Reuters, Author at Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Trump stands by Pentagon pick Hegseth as nomination in doubt

Reuters — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 01:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> President-elect Donald Trump today reiterated his support for Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth, citing the former Fox News host’s “charisma” and calling him “a WINNER” with a “tremendous track record” even as the nomination faces headwinds amid allegations of misconduct.

Court upholds $1.3B verdict against Alex Jones in Sandy Hook case

Reuters — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

A Connecticut appeals court today largely upheld a nearly $1.3 billion defamation verdict against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a case accusing the Infowars founder of spreading lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting.

Google Payment Corp under U.S. regulatory supervision

Reuters — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 23:00:00 +0000

The U.S. watchdog for consumer finance today announced it was ordering federal supervision of Google Payment Corp., the internet giant’s payment arm, a decision the company immediately said it was challenging in court.

Nasdaq, S&P 500 hit record highs amid jobs data, upbeat forecasts

Reuters — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 22:40:00 +0000

NEW YORK >> The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rose to record closing highs today following upbeat forecasts from Lululemon Athletica and other companies and as U.S. jobs data fueled expectations the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this month.

Police believe gunman who killed insurance CEO has left NYC

Reuters — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 22:00:00 +0000

NEW YORK >> New York City police believe the man who fatally shot a UnitedHealth top executive has left the city, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said today, as the hunt for the gunman passed the crucial 48-hour mark. Brian Thomson, 50, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit, was shot in the back on Wednesday in what police described as a targeted attack. Police have released multiple photos of the suspect - who fled the scene, climbed on an electric bicycle and disappeared into Central Park - and have asked the public for help in tracking him down.

U.S. appeals court upholds TikTok law forcing its sale

Reuters — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 18:23:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> A U.S. federal appeals court today upheld a law requiring Chinese-based ByteDance to divest its popular short video app TikTok in the United States by early next year or face a ban.

U.S. jobs data cements Federal Reserve rate cut this month

Reuters — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 17:41:00 +0000

Federal Reserve officials appear more likely to cut interest rates this month after data showed the U.S. labor market remained strong but continued to cool in November, with a deeper debate to come next year over whether to pause further reductions in borrowing costs.

Taiwan urges China to ‘unclench its fists’ ahead of war games

Reuters — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 10:20:00 +0000

TAIPEI >> Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te urged China on Friday to “unclench its fists” and not take any unilateral actions, saying ahead of expected Chinese war games around the island that Beijing would not win any respect for military drills.

Trump appoints former PayPal exec as AI and crypto czar

Reuters — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 08:00:00 +0000

President-elect Donald Trump today said he was appointing former PayPal Chief Operating Officer David Sacks as his “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar,” another step towards overhauling U.S. policy.

Elon Musk brings Trump’s government efficiency push to Capitol Hill

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 23:28:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy met on Thursday with Republican lawmakers whose support they will need to win the sweeping spending cuts that President-elect Donald Trump has asked them to find.

NASA announces further delays for Artemis moon missions

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 23:05:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on Thursday new delays in the U.S. space agency’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972, pushing back the next two planned missions including the lunar landing.

Bitcoin storms above $100K as Trump 2.0 fuels crypto euphoria

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 22:54:00 +0000

Bitcoin catapulted above $100,000 for the first time on Thursday, a milestone hailed even by skeptics as a coming-of-age for digital assets as investors bet on a friendly U.S. administration to cement the place of cryptocurrencies in financial markets.

Defense secretary scraps South Korea trip after martial law attempt

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 22:36:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin no longer plans to travel to South Korea, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, following South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt this week to impose martial law.

Healthcare industry rethinks risk after murder of UnitedHealth CEO

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 22:11:00 +0000

NEW YORK >> Health insurance companies are reassessing the risks for their top executives after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Wednesday in Manhattan, with both UnitedHealth and rival CVS Health removing photos of their leadership teams from their websites after the shooting.

Internet sleuths hunt for clues on murder of UnitedHealth’s CEO

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 21:48:00 +0000

Zooming in on surveillance footage of a gun that could have had a silencer fitted to it. Scouring the web to identify the brand of a backpack. Triangulating data of a rental bike to uncover an escape route.

FDA chief defends work on obesity, food to Senate

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 20:56:00 +0000

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf defended the agency’s role in addressing the country’s obesity epidemic as he was grilled by senators over FDA regulation of the food and beverage industry on Thursday.

U.S. judge rejects Boeing plea deal in fatal 737 MAX crashes

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 19:47:00 +0000

A U.S. judge on Thursday rejected Boeing’s agreement to plead guilty to fraud in the wake of two fatal 737 MAX crashes, faulting a diversity and inclusion provision in the deal.

U.S. defense secretary scraps S.Korea trip after martial law attempt

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 18:45:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin no longer plans to travel to South Korea, two U.S. officials told Reuters today, following South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt this week to impose martial law.

Syrian rebels capture key city of Hama in fresh blow to Assad

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 18:36:00 +0000

Syrian rebels captured the city of Hama today, a major victory in a week-old lightning advance across northern Syria and a devastating new blow to President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies.

Manhunt underway for killer of UnitedHealth’s Brian Thompson

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 18:18:00 +0000

NEW YORK >> New York City police were searching today for the man who killed UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson in a brazen attack outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel before fleeing into Central Park.

Prime minister to resign as France’s political crisis deepens

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000

PARIS >> French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will resign today after far-right and leftist lawmakers voted to topple his government, plunging the euro zone’s second-largest economy deeper into political crisis.

Taiwan leader talks with U.S. speaker, China warns of red lines

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 08:35:00 +0000

TAIPEI >> Taiwan President Lai Ching-te spoke by telephone with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson during Lai’s visit to the Pacific, the presidential office said on Thursday, as Beijing called the Taiwan issue a “red line” not to be crossed in Sino-U.S. ties.

Rate cut bets boost stocks as bitcoin breaks $100,000

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 06:00:00 +0000

SINGAPORE >> Bitcoin broke $100,000 today as investors bet on a friendly regulatory shift in the U.S., while Asian stocks were firm after Wall Street indexes notched record highs on growing confidence in U.S. interest rate cuts.

Trump picks former SEC commissioner Paul Atkins to run agency

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 00:53:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> Republican President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would nominate Paul Atkins to run the Securities and Exchange Commission, putting a prominent and experienced conservative Washington insider atop Wall Street’s major regulator.

Supreme Court’s Gorsuch steps away from case after recusal request

Reuters — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 23:04:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch will not participate in an environmental case to be argued next week involving a proposed railway in Utah, the court said on Wednesday, a move that followed a call by some Democratic lawmakers for him to recuse over a possible conflict of interest.

Biden meets African leaders in Angola to advance Lobito railway project

Reuters — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 20:55:00 +0000

LOBITO, Angola >> President Joe Biden met African leaders in the Angolan port of Lobito on Wednesday to advance a plan to extend a railway that could channel critical minerals from Congo and Zambia to the West via Lobito, and counter Chinese clout in the region.

Trump picks Musk ally Jared Isaacman to head NASA

Reuters — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 20:14:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday tapped Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, selecting a billionaire private astronaut and close associate of Elon Musk to oversee an agency closely linked to the SpaceX founder’s business.

Supreme Court justices lean toward Tennessee transgender law

Reuters — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 19:42:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic on Wednesday toward the legality of a Republican-backed ban in Tennessee on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors in a major case that could affect other state laws targeting transgender people.

Taiwan’s President Lai in U.S. territory of Guam as part of Pacific trip

Reuters — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 18:42:00 +0000

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called on for fellow democracies to unite against authoritarianism to safeguard peace in the region, speaking while on a visit to the U.S. territory of Guam which is home to a major military base.

UnitedHealthcare CEO killed in Manhattan in targeted attack

Reuters — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 17:49:00 +0000

NEW YORK >> Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit, was killed on Wednesday morning outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel in what police described as a targeted attack by a gunman lying in wait for him.

Trump’s pick to lead DEA withdraws from consideration

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 23:00:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Drug Enforcement Administration, Chad Chronister, said today he was withdrawing from consideration.

Mattel sued over ‘Wicked’ dolls with porn website link

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 20:00:00 +0000

Mattel was sued today by a South Carolina mother for mistakenly putting a link to a pornographic website on packaging for dolls tied to the blockbuster movie “Wicked.”

Chinese war games may start soon as Taiwan’s president tours Pacific

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 19:51:00 +0000

TAIPEI >> Taiwan’s defense ministry said today it is watching the movements of a Chinese aircraft carrier and assessing China’s military activities as security sources said Beijing could launch new war games as soon as this weekend.

Cyber Monday U.S. spending breaches $13 billion

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 17:30:00 +0000

Americans spent $13.3 billion online on Monday in the United States, according to an Adobe report, as consumers nabbed steep holiday discounts on everything from electronics to toys following lackluster demand at U.S. stores on Black Friday.

‘The fire still burns,’ says Woods as he targets 2025 comeback

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Tiger Woods still has the passion to compete and is working to get his body back in shape for next year, he said on Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge in Albany, Bahamas, after another injury curtailed his 2024 season.

South Korean lawmakers call to impeach President Yoon after martial law rescinded

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:20:00 +0000

SEOUL >> South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday called for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law only to reverse the move hours later, triggering the biggest political crisis in decades in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Bear attacks surge in Japan as aging hunters face challenges

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:05:00 +0000

SUNAGAWA, Japan >> A gunshot rang out on a recent morning in a meadow in northern Japan. The brown bear slumped in the cage, watched by a handful of city officials and hunters.

China bans key mineral exports to U.S. amid trade tensions

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:00:00 +0000

China has banned exports to the U.S. of items related to the minerals gallium, germanium and antimony that have potential military applications, its commerce ministry said on Tuesday, a day after Washington’s latest crackdown on China’s chip sector.

Art Cashin, Wall Street veteran and CNBC regular, dies at age 83

Reuters — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 23:55:00 +0000

NEW YORK >> Art Cashin, a renowned market pundit and the UBS director of floor operations at the New York Stock Exchange, has died at the age of 83, UBS said.

Judge rejects request to restore Musk’s $56 billion Tesla pay

Reuters — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 23:30:00 +0000

WILMINGTON, Delaware >> A Delaware judge ruled on Monday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk still is not entitled to receive a $56 billion compensation package despite shareholders of the electric vehicle company voting to reinstate it.