| California cities sue big oil firms over climate change -  (Reuters) - California cities San Francisco and Oakland filed separate lawsuits against five oil companies on Wednesday seeking billions of dollars to protect against rising sea levels they blamed on climate change, according to public documents. The lawsuits, filed in state courts in San Francisco and Alameda Counties, alleged Chevron Corp , ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp , BP Plc , and Royal Dutch Shell Plc , created a public nuisance and asked for funds to finance infrastructure to deal with rising sea levels.
Wed, 20 Sep 2017 18:21:34 -0400
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| Will Barcelona secede from Spain? Catalan independence is up for a vote — and Russia is stirring the pot -  Here in Spain’s second-largest city, long a magnet for American tourists, life on the surface appears as festive as ever, from the beach terraces laden with pitchers of sangria to the crowds browsing the kiosks on the pedestrian median of La Rambla, which almost immediately returned to normal after last month’s terror attack. But the tension brewing just below the surface of Catalonia, the wealthy northeast region of 7.5 million of which Barcelona is capital, burst into the open Wednesday morning with a series of raids by national police on the regional ministry of finance, leading to at least a dozen arrests of senior officials, followed by hours of flag-waving marches and demonstrations. At issue is a wave of Catalan nationalism culminating in a referendum on secession, scheduled for October 1.
Wed, 20 Sep 2017 18:21:18 -0400
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| New fight in California water wars: How to update old system -  FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — In California's long-raging water wars, pitting north against south and farmer against city dweller, the one thing everybody agreed on Wednesday was that the outdated method of shipping water throughout the most populous state needs a serious upgrade.
Wed, 20 Sep 2017 17:29:18 -0400
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| U.S. incomes, poverty rate bounce back to pre-recession levels in 2016 - ![U.S. incomes, poverty rate bounce back to pre-recession levels in 2016]( "U.S. incomes, poverty rate bounce back to pre-recession levels in 2016") The U.S. poverty rate fell for the second straight year in 2016 while median income rose to an all-time high of $59,000 as the economy made up ground lost during the 2007-2009 recession, federal government data released on Tuesday showed. Median household income rose 3.2 percent from $57,200 a year earlier, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. "Real median household income has finally completed its nine-year slog of digging out of the ditch," IHS Markit Executive Director Chris Christopher said, with more gains expected in 2017 and 2018.
Wed, 20 Sep 2017 16:39:18 -0400
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| Trump To African Leaders: My Friends Go To Your Countries To Get Rich -  Africa is a continent of “tremendous, tremendous potential,” U.S. President Donald Trump told African leaders at a luncheon on Wednesday.
Wed, 20 Sep 2017 15:43:11 -0400
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