Florida Supreme Court weighs unconstitutional death sentences
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) – The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday weighed the fate of a death row inmate sentenced under a scheme the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional this year, in a case that could affect nearly 400 other state inmates a…
Watchdog finds much larger Catholic influence on U.S. hospitals
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A growing number of U.S. hospitals are now owned or affiliated with Catholic health institutions that restrict procedures such as sterilizations or abortion, according to patients’ rights watchdog MergerWatch.
North Carolina transgender law violates civil rights law: U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal authorities told North Carolina’s governor on Wednesday that a new state law limiting restroom access for transgender people violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act.
Abortion provider Planned Parenthood sues Kansas over plan to cut funding
(Reuters) – Planned Parenthood, a U.S. women’s healthcare and abortion provider, has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Kansas over a plan to strip it of government healthcare funding, court records showed.
Obama sips Flint water, urges children be tested for lead
FLINT, Mich. (Reuters) – President Barack Obama sipped filtered water in Flint, Michigan, on Wednesday and assured angry residents that their children would be fine in the long term despite the “complete screw-up” that contaminated their drinking water…
Chicago teachers sidestep strike date, tout $502 million funding plan
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Chicago Teachers Union withheld the threat on Wednesday of imminent strike action, instead floating a $502 million revenue package as part of a “self-help” plan to stabilize finances in the United State’s third largest school system.
Case dropped against Arizona student facing charges for yearbook prank
PHOENIX (Reuters) – An Arizona prosecutor will not press criminal charges against a Phoenix-area high school student arrested for exposing his penis in a football team photograph published in the school’s yearbook, police said on Wednesday.
Ex-officer in San Francisco text scandal pleads not guilty to unrelated charges
(Reuters) – A former San Francisco police officer embroiled in a scandal over racist and homophobic text messages pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges he unlawfully accessed records from the Department of Motor Vehicles, prosecutors said.
California raises age to purchase tobacco to 21
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – California will raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco products to 21 from 18 under a bill signed on Wednesday by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, part of a package of anti-smoking measures that also regulates electro…
U.S. to boost airport staffing to manage long security lines
(Reuters) – With airlines worried that long security lines may discourage summer travelers, the U.S. government said on Wednesday it will add airport staff and bomb-sniffing dogs and ramp up pre-screening enrollment efforts.
