US News Roundup: Sixteen women sue FBI; Man lights himself on fire near White House


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 30-05-2019 19:13 IST | Created: 30-05-2019 18:28 IST
US News Roundup: Sixteen women sue FBI; Man lights himself on fire near White House
Image Credit: Flickr
  • Country:
  • United States

Exclusive: Disney CEO says it will be 'difficult' to film in Georgia if abortion law takes effect

Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger told Reuters on Wednesday it would be "very difficult" for the media company to keep filming in Georgia if a new abortion law takes effect because many people will not want to work in the U.S. state. Disney has filmed blockbuster movies in Georgia such as "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Endgame," and it would be a blow to the state's efforts to create production jobs if the entertainment giant stopped filming there.

Hydrogen-powered flying vehicle touted as Southern California traffic tonic

Developers of a multi-rotor hovercraft billed as the first flying vehicle to be powered by hydrogen fuel cells unveiled a full-scale model on Wednesday in Southern California, in a show-and-tell that raised some eyebrows but never left the ground. A mockup of the futuristic aircraft, dubbed "Skai" by its inventors, was put on exhibit for investors, the news media and other invited guests outside the BMW Group's Designworks studio in Newbury Park, a suburb north of Los Angeles.

Louisiana governor to sign 'heartbeat' ban, latest move to curb U.S. abortion rights

Louisiana's Democratic governor said on Wednesday he would sign a bill passed earlier in the day to ban abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected, the latest legislation in a movement in mostly Southern and Midwest states to curb abortion rights. Earlier on Wednesday, Missouri's governor renewed his intention to close a Planned Parenthood clinic and become the first state without a medical facility that performs abortions.

Alaska Native leaders seek U.S. attorney general's help to fight rural crime

U.S. Attorney General Robert Barr on Wednesday promised Alaska Native leaders he would work to strengthen law enforcement in the state's rural areas hit by alarmingly high rates of violent crime. Native Alaskan leaders say police protection is scarce in their communities.

Sixteen women sue FBI claiming 'good old boy' training discrimination: NYT

Sixteen women filed a lawsuit against the FBI on Wednesday, claiming sexual discrimination and accusing it of running "a good old boy network" in its training program, the New York Times reported. Male instructors exposed the former recruits to a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and inappropriate jokes, according to the suit, the newspaper said.

Alabama set to execute 46-year-old man convicted of killing minister in 1991

A 46-year-old man convicted of killing a minister and wounding his wife with a sword and dagger while robbing their home three days before Christmas in 1991 is scheduled to be executed in Alabama on Thursday. Christopher Price is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. local time at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.

Man lights himself on fire near White House: U.S. Secret Service

A man set himself on fire outside the White House on Wednesday and was being treated at the scene, the U.S. Secret Service said. Authorities from the National Park Service and U.S. Park Police were administering first aid after the incident on the Ellipse near the Washington Mall, an area popular with tourists, according to a Twitter post. Further details were not available.

Rains ease, but record flood threats remain for parts of U.S. South

Thousands of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana residents braced for more flooding on Thursday as swollen rivers continued to rise, although the threat of rain was expected to ease by the afternoon, officials said. Many in the U.S. Southern states have already evacuated homes, as of further flooding drove fears that decades-old levees girding the Arkansas River may not hold.

There to save, not to kill: U.S. survivor recalls D-Day bloodshed

Seventy-five years ago, 19-year-old Charles Shay leapt off a U.S. landing boat and into chest-deep water just off the Normandy coast. As he came ashore in the first wave of D-Day infantrymen, he had just one objective. "I wanted to survive, and that was the thought going through many minds: survival," Shay said.

Fifty bright sparks vie for national spelling bee crown

Fifty young spellers winnowed down from hundreds of contestants, will battle it out on the last day of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday when the champion will walk away with a $50,000 prize. The three-day competition in Maryland started on Tuesday with a record 562 spellers aged 7 to 15. Spellers had to ace common words such as "intolerable" and "detrimental" as well as more obscure terms such as "annus mirabilis" and "hibernaculum."

(With inputs from agencies.)

Give Feedback