Part of U.S. Capitol closed to probe asbestos incident: officials
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Parts of the U.S. Capitol were closed early on Thursday while authorities investigated a possible asbestos release, delaying the start of the House of Representatives session and canceling some tours of the building.
Florida set to execute convicted murderer of 11-year-old girl
TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) – A Florida man who confessed to the rape and murder of a child is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday, while another convicted murderer in Georgia had his death sentence, also due to be carried out on Thursday, commu…
Parched California proposes steep fines for over-watering lawns
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Regulators in drought-stricken California are proposing stringent new conservation measures to limit outdoor water use, including fines of up to $500 a day for using a hose without a shut-off nozzle.
Shooting at Tennessee National Guard armory leaves one soldier dead
NASHVILLE Tenn. (Reuters) – A 20-year-plus veteran of the Tennessee National Guard was shot to death on Wednesday by an intruder at an armory outside Nashville, and a man described as a “person of interest” in the case was detained hours later for ques…
New form of U.S. healthcare saves money, improves quality, one insurer finds
NEW YORK (Reuters) – In one of the largest tests of a novel way to deliver and pay for healthcare, insurer CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield announced on Thursday that 1.1 million people receiving care through its “patient-centered medical homes” last yea…
Colorado puts annual marijuana demand at 130 tonnes
DENVER (Reuters) – Total marijuana demand in Colorado, where the nation’s first recreational pot shops opened in January, is estimated at 130 tonnes this year, a study for the state’s revenue authority said on Wednesday.
Georgia man’s death sentence commuted a day before scheduled execution
ATLANTA (Reuters) – The day before he was due to die by lethal injection, a man on Georgia’s death row was granted clemency and his sentence commuted to life without parole on Wednesday by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles.
U.S. House Republicans seek CDC documents on anthrax scare
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional Republicans asked the Obama administration on Wednesday to provide documents related to last month’s anthrax scare at a U.S. lab, where more than 80 people were initially feared to be exposed to the deadly pathogen….
Mexican train derails, stranding 1,300 migrants headed toward U.S.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A cargo train used by Mexicans and Central Americans to travel toward the U.S. border derailed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on Wednesday, stranding about 1,300 migrants, emergency services said.
Obama rejects criticism over border crisis
DALLAS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama rejected demands from Texas Governor Rick Perry and others that he visit the border where a child migrant crisis is unfolding and said his critics should get behind his request for $3.7 billion if th…
