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Iraqi forces battle toward heart of Mosul's Old City

By Sergei Karazy and Maher Chmaytelli MOSUL/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi forces battled their way along two streets that meet in the heart of Mosul's Old City on Friday, and said they aimed to open routes for civilians to flee Islamic State's last stand there. U.S.-trained urban warfare units are leading the fight in the maze of narrow alleyways of the Old City, the last district in the hands of the Sunni Islamist insurgents. Military analysts say government troops' advance will gather pace after Islamic State fighters blew up the 850-year-old al-Nuri mosque and its famous leaning minaret on Wednesday.

Trump signals he will work with Republican holdouts on health bill

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that a lack of support from four Senate Republicans leaves the party's healthcare overhaul on a "very, very narrow path" to passage, but signaled a willingness to work with them to make changes. The plan would scale back aid to the poor and kill a tax on the wealthy.

North Korea says U.S. student's death a 'mystery to us as well'

North Korea said on Friday the death of U.S. university student Otto Warmbier soon after his return home was a mystery and dismissed accusations that he had died because of torture and beating during his captivity as "groundless". The North's foreign ministry spokesman said Warmbier was "a victim of the policy of strategic patience" of former U.S. President Barack Obama whose government never requested his release, according to comments carried by the official KCNA agency. "The fact that Warmbier died suddenly in less than a week just after his return to the U.S. ... is a mystery to us as well," KCNA quoted the spokesman as saying.

U.S. prosecutors seek 35 years in prison for meningitis outbreak exec

Prosecutors have asked a federal judge to sentence a Massachusetts pharmacy executive to at least 35 years in prison after he was convicted of racketeering and fraud charges for his role in a deadly 2012 U.S. meningitis outbreak. Barry Cadden, the co-founder of the now-defunct New England Compounding Center, was convicted of those charges by a jury in March but cleared of the harshest charge he faced, second-degree murder charges. A murder conviction would have meant a life sentence, and prosecutors in a court filing late on Thursday said Cadden, 50, said that punishment was still warranted.

Senate Republicans unveil Obamacare replacement bill, but fate uncertain

U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled legislation that would replace Obamacare with a plan that scales back aid to the poor and kills a tax on the wealthy, but the bill's fate was quickly thrown into question as several senators voiced skepticism. Four conservative lawmakers said they could not support it in its current form, leaving Republicans short of the votes they need for passage. The 142-page proposal, worked out in secret by a group led Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, aims to deliver on a central campaign promise of President Donald Trump by rolling back former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, which has provided coverage to millions of Americans since it was passed in 2010.

Judge accepts sweeping reforms of Arizona death penalty protocols

The changes were part of a settlement reached in a 2014 lawsuit brought by seven death row inmates who argued Arizona's lethal injection practices were experimental, secretive and caused inmates prolonged suffering. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Neil Wake in Phoenix signed an order that in effect authorized a deal reached between the state and the lawyers for death row inmates, according to Dale Baich, a lawyer for the death row litigants.

Judge says San Francisco can subpoena Uber for driver information

By Heather Somerville SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California state judge said on Thursday that San Francisco can demand from Uber records containing the ride-hailing company's driver contact information, the city attorney said. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera last month sought a court order compelling Uber Technologies Inc to comply with the city's demands for information about the company's drivers. The city Treasurer and Tax Collector's Office wants the names, addresses and driver's license numbers of Uber's drivers.

Appeals court overturns conviction of 'Making a Murderer' inmate

A three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled 2-1 to uphold a federal judge's ruling last year that overturned Dassey's conviction for a 2005 murder. Magistrate Judge William Duffin had ruled in August that the conviction was based on a coerced confession that Dassey, now 27, gave as a 16-year-old with a learning disability. Duffin ordered Dassey freed in November, but his release was halted while Wisconsin authorities appealed the decision.

Son of New York pizzeria owner gets 20 years in drug case

The son of a New York pizzeria owner was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy linked to organized crime. Angelo Gigliotti, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie in Brooklyn federal court, U.S. prosecutors said. Federal prosecutors accused the Gigliottis of using their family-run restaurant, Cucino Amodo Mio in the New York City borough of Queens and a produce importation company to provide cover for drug trafficking for 'Ndrangheta, a powerful criminal organization in Italy.

Suspect in Michigan airport stabbing attempted to buy gun before attack

The man charged with stabbing an airport police officer in Michigan unsuccessfully attempted to purchase a gun before the attack, which is being investigated as an act of terrorism, federal officials said on Thursday. The suspect, Amor Ftouhi, 49, of Quebec, Canada, has been charged in federal court with violence at an international airport for stabbing Jeff Neville, an officer at the Bishop International Airport in Flint, in the neck on Wednesday.

Servicing issues may hamper U.S. student-loan forgiveness for thousands

Nurses, teachers and other public-sector workers expecting their outstanding student loans to soon disappear under a U.S. debt-forgiveness program could be in for a surprise, with a government report on Thursday showing loan servicers may have mishandled the process for many borrowers. President Donald Trump has called for eliminating the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, where the loans of borrowers working for government, non-profits or the military are wiped out after 10 years of consistent payments.

Tough-talking Trump defense lawyer says he's no 'snowflake'

The latest lawyer hired to represent U.S. President Donald Trump in the federal investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election is an ex-Marine who likens some cases to war. "I fight hard," John Dowd said in an interview. "Snowflake" is a disparaging term for people considered overly sensitive and fragile that has been adopted by some Trump supporters to mock liberals.

Court lifts injunction on Mississippi law seen as anti-LGBT

Opponents said they would likely seek to overturn the decision, arguing that the measure allowed for sweeping discrimination against the LGBT community. A three-judge panel at the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a lower court ruling that blocked the 2016 law, known as House Bill 1523 and backed by Christian groups, from taking effect. The panel said the plaintiffs, who included ordained ministers who have married same-sex couples and same-sex couples seeking to marry, did not have standing to bring the lawsuit.

Supreme Court sets higher bar for stripping citizenship

The Supreme Court handed a setback to the Trump administration on Thursday by making it harder for the government to strip immigrants of U.S. citizenship in a case involving an ethnic Serb woman who lied about her husband's military service after Yugoslavia's collapse. The justices ruled 9-0 that a naturalized American citizen cannot be stripped of citizenship if a lie or omission on immigration forms was irrelevant to the government's original decision to grant entry into the United States.

Gunman gets four years in prison for storming D.C. pizzeria

Edgar Welch, 29, pleaded guilty in March to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition in relation to the Dec. 4 incident at the Comet Ping Pong restaurant in northwest Washington. Welch, of Salisbury, North Carolina, told authorities he had been trying to investigate an online conspiracy theory, known as "Pizzagate," that claimed the eatery was a front for a pedophile ring led by then Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

FCC proposes $120 million fine on Florida robocall scammer

The man, identified as Adrian Abramovich, allegedly made 96 million robocalls during a three-month period by falsifying caller identification information that matched the local area code and the first three digits of recipient's phone number, the FCC said. The calls, which were in violation of the U.S. telecommunications laws, offered vacation deals from companies such as Marriott International Inc, Expedia Inc, Hilton Inc and TripAdvisor Inc. In a statement, TripAdvisor said FCC's action would help better protect consumers from others attempting similar tactics in the future.

Humana out of individual market, with or without Obamacare repeal

Humana Inc will not return to the individual insurance market after it exits the Obamacare exchanges this year, a market that Republicans are trying to repeal and replace through new legislation, Humana's top executive said on Thursday. Republicans in the U.S. Senate released a draft of their bill to undo Obamacare, officially called the Affordable Care Act, which reshapes the individual insurance market and the Medicaid program for the poor and reduces taxes. "This is just not a business that we will be good at," Humana CEO Bruce Broussard said in an interview, emphasizing that the company, the No. 4 U.S. health insurer, does best managing Medicare Advantage healthcare for older people and the disabled, its specialty.

Mourners remember U.S. student held prisoner by North Korea

Thousands of friends and family members gathered in suburban Cincinnati on Thursday to say goodbye to an American student who died days after returning to the United States in a coma following 17 months in captivity in North Korea. Otto Warmbier, 22, was arrested in the reclusive communist country while visiting as a tourist. Some 2,500 mourners attended a Thursday morning memorial at Wyoming High School.

Minnesota will still engage with Cuba despite Trump setback

Minnesota's government and businesses will continue to engage with Cuba in the areas they can, like agricultural trade, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's partial rollback of the detente, Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith said on Thursday. The first U.S. state representative to make an official visit to Communist-run Cuba since Trump's announcement on Friday, Smith said authorities there were worried about the setback to bilateral relations.

'I don't want you to get shooted': daughter of slain Minnesota man's girlfriend

The video is from the interior of the police cruiser of the partner of St. Anthony Police Department officer Jeronimo Yanez, who fatally shot Philando Castile in July 2016 during a traffic stop. Castile was black and Yanez is Hispanic. The shooting death of Castile, 32, in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights triggered local protests and fueled debate across the country over the appropriate use of force by law enforcement against minorities.

Pew U.S. survey finds agreement on some gun-control proposals

The survey of 3,930 U.S. adults, including 1,269 gun owners, in March and April, provided a snapshot of American views on guns and gun policies as the nation grapples with gun violence. Some advocates called for a renewed push for gun control measures, as the Republican-controlled Congress has sought to relax existing gun laws.

Obamacare replacement bill takes center stage in U.S. Senate

By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A seven-year push by U.S. Republicans to dismantle Obamacare and kill the taxes it imposed on the wealthy will reach a critical juncture on Thursday when Senate Republican leaders unveil a draft bill they aim to put to a vote, possibly as early as next week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his lieutenants have worked in secret for weeks on the bill, which is expected to curb Obamacare's expanded Medicaid help for the poor and reshape subsidies to low-income people for private insurance. The subsidies are expected to be linked to recipients' income in the Senate bill, a "major improvement" from a measure approved last month by the U.S. House of Representatives that tied them solely to age, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said.

For thousands of U.S. auto workers, downturn is already here

Wall Street is fretting that the U.S. auto industry is heading for a downturn, but for thousands of workers at General Motors Co factories in the United States, the hard times are already here. Matt Streb, 36, was one of 1,200 workers laid off on Jan. 20 - inauguration day for Republican U.S. President Donald Trump - when GM canceled the third shift at its Lordstown small-car factory here. Sales of the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, the only vehicle the plant makes, have nosedived as U.S. consumers switch to SUVs and pickup trucks.

Oil to keep flowing in Dakota line while legal battle continues

Oil will continue to flow through the Dakota Access Pipeline through the summer while authorities conduct additional review of the environmental impact, after a judge on Wednesday ordered more hearings in coming months. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg in Washington ruled in favor of Standing Rock Sioux and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes, who said more environmental analysis of the Dakota Access line should have been carried out. On Wednesday, Boasberg set out a schedule of hearings that will decide what will happen to the line while additional review is completed.

Four die from heat in sweltering U.S. Southwest: reports

By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Four people, including a homeless person and two hikers, have died from the record-breaking heat in the U.S. Southwest, media reports said, where triple-digit temperatures have driven residents indoors and canceled airline flights. The first two fatalities recorded in the three-day heatwave took place on Monday in Santa Clara County, California, south of San Francisco, and included a homeless person found in a car, the San Jose Mercury News reported. "It is tragic when someone dies of hyperthermia since in most every case it could have been prevented," Dr. Michelle Jorden of the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office told the newspaper.

Most U.S. teens have sex by 18, but pregnancies down: CDC study

More than half of American teens have had sex by age 18, but teenage pregnancy and birth rates extended their 2-1/2-decade decline because of increased contraceptive use, according to a U.S. government study released on Thursday. Most of the 55 percent of teens who have had sex by 18 used some type of protection, typically a condom, the study of more than 4,000 teenagers by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics showed. Some 80 percent of teenagers employed a contraceptive method during their first sexual encounters, according to the study.