Big role for bonds, taxes in California election next month
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Of the 74 local ballot measures before California voters in November’s off-year election, 47 propose bonds or tax increases, including a sales tax hike in Stockton needed to help the city exit from bankruptcy, according to a r…
U.S. Air Force fires general overseeing nuclear missiles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The two-star general overseeing the U.S. arsenal of intercontinental missiles was fired on Friday for personal misbehavior, the Air Force said, adding the matter was not tied to the readiness or security of America’s nuclear miss…
San Francisco-area transit strike postponed, talks go on
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A strike that could cripple the San Francisco Bay area’s commuter rail system has been averted for the weekend as contract talks continue, but workers could walk off the job on Monday if a deal is not reached, union leaders sa…
Judge dismisses most of San Jose lawsuit over Oakland A’s move
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. judge dismissed on Friday several claims in the city of San Jose, California’s lawsuit against Major League Baseball, which alleged the league violated antitrust laws over a proposed move by the Oakland Athletics team t…
Laptops Snowden took to Hong Kong, Russia were a ‘diversion’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The four laptop computers that former U.S. spy contractor Edward Snowden carried with him to Hong Kong and Moscow were a “diversion” and contained no secrets, according to an ex-CIA official who met with Snowden in Russia this we…
Autopsy in Florida Facebook murder shows point-blank shots
MIAMI (Reuters) – A Florida man who confessed to fatally shooting his wife and posted pictures of her bloodied corpse on Facebook may have shot her several times at point-blank range, a medical examiner’s report showed on Friday.
Friend of ex-Detroit mayor gets 21-year sentence for corruption
DETROIT (Reuters) – A friend and former business associate of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick must serve 21 years in prison for corruption, a federal judge said Friday, a day after she handed Kilpatrick one of the longest prison terms ever given …
U.S. financial regulators propose flood insurance changes
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. financial regulators proposed requiring lenders to accept private flood insurance on Friday as part of rules needed to implement a 2012 law that revamps a federal flood insurance program.
Missouri governor halts October execution over drug controversy
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) – Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said on Friday he was halting an execution set for October 23 that was supposed to be the first ever using the drug propofol and directed the state corrections department to find another for…
All Bulger gang victims should speak at sentencing: prosecutors
BOSTON (Reuters) – Survivors of all 19 people murdered by James “Whitey” Bulger’s gang should be allowed to speak at his sentencing, prosecutors argued on Friday, even if a jury did not find the 84-year-old convicted mobster personally responsible for …
