Obama says will focus on criminal justice reform, cancer research
BATON ROUGE, La. (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Thursday that he will focus his final-year legislative efforts on criminal justice reform, an expansion of a tax credit for the working poor, and a push to find medical research breakthroughs….
Alex gusts into first hurricane formed in January since 1938
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) – Hurricane Alex blasted into the record books on Thursday as the first Atlantic hurricane to form during the month of January in more than three-quarters of a century, U.S. weather forecasters said.
Venezuelan businessman to be sent to Texas for U.S. corruption case
MIAMI (Reuters) – A judge in Miami on Thursday ordered the transfer to Texas of a Venezuelan businessman accused by U.S. prosecutors of taking part in a $1 billion conspiracy to pay bribes to obtain contracts from Venezuela’s state oil company.
Alabama officer acquitted after injuring Indian grandfather
(Reuters) – A federal judge has acquitted an Alabama police officer charged with violating an Indian grandfather’s civil rights by throwing him to the ground and causing him serious injuries after the case previously went to two mistrials.
Italy arrests African migrant over murder of U.S. woman Ashley Olsen
FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) – Italian police have arrested a Senegalese illegal immigrant who prosecutors believe killed Ashley Olsen, a U.S. woman who was found dead in her apartment in Florence last weekend.
Trump campaign member praises Oregon wildlife refuge occupation
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has said the armed standoff at a national wildlife refuge in Oregon had gone on “too long,” and that once people are allowed to take over federal property, “you don’t have a government anymore.”
Accused Colorado clinic shooter intends to plead guilty, expects execution: report
DENVER (Reuters) – The man accused of fatally shooting three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado last year told a Denver television station that he wants to plead guilty and expects to be executed, the CBS affiliate reported on Wednesday….
Fate of Florida death row inmates in limbo after U.S. Supreme Court ruling
TAMPA, Fla. – The fate of the 390 inmates on Florida’s death row was uncertain after the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down the state’s capital punishment sentencing process.
New Jersey, Florida, were hotbeds of foreclosures in 2015: report
(Reuters) – New Jersey and Florida were poster children for U.S. home foreclosures last year, with both states and several of their metropolitan areas topping the list in 2015, according to RealtyTrac data released on Thursday.
California lottery says it has a Powerball winner
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – The California Lottery said on its Twitter feed that it has a winner for the $1.5 billion lottery held on Wednesday, with the winning ticket being sold in Chino Hills.
