Illinois speaker eyes millionaire tax for school funding
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Illinois’ powerful speaker of the House of Representative on Thursday unveiled a plan to slap millionaires in the state with a tax surcharge to raise $1 billion a year for schools.
U.S. Naval Academy midshipman acquitted in sex assault case
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A judge acquitted a former Naval Academy football player on Thursday of sexually assaulting a drunken female midshipman, one of a number of sexual misconduct cases roiling the U.S. military.
Los Alamos lab turns to Texas to temporarily store radioactive waste
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Reuters) – The Los Alamos National Laboratory has found a temporary home in Texas for roughly 1,000 barrels of radioactive junk left in limbo after a radiation leak led to a prolonged shutdown of New Mexico’s only nuclear waste…
Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps dead at 84
(Reuters) – Fred Phelps, the pastor who led a small Kansas church’s vitriolic “God Hates Fags” anti-gay campaign across the United States, has died, the church said on Thursday.
Judge drops sick juror from trial of Madoff aides
NEW YORK (Reuters) – After a two-day delay, the jurors considering whether to convict five former Bernard Madoff aides of helping him perpetuate his Ponzi scheme will resume deliberations on Friday with one fewer member.
Americans choose savings at the pump over oil exports: Reuters/Ipsos poll
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The number of Americans who believe U.S. oil should be kept on U.S. soil to lower gasoline prices rose in the last four months, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Teen arrested for sneaking to top of World Trade Center skyscraper
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A teenage boy was arrested after sneaking into One World Trade Center, which is still under construction in New York City and is the nation’s tallest building, and ascending its 104 floors to the antenna, police said on Thursday.
Florida to execute man who killed two female co-workers with hammer
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – A Florida man convicted of bludgeoning two women to death with a hammer and setting them on fire more than 26 years ago is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday.
Oklahoma teens plead not guilty to murder of Australian athlete
OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – Two Oklahoma teenagers charged with first-degree murder in the death of an Australian baseball player attending a university in the state pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Thursday, a court clerk said.
U.S. Guantanamo board reviews case of ‘Dirty 30’ bin Laden bodyguard
ARLINGTON, Virginia (Reuters) – A suspected Osama bin Laden bodyguard held at Guantanamo Bay military prison for 12 years on Thursday faced a U.S. national security board weighing whether he should remain in detention there.
