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Texas round table to include both sides of gun debate

By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Two groups at opposite ends of the gun debate will meet Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday as part of a second round of talks on preventing gun violence on campus, a response to last week's fatal shooting of 10 people in a Houston-area high school. Abbott invited representatives from the Texas State Rifle Association, which is affiliated with the National Rifle Association, and Texas Gun Sense, which favors gun control, to join him in Austin, the state capital. A group of experts are also expected to take part in the second of three round tables that the governor said would focus on mental health issues and the causes of gun violence.

Hawaii volcano belches new ash plume as geothermal wells secured from harm

By Marco Garcia VOLCANO, Hawaii (Reuters) - The restive Kilauea Volcano belched clouds of ash into the skies over Hawaii's Big Island twice more on Wednesday as civil defense authorities reported that pressurized geothermal wells at a nearby power plant had been secured from approaching lava. The latest back-to-back upheavals of ash from the main summit crater of Kilauea -- one before dawn and another several hours later -- came on the 21st day of what geologists rank as one of the biggest eruption cycles in a century from one of the world's most active volcanoes. The Hawaii County Civil Defense agency warned in its latest bulletin that residents downwind of Kilauea should take care to avoid exposure to ash, which can cause eye irritation and breathing difficulties, particularly in people with respiratory problems.

U.S. cautions citizens in China after 'abnormal' sound incident

By Michael Martina and Lesley Wroughton BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An American citizen working at the U.S. consulate in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has reported suffering from "abnormal" sounds and pressure leading to a mild brain injury, the U.S. embassy said on Wednesday and China said it was investigating the incident. The embassy, which issued a health alert to Americans living in China, said it could not link the case to health issues suffered by U.S. government staff in Cuba dating back to late 2016.

Bowing to Trump, NFL will require players to stand for anthem

The National Football League will fine teams if players on the field refuse to stand for the national anthem, the league said on Wednesday in a victory for U.S. President Donald Trump, who loudly demanded an end to such protests last year. Some NFL players knelt during the anthem to protest police shootings of unarmed black men, sparking a controversy as Trump criticized the players as being unpatriotic. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday announced a new policy that will fine teams if players on the field fail to stand during the "Star-Spangled Banner." Players who choose not to stand may now remain in the locker room until after the anthem is finished.

New Jersey governor signs nuclear power subsidy bill into law

(Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed several legislative initiatives on Wednesday to advance the state's clean energy goals, including a controversial bill that would subsidize the continued operation of nuclear power plants. The new nuclear law, which could cost about $300 million a year, establishes a Zero Emissions Certificate (ZEC) program to maintain New Jersey's nuclear energy supply, which contributes close to 40 percent of the state's electric capacity and is by far its largest source of carbon free energy. Plants seeking to participate in the program would be required, among other things, to demonstrate that they make a significant contribution to New Jersey air quality and are at risk of closure within three years.

Democratic voters challenge Ohio congressional district map

A group of Democratic voters asked a federal court on Wednesday to throw out a Republican-drawn map of Ohio's 16 U.S. House of Representatives districts, saying the boundaries were devised to entrench Republicans in power in violation of the voters' constitutional rights. Democratic voters residing in all of the districts filed suit in Cincinnati against Ohio Governor John Kasich and other Republican state officials over a practice called partisan gerrymandering. The U.S. Supreme Court is due by the end of June to issue rulings in two major partisan gerrymandering cases from Wisconsin and Maryland that could affect the Ohio suit.

Uber ends Arizona self-driving program following fatality

Uber has shut down its self-driving car operation in Arizona two months after a fatal crash involving one of its vehicles, the company said on Wednesday. Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] is not shuttering its entire autonomous vehicle program, a spokeswoman said, adding that it will focus on limited testing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and two cities in California. "We're committed to self-driving technology, and we look forward to returning to public roads in the near future," the spokeswoman said.

Head of USA Gymnastics apologizes to sex abuse victims

By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top executive of USA Gymnastics apologized during a congressional hearing on Wednesday to hundreds of female athletes who were sexually abused by longtime team doctor Larry Nassar and declared that "those days are over." Kerry Perry, chief executive of USA Gymnastics since December, said she was "appalled and sickened" by Nassar's sexual abuse of athletes while he was a USA Gymnastics volunteer. "First, I want to apologize to all who were harmed by the horrific acts of Larry Nassar," she said during the hearing of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce subcommittee looking into whether U.S. Olympic sports have done enough to protect athletes from sexual abuse.

U.S. veteran pleads guilty to airport killings to avoid death penalty

A U.S. veteran of the war in Iraq on Wednesday pleaded guilty to fatally shooting five people to death at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in January 2017, in a deal approved by a federal judge that spared him the death penalty. Esteban Santiago, 28, agreed in U.S. District Court in Miami to a plea deal that calls for him to serve five consecutive life sentences followed by 120 years in prison without a right to appeal. Santiago flew from his home in Anchorage, Alaska, to Fort Lauderdale, retrieved a Walther 9mm pistol and two clips of ammunition that he had checked on the flight and opened fire near a baggage carousel.

Gun control support fades three months after Florida massacre: Reuters/Ipsos poll

By Daniel Trotta NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Parkland, Florida, school massacre has had little lasting impact on U.S. views on gun control, three months after the shooting deaths of 17 people propelled a national movement by some student survivors, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday. While U.S. public support for more gun control measures has grown slowly but steadily over the years, it typically spikes immediately after the mass shootings that have become part of the U.S. landscape, then falls back to pre-massacre levels within a few months. The poll found that 69 percent of American adults supported strong or moderate regulations or restrictions for firearms, down from 75 percent in late March, when the first poll was conducted following the Valentine's Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

As U.S. shrinks refugee operations, new arrivals in Kansas town lose a lifeline

Through all the confusing experiences since they arrived in February, Htoo, his wife Htoo Say and their 2-year-old child had been guided by a refugee center run by the non-profit International Rescue Committee (IRC), one of nine designated resettlement agencies in the country. Now, on an overcast March morning, staff members were eager to help him land a job quickly.

'Surf's up' takes on new meaning for California foilboarders

Harnessing the "foiling" technology more typically seen on racing catamarans in sailing's America's Cup, the surfboards appear to fly above the water thanks to a fin attached to the bottom of the board. "You feel like a little kid," said professional athlete and stuntman Chuck Patterson, who rides a custom short board with a aluminum and fiberglass hydrofoil. The foil is like a wing that extends into the water under the surfboard.

University of Southern California torn by scandal surrounding gynecologist

By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two-hundred faculty members of the University of Southern California on Tuesday called for the USC's top official to resign over the school's handling of complaints that a campus health clinic gynecologist sexually abused his patients during pelvic exams. The demand for USC President C.L. Max Nikias to step down came in an open letter from professors to the school's Board of Trustees as USC faced a mounting tide of litigation accusing Dr. George Tyndall of misconduct and the university of complicity and negligence. Tyndall resigned from the university last year after an internal inquiry found his pelvic examination practices were beyond accepted medical standards and that he had harassed patients.

Ocean, jungle explosions new risks from Hawaii eruption

By Jolyn Rosa HONOLULU (Reuters) - Lava from Hawaii's erupting Kilauea volcano is exploding as it pours into the ocean, shooting rock fragments that are a danger to boaters. Inland, where molten rock is burning through jungle, methane explosions are hurling boulders while toxic gas is reaching some of the highest levels seen in recent times. Lava edged towards a geothermal power plant on Tuesday after destroying an old warehouse near the facility, County of Hawaii Civil Defense said.

U.S. court backs transgender student at center of bathroom dispute

A U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled that federal law protects a transgender student who fought all the way to the Supreme Court for the right to use a bathroom at a high school in Virginia that corresponded with his gender identity. U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen in Norfolk rejected a bid by the Gloucester County School Board to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit filed by student Gavin Grimm. The judge said Grimm has valid claims under a federal law, called Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, that bars discrimination on the basis of sex in education as well as the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law.

Texas governor opens school safety summit, vows to protect the 'innocent'

By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Days after 10 people were shot to death at Texas high school, Governor Greg Abbott met with politicians and school administrators on Tuesday to consider proposals to stem school violence in a state where gun-control measures usually sink in the Republican-controlled legislature. About 20 people, including those who support arming teachers, attended the first of three days of meetings in the state capital, Austin, following the fourth-deadliest U.S. school shooting this year at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, on Friday.

Shooter in Panama City, Florida standoff dead: officials

The suspect, identified as Kevin Holroyd, 49, fired multiple rounds at officers from a second-floor apartment before he was found dead inside, Tommy Ford, sheriff of Bay County where Panama City is located, told a news conference. Holroyd was wanted in connection with a homicide investigation in nearby Walton County, the Bay County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook. The homicide victim, 30-year-old Clinton Street, died from multiple gunshot wounds before 9 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, Walton County Sheriff's spokeswoman Corey Dobridnia said in a phone interview.

U.S. court backs transgender student at center of bathroom dispute

A U.S. judge on Tuesday ruled that federal law protects a transgender student who fought all the way to the Supreme Court for the right to use a bathroom at a high school in Virginia that corresponded with his gender identity. U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen in Norfolk rejected a bid by the Gloucester County School Board to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit filed by student Gavin Grimm. The judge said Grimm has valid claims under a federal law, called Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, that bars discrimination on the basis of sex in education as well as the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law.

Video of stun gun on Bucks' guard Brown worries Milwaukee mayor

Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett said he is concerned about public backlash that could emerge when a video of police officers tasing Bucks guard Sterling Brown is released to the public this week. "I'm going to let the release of that speak for itself, but yes, I definitely have concerns after watching that video," Barrett told reporters Monday, adding that Police Chief Alfonso Morales felt similarly. In the body-camera video, which could be released as soon as Wednesday, Brown "doesn't appear to be provocative at all" before officers use a stun gun on him, a source told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Trump administration to publish proposed rule changes for gun exports: official

The Trump administration is preparing to publish on Thursday long-delayed proposed rule changes for the export of U.S. firearms, a State Department official said on Tuesday. The rule changes would move the oversight of commercial firearm exports from the U.S. Department of State to the Department of Commerce. The action is part of a broader Trump administration overhaul of weapons export policy that was announced in April.

Businessman who sold diseased human body parts gets nine years in prison

By Serena Maria Daniels and John Shiffman DETROIT (Reuters) - A Detroit businessman who sold and leased human body parts was sentenced to nine years in prison Tuesday for selling diseased remains to medical educators. Arthur Rathburn, 64, is the third and most significant person convicted as part of a national investigation into the largely unregulated market for body parts in the United States. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating other so-called body brokers in Illinois, Oregon and Colorado, and has executed search warrants in each of those cases.

Maryland police arrest suspects in police officer's slaying

The female Baltimore County officer, Amy Caprio, on Monday had confronted burglary suspects who attempted to flee in a vehicle, sparking a violent altercation that left the nearly four-year-veteran of the force critically injured, police said. Sixteen-year-old Dawnta Harris, was arrested shortly after Monday's altercation and was charged as an adult with first-degree murder, Baltimore police spokesman Natalie Litofsky said in a post on Twitter. Heavily armed Maryland police working with dogs had searched through the night for the other three suspects.

As U.S. shrinks refugee operations, new arrivals in Kansas town lose a lifeline

Through all the confusing experiences since they arrived in February, Htoo, his wife Htoo Say and their 2-year-old child had been guided by a refugee center run by the non-profit International Rescue Committee (IRC), one of nine designated resettlement agencies in the country. Now, on an overcast March morning, staff members were eager to help him land a job quickly.

Texas leaders want more screening and more guns to prevent more shootings

Texas political leaders are considering installing airport-style security at public schools and screening students for mental health issues as alternatives to gun control to thwart a repeat of last week's deadly shooting at a Houston-area high school. The focus on school security and mental health has emerged since the shooting because Republican Governor Greg Abbott is facing few calls to overhaul gun laws in a state where the majority of the electorate backs gun ownership. Eight students and two teachers were killed when a 17-year-old student opened fire at Santa Fe High School last week in the latest mass shooting at a U.S. school.

Lava creeps onto geothermal plant site on Hawaii's Big Island

By Terray Sylvester PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Molten lava from the erupting Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii's Big Island crept onto a geothermal power plant site on Monday, as workers rushed to shut down the facility to prevent the uncontrollable release of toxic gases. Crews worked into the night to cap the 11th and final well at the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) plant, which provides about 25 percent of the Big Island's power, as lava from an active fissure flowed 200 to 300 yards from the nearest well pad, county and federal officials said. The latest explosive eruption at the Kilauea summit occurred shortly before 6 p.m. local time, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported.

Hawaii volcano eruption driving away millions in tourism dollars

Cruise ships have canceled stops on Hawaii's Big Island. Hotel rooms will sit vacant this summer despite price cuts. Tourism authorities say summer bookings for hotels on Hawaii's Big Island have fallen almost 50 percent since the volcano began spewing lava and toxic gases on May 3.

U.S. proposes end of grizzly-baiting ban in Alaska's national preserves

Environmental groups immediately assailed the proposal, saying bear-baiting and other hunting and trapping practices the measure would permit are inhumane and disruptive to the natural predator-prey dynamic in Alaska's preserves. The plan, pushed by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, would give state wildlife managers the discretion to decide what kinds of bear-hunting methods are permitted across 20 million acres (8.million hectares) of national preserve lands in Alaska.

Justice Department expands 2016 probe into alleged Russia collusion

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Monday agreed to expand its investigation into alleged Russia collusion in the 2016 election to include "any irregularities" involving FBI tactics on Trump's presidential campaign, a White House spokeswoman said.

Pennsylvania sues over troubled Harrisburg incinerator bond deals

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's administration on Monday sued an array of financial, legal and other professional firms over their involvement in a 15-year-old incinerator upgrade project that nearly bankrupted the state capital, Harrisburg. The state sued RBC Capital Markets, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Public Financial Management Inc (PFM) and others over the 2003 ill-fated trash-to-energy project, which saddled the city with more than $360 million of debt. In its time, Harrisburg's debt saga was the most dramatic episode in U.S. public finance, coming before both Detroit and Puerto Rico filed their respective bankruptcies.

Gunman who killed Indian man in Kansas bar pleads guilty to federal charges

A Kansas man who shot and killed an Indian software engineer and injured two others in February 2017 pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to hate crime and firearm charges, the Justice Department said. The shooting drew international attention as part of a wave of attacks nationwide against ethnic and religious minority groups following the 2016 election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has railed against illegal immigration. The shooter, Adam Purinton, approached two Indian men, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, at a bar, demanding to know where they were from, calling one a terrorist and shouting, "Get out of my country!" Two other patrons escorted him out of the bar.

Same grief, different outcomes: Texas mulls school safety

Mourners knelt before white wooden crosses on Monday outside the Texas high school where 10 people were killed in the fourth deadly U.S. school shooting this year, an image recalling similar gatherings following February's Florida school massacre. A crowd of a few dozen people including student survivors of the attack, family members, chaplains and police gathered to observe a 10 a.m. CT (1500 GMT) moment of silence called for by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In contrast to Florida, where the deaths of 17 teens and educators sparked a youth-led movement calling for new restrictions on gun ownership, the Texas tragedy saw elected officials and survivors alike voicing support for gun rights.

Companies win big at U.S. top court on worker class-action curbs

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to the rights of workers on Monday by allowing companies to require them to sign away their ability to bring class-action claims against management, agreements already in place for about 25 million employees. The justices, in a 5-4 ruling with the court's conservatives in the majority, endorsed the legality of the growing practice by companies to compel workers to sign arbitration agreements waiving their right to bring class-action claims on various disputes, primarily over wages and hours. The ruling could apply more broadly to discrimination claims like those raised by women as part of the #MeToo movement raising awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace but the court did not explicitly address that issue.

U.S. top court takes up challenge to Virginia uranium mining ban

By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether states have the right to ban uranium mining for public health reasons in a dispute over a moratorium Virginia put in place on the radioactive metal in 1982. The court will hear a bid by a Virginia Energy Resources Inc subsidiary and other owners of the largest U.S. uranium deposit to revive a lawsuit thrown out by a lower court that sought to invalidate Virginia's ban because it conflicted with a federal law that regulates nuclear power generation. Uranium, a main source of fuel for nuclear power plants and material in nuclear warheads, remains a strategic resource for electricity and national defense.

U.S. Supreme Court takes up dispute over power plant in India

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider reviving a lawsuit by Indian villagers seeking to hold a Washington-based international financial institution responsible for widespread environmental damage they blame on a power plant it financed. The justices will hear an appeal by the villagers of a lower court ruling that the International Finance Corp was immune from such lawsuits under federal law. IFC, part of the World Bank Group, is an international institution with 184 member countries that helps secure financing for projects in developing nations.

Hawaii faces new threat of fumes from volcano's lava

By Terray Sylvester PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Hawaii faced a new hazard on Sunday as lava flows from Kilauea's volcanic eruption could produce clouds of acid fumes, steam and glass-like particles as they reach the Pacific, authorities said. Civil defense notices cautioned motorists, boaters and beachgoers to beware of caustic plumes of "laze" formed from two streams of hot lava pouring into the sea after cutting across Highway 137 on the south coast of Hawaii's Big Island late on Saturday and early Sunday.

Grief and anguish transcend two faiths' prayers after Texas school shooting

By Liz Hampton SANTA FE, Texas (Reuters) - The rituals and religious traditions may have been strikingly different, but a Methodist memorial service and Islamic funeral prayers held in two Houston suburbs on Sunday shared a profound anguish at the lives lost to high school gun violence in Santa Fe, Texas. The two services unfolded a day after authorities officially released the names of the eight students and two teachers slain on Friday at Santa Fe High School, marking the fourth deadliest shooting at a public school in modern U.S. history. "What was supposed to be a safe place was not," Rusty Norman, president of the Santa Fe Independent School District board of trustees, said as he addressed about 100 congregants at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church.

Spurned advances provoked Texas school shooting, victim's mother says

By Liz Hampton SANTA FE, Texas (Reuters) - A teenage boy charged with fatally shooting eight students and two teachers during a gun rampage at a Houston-area high school had been spurned by one of his victims after making aggressive advances, her mother told a newspaper. Sadie Rodriguez, the mother of Shana Fisher, 16, who was killed in the attack, told the Los Angeles Times that her daughter rejected four months of aggressive advances from Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, who is in jail accused of murdering 10 people early on Friday at the high school in Santa Fe. If true, it would be the second school shooting in recent months driven by such rejection.

Hawaii faces new threat from volcano - gassy, glassy laze

By Terray Sylvester PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Hawaii residents dealing with Kilauea's volcanic eruption faced a potentially deadly new challenge on Sunday as lava that reached the Pacific Ocean threatened to send up laze, a hazardous mix of glass particles and noxious gas. The new challenge came when a stream of lava from the volcano cut through Highway 137 on the south coast of Hawaii's Big Island late on Saturday and then poured into the sea, authorities said. The mix of erupting lava, which can reach 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,093 degrees Celsius), and sea water could send up plumes of laze, a mix of hydrochloric acid, steam and volcanic glass particles, Hawaii County Civil Defense said in a statement.

Spurned advances provoked Texas school shooting, victim's mother says

A teenage boy who shot and killed eight students and two teachers during a gun rampage at a Houston-area high school had been spurned by one of his victims after making aggressive advances, her mother told a newspaper. Sadie Rodriguez, the mother of Shana Fisher, 16, told the Los Angeles Times that her daughter rejected four months of aggressive advances from Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, who is in jail charged with murdering 10 people early on Friday at the high school in Santa Fe. If true, it would be the second school shooting in recent months driven by such rejection.