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NEW YORK (AP) — A puzzling study of U.S. pregnancies found that women who had miscarriages between 2010 and 2012 were more likely to have had back-to-back annual flu shots that included protection against swine flu.

Vaccine experts think the results may reflect the older age and other miscarriage risks for the women, and not the flu shots. Health officials say there is no reason to change the government recommendation that all pregnant women be vaccinated against the flu. They say the flu itself is a much greater danger to women and their fetuses.   Continue reading “Study prompts call to examine flu vaccine and miscarriage”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans would get health coverage simply by showing a new government-issued card and would no longer owe out-of-pocket expenses like deductibles, according to legislation Sen. Bernie Sanders released Wednesday charting a stem-to-stern reshaping of the country’s health care system.

But the Vermont independent’s description of his measure omitted specifics about how much it would cost and final decisions about how he would pay for it. Sanders was releasing his bill the same day Republican senators were rolling out details of a last-ditch effort to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s health care law.   Continue reading “Sanders bill expands Medicare for all, lacks details on cost”

RT

Syria’s military have liberated around 85 percent of the country’s territory from the control of insurgent terrorists, according to the latest statement by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Lieutenant General Aleksandr Lapin, Russian chief of staff in Syria, told reporters at Khmeimim air base that the Syrian forces will now have to liberate the remaining 15 percent, around 27,000 square kilometers.   Continue reading “Syrian troops have liberated 85% of the country – Russian MoD”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Pushing toward the Republicans’ prime goal of tax legislation, the GOP Senate leader and members of the Budget Committee are scrambling to come up with a budget deal to clear the way for the first tax overhaul in three decades.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and GOP members of the Budget Committee are meeting Tuesday with two top Trump administration officials to plot breaking the budget stalemate. Lack of a budget plan for the 2018 fiscal year starting Oct. 1 is a roadblock to the must-do legislation overhauling the tax system that Republicans and President Donald Trump have made their highest priority. Trump’s top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are meeting with McConnell and budget panel members.   Continue reading “Senate GOP looking for budget deal to open way to tax redo”

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BEDFORD, Va. (AP) — A 60-year-old man who pleaded guilty in the killing of two young sisters from Maryland was sentenced Tuesday to 48 years in prison, more than four decades after the girls vanished during a trip to a local shopping mall.’

Lloyd Lee Welch Jr. entered his plea in a Virginia court Tuesday and was sentenced soon after to two 48-year terms to run concurrently. The first-degree felony murder charges had carried the possibility of a death sentence. Welch, who is already serving a long prison term in Delaware for sexually molesting a 10-year-old girl, also received a 12-year sentence in two unrelated sexual assault cases in Prince William County in Virginia.  Continue reading “Suspect pleads guilty in 1975 killing of Maryland sisters”

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The engineer in a deadly Amtrak derailment is due in court for a preliminary hearing to determine if he’ll face trial on criminal charges that were filed only after a victim’s family intervened and a judge overruled city prosecutors.

Engineer Brandon Bostian’s lawyers want the case dismissed. They argued in court papers ahead of Tuesday’s hearing that the unusual circumstances leading to Bostian’s May arrest, as the statute of limitations loomed, had violated his due process rights.  Continue reading “Engineer in deadly Amtrak crash wants criminal case tossed”

RT

A Jewish family was robbed and beaten in their home by several men in Paris, authorities say. The attackers reportedly told their victims that Jews “have money” and that they planned to give it to “the poor.”

The incident took place in Livry-Gargan, a northeastern suburb of Paris, on Thursday night, according to French media citing local prosecutors.    Continue reading “‘We take money from Jews to give to the poor’: Family robbed & beaten in Paris”

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A jury this week will begin weighing the mental competence of a girl accused in the stabbing of a classmate to please a fictional horror character known as Slender Man. Jury selection begins Monday in Waukesha in the trial to determine 15-year-old Anissa Weier’s competency. It could take up to two weeks. Here are a few key things to know about the case and the trial:   Continue reading “Jury to mull defendant’s mental health in Slender Man attack”

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BOSTON (AP) — A 22-year-old recent Oberlin College graduate and jazz drummer from Maine will face murder charges Monday in the slayings of four adults found at a Massachusetts home. Orion Krause, of Rockport, Maine is scheduled for arraignment in Ayer District Court in connection with the deaths of an elderly man and woman and two middle-aged women in Groton, a town about 43 miles (69 kilometers) northwest of Boston, the Middlesex district attorney’s office said Sunday.

Town police found the man and two of the women dead inside the house and the other woman’s body outside on Friday night. The victims’ have yet to be identified. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said the victims appeared to have died of blunt force trauma. She called the situation “a tragic incident of family violence” but it’s unclear how Krause is related to the victims.   Continue reading “Suspect in 4 slayings in Massachusetts to appear in court”

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PLANO, Texas (AP) — At least eight people are dead, including the suspect, after a shooting at a home in Plano, Texas, authorities in North Texas said Sunday night. The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. in the city less than 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) northeast of Dallas.

Plano police spokesman David Tilley said police initially responded to a report of shots fired. When the first officer arrived and went inside the home, the officer confronted the suspected shooter. The officer opened fire, Tilley said, killing the suspect. Two others were injured in the shooting. Their conditions were not released.   Continue reading “Police: At least 8 dead after shooting in North Texas”

RT

Starting next year, France intends to stop giving permits for oil and gas exploration on the mainland and its overseas territories, according to a draft bill unveiled by the cabinet.

The move aims at ending all oil and gas production by 2040 as France wants to meet its carbon neutral goal as part of a broader plan to combat climate change.

The government is not going to renew current drilling licenses. However, some of the existing permits could be extended because of contracts.   Continue reading “France plans oil and gas production ban by 2040”

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BANGKOK (AP) — Journalists saw new fires burning Thursday in a Myanmar village that had been abandoned by Rohingya Muslims, and pages ripped from Islamic texts that were left on the ground. That intensifies doubts about government claims that members of the persecuted minority have been destroying their own homes.

About two dozen journalists saw the fires in Gawdu Zara village in northern Rakhine state on a government-controlled trip. Some 164,000 Rohingya from the area have fled across the border in Bangladesh in less than two weeks since Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police outposts in Gawdu Zara and several others, the U.N. refugee agency said Thursday.   Continue reading “New Myanmar fires in empty Rohingya village raise questions”

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Fearsome Hurricane Irma left at least 10 dead and thousands homeless amid a swathe of smashed buildings and uprooted trees, cutting a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean on Thursday on a track that could lead to a catastrophic strike on Florida.

The most potent Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever, Irma weakened only slightly Thursday morning and remained a powerful Category 5 storm with winds of 180 mph (285 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.   Continue reading “Hurricane Irma toll hits 10, increasing threat for Florida”

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BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli warplanes struck a military position near the Mediterranean coast in western Syria early Thursday, killing two soldiers and causing material damage, the Syrian army said. The airstrike targeted a facility near the town of Masyaf that some said was tied to Syria’s chemical weapons program, in a stronghold of President Bashar Assad that is also heavily protected by the Russians.

In a statement, the Syrian army said the Israeli warplanes fired several missiles while in Lebanese air space, and warned of the “dangerous repercussions of such hostile acts on the security and stability of the region.”   Continue reading “Syrian army: Israeli air raid on military position kills 2”

RT

A riot has reportedly occurred at a state prison in western Kansas. Local law enforcement agencies are on the scene, saying that the situation in the facility is under control.

“Huge riot broken out at Norton Correctional Facility. Buildings are burning and some inmates have gotten weapons,”the Kansas Organization of State Employees tweeted.  Continue reading “‘Huge’ prison riot reported in Kansas, multiple law enforcement agencies responding”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Both parties must give ground to craft a compromise bill shoring up the nation’s individual health insurance markets or they’ll be blamed for hurting millions of consumers, the chairman of the Senate health committee said Wednesday.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., spoke as his panel held the first of four hearings in its effort to see if Democrats and Republicans can forge a modest bill aimed at curbing premium increases and preventing insurers from fleeing some marketplaces. The effort will show whether divided Republicans are willing to pivot from trying to obliterate the Obama health care law to helping it survive, and if both parties can overcome lingering raw feelings over that battle.   Continue reading “Top senator sees both parties blamed if no health compromise”

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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said, “Not once have I dishonored my public office,” before he entered a courthouse for the start of his federal corruption trial Wednesday that could threaten his political career and potentially the makeup of a deeply divided U.S. Senate if he’s convicted.

Flanked by his two adult children and at times choking back tears, the New Jersey Democrat said, “I started my public career fighting corruption — that’s how I started — and I have always acted in accordance with the law.   Continue reading “Before start of trial, Menendez says, ‘I will be vindicated’”

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PHOENIX (AP) — Immigrants are vowing to fight to stay in the U.S. and advocates are launching campaigns including fundraisers and registration drives after the Trump administration announced it would dismantle a program that protected hundreds of thousands of young people from deportation.

Immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children or whose families overstayed visas said they are veterans of setbacks in the political arena. They added that they are also accustomed to being persistent, and they pledge to do the same in this situation.   Continue reading “Young immigrants vow to fight Trump’s halt of program”

RT

Competition for superiority in Artificial Intelligence at national level will “most likely” cause World War Three, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has said, warning that an AI may deem first use its best chance of winning.

“China, Russia, soon all countries with strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3,” Musk tweeted.   Continue reading “Global race for AI will ‘most likely cause’ WWIII as computers launch 1st strike – Musk”

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HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Firefighters across the U.S. West struggled with wind-driven flames, hot temperatures and dry conditions even after the unofficial end to a summer of devastating wildfires, including those bearing down on two popular national parks.

The dozens of fires burning across the Western United States and Canada have blanketed the air with choking smoke from Oregon, where ash fell on the town of Cascade Locks, to Colorado, where health officials issued an air quality advisory alert.   Continue reading “Wind-whipped wildfires bear down on Glacier, Yosemite parks”