General news

• Washington's subway system to reopen on Thursday: general manager

  16-03-2016 23:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington's troubled Metro subway system will reopen at 5 a.m. EDT on Thursday after a day-long shutdown for safety checks to power cables, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said on Wednesday. He told a news conference that some stations may remain closed if repairs were not finished by the scheduled reopening time. (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Chris Reese)
  
  Read more

• 'Nina' distributor: Casting complaints show slavery's impact

  16-03-2016 23:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The distributor of the forthcoming film about Nina Simone says complaints about Zoe Saldana playing the singer reflect an interracial "pathology" established by slave owners.
  
  Read more

• AP sources: Autonomous braking to be in most cars by 2022

  16-03-2016 23:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DETROIT (AP) — Major automakers and the U.S. government have reached an agreement to make automatic emergency braking standard equipment on most cars by 2022, two people briefed on the deal said.
  
  Read more

• US court OKs second execution attempt for convicted murder

  16-03-2016 23:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A US court ruled Wednesday that a convicted murderer should face the death chamber a second time, after the state's first attempt was called off because technicians couldn't find a suitable vein for the lethal drugs. Romell Broom, who is convicted of raping and murdering a teenage girl in 1984, was stuck with needles at least 18 times over two hours on September 15, 2009 at the prison in Ohio. The medical technicians assisting in the execution were unable to find a vein suitable for the catheter
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Brazil opposition lawmakers demand Rousseff resignation during session

  16-03-2016 23:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BRASILIA (Reuters) - Dozens of lawmakers opposed to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff chanted "resign" at a Congressional session late on Wednesday, in a sign of rising political tensions in Latin America's largest economy. The lawmakers gathered around a microphone interrupted the session to demand Rousseff's resignation, according to images broadcast live by news channel GloboNews. Rousseff's administration is struggling with fallout from a sweeping corruption probe, known as "Operation Car W
  
  Read more

• Remains of more servicemen identified from 1952 Alaska crash

  16-03-2016 23:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Air Force said Wednesday it has identified the remains of more service members who died when a military transport plane slammed into an Alaska mountain near a glacier more than six decades ago, killing all 52 people aboard.
  
  Read more

• Secret Service apologizes to Sinn Fein head

  16-03-2016 23:37 via rss.cnn.com
  
  The Secret Service apologized Wednesday for denying Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams entry to a White House reception, blaming the mix-up on an administrative error.
  
  Read more

• Obama's address to Cuban people will be highlight of historic visit

  16-03-2016 23:33 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Entire first family will travel with president for trip including a baseball game, a summit with Raúl Castro and a speech calling for civil rights improvementsBarack Obama will make an historic address to the Cuban people, calling for more freedom but stressing that the US is no longer seeking regime change on the island, according to the White House.
  This first speech on Cuban soil by a US president in almost 90 years will be the highlight of a three-day trip that also includes a bilater
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Jamar Clark case: prosecutor will not use grand jury to charge police officers

  16-03-2016 23:25 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Mike Freeman said he will no longer use grand juries in police shooting cases and will decide himself whether to indict Minneapolis officers in black man’s deathA prosecutor said on Wednesday that he will not use a grand jury to determine whether two Minneapolis police officers should be charged in a black man’s November shooting death, saying it was a difficult decision but one that will bring more accountability to the process.Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman said he will make
  
  Read more

• The Latest, subway shutdown: Shutdown deemed 'necessary'

  16-03-2016 23:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on a daylong shutdown of the Washington area's Metro subway system (all times local):
  
  Read more

• Champions League: Barca maul Arsenal

  16-03-2016 23:09 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Reigning champions Barcelona cruised into the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the ninth successive year after beating Arsenal 3-1 to register a 5-1 aggregate win.
  
  Read more

• Obama to lay out vision for Cuba in historic Havana speech

  16-03-2016 23:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will use an historic address to the Cuban people in Havana next week to lay out his vision for Cuba's future.
  
  Read more

• Michelle Obama tells SXSW crowd she won't run for president

  16-03-2016 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Michelle Obama showed off her vocal chops at the South by Southwest Music Festival but drew a round of disappointed sighs when she told the crowd she has no plans to run for president.
  
  Read more

• Barca outgun Arsenal to reach quarter-finals

  16-03-2016 22:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were all on target as Barcelona piled more pressure on under-fire Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger by easing into the Champions League quarter-finals 5-1 on aggregate with a 3-1 win at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. Neymar's early strike appeared to erase any forlorn hopes of an Arsenal comeback, but the visitors were given hope when Mohamed Elneny drilled into the top corner just after half-time.
  
  Read more

• Obama nominates Merrick Garland, DC appeals court judge, to supreme court

  16-03-2016 22:55 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  President warns Senate Republicans that refusing to consider his nomination of the 63-year-old progressive federal appeals court judge imperils democracySupreme court nomination: live coverageBarack Obama dramatically intensified his dispute with Senate Republicans on Wednesday, warning as he announced his nomination of DC appeals court judge Merrick Garland to the US supreme court that continuing to block confirmation proceedings would inflict irreparable damage on the pillars of American democ
  
  Read more

• Michigan driver charged with murder files $10 million lawsuit against Uber

  16-03-2016 22:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Uber could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday. Dalton is charged with shooting eight people, killing six of them, over a five-hour period on Feb. 20 in between driving customers for the Uber car service in Kalamazoo, which is about 150 miles (240 km) west of Detroit. Dalton told investigators that the Uber ride-sharing app had the ability to "take over" his body, local media outlets reported on Monday.
  
  Read more

• MPs plan budget rebellion against tampon tax

  16-03-2016 22:52 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Alliance of feminists and pro-Brexit MPs back Labour’s Paula Sherriff in attempting to amend George Osborne’s finance billGeorge Osborne is facing a potential rebellion over the “tampon tax” next week, from an alliance of feminists and campaigners for Britain to leave the European Union.Labour backbencher Paula Sherriff, who has waged a campaign against the 5% VAT charged on sanitary products, has laid an amendment to the budget resolution enacting the chancellor’s
  
  Read more

• Fed holds steady, eyes two rate hikes this year

  16-03-2016 22:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and indicated that moderate U.S. economic growth and "strong job gains" would allow it to tighten policy this year, with fresh projections showing policymakers expected two quarter-point hikes by the year's end, half the number seen in December. Inflation picked up in recent months," the Fed said in a policy statement in which it kept the target range for its overnight lending rate at 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent. Fed policymakers proje
  
  Read more

• Trump warns of riots, pulls plug on Republican presidential debate

  16-03-2016 22:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Steve Holland PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - Republican front-runner Donald Trump warned on Wednesday of riots if he is denied the party's presidential nomination and pulled the plug on a scheduled debate among candidates, raising the temperature even more in a heated White House race. The outspoken New York businessman scored big wins in primaries in Florida, Illinois and North Carolina on Tuesday, bringing him closer to the 1,237 convention delegates he needs to win the nomination. Trump also
  
  Read more

• Snyder: Mich. environmental agency misled him on Flint water

  16-03-2016 22:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder says a lead-contamination water crisis in Flint, Michigan represents "a failure of government at all levels."
  
  Read more

• Dollar slides, stocks rise after dovish Fed statement

  16-03-2016 22:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed at its highest in 2016, leading global stock gains, while the U.S. dollar weakened after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady while lowering expectations for the number of rate hikes this year.
  
  Read more

• Obama nominates Garland to high court, challenging GOP

  16-03-2016 22:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama nominated appeals court judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, thrusting a respected moderate jurist and former prosecutor into the center of an election-year clash over the future of the nation's highest court.
  
  Read more

• ISIS says it shot down Iraqi warplane

  16-03-2016 22:33 via rss.cnn.com
  
  An Iraqi military aircraft was downed in northeastern Kirkuk and all crew members were killed, Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in a statement Wednesday.
  
  Read more

• Flashes reveal black hole feeding on star

  16-03-2016 22:33 via rss.cnn.com
  
  Rare and powerful flashes from a black hole consuming a star have been observed by astronomers.
  
  Read more

• The Latest: Syrian group 'optimistic' about Geneva talks

  16-03-2016 22:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BEIRUT (AP) — The latest developments in ongoing Syria peace talks (all times local in Beirut):
  
  Read more

• Emails: EPA chief warned Flint crisis could get 'very big'

  16-03-2016 22:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  As university researchers and local doctors went public with concerns of drinking water lead contamination in Flint, Michigan, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy ordered some top staff members to focus on the matter and said it could "get very big very quickly," according to emails released Wednesday.
  
  Read more

• Gearing up: how Taipei's bike-sharing program is transforming citizens' commute

  16-03-2016 22:30 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Taipei’s YouBike program nearly collapsed four years ago. It now thrives after a much-needed upgrade made the bikes better and cheaper to rentTAIPEI, Taiwan – Taipei’s rental bikes are hard to miss. The Taiwanese capital has 7,264 of them, and their distinctive orange frames, yellow fenders and smiley face logo are nearly as common in some parts of town as the city’s ubiquitous motor scooters. Last year, the city’s bike rental program logged more than 20m trips, a s
  
  Read more

• Pigeons fighting air pollution

  16-03-2016 22:28 via rss.cnn.com
  
  It could seem like a bird-brained idea: relying on a team of pigeons to carry out scientific studies on air quality.
  
  Read more

• Prosecutor says no grand jury in Minneapolis police shooting

  16-03-2016 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A prosecutor said Wednesday that he will not use a grand jury to determine whether two Minneapolis police officers should be charged in a black man's November shooting death, saying it was a difficult decision but one that will bring more accountability to the process.
  
  Read more

• Kurds plan to declare a federal region in northern Syria

  16-03-2016 22:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian Kurds are preparing a plan to declare a federal region in the area they control across northern Syria, saying Wednesday it is a model for a more decentralized government in which all ethnic groups would be represented.
  
  Read more

• Black women feel jilted by Obama with Supreme Court pick

  16-03-2016 22:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Black women's groups said Wednesday they feel President Barack Obama jilted them by choosing someone other than a black woman as his newest nominee for the Supreme Court.
  
  Read more

• Officials not sure whether Washington subway will reopen Thursday: NBC affiliate

  16-03-2016 22:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Officials of Washington's subway system are not sure whether the system will reopen on Thursday after a daylong shutdown on Wednesday stranded hundreds of thousands of commuters, the local NBC station reported, citing unnamed sources. Two of the six Washington Metro rail lines are still being inspected for faulty electrical cables, the report said. (Reporting by Eric Beech)
  
  Read more

• War zones trying to get on tourist trails

  16-03-2016 22:17 via rss.cnn.com
  
  In a changing world, places often seen as off limits today could one day be the ultimate vacation spots.
  
  Read more

• 'Thickest' ISIS stronghold in Iraq found

  16-03-2016 22:17 via rss.cnn.com
  
  U.S. military intelligence has identified the corridor between Mosul and Tal Afar as the "thickest, strongest, stronghold" of ISIS in Iraq.
  
  Read more

• Obama sanctions NKorea for nuclear, missile tests

  16-03-2016 22:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama levied sanctions against North Korea on Wednesday in response to the reclusive country's recent "illicit" nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
  
  Read more

• New York details major ferry expansion for 2017

  16-03-2016 22:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  New York unveiled plans Wednesday for the largest ferry expansion in a century between Manhattan and outlying boroughs from the summer of 2017. When the service is fully operational in 2018, it will connect 21 jetties and run around 4.6 million trips a year across six routes connecting Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island with Manhattan. The ferry services will make it easier for people living in waterfront communities, not currently well serviced by bus or subway, to travel in a bid to
  
  Read more

• Trump: Time to rally around me _ or expect voter riots

  16-03-2016 22:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — After yet another round of convincing victories for Donald Trump, Republican leaders spent Wednesday wavering between grudging acceptance and deep denial about the businessman's likely ascent to the GOP presidential nomination. An emboldened Trump warned that if the party tried to block him, "You'd have riots."
  
  Read more

• Obama urges Putin to release Ukrainian pilot Savchenko

  16-03-2016 22:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin (POO'-tihn) to release Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko (SAHV'-chen-koh) from Russian prison.
  
  Read more

• Feeling global slowdown, Fed keeps interest rate unchanged

  16-03-2016 22:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Federal Reserve cut its outlook for the US economy and kept its interest rate policy unchanged Wednesday, citing the impact of the global slowdown and turmoil in world markets. Giving a picture of the US economy less bullish than many had expected, the Fed still forecast continuing hikes to the federal funds rate this year, but at a slower pace than foreseen in December. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) opted for "a slightly more accommodati
  
  Read more

• The impact of the budget on UK household finances in two graphs

  16-03-2016 22:03 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  Changes in raising tax thresholds means that wealthier families will benefit significantly more from George Osborne’s announcement George Osborne continued his policy of increasing the income tax personal allowance faster than inflation, but a change in his approach to raising the thresholds mean that wealthier families will benefit significantly more from the chancellor’s taxation changes as a result. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Democratic voters embrace stability over leftward turn

  16-03-2016 22:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders has clearly tapped a vein of economic populism, but the latest presidential primary exit polls — along with previous primary and caucus results — suggest a Democratic Party electorate unwilling to embrace the kind of leftward shift the Vermont senator proposes.
  
  Read more

• Germany pushes EU-Turkey deal as 'real chance' to end migrant crisis

  16-03-2016 21:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Germany on Wednesday lobbied for an EU-Turkey deal on migrants on the eve of a crucial Brussels summit but cautioned the bloc would not endorse an agreement at any cost. Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Berlin that the scheme could offer "for the first time, a real chance" of a solution. Under the plan, Turkey would seek to stop refugees' dangerous sea journeys and take back illegal migrants from Greece.
  
  Read more

• Civilians die as airstrike hits market

  16-03-2016 21:59 via rss.cnn.com
  
  At least 78 civilians were killed and more than 100 injured when three Saudi airstrikes attacked a market in northern Yemen, three medical officials in Hajjah told CNN. The Yemeni Defense Ministry gave a higher death toll; it said up to 107 were killed and dozens injured.
  
  Read more

• Hastert judge wants review of ex-speaker's medical records

  16-03-2016 21:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CHICAGO (AP) — A judge overseeing Dennis Hastert's hush-money case on Wednesday ordered an independent review of the former U.S. House speaker's medical records, a move that follows a delay in Hastert's sentencing after his lawyers said he had nearly died and remained in poor health.
  
  Read more

• Factbox: How would a brokered Republican convention work?

  16-03-2016 21:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Like any Republican candidate, front-runner Donald Trump needs to collect a majority of the party's 2,472 delegates in state nominating contests to become his party's candidate for the U.S. presidential election in November. If he falls short of that 1,237 threshold, the Republican Party's delegates will need to pick their nominee at a contested convention in Cleveland in July, by following a complex process of sequential votes. Trump currently has 673 delegates, after winning nomina
  
  Read more

• Top Senate Republican tells Supreme Court nominee: Senate will not act

  16-03-2016 21:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland by phone on Wednesday that Republicans will not act on his nomination or meet with him, a McConnell spokesman said."Rather than put Judge Garland through more unnecessary political routines orchestrated by the White House, the leader decided it would be more considerate of the nominee’s time to speak with him today by phone," McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said in a statement. McCo
  
  Read more

• Michelle Obama tells SXSW: ‘I won’t run for president’ – video

  16-03-2016 21:51 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  First lady Michelle Obama made a guest appearance at the South by Southwest festival on Wednesday and discussed what she enjoyed most about her time in the White House. Telling the audience she would most miss all of the young people she gets to meet everyday, she nonetheless went on to insist that she would never run for president herself, citing her two daughters as a reason: ‘They’ve handled [being the president’s children] with grace and with poise, but enough’ Contin
  
  Read more

• Brazil ex-president Silva takes Cabinet post

  16-03-2016 21:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday appointed her predecessor and mentor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as her chief of staff in a move supporters say will help her fight impeachment proceedings and critics blast as scheme to shield the former leader from possible detention in corruption probes.
  
  Read more

• Who are the main winners in George Osborne's budget?

  16-03-2016 21:48 via feeds.theguardian.com
  
  The chancellor claims the ‘next generation’ has been put first in the budget – but scratching below the surface reveals something elseGeorge Osborne said his budget had “put the next generation first”, following claims that the government has neglected young people in order to woo older voters at the election. However, many of the flagship measures appear to benefit those who already have assets, earn good salaries or are making profits already. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Dengue vaccine shows promise

  16-03-2016 21:48 via rss.cnn.com
  
  A new type of dengue vaccine called TV003 seems to protect people against at least one type of the virus, according to a small study. If further research can bear out its effectiveness, the new vaccine could eventually represent a big advance in controlling the most common mosquito-transmitted virus worldwide.
  
  Read more

Follow @newslock_news on Twitter!