Blog with slideshow

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street CEOs voiced confidence on Wednesday that the incoming U.S. administration would be business-friendly and good for banks as they reported a profits surge after dealmaking and trading picked up. The market environment has already been favorable for banks, with buoyant equity markets and anticipation that President-elect Donald Trump will usher in a deregulatory and lower-tax agenda. “There has been a meaningful shift in CEO confidence, […]

A group of Democratic attorneys general asked a court on Wednesday to let them defend a federal policy that opened subsidized health coverage to “Dreamers,” young adults who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. They want to take up the mantle since they anticipate President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will not do so after he takes office on Monday. The request in U.S. District Court in Bismarck, North Dakota, […]

U.S. automobile safety regulators are closing their preliminary investigation into General Motors’ Cruise robotaxis without taking further action. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that the Office of Defects Investigation opened a preliminary evaluation in October 2023 to determine whether vehicles equipped with an Automated Driving System made and operated by Cruise LLC were using appropriate caution around pedestrians in the roadway after receiving two reports of crashes involving […]

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal, mediators announced Wednesday, pausing a devastating 15-month war in the Gaza Strip and raising the possibility of winding down the the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies. The deal, coming after weeks of painstaking negotiations in the Qatari capital, promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas in phases, the release of hundreds […]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Ethics Commission on Wednesday fined two advocacy groups that were founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams and led by Raphael Warnock before voters elected him to the U.S. Senate. The commission found that the New Georgia Project and its affiliated New Georgia Project Action Fund illegally did election work for Abrams and others without disclosing their campaign contributions and spending. The groups’ current leadership admitted illegal […]

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The federal government is withdrawing a proposal that would require more ships to slow down in East Coast waters to try to save a vanishing species of whale, officials said Wednesday. The move in the waning days of the Biden administration will leave the endangered North Atlantic right whale vulnerable to extinction as the Trump administration is signaling a shift from environmental conservation to support for […]

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s police department is curbing its use of high-speed chases after finding that about one-quarter of more than 2,200 initiated by officers last year led to a collision, property damage, physical harm or death. A new policy effective Feb. 1 will limit vehicle pursuits to only the most serious and violent crimes, barring them for traffic infractions, violations and nonviolent misdemeanors. Officers will also […]

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. prosecutors said Wednesday that they’re discussing a potential plea deal with Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, the long-elusive Mexican drug lord who was arrested last summer and whose son could testify against him if he goes to trial. Assistant U.S. attorney Francisco Navarro said the plea discussions with Zambada, a leader of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, haven’t borne fruit so far, but prosecutors want to keep […]

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and House Democrats have asked the state’s highest court to intervene in a partisan power struggle that has roiled the start of the 2025 legislative session. Simon, a Democrat, petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court late Tuesday to declare that he legally remains the presiding officer in the Minnesota House, for now, and that Tuesday’s election of GOP leader Lisa […]

DUBLIN (Reuters) – The leader of Ireland’s Fianna Fail party Micheal Martin is set to return to the role of prime minister next week, according to a coalition deal agreed with rival Fine Gael and independent lawmakers that was published on Wednesday. It will be Martin’s second stint as prime minister, having led the country from 2020 to 2022. He will hand the role over to the leader of fellow […]