Graft and credibility in focus as New Orleans ex-mayor trial winds down
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Former New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin was called a politician on the take in closing arguments by prosecutors at his graft trial on Monday while defense attorneys questioned the credibility of those who had cut deals to testify …
Large blast reported at New Hampshire ball bearing plant
BOSTON (Reuters) – At least ten people were transported to a southern New Hampshire hospital after a “major explosion” at a ball bearing manufacturer on Monday, according to state and local officials who set up an emergency command center near the site…
Gay rights activists arrested in Utah after statehouse sit-in
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – More than a dozen Utah gay rights activists were arrested on Monday at the state Capitol, where they staged a sit-in to demand lawmakers hear a bill that would bar housing and job discrimination based on sexual orientation, a…
Louisiana Obamacare insurer unmoved by legal challenge on its AIDS policy
(Reuters) – A stand-off between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and the federal government over healthcare coverage for people with HIV-AIDS escalated on Monday, as a gay-rights group filed a legal complaint against the insurer, which reiterate…
Tokyo-New York flight diverted to Alaska, passenger in custody
JUNEAU, Alaska (Reuters) – An All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo to New York was diverted to Anchorage, Alaska, early on Monday after a passenger became unruly, representatives for U.S. federal law enforcement and the airline said.
U.S. attorney general Holder says he will stay on well into 2014
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder plans to stay in the Obama administration well into 2014 but declined in an interview with The New Yorker magazine to say precisely how long, according to a transcript issued by his office on Mon…
Judge OKs evidence from accused Colorado gunman’s computers, phones
DENVER (Reuters) – The judge in the Colorado theater massacre case has ruled that evidence seized from accused gunman James Holmes’ computers, cell phone and bank accounts is admissible at trial, court documents made public on Monday show.
California gets two more years to reduce prison overcrowding
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – California won two additional years to reduce overcrowding in its massive prison system under an order issued on Monday by a panel of federal judges, in the latest twist in a decades-long dispute over prison condition…
Obama administration delays part of health law’s employer mandate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Monday delayed another part of President Barack Obama’s signature health reform law, saying medium-sized businesses would not face a tax penalty until 2016 for not providing employees with health coverage.
U.S. safety board blames captain for 2012 Bounty sinking
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The sinking of the tall ship Bounty off the North Carolina coast in 2012 was likely caused by the captain’s “reckless decision” to sail the vessel into the path of Hurricane Sandy, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board sa…
