Firms question how carbon levy will fund California rail project
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Private firms looking to build California’s $68 billion high-speed train system have concerns about the state’s ability to finance some of the project’s cost through an untested ‘cap-and-trade’ carbon trading levy.
Biden won’t run in 2016, boosting Clinton’s White House hopes
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he would not run for president in 2016, ending months of indecision and removing one of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s biggest potential obstacles to the party’s nominati…
Lockheed Martin wins $784 million U.S. long-range radar deal: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lockheed Martin Corp has won a contract valued at $784 million to build a new long-range radar that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency considers “critically important” to improving its ability to protect the U.S. homeland, the Penta…
California sets path for inmates to get sex-reassignment surgery
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – Guidelines to decide whether transgender prison inmates in California can undergo sex reassignment surgery took effect Tuesday, making it the first U.S. state to offer a regular path to such treatment.
Suspect in killing of New York police officer was wanted man
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The man suspected of killing of a New York City police officer on Tuesday had been the subject of a weeks-long manhunt by detectives in connection with a gang-related shooting last month, officials said on Wednesday.
Suspect in stabbing of Detroit EMTs charged with 2006 murder
(Reuters) – A man suspected of slashing two Detroit emergency medical technicians has been arrested and is charged separately with the sexual assault and fatal stabbing of a teenage girl in 2006, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Treasury urges action on Puerto Rico
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday urged Congress to act to help embattled Puerto Rico, saying it needed an orderly restructuring regime, independent fiscal oversight, a reform of its Medicaid program and access to the Earned Income Ta…
St. Louis County plans new rules for dozens of police forces
(Reuters) – The executive of St. Louis County proposed new rules for police on Wednesday in the 57 towns and cities in Missouri’s largest metropolitan area in the wake of complaints of racial profiling and unfair fines and fees.
At odds with Republicans, Hillary Clinton to testify on Benghazi
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Whether it’s a fact-finding mission as Republicans insist or the political witch hunt that Democrats anticipate, the congressional committee investigating the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, …
Tropical storm Patricia churns toward Mexico’s Pacific coast
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Tropical storm Patricia strengthened off Mexico’s Pacific coast on Wednesday, as it churns toward two major cargo ports and is projected to hit the coast by Friday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Wednesday.
