Federal judge halts Trump’s election executive order seeking to create a federal voter list

BOSTON – A federal judge has halted President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and limit who can receive a mail ballot. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani on Thursday sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president’s order. Her ruling applies to this year’s midterm election cycle. Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits filed in the same court that Trump’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. A separate ruling Wednesday prohibited an executive order he had signed last year that would have required people to show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote.

Venezuelans search rubble for survivors after 2 strong quakes kill at least 164

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela – Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings and rescue teams raced to the areas hardest hit by a pair of powerful earthquakes that rocked northern Venezuela, killing at least 164 people. The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that hit Wednesday evening were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century, and could be felt throughout the region. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said authorities were shifting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which she said was one of the hardest-hit areas. The natural disaster poses a major challenge for Rodríguez, who took office in January after the U.S. seized then-president Nicolas Maduro in a surprise military operation.

Supreme Court ruling blocks thousands of lawsuits against maker of Roundup weedkiller

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has sided with the maker of Roundup weedkiller, blocking thousands of lawsuits alleging it failed to warn users the product could cause cancer. The decision Thursday is a victory for the Trump administration but could complicate relations with allies who want to limit pesticide use. The court ruled that federal regulations finding a cancer link unlikely protect the company from state lawsuits. Roundup manufacturer Bayer disputes the cancer claims but has set aside billions of dollars to settle cases. Bayer says the ruling is good for science and farmers. Lawyers for some residents pursuing cases say the ruling “wrongly slams the courthouse door on Americans sickened by pesticides.”

– The Associated Press