Analysis: Judge throws manufacturers a lifeline with asbestos ruling
WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) – A judge who found what he called a “startling pattern” of abuse by plaintiffs’ lawyers may have shifted the landscape of asbestos litigation with a ruling in favor of manufacturers.
Storm, bringing deadly ice and snow, slams U.S. South
ATLANTA (Reuters) – A deadly winter storm potentially more destructive than the one that paralyzed Atlanta just two weeks ago gripped the southern United States on Wednesday, crippling travel, knocking out power to more than 330,000 customers and encas…
Kroger sued for not telling ‘Simple Truth’ on chicken labels
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Kroger Co, the biggest U.S. supermarket operator, faces a lawsuit claiming it deceived consumers by marketing a store brand as humanely raised chicken products when the animals were raised under standard commercial farming.
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.
