Nation and world news in brief for August 21

George Floyd killer Derek Chauvin transferred to Texas prison

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Derek Chauvin has been transferred to a prison in Texas, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons said on Tuesday, nine months after the former Minneapolis police officer convicted in the death of George Floyd survived a prison stabbing in Arizona.

Chauvin was stabbed about 22 times last year while incarcerated in Tucson, the U.S. Justice Department said in December. Chauvin was seriously injured but survived.

Chauvin is serving 22-1/2 years for murder after being convicted in April 2021 of killing Floyd, a verdict widely seen as a landmark rebuke of the disproportionate use of police force against Black Americans. He is concurrently serving a 21-year sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights.

Shares of Trump’s media firm sink to record low

NEW YORK (Reuters) — Shares of Trump Media &Technology Group, which is majority-owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump, sank to record lows on Tuesday, following the Republican presidential candidate’s recent return to rival social media platform X.

Trump Media shares dropped to as low as $21.33, down more than 4%. The stock finished down 3.7% at $21.42, marking the eighth consecutive session of losses.

Trump’s dwindling lead in polls and election betting markets in recent weeks has also hit the stock, which has been seen by some retail traders as a bet on whether Trump would win a second term.

Israeli military retrieves bodies of six hostages

JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israel retrieved the bodies of six hostages from the Gaza Strip, the military said on Tuesday, as negotiations continued in an effort to bring back more than 100 captives who remain in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

A total of 109 hostages are believed to remain in Gaza, around a third of whom are thought to be dead, with the fate of the others unknown. Most of them were seized by gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Hamas as they rampaged through communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners and abducting around 250 as hostages.

Alphabet’s Waymo robotaxi unit doubles its paid rides in 3 months

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — Alphabet’s Waymo said on Tuesday it had doubled its paid rides to 100,000 per week in just over three months as the autonomous ride-hailing firm expanded its areas of service and allowed more people to ride its robotaxis.

Waymo’s expansion comes just a month after Alphabet said it was planning a multi-year $5 billion investment in the company even as autonomous vehicle technology continues to face widespread skepticism, tight regulatory scrutiny and federal investigations.

Waymo, which has about 700 vehicles in its fleet, is the only U.S. firm operating uncrewed robotaxis that collect fares. The company opened its service to everyone in San Francisco in June without joining a waitlist while expanding its operations in metro Phoenix. This month, Waymo extended services to the San Francisco Peninsula and to certain parts of Los Angeles.

Taliban morality police dismiss over 280 men without beards from security forces

KABUL (Reuters) — The Taliban’s morality ministry dismissed more than 280 members of the security force for failure to grow a beard and detained more than 13,000 people in Afghanistan for “immoral acts” in the past year, officials said on Tuesday.

The Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue said in its annual operations update that around half of those detained had been let go after 24 hours. It did not break down the type of the alleged offences or gender of the detainees.

Mohibullah Mokhlis, Director of Planning and Legislation at the ministry, told a press conference officials had destroyed 21,328 musical instruments in the past year and prevented thousands of computer operators from selling “immoral and unethical” films in markets.

It had identified 281 security force members for not having a beard and they had been dismissed, he said, in line with their interpretation of Islamic law.

Jennifer Lopez files for divorce from Ben Affleck after 2 years of marriage

(TNS) — Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from Ben Affleck following months of speculation that the couple’s marriage was on the brink of coming to an end.

The superstar singer and actress filed the papers Tuesday in L.A. County Superior Court herself, without an attorney present, TMZ reported.

The filing comes on the two-year anniversary of a large reception the two held in Georgia after tying the knot Las Vegas on July 16, 2022.

The two were previously engaged in the early 2000s before calling off that wedding. They reunited in 2021 and wed the following year.

According to court documents obtained by multiple outlets, the divorce filing lists the date of separation as April 26, 2024, despite insiders in May claiming the pair were not planning to go their separate ways.

Chemotherapy-free treatment for lung cancer gets approval

(Reuters) —The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Johnson &Johnson’s chemotherapy-free combination treatment for a type of non-small cell lung cancer, setting up a challenge for AstraZeneca’s blockbuster drug Tagrisso.

The approval allows the use of the cancer drug, Rybrevant, in combination with J&J’s existing drug, lazertinib, as a first-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a mutated form of a gene called EGFR.

NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, and the EGFR mutation occurs in 10-15% of the cases in the United States, according to data from the American Lung Association.

Mayor: Ukraine launches ‘one of largest ever’ drone attacks on Moscow

(Reuters) — Ukraine launched one of the largest ever drone attacks on Moscow on Wednesday, the city’s mayor said, with Russian air defence units destroying at least 10 drones flying towards the capital.

Some of the drones were destroyed over the city of Podolsk, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. The city in the Moscow region is some 38 kms (24 miles) south of the Kremlin.

Conservative billionaire gives another $50 million to pro-Trump super PAC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Conservative billionaire Timothy Mellon, an heir of the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking family, gave another $50 million last month to a super PAC supporting Republican Donald Trump’s presidential bid, according to a federal disclosure filed on Tuesday.

The super PAC, known as MAGA Inc, has been ramping up outlays on television ads supporting Trump’s candidacy and attacking Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

MAGA Inc disclosed in a filing to the Federal Election Commission that it took in more than $54 million from donors last month, with most of the money coming from Mellon. Mellon has given MAGA Inc at least $115 million this year, including a $50 million contribution in May, disclosures show.

NJ eliminates $100 million in medical debt

(TNS) — New Jersey is wiping out $100 million in medical debt for about 50,000 of its residents, using federal pandemic relief funds and partnering with a nonprofit that buys the debt from hospitals or the secondary market for pennies on the dollar.

Announcing the partnership with Undue Medical Debt, formerly known as RIP Medical Debt, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy noted Tuesday how this type of debt can accumulate quickly amid “tragic accidents or devastating diagnoses” and go on to follow a person for decades.

The concept of buying outstanding medical debt only to eliminate it is not new, though it gained momentum when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak and families saw themselves drowning in debt.