U.S. wildfire smoke poses health hazards to distant communities: report
(Reuters) – Massive clouds of smoke spewed from U.S. wildfires raging ever more intensely in recent summers send soot, carbon monoxide and other toxins far and wide, posing health hazards for distant communities, scientists warned in a study on Thursda…
Automatic budget cuts could hit Pentagon harder this year
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Months after the U.S. military was hit with a $37 billion budget cut that threw it into turmoil and confusion, the Pentagon is headed into the new fiscal year facing a similar threat that could have even more devastating conseque…
Mistakes made in Catholic clergy sex abuse probes: Minnesota archbishop
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – The Roman Catholic archbishop of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Archdiocese said on Thursday that serious mistakes had been made in the archdiocese’s investigations of allegations of sex abuse by clergy and he has ordered a review of …
Washington state 11-year-old faces charges after bringing gun to school
SEATTLE (Reuters) – An 11-year-old student faced charges of attempted assault and other crimes on Thursday after bringing a handgun, some 400 bullets, and several kitchen knives to his middle school in southern Washington state, police said.
Razing of Sandy Hook school massacre site begins Friday
MILFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) – The demolition of Newtown, Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 young children and six adults were shot to death last December, will begin on Friday under a cloak of secrecy meant to discourage souvenir-…
California man dies while searching for missing son in New Mexico
(Reuters) – The father of an elk hunter reported missing in rugged terrain in western New Mexico has died while helping in the search, authorities said on Thursday.
Florida’s attorney general challenges medical marijuana initiative
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – Florida’s attorney general told the state’s high court on Thursday that supporters of medical marijuana want to mislead voters into approving a proposal to legalize the use of pot for anyone who can convince a doctor th…
Mother of bullied Florida girl seeks funeral donations
TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) – The mother of a 12-year-old Florida girl who committed suicide last month apparently after being bullied at school and on the Internet, announced a crowd-funding effort in Tampa on Thursday to help pay for funeral expenses.
Lawyer seeks bail for Kennedy cousin convicted on 1975 murder
MILFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) – A defense attorney for Kennedy cousin and convicted murderer Michael Skakel, freshly granted a new trial for the 1975 slaying of a teenage neighbor in Connecticut, made a request for bail on Thursday that could release …
Las Vegas doctor gets life sentence for hepatitis C outbreak
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – A former doctor convicted of second-degree murder for infecting at least nine patients with hepatitis C was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for his role in one of the largest U.S. outbreaks of the disease tied to a physici…
