Pentagon expected to repeal ban on transgender members next month
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon plans to announce the repeal of its ban on openly serving transgender service members next month, U.S. defense officials said.
Judge tosses suit against theater chain over Colorado cinema massacre
DENVER (Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday dismissed lawsuits filed against the owners of a Colorado theater where 12 people were killed and 70 wounded during a screening of a Batman film in 2012, court records showed.
Split Supreme Court blocks Obama immigration plan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked President Barack Obama’s plan to spare millions of immigrants in the country illegally from deportation in a split ruling that heartened political foes who had accused him of oversteppin…
Kansas legislature passes finance plan, schools to stay open
(Reuters) – The Kansas Legislature approved a plan on Friday to pour more money into public schools to address funding inequities between districts and keep the state Supreme Court from closing schools.
Arizona says it has run out of drugs for executions
(Reuters) – Arizona has run out of execution drugs, including a sedative implicated in botched lethal injections, according to a filing on Friday in a court case challenging the U.S. state’s execution methods.
U.S. states, Rockefellers clash with U.S. House panel on Exxon climate probes
HOUSTON (Reuters) – With a number of U.S. states proceeding with investigations of Exxon Mobil Corp’s record on climate change, the attorney general of Massachusetts and investment funds of the Rockefeller family on Friday told a Congressional committ…
New York LGBT bar becomes first U.S. monument to gay rights
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Friday designated the site of a watershed event in the history of U.S. gay rights, the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, as a national monument, the first to honor the contributions of gay Americans…
After Brexit, what? U.S. secessionists hankering for ‘Texit’
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Emboldened by Brexit, U.S. secessionists in Texas are keen to adopt the campaign tactics used to sway the British vote for leaving the European Union and are demanding “Texit” comes next.
Woman who accused Cosby of sex assault withdraws defamation case
BOSTON (Reuters) – A woman who contends Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1965 withdrew a lawsuit against the comedian on Friday, a day after a federal judge in Massachusetts had blocked an effort by the entertainer’s attorneys have the suit dismiss…
Boston mobster ‘Whitey’ Bulger’s rat mug, rings draw auction bids
BOSTON (Reuters) – A sterling silver skull ring, a fake Stanley Cup ring and a pen holder shaped like a rat have drawn the most interest from bidders in Saturday’s auction of former Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger’s possessions, officials said.
