USA Gymnastics, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S, Penitentiary, FBI, CNN, Associated Press, USA, REUTERS, Michigan State University, Olympic, Paralympic, Senate, Biles, Thomson Locations: Florida, Eaton, Charlotte , Michigan, U.S

☆ Apartment building collapse kills 14 in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, July 8 (Reuters) - A residential building collapse in northeastern Brazil killed 14 people, civil defense officials said on Saturday, as the last missing people were found lifeless. The collapse occurred on Friday in the Janga neighborhood on the outskirts of Recife, the capital of the northeastern state of Pernambuco. The apartment building collapsed during heavy rains that struck the region while many residents were still asleep. According to a statement from civil defense, three people managed to survive the collapse, whose cause remains unclear. Recife, a coastal city with around 1.5 million residents, has been grappling with heavy rainfall in recent days.

Persons: Raquel Lyra, Marcela Ayres, Alistair Bell Organizations: Twitter, Thomson Locations: BRASILIA, Brazil, Janga, Recife, Pernambuco

☆ Missing Mexican journalist's body found, his newspaper La Jornada reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 8 (Reuters) - The body of missing 59-year-old Mexican journalist Luis Martín Sanchez Iniguez was found in the Mexican state of Nayarit, his newspaper La Jornada said on Saturday. Sanchez Iniguez had been missing since Wednesday and his wife filed a missing persons report with Mexican authorities on Friday. His body was found on the outskirts of the city of Tepic. The country consistently ranks as one of the most deadly countries for journalists, according to press freedom groups. Reporting and writing by Anna-Catherine Brigida Editing by Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Luis Martín Sanchez Iniguez, Sanchez Iniguez, Anna, Catherine Brigida, Alistair Bell Organizations: Thomson Locations: Mexican, Nayarit, Tepic, Mexico

Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security adviser, said Ukraine will not be voted into NATO membership at the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, but he encouraged Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelenskiy to attend to discuss the matter. Also topping Biden's agenda in Vilnius will be Sweden, whose accession into NATO has been blocked by Turkey. Sullivan said Sweden will eventually gain NATO membership despite Turkey's opposition. He said Biden will discuss Sweden with Erdogan at some point during the summit but did not know the format for the talks. Biden leaves on Sunday for London, the first stop on a three-nation trip centered around the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, Biden, Sullivan, Denys Shmyhal, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Rishi Sunak, King Charles, Nandita Bose, Steve Holland, Chris Reese, Alistair Bell Organizations: NATO, Kyiv, United States, Kurdistan Workers Party, London, British, Windsor Castle, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Vilnius, Lithuania, Europe, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Stockholm, Lithuanian, Helsinki, London

☆ New Mexico trail clash echoes culture war across US West
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Andrew Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Andrew HayTALPA, N.M., July 7 (Reuters) - Physiotherapist Spencer Bushnell lives less than a mile from farmer Carlos Arguello in Taos, New Mexico. But they are worlds apart on proposals to lace the foothills they love with up to 71 miles of mountain bike and hiking trails. That put the neighbors on the frontline of a culture war raging across the West as multi-generational families, conservationists and sometimes conservatives fight trail systems sought by incomers and recreationist locals. Two bike trail projects have been nixed in as many months on public land in Oregon and Colorado. Across the United States, Americans are moving to places with trees and trails, many working remotely.

Persons: Spencer Bushnell, Andrew Hay TALPA, Carlos Arguello, Arguello, Bushnell, Carl Colonius, Darryl Maestas, Hispanos, Emily Matheu, Michael Lujan, Andrew Hay, Donna Bryson, Alistair Bell Organizations: . Forest Service, REUTERS, Division, U.S ., USFS, mamas, Thomson Locations: Taos , New Mexico, U.S, Oregon, Colorado, The Taos, Taos, Bend , Oregon, United States, South Korea, Afghanistan, Oakland , California, California

Yellen is due to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng -- her direct counterpart as China's top economic official -- on Saturday, a U.S. Treasury official said. MARKET REFORMSYellen also took aim at China's planned economy, urging Beijing to return to more market-oriented practices that had underpinned its rapid growth in past years. "A shift toward market reforms would be in China's interests," she told the AmCham event. Yellen dismissed the idea of decoupling the U.S. and Chinese economies, nothing that China's enormous and growing middle-class provided a big market for American goods and services. A Treasury official said the vibrant U.S. business community in China was "a living embodiment that we are not decoupling."

Persons: Yellen, Li, Janet Yellen, Li Qiang, Washington, Liu He, Xi Jinping, Yi Gang, Mark Schiefelbein, Yellen's, Michael Hart, BIDEN, Joe Biden, Xi, Antony Blinken, John Kerry, Andrea Shalal, Joe Cash, David Lawder, Catherine Evans, Heather Timmons, Alistair Bell Organizations: China, . Treasury, U.S, Treasury, American Chamber of Commerce, of, People, REUTERS U.S, Economic Cooperation, Thomson Locations: U.S, BEIJING, China, Beijing, United States, Washington, New Delhi, Asia, San Francisco, Ukraine

Uzra Zeya, U.S. under secretary of state for democracy and human rights, will also meet with Indian government officials to discuss "global challenges, democracy, regional stability, and cooperation on humanitarian relief," the State Department said in a statement on Friday. Biden said he discussed human rights with Modi but he did not publicly criticize Modi, his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or India's government on the topic. During his U.S. visit, Modi denied that abuse of religious minorities existed in India, a claim that activists called a lie and said was contradicted by documentation from human rights advocates. In reports released this year on human rights and religious freedom, the State Department raised concerns over treatment of Muslims, Hindu Dalits, Christians and other religious minorities in India while also noting a crackdown on journalists and dissidents. The U.N. human rights office described a 2019 citizenship law as "fundamentally discriminatory" for excluding Muslim migrants.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Uzra Zeya, Modi, Joe Biden, Biden, Zeya, Kanishka Singh, Alistair Bell Organizations: Indian, State Department, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, The State Department, World Press, Thomson Locations: U.S, India, United States, Bangladesh, Washington, China, Karnataka

BRASILIA, July 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's lower house of Congress approved on Friday the main text of a tax reform that will restructure the country's complex consumption taxes, a move President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva touted as a "great victory". The bill will now be sent to the Senate, where it will also be voted on in two rounds. "Brazil will have its first tax reform of the democratic period ... We are working towards a better future for everyone." Markets reacted positively to the lower house approval, with Brazil's real strengthening more than 1% against the dollar, while benchmark stock index Bovespa (.BVSP) jumped 1.65%. 'A NECESSITY'The lower house approved the reform by 382-118 in the first round of voting held late on Thursday.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Fernando Haddad, Haddad, Rodrigo Pacheco, Arthur Lira, Jair Bolsonaro, Maria Carolina Marcello, Carolina Pulice, Gabriel Araujo, Michael Perry, Devika Syamnath, Alistair Bell Organizations: Lawmakers, Senate, Markets, JPMorgan, Finance, Workers ' Party, Thomson Locations: BRASILIA, Brazil

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