Magnitude 5.7 quake hits off northern California coast
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck just offshore of northern California on Wednesday, rattling a wide coastal area below the Oregon border, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said, but local officials said no major damage or injur…
U.S. government says Obamacare could affect up to 29 percent of taxpayers
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration estimates that up to 29 percent of U.S. taxpayers could have to take the law known as Obamacare into account as they complete their 2014 income tax returns, officials said on Wednesday.
California county declares fiscal emergency due to oil price plunge
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Plunging oil prices led California’s Kern County to declare a fiscal emergency on Tuesday, a move that allows officials to tap into a reserve fund as tax revenue faces a big decline due to the lower oil prices.
No retrial for Detroit policeman who shot child: prosecutor
(Reuters) – Prosecutors will not seek a third trial for a Detroit police officer who fatally shot a sleeping child during a raid on a house in 2010, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said on Wednesday.
Guantanamo order barring touching by women guards harmful: commander
FORT MEADE, Md. (Reuters) – A Guantanamo Bay military court order banning female guards from touching an accused al Qaeda commander harms soldiers’ morale and security at the prison, the commander of the prison’s secret lockup for former CIA captives t…
Supreme Court blocks three Oklahoma executions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to temporarily block the execution of three Oklahoma inmates who are challenging the state’s lethal injection procedure.
Ex-Los Alamos scientist gets 5 years in nuclear espionage case
(Reuters) – A former scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico was sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday for passing secret U.S. nuclear weapons data to a person he believed to be a Venezuelan government official, the FBI s…
Flooding leaves mess in oceanfront Massachusetts after storm
MARSHFIELD, Mass. (Reuters) – Ocean Street in the waterfront Massachusetts town of Marshfield was littered with lobster traps, downed wires and chunks of houses on Wednesday, after a massive blizzard hammered New England.
Illinois police arrest couple wanted for abducting their children in 2006
(Reuters) – Illinois police have arrested a couple wanted for abducting their two children in 2006 after losing custody of them while authorities in Las Vegas investigated accusations the mother abused drugs while pregnant, police said on Wednesday.
‘Friendship Nine’ cleared of 1961 civil rights sit-in crimes
(Reuters) – Black civil rights protesters credited with reinvigorating the 1960s U.S. sit-in movement were absolved by a South Carolina court on Wednesday of the convictions lodged against them 54 years ago after they dared to sit at a segregated lunch…
