Florida governor declares health emergency in four counties over Zika
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) – Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a public health emergency in four counties with travel-related cases of the Zika virus on Wednesday, and ordered state officials to increase mosquito control efforts in some of the most popul…
U.S. Capitol temporarily shuts its police gun firing range
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Construction projects often start with high hopes, only to degenerate into anxiety-filled disappointments. It seems even the U.S. Capitol Police are not immune.
U.S. lawmakers chastise officials at all levels over Flint crisis
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers criticized environmental officials at a hearing on Wednesday for not acting sooner when they saw a report that drinking water in Flint, Michigan was polluted with dangerously high levels of lead.
Texas wildfire in Big Bend National Park blamed on downed power line
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – A fire that has consumed nearly 2,000 acres in the sprawling Big Bend National Park in west Texas was sparked by a downed electrical line that started the blaze that was spread by strong winds, the National Park Service said on …
Michigan governor called on to set up fund for Flint water victims
DETROIT (Reuters) – A group of academics and activists on Wednesday called on Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to establish a compensation fund for victims of Flint’s lead-contaminated drinking water, with one member of the group proposing the state set a…
Wisconsin company fires seven Muslim workers in prayer break dispute
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – Seven Muslim workers at an eastern Wisconsin manufacturer have been fired after disregarding a break policy that did not allow them to pray at the times dictated by their faith, the company said on Wednesday.
Suspect arrested in Georgia basketball player’s shooting death
ATLANTA (Reuters) – Police arrested one man and searched for a second suspect on Wednesday in the killing of a Mercer University basketball player who was gunned down in a convenience store parking lot in Macon, Georgia.
Kansas man pleads guilty in Islamic State bomb plot: Justice Department
(Reuters) – A Kansas man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to attempting to detonate a car bomb on the Fort Riley military base in Manhattan, Kansas, in support of Islamic State, the Justice Department said.
Anti-abortion activists in covert videos head to Texas court
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – One of two anti-abortion activists indicted for using a fake government ID to aid secret filming inside Planned Parenthood facilities appeared at a Texas court on Wednesday while the other will do so a day later, legal officia…
Convicted Maryland killer in ‘Serial’ podcast seeks new trial
BALTIMORE (Reuters) – A Maryland man, whose 2000 murder conviction was thrown back into spotlight by the popular “Serial” podcast, was back in court on Wednesday to argue that he deserved a new trial because his lawyers had done a poor job with his cas…
