U.S. immigration agency to review newest asylum cases first in bid to deter fraud
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. immigration agency has changed its handling of asylum cases so more recent claims are judged first, officials said on Wednesday, a shift they said would improve the system by deterring frivolous claims and increasing eff…
U.S. missile defense test unsuccessful: official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military carried out an unsuccessful test to shoot down an incoming dummy missile from Hawaii on Wednesday, a U.S. official said, amid heightened concerns about North Korea’s developing missile and nuclear program.
Lawsuit saying Twitter aided Islamic State thrown out by U.S. appeals court
(Reuters) – A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled on Wednesday that Twitter Inc is not liable to families of two U.S. government contractors killed in an Islamic State attack in Jordan for having failed to block that group from using its accou…
Train carrying U.S. Republican lawmakers hits truck in Virginia, one dead
CROZET, Va. (Reuters) – An Amtrak passenger train carrying Republican members of the U.S. Congress from Washington to a retreat in West Virginia slammed into a garbage truck on Wednesday at a rural Virginia road crossing, killing one person on the truc…
California insurance dept estimates nearly $12 billion in wildfires claims
(Reuters) – Insurers have received nearly 45,000 insurance claims of about $11.79 billion in losses from the wildfires that occurred in California in October and December, the California Department of Insurance said on Wednesday.
Pharmacist tied to U.S. meningitis outbreak gets eight years in prison
BOSTON (Reuters) – A Massachusetts pharmacist was sentenced on Wednesday to eight years in prison after being convicted on racketeering and fraud charges stemming from his role in a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that killed 76 people and sickened hun…
More victims of ex-USA Gymnastics doctor detail abuse in court
CHARLOTTE, Mich. (Reuters) – Jessica Thomashow was a 9-year-old gymnast who still liked playing with American Girl dolls when USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar first molested her, she said in a Michigan courtroom on Wednesday.
USA Gymnastics says all directors have resigned after abuse scandal
(Reuters) – USA Gymnastics, the sport’s U.S. governing body, said on Wednesday all its remaining directors have now resigned following revelations that the longtime team doctor had sexually abused numerous athletes under his care.
Houston kidnap victim, killed in FBI raid, had grabbed agent’s rifle: police
(Reuters) – An FBI agent shot and killed a kidnapping victim that he was trying to rescue in Houston last week, when the man grabbed the agent’s rifle, Houston’s police chief told reporters.
In the Hollywood Hills, eyes on the moon, not the stars
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A thousand people crowded onto a hilltop outside Los Angeles before dawn on Wednesday for one of the most picturesque views in America of a rare lunar eclipse called a “Super Blue Blood Moon,” as the Earth’s shadow fell across i…
