New York transit authority passes reduced $29 billion capital plan
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), operator of the largest urban transport network in the United States, approved on Wednesday a reduced $29 billion investment program.
Accused Connecticut serial killer appears via closed circuit TV for hearing
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (Reuters) – An accused Connecticut serial killer appeared via closed-circuit television during a pretrial hearing on Wednesday, with the judge giving his lawyer until Dec. 10 to decide on whether to proceed directly to trial on six m…
Civil rights retrial under way for Alabama officer who threw Indian man to ground
(Reuters) – An Alabama police officer returned to federal court on Wednesday as a jury weighed for a second time whether he violated an Indian man’s rights by throwing him to the ground and causing serious injuries in an incident recorded on video.
Christian evangelists win Michigan speech case over Arab festival
(Reuters) – A federal appeals court said police violated the free speech rights of Christian evangelists by telling them to leave a June 2012 Arab-American festival in Dearborn, Michigan after an angry crowd began pelting them with bottles, eggs and ot…
Chicago approves Emanuel’s city budget, property tax increase
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s $7.8 billion fiscal 2016 budget and a historic property tax increase to pay for public safety worker pensions easily cleared the city council on Wednesday.
Texas man carving pumpkins with daughter stabs would-be intruder
DALLAS (Reuters) – A Dallas-area father carving jack-o-lanterns with his 7-year-old daughter for Halloween stabbed a suspected car thief with a knife after the alleged criminal broke into their home, police said on Wednesday.
U.S. student math test scores slip for first time since 1990
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Math test scores for fourth and eighth grade students across the United States dipped in 2015, marking the first such decline in 25 years, according to a U.S. Department of Education report released on Wednesday.
U.S. judge bars Alabama from defunding Planned Parenthood clinics
(Reuters) – A federal judge on Wednesday blocked Alabama from defunding Planned Parenthood clinics amid controversy over the release of covertly recorded videos about the reproductive health organization’s handling of aborted fetal tissue.
Massachusetts report faults agency’s handling of ‘Baby Doe’ case
BOSTON (Reuters) – A Massachusetts agency charged with guarding children’s well-being fell short in its handling of a toddler whose body was found washed up on a Boston Harbor beach earlier this year, a state review of the case found on Wednesday.
Ex-House Speaker Hastert pleads guilty in hush-money case
(Reuters) – Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a federal financial crime in a hush-money case stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct, marking the dramatic downfall of a once powerful politician.
