Inspectors point to wood rot in fatal California balcony collapse
Berkeley, Calif. (Reuters) – Wooden support beams sheared off in last week’s collapse of a fourth-floor apartment balcony that killed six people in Berkeley, California, were found to be badly decayed, apparently from moisture, city building inspectors…
California can refuse anti-gay ballot initiative, judge rules
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – The author of a proposed California ballot initiative advocating the murder of gays and lesbians should not be authorized to gather signatures to place it before voters, a judge in the state capital of Sacramento has rule…
Autopsy shows Freddie Gray died of ‘high-energy injury’: Baltimore newspaper
(Reuters) – The autopsy of the Baltimore black man who died after being hurt while in police custody shows he suffered a “high-energy injury” like those in shallow-water diving accidents, the Baltimore Sun reported on Tuesday.
Marathon Galveston Bay workers OK contract, end five-month strike
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Striking workers from Marathon Petroleum Corp’s Galveston Bay Refinery ratified a new contract on Tuesday, ending a five-month strike, said local union officials.
Mistrial declared in Vanderbilt University rape case
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) – A Tennessee judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial in a rape case against two former Vanderbilt University football players because a juror had failed to disclose that he was himself a rape victim, according to court document…
Prosecutors show ‘nanny cam’ footage in Connecticut assault case
DANBURY, Conn. (Reuters) – A Connecticut nanny charged with beating and burning a 3-year-old girl in her charge appeared on Tuesday in court where prosecutors showed video taken from a hidden camera depicting the girl being slapped and having her hands…
Colorado man wakes to find black bear nibbling ankle: local paper
DENVER (Reuters) – A resident of a Colorado mountain town woke from a nap on his deck to find a black bear nibbling his ankle, but later rejected a request by wildlife officials to put a trap on his property, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Charleston church gunman bought pistol near home: NBC
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Reuters) – The accused Charleston gunman, Dylann Roof, bought the semiautomatic pistol used in last week’s church massacre at a South Carolina gun store about 25 miles from his home, according to NBC News, citing officials familiar with…
U.S. appeals court backs claim under state law in Rocky Flats saga
DENVER (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday a decades-old pollution case over nuclear weapons production in Colorado should be sent back to the district court which in 2006 ordered companies that ran the facility to pay damages of $353 mil…
New York City to pay $6.25 million to man wrongly jailed for murder
(Reuters) – A New York City man imprisoned for nearly 25 years for a murder committed while he was vacationing at Disney World has agreed to settle a lawsuit against the city for $6.25 million, officials said on Tuesday.
