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.
As snowy winter drags on, Northeast struggles to cope
BOSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The latest in a series of winter storms hit the United States on Wednesday, dropping wet, heavy snow in the Northeast states that disrupted travel and threatened supplies of salt needed to keep roads clear.
Portland, Oregon, teachers set for strike authorization vote
PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) – Teachers in Portland, Oregon’s largest school district, were due to vote Wednesday night on whether to authorize their union to call a strike that would disrupt classes for nearly 48,000 students in a labor dispute over sta…
Michelle Obama pushes college financial aid initiative
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration enlisted the help of First Lady Michelle Obama in an effort to ensure that low- and middle-income families get access to federal aid to help them pay for college.
Almost 1 million customers lose power in U.S. Northeast
(Reuters) – Almost a million homes and businesses were without power mostly in the U.S. Northeast on Wednesday afternoon following severe snow and ice storms overnight, according to local power companies.
Man pleads guilty to murder of USC students from China
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A man accused in the 2012 killing of two University of Southern California graduate students from China, a crime that stunned the prestigious private school, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to murder charges and was sentenced to lif…
Conservative lawmakers split on debt limit increase
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Conservative Republicans differed on Wednesday over their party’s approach to raising the U.S. debt ceiling, underscoring the challenges faced by House Speaker John Boehner as Congress considers the Obama administration’s request…
Hoffman cause of death undetermined, 4 charged for drugs
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three men and one woman arrested in New York have been charged with drugs offences possibly connected to narcotics found at the home of film star Philip Seymour Hoffman following his death of an apparent heroin overdose, law enforc…
Drought forces California farmers to idle cropland
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Drought-stricken California farmers facing drastic cutbacks in irrigation water are expected to idle some 500,000 acres of cropland this year in a record production loss that could cause billions of dollars in economic damage, i…
Four U.S. congressmen urge North Korea to free missionary Bae
(Reuters) – The last surviving members of the U.S. Congress to have served in the Korean War have sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un asking him to release imprisoned American missionary Kenneth Bae.
