Florida jury awards $23 billion punitive damages against RJ Reynolds
ORLANDO Fla. (Reuters) – A Florida jury has awarded the widow of a chain smoker who died of lung cancer punitive damages of more than $23 billion in her lawsuit against the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the nation’s second-biggest cigarette maker.
Kidnapped girl dead after Kansas shootout between police, suspect
KANSAS CITY (Reuters) – A 5-year-old Kansas girl who was kidnapped on Friday night died in a gun battle between police and her abductor following a high-speed chase, police said on Saturday.
Washington state wildfire destroys 100 homes, hundreds evacuated
(Reuters) – A wildfire raging east of Washington state’s Cascade Mountains has destroyed about 100 homes and displaced hundreds of people, an emergency official said on Saturday, with cooler weather not expected to provide relief for another day.
Nineteen hurt when ceiling collapses at Texas jail
(Reuters) – A ceiling at a Texas jail collapsed on Saturday, injuring 19 inmates, with one of those hurt airlifted to a Houston hospital, officials said.
HIV diagnosis rate falls by a third in U.S.: researchers
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The annual rate of diagnosis with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, fell by a third in the United States between 2002 and 2011, researchers reported on Saturday.
Florida police chief has no issue with dad who says he beat up son’s sex attacker
(Reuters) – A Florida police chief has caused a media stir by saying he is looking the other way after a father severely beat a man he caught sexually assaulting his 11-year-old son.
California tightens handgun restrictions
SACRAMENTO California (Reuters) – California has banned the sale of single-shot handguns that can be altered into semi-automatic weapons, handing a modest victory to proponents of tougher gun laws while striving to protect antique collectors.
U.S. federal court throws out case against FAA’s drone policy
(Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s informal email orders enforcing its drone policy are not legally binding, a federal court ruled in a case filed by a Texas group.
Obama to meet Central America leaders, migrant numbers fall: officials
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador next week to discuss cooperation on the influx of child migrants from Central America into the United States, the White House said on Friday…
California reviews fracking water disposal amid contamination concerns
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California on Friday said it would review wells where oil drilling waste water from the process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is disposed to ensure they are not contaminating drinking water.
