Wildfires char more than 100,000 acres in Northern California
BERKELEY Calif. (Reuters) – A Northern California wildfire started by a lightning strike a month ago has burned more than 108,000 acres in the drought-stricken state, officials said on Friday.
California mountain lion shot dead confirmed as cat that attacked boy
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A mountain lion that was shot out of a tree by California wildlife officers has been confirmed by DNA testing to be the same cat that attacked a 6-year-old boy earlier this week, state officials said on Friday.
Pennsylvania governor stays execution of killer, citing shortage of lethal drugs
HARRISBURG Pa. (Reuters) – Pennsylvania’s governor granted a reprieve to a condemned murderer on death row on Friday because the state did not have the drugs needed to put him to death.
Newtown donations created deep rift after shootings, official says
HARTFORD Conn. (Reuters) – The millions of dollars in donations and grants that poured into Newtown, Connecticut, in the aftermath of one of the worst school massacres in U.S. history have created a deep, “permanent fracture” in the community, a town official said on Friday.
California state senator gets jail time in voter fraud case
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A California state senator convicted on eight felony counts of perjury and voter fraud was sentenced to 90 days in jail on Friday in one of three ethics scandals involving Democratic lawmakers in the most populous U.S. state.
Migrant families in U.S. detention centers ‘political pawns’: activists
(Reuters) – U.S. detention centers for immigrant families treat those in custody as political pawns and make it difficult for them to obtain due process under U.S. laws, activists said on Friday.
Colorado candidate gets death threat after questioning Sandy Hook massacre
DENVER (Reuters) – A candidate for a county commission seat in Colorado said on Friday he received a death threat after questioning whether the 2012 school shooting that killed 20 children in Connecticut was a hoax.
Woman found in Massachusetts home with dead babies may be mentally ill: lawyer
BLACKSTONE Mass. (Reuters) – A 31-year-old Massachusetts woman found living with the bodies of three dead infants in a rodent-infested house in a quiet suburb may be suffering from mental illness, her court-appointed lawyer said on Friday.
Philadelphia woman who posed in Muslim garb guilty of child assault
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A former childcare worker accused of dressing in traditional Muslim garb to abduct a kindergartner from her Philadelphia school was found guilty of sexually assaulting the child after holding her overnight.
Connecticut home invasion killer sues for Kosher meals on death row
(Reuters) – A man sentenced to death for a triple murder in a brutal home invasion in Connecticut is suing to demand a Kosher diet as a newly declared Orthodox Jew, saying the prison’s resistance has forced him into “starvation.”
