US senator charged with corruption

Mr Menendez (left) met Prince Charles last month

A top US senator, Democrat Bob Menendez, has been charged with 14 counts of corruption.

The New Jersey politician is accused of using his influence to illegally benefit a Florida eye doctor, who he admits is a long-time friend.

At a press conference, he said he was "outraged" by the charges and dismissed the allegations as false.

The 14 charges include conspiracy and making false statements, as well as eight counts of bribery.

Mr Menendez has resigned as the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee but vowed he "would not be silenced" as he fights the allegations.

"I am outraged that prosecutors at the Justice Department were tricked into starting this investigation three years ago with false allegations by those who have a political motive to silence me," Menendez told a cheering crowd of supporters in Newark.

New Jersey's largest newspaper, the Star and Ledger, has called on him to resign his Senate seat.

Law enforcement agents raided the office of Dr Salomon Melgen in West Palm Beach, Florida

Menendez was cheered by his supporters as he vowed to clear his name

In recent years, the senator has been an outspoken critic of President Barack Obama's policies relating to Iran and Cuba.

He is considered one of the most influential Hispanic American lawmakers in Congress, and is the lead author of legislation that would tighten sanctions imposed against Iran.

The investigation first came to light in 2013, when federal authorities raided the office of Dr Salomon Melgan - who was also charged.

Their investigation focused on whether Mr Menendez used his office to advocate in favour of Dr Melgan including by intervening in a Medicare billing dispute.

Dr Melgan attracted more attention last year when government data revealed that he had received more money from Medicare reimbursements in 2012 than any other doctor in the US.

He donated large sums of money to Mr Menendez's re-election campaign.

"We celebrated holidays together," he once told journalists. "We have been there for family weddings and sad times like funerals and have given each other birthday, holiday and wedding presents, just as friends do."

Mr Obama campaigned for Mr Menendez when a senator in 2006

Mr Menendez has admitted to taking multiple trips to the Dominican Republic on the doctor's private jet and initially failed to properly pay for the trips. In 2013, he reimbursed Dr Melgan for two of the flights.

Later, his office admitted to another flight on the jet - from Florida to New Jersey in 2011 - and said that the senator had repaid Dr Melgan for it.

Mr Menendez, 61, has served in the Senate since 2006, and was in the House of Representatives for more than a decade before that.

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Driver killed at NSA was sex worker

Ricky Hall was killed on Monday after she drove into a secured area near the National Security Agency

The person killed by police in a violent incident at the National Security Agency earlier this week has been identified as a transgendered sex worker, according to friends.

Ricky Hall, who goes by Mya, was shot by police on Monday when she crashed a stolen car into a police vehicle.

The vehicle belonged to a 60-year-old man who had brought Ms Hall and one other person to a nearby hotel.

A passenger in the car and a police officer were wounded in the encounter.

The 60-year-old man picked the pair up in Baltimore and drove them to a hotel near the National Security Agency (NSA) in Howard County.

Police would not say whether alcohol, drugs or sex were part of their short stay at the hotel.

Police said Ms Hall and her friend stole the man's car while he used the bathroom.

The NSA is a clandestine intelligence agency, charged with collecting and analysing electronic signals for US intelligence and counterintelligence purposes. Located on a sprawling military base, the NSA is extremely well protected.

Kayla Brooks, who works at a transgender outreach programme in Baltimore, was a friend of Ms Hall and said she last saw her on Sunday.

Ms Hall "seemed high and was looking for a date," while walking in an area known for being a popular spot for sex workers, Ms Brooks said.

Court documents reveal that Ms Hall had a criminal record that included assault and robbery charges.

FBI, which was handling the investigation, said there was no connection to terrorism and called it a "local criminal matter".

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Arkansas to rework 'religion law'

The governor of Arkansas has called for changes to a "religious freedom" bill after a similar law in Indiana has drawn a firestorm of criticism.

Wal-Mart and other companies had urged Governor Asa Hutchinson not to sign the bill.

Critics of the bill say it could be used to discriminate against gay people because it gives business owners a legal defence based on their faith.

Hundreds in Arkansas have protested against the measure this week.

The governor said he wanted the state's legislature to either recall the bill or pass additional legislation that would bring it more in line with a 1993 federal law from which it is modelled.

In recent days, Mr Hutchinson has come out in support of the bill and on Tuesday his office said he planned on signing it.

"I don't believe in a workplace that discriminates," Mr Hutchinson said.

Mr Hutchinson said there is a "generational difference of opinion" on issues related to the law

Gay rights supporters have protested outside the capitol building in Little Rock

Mr Hutchinson noted that his son was among those that signed a petition asking him to veto the bill.

"It shows that there is a generational difference of opinion on these issues," he said in reference to his son.

The governor has also faced pressure from his state's top employers, including Wal-Mart, which said that the measure would harm economic development.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the bill's passage threatened "to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of Arkansas and does not reflect the values we proudly uphold."

Indiana lawmakers have conceded that their law needed to be clarified to make clear that it did not legalise discrimination against gays. The governor said he wanted a "fix" by the end of the week.

Miley Cyrus called Indiana's law "unevolved & unjust"

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Twenty states have similar laws, with varying protections for gays.

The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed in 1993, was originally intended to protect religious minorities from government intrusion. In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that the law did not apply on the state level, which spurred more than a dozen states to pass local versions.

But a wave of recent legal rulings has brought same-sex marriage to more states and has renewed interest in religious freedom restoration acts.

Some proponents say the bills would protect business people who object to serving gay people for religious reasons. Others including Indiana Governor Mike Pence insist that was not purpose of the bills.

Unlike the federal law, the Indiana version explicitly applies the law's protections to businesses in addition to people.

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McDonald's to raise pay for US staff

Fast-food giant McDonald's says it will raise the pay of more than 90,000 US employees to at least $1 above the legal minimum wage.

That is currently $7.25 (£4.90) an hour, but individual states can set their own rates.

The move will only benefit staff at company-owned outlets - about 10% of McDonald's 14,000 US restaurants.

In a statement, the firm said employees covered by the new policy will be paid more than $10 per hour by 2016.

The rate is still short of the increase sought by campaigners in recent months.

The move follows a similar one by retailing giant Wal-Mart.

Franchisees who run around 90% of outlets set their own pay and benefits but this could prompt some of these to improve their own terms.

One analyst said this could help offset the cost of the wage rise for the parent company.

"They'll try to paint this as altruistic, but they're increasing their corporate income by doing this. It's not as nice as it sounds," said Richard Adams, a former McDonald's franchisee who now acts as a consultant for current ones.

McDonald's franchisees pay the company royalties based on sales.

Fast food workers across the US have been demanding that the minimum wage in the sector should be raised to $15 per hour.

Workers at various outlets, including McDonald's, have held strikes and there have been street protests in many US cities.

McDonald's new chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, said the company had "listened to our employees" and announced he would introduce "paid personal leave and financial assistance for completing their education" alongside a wage rise.

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Kraft accused of wheat price fixing

US food giant Kraft is being accused of manipulating the price of wheat.

The US Commodity and Futures Commission (CTFC) alleges it and its former subsidiary Mondelez Global bought $90m (£61m) of wheat futures but had no intention of taking delivery of it.

The CTFC said their huge purchase raised the price of the commodity and earned them a profit of $5.4m.

Kraft recently agreed a merger with Heinz in a move that would create the world's fifth largest food company.

The regulator wants to apply a permanent injunction on future violations as well as to apply financial penalties.

In 2010, Kraft took over chocolate maker Cadbury, but in 2012 spun the firm off as part of its global snacks business Mondelez, which includes brands such as Oreo biscuits and Trident gum.

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Arrests over Canada prostitution ring

Six people have been arrested in Canada on suspicion of running a prostitution ring, which smuggled nearly 500 women in to the country, according to police.

The majority of the alleged victims are from China and South Korea, the police say.

They believe the women were brought to Canada by a criminal gang and were forced into prostitution in a number of cities, including Montreal and Toronto.

Detectives are hunting two more suspects in connection with the case.

They are also examining data from computers and mobile phones seized during the operation, in the hope of identifying the victims and their clients.

Police said the women illegally entered Canada through the land border with the United States or airports, sometimes using visas "obtained through false pretences".

They then spent several weeks or months at a time in brothels located in cities throughout the country.

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US teachers convicted over cheating

A former assistant principal is led away in handcuffs after a jury found her guilty

Eleven former school teachers have been convicted for their involvement in a scheme to falsify student test scores.

They changed wrong answers to demonstrate student progress, and some received performance-related bonuses.

The scheme was revealed after a local paper reported that some of the scores were statistically unlikely.

Eleven were guilty of racketeering and face lengthy prison terms, with a 12th acquitted, in one of the biggest ever cheating scandals in the US.

Thirty-five people were originally charged in 2013, with many pleading guilty and some testifying at the trial. Scores more were implicated.

"The cheating had been going on so long, we considered it part of our jobs," Jackie Parks, a former teacher who was a witness for the prosecution, told the New York Times in 2013.

The school system's superintendent, Beverly Hall, died last month of breast cancer, and never appeared at the trial after arguing she was too sick.

Hall maintained her innocence

She insisted that she was innocent, but many accused her of pressuring the teachers to show improvements in scores which would unlock greater federal funding.

In 2009, she was named Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators for her district's dramatic improvements in test scores and graduation rates.

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Strict water limits for California

The governor of California has implemented the first mandatory water restrictions in the state's history.

The order implements a 25% reduction in water usage for cities and towns across the parched state.

Vast areas of government-owned lawns will be replaced by drought-tolerant landscaping, and towns will be banned from watering ornamental grass.

Last year, Governor Jerry Brown proclaimed a state of emergency after years of drought.

The snow in the mountains is at its lowest level since records began, so water supplies from melting snow will be lower than normal in coming months.

"We are standing on dried grass, and we should be standing in five feet of snow," said Mr Brown, speaking in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

"People should realise we're in a new era. The idea of your nice little green grass getting lots of water every day - that's going to be a thing of the past," he said.

The state is no longer asking, it is ordering

Lake beds have run dry

A new meaning for water divining

The new order will require university campuses, cemeteries, golf courses and other large landowners to make major cuts in their water usage.

Farmers in the United States' largest farm state have been hit hard in recent years.

But Mr Brown's critics said his order did not go far enough to address agricultural use of water.

"In the midst of a severe drought, the governor continues to allow corporate farms and oil interests to deplete and pollute our precious groundwater resources that are crucial for saving water,'' said Adam Scow, California director of the group Food & Water Watch.

Previous extremely dry years led to catastrophic wildfire seasons in California in 2003 and 2007.

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Scary scout book scoops horror prize

Craig Davidson (left) has won the inaugural horror writing prize named after the late James Herbert (right)

A novel about a scout camping weekend that takes a scary twist has won the first James Herbert award for horror writing.

The Troop, by Canadian author Craig Davidson, was announced as the winner of the £2,000 prize on Wednesday night.

The award was set up to celebrate the life and work of horror writer James Herbert who died in March 2013.

Herbert's daughter Kerry, who was one of the judges, described the winning book as the "darkest of tales".

"My father would have chuckled in his chair; his fans will love it. And you'll never go camping again," she said.

"The Troop is a brilliant and terrifying classic that I am proud to champion as the first winner of the James Herbert Award for Horror Writing - it's now one of my favourite books."

The book was written by Davidson under the pseudonym of Nick Cutter. It tells the story of scoutmaster Tim Riggs and his troop of boy scouts who encounter an "emaciated stranger" on a camping trip in the Canadian wilderness.

The chair of judges, Tom Hunter, said: "The Troop is a perfect first winner, and the judges loved its tense plotting, detailed characterisation and above all the driving sense of fear that compels you to keep turning every horror-soaked page until the end."

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Davidson's other works include his first short story collection, Rust and Bone, which was adapted into a film by French director Jacques Audiard starring actress Marion Cotillard as a killer whale trainer.

Herbert was the author of 23 novels, including The Rats, The Fog, The Dark, The Survivor, The Magic Cottage, Haunted and Fluke.

• MR Carey, The Girl With All the Gifts (Orbit)
• Nick Cutter, The Troop (Headline)
• Frances Hardinge, Cuckoo Song (Macmillan)
• Andrew Michael Hurley, The Loney (Tartarus Press)
• Josh Malerman, Bird Box (Harper Voyager)
• Kim Newman, An English Ghost Story (Titan Books)

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Airbnb adds Cuba to destination list

More than 600 properties are already listed in Havana alone

Home holiday rental site Airbnb has added Cuba to its list of destinations.

More than 1,000 properties in the Caribbean nation are already listed, but can only be booked by users in the US.

The San Francisco-based site is restricted from showing the listings elsewhere because of a US trade embargo against the island.

Nevertheless, Airbnb said Cuba could eventually become one of its biggest markets in Latin America.

"We are actually plugging into an existing culture of micro-enterprise in Cuba," said the firm's regional director Kay Kuehne.

"The hosts in Cuba have been [renting out rooms to travellers] for decades."

One expert, however, said the site faced major challenges.

The US relaxed travel restrictions for its own citizens to Cuba in January

"While Airbnb is a valuable alternative for millions of travellers, in the context of Cuba, because of the high margins it takes from every transaction, it won't necessarily meet with great success," said travel writer Simon Calder.

"All the Cuban bed-and-breakfast providers I know would like to keep all the money rather than handing 15% or more to an American corporation," he added, referring to the total amount the firm deducts from both the host and the guest.

"The other thing is that anybody who has used the internet in Cuba will know that a prospective host is unlikely to be able to respond immediately given the shockingly slow internet there, which reminds me of what you used to find across the developing world in the early 1990s."

The initial listings range from £10 a night for a private room in Trinidad to £695 a night for the whole of a five-bedroom "chalet" in Havana.

Airbnb members based outside the US are told they cannot complete a booking

Airbnb visitors outside the US can view the listings, but can only add them to their wish lists, rather than book them. An on-screen alert states that the site is not licensed to provide booking services to others.

The US recently began allowing Americans to travel to the island if they obtained a special licence, which can be granted for activities including family visits, educational activities and public performances.

The White House said it would like tourism to be added to the list, and President Obama has urged Congress to begin work to drop the wider sanctions.

"We are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date," he said in his State of the Union address in January.

The move made it possible for online film-streaming site Netflix to be launched in Cuba the following month, which freedom of speech campaign group Freedom House said was more "symbolic" than anything else in the short-term because of the country's "exceptionally slow connectivity".

A search for Havana hotels on Kayak offers rooms in Romania and Bulgaria, but not Cuba

Visitors across the globe can still find listings for Cuba-based rooms via other US services, including TripAdvisor, which allows users to contact hosts directly but does not take a cut of the bookings itself.

Simon Calder however, criticised the "absurdity" of the fact that several other US-based travel sites, including Kayak and Booking.com, continued to ignore the island's existence.

"Anybody trying to find a flight to Havana on a US airline website will be assured that the city does not exist," he said.

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