Author: Olive Metuge

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Reporting Highlights Shortchanged: Blue Cross Louisiana OK’d mastectomies and breast reconstructions for women with cancer but refused to pay a hospital’s full bills. For some claims, it paid nothing. Exceptions: Blue Cross denied payments for thousands of procedures involved in breast reconstruction. But it approved special deals for treatment for executives’ wives. Verdict: A jury found Blue Cross liable for fraud and awarded the hospital $421 million. The insurance company denied wrongdoing and has appealed. These highlights were…

Getty ImagesUS envoy Steve Witkoff (left) and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took part in the talksIran and the United States have concluded a first round of talks in Oman over Tehran’s nuclear programme – the highest level meeting between the two nations since 2018.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had told Iranian state television ahead of the talks that his country wanted a “fair agreement”.President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a previous nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in 2018, and has long said he would make a “better” deal.The talks are seen as an important first…

The Trump administration late Friday said it would exclude electronics like smartphones and laptops from reciprocal tariffs, a move that could help keep the prices down for popular consumer electronics that aren’t usually made in the U.S.The move would also benefit big tech companies like Apple and Samsung, and chip makers like Nvidia.U.S. Customs and Border Protection listed some 20 products that would qualify for the exemption. They include hard drives, memory chips, flat-panel monitors and solid-state storage devices, as well as machines used to make semiconductors.That means they won’t be subject to the current 145 per cent tariffs levied on China, or…

SCOTUS NEWS By Amy Howe on Apr 7, 2025 at 11:00 am The justices will release their next list of scheduled orders on April 21. (Katie Barlow) The Supreme Court on Monday morning added two new cases, involving the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and restitution orders, to its docket for the 2025-26 term. The announcement came as part of a list of orders from the justices’ private conference on Friday, April 4. The court did not act on several requests for emergency relief, including in cases involving President Donald Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship and his administration’s use…

I was honored to facilitate the “What’s Hot?” session for leading large law firm innovation professionals at the 2025 invitation-only Strategic Knowledge & Innovation Legal Leaders’ Summit in New York City on March 27, with Oz Benamram, the event’s co-founder and the former chief knowledge and innovation officer at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. In a combination of discussion and exploration of survey research, the conversation served as a roadmap for law firms aiming to advance their practices into the future. The SKILLS survey interviewed approximately 100 professionals in the first quarter of 2025 regarding their use of various artificial intelligence…

A blast from the past…Voyage through old Dubai, where luxury meets tradition by the iconic Dubai Creek. If you’re looking to explore the rich cultural tapestry of a global city that’s evolving at the speed of light, Al Seef Heritage Hotel is just what the doctor ordered. With the perfect blend of Emirati heritage and contemporary hospitality, you’ll find yourself in the heart of Old Dubai here, almost an unrecognisable escape from the glitzy skyscrapers that dot the city’s skyline.Whether you’re walking through the old souk labyrinth or zipping by on a buggy, there’s one running theme throughout: you’re stepping…

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Reporting Highlights Vaccine Hesitancy: Texas’ measles outbreak has been blamed on vaccine hesitancy. But parents are not getting their children other vaccines as well. Not Just Measles: Vaccine rates for other childhood diseases have fallen, contributing to rising cases of whooping cough and other illnesses. Government Failure: The Trump administration’s cuts to public health jobs and funding make it harder for agencies to fight outbreaks and prevent disease with vaccines. These highlights were written by the reporters and…

ReutersSteve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin at the Presidential Library in St PetersburgUS envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Friday, as Donald Trump urged the Russian president to “get moving” on a ceasefire in Ukraine.The Kremlin said the meeting lasted for more than four hours and focused on “aspects of a Ukrainian settlement”. The talks, Witkoff’s third with Putin this year, were described by special envoy Kirill Dmitriev as “productive”. Trump has expressed frustration with Putin over the state of talks. On Friday, he wrote on social media: “Russia has to get moving. Too many people ere…

2 hours agoNewsDuration 4:08A U.S. judge has ruled the Trump administration can deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate detained last month for his role in pro-Palestinian protests. Will Creeley, legal director at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, called the decision a ‘clear violation’ of First Amendment principles related to free speech. Source link

Q&A By Ellena Erskine on Apr 10, 2025 at 10:11 am For 90 years, presidents have held the court’s unanimous decision in Humphrey’s Executor as good law. (Katie Barlow) In the two-and-a-half months since Donald Trump’s inauguration, a rush of challenges to executive orders and directives have made their way through the courts and have now started to reach the justices in earnest. Alongside those orders, Trump fired the heads of several independent government agencies, experts who oversee technical matters of government including the enforcement of antitrust laws and review of federal workers’ challenges to their dismissals. Although the president…