Colorado police initially thought theater gunman was another officer
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) – Accused Colorado theater gunman James Holmes was clad in body armor when he shot dead 12 moviegoers, leading responding police to mistake him for a fellow officer, two policemen said at a pretrial hearing on Tuesday.
Trial begins for prominent Utah doctor accused of killing wife
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) – Jury selection began on Tuesday in the murder trial of a prominent Utah doctor accused of killing his wife with a cocktail of drugs so he could continue an extramarital affair.
North Carolina is first state to cut welfare amid federal shutdown
RALEIGH, North Carolina (Reuters) – North Carolina has become the first state to cut off welfare benefits to poor residents in the wake of the partial federal government shutdown, ordering a halt to processing November applications until a deal is reac…
In U.S. top court race case, John Roberts is chief phrasemaker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As U.S. chief justice, John Roberts has sought to rein in laws he insists have gone too far on race. At the Supreme Court on Tuesday, he matched rhetoric to action with a pithiness that underscores his opposition to racial prefer…
Talks resume to avert San Francisco transit strike
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Talks to forestall a potentially crippling rail strike in the San Francisco area moved forward on Tuesday, even as management officials said they could not guarantee that there wouldn’t be a strike affecting about 400,000 dail…
Florida executes man with new lethal injection drug
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – Florida prison officials on Tuesday carried out what they described as the first execution in the United States using the sedative midazolam hydrochloride in a lethal injection.
Deals struck to reopen Grand Canyon and other iconic U.S. sites
PHOENIX (Reuters) – Three of the most famous U.S. National Parks – the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore and the Statue of Liberty – will reopen in the coming days after state governors reached deals despite an ongoing government shutdown.
U.S. fiscal talks stumble as lawmakers race against time
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Efforts by lawmakers to stop a U.S. debt default were in disarray on Tuesday with just over a day before the government’s authority to borrow money lapses, risking the Treasury’s ability to pay bills and creditors.
Secret U.S. court says does not rubber stamp surveillance requests
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The secret U.S. court that reviews electronic surveillance and searches approves nearly every request it receives, but demands substantial changes to nearly one in four applications before giving the go-ahead, the court’s top jud…
Fatal California boardwalk car crash was accident, not rampage: lawyer
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A man accused of murder for plowing his car into crowds at a California beach boardwalk this summer, killing an Italian newlywed on her honeymoon, did not intend to harm anyone in what amounted to a “horrendous accident,” his pu…
