California bans secret hearings on most police shooting deaths
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – California will no longer assign grand juries to investigate most deaths of people killed by police under a law signed this week by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown.
Connecticut’s top court bans death penalty in state
(Reuters) – Connecticut’s top court on Thursday ruled that the state could no longer impose the death penalty, calling it unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment.
State of emergency in Ferguson, Missouri, extended at least 24 hours
(Reuters) – The government of St. Louis County extended for at least 24 hours a state of emergency in Ferguson, Missouri, which has been the scene of protests a year after an unarmed black teenager was killed by a white police officer.
Chicago to argue for pension reforms before state high court in November
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Lawyers for the city of Chicago will appear before the Illinois Supreme Court in November to argue that a law aimed at shoring up two of the city’s financially shaky public pensions is constitutional, according to a Thursday court o…
Pennsylvania man’s 1982 murder conviction thrown out on new DNA evidence
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) – A man convicted in 1982 in the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl was freed from a Pennsylvania prison on Thursday thanks to new DNA testing after spending more than three decades behind bars filing repeated appeals procl…
Clemson student ‘forced’ to walk rail before death, witness says -media
(Reuters) – Family members of a Clemson University fraternity member who died after plunging headfirst off a bridge say new information shows he was “forced” to balance on the bridge’s railing in the moments before he died, according to a report Thursd…
Ohio man gets 20 to life for suffocating three-year-old stepsister
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – An Ohio man was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for suffocating his 3-year-old stepsister while he babysat her and her 8-year-old sibling, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Colorado appeals court backs gay couple in wedding cake dispute
DENVER (Reuters) – A baker in suburban Denver cannot cite his religious beliefs in refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday, backing a lower court that decided he had illegally discriminated agai…
Greenpeace protesters face fines for dangling from Oregon bridge
PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) – Five Greenpeace protesters who dangled from a Portland, Oregon, bridge for two days in a bid to block a Royal Dutch Shell ship headed to the Arctic to drill for oil are each facing $5,000 fines from the U.S. Coast Guard, authorities said on Thursday.
University taking statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis indoors
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – The University of Texas said on Thursday it would move a statute of Confederate president Jefferson Davis from the campus to an educational exhibit in response to protests over the public display of symbols of the Confederacy….
