U.S. Army general admits to lesser counts in sex crimes trial
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina (Reuters) – A U.S. Army general pleaded guilty on Thursday to military crimes of having an adulterous affair, asking junior female officers for nude photos and possessing pornography on his laptop while deployed in Afghanista…
U.S. to pay legal fees of man in Boston bombing cover-up
BOSTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday agreed to have a federal program pay the legal expenses of a man charged with helping the accused Boston Marathon bomber cover his tracks, but rebuffed his attorney’s request to have two lawyers on the defens…
Los Angeles urban swath to test Obama’s ‘promise zone’ plan
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Waiting for a bus in her heavily immigrant Los Angeles neighborhood, cleaning lady Yesenia Hernandez looked up at a new apartment block across the street that will boast such luxuries as a rooftop pool and dog park, with rents f…
Duke ordered to stop groundwater pollution at North Carolina coal plants
(Reuters) – A North Carolina judge ruled on Thursday that Duke Energy Corp must immediately stop the sources of groundwater pollution at its 14 coal-fired power plants in the state.
California woman rescued after 15 hours on sinking raft
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A California woman who set out to sea in an inflatable dinghy to watch the sunset, spent about 15 hours clinging to the raft after it began taking on water in frigid Monterey Bay, before the U.S. Coast Guard plucked her to saf…
MLK’s daughter agrees to turn over Bible and Nobel Peace Prize
ATLANTA (Reuters) – Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter said Thursday she will comply with a judge’s order to turn over the late civil rights leader’s Nobel Peace Prize medal and personal Bible, and urged her two brothers to reconsider selling the “sacre…
U.S. Navy destroyer heads to Black Sea for pre-planned exercises
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The USS Truxtun, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, is heading to the Black Sea for what the U.S. military on Thursday described as a “routine” deployment that was scheduled well before the crisis in Ukraine.
Florida mayor fights backyard gun ranges in ‘Gunshine State’
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) – Every Wednesday afternoon, Doug Varrieur steps into his backyard in the Florida Keys, aims his .380 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol and fires shots that ricochet through city halls around the state.
Three-month low in U.S. jobless claims offers hope for labor market
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits hit a three-month low last week, suggesting some strength in a labor market that has been hobbled by severe weather.
Boston commuter rail operator sues after losing renewal contract
BOSTON (Reuters) – The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co, which lost a multibillion-dollar bid to continue operating Boston’s commuter rail system, said on Thursday it asked a judge to block the winner Keolis’ contract, citing problems with its ap…