US News Roundup: Workers picket GM plants as UAW contract talks resume; California governor acts to stem 'epidemic' of youth vaping


Reuters | Washington DC | Updated: 17-09-2019 05:31 IST | Created: 17-09-2019 05:24 IST
US News Roundup: Workers picket GM plants as UAW contract talks resume; California governor acts to stem 'epidemic' of youth vaping
Representative image Image Credit: ANI
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Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Workers picket GM plants as UAW contract talks resume

Negotiators for General Motors Co and the United Auto Workers were continuing talks Monday afternoon to resolve a strike that shut down the automaker's highly profitable U.S. operations. The UAW on Sunday launched the first company-wide strike at GM in 12 years, saying negotiations toward a new national agreement covering about 48,000 hourly workers had hit an impasse.

Uber to limit drivers' app access to comply with NYC regulation

Uber on Tuesday will begin limiting drivers' access to its app in New York City to comply with regulation aimed at boosting drivers' pay and easing congestion in Manhattan, laws that Uber says will have unintended consequences. Uber Technologies Inc's move to lock out drivers at times and in areas of low demand comes just months after rival Lyft Inc implemented similar measures in response to city regulation.

Detroit mayor wants to wipe out residential blight with bonds

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan unveiled a plan on Monday to sell up to $250 million of bonds to tackle the city's remaining blighted and abandoned houses over the next five years. If approved by the Detroit City Council, a bond measure would be placed on the March ballot, marking the first vote by residents on bonds since the city exited municipal bankruptcy in 2014.

Electric pickup, batteries included in GM's $7 billion pledge

An all-electric pickup truck and an advanced battery system will be part of the $7 billion that General Motors Co has pledged to invest in the United States as parts of contract talks with the United Auto Workers. The automaker and the union were continuing talks late on Monday to resolve a strike by 48,000 hourly workers that shut down GM's highly profitable U.S. operations.

Opioid plaintiffs fight bid to disqualify U.S. judge before trial

Lawyers for cities and counties suing drug companies over the opioid epidemic on Monday objected to a bid by pharmaceutical distributors and pharmacies to disqualify the federal judge overseeing the cases, saying it had no basis and came too late. The plaintiffs' lawyers moved swiftly to fight the request companies including AmerisourceBergen Corp, Cardinal Health Inc and McKesson Corp had made on Saturday for U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland, Ohio, to step aside from the litigation.

U.S. House panel launches investigation of transportation chief Chao

A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Monday demanded documents from Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao as part of a new investigation into whether she has used her office to benefit a shipping company owned by her family. Leaders of the Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee said in a letter to Chao they were troubled by media reports she may have used her role in the Trump administration to boost Foremost Group, a shipping company founded by her father.

Senior U.S. Democrat focused on Trump impeachment, not Kavanaugh

The chairman of the U.S. congressional committee responsible for launching any impeachment efforts said on Monday he is focused on investigating President Donald Trump, signaling that calls by some fellow Democrats for impeaching Trump's Supreme Court appointee Brett Kavanaugh would have to take a back seat. Several Democratic presidential candidates and lawmakers have called for impeaching Kavanaugh following a New York Times article published over the weekend detailing what was described as a previously unreported incident of sexual misconduct by the conservative justice when he was a college student in the 1980s.

California governor acts to stem 'epidemic' of youth vaping

California's governor on Monday ordered a public awareness campaign on health risks from vaping, part of a multi-pronged effort to combat what he called a "youth epidemic," but said he lacked authority to impose a ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Governor Gavin Newsom, acting a day after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced such a ban, became the latest politician seeking to crack down on e-cigarettes and other electronic inhaling - or vaping - devices, which have exposed a new generation of young people to nicotine hazards.

Jeffrey Epstein accusers cannot recoup damages over lenient plea deal: U.S. judge

A group of women who said Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused them are not entitled to money damages from the United States even though federal prosecutors kept them in the dark about the financier's lenient non-prosecution agreement more than a decade ago, a Florida judge ruled on Monday. U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach also rejected the women's bid to void the non-prosecution agreement, which had barred prosecutions of Epstein and some alleged accomplices, saying Epstein's death last month made the issue moot. Marra also denied a request for attorneys' fees.

U.S. farmers receive $4.07 billion of latest government trade aid

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has paid $4.07 billion of its latest round of compensation for farmers suffering from the trade war with China as of Monday, Communications Director Michawn Rich said in an email to Reuters. The Trump administration in July announced $16 billion to compensate farmers for lost sales due to China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, on top of $12 billion pledged in last year's aid package.

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(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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