Elizabeth McCracken wins U.S. Story Prize for short fiction
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Author Elizabeth McCracken won the annual Story Prize for short fiction on Wednesday for “Thunderstruck and Other Stories,” her collection of tales about life-altering experiences and loss.
‘It was him’ Boston bomber’s lawyers admit guilt, focus on brother
BOSTON (Reuters) – A lawyer for the accused Boston Marathon bomber said at the start of his trial that their client bore responsibility for the attacks that killed three people and injured 264 with a blunt admission: “It was him.”
U.S. Supreme Court split over Obamacare challenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court appeared sharply divided on ideological lines on Wednesday as it tackled a second major challenge to President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, with Justice Anthony Kennedy emerging as a likely swing vote in …
Ferguson policies targeted blacks, created toxic environment: U.S. attorney general
WASHINGTON/KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) – A U.S. probe found systemic racial bias targeted blacks and created a “toxic environment” in Ferguson, Missouri, but cleared a white officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager there, Attorney Gene…
U.S. considering possible Middle East missile defense: general
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military is considering sending its THAAD missile defense system to the Middle East, a senior U.S. Army general said on Wednesday, citing what he called an urgent need to respond to foes with missile systems and the will to use them.
Arizona jury in Jodi Arias case to keep deliberating Thursday
PHOENIX (Reuters) – The jury in Phoenix deciding whether convicted killer Jodi Arias should be executed for murdering her ex-boyfriend ended a fifth day of deliberations on Wednesday without reaching a verdict in the closely watched retrial, court offi…
Californian tried to join Islamic State in Syria: prosecutors
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A Southern California man whom prosecutors say sought to travel to Syria last year in a bid to join Islamic State fighters was indicted on federal charges, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
Two California teachers plead not guilty in sex with student case
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Two Los Angeles-area teachers pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges they provided cocaine and alcohol to underage students on a beach camping trip where one of the instructors had sex with a 17-year-old boy, prosecutors sai…
Judge tells Atlantic City’s Revel Casino to seek higher bid
(Reuters) – Advisors to the shuttered Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, failed to get approval on Wednesday for an agreement to sell the hotel for $82 million and were told by a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge to look for a better price.
Boy, three, shoots 18-month-old brother in Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) – A 3-year-old boy shot his 18-month-old brother in the head in rural Tennessee and investigators are trying to determine how he gained access to the handgun, authorities said.
