Ex-U.S. soldier ‘Rambo’ gets 20 years in prison in murder-for-hire case
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former U.S. Army sergeant nicknamed “Rambo” who prosecutors say supervised an international band of hit men and mercenaries was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for conspiring to kill a federal drug agent and an informa…
Justice Department asks for hold on court sanctions in immigration case
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday filed an emergency motion to stop sanctions imposed by a federal judge in Texas that included mandated ethics classes for federal prosecutors, as part of ongoing litigation over immigration…
U.S. warns of possible Europe attacks, no specific threat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States warned its citizens on Tuesday of possible summer terrorist attacks in Europe, saying targets could include the European soccer championship in France, although a U.S. official said there was no specific threat …
A bar as a national monument? New York’s LGBT landmark vies for honor
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York bar known as the birthplace of the gay pride movement could become the country’s first national monument honoring LGBT rights under a plan to be considered by President Barack Obama.
Supreme Court rejects constitutional challenge to death penalty
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear an appeal asserting that the death penalty violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment filed by a Louisiana man convicted of fatally shooting his pregnant form…
U.S. top court to hear State Farm case over Hurricane Katrina fraud claim
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal by State Farm contesting a jury finding that the insurance company defrauded the federal government when assessing damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 along the Gu…
Native Americans move to frontlines in battle over voting rights
BELCOURT, North Dakota (Reuters) – Elvis Norquay, a member of the Chippewa Indian tribe, has lived most of his 58 years on North Dakota’s remote Turtle Mountain reservation and says he’s never had a problem voting.
State lawmakers override bill veto to ease Chicago pension payments
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago will be able to spread out state-mandated higher payments to its police and fire pensions after the Illinois Legislature on Monday overrode the governor’s veto of a bill that became entangled in a political impasse.
Bodies of U.S. climbers left on Tibetan peak out of respect
KATHMANDU (Reuters) – The bodies of two renowned U.S. climbers, found in Tibet 16 years after they died on one of the world’s tallest mountains, have been left untouched out of respect, one of the mountaineers who found the remains said on Monday.
Ohio zoo defends safety where boy climbed barrier and gorilla died
CINCINNATI (Reuters) – The director of the Cincinnati Zoo insisted on Monday that a three-foot (one-meter) barrier around the gorilla enclosure was adequate, even though a 4-year-old boy was able to climb over it and fall in, forcing zookeepers to shoo…
