Ex-Black Panther sentenced to 20 years for 1980s hijacking
MIAMI (Reuters) – A former member of the Black Panther Party who hijacked a commercial airplane and forced it to fly to Cuba nearly 30 years ago was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday by a federal judge in Florida.
Texans plead guilty to stealing more than 50,000 pieces of mail
AUSTIN Texas (Reuters) – Two Texans pleaded guilty to stealing more than 50,000 pieces of mail and then removing checks, credits cards and other items from letters that they turned into cash and merchandise, U.S. prosecutors said on Thursday.
NY transit strike averted, tentative contract deal reached
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A threatened strike on New York’s Long Island Rail Road was averted on Thursday when the transit authority and labor unions reached a tentative contract deal, bringing relief to thousands of riders who had been dreading a painful c…
Proposed ban on Russian arms firm would hurt U.S. troops: general
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A day after President Barack Obama slapped sanctions on several Russian arms firms over the Ukraine conflict, a top U.S. general warned that a congressional bid to bar dealings with Moscow’s main weapons exporter could be “catast…
Pit bull alerts sleeping Indiana boy to fire
(Reuters) – An Indiana family’s pit bull is being praised for alerting a deaf boy to a serious fire in his home by licking the sleeping boy’s face until he woke up, authorities said.
Arizona authorities probe church fires as possible hate crimes
MESA Ariz. (Reuters) – Arizona authorities are probing a series of arson fires at suburban Phoenix churches as possible hate crimes after an apparent arsonist set Bibles alight on church doorsteps, police said on Thursday.
Florida judge strikes down voter-approved same-sex marriage ban
MIAMI (Reuters) – A county judge in Florida struck down on Thursday the state’s gay marriage ban, the latest in a string of court rulings across the United States voiding state laws that restrict the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Wisconsin man pleads not guilty in suitcase bodies case
ELKHORN Wis. (Reuters) – A Wisconsin man accused of stuffing the bodies of two women in separate suitcases and dumping the luggage in a roadside ditch pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday.
Decriminalized pot takes effect in District of Columbia
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Marijuana decriminalization takes effect in the District of Columbia on Thursday, part of an easing of pot penalties in the U.S. capital that has drawn fire from Congress.
Man jailed in Detroit mob beating needed father -judge
(Reuters) – A judge on Thursday told a man who pleaded guilty to being part of a mob assault on a motorist in Detroit that he had needed a father “to beat the hell out of you” and then sentenced the defendant to six months in jail.
