‘Chill wind’ in policing fueling national murder spike: FBI head
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Murder rates are soaring this year in many U.S. cities partly because police are holding back from aggressive tactics, fearful of being taped on smartphones and accused of brutality, FBI Director James Comey said on Friday.
Oregon denies ex-governor’s request for defense money amid criminal probe
PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) – Oregon Governor Kate Brown has denied a request from her predecessor John Kitzhaber for help paying the fallen Democrat’s legal bills amid an ongoing federal criminal corruption investigation, her office said on Friday.
Ryan sets ambitious agenda if elected House speaker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Paul Ryan revealed a bold to-do list when he agreed to run for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, but to carry it out he will need a level of compromise and cohesion that has been sorely lacking on Capitol Hill for a l…
Chicago dad in court after son shoots, kills little brother
CHICAGO (Reuters) – A Chicago man charged with felony child endangerment after his 6-year-old son fatally shot his 3-year-old brother while playing “cops and robbers,” appeared briefly in court on Friday, officials said.
Illinois spat arises from Supreme Court union dispute
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Political divisions over a U.S. Supreme Court case that could diminish the influence of public sector unions have prompted an unusual spat between top elected officials in Illinois that is playing out on the court’s docket.
Oldest U.S. polar bear ‘Klondike’ dies at age 34
(Reuters) – The oldest polar bear living in the United States died at age 34 on Friday at its home in the Philadelphia Zoo, zoo officials said.
U.S. soldier killed in Iraq raid rushed into firefight: Carter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. commando killed in a special operations raid on Thursday in Iraq against Islamic State rushed into a firefight to rescue Kurdish forces, the U.S. defense chief said on Friday.
Former Bush education secretary to lead North Carolina universities
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Reuters) – Former U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, a confidant of former President George W. Bush, was tapped on Friday to lead North Carolina’s public university system.
Two more women accuse Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two more women accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexual misconduct on Friday, and their attorney Gloria Allred said she has been contacted by even more women who are prepared to say the same.
Puerto Rico power restored after major outage
SAN JUAN (Reuters) – Puerto Rico’s power utility, PREPA, said on Friday it had restored power to all residents after a major outage left 147,000 powerless earlier in the day.
