U.S. rights groups urge boycott of Barilla pasta after anti-gay remarks
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. and international gay rights supporters called on Friday for a boycott of Italian pasta maker Barilla, whose chairman said he would never feature a gay family in its advertising.
Gambling pro Archie Karas charged with defrauding casino
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – World-renowned professional poker player Archie Karas, has been arrested on charges of cheating and defrauding a casino after authorities say he was caught marking cards at a California blackjack table.
Miss Teen USA’s former classmate accused as webcam peeper
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf said on Friday it was “weird” to learn that the 19-year-old California man charged with hacking into her webcam and taking nude photos in a so-called “sextortion” case, was a high school classmate.
Tennessee moves to single-drug executions despite pentobarbital shortage
(Reuters) – Tennessee said on Friday that it will begin to use only pentobarbital to execute death row inmates despite a shortage of the drug.
Judge denies former New Orleans mayor’s bid to delay trial
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – A judge on Friday denied an effort by former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin to postpone his corruption trial, which he said had been compromised by inflammatory comments posted online by prosecutors.
Plane crashes on anti-coca mission in Colombia; U.S. pilot killed
BOGOTA (Reuters) – An American pilot was killed and a U.S. co-pilot seriously injured on Friday when their plane crashed while on a mission to eradicate coca plants in southern Colombia, police said.
In big shift, Exxon to provide same-sex marriage benefits
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp said on Friday it will extend benefits to spouses of its U.S. workers in same-sex marriages, a sweeping reversal by one of the world’s top companies following a landmark Supreme Court ruling in June.
Judge allows challenges to Illinois gay marriage ban to proceed
(Reuters) – An Illinois judge on Friday allowed two lawsuits challenging the state’s ban on gay marriage to proceed, possibly setting the stage for state courts rather than the legislature to decide whether same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in …
Government shutdown would hit Pentagon civilians – again
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Defense Department will put half its 800,000 civilian employees on unpaid leave next week and halt military activity not critical to national security if Congress fails to resolve a looming funding crisis, Pentagon offic…
New Jersey judge allows same-sex marriage
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A New Jersey judge on Friday ordered state officials to allow same-sex couples to marry starting October 21, saying the current civil union system unfairly deprives them of federal benefits available to married couples.
