Texas, top state for executions, may go a year without a death penalty conviction
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Texas may end 2015 without imposing a sentence of capital punishment, a milestone that parallels declining public support for capital punishment in a state that had been sending the most prisoners to the death chamber.
75 percent of Republicans ‘less likely’ to vote for Muslim: Reuters/Ipsos poll
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon seeking the Republican presidential nomination, drew fire last month when he said he would not “advocate” for a Muslim president, but it turns out that most Republicans agree with him.
Senators propose sentencing reform to reduce prison overcrowding
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. senators on Thursday proposed a bipartisan plan for reforming criminal justice, aiming to ditch harsh sentencing laws that lead to prison overcrowding and to limit solitary confinement for juveniles.
Colorado police seek man filmed igniting fireball at bank
DENVER (Reuters) – Police in Colorado are looking for a suspected arsonist who was caught on video apparently trying to ignite a jar of gasoline inside a bank’s overnight deposit box when he set off a fireball that appeared to engulf him, authorities s…
U.S. to curb smog but EPA stops short of toughest limits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration on Thursday trimmed the legal limits of smog-producing ozone, in a regulation that will prevent lung ailments like asthma but cost businesses and utilities billions of dollars.
Powerball ticket worth $310.5 million sold in Michigan
(Reuters) – A $310.5 million Powerball lottery jackpot was won by a single winning ticket sold at a southwestern Michigan gas station, lottery officials said on Thursday.
Oklahoma Republicans offer home to Ten Commandments monument
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – The Republican Party of Oklahoma has offered a home to a Ten Commandments monument soon to be removed from Capitol grounds by court order, saying the teachings etched in stone are espoused by the party, officials said on Thurs…
No death penalty decision as trial delayed in church massacre
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – The federal trial for the man charged in the deaths of nine people at a South Carolina church was delayed on Thursday, as U.S. prosecutors told a judge they have not decided whether to seek the death penalty against the acc…
New York police to document every single officer use of force
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Thursday unveiled sweeping new rules under which officers must document every time they use force – not just in arrests but also in brief encounters with the public – amid a national out…
Teen charged in Pennsylvania stabbing spree moved to adult lockup
PITTSBURGH (Reuters) – A teenager charged with attempting to murder 21 people in a stabbing spree at his Pennsylvania high school was transferred to an adult lockup on Thursday, his 18th birthday, while his lawyers sought to have him tried as a juvenil…
