Arizona same-sex couples sue state over gay marriage ban
PHOENIX (Reuters) – A group of same-sex couples in Arizona filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday to challenge the state’s ban on gay marriage, arguing that it violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, court documents showed.
Florida Supreme Court voids caps on medical malpractice lawsuits
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a state law that placed a $1 million limit on the amount of money people can be awarded in wrongful death cases caused by medical malpractice.
Contractor to plead guilty to giving Chinese woman secrets: U.S.
(Reuters) – A U.S. defense contractor in Hawaii was expected to plead guilty on Thursday to charges he passed national defense secrets, including classified information on joint training and planning exercises with South Korea, to a Chinese woman with …
Motorist slams car into crowd near Texas SXSW festival, 2 killed
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A driver evading a police sobriety checkpoint plowed into a crowd at high speed outside a nightclub in Austin on Thursday, killing two people and injuring 23 near the South by Southwest festival, police said.
Ohio man sentenced to five years in prison for enslaving woman and child
CLEVELAND (Reuters) – An Ohio man was sentenced on Thursday to five years in federal prison for his role in holding captive a cognitively disabled woman and her child and forcing the woman to perform manual labor and eat dog food, prosecutors said.
Houston father shoots and kills boy in teen daughter’s room
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A Houston father shot and killed a teenage boy he found in the room of his 16-year-old daughter in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said.
Some pot convictions can be reversed, Colorado court rules
DENVER (Reuters) – Some people found guilty of possessing marijuana in Colorado at the time the state legalized recreational pot may have their convictions thrown out, a state appellate court ruled Thursday, though legal experts said the decision would…
New York City gas explosion subject of federal probe
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Federal safety authorities launched an investigation on Thursday into a gas explosion that caused the collapse a day earlier of two New York City apartment buildings, killing seven people and injuring dozens of others.
British Columbia wants changes in Columbia River pact with U.S
VANCOUVER (Reuters) – The Canadian province of British Columbia said on Thursday it wants to keep a 50-year-old Canada-U.S. pact on Columbia River flood control and power generation in place, but it urged the federal government to push for what it call…
Obama’s overtime pay push seen reshaping U.S. payrolls, courts
(Reuters) – If the Obama administration follows through on overtime pay reforms, businesses will have to realign payroll policies for millions of salaried workers and a flurry of lawsuits could follow asking courts to clarify the new standards.
