Ex-New York Mayor de Blasio ordered to pay nearly $500,000 for campaign security

By Dan Whitcomb (Reuters) – A New York ethics board on Thursday ordered former Mayor Bill de Blasio to pay a record $474,794 for using city funds for a security detail during his long-shot 2019 presidential campaign, finding that he violated conflict of interest laws. The city’s Conflicts of Interest Board said de Blasio had …

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Ukraine dam destruction: villagers face water crisis, see ‘only tears’

By Max Hunder and Olena Harmash HRUSHIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Tetyana Tarasevych remembers how life got better in Ukraine’s southeast nearly 70 years ago after the vast Kakhovka water reservoir was built near her home in the village of Hrushivka. As the vast reservoir has lost around three-quarters of its volume since the destruction of …

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Qatar emir in Baghdad, MOUs on energy, investment signed -statement

By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani arrived in Baghdad on Thursday on an official visit to discuss regional political matters and enhance bilateral relations, the government said in a statement. Qatar’s Emir is visiting Baghdad on an invitation by the Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, said a government spokesman, …

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FDA advisers back updated COVID vaccine targeting dominant variant

By Bhanvi Satija and Sriparna Roy (Reuters) – Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday unanimously recommended that updated COVID-19 shots being developed for a fall vaccination campaign target one of the currently dominant XBB coronavirus variants. The panel voted 21-0 in favor of XBB-targeted shots, and the committee’s discussion indicated that …

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Miami Mayor Suarez announces 2024 Republican presidential bid

By Katharine Jackson and Alexandra Ulmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced on Thursday he is running for president, joining a host of Republican candidates vying for the 2024 nomination days after front-runner Donald Trump faced federal charges in his city. Suarez, 45, released a campaign video titled “I’m Running,” which showed him jogging …

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Why Walmart’s new bet on fashion brands, home decor threatens specialty chains

By Siddharth Cavale (Reuters) – Price-conscious shoppers flock to Walmart Supercenters to pick up $1 potato chips and $3 gallons of milk, but the world’s biggest retailer will now try to sell them $298 cozy swivel chairs and $50 Wrangler jeans, too. Using low-cost and low-margin groceries as a draw, Walmart is adding more than …

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North Korea fires two short-range missiles after warning of response to allied drills

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, less than an hour after Pyongyang warned of an “inevitable” response to military drills staged earlier in the day by South Korean and U.S. troops. The latest action by North Korea came as U.S. President Joe …

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