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Ex-Michigan governor to resign university post in Nassar fallout: media

Nassar, who was a team doctor for USA Gymnastics, was sentenced to up to 300 years in prison in two different trials last winter after more than 350 women testified about abuse at his hands. The university's board of trustees had been expected to discuss whether to fire Engler, a three-time former governor of Michigan, at a meeting on Thursday, the Detroit News reported. The board's president, Dianne Byrum, called Thursday's meeting after Engler told the Detroit News on Friday that some of Nassar's victims were "enjoying" being in the spotlight.

Schumer: Trump's State of Union speech should be delayed if government shut

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday that President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech, set for Jan. 29, should be delayed if the government is still shut. "If it continues to be closed on the 29th, I think it's a good idea to delay it until the government is open," Schumer told reporters. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by David Alexander)

Airbus spends $300 million on new Alabama plant for A220 jet

Airbus SE expanded its industrial presence in the United States on Wednesday, starting construction on a new assembly plant for the Canadian developed A220 jetliner, 18 months after agreeing to buy the plane in the midst of a U.S.-Ottawa trade dispute. The European planemaker said it would invest $300 million and create 400 jobs in the plant, to be built in the port of Mobile alongside an existing assembly line for its best-selling A320 passenger jet, which already employs 700 people. Alabama and the city of Mobile would provide a total of some $26 million in state and municipal incentives to support the development, officials said.

Celebrity's 'Chefs for Feds' kitchen feeds unpaid U.S. government workers

Maurice Wilson joined dozens of fellow federal workers in Washington on Wednesday at the opening of celebrity chef Jose Andres' emergency kitchen, grateful for a free lunch of egg sandwiches, quinoa bowls and tomato soup as the partial government shutdown dragged on. "Within another two weeks, I’m going to have to figure out a way to survive,” said Wilson, 59, who is working without pay at the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency of the District of Columbia. The "Chefs for Feds" kitchen, launched by restaurateur Andres' non-profit World Central Kitchen, is the latest example of how food providers across the country are stepping up efforts to feed unpaid federal workers.

U.S. watchdog cites constitutional concerns over Trump hotel lease

There were "serious shortcomings" in the General Services Administration handling of President Donald Trump's lease of the government-owned building that houses his Trump International Hotel in Washington, according to a U.S. government watchdog report released on Wednesday. The GSA did not address constitutional issues involved in management of the lease, according to its inspector general's report, and "the constitutional issues surrounding the president’s business interests in the lease remain unresolved." (For the inspector general's report, see: https://bit.ly/2RAV9ct) Democrats and other critics have argued that the hotel housed in the government's historic Old Post Office represents a conflict of interest because Trump is both landlord and tenant of the building.

Migrants depart from El Salvador as new U.S.-bound caravan forms

The group, organized through social media, is following in the wake of a larger caravan that departed from Honduras this week. On Wednesday morning, between 900 and 1,000 Hondurans gathered at the country's border with Guatemala, waiting to cross en-route to the United States, local police chief Jorge Rodriguez told Reuters. Several hundred Honduran migrants already entered Guatemala on Tuesday, according to activists traveling with them.

Court rejects U.S. cities' appeal over Pentagon gun check flaws

By a 3-0 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it lacked jurisdiction to compel the Department of Defense to fix what New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco called a "broken" system, or to supervise improvements to the Pentagon's "partial and inconsistent reporting." The cities sued seven weeks after former Air Force member Devin Kelley killed 26 people on Nov. 5, 2017 at a Sutherland Springs, Texas, church before killing himself. Kelley, 26, was convicted in a 2012 court martial of assaulting his wife and stepson and should not have been allowed to possess weapons. The cities said the Pentagon had failed to report some 15,000 current or former personnel who could not own guns because of court martial convictions or dishonorable discharges, and that this undermined their ability to fight violent crime.

As shutdown lingers, Pelosi pushes Trump to delay State of Union speech

With the partial U.S. government shutdown now in its 26th day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday urged President Donald Trump to reschedule his State of the Union address - a move that could deny him the opportunity to use the pageantry of the speech to attack Democrats in their own chamber over the impasse. With Trump's address set for Jan. 29, Pelosi wrote him a letter citing security concerns because the Secret Service, which is required to provide security for the address, has not received funding during the dispute. The standoff was triggered by Trump's demand for a round of funding for his promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

On Prohibition milestone's anniversary, U.S. top court hears booze case

A case testing the constitutionality of state regulations on the sale of alcohol enacted after the Prohibition era brewed before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, with the justices appearing sympathetic toward a challenge to Tennessee's residency requirements for retailers. The one-hour argument came on the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution's 18th Amendment, which imposed a nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages and paved the way for a Prohibition era that ran from 1920 to 1933. A majority of the justices signaled support for challengers who said Tennessee's regulations were unlawfully aimed at protecting established business interests by preventing competition.

Trump cancels planned Davos trip as shutdown drags on

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled a planned visit later this month to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, signaling he was prepared for the political showdown over the partial federal government shutdown to stretch into late January. Trump and congressional Democrats are in a battle over funding for the government and Trump's long-promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. "Because of the Democrats intransigence on Border Security and the great importance of Safety for our Nation, I am respectfully cancelling my very important trip to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Head of striking Los Angeles teachers' union aims to resume talks 'soon'

The head of the Los Angeles teachers union said he hoped to resume talks "very soon" as a strike that has interrupted classes for some 492,000 students in the second-largest U.S. public school system ticked into a third day on Wednesday. More than 30,000 educators have walked off the job demanding higher pay, smaller classes and more staff, requests that the county's independent school district has described as unaffordable. The two sides have not held formal talks since the strike began on Monday.

U.S. shutdown turns Washington into ghost town during quiet travel season

Phones have stopped ringing at tour companies. In the nation's capital, where more than 20 million tourists typically visit each year, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has threatened businesses that depend on the patronage of government workers and the attraction of federal monuments and museums to bring in tourists. "It definitely feels like the phone should be ringing more," said Adam Plescia, owner of Custom Tours of DC.

Disgraced U.S. ex-cardinal could be defrocked soon: Vatican sources

Disgraced former U.S. cardinal Theodore McCarrick is almost certain to be defrocked in the next few weeks over allegations against him, including sexual abuse of minors, two Vatican sources said. Last July, McCarrick became the first Catholic prelate in nearly 100 years to lose the title of cardinal. The allegations against him date back to decades ago when he was still rising to the top of the U.S. Church hierarchy.

Atlanta airport says ready for Super Bowl crush despite shutdown

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), already the world's busiest, expects to see an additional 125,000 passengers ahead of the Feb. 3 game and is bringing in reinforcements to meet the additional numbers, said Elise Durham, the airport's director of communications. More than 1,800 volunteers will help passengers navigate the airport while additional customer engagement agents will be on hand to assist people entering and exiting the city, she added. Durham said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the federal agency responsible for airport security screening, had committed additional resources for the Super Bowl, before the government shutdown.

Los Angeles teachers strike for second day as mayor seeks to restart talks

Some 30,000 Los Angeles teachers on strike for higher pay, smaller classes and more staff walked picket lines in the rain for a second day on Tuesday as Mayor Eric Garcetti embraced their cause while trying to nudge the two sides back to the bargaining table. The walkout, with teachers garbed mostly in red braving two days of rainy weather to stage mass rallies downtown, has shattered 30 years of labor peace by Los Angeles teachers but has not completely idled schools.

Hundreds in new U.S.-bound migrant caravan cross into Guatemala

Several hundred Honduran migrants in a new U.S.-bound caravan crossed into Guatemala on Tuesday, as U.S. President Donald Trump seized on news of the advancing group to try to build support for a wall along his country's border with Mexico. About 360 Hondurans presented documents to pass legally through the Agua Caliente border crossing separating the two Central American nations. An additional 350 Hondurans crossed into Guatemalan territory, but were being detained by migration officials checking their documents, according to pro-migrant activists traveling with them.

Family behind Purdue Pharma pushed opioid marketing, Massachusetts says

Members of the wealthy Sackler family behind Purdue Pharma LP pushed it to boost sales of OxyContin and other opioids even as questions emerged about the extent its painkillers were being abused, Massachusetts' attorney general alleged on Tuesday. Attorney General Maura Healey filed an amended lawsuit against Purdue and current and former officers and directors of the drugmaker that drew on years of internal records to reveal new details about the family's involvement in the company. The lawsuit, originally filed in June in Suffolk County Superior Court, was the first by a state to try to hold members of the Sackler family, who own privately-held Purdue, personally responsible for contributing to the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Family behind Purdue Pharma pushed opioid marketing, Massachusetts says

Members of the wealthy Sackler family behind Purdue Pharma LP pushed it to boost sales of OxyContin and other opioids even as questions emerged about the extent its painkillers were being abused, Massachusetts' attorney general alleged on Tuesday. Attorney General Maura Healey filed an amended lawsuit against Purdue and current and former officers and directors of the drugmaker that drew on years of internal records to reveal new details about the family's involvement in the company. The lawsuit, originally filed in June in Suffolk County Superior Court, was the first by a state to try to hold members of the Sackler family, who own privately-held Purdue, personally responsible for contributing to the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Los Angeles teachers' strike extends to second day with no talks on horizon

Some 30,000 striking teachers demanding higher pay, smaller classes and more support staff from the nation's second-largest school district walked picket lines for a second day on Tuesday, with no new talks on the horizon between stalemated union and district officials. The strike, shattering 30 years of labor peace by Los Angeles teachers, has not completely idled instruction in the sprawling district encompassing some 1,200 schools. The district has enlisted administrators and substitute teachers to keep classes open on a limited basis through the strike, though LAUSD reported only about a third of its 492,000 students showed up on the first day of the walkout.

Factbox: Impact on U.S. government widens on 25th day of shutdown

The longest U.S. government shutdown in history reached its 25th day on Tuesday, with most of the 800,000 employees who have been furloughed or are working without pay having missed their first paychecks last week. The White House and congressional Democrats remain divided over Republican President Donald Trump's demand for money for a border wall. The shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, is the 19th since the mid-1970s, although most have been brief.

Los Angeles parents support striking teachers despite chaos at home

Elizabeth Rietz says it hasn't been easy taking care of her daughter at home during the first two days of a strike by Los Angeles teachers, while she and her husband try to start their own clothing line. Like many parents Rietz, whose daughter is a 4th grader at Ivanhoe Elementary School in the middle-class Silver Lake neighborhood, has taken on the extra burden in solidarity with 30,000 teachers demanding higher pay, smaller class sizes, more staff and less testing. Los Angeles Unified School District officials have kept its 900 schools open during the two-day strike using administrators and substitute teachers, mindful that working-class parents cannot afford child care.

Shutdown bites economy, U.S. Coast Guard as Washington talks stall

The shutdown dragged into its 25th day on Tuesday with neither Trump nor Democratic congressional leaders showing signs of bending on the topic that triggered it - funding for the wall Trump promised to build along the border with Mexico. Trump is insisting Congress shell out $5.7 billion for wall funding as about 800,000 federal workers go unpaid during the partial shutdown. Trump invited a bipartisan group of members of Congress for lunch to discuss the standoff but the White House said Democrats turned down the invitation.

U.S.-bound Honduran migrant caravan grows as Trump argues for wall

A new U.S.-bound caravan of Honduran migrants grew to nearly 1,000 people as it neared the Guatemalan border on Tuesday, a Honduran official said, while U.S. President Donald Trump seized on news of the group to try to drum up support for a border wall. Honduran Deputy Foreign Minister Nelly Jerez told reporters that there were between 800 and 1,000 people traveling together and headed toward the Agua Caliente border crossing into Guatemala. Central American migrant caravans heading toward the United States have inflamed the debate over U.S. immigration policy, with Trump using the groups to seek backing for his plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

U.S. Justice Dept broadens restrictions on internet gambling

The U.S. Justice Department will effectively prohibit online gambling and lottery businesses, experts said on Tuesday, after it decided to broaden its interpretation of rules governing interstate sports gambling to other forms of betting. The department's Office of Legal Counsel said in a November 2018 opinion, not released until late Monday, that a 1961 law called the Wire Act does in fact apply to interstate online poker and casino games, not just sports bets. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday it would delay implementation of the new restrictions for 90 days to allow businesses to adjust their operations.

Government shutdown breaks record, with no end in sight

A partial U.S. government shutdown over President Donald Trump's demand for $5.7 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border entered its 22nd day on Saturday, making it the longest shuttering of federal agencies in U.S. history, with no end in sight. Trump, holed up in the White House with Congress adjourned for the weekend, warned of a much lengthier impasse and blamed the Democrats. "They’re the ones that are holding it up," he said during a telephone interview with Fox News on Saturday night.

President Trump can't stop U.S. coal plants from retiring

In total, more than 23,400 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired generation were shut in 2017-2018 versus 14,900 MW in 2009-2012, according to data from Reuters and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Trump has tried to roll back rules on climate change and the environment adopted during the Obama administration to fulfill pledges to voters in states like West Virginia and Wyoming. One megawatt can power about 1,000 U.S. homes.

Judge rejects citizenship question for 2020 U.S. census

U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross concealed his true motives in adding the question last March. Ross had said the question - which has not appeared on the decennial census since 1950 - was necessary to enforce federal laws protecting eligible voters. Furman's decision will almost certainly be appealed, and could wind up before the Supreme Court this year.

Carol Channing, Broadway's iconic 'Dolly,' dead at 97

(Reuters) - Carol Channing, who won over audiences with her giddy, guileless charm in signature roles in Broadway's "Hello, Dolly!" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," died in her California home on Tuesday at the age of 97, according to her publicist.

No clear path for California as massive PG&E utility nears bankruptcy

PG&E Corp's announcement that it will file for bankruptcy, citing massive potential liability from deadly wildfires, puts California politicians in quandary, whether to offer a bailout or risk allowing the state's largest private utility to fail. Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, told reporters late on Monday his team was discussing the possibility of helping PG&E stay solvent, but no decisions had been made.

Spike Lee joins The Killers for protest video over Trump's planned wall

Rockers The Killers have teamed up with film director Spike Lee to make the music video for their latest song, "Land Of The Free", a protest against President Donald Trump's planned wall on the U.S.-Mexican border. The "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcom X" director was given full creative rein to make the video for the track, which the Las Vegas band describes as "a heartfelt lament inspired by current events and recent national tragedies in the United States". Lee filmed the video at the end of 2018 around the border, capturing scenes of migrant families as they headed towards "the land of the free", the group said.

Confederate monument's pedestal ordered removed at university in North Carolina

The plan to remove the statue's base and commemorative plaques was outlined by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill chancellor Carol Folt, in a statement that also said she would resign after this academic year's graduation ceremonies. "The base and tablets will be preserved until their future is decided," Folt said in a statement. The effort to eliminate Confederate monuments gained momentum in the United States after avowed white supremacist Dylann Roof in 2015 murdered nine black people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Alaska officials probing BP oil, gas wells at Prudhoe Bay after spill

Regulators in the U.S. state of Alaska will investigate all of the oil and natural gas wells operated by BP Plc at its Prudhoe Bay oil field after the release of a small amount of crude oil and gas from a well that had earlier been shut. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) has scheduled a Feb. 7 hearing “to assess the mechanical integrity of Prudhoe Bay wells operated by BP Exploration (Alaska), Inc.,” the agency said in a notice issued on Friday.

Burgers by candlelight: Trump lays out fast food for college football champs

U.S. President Donald Trump laid out a White House feast fit for a government shutdown on Monday: silver platters heaped high with McDonald's quarter pounders and the red-and-white burger wrappers of Wendy's. White House chefs normally would serve much fancier fare underneath the stern gaze of the portrait of Abraham Lincoln in the State Dining Room. The White House said Trump himself sprang for what he pronounced to be "great American food" for the visiting Clemson Tigers, winners of the U.S. college football championship.

'El Chapo' dreamed of biopic for years before capture, says trial witness

Alex Cifuentes, Guzman's self-described one-time "right hand man," said he learned about a planned movie project while living with Guzman in the mountains of his boss' home state of Sinaloa from 2007 to 2009. Colombian-born Cifuentes is one of about a dozen witnesses who have so far testified against Guzman after striking deals with U.S. prosecutors, in a trial that has provided a window into the secretive world of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking organization. The alleged kingpin's silver screen dreams first surfaced after Penn wrote a story for Rolling Stone magazine in 2016 about traveling with Del Castillo to meet Guzman at a forest hideout, not long after Guzman had escaped from a Mexican prison through a tunnel.