U.S. university drops plan to honor critic of Islam
BOSTON (Reuters) – Brandeis University has decided not to award an honorary degree to a Somali-born women’s rights activist who has branded Islam as violent and “a nihilistic cult of death.”
US urges oil-by-rail sector to agree a safer tank car
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Wednesday asked oil-by-rail leaders to create a tank car fit to carry the kinds of fuel involved in recent fiery derailments even as he dodged lawmaker questions about when such a pla…
New Jersey’s top court to hear violent rap lyrics case
TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) – The use of rap lyrics as evidence in their author’s attempted murder trial came under fire on Wednesday in New Jersey’s highest court, where justices and lawyers debated the possible risk to freedom of speech.
Body found in lake confirmed as missing Michigan doctor
(Reuters) – A body recovered on Sunday from a northwestern Indiana lake has been confirmed as that of a Michigan doctor who went missing early in December and likely drowned, authorities said on Wednesday.
Charges reduced for woman who drove kids into ocean off Florida
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) – A pregnant woman who drove a minivan with her three children into the ocean off a Florida beach no longer faces charges that she had planned to kill them, court papers filed on Tuesday show.
Marine shooting death at North Carolina base appears accidental: spokesman
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) – A “negligent discharge” by a U.S. Marine on guard duty is likely to blame for the shooting death of a fellow sentry at a base in North Carolina, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.
Philadelphia Old City fire destroys landmark clothing store
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A fire destroyed a long-time apparel store in Philadelphia’s Old City on Wednesday along Market Street, one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, officials said.
Mississippi River closed in Iowa after barge hits bridge
(In April 8 story, corrects ownership of bridge to Canadian Pacific not Union Pacific, paragraph 4.)
Two moms, a baby and a legal first for U.S. gay marriage
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) – Last month a baby in Tennessee made history: Emilia Maria Jesty was the first child born in the state to have a woman listed on the birth certificate as her “father.”
Texas to execute Mexican national for murder and rape
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Texas plans to execute on Wednesday Ramiro Hernandez, 44, a Mexican citizen who was convicted of bludgeoning a man to death and repeatedly raping his wife.
