Oxley, co-sponsor of landmark U.S. anti-fraud legislation, dies at 71
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – Former U.S. Representative Mike Oxley, a 12-term Republican congressman from Ohio who co-sponsored the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act, died on Friday at the age of 71, officials said.
New year brings minimum wage hikes for Americans in 14 states
CHICAGO (Reuters) – As the United States marks more than six years without an increase in the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, 14 states and several cities are moving forward with their own increases, with most set to start taking effect on Frida…
Obama, frustrated by Congress, plans unilateral gun control steps
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama, frustrated by Congress’ inaction on gun control, will meet with U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday to discuss ways of reducing gun violence unilaterally through measures that do not require cong…
Jubilance in Times Square as New York marks the new year
NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than a million people in New York’s Times Square hailed the arrival of 2016 early Friday with kisses, cheers and a measure of relief as America’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration unfolded without a hitch under a blanket of u…
Return of Texas ‘affluenza’ teen delayed, mother jailed in U.S
LOS ANGELES/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The Texas teenager derided for his “affluenza” defense in a deadly drunken-driving case won a weeks-long delay in extradition from Mexico, while his mother was in a Los Angeles jail on Thursday after being deported.
Cosby faces big financial threat from civil lawsuits: legal experts
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Civil lawsuits accusing Bill Cosby of sex abuse and defamation could do major damage to the entertainer’s wealth, regardless of how a criminal prosecution plays out, lawyers who have handled similar cases said on Thursday.
Five New Year’s revelers wounded in New Orleans shooting
(Reuters) – Five young men were wounded, one critically, in a shooting at a Year’s Eve party in New Orleans, police and media reports said.
Federal judge blocks Arkansas restrictions on abortion pill
LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday granted a two-week restraining order against an Arkansas law restricting use of the so-called abortion pill, one day before the statute was to go into effect.
Floods swamp Missouri, Illinois; nine million people in risk areas
(Reuters) – Towns in Tennessee and southern Illinois prepared on Thursday to cope with potential flooding after rain-swollen rivers washed out hundreds of structures in Missouri, Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma and forced thousands to flee their homes.
Somali workers fired at Colorado packing plant in prayer dispute
DENVER (Reuters) – Nearly 200 workers, mostly Somali immigrants, have been fired from a meat-packing plant in Colorado after staging a walkout to protest what they said were insufficient prayer accommodations, the company and Islamic advocacy groups sa…
