North Carolina lawmakers allow ‘opt-out’ over same-sex marriage
RALEIGH, N.C. (Reuters) – Government officials in North Carolina can refuse to perform same-sex marriages by citing religious objections under a law enacted on Thursday by the Republican-led legislature, which voted to override the governor’s veto.
Small oil spill reported after 10-inch pipeline ruptures in Louisiana: official
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A small oil spill was reported on Thursday after a pipeline that belongs to Phillips 66 ruptured in Carlyss, Louisiana, according to a local official.
Two men charged in Wisconsin with stuffing employee in storage box
(Reuters) – Two Illinois men were charged on Thursday in central Wisconsin with stuffing their employee into a storage box and leaving him there for five hours after accusing him of stealing from their cell phone store, authorities said.
Shell’s Alaska Arctic spill response plan wins court approval
(Reuters) – A divided federal appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort by a coalition of environmental groups to revoke federal approval of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s oil spill response plans related to drilling on Alaska’s remote Arctic coast.
U.S. lawmakers to examine worst-ever bird flu outbreak
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee is set to hold a hearing next month on the deadliest-ever outbreak of bird flu in U.S. poultry amid mounting criticism from Iowa lawmakers about the speed of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s re…
Bloody bat found at Washington mansion where four slain
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A blood-covered baseball bat was recovered from the torched Washington mansion where four people were found slain last month, a newly unsealed search warrant revealed on Thursday.
Ex-girlfriend of Colorado cinema gunman urged him to seek help
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) – The former girlfriend of Colorado movie theater gunman James Holmes testified at his capital murder trial on Thursday that she urged him to seek counseling after he talked about killing people and doing something “evil.”
New York man pleads not guilty to murdering police officer
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New York man accused of shooting a plainclothes police officer last month pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Thursday.
Oklahoma mother pleads not guilty to neglect after children found in squalid conditions
TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) – A pregnant Oklahoma mother of 12 pleaded not guilty on Thursday to criminally neglecting four of her children, who were found in a bug-infested, trash-strewn home that had holes in the ceiling and walls.
Florida brothers sentenced for plot to detonate bomb in New York City
MIAMI (Reuters) – Two Florida brothers, one of whom said he bicycled around New York City to scope out targets, were sentenced on Thursday to prison for plotting to explode a bomb in the city in 2012, the U.S. Justice Department said.
