Kentucky lawmakers pass ‘right-to-work’ legislation
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) – Republican lawmakers in Kentucky passed a bill on Saturday making it the 27th U.S. state to allow workers the right to work in union-represented shops and receive union-negotiated benefits without paying dues to the represen…
Witness may testify incognito in Robert Durst of ‘The Jinx’ murder trial
LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) – A witness fearing retribution in the murder trial of wealthy real estate scion Robert Durst, whose ties to several slayings were chronicled in HBO’s documentary “The Jinx,” will be allowed to testify without revealing his or her…
California pays for inmate’s gender reassignment surgery
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – A transgender California prison inmate who was born male but identifies as female underwent gender-reassignment surgery paid for by the state this week in what is believed to be the first such case in the United States, h…
Obama says Sanders’ supporters helped undermine Obamacare
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Friday that criticism from the left wing of his own Democratic Party helped feed into the unpopularity of Obamacare, his signature healthcare reform law.
In emotional farewell speech, Michelle Obama praises diversity
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – First lady Michelle Obama made an impassioned case for embracing diversity and welcoming all religious groups on Friday in a not-so-veiled message to her husband’s successor two weeks ahead of Inauguration Day.
Four ordered held without bail over Chicago torture shown on Facebook
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Four African-Americans accused of attacking an 18-year-old white man with special needs while making anti-white racial taunts in an assault broadcast on Facebook were ordered held without bail by a Chicago judge on Friday.
South Carolina jury to deliberate church shooter’s fate next week
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – Jurors could begin deliberating on Tuesday whether white supremacist Dylann Roof should be sentenced to death or life in prison for killing nine black people at a historic church in Charleston, South Carolina, a federal jud…
Oklahoma revenues battered by low energy prices in 2016
(Reuters) – Gross receipts collected during 2016 by Oklahoma’s Treasury shrank 7.4 percent from the prior year as weak oil and natural gas prices weighed on the state’s finances, officials said on Friday.
Pennsylvania to close two prisons as budget shortfall looms
HARRISBURG (Reuters) – Pennsylvania will close two state prisons by June 30 to help offset a projected $600 million revenue shortfall in this year’s budget, state officials said on Friday.
Trump blasts ‘Apprentice’ ratings; Schwarzenegger cites Lincoln
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday mocked his “Apprentice” successor Arnold Schwarzenegger over ratings for the TV show, sparking a Twitter fight between America’s two biggest celebrities-turned-politicians.
