Author: rpnadmin

NEW YORK — The U.S. Justice Department and 17 states reached settlement agreements with three major egg producers this week to resolve allegations that the companies illegally colluded for years to raise prices, including when the cost soared to record highs last year. The states and federal government accused Cal-Maine Foods, Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch of a behind-the-scenes arrangement to “artificially inflate the daily price quotations for eggs” between June 2022 and March 2025. In particular, their investigation found that the companies coordinated on what bids they would submit to Urner Barry Publications, a company that runs an index…

DALLAS — Prosecutors say a video shows rapper Pooh Shiesty pressing for his release from fellow rapper Gucci Mane’s record label while an armed man blocks a door during an alleged robbery at a Texas music studio in January. A court record shows the video was submitted as evidence in federal court in Dallas, where Pooh Shiesty and eight others have been indicted on kidnapping and extortion charges. Prosecutors say the victims were robbed at gunpoint after traveling to the city to discuss Pooh Shiesty’s recording contract with Mane’s 1017 Records. The victims have only been referred to by their…

SAN FRANCISCO — More than 120 passengers and crew members on a Princess Cruises ship that docked in San Francisco on Thursday were infected with a stomach virus while on their voyage, federal health officials said. The Ruby Princess was on a 20-day round-trip journey from San Francisco to Canada and Alaska when 102 passengers and 23 crew members were stricken by norovirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Norovirus is highly contagious, often spread by food or on surfaces, particularly in crowded conditions. It is a short-lived illness for many people, but can be dangerous for…

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. pledged Thursday to strengthen trade, energy and security ties as Canada works to diversify its economy beyond the United States and deepen its engagement in the Indo-Pacific. Carney said Filipino-Canadians are “at the very heart” of Canada, and both countries can benefit in energy security and critical minerals through a strategic partnership. “We share the same aspirations, in terms of what we would want to achieve in the world,” Marcos said. The two leaders pledged to pursue a Canada-Philippines free trade agreement, deepen defense and…

NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana’s Republican attorney general was indicted Thursday on criminal charges by a grand jury in New Orleans, accused of trying to intimidate local officials who fought a law enacted by GOP legislators to overhaul the local courts. Attorney General Liz Murrill told eight New Orleans officials, including Mayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams, that they could face removal from their jobs for opposing the law. It eliminated the position of Orleans Parish criminal court clerk after a man who spent decades in prison for a wrongful conviction was elected to the post with 68% of…

A Pennsylvania state lawmaker says he was ordered off the House floor this week for wearing a red, white and blue suit jacket ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday, touching off a partisan spat in Harrisburg days before the July Fourth holiday. State Rep. Eric Davanzo, Westmoreland Republican, wore the American flag-themed jacket and a matching star-spangled tie to Tuesday’s session, telling reporters he wanted to mark the country’s semiquincentennial. According to Mr. Davanzo, House Speaker Joanna McClinton found his jacket, which featured red and white stripes like an American flag, along with a blue tie with white stars, to…

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is asking residents and businesses to set their air conditioners to 78 degrees as a punishing heat wave settles over the East Coast, drawing a wave of mockery from Republican officials who cast the appeal as proof of the failures of his left-wing agenda. “New York: it’s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool,” Mr. Mamdani wrote on X Wednesday. “Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you’re not using, and unplug what you can.” The mayor said City Hall was following its own advice,…

A Russian couple known for scaling skyscrapers around the world climbed to the top of the Empire State Building’s antenna Wednesday, unfurled a banner and staged a marriage proposal partway down before being taken into custody — an episode that has building management and security experts confronting questions about how the pair breached one of the city’s most heavily guarded landmarks. Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Kuznetsov, 32 — who also goes by Ivan Beerkus — reached the top of the building’s transmission tower, which rises 1,454 feet above Manhattan, shortly before noon and displayed a banner reading “When the…

Hannah Dugan, the former Wisconsin judge convicted of trying to thwart ICE’s attempt to arrest an illegal immigrant in her courtroom, begged for mercy this week, saying she shouldn’t serve any jail time because she has suffered enough. Dugan’s lawyer said losing her judge’s robes; being handcuffed, photographed and “intentionally shamed” by the FBI; facing threats; and retreating to “life as a recluse” are punishment enough. But Dugan, 67, continued to make the case that she did nothing wrong and was taking a stand for fellow judges when she hindered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s attempt to arrest an illegal…

Heat can be dangerous, but health experts say there are ways to manage the threat. Scorching temperatures, especially combined with high humidity, pose risks particularly for children, older people and those with certain health conditions. Anyone can suffer from heat-related illness. Climate change is also exacerbating heat waves and heat stress. So here are some tips to stay safe: When heat becomes dangerous Dangers posed by hot weather depend on more than the temperature. The most detailed measurement is called the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), which includes temperature, humidity, cloud cover and wind. The heat index, which measures temperature…