Homicide suspected in California foothill fire deaths
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – Three bodies have been found in a burned California vacation cabin owned by a family missing for 10 days, and the incident, initially thought to have been caused by wildfire, is being investigated as a homicide and arson,…
Texas death row inmate convicted on tainted testimony: lawyers
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Lawyers for a Texas death row inmate set to be executed in November said on Thursday they have new evidence they said points to misconduct by prosecutors who forced false and tainted testimony from essential witnesses.
Bill to avoid government shutdown moves in Congress
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress on Thursday began advancing bills urgently needed to avoid federal agency shutdowns on Oct. 1 while navigating conservatives’ demands to punish Planned Parenthood over an abortion controver…
Famed Detroit-area imposter pleads guilty to identity fraud
DETROIT (Reuters) – A Detroit-area con artist, whose criminal career spans decades and spawned an award-winning film, pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court to identity theft and mail fraud.
North Dakota postpones deadline for natural gas flaring rules
BISMARCK, N.D. (Reuters) – North Dakota regulators on Thursday gave the energy industry 10 extra months to reduce the amount of natural gas burned off at oil wells, acquiescing to industry worries that construction delays have made it all but impossibl…
Cleanup for pope’s Philadelphia Mass sweeps homeless aside
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – Amid misty waterfalls and art museums along the parkway where Pope Francis will hold a public Mass in Philadelphia Sunday, makeshift abodes belonging to some of the city’s homeless are coming down.
Texas mortuary owner sentenced to two years for letting bodies rot
FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) – The owner of a Fort Worth mortuary where corpses were left to rot for months will spend two years in prison for taking payments from clients and failing to provide funeral services, a jury decided on Thursday.
Idaho school requires cheerleaders to wear leggings with short skirts
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – An Idaho high school is requiring its cheerleaders to wear leggings or sweatpants under their uniforms after finding the short skirts were not suited for stairs or sitting without exposing the buttocks of teen girls, an admini…
‘Ghost Adventures’ guest stars found shot to death in Nevada
(Reuters) – Paranormal investigators Mark and Debra Constantino, who appeared on television series “Ghost Adventures,” were found shot to death in an apartment after a standoff with police in Nevada, authorities said on Thursday.
Aide to Arizona’s Sheriff Arpaio grilled at civil contempt hearings
PHOENIX (Reuters) – The top aide to Arizona’s controversial lawman Joe Arpaio testified on Thursday that he had been unaware of a federal judge’s ruling in a racial-profiling case that barred deputies from detaining people they suspected of being illeg…
