By Brenda Goh and Roxanne Liu SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Authorities began locking down some western areas of Shanghai two days ahead of schedule, as new COVID-19 cases in China’s most populous city jumped by a third despite stringent measures already in plac…
Oklahoma’s Republican governor signs transgender sports ban
By Maria Caspani (Reuters) – Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt on Wednesday signed a Republican-backed bill banning transgender athletes from girls’ school sports, adding to a list of states that have passed or enacted similar laws. “We are protecting wome…
Biden eyes Cold War-era defense law to boost mining sector
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Ernest Scheyder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden could invoke a Cold War-era defense law as soon as this week to encourage domestic production of minerals needed to make electric vehicle batteries, according to two…
U.S. residents to get $3.2 billion to lower home energy costs
By Nandita Bose and Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration will make available nearly $3.2 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure law to help Americans lower home energy costs, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Wed…
California task force votes to limit eligibility for any slavery reparations
(Reuters) – A California task force on reparations recommends limiting any government payments to Black people whose ancestors were in the United States in the 19th century, rather than giving money to all Black people. After a lengthy debate, the pane…
Explainer-Peace talks on Ukraine: Russia’s red lines unchanged
By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) – Russia and Ukraine are talking about a peace deal while their soldiers kill each other, but there has been no breakthrough and they remain far apart on the question of territory. President Vladimir Putin says the…
U.S. astronaut, two Russian cosmonauts return home from ISS
By Olzhas Auyezov and Steve Gorman ALMATY (Reuters) -A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts safely landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday after leaving the International Space Station aboard the same capsule despite heightened antagonism between Moscow…
Sanctioned or not, Russians abroad find their money is ‘toxic’
By Kirstin Ridley, Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Danielle Kaye LONDON/ZURICH/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Yevgeny Chichvarkin, a telecoms tycoon who fled Russia in 2008 and became a high-profile London restaurateur, has long been a vocal supporter of Ukraine. Tog…
Thousands of Australians flee homes as floods inundate towns
By Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) – Heavy rains deluged Australia’s east coast on Wednesday, submerging entire towns, while thousands of people fled their homes for the second time within weeks after fast-moving flood waters burst river banks and broke ov…
Group of 21 U.S. states ask judge to halt federal transportation mask mandate
By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group of 21 states led by Florida on Tuesday asked a U.S. judge to block a federal COVID-19 mandate requiring masks on airplanes and other forms of transportation. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of rec…