Crack-smoking Bahamian pleads guilty to smuggling Haitians
MIAMI (Reuters) – A Bahamian man who was allegedly drunk and high on crack cocaine when his boat carrying more than a dozen migrants capsized a few miles from Miami has pleaded guilty to charges of smuggling migrants and convicted felons into the Unite…
Report says firefighters killed at Texas plant explosion were unprepared
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The 12 firefighters who died battling a blaze at a Texas fertilizer plant last year were unprepared for the ferocity of the fire and should have focused on evacuating the area rather than extinguishing the flames, said a report rel…
California voters to consider raising four-decade-old cap on medical malpractice awards
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – California in November will vote on whether to raise a four-decade-old cap on medical malpractice awards to $1.1 million, from $250,000, officials said on Thursday, likely ensuring a bitter and costly fight between lawyers bac…
Accused Boston bomber’s friend suspected guilt, agent says
BOSTON (Reuters) – A friend of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev took a backpack and laptop from the suspect’s dorm room, then threw them away after he began to suspect Tsarnaev had carried out the attack, a federal agent testified on Th…
New York’s pension ‘smoothing’ may short-change retirement fund
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New Yorkers who rely on the state pension fund for their retirement may be short-changed about $735 million over the next 10 years as a result of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s policy of permitting local authorities to defer fund payments…
Idaho man accused of imprisoning woman as sex slave
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – An Idaho man was charged with kidnapping and rape tied to a woman’s claims that he forced her to be a sex slave after imprisoning her in a house equipped with chains and locks on walls, floors and doors, authorities said on Th…
Consumer group launches bid to require labels on GMO food in Oregon
PORTLAND (Reuters) – Activists seeking a tighter rein on genetically modified foods said on Thursday they planned to push ahead with a signature-gathering campaign to force a measure onto the ballot in left-leaning Oregon to require labeling on such pr…
U.S. won’t immediately deport man who took refuge in Arizona church
TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) – U.S. Immigration and Customs officials will not immediately act to deport a Mexican immigrant who took refuge in an Arizona church to avoid an order of deportation from a country where he has lived illegally for over a decad…
Detroit creditors dealt setback on art plan
DETROIT (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday refused to give some of Detroit’s creditors unfettered access to art works and related documents in order to pursue a plan to increase the pot of money available for bankrupt Detroit to pay its debts.
U.S. appeals court stays ruling overturning Idaho gay marriage ban
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Thursday put on hold a federal judge’s ruling that overturned Idaho’s ban on gay marriage so it could consider motions for a longer stay, blocking same-sex nuptials a day before they would otherwise hav…
