By (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it was taking action against certain retailers including Walgreen Boots Alliance for repeatedly flouting tobacco sale rules, including sale of cigars and menthol cigarettes to minors.Walgreens is currently the top violator among pharmacies that sell tobacco products, with 22 percent of its inspected stores having illegally sold tobacco products to minors, the U.S. health regulator said in a statement.“I will be writing (to) the corporate management of Walgreens and requesting a meeting with them to discuss whether there...…By (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it was taking action against certain retailers including Walgreen Boots Alliance for repeatedly flouting tobacco sale rules, including sale of cigars and menthol cigarettes to minors.Walgreens is currently the top violator among pharmacies that sell tobacco products, with 22 percent of its inspected stores having illegally sold tobacco products to minors, the U.S. health regulator said in a statement.“I will be writing (to) the corporate management of Walgreens and requesting a meeting with them to discuss whether there...WW…

By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday that Congress must act to shore up private health insurance markets if it fails to repeal Obamacare, comments seen as providing a pathway to a bipartisan deal to fix the health system.Speaking at a luncheon in his home state of Kentucky, McConnell said: “If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur,” the Associated Press reported.“No action is not an alternative,” McConnell was quoted as saying. “We’ve...…By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday that Congress must act to shore up private health insurance markets if it fails to repeal Obamacare, comments seen as providing a pathway to a bipartisan deal to fix the health system.Speaking at a luncheon in his home state of Kentucky, McConnell said: “If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur,” the Associated Press reported.“No action is not an alternative,” McConnell was quoted as saying. “We’ve...WW…

By TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese public broadcaster NHK issued a false alarm on Tuesday saying North Korea appeared to have launched a missile and urging people to take shelter, but it managed to correct the error within minutes.The mistake took place at a tense time in the region following North Korea’s largest nuclear test to date in September and its claim in November that it had successfully tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach all of the U.S. mainland.Pyongyang regularly threatens to destroy Japan and the United States.But there were no immediate...…By TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese public broadcaster NHK issued a false alarm on Tuesday saying North Korea appeared to have launched a missile and urging people to take shelter, but it managed to correct the error within minutes.The mistake took place at a tense time in the region following North Korea’s largest nuclear test to date in September and its claim in November that it had successfully tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach all of the U.S. mainland.Pyongyang regularly threatens to destroy Japan and the United States.But there were no immediate...WW…

By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. warships sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Monday, a U.S. official told Reuters, a move likely to anger Beijing at a time of tense relations between the world’s two biggest economies.Beijing and Washington are locked in a trade war and the two sides are trying to hammer out a deal ahead of a March 1 deadline when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are scheduled to increase to 25 percent from 10 percent.Escalating tensions between the United States and China have cost both countries billions of dollars and...…By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. warships sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Monday, a U.S. official told Reuters, a move likely to anger Beijing at a time of tense relations between the world’s two biggest economies.Beijing and Washington are locked in a trade war and the two sides are trying to hammer out a deal ahead of a March 1 deadline when U.S. tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports are scheduled to increase to 25 percent from 10 percent.Escalating tensions between the United States and China have cost both countries billions of dollars and...WW…

By SAN JUAN (Reuters) - A U.S. Appeals Court ruled on Friday that members of Puerto Rico’s federally created oversight board were unconstitutionally appointed but declined to dismiss the bankruptcy cases the board filed for the U.S. commonwealth.The ruling allows the island’s 2017 federal court cases seeking to restructure about $120 billion of debt and pension obligations to continue and leaves court-approved restructuring deals in place.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit set a 90-day period to allow President Donald Trump and the U.S. Senate to constitutionally validate the...…By SAN JUAN (Reuters) - A U.S. Appeals Court ruled on Friday that members of Puerto Rico’s federally created oversight board were unconstitutionally appointed but declined to dismiss the bankruptcy cases the board filed for the U.S. commonwealth.The ruling allows the island’s 2017 federal court cases seeking to restructure about $120 billion of debt and pension obligations to continue and leaves court-approved restructuring deals in place.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit set a 90-day period to allow President Donald Trump and the U.S. Senate to constitutionally validate the...WW…

By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing output fell steeply in January as motor vehicle production posted its biggest fall since 2009, with declines in a broad range of goods likely to fuel fears of a sharp slowdown in factory activity.The Federal Reserve said on Friday manufacturing production slumped 0.9 percent last month, the deepest drop in eight months. Data for December was revised to show a smaller increase in output that month than initially reported.Production of motor vehicles and parts dropped 8.8 percent in January, the steepest decline since May 2009, when the United...…By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. manufacturing output fell steeply in January as motor vehicle production posted its biggest fall since 2009, with declines in a broad range of goods likely to fuel fears of a sharp slowdown in factory activity.The Federal Reserve said on Friday manufacturing production slumped 0.9 percent last month, the deepest drop in eight months. Data for December was revised to show a smaller increase in output that month than initially reported.Production of motor vehicles and parts dropped 8.8 percent in January, the steepest decline since May 2009, when the United...WW…

By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday called for hearings into interference by Russia and others in the 2016 election and beyond, on the heels of a statement by former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller and ahead of presidential elections next year.Though there have been congressional probes into Russian meddling in the U.S. election and other lawmakers have called for more to be done on election security, Republicans have largely remained silent on the issue.The request comes as the judiciary panel continues to seek documents and...…By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday called for hearings into interference by Russia and others in the 2016 election and beyond, on the heels of a statement by former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller and ahead of presidential elections next year.Though there have been congressional probes into Russian meddling in the U.S. election and other lawmakers have called for more to be done on election security, Republicans have largely remained silent on the issue.The request comes as the judiciary panel continues to seek documents and...WW…

By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday called for Congress to investigate whether President Donald Trump’s appointees are trying to hide political interference in the Internal Revenue Service over releasing his tax returns.The demand from Senator Ron Wyden comes as the White House attempts to block efforts by the Democratic-led House of Representatives to obtain tax returns and other financial information from Trump and his companies.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last month refused to comply with a congressional subpoena seeking six...…By WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday called for Congress to investigate whether President Donald Trump’s appointees are trying to hide political interference in the Internal Revenue Service over releasing his tax returns.The demand from Senator Ron Wyden comes as the White House attempts to block efforts by the Democratic-led House of Representatives to obtain tax returns and other financial information from Trump and his companies.Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last month refused to comply with a congressional subpoena seeking six...WW…

By MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s government said on Saturday it would help Honduras create 20,000 jobs this year and support its coffee farmers as the two countries seek to curb migration to the United States that has created tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump.Slideshow Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his Honduran counterpart, Juan Orlando Hernandez, pledged to work together to lift prosperity in Central America, where poverty and violence have fueled an exodus of people north.That migration has angered Trump, who has made border security a priority, and issued...…By MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico’s government said on Saturday it would help Honduras create 20,000 jobs this year and support its coffee farmers as the two countries seek to curb migration to the United States that has created tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump.Slideshow Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his Honduran counterpart, Juan Orlando Hernandez, pledged to work together to lift prosperity in Central America, where poverty and violence have fueled an exodus of people north.That migration has angered Trump, who has made border security a priority, and issued...WW…

By DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards inaugurated a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 km (621 miles), the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday, ignoring demands Western demands that Tehran halt its missile program.Fars published pictures of an underground missile factory called “underground city”, saying the “Dezful” missile was a version of the Zolfaghar missile that has a 700 km range and a 450 kg (992 lb) warhead.Iran says it has missiles with the range of up to 2,000 km, which puts Israel and U.S. military bases in the region within...…By DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards inaugurated a surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 km (621 miles), the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Thursday, ignoring demands Western demands that Tehran halt its missile program.Fars published pictures of an underground missile factory called “underground city”, saying the “Dezful” missile was a version of the Zolfaghar missile that has a 700 km range and a 450 kg (992 lb) warhead.Iran says it has missiles with the range of up to 2,000 km, which puts Israel and U.S. military bases in the region within...WW…