Columbiana

China state media blasts U.S. after Trump threats

Chinese state media on Monday blasted the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on goods from China and lashed out at China and ordered U.S. companies to find "alternatives" to China. The world's two largest economies have been locked in an increasingly bitter trade war which has seen them level tariffs on each other's exports.Trump announced an additional duty on some $550 billion in targeted Chinese goods on Friday, hours after China unveiled retaliatory tariffs on $75 billion worth of U.S. goods.

Turnaround may prove tricky for new Virgin Australia CEO Scurrah

Shareholders will press Virgin Australia Holdings' new CEO Paul Scurrah to present a robust strategic plan on Wednesday, when the airline is expected to report its seventh consecutive annual loss, on top of $1.2 billion worth of red ink over the previous six years. With shares trading near all-time lows, Scurrah's options include cutting costs, restructuring management, rebranding its underperforming budget carrier Tigerair Australia, ending loss-making flights to Hong Kong and tightening control over the loyalty division, seven current and former managers told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Borghetti transformed the former budget airline into a more serious rival to his former employer, Qantas Airways Ltd , for lucrative corporate traffic, but in doing so he sometimes made hasty decisions that proved costly for Virgin in the long term, five of the people said.

Four Florida nursing home workers face charges in post-hurricane deaths

Police in Florida have issued arrest warrants for four nursing home workers accused of criminal conduct in the death of a dozen elderly patients exposed to sweltering heat with little or no air-conditioning after Hurricane Irma struck in 2017, defense lawyers said on Sunday. The employees of the Rehabilitation Center of Hollywood Hills were expected to surrender to police on Monday morning and make their initial court appearance before a Broward County judge in nearby Fort Lauderdale, the defense attorneys said. Two of the defendants, the nursing home's administrator, Jorge Carballo, and the charge nurse on duty at the time, Sergo Collin, are expected to be booked on 12 counts of manslaughter, according to their lead attorney, David Frankel.

Target teams up with Disney to open shops

Target is hoping to bring the magic of such characters as Mickey Mouse and Elsa to its own customers by opening permanent Disney shops at a cluster of stores starting this fall. As part of the collaboration with The Walt Disney Co., the Minneapolis-based discounter says it will open 25 Disney-branded stores starting on Oct. 4, with 40 additional locations opening by October 2020. Target is also launching a Disney-focused online experience on its site on Sunday.

California parents charged with hate crime for kidnapping boy found hiding in teen daughter's closet, police say

The parents of a 15-year-old California girl are being charged with a hate crime after they allegedly kidnapped and abused their daughter's boyfriend after they found him hiding in the home, according to police. On Thursday afternoon, the 17-year-old victim went to police to report that he'd been held against his will, assaulted and threatened by three people at a home in San Bruno, about 12 miles south of San Francisco, according to a news release by the San Bruno Police.

U.S. equity futures reopen lower, U.S.-China trade relations at new low ebb

White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham sought on Sunday to clarify comments from Trump, saying the president wished he had raised tariffs on Chinese goods even higher last week, even as Trump signaled he did not plan to follow through with a demand he tweeted on Friday that U.S. firms find ways to close operations in China.

Heard for miles: Gas explosion hits office, shopping complex

A powerful natural gas explosion badly damaged a Maryland office complex and shopping center Sunday morning, ripping away part of the facade and exposing twisted metal, authorities said. No injuries were reported in the thundering blast, which occurred at about 8 a.m. It came after authorities said they had evacuated the area around the complex because of a suspected early morning gas leak near the complex in Columbia, Maryland. "It was so powerful it could be heard in communities many miles away," said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball in a statement.

Atlanta lawyer killed victim with Mercedes after car was struck with golf ball, prosecutors say

An Atlanta attorney has been charged with murder after he fatally rammed his Mercedes sedan into a real estate investor, according to authorities. The encounter began after 60-year-old Hamid Jahangard "accidentally" hit the 2011 Mercedes CLS550 belonging to corporate lawyer Bryan Schmitt with a golf ball on July 30, according to a news release from the Fulton County District Attorney. Schmitt then "purposely steered" the luxury car into Jahangard in the driveway of one of his rental properties on River Valley Road in Sandy Springs, prosecutors said.

Disney to launch 25 stores inside Target nationwide on October 4

Walt Disney Co and Target Corp announced a collaboration on Sunday that will open 25 Disney stores inside select Target locations nationwide on Oct. 4, with plans for 40 additional sites by October next year. Disney said in a statement that the "shop-in-shop" would feature an array of more than 450 items from the company, including more than 100 products previously only available at its locations. Disney stores will launch inside Target in major cities such as Philadelphia, Denver and Chicago.

Innocent man jailed for 82 days and loses jobs for bringing three jars of honey back to US

Leon Haughton likes honey in his tea.Which is why during his Christmas visit to relatives in Jamaica, he made his regular stop and bought three bottles from a favourite roadside stand before heading home to Maryland.

Authorities: Los Angeles deputy lied about sniper assault

A Los Angeles County deputy lied when he said he was shot in the shoulder while standing in a sheriff's station parking lot last week and will face a criminal investigation, authorities said. "The reported sniper assault was fabricated" by Deputy Angel Reinosa, Assistant Sheriff Robin Limon said at a news conference late Saturday. Reinosa, 21, made a frantic radio call Wednesday claiming he'd been shot by someone in a nearby building as he walked to his car outside the Lancaster station, prompting a huge police response.

Illinois trooper killed in line of duty remembered at church

An Illinois state trooper who was fatally shot while serving a search warrant is being remembered as a caring family man who went the extra mile. The (Belleville) News-Democrat reports roughly 100 people attended a Sunday service at a park to remember Trooper Nicholas Hopkins. The 33-year-old trooper was a state police officer for 10 years.

'We are all at risk,' says St. Louis mayor as string of fatal child shootings climbs to 9

For the second time since classes resumed at public schools in St. Louis this month, grief counselors will be on hand at an elementary school on Monday to comfort friends of 8-year-old Jurnee Thompson, a third-grader gunned down while standing in front of a restaurant with relatives following a football game. Since April, nine children under the age of 17 have been killed by gun violence in the city of St. Louis, and authorities say no one has been charged in any of the slayings. "We are all at risk," a frustrated St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said at a news conference on Saturday.

Pimco sticks to Danish mortgage-backed covered bonds as returns plunge: Bloomberg

Pacific Investment Management Co is one of the investors embracing Danish mortgage-backed covered bonds, even as negative interest rates mean investors face built-in losses on some bonds, Bloomberg reported on Sunday. "We like the asset class," said Peder Beck-Friis, a portfolio manager and economist at Pimco in London, referring to the $500 billion market. Bloomberg also cited data from Danske Bank , Denmark's largest lender, that showed mortgage-backed bond issuers are offering up to six times as many fixed-rate bonds a day as during a more normal cycle.

Trump suggests 'second thoughts' about China tariff war, triggers confusion at G-7 summit

President Trump triggered a wave of confusion at the Group of 7 summit Sunday when he seemed to express second thoughts about increasing tariffs on China and setting off a tailspin in the global markets. "Yeah, sure," Trump said when asked if he had second thoughts about his escalating trade war with China. The president's comments, over breakfast with new United Kingdom prime minister Boris Johnson, appeared to be the first time there were any hints of regret over the trade war with China.

Joe Biden touts electability amid verbal stumbles in important New Hampshire

Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden came to New Hampshire this weekend drawing contrasts to his rivals and touting himself as the candidate best positioned to beat President Donald Trump in November 2020. Biden crisscrossed the state on four different campaign stops from Hanover to Keene on Friday and Saturday before attending a fundraiser in New York City. The trip was vintage Biden: folksy anecdotes, lots of handshakes and a few gaffes.

Paris celebrates its liberation from Nazis, 75 years on

Paris celebrated the American soldiers, French Resistance fighters and others who liberated the City of Light from Nazi occupation exactly 75 years ago on Sunday, unleashing an eruption of kissing, dancing, tears and gratitude. Firefighters unfurled a huge French flag from the Eiffel Tower, recreating the moment when a French tricolor stitched together from sheets was hoisted atop the monument 75 years ago to replace the swastika flag that had flown for four years. Dozens of World War II-era jeeps, armored vehicles, motorcycles and trucks and people dressed in wartime uniforms and dresses paraded through southern Paris, retracing the entry of French and U.S. tanks into the city on Aug. 25, 1944 .