Justice Dept. ‘exasperated’ by local probe of Missouri teen shooting
(Reuters) – U.S. Justice Department officials on Thursday criticized local authorities’ investigation of the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, saying the case had been handled in a “selective” and “inappropriate” manner…
California community suffers as wells dry up in drought
East Porterville Calif. (Reuters) – In one of the towns hardest hit by California’s drought, the only way some residents can get water to flush the toilet is to drive to the fire station, hand-pump water into barrels and take it back home.
Olympian Jim Thorpe’s remains should not be moved: U.S. court
(Reuters) – Jim Thorpe’s remains will stay in the Pennsylvania hamlet named for the legendary Native American athlete and Olympics champion, after a federal appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort by two sons to move them to tribal lands in his na…
Exclusive: U.S. plans to plug coal royalty loophole padding export profits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government is drafting rules designed to close an accounting loophole that in recent years has helped coal companies boost export profits and likely cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, people familiar with the pl…
California prisons to end racial lockdown policy
(Reuters) – The California prison system has agreed to settle a long-running civil rights lawsuit by ending race-based lockdowns of inmates, court records show.
Exclusive: California getting more Bakken crude by barge than rail
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shipments of Bakken crude oil from North Dakota to California by barge have quietly overtaken those by train for the first time, showing how the state’s isolated refiners are using any means necessary to tap into the nation’s …
Reporter quits Chicago newspaper, says governor candidate influenced paper
CHICAGO (Reuters) – A veteran Illinois political reporter quit his job at the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday and accused the newspaper of bowing to pressure from Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner by removing him from the campaign beat.
Autopsy of slain Missouri teen shows close-range gunshot
(Reuters) – The official autopsy on an unarmed black teenager whose killing by a white police officer in August set off protests in Ferguson, Missouri, suggests he sustained a gunshot wound to the hand from close range, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch repo…
Man arrested after jumping White House fence, causing lockdown
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A man jumped the White House fence on Wednesday evening and was attacked by Secret Service dogs before being arrested, a Secret Service spokesman said.
Alabama man gets $1,000 in police settlement, his lawyers get $459,000
BIRMINGHAM Ala. (Reuters) – An Alabama man who sued over being hit and kicked by police after leading them on a high-speed chase will get $1,000 in a settlement with the city of Birmingham, while his attorneys will take in $459,000, officials said Wedn…
