‘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…
Pentagon begins review of Guantanamo detainees held without charge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon said on Wednesday it had begun re-examining the evidence for the continued detention of terrorism suspects held without charge at Guantanamo, Cuba, more than two years after President Barack Obama directed it to deve…
U.S. nuclear agency to shut; reactor report not available
HOUSTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will shut down on Thursday because the agency has depleted its carryover funds, the chairman said in a blog.
Ohio school employee pleads not guilty to hindering rape probe
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (Reuters) – The director of technology for the Steubenville, Ohio, schools pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that he obstructed an investigation into the rape last year of a teenage girl by two high school football players who …
California enacts law allowing nurses to perform some abortions
SACRAMENTO (Reuters) – California’s Democratic governor signed a law on Wednesday that will allow nurses and midwives to perform some abortions, a move supporters hope will influence the national debate on abortion even as other states are tightening t…
