Kentucky drops tax incentives for planned Noah’s Ark theme park
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) – Kentucky has pulled potential tax credits for a proposed Noah’s Ark-based theme park, telling the developer on Wednesday that the plans had evolved from a tourist attraction into a ministry seeking to advance religion.
Missouri university branch freezes hiring, cites Ferguson unrest
(Reuters) – The University of Missouri-St. Louis has frozen hiring due to smaller-than-expected student enrollment that followed unrest in nearby Ferguson over the police shooting of an unarmed teenager, the school’s chancellor said on Wednesday.
Oregon, needing funds for education, offers to sell forest
PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) – Want to buy a forest? Oregon is preparing to sell off 92,000 acres (37,200 hectares) of coastal woodlands, in a move to distance itself from environmentally questionable timber sales that have long provided revenue to the sta…
Arkansas poultry plant ammonia leak sends 18 workers to hospital
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) – An ammonia leak at a Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in Rogers, Arkansas on Wednesday sent 18 employees to an area hospital for evaluation and treatment, officials said.
Pot backers oppose U.S. bill banning legal marijuana in Washington
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Marijuana advocates on Wednesday urged Congress not to use a spending bill to overturn a local referendum that overwhelmingly backed legalizing pot in the District of Columbia.
Alabama woman found guilty in child sex ring: reports
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Reuters) – An Alabama woman was convicted on Wednesday for her role in what prosecutors say was an incestuous child sex abuse ring, according to local media reports.
Judge in Colorado cinema massacre case won’t delay trial again
DENVER (Reuters) – A judge overseeing the Colorado movie theater massacre case said on Wednesday he will not delay the trial of gunman James Holmes again, rejecting a request by the defense for more time to study the results of a second court-ordered s…
Federal agents start combing site of suspicious L.A. construction fire
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Investigators of a suspicious fire that destroyed an apartment complex under construction in downtown Los Angeles began walking the site on Wednesday looking for clues to origins of the blaze, two days after it reduced a city bl…
Los Angeles approves ads aimed at shaming men who hire underage prostitutes
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Men caught buying sex from underage prostitutes could soon find their faces plastered on billboards in Southern California under a proposed ordinance in the nation’s most populous county.
U.S. Navy laser weapon performing beyond expectations: official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A laser weapon deployed aboard the USS Ponce in the Gulf has performed beyond expectations in four months of operational testing, the chief of Navy research said on Wednesday, lifting hopes for a new U.S. defense against cheap an…
