As black bear sightings spike, New Jersey to vote on expanding hunt
(Reuters) – New Jersey, the U.S. state most densely populated by humans, is also thick with black bears, and wildlife officials are set to vote on Tuesday on a plan to expand hunting season months after the state’s first-ever fatal attack.
NYC mayor wants new laws to stem Legionnaires’ as death toll hits 12
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, reacting to a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, proposed legislation on Monday to register and maintain the city’s estimated 2,500 cooling towers, some of which are being blamed for the i…
U.S. Coast Guard unloads $1 billion in seized narcotics in San Diego
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – A U.S. Coast Guard cutter carrying $1 billion worth of cocaine and heroin seized from narcotics smugglers at sea returned on Monday from a four-month mission off the Pacific Coast of Mexico, Central and South America.
Progress reported in fighting Arizona blaze as western fires rage
PHOENIX (Reuters) – Firefighters battling a major wildfire in northwestern Arizona on Monday reported progress in containing the blaze that forced people out of about 1,000 homes and charred about 6,100 acres (2,468 hectares).
Cutting terms for some violent crimes key to easing U.S. mass incarceration: analysis
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mass incarceration, a problem that President Barack Obama and nearly all 2016 White House hopefuls agree must be tackled, can only be substantially reduced by easing punishments for some violent criminals, according to an analysis …
Charges filed against Washington Post reporter who covered 2014 Ferguson protests
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Washington Post reporter arrested last year while covering protests in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager has been charged with trespassing and interfering with a police officer, the …
State of emergency called in Ferguson after gunfire mars protests
FERGUSON, Mo. (Reuters) – Authorities declared a state of emergency in Ferguson, Missouri, on Monday to prevent a repeat of the violence that erupted during protests overnight to mark the police shooting of an unarmed black man one year ago that ignite…
Chicago public schools to lay off 1,500 teachers and staff
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicago Public Schools on Monday began notifying nearly 1,500 teachers and support staff who are being fired amid a previously announced, $200 million budget cut and a shift in student enrollment.
California ballot measures seek to ease Bay area gridlock
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Transportation advocates want to ask voters in several northern California counties to decide whether the region should boost sales taxes to fund $500 million a year in road and rail improvements in what would be the first reg…
Ohio high court advises judges not to refuse to perform gay marriages
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – Judges in Ohio should not refuse to perform same-sex marriages based on personal or religious beliefs, the state’s Supreme Court said in an informal, nonbinding opinion released on Monday.
