Federal monitor to oversee reforms at New York’s Rikers Island: source
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal monitor will oversee reforms at New York’s Rikers Island jail complex as part of a settlement between the city and the U.S. Justice Department of a lawsuit over systemic civil rights violations against teenage inmates, a …
Water wars in California’s coastal wine country
PASO ROBLES, CA (Reuters) – By most measures, California’s Central Coast wine industry is thriving.
California suspect beaten by police files claim against city: newspaper
(Reuters) – An assault suspect who was beaten with batons by police in a central California city during a videotaped arrest that was posted online has filed a claim against the city, the local Monterey County Herald newspaper reported on Thursday.
Military jury sentences U.S. Marine convicted of Iraq murder to time served
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Reuters) – A U.S. Marine convicted of the 2006 murder of a former Iraqi police officer was sentenced on Thursday to time he had already served in confinement, in a decision by a military jury at Camp Pendleton in California.
Woman dies after suspected smuggling boat hit by U.S. border vessel
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – A woman aboard a suspected immigrant smuggling boat died on Thursday after the skiff collided with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vessel in the waters off the coast of southern California, customs officials said.
At least three dead as Tropical Depression Bill lashes central U.S.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – Tropical Depression Bill pelted the central United States with heavy rain on Thursday after causing at least three deaths in the region, including a toddler in Oklahoma who was swept out of his father’s arms by raging waters, …
White man threatens Virginia churchgoers, spews racial slurs: media
(Reuters) – Police arrested a white man who shouted racial slurs and threatened to kill black congregants gathered inside a church in Richmond, Virginia, on Thursday night, local broadcaster WRIC reported.
Psychiatric evaluation ordered for Washington man accused of transit threats
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An MTV reality television personality who prosecutors say threatened the Washington, D.C., mass transit system in calls to emergency responders, was ordered on Thursday to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. 
Water main break forces evacuations at Philadelphia mall
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A water main break flooded a busy shopping center in Philadelphia on Thursday, damaging businesses and forcing about 100 people in the area to be evacuated, some of them by raft, a Philadelphia Water Department official said.
Builder of collapsed California balcony sued over flaws in another project
(Reuters) – The company that built a Berkeley apartment building where six people were killed after a balcony collapsed this week was accused two years ago of building faulty balconies in another project, court documents show.
