Appeals court allows Texas execution to proceed
(Corrects April 2 story to make clear stay for second inmate active; paragraphs 1, 3 and 8.)
Florida governor’s voter purge effort hits stumbling blocks
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – Florida Governor Rick Scott’s efforts to purge non-U.S. citizens from the state’s voter rolls, a move that has triggered legal challenges from voting rights groups, have been dealt the second significant setback in a we…
Texas tycoons hid $550 million in profits offshore, U.S. tells jury
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Texas tycoons Sam and Charles Wyly employed a labyrinthine system of offshore trusts to conceal stock trades in four companies on whose boards they sat, netting themselves more than $550 million in undisclosed profits, a U.S. gover…
Skydiver dies during record group-jump try in Arizona
PHOENIX (Reuters) – An experienced skydiver was killed while taking part in a 222-person group-formation jump trying to set a world record on Thursday when the victim’s main parachute malfunctioned, a spokeswoman for the Arizona skydiving facility said…
Detroit manager seeks city’s bankruptcy exit by October 15
DETROIT (Reuters) – Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevin Orr, on Thursday said in testimony before a U.S. bankruptcy court that he wants the city to exit bankruptcy by October 15, just weeks after his 18-month term as state-appointed emergency manager is…
Alabama lawmakers send new abortion restriction bills to governor
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) – Alabama measures to extend an abortion waiting period and tighten rules for minors seeking the procedure are headed to the governor’s desk, but a move to ban abortions based on evidence of a fetal heartbeat appears stall…
University of Connecticut issues all-clear after bomb threat
(Reuters) – Police found no evidence of explosive devices in a search of a building on the University of Connecticut’s campus outside Hartford following a bomb threat earlier on Thursday, and students and staff were cleared to return to the premises.
Texas set to execute inmate convicted of killing 13-year-old girl
(Reuters) – A suspected serial killer convicted of killing a 13-year-old girl and attempting to kill another girl is scheduled to be executed on Thursday in Texas, a day after an appeals court rejected his challenge regarding the drugs to be used in hi…
NY police officer cleared in accidental shooting of Hofstra student
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A police officer who accidentally shot dead a student at a suburban New York university, while responding to an armed robbery at her apartment, has been cleared of all wrongdoing, authorities said.
Maryland House panel rejects bill easing marijuana penalties
(Reuters) – A bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Maryland was effectively struck down by a committee in the state House of Delegates, a staff member said on Thursday.
