All About Amsterdam stabbing suspect, PG&E wildfire liability bill

California's legislature passed a bill late on Friday that could help the utility Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation (PG&E) avoid potentially crippling liabilities for wildfires that ravaged northern parts of the San Francisco Bay Area last year.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 02-09-2018 05:41 IST | Created: 02-09-2018 05:22 IST
All About Amsterdam stabbing suspect, PG&E wildfire liability bill
The bill passed 29 to 4 in the Senate and 45 to 10 in the Assembly, requires approval by Democrat Governor Jerry Brown. (Image Credit: Twitter)
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Amsterdam stabbing suspect had 'terrorist' motive, officials say

An Afghan man shot by police at Amsterdam's central station on Friday after stabbing two American tourists had a "terrorist" motive, city officials said on Saturday. The suspect, who was identified as a 19-year-old Afghan with a German residence permit, was questioned on Saturday in the hospital where he was being treated for gunshot wounds to his lower body.

California lawmakers pass the bill on PG&E wildfire liability

California's legislature passed a bill late on Friday that could help the utility Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation (PG&E) avoid potentially crippling liabilities for wildfires that ravaged northern parts of the San Francisco Bay Area last year. The bill passed 29 to 4 in the Senate and 45 to 10 in the Assembly, requires approval by Democrat Governor Jerry Brown.

California lawmakers send strict 'net neutrality' laws to the governor

California lawmakers sent to the governor's desk for final approval strict "net neutrality" laws on internet providers that would defy sweeping Federal Communications Commission rules seen as a boon for the companies. The Democrat-controlled California Senate voted 27-12 to pass the bill, known as SB 822, with just hours left in the legislative session. The measure was approved by their colleagues in the state Assembly one day earlier.

Obama, Bush to eulogize former political foe McCain at cathedral service

Former U.S. presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush will lead mourners on Saturday in a service for the late John McCain, the longtime Arizona senator and Vietnam war hero whose bids for the White House were dashed by the two men. On the way to Washington's National Cathedral, the cortege of one of America's most famous prisoners of war will stop at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where his wife, Cindy McCain, will lay a wreath to honor those who died in the war.

FBI arrests New Mexico compound members on new charges

Five residents of a New Mexico compound were arrested on Friday by the FBI for violating firearms and conspiracy laws in what one of their lawyers described as a "bad development" for the group, who are accused of planning anti-government attacks. Jany Leveille, 35; Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40; Hujrah Wahhaj, 37; Subhanah Wahhaj, 35; and Lucas Morton, 40, were charged in criminal complaints filed in U.S. District Court in New Mexico, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

Aretha Franklin's gospel roots celebrated at Queen of Soul's funeral

A Detroit church swelled with the sound of gospel music on Friday as a family, friends, and fans of Aretha Franklin bid rousing farewell to the Queen of Soul at a funeral that featured tributes by former U.S. President Bill Clinton and singer Stevie Wonder. "Come on, this is a church service, lift your voice!" Bishop Charles Ellis III, the officiant, exhorted the congregation at the Greater Grace Temple, as the choir and orchestra swayed behind him.

No time for new North Carolina voting maps, groups tell a court

Groups who successfully sued North Carolina over Republican-constructed congressional maps that a court ruled to be illegally drawn for partisan purposes said on Friday there is not enough time to put in place new lines ahead of the November elections. The groups' filing in federal court in North Carolina complicates an already difficult situation over maps that have been contested for years and could affect a Democratic push to wrest control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Republicans.

Trump, Sessions approved of Putin meeting proposal: former campaign adviser

President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions both supported a proposal during the 2016 campaign that Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, lawyers for a former campaign adviser said in a court filing late on Friday. The account of the former adviser, George Papadopoulos, appeared to contradict the testimony of Sessions to Congress in November 2017 that he had "pushed back" against the proposal by Papadopoulos at a March 31, 2016, campaign meeting.

U.S. Army Corps stands by permit for Dakota Access oil pipeline

The U.S. Army Corps said on Friday that a permit is granted for the Dakota Access Pipeline last year was environmentally sound, handing a setback to tribal and green groups hoping to stop the flow of oil on the pipeline. In June 2017 U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to further review environmental analysis on the permit, which had granted the final easement to finish the pipeline.

Federal judge rules against Texas request to end 'Dreamers' program

A federal judge on Friday denied a request by Texas and other states governed by Republicans to immediately end a program launched by Democratic former president Barack Obama that protects immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. U.S. Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas said the states had shown they were harmed by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program or DACA, but, he said, they could not prevail legally because of "their delay in pursuing the claims they now bring concerning DACA," which was first established in 2012.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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