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Americans own nearly half world's guns in civilian hands: survey

Americans make up 4 percent of the world's population but owned about 46 percent of the estimated 857 million weapons in civilian hands at the end of 2017, a survey showed on Monday. The Small Arms Survey, an independent global research project based in Geneva, Switzerland, found that there were more than 1 billion firearms in the world, of which civilians owned 85 percent, while the rest were held by militaries or law enforcement agencies. The number of guns owned by civilians globally rose to 857 million in 2017 from 650 million in 2006, the survey said.

GM plans $175 million retooling of Michigan plant for Cadillac sedans

General Motors Co will invest $175 million to modernize and retool a plant in Lansing, Michigan, to build the next generation of luxury Cadillac sedans, the company said on Monday. Much of Cadillac's growth is expected to come from China, the luxury brand's largest market. "We expect global luxury sales will continue grow, with Cadillac's global volume and profit expected to double by 2021, and our investments in the U.S. will be a major driver," GM said in a statement.

Prosecution urges murder conviction of former New England mob boss

A federal prosecutor on Monday urged jurors to find a former New England mob boss guilty of murdering a nightclub manager in 1993, citing the testimony of the ex-partner of convicted Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger who said he saw it happen. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Ferland asked jurors in his closing argument to credit the testimony of Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, who said he saw the son of Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme strangle Steven DiSarro as the elder Salemme watched. Ferland said Flemmi told authorities about the slaying when he pleaded guilty to 10 murders and became a cooperating witness in 2003, long before DiSarro's remains were found buried behind a mill in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2016.

Supreme Court throws out Wisconsin electoral map manipulation case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to Wisconsin Republicans who drew state electoral districts that helped entrench their party in power, but sidestepped a major ruling on whether parties have carte blanche to engage in the practice called partisan gerrymandering. The justices threw out a lower court ruling that state legislative districts drawn by Wisconsin's Republican-controlled legislature deprived Democratic voters of their constitutional rights including equal protection under the law. The Supreme Court found that the Democratic voters who sued to block the Republican-drawn electoral map lacked legal standing to bring the case because they challenged it on a statewide basis rather than focusing on individual legislative districts.

Americans grapple with recognizing facts in news stories: Pew survey

By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - Only a quarter of U.S. adults in a recent survey could fully identify factual statements - as opposed to opinion - in news stories, the Pew Research Center found in a study released on Monday. The survey comes amid growing concerns about so-called fake news spread on the internet and social media. Facebook Inc , Alphabet Inc's Google and other tech companies have recently come under scrutiny for failing to promptly tackle the problem of fake news as more Americans consume news on social media platforms.

Too frail for death row? Texas inmate seeks execution reprieve

After two recent botched U.S. executions of inmates with compromised veins, a convicted murderer and rapist is arguing he is too ill to be put to death by lethal injection in Texas later this month. Lawyers for Danny Bible, a 66-year-old inmate set to be executed on June 27, said in a federal court filing in June that his health and vein access were worse than inmates in Alabama and Ohio whose executions were called off after IV placements failed. The cases have capital punishment critics questioning whether justice is served by executing a person convicted of horrific crimes but who is now too weak or sick to be considered a threat.

Democrats, activists rally against Trump's family separation policy

By Joseph Ax ELIZABETH, N.J. (Reuters) - Democratic lawmakers joined protesters outside immigration detention facilities in New Jersey and Texas on Sunday for Father's Day demonstrations against the Trump administration's practice of separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. "This must not be who we are as a nation," said Representative Jerrold Nadler, one of seven members of Congress from New York and New Jersey who met with five detainees inside a facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, including three who said they had young relatives removed from their care after seeking asylum at the border.

Fields of dreams: Texas project seeks new corn strains for whiskey

By Jon Herskovitz COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Reuters) - A master distiller and a crop scientist who specializes in corn breeding are working on a project they hope one day will help bring local identities to American whiskeys. Seth Murray, a top corn breeder at Texas A&M University, and Rob Arnold, working on a doctorate at the school while making whiskey for a Fort Worth distiller, are trying to develop commercially viable strains of corn with identifiable flavors, in the same way as specific grapes define the taste of wine from California's Napa Valley or a Bordeaux produced in southwest France. If the project proves successful, it might not be until the middle of the next decade that it will produce a commercial whiskey.

Suspect dead after 20 hurt in shooting at New Jersey arts festival

(Reuters) - A suspected gunman was fatally shot after multiple people opened fire at an all-night arts festival in New Jersey, wounding 20 people including a boy who is in critical condition, authorities said on Sunday. Prosecutors said a 33-year-old man was killed and a second suspect arrested after gunfire erupted at 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT) at the event in the city of Trenton, about 60 miles (100 km) southwest of New York City. ... Multiple weapons have been recovered," Angelo Onofri, prosecutor for Mercer County, told a news conference.

Flooding possible in U.S. Southwest where wildfires scorch earth

By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Heavy thunderstorms and widespread rains expected on Saturday in the U.S. Southwest could help douse the numerous unrelenting wildfires crews are battling in the parched region. "Water can rise quickly downstream of heavy rain, even when thunderstorms and heavy rain are miles away," the service said in an advisory. "When an area has burned, soil become hydrophobic, or water resistant, which causes water to rush over soil instead of soak in," The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team said in an advisory, noting that crews are in place to perform water rescues.

White House says Trump supports both House immigration bills, after all

By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Friday that President Donald Trump supported both Republican immigration bills being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives, offering a lifeline after the president suggested earlier he opposed the more moderate bill. In an interview on Fox News Channel early on Friday, Trump appeared to blast one of two delicately crafted immigration proposals that had a better chance of passing.

Kentucky man gets 30-day sentence in attack on Senator Rand Paul

Rene Boucher, 60, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, must also serve one year of supervised release following his prison stay and pay a $10,000 fine, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Indiana said in a statement. During the period of supervised release, Boucher will also be ordered to serve 100 hours of community service, Boucher's attorney Matt Baker said.

Cut off by Hawaii lava, pot growers refuse to let go dream

HALEKAMAHINA HILL, Hawaii (Reuters) - Dale Altman and his grandson Josh Doran live on a 5-acre (2-hectare) plot atop a hill on Hawaii's Big Island by the erupting Kilauea volcano, where they grow medical marijuana. 

Attorney General Sessions hits out at Philadelphia over 'sanctuary' status

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, in a speech at a local college on Friday, criticized Philadelphia and its mayor over the city's 'sanctuary' status, one that limits its cooperation with U.S. immigration authorities. Sessions accused the city of coddling dangerous criminals and refusing to turn them over to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials when requested. "Philadelphia is not giving sanctuary to Americans but to foreign criminals," he said.

U.S. judge sends ex-Trump campaign head Manafort to jail pre-trial

By Sarah N. Lynch and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A judge on Friday sent longtime Republican political operator and businessman Paul Manafort to jail pending trial after a charge of witness tampering, the latest episode in a slow fall from grace of a man who was President Donald Trump's campaign chairman in 2016. Manafort, a target of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election, has been indicted on mostly financial-related charges, including conspiring to launder money and defraud the United States. Manafort had been on home confinement in Virginia, and was required to wear an electronic monitoring device.

U.S. government says nearly 2,000 child separations at Mexico border in under two months

The government said on Friday that 1,995 children were separated from 1,940 adults at the U.S.-Mexico border between April 19 and May 31, as the Trump administration implements stricter border enforcement policies. The number represents a dramatic uptick from the nearly 1,800 family separations that Reuters reported had happened from October 2016 through February of this year. The official tally of separations is now nearly 4,000 children, not including March and the beginning of April 2018.

Trump's personal lawyer Cohen loses bid for quick Avenatti gag order

By Brendan O'Brien and Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Michael Cohen, U.S. President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, on Friday lost his bid for an emergency gag order to stop Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels, from maligning him in frequent media appearances. In a brief order, U.S. District Judge James Otero in Los Angeles said Cohen had not shown he would face "immediate, irreparable injury" without an immediate restraining order.

Harvard records show discrimination against Asian-Americans: group

By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University killed an internal investigation in 2013 that found evidence the Ivy League school's admissions system is biased against Asian-American applicants, a nonprofit group suing the university alleged in a court filing on Friday. The claim by Students for Fair Admissions Inc came in a brief that sought to have a federal judge in Boston rule in its favor without a trial in a closely watched lawsuit accusing Harvard of discriminating against Asian-Americans. The group, headed by prominent anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum, said evidence showed that Harvard had allowed race to become a dominant consideration in considering applicants rather than just a legally allowed "plus" factor.

Soaring costs, loss of benefits top Americans' healthcare worries: Reuters/Ipsos poll

For over a year now, Americans have listed healthcare as the most important problem facing the country, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. When asked what concerns them about U.S. healthcare, this is what they had to say: TOTAL COST OF HEALTH INSURANCE Sixty-five percent of Americans said in the poll that they are "very concerned" about the overall cost of health insurance, including premiums, deductibles and copays. This concern is consistent throughout the country: A majority of both millennials and baby boomers, whites and minorities, Democrats and Republicans were worried about healthcare costs.

Judge sends Manafort to jail pending trial

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday revoked bail conditions for Paul Manafort, a move that will force U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman to spend his time in a jail cell awaiting his criminal trial. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman made the decision after prosecutors working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election, alleged that Manafort and one of his associates had tried to tamper with witnesses in the case. ...

Manafort pleads not guilty to witness-tampering charges, judge weighs revoking bail

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty on Friday to new witness tampering charges brought by the special counsel investigating Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Food aid curbs sought by Republicans would hit rural poor

For the Greens and other rural Americans who get nutrition assistance, making ends meet could get tougher if Republicans in Washington, including President Donald Trump, carry out plans to make it harder to qualify for food aid. The House plan is an initial step in a welfare-cutting push by Republicans that could play out for years if the party keeps control of Congress in November's midterm election. After approving tax cuts in December that are projected to add $1.9 trillion to the U.S. debt over a decade, Republicans, led by Trump, want to trim the social safety net.

Trump approves disaster aid for Hawaii's volcano-stricken Big Island

By Jolyn Rosa HONOLULU (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday approved federal emergency housing aid and other relief for victims of the six-week-old Kilauea Volcano eruption on Hawaii's Big Island, where hundreds of homes have been destroyed, state officials said. The approval came a day after Governor David Ige formally requested assistance for an estimated 2,800 residents who have lost their homes to lava flows or were forced from their dwellings under evacuation orders since Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3. Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim has said that rivers of molten rock spewed from volcanic fissures at the foot of Kilauea have engulfed roughly 600 homes.

Four children slain at start of Florida standoff: police

Police who stormed the apartment after 21 hours on Monday night found suspect Gary Wayne Lindsey, 35, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The bodies of four children were also found inside the three-bedroom apartment. Police have said Lindsey was the father of the two youngest children.

New York court dismisses Trump appeal in 'Apprentice' contestant's lawsuit

The state's Court of Appeals dismissed Trump's request to halt Summer Zervos' lawsuit for calling her a liar after she accused him of sexual misconduct. It said the underlying ruling from which Trump was appealing was not a final ruling, warranting the appeal's dismissal. Trump and his lawyer Marc Kasowitz have argued that the U.S. Constitution deprives state courts of jurisdiction over sitting presidents, and that Trump is immune from lawsuits over private conduct predating his entering the White House.

Report rebukes Comey, but says no bias in Clinton email case

By Sarah N. Lynch and Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former FBI Director James Comey made a "serious error of judgment" when he announced shortly before the 2016 U.S. presidential election that he was reopening an investigation into candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server, the Justice Department's internal watchdog said on Thursday.

Rare Audubon 'Birds of America' sells for $9.6 million in New York

The richly illustrated 19th century book, featuring more than 400 hand-colored illustrations of 1,037 life-size birds, was one of just 13 complete sets thought to be remaining in private hands. Audubon's "The Birds of America" was first published as a series in sections between 1827 and 1838 and represented his years-long mission to find and paint all the known species of birds in North America.

Lawsuit challenges Texas abortion curbs

Whole Woman's Health Alliance and six nonprofits providing abortion-related services said Texas' licensing, parental notification, waiting period, ultrasound and other requirements violated women's due process rights. The complaint was filed in the federal court in Austin, Texas against state officials including Attorney General Ken Paxton and health services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, and seeks to block enforcement of the challenged laws.