Boston mayor aims to raise smoking age to 21
BOSTON (Reuters) – Boston could become the latest in a string of large U.S. cities to ban smoking and tobacco use by people under the age of 21 under a measure proposed on Wednesday by Mayor Marty Walsh.
California budget reserves to top $11.5 billion: watchdog
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California budget reserves are expected to come in at $11.5 billion for the 2016-17 fiscal year, beating a previous estimate by $3.6 billion, thanks to higher tax revenues and a growing economy, a state budget watchdog agency …
Police officers identified in Minneapolis shooting of black man
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – Minnesota officials on Wednesday identified the two Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man as chanting demonstrators surrounded a key police station.
Syrian refugee family settles in Connecticut after Indiana slams door
(Reuters) – A family of Syrian refugees has settled in Connecticut after the Republican governor of Indiana, where the trio had been headed, said he did not want new refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war to enter his state, officials said on Wednesday.
ACLU, others reach settlement over Baltimore jail conditions
(Reuters) – Civil liberties groups and the state of Maryland reached a settlement on Wednesday to overhaul Baltimore’s scandal-plagued jail and improve its medical facilities, the Public Justice Center said.
New York police horses, ’10-foot cop’ key to city’s high alert
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Highly visible police officers on horseback who patrol crowded sites like New York’s Times Square are an essential part of the city’s high alert in the wake of the deadly Paris attack, police officials said on Wednesday.
Retired Maine lobsterman challenges landlord’s no-guns policy in court
AUGUSTA, Maine (Reuters) – A retired Maine lobsterman believes a rule against possessing a gun in the affordable housing complex where he lives has forced him to choose between losing his home or forfeiting his constitutional right to bear arms, his la…
Counterintelligence chief skeptical that China has curbed spying on U.S.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. counterintelligence chief Bill Evanina said on Wednesday he was skeptical that China has followed through on recent promises to curb spying on the United States.
Calls for U.S. troops to fight Islamic State misguided, say experts
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Americans want the Obama administration to get tougher with the Islamic State following the carnage in Paris, but many of the measures now being proposed could actually make the threat worse, counter-terrorism experts said.
U.S. defense chief announces reforms aimed at strengthening military
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced reforms to the Defense Department’s personnel policies on Wednesday aimed at attracting tech talent and improving the recruitment and retention of troops and civilians.
