McAllen

U.S. judge orders federal protection restored to Yellowstone grizzlies

A federal judge on Monday ordered Endangered Species Act protections restored to grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park, halting plans for the first licensed trophy hunts of the bears in the region in more than 40 years. U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula, Montana, sided with environmentalists and native American groups by overruling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to strip the grizzlies of their status as a threatened species. The outcome caps one of the most high-profile legal battles over the Endangered Species Act in many years, rivaling previous disputes surrounding the gray wolf and northern spotted owl.

After chaotic day, Rosenstein stays in job but will meet with Trump

President Donald Trump and U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election, will meet on Thursday to discuss whether Rosenstein will stay in his job. Rosenstein had spent the weekend contemplating whether he should resign after a New York Times report last week said he had suggested secretly recording Trump in 2017, a source told Reuters. The White House announced the meeting on Monday after a flurry of conflicting media reports about whether Rosenstein, a frequent target of Trump's anger, would be leaving the post.

U.S. judge suggests he may dismiss Stormy Daniels lawsuit against Trump

President Donald Trump likely had a free-speech right to make a Twitter comment disputing allegations by adult film actress Stormy Daniels, a federal judge said on Monday, indicating he was inclined to dismiss her defamation lawsuit against Trump. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford and who has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, sued the president for defamation in April in federal court over the tweet. The lawsuit centers on Daniels' assertion that a man approached her in 2011 in a Las Vegas parking lot and made a veiled threat after she agreed to talk about her alleged encounter with Trump to In Touch magazine.

U.S. development agency looks to boost funding to $60 billion

The head of the main U.S. agency for aiding developing country infrastructure projects said on Monday the ability to extend funding for such investments is expected to double if new legislation is approved by the U.S. Congress. Ray Washburne, president of the Overseas Private Investment Corp, told Reuters that the inclusion of the "Build Act" into must-pass legislation reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration will accelerate the expansion and redesign of the agency. "We've got our running shoes on now," Washburne said, highlighting that the legislation will allow OPIC to extend its financing portfolio to up to $60 billion from its current $29.5 billion.

U.S. judge orders federal protection restored to Yellowstone grizzlies

PINEDALE, Wyo. (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday ordered Endangered Species Act protections restored to grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park, halting plans for the first licensed trophy hunts of the region's grizzlies in more than 40 years.

Scientists voice opposition to weakening of U.S. Endangered Species Act

The extraordinary critique of the administration's proposal, which was unveiled in July, came in an open letter addressed to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from three associations representing 9,000 professional biologists. A separate letter similarly condemning revisions proposed to endangered species policies was signed by 273 leading university scientists from around the country.

Trump Supreme Court nominee rejects 'false accusations'

"The truth is I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone, in high school or otherwise," Kavanaugh said in an interview on Fox News Channel’s "The Story with Martha MacCallum," to air on Monday evening. The allegations, dating to the 1980s, have put in jeopardy Kavanaugh's chances of winning confirmation to the top U.S. court in a Senate narrowly controlled by Trump's party, with high-stakes congressional elections just weeks away. Confirmation of the federal appeals court judge to the lifetime job would cement conservative control of the Supreme Court and advance Trump's goal of moving the high court and the broader federal judiciary to the right.

Thousands in South Carolina brace for post-Florence flooding

More than 10 days after the storm made landfall and killed 46 people mostly in North Carolina, several rivers throughout the state continued to rise. Georgetown is expecting floodwaters of 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 m) as the Pee Dee and Waccamaw rivers overrun their banks in coming days. Emergency management officials began sending recorded telephone messages to residents in harm's way and will go door-to-door in the next few days, Georgetown County spokeswoman Jackie Broach-Akers said.

Man who threatened Boston Globe also called NY Times, NFL: prosecutor

U.S. investigators are probing whether a man accused of threatening to kill journalists at the Boston Globe after calling them "the enemy of the people" made similar threats to the New York Times and National Football League, a prosecutor said on Monday. Robert Chain, 68, pleaded not guilty in Boston federal court to charges that he threatened Globe employees in August after the paper coordinated an editorial response by more than 350 newspapers to President Donald Trump's attacks on the media. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Varghese said authorities were investigating other threatening calls Chain made.

New GM-built 'Beast' presidential limo makes Trump debut

The latest version of the heavily armored U.S. presidential limousine known as "The Beast" is making its debut in New York City this week. The custom-built Cadillac produced by General Motors Co appeared for the first time in public on Sunday -- along with an identical version that travels in the motorcade -- when it ferried President Donald Trump around New York ahead of this week's United Nations General Assembly meetings. The previous version of the limo first appeared in January 2009 just before Barack Obama took office.

Senate Republican leader McConnell: Democrats 'trying to destroy' Kavanaugh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Monday Democrats were "trying to destroy" Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's personal and professional life with "unsubstantiated" sexual assault allegations. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Hurricane Florence insured losses to range from $2.8 billion to $5 billion: RMS

(Reuters) - Insured losses from Hurricane Florence, which slammed into North Carolina this month, will range from $2.8 billion to $5 billion, said RMS, a risk modeling and analytics firm on Monday.

Dallas police dismiss officer who fatally shot man in his home

The Dallas Police Department on Monday fired a police officer who is facing a manslaughter charge after fatally shooting a man in his apartment that the officer said she mistook for her own home. Officer Amber Guyger had been dismissed after nearly five years on the job for her actions on the night of the shooting earlier in September, Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall said in a statement. Guyger, 30, had been on administrative leave since she fatally shot Botham Jean, 26.

Kavanaugh tells senators he will not withdraw nomination

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday he will not withdraw his nominations because of "false and uncorroborated" sexual misconduct allegations against him.

The night a Chinese billionaire was accused of rape in Minnesota

By Koh Gui Qing and Lawrence Delevingne MINNEAPOLIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - With the Chinese billionaire Richard Liu at her Minneapolis area apartment, a 21-year-old University of Minnesota student sent a WeChat message to a friend in the middle of the night. She wrote that Liu had forced her to have sex with him. “I was not willing,” she wrote in Chinese on the messaging application around 2 a.m. on August 31. “Tomorrow I will think of a way to escape,” she wrote, as she begged the friend not to call police. “He will suppress it,” she wrote, referring to Liu. “You underestimate his power. ...

Wyoming wildfire forces evacuations, closes highway south of Jackson

A wind-blown wildfire that has forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes south of the resort town of Jackson, Wyoming, prompted officials on Sunday to close 50 miles of a key highway traveled by tourists to reach Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. The Roosevelt fire has scorched nearly 40,000 acres of drought-parched landscape and destroyed at least four structures, including two dwellings, since erupting Sept. 15 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest about 30 miles south of Jackson. Scores of additional residences were placed on standby for evacuation at a moments notice, according to sheriff's Sergeant Travis Bingham.

Texan who published 3-D guns plans jailed on sex assault charge

Cody Wilson, 30, flew to Taiwan after learning he was under investigation, police said, and was picked up by Taiwanese authorities on Friday after his U.S. passport was annulled. Wilson's attorney, Samy Khalil, said in a statement late on Sunday: "We are glad that Cody is back in Texas again where we can work with him on his case. As the founder of Defense Distributed, Wilson became a notable figure in the U.S. debate over guns after the company posted on the internet the blueprints for plastic guns that can be made with a 3-D printer.

WTA roundup: Pliskova snaps Osaka streak for title

Fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova handed U.S. Open champ Naomi Osaka a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to claim the title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. It ended the third-seeded Osaka's 10-match victory streak, dating back to the start of the U.S. Open. The title is the 11th of Pliskova's career and her fifth straight triumph in a final.

Accuser of Trump's Supreme Court nominee to testify on Thursday

The agreement came a week after Christine Blasey Ford went public with her allegation against the conservative federal appeals court judge, endangering his confirmation by the Republican-led Senate to a lifetime job on the top U.S. court. There are, however, unresolved procedural and logistical issues, Ford's lawyers said, including whether the Judiciary Committee's Republican senators, who are all male, or staff attorneys would question her. Ford's lawyers said "various senators have been dismissive of her account and should have to shoulder their responsibility to ask her questions." Kavanaugh, who has called the allegation "completely false," also has agreed to testify at the hearing planned for 10 a.m. (1400 GMT) on Thursday.

Danger remains even as flood waters recede in Hurricane Florence's aftermath

Much of the region remained under heavy flooding, including one area 40 miles (64 km) north-northwest of Wilmington where waters were still five feet (1.5 meters) above flood status, according to the National Weather Service. Large sections of rivers near the coast won't start cresting until at least early in the week, maybe later," said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the NWS's Weather Prediction Center "All that water is going to take a good while to recede," he said. It'll be a slow drop." The storm dumped 30 to 40 inches (75 to 100 cm) of rain on the Wilmington area, temporarily cutting off the historic coastal city that lies along the Cape Fear River.

Texan who published 3-D guns plans jailed on sex assault charge

Cody Wilson, 30, flew to Taiwan after learning he was under investigation, police said, and was picked up by Taiwanese authorities on Friday after his U.S. passport was annulled. It was unclear whether Wilson had a criminal defense lawyer. As the founder of Defense Distributed, Wilson became a notable figure in the U.S. debate over guns after the company posted on the internet the blueprints for plastic guns that can be made with a 3-D printer.

Cosby sentencing is new milestone for #MeToo movement

The sentencing will show how #MeToo has altered the way the U.S. reckons with sexual misconduct by powerful men.

Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh's accuser tentatively agrees to testify on Thursday: media

The agreement is in the works for California professor Christine Blasey Ford to possibly testify on Thursday, but details have yet to be finalized, CNN and other media reported late on Saturday. The report said that her lawyers will talk again on Sunday with Senate officials. U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley had set a Saturday afternoon deadline for Ford, who has accused Kavanaugh of sexual assaulting her at a high school party 36 years ago, to decide whether and how she will testify.

Trump lawyer Giuliani says Iran's government will be overthrown

Rudy Giuliani said that U.S. sanctions on Iran are leading to economic pain that could lead to a "successful revolution."

Trump administration moves to restrict immigrants who use public benefits

U.S. immigration law has long required officials to exclude a person likely to become a "public charge" from permanent residence.

Carolina communities race to beat dangerous flooding from Florence

Communities in North and South Carolina faced rising floods more than a week after the arrival of Hurricane Florence.

Kavanaugh accuser agrees to testify in Senate hearing

A woman who has accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault has agreed to testify before a Senate panel, her lawyers said on Saturday. The Senate Judiciary Committee had delayed a vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation after California professor Christine Blasey Ford's allegations emerged last week, and her lawyers and committee staff were negotiating the conditions of her testimony. "Dr. Ford accepts the committee's request to provide her first-hand knowledge of Brett Kavanaugh's sexual misconduct next week," Debra Katz and Lisa Banks, Ford's attorneys, said in a statement.

Ex-White House aide revises Flynn sanctions conversation account: report

An ex-White House official has revised a previous statement by telling investigators that former national security adviser Michael Flynn may have referred to sanctions when they discussed his calls with a former Russian envoy, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. K.T. McFarland's statement revised an earlier assertion to FBI agents that sanctions on Russia did not come up when she spoke to Flynn in December 2016 about his calls with Sergey Kislyak when he was the Russian ambassador to the United States, the newspaper said, quoting unidentified people familiar with the matter. Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia and is cooperating in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Senate Judiciary aide resigns amid sexual harassment allegation: NBC

An adviser responding to an allegation against Kavanaugh resigned amid a misconduct complaint against him, NBC reports.

Senate's Grassley sets Saturday deadline for Kavanaugh accuser: NY Times

Sen. Chuck Grassley sets a Saturday afternoon deadline for Christine Blasey Ford to decide if and how she will testify.

U.S. airlines score win as Congress drops 'reasonable fee' rules

The U.S. airline industry scored a win on Saturday as bipartisan congressional legislation dropped plans to mandate "reasonable and proportional" baggage and change fees, but included other new passenger protections. After weeks of negotiations, a 1,200-page bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was unveiled early Saturday that would require the FAA to set minimum dimensions for passenger seats -- including legroom and width -- and prohibits airlines from involuntarily removing passengers from flights after they’ve cleared the boarding gate. In April 2017, video went viral on social media of 69-year-old passenger David Dao being dragged from a United Airlines flight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after he refused to give up his seat to make room for crew members.

Ordering opioids online? Mail carrier may also deliver handcuffs

He looked like a regular mail carrier, dropping off an unremarkable package at an upscale New York City apartment tower, but neither the man nor the package were quite what they seemed. The mail carrier was really a federal agent, conducting a so-called controlled delivery, a tactic the U.S. government employs to help stem the flow of heroin, prescription painkillers and other opioids fueling the nation's epidemic of fatal overdoses. Drug-filled packages with misleading labels have become a common sight at John F. Kennedy International Airport's (JFK) sprawling mail-sorting hangars, a front line in the battle against opioids.

Senate candidates Cruz, O'Rourke square off in fractious debate

At Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the two battled over hot-button issues such as immigration, gun rights and trade. O'Rourke frequently complained that Cruz was misrepresenting his positions -- at one point accusing the incumbent Republican of "slander." The candidates sparred as well over the embattled Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, who faces allegations that he assaulted a woman, Christine Blasey Ford, while both were in high school. Cruz urged Ford to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Cruz is a member, next week.

U.S. backs protecting Yellowstone’s northern gateway from mining

  The recommendation to withdraw 30,370 acres of the Custer Gallatin National Forest from mineral development comes after two large gold-mining operations were proposed near Yellowstone, sparking opposition from conservationists and local businesses in an area known as Paradise Valley. The Forest Service recommendation to protect the acreage for an additional two decades must be formally approved by U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to go into effect.