Subway accident probe faults D.C.’s Metrorail ventilation system
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government’s top safety investigator said on Wednesday irregularities were found in the ventilation system of Washington’s subway after smoke filled a tunnel and two rail cars last week, killing one passenger and injuring scores.
Gates foundation sees huge gains against disease, poverty by 2030
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Worldwide child deaths will be halved over the next 15 years, polio, guinea worm and river blindness will be eradicated, and there will be a single-dose cure for malaria.
Town votes to demolish Sandy Hook killer’s Connecticut home
NEWTOWN, Conn. (Reuters) – The town council of Newtown, Connecticut, voted unanimously on Wednesday to demolish the home of a 20-year-old man who killed 26 children and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 in one of the deadliest school shooti…
After defiant speech, Obama plugs tech jobs in Republican heartland
BOISE, Idaho (Reuters) – A day after delivering a defiant State of the Union speech to the Republican-led U.S. Congress, President Barack Obama headed to the conservative heartland on Wednesday to promote his plans for bolstering the middle class.
Washington state attorney general seeks to raise smoking age to 21
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Washington state could become the only U.S. state to raise its legal age for smoking tobacco to 21 from 18 under a measure proposed on Wednesday by its top law enforcement official.
Justice Department said ready to clear Ferguson officer: N.Y. Times
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department is about to close the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, and clear the white police officer involved of any civil rights charges, The New York Tim…
U.S. refinery workers, oil firms start talks for new contract
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Union and oil company negotiators began talks on Wednesday for a new nationwide contract covering hourly workers at 63 U.S. refineries that account for 64 percent of national refining capacity, according to a union spokeswoman.
California lawmakers introduce Oregon-style assisted suicide bill
(Reuters) – California lawmakers introduced a bill on Wednesday to legalize assisted suicide in the most populous U.S. state, an effort tearfully welcomed by a woman whose daughter moved to Oregon last year to avail herself of a death-with-dignity law …
Accelerant found in ruins of massive Los Angeles construction fire
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Investigators probing an arson fire that gutted a multi-story apartment complex under construction in Los Angeles have found accelerant in the ruins, and are still trying to identify suspects more than a month after the massive …
Leaky breast implants delay bigamy trial in divorce of Florida congressman
TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) – U.S. Congressman Alan Grayson’s divorce saga took another twist this week when his wife requested a court delay to seek emergency medical attention for leaky breast implants, according to court records.
