Alaska marijuana measure has enough signatures for vote: backers
(Reuters) – Backers of a measure to legalize recreational marijuana use in Alaska submitted 45,000 signatures on Wednesday in support of their cause, more than enough to put the matter to voters later this year, they said.
Utah freight train crash causes corn spill on interstate, minor injuries
(Reuters) – Two freight trains collided in Utah on Wednesday, spilling corn onto an interstate highway and injuring three railroad workers, authorities and railroad officials said.
Utah puts same-sex marriages on hold pending appeal
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – Utah will not recognize, at least for now, the marriages of gay couples who rushed to wed after a federal judge’s ruling briefly rendered gay unions legal in the conservative, predominantly Mormon state, the governor’s office…
Record freeze extends to eastern United States, at least nine dead
NEW YORK/MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – A deadly blast of arctic air shattered decades-old temperature records as it enveloped the eastern United States on Tuesday, snarling air, road and rail travel, driving energy prices higher and overwhelming shelters for h…
Texas club auctions rhino hunt permit in bid to protect species
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – The Dallas Safari Club will auction a permit to hunt a black rhino in Namibia, possibly fetching up to $1 million with proceeds going to protect the endangered animals in a move seen by some animal rights groups as ethically d…
New York comptroller questions AT&T surveillance report plan
BOSTON (Reuters) – A plan by AT&T Inc to explain how it shares some customer information with government agencies may not be enough to restore public trust, an attorney for New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli told securities regulators in a letter provided to Reuters on Wednesday.
U.S. Navy chopper down off Virginia, one crew member dead
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Navy helicopter went down off the Virginia coast on Wednesday and one of the five crew members has died and another is missing, the military said.
California policeman accused in transient’s beating death acted reasonably: lawyer
SANTA ANA, California (Reuters) – A California ex-policeman on trial in the beating death of a mentally ill transient that ignited protests in a Los Angeles suburb acted reasonably and couldn’t have known that “catastrophe was around the corner,” his l…
Thousands of railcars need updating after crude crashes: Greenbriar CEO
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Some 80,000 tank cars that don’t meet current industry safety standards need to be replaced or retrofitted after several crashes of trains carrying crude oil, the head of railcar maker The Greenbriar Companies said on Wednesday.
Former top U.S. transportation officials head to private sector
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two former leading U.S. transportation officials who left the Obama administration in recent months were named on Wednesday to new private-sector posts.