Calls to U.S. trafficking hotline on the rise, organizers say
NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The number of calls reporting human trafficking cases to a U.S. national hotline rose last year, as did calls from trafficking survivors, showing that public awareness of the issue is growing, organizers said on …
Tremors in U.S. Northeast caused by sonic boom, not quake: agency
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two fighter jets from a U.S. Navy base in Maryland may have caused a series of sonic booms on Thursday near the New Jersey coast that prompted hundreds of residents to report earthquake-like tremors.
‘Affluenza’ teen sent back to Texas, ‘docile’ in detention
FORT WORTH, Texas/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The American teenager derided for claiming a defense of “affluenza” in the killing four people while driving drunk arrived back in Texas on Thursday after being deported from Mexico and was placed in juvenile d…
Teachers’ union sues Detroit schools, demands removal of emergency manager
(Reuters) – The union for Detroit public school teachers sued their district on Thursday demanding immediate removal of a state-appointed emergency manager and a return of local control with a plan to repair its crumbling buildings.
College application questions about police contact under scrutiny
(Reuters) – U.S. colleges and universities that ask applicants to disclose run-ins with law enforcement including stops and detentions are facing scrutiny from a legal advocacy group concerned the practice discriminates against minorities.
Pentagon chief announces measures to improve quality of life for military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday announced a series of measures aimed at improving the quality of life for those serving in the U.S. military, including a doubling of maternity leave for most personnel to 12 weeks.
Obama’s pick to lead U.S. forces in Afghanistan to review drawdown
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s pick to lead U.S. forces in Afghanistan said on Thursday he aimed to review a campaign plan that would cut American troop levels by nearly half by the start of next year, as he acknowledged deteriorating …
Mississippi’s top lawyer seeks firing squad as execution option
(Reuters) – Lawmakers in Mississippi should allow state executions by firing squad, electrocution, hanging and nitrogen gas when drugs for lethal injections are not available, the state’s attorney general said.
California narrowly upholds critical solar policy
(Reuters) – California, which boasts more than half of the households with solar panels in the United States, on Thursday extended a policy that has underpinned the rooftop solar industry’s dramatic growth over the last decade.
U.S. on high alert for bird flu after Indiana poultry outbreak
CHICAGO (Reuters) – In the two weeks since bird flu reappeared in Indiana, U.S. veterinarians have swabbed the mouths of chickens and turkeys across the country, racing to uncover any more infections and contain the virus before it causes mass death an…
