Father to meet fugitive Snowden in Russia
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden’s father arrived in Moscow on Thursday to see his son, who was granted asylum in Russia after leaking details of government surveillance programs.
Ex-Detroit mayor facing federal prison on corruption convictions
DETROIT (Reuters) – Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, is set to be sentenced Thursday on federal public corruption and bribery convictions prosecutors have said justify a prison term of at least …
Ex-cop killed in West Virginia federal building gun battle
BECKLEY, West Virginia (Reuters) – A former police officer armed with an assault rifle opened fire on the Federal Building in Wheeling, West Virginia, on Wednesday, before being shot dead when security officers returned fire, authorities said.
California enacts law allowing nurses to perform some abortions
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – California’s Democratic governor signed a law on Wednesday that will allow nurses and midwives to perform some abortions, a move aimed at increasing access to the procedure even as other states are tightening the rule…
Smartphone users oblivious to gunman who killed student on train
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – When a California college student was shot dead by a stranger on a crowded commuter train in San Francisco last month, none of the dozens of passengers on board saw it coming – they were too absorbed in their mobile devices, o…
California lawmakers hold hearing on prison solitary confinement policy
SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – California lawmakers concerned about solitary confinement in the state’s troubled prison system promised at a hearing on Wednesday to seek to reform the state’s practice of keeping inmates in near-isolation for decade…
Texas executes man convicted of killing parents in 1998
AUSTIN/PHOENIX, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas inmate who was convicted of killing his parents in 1998 and blowing up their home in Lubbock was executed on Wednesday with a controversial lethal injection drug, hours after Arizona put to death an inmate conv…
Passengers stuck on roller coaster at Florida theme park
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) – Florida firefighters were attempting to pluck passengers to safety on Wednesday after they got stuck aboard a towering roller coaster that malfunctioned at the Universal theme park in Orlando.
During shutdown, U.S. charity to ensure fallen troops’ death benefits
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A private U.S. charity struck a deal with the Pentagon on Wednesday to advance a “death gratuity” to families of American troops who die during the government shutdown, after the Defense Department determined it was legally unabl…
‘Elmo’ sent to jail as Times Square characters raise concerns
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A bogus costumed Elmo, who collected tips for cuddling children in family photos in New York’s Times Square, was sent to jail for a year on Wednesday for trying to extort $2 million from the Girl Scouts of the USA.
