Wisconsin makes it harder to challenge race-based school mascots
MILWAUKEE (Reuters) – Republican Governor Scott Walker on Thursday signed into law a measure making it tougher for those who object to race-based mascots and sports team names to force a change at their school district.
California winner of half Mega Millions jackpot still unknown
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The owner of the second winning ticket in the Mega Millions lottery remained a mystery on Thursday, one day after a Georgia woman came forward to collect her share of the estimated total jackpot of $648 million.
U.S. pastor who performed son’s gay wedding to be defrocked
LOWER PROVIDENCE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) – An embattled Methodist pastor who officiated at his son’s same-sex wedding said on Thursday he would appeal a church decision to defrock him after he refused to say he would never perform another gay ceremony….
Detroit manager and mayor-elect agree to share power
DETROIT (Reuters) – Detroit Mayor-elect Mike Duggan will run most of the city’s day-to-day business and emergency manager Kevyn Orr will focus on the city’s emergence from bankruptcy as part of a power-sharing arrangement the two men announced Thursday…
Firefighters gain ground on California coastal fire
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Firefighters have turned a corner against a wildfire that has destroyed 22 homes and forced the evacuation of dozens more along a picturesque stretch of central California coastline, officials said on Thursday.
New evidence delays U.S. general’s sex assault trial for third time
WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) – The court-martial for a U.S. Army general accused of sexually assaulting a subordinate was delayed on Thursday for a third time after the discovery of a cell phone that could shed more light on the case, accord…
Obama commutes prisons sentences for eight on crack charges
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama commuted the prison sentences of eight people on Thursday after deciding their crack cocaine offenses did not justify the length of their time behind bars.
Michigan man charged in porch shooting will face trial
(Reuters) – A white suburban Detroit homeowner will stand trial on charges of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a young black woman who knocked on his door in the middle of the night in November, a Michigan judge said on Thursday.
U.S. Mayors’ gun control group merges with Moms Demand Action
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a gun control group founded and financed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced on Thursday it will merge with another gun control group, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
Judge orders sanity evaluation for accused 9/11 conspirator
FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) – A U.S. military tribunal judge on Thursday called a temporary halt to hearings for five men accused of conspiring in the September 11, 2001, attacks to allow time to evaluate the sanity of a suspect whose disruptive out…
