Under Trump, Voice of America journalists fear politicization
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Kari Lake to serve as the director of the federally funded broadcaster Voice of America sent a chill through the ranks of the organization, where journalists expressed anxiety about Lake and what the future could hold.
Uber and Lyft found a loophole in a driver pay law. Drivers pushed back.
NEW YORK — New York City was the first place in the United States to mandate minimum pay rates for drivers for companies such as Uber and Lyft. But after the companies found a loophole that made it much harder for some drivers to get by, the city is looking to change its law, prompting dueling pressure campaigns as both sides seek to influence the outcome.
Kennedy’s lawyer has asked the FDA to revoke approval of the polio vaccine
The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death.
McKinsey to pay $650 million in opioid settlement with Justice Department
McKinsey & Co. has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a Justice Department investigation of its work with opioid maker Purdue Pharma. A former senior partner, Martin Elling, has also agreed to plead guilty to obstruction of justice for destroying internal company records in connection with that work.
In a rudderless Europe, Italy has its moment
ROME — The European Union’s biggest economies are in turmoil. France’s government fell last week. Germany is facing a snap election after a fragile coalition collapsed. Financial markets are nervous, and EU authorities are worried.
New federal rule limits overdraft fees at large banks
WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday finalized a rule that would limit overdraft charges at large banks and credit unions, a move that federal officials said could help save Americans billions in fees each year.
Biden commutes the sentences of 1,500 Americans, a record for one day
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 people and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes in a sweeping act of clemency during his final weeks in office.
Trump says his first acts will include deportations and Jan. 6 pardons
President-elect Donald Trump said in a new interview that he will use the opening hours of his presidency to pardon people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault, begin deportations of immigrants lacking permanent legal status and increase oil production.
Brian Thompson, Not Luigi Mangione, is the real working-class hero
One of the more moving stories in The New York Times this week is an account of the life of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare CEO who was gunned down on Dec. 4 outside of a New York hotel.
Police say suspect’s notebook described rationale for CEO killing
NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione, who has been charged with killing the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare outside a company investors’ day in Manhattan, was arrested with a notebook that detailed plans for the shooting, according to two law enforcement officials.
FDA tries last-ditch move to slash nicotine levels in cigarettes
In the final days of the Biden administration, the Food and Drug Administration is seeking White House approval to propose a drastic reduction in the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, a long-standing goal of public health experts that has faced stiff opposition from the powerful tobacco lobby.
Can the US climb out of its ‘unprecedented’ housing crisis?
A young family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has been looking for a larger house for three years, losing countless bidding wars. In Portland, Maine, a 29-year-old data analyst has been anxious to get out of their rental for a year, but hasn’t found a home to buy.
Monarch butterflies are recommended for protected status
Federal wildlife officials proposed Tuesday that monarch butterflies receive protection as a threatened species.
Arctic tundra, once a cooling force, stokes heat
For thousands of years, the shrubs, sedges, mosses and lichens of the Arctic have performed a vital task for the planet: gulping down carbon dioxide from the air and storing the carbon in their tissues. When the plants die, this carbon is entombed in the frigid soil, where it no longer helps warm Earth’s surface.
What to know about the countries still dropping bombs in Syria
Great powers have fought for centuries for influence in the territory known today as Syria, each seeing a prize in its strategic position, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River and beyond. That struggle continues today.
Supreme Court poised to curb scope of environmental reviews
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seemed prepared Tuesday to rule that a federal agency had done enough to consider the environmental impact of a proposed 88-mile railway in Utah. Such a ruling could limit the scope of environmental reviews required by federal law in all sorts of settings.
The Mets stole Juan Soto from the Yankees. Who’s the big spender now?
NEW YORK — Did you feel the ground shake Sunday night? Did New York suddenly tilt from the Bronx down to Queens?
An important question with 2 good answers for the national team
If Tyronn Lue is chosen as coach for the next USA Basketball men’s national team, he may get to do something no coach has done. host an Olympic basketball tournament at his office.
Activists call on Biden to clear death row before Trump takes office
WASHINGTON — A group of human rights activists, former corrections officials and families of crime victims asked President Joe Biden on Monday to use his clemency power to take all 40 inmates off federal death row before he hands over power to President-elect Donald Trump.
Southern California braces for another ‘particularly dangerous’ fire forecast
Strong Santa Ana winds are expected to intensify the wildfire threat in Southern California early this week and create a “particularly dangerous situation” in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, similar to circumstances in early November that helped fuel a significant wildfire, forecasters warned Monday.
