Liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, at 82 the oldest member of the U.S. Supreme Court, said he has not decided whether to retire, telling CNN in an interview published on Thursday his health and the court’s future are the main factors he is weighing. Some liberal activists have urged Breyer to retire soon so President Joe Biden can appoint a younger successor who could serve for decades in the lifetime post. Biden’s fellow Democrats narrowly control the U.S. Senate, which has confirmation power for nominees to the federal judiciary. Asked if…

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Elon Musk said he turned down Wall Street jobs to focus on technology. “I was offered several high-paid jobs on Wall Street. I declined,” Tesla Inc.’s chief executive officer told his lawyer during questioning at a trial in Wilmington, Delaware, over the company’s SolarCity acquisition in 2016. Musk attended the University of Pennsylvania and moved to Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom. He founded a company that eventually became PayPal Holdings Inc., and made his first millions when PayPal was sold to EBay Inc. Back when Musk was beginning his…

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Thousands of Cubans took to the streets from Havana to Santiago on Sunday in rarely seen protests, expressing frustration over economic conditions, the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations and what they said was government neglect. President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also heads the Communist Party, blamed the United States for the unrest in a nationally televised speech on Sunday afternoon. Special forces jeeps, with machine guns mounted on the back, were seen in the capital, Havana, and Diaz-Canel called on supporters to confront “provocations.” Thousands of people gathered in downtown Havana and…

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un acknowledged that the Hermit Kingdom is facing its “worst-ever situation” — as he called thousands of “grassroots” ruling party members to be more proactive in carrying out the country’s new five-year economic plan, according to reports. “Improving the people’s living standards … even in the worst-ever situation in which we have to overcome unprecedentedly numerous challenges depends on the role played by the cells, the grassroots organizations of the party,” Kim told the Workers’ Party members Tuesday in Pyongyang. Experts say Kim is facing…

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Many media pundits will reflexively view the recent Supreme Court decision to strike down the California rule mandating that nonprofit groups disclose their top donors as a victory for conservatives such as Charles Koch. While the Koch-associated group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) served as the lead plaintiff to challenge the law, this 6-3 ruling by the justices should also be viewed as a loss for Vice President Kamala Harris. It was Harris, the former California attorney general, who first interpreted the state’s regulations on charities to mandate that nonprofit (501c3) organizations report all gifts…

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Donald Trump’s youngest child doesn’t look so young anymore.  Barron Trump, 16, was spotted strolling out of his father’s Midtown Trump Tower skyscraper with his mother, former First Lady Melania, on Wednesday while they returned to New York.  The young son of the 45th president was distinctly taller than his former model mother, standing 5-foot-11 as they stepped out on Wednesday. Barron was attired in a tucked-in black shirt and blue jean ensemble while lugging his mother’s swanky limited edition orange Louis Vuitton bag. Meanwhile, his mother carried an $11,000…

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Gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounded his wife in their home early Wednesday, inflicting more chaos on the unstable Caribbean country that was already enduring an escalation of gang violence, anti-government protests and a recent surge in coronavirus infections. Claude Joseph, the interim prime minister, confirmed the killing and said the police and military were in control of security in Haiti, where a history of dictatorship and political upheaval have long stymied the consolidation of democratic rule. While the streets of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, were quiet Wednesday…

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The state of California will no longer fund trips to Florida, Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, or West Virginia based on laws in those states that ‘directly target transgender youth,’ announced California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday.  The announcement brings the total number of states on California’s travel ban list to 17. “California must take action to avoid supporting or financing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people,” said Bonta. “Make no mistake: we’re in the midst of an unprecedented wave of bigotry and discrimination in this country –…

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