Snowden raised concerns in 2013 email, but no evidence he blew whistle: NSA
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An email exchange released on Thursday shows that Edward Snowden questioned the U.S. National Security Agency’s legal training programs, but provides no evidence the former contractor complained internally about vast NSA surveill…
Scaled-back preschool bill advances in California legislature
SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) – A bill to offer free preschool to 4-year-olds from low-income California families advanced in the state legislature on Thursday, a scaled-down version of a broader proposal that would have provided for universal public pre…
Republicans attack Obama over veterans scandal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans stepped up their attacks on the Obama administration over a deepening Veterans Affairs healthcare delay scandal on Thursday, but House Speaker John Boehner again declined to join a growing list of lawmakers calling fo…
U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief urges Cuba to extend reforms
HAVANA (Reuters) – The head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday urged Cuba to speed up and extend market-style economic reforms, calling the changes a potential path toward better relations with the United States.
U.S. lawmakers push for tough labor rules in Pacific trade deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. trade negotiators must insist on tough standards on human and workers’ rights in a Pacific trade deal spanning 12 countries, more than 150 Democratic lawmakers said in a letter to the Obama administration on Thursday.
California top court says police must name officers in shootings
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that police departments in the state must as a general rule disclose the names of officers involved in shootings, despite claims by a police union that doing so would endanger their…
North Carolina lawmakers adopt tax on electronic cigarettes
RALEIGH N.C. (Reuters) – North Carolina, the top U.S. tobacco-producing state, will levy a modest tax on increasingly popular electronic cigarettes as part of legislation adopted by state lawmakers and signed by the governor on Thursday.
Bloomberg bashes liberal McCarthyism at Harvard commencement
BOSTON (Reuters) – Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg used his commencement address at Harvard University on Thursday to bash a U.S. academic culture that he described as increasingly intolerant of ideas from outside a narrow liberal spectrum.
Hillary Clinton meets Obama for informal lunch at the White House
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, about to go on a book tour for her soon-to-be-released memoir, had a private lunch with President Barack Obama on Thursday.
Arizona to set up new child-welfare agency after abuse scandal
PHOENIX (Reuters) – Arizona lawmakers created a new child-welfare agency in a special session on Thursday, providing an extra $60 million to improve a scandal-ridden system that last year was found to have ignored nearly 6,600 reports of abuse and negl…
