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Flooded U.S. Air Force base underscores climate risk to security: experts

Flooding at a U.S. Air Force base in Nebraska that damaged buildings and forced the removal of a plane integral to the nation's nuclear attack response highlight the risks climate change poses to national security, experts said on Monday. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned whether humans cause climate change and has been angered by assessments from his military and intelligence agencies that say the phenomenon poses national security risks. Last week's "bomb cyclone" storm flooded about 60 structures including 30 buildings at the Offutt Air Force Base, said Ryan Hansen, a spokesman for the 55th Wing, a unit providing reconnaissance, intelligence and combat support to U.S. leaders.

Peruvian ex-president arrested for being drunk in public in California

Peru's former president, Alejandro Toledo, considered a fugitive in Peru, was arrested for being drunk in public in California and released early on Monday, authorities in California said. Since 2017, Toledo, a resident of California, has refused to heed orders by a local judge to spend up to 18 months in pre-trial detention in connection with a massive bribery probe. The United States is still evaluating Peru's request to extradite Toledo.

Poppy apocalypse: Crowds descend on California city to see 'superbloom'

The rare profusion of orange poppies in Walker Canyon, set in the Temescal Mountains and accessible on foot via a trail, owes thanks to above-average rainfall in the arid region. The profusion of tourists in Lake Elsinore, located about 70 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, apparently owes thanks to the popularity of Instagram. The city of 63,300 has seen 50,000 tourists from around the country and as far away as Europe come to the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) trail in Walker Canyon over the last two weeks to take in the orange flowers carpeting the surrounding hills.

Former UAW vice president charged in U.S. corruption probe

U.S. prosecutors in Detroit on Monday charged a former high-ranking United Auto Workers official in charge of the labor union's relations with Fiat Chrysler (FCA) of misusing funds for lavish purchases for himself and other union officials. Norwood Jewell, who headed the UAW's FCA department from 2014 until his retirement in January 2018, was charged with conspiracy to violate labor laws and accepting improper payments in a criminal information - often a precursor to a plea agreement. Jewell is the highest-ranking former UAW official charged so far in a wide-ranging investigation into illegal payoffs to UAW officials.

U.S. top court hands defeat to Hawaii B&B that spurned lesbian couple

The justices refused to hear an appeal by Phyllis Young, who runs the three-room Aloha Bed & Breakfast in Honolulu, of a lower court's ruling that she violated a Hawaii anti-discrimination law by refusing to rent a room to Diane Cervilli and Taeko Bufford in 2007. A state court ruled that Young ran afoul of Hawaii's public accommodation law, which among other things bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Supreme Court's action came nine months after it sided on very narrow grounds with a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for two men, citing his Christian beliefs.

Nebraska floods inundate military bases, cut off nuclear plant

The floodwater forced the operators of the Cooper nuclear plant, near Brownville, Nebraska, to fly in staff and supplies by helicopter, and covered one-third of that state's Offutt Air Force Base, near Bellevue, home to the U.S. Strategic Command. The nuclear plant continued to operate safely and was at full power, its operator said. The National Weather Service reported some of the region's larger rivers were running at record high levels, causing levee breaks.

Massive fire at Houston petrochemical storage terminal may last two more days

A massive fire at a fuels storage company along the Houston Ship Channel may burn for two more days, an official said on Monday as the blaze spread a plume of black smoke across the city, shutting schools in two nearby communities. The fire began Sunday morning in a giant storage tank containing naphtha, a volatile substance used to create octane-boosting components of gasoline. No injuries were reported from the fire but nearby residents were encouraged to remain indoors.

Alan Krueger, economic adviser to Obama and Clinton, dies at 58

Alan Krueger, a Princeton University economics professor who advised U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, died over the weekend at the age of 58, the university said on Monday. "Alan was recognized as a true leader in his field, known and admired for both his research and teaching," the university said in a statement. Krueger served as chief economist for the U.S. Department of Labor during the Clinton administration and chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers during Obama's time in office.

U.S. high court takes up sentencing appeal in 'D.C. Sniper' case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether a man serving life in prison over his role in a deadly 2002 shooting spree in the Washington area should be resentenced because he was only 17 years old at the time. The nine justices will hear an appeal filed by the state of Virginia objecting to a lower court's decision ordering that Lee Boyd Malvo's sentence of life in prison without parole in the so-called D.C. Sniper crimes be thrown out. Malvo and an older accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, shot dead 10 people over three weeks in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.

Top U.S. court spurns Georgia death row inmate's racist juror claim

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for a black Georgia death row inmate to be executed, turning away his bid to challenge his death sentence for the 1990 murder of his sister-in-law on the basis that the trial was tainted by a racist white juror who questioned whether black people have souls. The allegations of racial bias arose from an interview with one of the jurors years later, not comments made during the trial. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a statement agreeing with the court's decision not to hear the case, noting that it turned on whether Tharpe could appeal and not the merits of his claim.

Supreme Court takes up Kansas identity theft case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a bid by Kansas to revive the state's policy of prosecuting people for identity theft for using other people's Social Security numbers to gain employment in a case linked to immigration issues. The justices will hear the state's appeal of a 2017 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that voided the convictions of three restaurant workers and found that a 1986 federal law, the Immigration Reform and Control Act, prevents states from pursuing such prosecutions. The three men - Ramiro Garcia, Donaldo Morales and Guadalupe Ochoa-Lara - had provided their employers Social Security numbers that were not their own before being prosecuted for identity theft.

Nebraska nuclear plant still at full power as floodwaters recede

"We are operating at full power and the water is receding ... and we expect the water level to continue dropping," NPPD spokesman Mark Becker said, noting there was no danger to the plant employees or the public. Becker said NPPD and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have checked the levees at Cooper and they are "in good shape." He also noted the Army Corps was reducing water releases from the Gavins Point Dam on the Missouri River between Nebraska and South Dakota to help reduce flooding downriver.

Democratic donor in $292 million bank fraud gets early prison release

A New York financier and Democratic political donor who pleaded guilty to a $292 million bank fraud is being released early from his 12-year prison term and moving to home confinement, court papers show. Hassan Nemazee, 69, who has spent about 8-1/2 years in prison, obtained approval last week from the federal Bureau of Prisons for the move, which is scheduled for late this week. Nemazee in January had asked his sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein, for early release.

Trump wants GM CEO 'to do something quickly' to reopen Ohio plant

President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that he urged General Motors Co's chief executive to "do something quickly" to reopen the company's Lordstown, Ohio, plant that was idled more than a week ago. Referring to his conversation with CEO Mary Barra, Trump added: "I asked her to sell it or do something quickly. Trump also tweeted on Saturday to urge GM to reopen the plant, saying: "Toyota is investing 13.5 $Billion in U.S., others likewise.

Far-flung job offers pose tough choices for GM Ohio workers

General Motors Co built the final Chevrolet Cruze small car at its Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant on March 6, despite demands from President Donald Trump, Ohio political leaders and the United Auto Workers union not to close the plant and leave nearly 1,500 workers laid off. Dina Mays, a 14-year veteran of Lordstown Assembly, was not at the plant for its last day. Consumers shifting away from traditional sedans such as the Cruze have left GM with more workers assigned to building cars than the market can support.

Americans to bet $8.5 billion on NCAA's 'March Madness' basketball tournament: report

A plurality of bettors - 29 percent - favor Duke University's Blue Devils to win, according to a report from the American Gaming Association (AGA), a casino industry group. The National Collegiate Athletic Association's tournament to determine the Division I men's basketball champions begins on Tuesday and ends April 8 in Minneapolis. This year is the first time the tournament will be held since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 allowed states to legalize, regulate and tax sports betting.

More flooding expected for devastated U.S. plains states

Water levels were expected to rise through the week, according to the National Weather Service, prompting evacuations in communities along the Missouri River on the Nebraska and Iowa border, as well as the Elkhorn and Platte rivers in Nebraska. "We're looking at widespread flooding that continues until at least early next week in the Plains and Midwest region," said meteorologist Marc Chenard with the service's Weather Prediction Center. "The big ones are at record stages right now," Chenard said.

Trump urges General Motors to reopen Ohio plant in tweet

U.S. President Donald Trump urged General Motors Co to reopen Ohio plant in a tweet on Saturday, ten days after the plant made its last Chevrolet Cruze. The last Cruze rolled off the assembly line a week ago Wednesday at GM's plant in Lordstown, Ohio, the first of five plants in North America to end production this year and ending U.S. production of the Cruze.

Police have man in custody for murder of New York Mafia boss

Police have a 24-year-old suspect in custody in the slaying of reputed Mafia boss Francesco "Franky Boy" Cali in New York City, authorities said on Saturday. The 53-year-old Cali, who was shot to death on Wednesday outside his Staten Island home, was allegedly the head of the Gambino family, one of the five Italian-American Mafia families that have historically dominated organized crime in New York and New Jersey. Police apprehended Anthony Comello in New Jersey on Saturday and expect to charge him with murdering Cali, the New York Police Department's Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea told a news conference.

U.S. youth rally in Washington protests climate inaction

Hundreds of youngsters skipped school to rally in Washington on Friday as part of what organizers called an international youth climate strike to seek action on climate change. Chanting "climate action now!", some 1,500 students joined the event in front of the Capitol Building, where Congress sits, while similar rallies were held in 46 states. The demonstrations, which demanded politicians take action to combat climate change, backed measures including the Green New Deal, an ambitious Democratic environmental proposal that has become a lightning rod for Republican criticism.

U.S. eases protections for threatened bird in Western states

Conservation groups denounced the move as a handout to the oil and gas industries, while an industry group praised it. Former President Barack Obama's 2015 plan to protect the ground-dwelling sage grouse imposed restrictions to development in their habitat but fell short of placing the bird on the endangered species list, which would have imposed far more rigid rules. Of the 11 Western states included in the 2015 plans, seven opted for changes, according to BLM.

U.S. high court broadens scope of census citizenship question case

In the aftermath of a March 6 ruling by a federal judge in California, the high court said it will decide whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross ran afoul of the Constitution's so-called Enumeration Clause, which sets out the terms under which people should be counted in the census, when he added the citizenship question in March 2018. Various states including New York and California as well as civil rights groups have challenged the question in court. Two judges have blocked the addition of the question.

'Bomb cyclone' triggers flooding on Mississippi, Missouri rivers

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts issued an emergency declaration for the state, citing forecasts of up to 2 feet (0.61 m) of snow and high winds that are expected to make travel "difficult to impossible" on roads. "Nebraskans should watch the forecast closely in the coming days and be prepared for severe weather events in conjunction with potential historic flooding," Ricketts said in the declaration. "Widespread and extremely dangerous flooding will continue today and tonight," the National Weather Service office in Omaha, Nebraska, said on Friday in a statement.

U.S. Soccer Federation defends support for women's team after lawsuit

All 28 members of the U.S. women's squad were named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit that was filed in federal court in Los Angeles on International Women's Day last week. Federation president Carlos Cordeiro said in an open letter that the body had made a sincere effort to provide the very best resources possible to the women's team. "U.S. Soccer believes that all female athletes deserve fair and equitable pay, and we strive to meet this core value at all times," he added.

Ex-U.S. intelligence officer pleads guilty to attempted espionage for China

A former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency officer pleaded guilty to attempted espionage for China, the Justice Department said on Friday. The officer, Ron Rockwell Hansen, was accused of trying to transmit classified U.S. national defense information to China and receiving "hundreds of thousands of dollars" while illegally acting as an agent for the Chinese government. Hansen started working at the DIA, which specializes in military intelligence, in 2006 after his retirement from the U.S. Army, and held a top-secret security clearance for many years, according to the Justice Department.

Pimco says college scandal mastermind spoke at two events it hosted

The figure at the center of the U.S. college cheating scandal spoke twice in the past decade at events hosted by Pacific Investment Management Co (Pimco), one of the world's largest asset managers whose former chief executive is ensnared in the fraud, the company said on Friday. Some Pimco employees also used William 'Rick' Singer's "legitimate college prep services," Pimco said in a statement. "We have no information at this time, however, to indicate Pimco employees acted improperly in their private capacity," Pimco said.

U.S. eases protections for threatened bird in Western states

Conservation groups denounced the move as a handout to the oil and gas industries, while an industry group praised it. Former President Barack Obama's 2015 plan to protect the ground-dwelling sage grouse imposed restrictions to development in their habitat but fell short of placing the bird on the endangered species list, which would have imposed far more rigid rules. Of the 11 Western states included in the 2015 plans, seven opted for changes, according to BLM.

Few Americans see savings from Trump's tax reform: Reuters/Ipsos poll

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Only one in five U.S. taxpayers expects to pay less income tax this year as a result of the tax reform law passed in 2017 by Republicans who promised big savings for everyday Americans, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Friday.

U.S. college admissions scam shows coaches in smaller sports can be big players

Without the focus or funding enjoyed by the heads of top college football and basketball teams, these obscure influencers turned out to be major players in a scheme to sell admissions slots to the wealthy parents of children with no real sports credentials. No figures are publicly available on how many slots college admissions offices reserve for athletic recruits each year, but they can add up to dozens at large universities, recruited athletes and college admissions advisers said in interviews this week. Parents and high school students have increasingly turned to athletic recruitment as an advantage in the admissions process over the past two decades, Newcomer said.

U.S. youth rally in Washington protests climate inaction

Hundreds of youngsters skipped school to rally in Washington on Friday as part of what organizers called an international youth climate strike to seek action on climate change. Chanting "climate action now!", some 1,500 students joined the event in front of the Capitol Building, where Congress sits, while similar rallies were held in 46 states. The demonstrations, which demanded politicians take action to combat climate change, backed measures including the Green New Deal, an ambitious Democratic environmental proposal that has become a lightning rod for Republican criticism.

U.S. regulators want public's view on cars with no steering wheel, brakes

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has delayed action for 15 months on General Motors Co's request to deploy a limited number vehicles on U.S. roads without steering wheels or other human controls such as a brake pedal. In GM's petition, NHTSA will for the first time compare a vehicle in which all driving decisions are made by a computer versus a human driver. NHTSA called it "an important case of first impression," presenting "novel and important issues." The decision to move forward comes amid heightened concerns about automated piloting systems in vehicles and aircraft.

U.S. mosques increase security after New Zealand attack

Mosques around the United States increased security measures for Friday prayers after a gunman shot dead 49 people and wounded more than 40 at two New Zealand mosques. Police in New York and other cities said they were stepping up patrols at mosques and other places of worship as a precaution, although there was no sign of any specific threat. Nihad Awad, head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said at a Washington news conference that he urged Muslims who would be praying at the more than 3,000 mosques in the United States to "not abandon your mosques." For years, American Muslims have become used to police patrols, active shooter drills and private security officers guarding mosques for Friday prayers.

Trump 'wall' in desolate stretch of New Mexico has some asking: Why here?

The radio on a Border Patrol SUV driving along the divide was mostly silent. To many locals and public officials familiar with the area, the $74-million structure just west of tiny Santa Teresa marks a surprising priority in the Trump administration’s efforts to build a wall against illegal immigration, drugs and human trafficking. Just dead money going into the middle of the desert," said Jerry Pacheco, president and CEO of the Border Industrial Association, a nonprofit representing industries in southern New Mexico.

Post-Katrina promise of oil money leaves states shortchanged

(Reuters) - In 2006, a year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the U.S. government struck a deal to give states in the region a growing share of offshore drilling revenues to finance projects protecting them from future monster storms.

Hudson Yards redraws New York skyline

Hudson Yards, a $25 billion complex of skyscrapers, shops and attractions reshaping the skyline on Manhattan's far west side, is throwing a coming-out party on Friday to mark the opening of New York City's newest neighborhood. With about a dozen glass-and-steel towers, a vertical shopping mall and a cultural center, the development has reimagined a neighborhood once dominated by rundown industrial buildings and auto repair shops as an architectural landmark. The scale and ambition of the 28-acre project along the Hudson River are impressive, said Patrice Derrington, director of the Center for Urban Real Estate at Columbia University.

TPG Rise founder leaves firm in wake of U.S. college admissions scandal

TPG Capital said on Thursday it had fired senior executive Bill McGlashan after he was charged in connection with a U.S. college fraud scheme that has ensnared Hollywood celebrities and corporate elite. "We believe the behavior described to be inexcusable and antithetical to the values of our entire organization," TPG said in a statement. In a separate statement via a spokesman, McGlashan said he was resigning from the TPG Rise Fund and TPG Growth.

Defendants in New Mexico compound case hit with new charges

Five people taken into custody in August at a New Mexico compound where 11 children were found ragged and starving have been charged with a conspiracy to carry out attacks on U.S. targets, federal prosecutors said on Thursday.The superseding indictment adds to firearms offenses already filed against the defendants in U.S. District Court following a raid at the makeshift training camp where a 3-year-old boy was found buried. "The superseding indictment alleges a conspiracy to stage deadly attacks on American soil," U.S. Attorney John Anderson said in a written statement. Federal public defender Kari Converse, a lead attorney for the defendants in the case, said she was out of state on Thursday and could not comment on the superseding indictment until she had studied it more thoroughly.