Two dozen charged in $500 million New York pain-pill scheme
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Twenty-five people, including doctors, were charged with involvement in a massive scheme that flooded New York City’s black market with as much as $500 million in painkillers, federal and state officials said on Wednesday.
Texas executes woman convicted of killing man for insurance money
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Texas executed a woman on Wednesday convicted of leading a plot to kidnap, torture and then beat to death a mentally disabled man to rob him of his cash and collect insurance money.
Portland, Oregon, teachers vote to authorize strike
PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) – Teachers in Portland, Oregon’s largest school district, voted Wednesday night to authorize a strike, setting the stage for a walkout that could disrupt classes for nearly 48,000 students, union officials said.
Rents rising faster in tech hubs than in rest of U.S.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – San Franciscans have long blamed the technology sector for rising rents. Now, a study from real-estate company Trulia backs them up.
Texas judge orders ‘affluenza’ teenager to get treatment
FORT WORTH (Reuters) – A Texas judge, who received national criticism for sentencing a wealthy Texas teenager to probation after he killed four people while driving drunk, ordered him on Wednesday to start rehabilitation for substance abuse and behavio…
Florida man pleads not guilty to fatal theater shooting over texting
DADE CITY, Florida (Reuters) – A retired Florida police captain accused of fatally shooting a man in a movie theater after a texting confrontation last month pleaded not guilty Wednesday at a daylong bail hearing that resembled a mini-trial.
Mexican convicted of murder for ramming U.S. Coast Guard officer
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A jury convicted a Mexican man of murder on Wednesday for ramming his suspected smuggling vessel into a U.S. Coast Guard inflatable boat, killing an officer on board off the coast of Southern California in 2012, prosecutors said…
Michigan fugitive caught in California after 37 years on the run
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – A 60-year-old woman who fled a Michigan prison nearly 37 years ago has been captured in San Diego, where she was living under an assumed name, law enforcement officials said on Wednesday.
Defense Department not comfortable if major contractors look to merge: official
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Defense Department remains skeptical of mergers involving its major contractors, a Pentagon official said on Wednesday, amid industry expectations that defense deal-making could revive this year.
Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory parade draws some 700,000 fans
SEATTLE (Reuters) – An estimated 700,000 Seattle Seahawks fans braved sub-freezing temperatures to celebrate the football team’s first Super Bowl title at a parade that wound through the city’s downtown on Wednesday.