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.
Missouri to return execution drug after European objections
(Reuters) – The state of Missouri said on Wednesday it will return an anesthetic it planned to use for executions after the German manufacturer voiced concerns that using it for lethal injections could lead to the European Union to ban export of the dr…
Boyd’s Borgata gets first New Jersey online gaming permit
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, owned by Boyd Gaming Corp’s and MGM Resorts, said it received the first Internet gaming permit ever in New Jersey from the state’s Division of Gaming Enforcement.
Obama, Congress search for way out as pressure rises in fiscal stalemate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With pressure rising and no clear path forward for breaking their fiscal impasse, President Barack Obama launched a series of White House meetings with lawmakers on Wednesday to search for a way to end a government shutdown and r…
‘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.
U.S. deputy nuclear commander fired over gambling probe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the American military’s nuclear arsenal and its space operations, has been relieved from his job during an investigation into issues related to gambling, a U.S. offic…
