Alabama executes man convicted of killing minister, wounding his wife during 1991 robbery

Alabama on Thursday executed a 46-year-old man convicted of killing a minister and wounding his wife with a sword and dagger while robbing their home three days before Christmas in 1991, the state's department of corrections said.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2XhyHna

Read More

U.S. measles cases in 2019 highest since 1992

The United States recorded 971 cases of measles in the first five months of 2019, surpassing the total for any year since 1992, which was before the disease was declared eradicated in the country, federal officials said on Thursday.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2WbVh4e

Read More

Major Hollywood studios may reconsider Georgia business over abortion law

The producer of the hit television series "The Walking Dead" and other major Hollywood film and TV studios said on Thursday they would reconsider locating productions in Georgia if a new state law restricting abortions takes effect.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2XeAf1b

Read More

New Mexico town gets death threats after halting crowd-funded border wall

A New Mexico mayor on Thursday said he and his staff received multiple death threats after they briefly halted construction of a crowd-funded, private border wall by a group that then urged supporters to tell the city to "stop playing games," and alleged it was tied to drug cartels.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2W2akbC

Read More

Sixteen bright sparks vie for national spelling bee crown

Sixteen young spellers, winnowed down from hundreds of contestants, will battle it out on Thursday night in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee when the champion will walk away with a $50,000 prize.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2JNgU4s

Read More

Central U.S. faces high risk of river flooding even as rains ease

Rain-swollen rivers threatened more flooding on Thursday in Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois and Oklahoma, as Tulsa's mayor warned that the decades-old levee system in his city would be at risk even as waters receded through the weekend.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2HL7Vys

Read More

U.S. disaster aid bill blocked again as Republican objects

A U.S. Republican lawmaker on Thursday blocked a $19.1 billion package to help Americans recover from a string of natural disasters, delaying passage for at least a few more days until the full House of Representatives can vote on it next week.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2JMmm7F

Read More

R. Kelly charged with new felony sex assault, abuse counts: Chicago Sun Times report

Grammy-winning singer R. Kelly was charged on Thursday with 11 new felony counts of sexual assault and abuse that could, if he is convicted, send the R & B singer to prison for 30 years, the Chicago Sun Times reported.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2VYgPMV

Read More

Los Angeles County sues Bayer's Monsanto over PCB contamination

Los Angeles County sued Monsanto Co on Thursday, seeking to force the unit of Germany's Bayer AG to help pay for reducing PCB contamination in dozens of bodies of water.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2JLTHiX

Read More

U.S. judge rejects Trump administration move to start wall construction

A federal judge rejected on Thursday an effort by the Trump administration to begin construction on a wall on the border with Mexico while it appeals a ruling that found funding for the wall was likely not authorized by Congress.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2I7KiPA

Read More

NBCUniversal says abortion laws would 'strongly impact' decision on where it films

Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal said if anti-abortion laws in various U.S. states are upheld, it would "strongly impact" where it produces films and television shows in the future.

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/30SWigi

Read More

New Hampshire becomes 21st U.S. state to repeal death penalty

New Hampshire abolished the death penalty on Thursday, becoming the 21st U.S. state to do so, after the state's Senate voted 16-8 to override the Republican governor's veto of a bill passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature

from Reuters: U.S. https://reut.rs/2KaWiCi

Read More

Cambodia PM dismisses fears of Chinese debt trap

Prime Minister Hun Sen dismissed on Thursday fears that Cambodia was falling into a Chinese "debt trap", saying its loans are low interest, low risk and were not a threat to national independence.

from Reuters: World News https://reut.rs/2HLr57d

Read More

South Africa gets gender-balanced cabinet

For the first time in the country's history, half of all ministers in South Africa's cabinet are women.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2IkW9dh

Read More

Disney could pull productions from Georgia over abortion law

Disney's CEO says it would be "difficult " to over-rule people who didn't want to work in the state.

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2YWKjfL

Read More

Nesamani: Who is he and why is the world praying for him?

Who is Nesamani and why is seemingly everyone in the world praying for him on Twitter?

from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XeOH9J

Read More