Houston firefighter dies in apparent murder-suicide
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A firefighter who served 12 years with the Houston Fire Department and his girlfriend have been found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at their suburban Houston home, officials said on Friday.
Washington state officials urge calm following police shooting
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Officials in Washington state’s capital, Olympia, urged calm on Friday after protests turned heated between police and demonstrators over the shooting of two unarmed black men suspected of trying to steal beer from a supermarket.
NY can ban ‘Choose Life’ license plates as DMV program upheld
(Reuters) – A divided federal appeals court gave New York wide authority to regulate the content of custom license plates, and reversed a lower court ruling ordering the state to let an adoption advocacy group put the words “Choose Life” on its own pla…
U.S. court denies motion to halt execution of long-serving Texas inmate
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A federal appeals court has denied an application to halt the June execution of Lester Bower, one of the longest-serving inmates on death row in Texas, for killing four men at an airport hangar in 1983.
Florida mother agrees to son’s circumcision after jail time: media
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) – A Florida mother consented on Friday to allowing her 4-year-old son to be circumcised, ending a legal battle with the child’s father, according to media reports.
U.S. court hands partial win to tobacco firms over judge-ordered disclosures
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday ruled that tobacco companies cannot be forced to announce publicly that they deliberately deceived the public over the health risks of cigarettes.
Armed elderly woman arrested after 22-hour standoff in California
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An elderly woman who barricaded herself in a Los Angeles-area mobile home and fired at a police robot was taken into custody on Friday after a 22-hour standoff, police said.
Pennsylvania city faces fiscal pain for immigration law
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) – One Pennsylvania city’s controversial attempts to gain more power over immigration enforcement could push that city into state fiscal oversight if it loses a ruling over legal fees.
Federal judge rules again that gay couples have right to wed in Alabama
(Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday reaffirmed her earlier ruling that same-sex couples in Alabama have a right to wed under the Constitution, but she put the ruling on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court issues a landmark decision on gay marriage.
Banks hope to benefit from high court ruling on discrimination
WASHINGTON(Reuters) – If the state of Texas prevails in a civil rights case about to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, landlords and developers will have an easier time defending themselves in housing discrimination lawsuits.
