Detroit CFO apologizes for controversial remarks, is suspended pending probe
DETROIT (Reuters) – Jim Bonsall, Detroit’s chief financial officer, apologized Thursday after the city launched an investigation into allegations that he made racially inappropriate comments and demeaned his co-workers.
Obama signs bill to provide death benefits to families of U.S. soldiers
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama signed into law on Thursday legislation that was rushed through Congress to provide aid for the families of soldiers killed in the line of duty, assistance that was frozen due to the U.S. government shutdow…
Ex-Detroit mayor gets 28 years in prison for corruption
DETROIT (Reuters) – A U.S. judge sentenced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to 28 years in prison for corruption on Thursday, one of the longest such sentences ever handed to a major U.S. politician, in a case that further battered the reputation …
U.S. farm bill ‘windfall’ option could cost billions extra: study
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An insurance provision in the U.S. farm bills proposed by the House and Senate could have corn, soybean, and wheat farmers making more money in a bad year, such as during a drought, than in a good year, an environmental group sai…
Canadian environmental activist pleads guilty to arson attacks in U.S. West
PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) – A Canadian environmentalist pleaded guilty on Thursday to setting a string of fires across the U.S. West that torched a ski resort and other buildings in what the Justice Department has called the “largest eco-terrorism cas…
Syncora appeals bankruptcy judge’s order on Detroit casino revenue
DETROIT (Reuters) – Syncora Guarantee, which insured payments by Detroit on some of its interest-rate swaps, on Thursday appealed a bankruptcy court order that allowed Detroit continued access to casino revenue that the city says it needs to avoid runn…
Ex-paramedic in Texas fertilizer blast pleads guilty to conspiracy
DALLAS (Reuters) – A former paramedic who responded to a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant in April pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of obstructing justice and conspiracy to make a destructive device, court documents filed on Thurs…
U.S. government shutdown could delay Keystone XL pipeline decision
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government shutdown is making it harder for the State Department to review the Keystone XL pipeline permit process, a State Department official said on Thursday, which could delay President Barack Obama’s decision on the…
Texas grid OKs Luminant plan to mothball Texas coal unit
HOUSTON (Reuters) – The Texas electric grid operator approved Luminant’s request to suspend operation of the 750-MW Martin Lake 3 coal unit located in Rusk County, according to a notice issued on Thursday.
Astronaut Scott Carpenter, fourth American in space, dies at 88
(Reuters) – Astronaut Scott Carpenter, who in 1962 became the fourth American in space and the second to orbit the Earth, died on Thursday in Colorado at age 88 of complications from a stroke, his wife Patty Carpenter said.
