North America

April 8 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ramped up his fight against Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), seeking to void an agreement that Disney passed to limit the power of a board appointed by DeSantis to oversee its Florida theme park property.

On Thursday in remarks made at Hillsdale College in Michigan, DeSantis said the legislature would void changes Disney made shortly before it lost control of the board.

April 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy said on Saturday a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine was operating in the Middle East in support of the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet.

The USS Florida entered the region on Thursday and began transiting the Suez Canal on Friday, Commander Timothy Hawkins said in a statement.

"It is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and is deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet to help ensure regional maritime security and stability," Hawkins said.

LOS ANGELES, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The largest U.S. maritime trade gateway was effectively shut down on Friday due to a shortage of West Coast port workers as negotiations for a new contract continued between the dockworker union and maritime shippers, sparking concerns about global supply chain disruption.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Unjustified use of force, dangerous vehicle pursuits and racially biased policing continue to be problems for the New Orleans Police Department, the U.S. Justice Department said in a Friday court filing, opposing the city’s move to terminate a decade-old court-backed reform agreement.

The city has made progress in turning itself around, Justice Department lawyers said. “But progress towards compliance is not the same as full and effective compliance that has proven durable,” Friday’s court filing said.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The governor of New Mexico scaled back a tax relief package on Friday based on concerns it could undermine future spending on public education, heath care and law enforcement while signing into law $500 individual tax rebates and the largest proposed spending plan in state history.

Vetoed items within the tax relief package included reduced tax rates on personal income, sales and business transactions as well as proposed credits toward the purchase of electric vehicles and related charging equipment.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has launched an investigation into the possible release of Pentagon documents that were posted on several social media sites and appear to detail U.S. and NATO aid to Ukraine, but may have been altered or used as part of a misinformation campaign.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee has become a new front in the battle for the future of American democracy after Republicans expelled two Black lawmakers from the state Legislature for their part in a protest urging passage of gun-control measures.

In separate votes on Thursday, the GOP supermajority expelled Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, a move leaving about 140,000 voters in primarily Black districts in Nashville and Memphis with no representation in the Tennessee House.

WASHINGTON, April 7. /TASS/: US President Joe Biden has expanded for one year the regime of anti-Russian sanctions imposed under the pretext of Russia’s alleged interference into US elections and violation of principles of international law among other things, according to the Letters to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate on the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Specified Harmful Foreign Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation released by the White House on Friday.

NEW YORK, Apr 7 (NNN-XINHUA) – A record number of people are dying from firearm injuries in the U.S., and new research suggests, shootings are becoming more lethal, reported CNN.

“Most victims of fatal firearm injuries die at the scene, before they can be treated in a health care setting. But that has become increasingly common over the past two decades,” it noted.

April 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday defended luxury trips he has taken over decades, funded by real estate magnate and Republican donor Harlan Crow, saying he had been advised that he was not required to report this type of "personal hospitality" under federal rules.

In a statement, Thomas also said that he has always sought to comply with disclosure guidelines.