Portland, Maine, panhandling ban violates First Amendment: judge
BOWDOINHAM, Maine (Reuters) – A Portland, Maine, city ordinance banning people from panhandling in the median strips of roads violates the U.S. Constitution, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.
Florida jury starts deliberations in loud rap murder trial
JACKSONVILLE (Reuters) – A middle-aged software engineer opened fire on a black teenager because he felt disrespected when the 17-year-old refused to turn down the rap music blaring from his car, a prosecutor told a Florida jury in closing arguments on…
Former New Orleans mayor guilty of graft in Katrina recovery
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – A federal jury on Wednesday found former New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin guilty of accepting bribes and trading on the public trust during the critical years of rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.
Rhode Island proposes legalizing recreational marijuana
BOSTON (Reuters) – Two Rhode Island legislators introduced a bill on Wednesday that could make the state the third in the United States to legalize recreational marijuana for adults.
Kentucky must recognize same-sex marriages from other states: judge
(Reuters) – Kentucky must recognize the legal same-sex marriages of residents who wed outside the state, a federal judge said on Wednesday in the latest of a series of rulings that expand gay rights following a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year.
Newlywed man whose wife died BASE jumping in Utah cited by park
(Reuters) – A husband whose bride of two weeks fell to her death while BASE jumping in Zion National Park in Utah has been cited for violating a federal law that bans parachuting in national parks, an agency spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
In first NYC budget, de Blasio pushes pre-K, retiree healthcare
(Reuters) – New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio included a tax on the wealthy to pay for universal pre-kindergarten in his first budget and proposed restoring $1 billion to a retiree healthcare fund that his predecessor’s plan would have drained.
U.S. states risk losing grants over rape in prisons
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration is moving to put into effect a 2003 law that was designed to eliminate rape in U.S. prisons, and it warned states on Wednesday that they may lose grant money this year if they do not cooperate.
Bill to extend U.S. debt limit clears Senate hurdle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Legislation to extend U.S. federal borrowing authority for a year cleared a critical procedural hurdle in the Senate on Wednesday, moving the measure to a final vote.
1.3 million ‘like’ friendless Michigan boy’s Facebook birthday surprise
(Reuters) – A Michigan mother’s attempt to cheer her 10-year-old son, who suffers from a disorder similar to autism and told her he had no friends, with a Facebook page has won the boy some 1.3 million fans on the social media site by Wednesday.
