Elderly Idaho BASE jumper died in burning parachute stunt
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – A 73-year-old man who died earlier this month in a botched 500-foot (150-meter) BASE jump from an Idaho bridge was attempting to be the first known jumper to perform a stunt in which one of two parachutes is set aflame, author…
Ex-Madoff employee turned cooperator gets home detention
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former employee of Bernard Madoff was sentenced to nine months of home detention but no prison time on Wednesday for falsifying documents and other crimes, in light of his extensive cooperation with U.S. authorities investigating…
Techies lift aged Midtown South to NYC real estate heights
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dutch, it is said, bought Manhattan Island in 1626 from its native American inhabitants for about $24 in trade goods. Half a millennium later, that sum wouldn’t buy a square foot of office space in New York City’s trendiest rea…
Second U.S. Marine dies after Osprey accident in Hawaii
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A second U.S. Marine has died after being injured when a military aircraft made a “hard landing” during a training exercise in Hawaii, the U.S. Marine Corps said on Wednesday.
Talk show host David Letterman bids farewell on final ‘Late Show’
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Comedian David Letterman will sign off for the last time on CBS’s “Late Show” on Wednesday, concluding a 33-year career on late-night television with a show that promises to be full of surprises, a run across the stage and his fina…
Ruptured pipeline spills 21,000 gallons of oil on California coast
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A pipeline ruptured along the scenic California coastline on Tuesday, spilling some 21,000 gallons (79,000 liters) of oil into the ocean and on beaches before it could be secured, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
Conductor hurt in Philadelphia train derailment sues Amtrak
(Story corrects spelling of city in the third paragraph, Kearny instead of Kearney)
Gay rodeo tests tolerance in Arkansas, hotbed of rights fight
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) – On a clear Arkansas spring afternoon after a day of horse riding, Wade Earp sighed and said, “I wish we didn’t have to have a gay rodeo. I wish we could just rodeo.”
Conservative Nebraska moves toward death penalty repeal
OMAHA, Neb. (Reuters) – Conservative Nebraska moved closer on Wednesday to abolishing the death penalty with lawmakers passing a repeal with enough votes to override an expected veto from the state’s governor.
U.S. aims to crack down on ‘novelty’ motorcycle helmets
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. transportation regulators on Wednesday called for stronger rules for motorcycle helmets, proposing additional safety requirements in an effort to crack down on “novelty” helmets that do not meet federal standards.
