California regulators defend farmers’ access to water in drought
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – The administration of California Governor Jerry Brown hit back on Thursday against criticism that its drought conservation mandates apply to consumers but do not include the state’s $45 billion agriculture business.
Washington blackout highlighted aging electrical grid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The fact that a severed transmission line in Maryland could cut power to much of the nation’s capital became the latest warning sign that the country’s aging electrical grid can’t meet modern demands.
American with Ebola released from U.S. hospital: aid group, NIH
CHICAGO (Reuters) – A U.S. healthcare worker who was being treated for Ebola at a National Institutes of Health hospital in Maryland has been declared free of the virus and was released from the hospital on Thursday, according to the U.S. aid agency Pa…
South Carolina officer dismissed after shooting man in back
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – A white South Carolina police officer has been fired after being charged with murder for shooting a black man in the back as he fled, but questions remained on Wednesday about some details of the killing that was film…
Real estate scion Durst pleads not guilty to Louisiana gun charges
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Real estate scion Robert Durst pleaded not guilty on Thursday in Louisiana state court to firearms charges, as prospects for his swift extradition to California to face a murder charge appeared increasingly remote.
Orlando airport to start flights to Cuba in July
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Direct flights between Orlando and Havana will begin on July 8 operated by a company hoping visitors to the top U.S. tourist destination will want to pair a Cuban guayabera shirt with their Mickey Mouse ears.
U.S. storm forecasters predict below-average Atlantic hurricane season
DENVER (Reuters) – The Atlantic Ocean will see a “well below average” number of hurricanes this season due to cooler Caribbean waters and a strong El Nino effect, forecasters with Colorado State University predicted on Thursday.
Washington state man found guilty of trying to move river
SEATTLE (Reuters) – A Washington state man has been convicted of environmental violations after he used an excavator and a bulldozer to try to fill a section of the Tahuya River and change the waterway’s course, the state’s top lawyer said on Thursday….
U.S. judicial panel changes fraud sentencing guidelines
(Reuters) – A federal judicial panel on Thursday adopted new guidelines for sentencing white-collar criminals in fraud cases, in an effort to make punishments more fairly reflect the harm suffered by victims and the intent of offenders to cause harm.
Los Angeles closes 500 medical marijuana shops, but hundreds remain
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Authorities in Los Angeles have shuttered 500 medical marijuana dispensaries since residents voted two years ago to cap the number of pot shops in the city at about 130, officials said on Thursday.