Facebook takes on fake news:

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook is updating its “trending” feature that highlights hot topics on its social networking site, part of its effort to root out the kind of fake news stories that critics contend helped Donald Trump become president. With the changes announced Wednesday, Facebook’s trending list will consist of topics being covered by several publishers. The switch is intended to make Facebook a more credible source of information by steering hordes of its 1.8 billion users toward topics that “reflect real world events being covered by multiple outlets,” Will Cathcart, the company’s vice president of product management, said in a blog post.

Science under scrutiny:

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is scrutinizing studies and data published by scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency, while new work is under a “temporary hold” before it can be released. The communications director for President Donald Trump’s transition team at EPA, Doug Ericksen, said Wednesday the review extends to all existing content on the federal agency’s website, including details of scientific evidence showing that the Earth’s climate is warming and man-made carbon emissions are to blame. Ericksen clarified his earlier statements he made to The Associated Press, which reported that the Trump administration was mandating that any studies or data from EPA scientists undergo review by political appointees before they can be released to the public. He said he was speaking about existing scientific information on the EPA website that is under review by members of the Trump administration’s transition team. He said new work by the agency’s scientists is subject to the same “temporary hold” as other kinds of public releases, which he said would likely be lifted by Friday.

Judge rejects penalty:

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to force Wal-Mart to pay $80 million in penalties in a lawsuit alleging the retail giant failed to pay hundreds of truck drivers in California the minimum wage for certain tasks. Wal-Mart acted in good faith when paying the drivers and had reason to believe its payment policy aligned with California law, according to U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco. A jury awarded the workers more than $54 million in back wages in November after finding that Wal-Mart didn’t pay the drivers the state’s base wage for inspecting their vehicles before and after trips and for taking 10-hour layovers and 10-minute rest breaks. Attorneys for the drivers had asked Illston to award an additional $80 million in penalties and damages. An email to their lawyer was not immediately returned Wednesday.

11 killed in attack:

MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least 11 were killed and 50 injured Wednesday as Somali security forces ended a siege by extremist fighters who stormed a hotel in the capital, police said. Four al-Shabab attackers were also killed in the attack on Dayah hotel, which is often frequented by government officials, said Capt. Mohamed Hussein, a senior police officer. The death toll may rise, he said. The assault on the hotel started when a suicide car bomb exploded at its gates. A second explosion soon followed.

Brazil orders vaccines:

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s Ministry of Health has ordered 11.5 million doses of yellow fever vaccines to reinforce its stockpiles amid the largest outbreak of the disease the country has seen since 2000, officials said Wednesday. So far during the summer rainy season, 70 cases, including 40 deaths, have been confirmed. More than 300 cases are still being investigated. That makes it the biggest outbreak since 2000, when 85 cases were confirmed, according ministry data.

‘Fake’ job investigated:

PARIS — French presidential hopeful Francois Fillon’s campaign hit its first major hurdle Wednesday, when financial prosecutors opened a preliminary investigation after claims that his wife was paid about 500,000 euros ($537,000) with parliamentary funds while holding a fake job. France’s financial prosecutor launched its probe into suspected embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds just hours after Le Canard Enchaine newspaper reported that Penelope Fillon earned the money as a parliamentary aide to her husband during his tenure as a lawmaker without actually working. Fillon, the conservative candidate in France’s spring election, blasted the report. He did not deny that his wife was a paid aide. It’s not illegal for French legislators to hire their relatives as long as they are genuinely employed.