New York State, ex-assemblyman settle harassment lawsuit
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York State has agreed to pay $545,000 to settle lawsuits brought by two women who said their boss, former Assemblyman Vito Lopez, sexually harassed them and that then-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver created a culture in which s…
Somali man sentenced in U.S. court in Texas for aiding ‘terrorist’ group
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A Somali man was sentenced in 15 years in prison on Thursday for providing material support to al-Shabaab, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorism group, U.S. prosecutors said.
Two dead in shooting at University of South Carolina’s public health school
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) – Two people died in a shooting at the University of South Carolina’s public health school on Thursday in an apparent murder-suicide, state police said.
Lawyers urge judge to lift grand jury secrecy in New York chokehold case
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lawyers for civil liberty groups, the news media, public defenders and New York’s elected public advocate urged a judge on Thursday to release the transcripts of secret grand jury proceedings into the killing of an unarmed black ma…
Daughter of Whitney Houston still on life support: family source
(Reuters) – The only child of the late singer Whitney Houston has not been taken off life support or declared brain dead, a family source said on Thursday, five days after Bobbi Kristina Brown was found face down in a bathtub at her Georgia home.
Zealous Texas gun rights group may be shooting itself in the foot
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Gun rights bills proposed for gun-friendly Texas and backed by a supportive Republican majority in the statehouse have hit a speed bump because zealous campaigning by a gun rights advocacy group has slowed momentum for the mea…
IRS rehired hundreds of former workers with behavior problems: audit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Poor screening led the IRS to rehire hundreds of former employees with records of bad behavior including falsifying forms and unauthorized access to taxpayer information, an internal government watchdog found.
U.S. approves Medicare coverage for lung cancer screening
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. health regulators on Thursday approved Medicare coverage for lung cancer screening by low-dose CT, the first time the government health insurance program for the elderly and disabled will pay for such a program of early detect…
Noah’s Ark theme park developers sue Kentucky over lost tax rebates
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) – Kentucky officials committed religious discrimination when they pulled tax rebates from a planned Noah’s Ark-based theme park attraction, the project’s developers charged on Thursday in a federal lawsuit.
California teachers charged with giving students alcohol on beach trip
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Two female Southern California high school teachers initially accused of inappropriate sexual contact with two male students during a beach camping trip will face misdemeanor charges over accusations they provided alcohol to min…