Philip Morris wins Missouri ‘lights’ class action trial
(Reuters) – A jury in St. Louis, Missouri on Thursday rejected a request for about $1.8 billion in damages against Philip Morris USA in a class-action lawsuit that claimed the company misled smokers about the health risks of “light” cigarettes.
UC Berkeley assistant basketball coach resigns after sex harassment claims
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – An assistant men’s basketball coach at the University of California at Berkeley resigned on Thursday, weeks after the school moved to dismiss him over accusations of sexual harassment against a news reporter, a school official…
N.Y. financier’s ex-employee agrees to reduced $5.6 million award
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A Swedish woman has agreed to accept a more than two-thirds reduction to an $18 million jury award in a lawsuit against a New York financier she accused of sexual harassment and defamation, her lawyer said on Thursday.
Rights groups decry bodyslamming of Texas schoolgirl caught on video
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – A widely seen cell phone video of a school police officer in San Antonio bodyslamming a 12-year-old girl was decried by two rights groups on Thursday who called for schools to rein in violence by officers against students.
NYC Council passes bill to crack down on Elmos in Times Square
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The topless women, Elmos and other costumed characters who work for tips in New York’s Times Square will no longer be free to roam the area under a bill passed by the City Council on Thursday.
L.A. County violated Constitution by putting cross on seal: judge
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A federal judge has ruled that Los Angeles County violated the U.S. and state constitutions by placing a tiny cross atop a depiction of a California mission on its official seal, despite claims by local leaders that it was done …
University of Texas says victim of suspected homicide was dance student
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – The victim of a suspected homicide found in a creek on the main campus of the University of Texas was identified on Thursday as Haruka Weiser, an 18-year-old, first-year theater and dance student from Oregon.
Guard at New York City Rikers Island jail charged with beating inmate
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A correction officer at New York’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex has been charged with beating an inmate, authorities said on Thursday.
New York police commanders transferred in widening corruption probe
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Four high-ranking New York City Police Department commanders have been transferred in the midst of an ongoing city and federal corruption probe, Police Commissioner William Bratton said on Thursday.
Supervisors falsified U.S. veterans’ wait time for care: USA Today
(Reuters) – Supervisors instructed staff to falsify patient wait times at Veterans Affairs medical facilities in at least seven states to show they met performance measures, USA Today said on Thursday, citing reports by the agency’s inspector general.
