Union Pacific freight train derails in Texas on flooded tracks
(Reuters) – A Union Pacific freight train carrying cement derailed in Texas on Saturday as flood waters covered the tracks about 55 miles (90 km) south of Dallas, putting locomotives and some of its rail cars on their side, according to a company spoke…
Missouri’s Gateway Arch monument built on rigged votes, protests
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) – When the last section of St. Louis’ Gateway Arch, an American landmark as iconic as the Statue of Liberty, was hoisted into place on Oct 28, 1965, it was the concluding act of a story that began more than 30 years earlier.
Vapor cloud from Exxon refinery in California triggers alarm
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The unexplained release of a large vapor cloud on Friday from an Exxon Mobil Corp refinery near Los Angeles prompted authorities to sound public safety sirens, but no toxic fumes were detected and no one was hurt, a fire officia…
Colorado movie gunman James Holmes assaulted by fellow prisoner
DENVER (Reuters) – Convicted mass killer James Holmes, who is serving multiple life sentences for gunning down a dozen people at a movie theater in 2012, was assaulted by another inmate at a high-security Colorado prison, a corrections official said on…
Wisconsin Governor Walker signs bill restricting secret investigations
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker on Friday signed a bill into law that prohibits prosecutors from using the state’s secret investigation law to probe political crimes – a measure used to convict four of his aides and inv…
Chicago-area school district defies government on transgender access
CHICAGO (Reuters) – A suburban Chicago high-school district is defying federal rules by denying a transgender student unrestricted access to a girls’ locker room in a case that could cost the district millions of dollars in aid and shape a national sta…
Energy Department cancels plan to ship nuclear waste to Idaho
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Department has canceled a plan to ship to the Idaho National Laboratory spent nuclear fuel from commercial reactors out of state, a controversial proposal that drew protests from two former governors and a laws…
Idaho man sues U.S. government over personnel data hack
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – An Idaho man is suing the U.S. government for compromising his personal information in computer hacks revealed earlier this year at the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) that put the private data of at least 21.5 mi…
Alaska’s ‘bridge to nowhere’ plan finally scrapped
JUNEAU, Alaska (Reuters) – A proposed Alaska bridge that became a symbol of wasteful federal spending on politicians’ pet projects has officially been scrapped a decade after the idea was first floated, state officials said on Friday.
California officer sued for copying photos of woman he arrested
(Reuters) – A California Highway Patrol officer copied photos of a scantily clad woman from her phone after arresting her for driving under the influence last year near San Francisco, the woman alleges in a lawsuit brought against the officer and the a…
