Apr 25 Spain pleads for EU crisis funds as extreme drought hits farmers By Jennifer O'Mahoney, Sergio Rodrigo, Associated Press Spain's Agriculture Minister Luis Planas has requested emergency funds from the European Union to support farmers and ranchers amid extreme drought conditions in the country's agricultural heartlands. Continue reading
Apr 24 Twitter changes stoke Russian, Chinese disinformation By David Klepper, Associated Press Russia, China and Iran are exploiting recent changes at Twitter to spread disinformation faster and farther. Under new owner Elon Musk, Twitter recently ended its policy of labeling foreign propaganda agencies like RT or Sputnik. Continue reading
Apr 24 Las Vegas-to-California high-speed rail line gets bipartisan backing By Ken Ritter, Associated Press A bipartisan congressional group from Nevada and California is asking the Biden administration to fast-track federal funds for a private company to build a high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area. Continue reading
Apr 24 Cities look to revive downtowns by converting offices to housing By Mae Anderson, Ashraf Khalil, Michael Casey, Associated Press A growing number of developers are considering converting empty office towers into housing as part of an effort to revive struggling downtown business districts that emptied out during the pandemic. Continue reading
Apr 24 Gov. Kelly vetoes bill to cut Kansas taxes by nearly $1.4 billion over 3 years By John Hanna, Associated Press Democratic Gov. Kelly has vetoed a bill to cut taxes in Kansas by nearly $1.4 billion over the next three years. Kelly told reporters Monday that she objected to a proposal included by conservative Republicans to impose a single-rate "flat"… Continue reading
Apr 23 Bed Bath & Beyond files for bankruptcy protection after failing to secure funding By Anne D'Innocenzio, Associated Press Bed Bath & Beyond — one of the original big box retailers known for its seemingly endless offerings of sheets, towels and kitchen gadgets — filed for bankruptcy protection, following years of dismal sales and losses and numerous failed turnaround… Continue reading
Apr 21 Lyft employees brace for ‘significant’ layoffs as new CEO takes the reins By Michael Liedtke, Associated Press Lyft is preparing to lay off hundreds of employees just days after new CEO David Risher began steering the ride-hailing service with a eye of driving down costs to help bring its fares more in line with its biggest rival, Uber. Continue reading
Apr 20 Charge to be dropped in Alec Baldwin movie set shooting By Andrew Dalton, Associated Press Prosecutors in New Mexico plan to drop an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film "Rust."… Continue reading
Apr 20 Semi-automatic firearm ban fails in Democrat-controlled Colorado By Jesse Bedayn, Associated Press Colorado's Democratic lawmakers have killed an ambitious bill that would have banned the sale and transfer of semiautomatic firearms, including some pistols, shotguns and rifles. Continue reading
Apr 20 Continued anger at retirement age change fuels further protests in France By Daniel Cole, Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press Hundreds of protesters opposed to the law raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 have demonstrated in a small town in southern France during a visit by President Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading