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• Top theater chains drop 'The Interview'
• Montana homeowner found guilty in slaying of German exchange student
• Texas woman convicted of killing child freed from prison on bond
• Ohio police use pepper spray on crowd lined up for Air Jordans
• Clinton early 2016 front-runner — but 'barely': NBC News/WSJ poll
• Florida's Cuban Americans rejoice at U.S. policy overhaul
• Bird flu found in wild birds in Washington state: USDA
• Texas ex-justice of the peace sentenced to death for revenge murder
• After Alan Gross release, Obama seeks to resume full diplomatic ties with Cuba
• U.S., Cuba seek to normalize relations
• Cuba releases American Alan Gross after five years in prison: U.S. official
• Senate confirms new chief of U.S. auto safety agency
• Vastly changed electoral system presents risks and opportunities for Jeb Bush
• 'The Interview' New York premiere canceled after threat
• 'The Interview' New York premiere canceled after threat
• Pakistan mourns as mass funerals begin
• Aussie leader: Siege gunman dropped off watch list
• Tennessee police looking for Christmas tree thief
• Obama signs bill $1.1 trillion government spending bill
• USOC decides to bid for 2024; city still undecided
• L.A. mayor plans to equip city's police officers with body cameras
• Cosby won't be charged in 1974 sex claim
• No credible sign of plot against theaters showing Sony movie: U.S. official

Top theater chains drop 'The Interview' Posted: 17 Dec 2014 01:10 PM PST

Montana homeowner found guilty in slaying of German exchange student Posted: 17 Dec 2014 12:54 PM PST MISSOULA, Mont. (Reuters) - A jury found a Montana homeowner guilty of deliberate homicide on Wednesday in the shooting death of a German high school exchange student who entered his garage in a case that tested the state's version of a "castle doctrine" self-defense law. Markus Kaarma, who prosecutors painted as an armed aggressor who lured a would-be burglar to his death, was charged in connection with the April death of Diren Dede, 17, of Hamburg, who authorities say was killed while "garage hopping" at night in Missoula in a possible search for alcohol. ...

Texas woman convicted of killing child freed from prison on bond Posted: 17 Dec 2014 12:23 PM PST By Jom Forsyth SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas woman convicted of killing her 4-year-old foster child by force-feeding him an overdose of salt has been released on bail after an appeals court said there were sufficient questions in her original prosecution to warrant a new trial. Bond for Hannah Overton, 37, was set at $50,000, which was posted by friends of the Corpus Christi woman, and she was released from prison on Tuesday after serving about seven years behind bars. Nueces County District Attorney Mark Skurka did not respond to a request for comment. ...

Ohio police use pepper spray on crowd lined up for Air Jordans Posted: 17 Dec 2014 11:34 AM PST By George Tanber TOLEDO, Ohio (Reuters) - Police used pepper spray on Wednesday to disperse an unruly crowd of about 300 people lined up at a Toledo, Ohio, mall for an opportunity to buy Air Jordan sneakers. People began lining up in front of Franklin Park Mall around 3:30 a.m. for tickets passed out by employees of Finish Line, a national shoe chain. The ticket allowed them to buy the Nike Air Jordan Retro 11 Legend Blue, which goes on sale for $200 on Saturday. "It got pretty crazy," said Toledo police officer P. A. Tatum. ...

Clinton early 2016 front-runner — but 'barely': NBC News/WSJ poll Posted: 17 Dec 2014 10:31 AM PST While Hillary Clinton may be the prohibitive favorite to win the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, the margin of American voters who would support her in a general election is razor thin.

Florida's Cuban Americans rejoice at U.S. policy overhaul Posted: 17 Dec 2014 09:59 AM PST By Zachary Fagenson and David Adams MIAMI (Reuters) - Some Cuban exiles rejoiced at the prospect of easier access to their relatives. Some swelled with guarded optimism over the prospect of thawing relations between the United States and the communist island. And some were simply "ecstatic." News on Wednesday that the United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half century rippled through the 1.5-million-strong exile community in the United States, many of them lifelong opponents of communist rule. ...

Bird flu found in wild birds in Washington state: USDA Posted: 17 Dec 2014 09:42 AM PST (Reuters) - Two strains of avian influenza have been confirmed in wild birds in Washington state, near the U.S. border with Canada, but there is no immediate cause for public health concerns, U.S. agriculture officials said on Wednesday. Two separate virus strains were identified in Whatcom County, Washington, including H5N2 in northern pintail ducks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a statement. This same strain has killed thousands of birds on two Canadian farms in British Columbia. ...

Texas ex-justice of the peace sentenced to death for revenge murder Posted: 17 Dec 2014 08:03 AM PST DALLAS (Reuters) - A Texas jury on Wednesday sentenced to death a former justice of the peace convicted of murdering a suburban Dallas prosecutor's wife in a revenge plot. The same jury that convicted Eric Williams, 47, on Dec. 4 of murdering Cynthia McLelland sentenced him to death after deliberating for less than four hours. Williams has also been charged with murdering District Attorney Mike McLelland, who was Cynthia McClelland's husband, and Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hassle. ...

After Alan Gross release, Obama seeks to resume full diplomatic ties with Cuba Posted: 17 Dec 2014 07:46 AM PST President Obama will launch negotiations with Cuba.

U.S., Cuba seek to normalize relations Posted: 17 Dec 2014 07:30 AM PST These moves represent the biggest shift in U.S. policy toward the island in decades.

Cuba releases American Alan Gross after five years in prison: U.S. official Posted: 17 Dec 2014 06:25 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cuba has released American aid worker Alan Gross after five years in prison, a U.S. official said on Wednesday. Cuba arrested Gross, now 65, on Dec. 3, 2009, and later convicted the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) subcontractor to 15 years in prison for importing banned technology and trying to establish clandestine internet service for Cuban Jews. ABC News earlier said Gross was released in a humanitarian prisoner exchange. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Susan Heavey)

Senate confirms new chief of U.S. auto safety agency Posted: 17 Dec 2014 06:08 AM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate confirmed Mark Rosekind to lead the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has come under criticism this year for not responding more quickly to evidence of potentially deadly vehicle defects. Rosekind, an expert on human fatigue, has spent the past four years as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates major transportation accidents. The Senate confirmed his appointment by unanimous consent late Tuesday. ...

Vastly changed electoral system presents risks and opportunities for Jeb Bush Posted: 17 Dec 2014 04:31 AM PST The Internet may be Jeb's best hope of becoming the GOP nominee.

'The Interview' New York premiere canceled after threat Posted: 17 Dec 2014 02:09 AM PST The Interview's planned premiere in New York has been canceled, a Landmark spokesperson said Tuesday. The Sony film was scheduled to screen at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema.

'The Interview' New York premiere canceled after threat Posted: 17 Dec 2014 01:39 AM PST The Sony film was scheduled to screen at Landmark's Sunshine Cinema.  On principle, Sony was not going to cancel the premiere, but Landmark made the call according to a source.  The news comes after stars Seth Rogen and James Franco canceled promotional appearances slated for Tuesday and Wednesday.  Related: Sony Hack: Activists to Drop 'Interview' DVDs Over North Korea Via Balloon The premiere cancellation is the latest development following a Nov. 24 cyberattack on Sony. "Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made," the message from the hackers read in part.

Pakistan mourns as mass funerals begin Posted: 17 Dec 2014 01:06 AM PST The nation begins burying the 142 victims, most of them children, of the school attack.

Aussie leader: Siege gunman dropped off watch list Posted: 16 Dec 2014 11:10 PM PST SYDNEY (AP) — A gunman responsible for a deadly siege in a Sydney cafe was once on the national security agency's watch list — but was dropped off it years ago for reasons that remain unclear, Australia's prime minister said Wednesday.

Tennessee police looking for Christmas tree thief Posted: 16 Dec 2014 09:13 PM PST NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Reuters) - Police in suburban Nashville are looking for a Scrooge who sawed off a live Christmas tree loaded with decorations in a suspected holiday season theft. All that was left of the 10-foot tree was a tiny stump and a lot of questions as to who made off with heavily adorned tree from the front yard of Karen Wilkes, who told reporters it cost her $600 to have the tree planted about a month ago. Nothing else was taken from the yard, police said. ...

Obama signs bill $1.1 trillion government spending bill Posted: 16 Dec 2014 07:21 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed a $1.1 trillion spending bill passed by Congress last week that lifted the threat of a government shutdown. The legislation funds most government agencies through September 2015. The Department of Homeland Security will be treated differently, getting a funding extension only through Feb. 27, by which time Republicans will control both chambers of Congress. ...

USOC decides to bid for 2024; city still undecided Posted: 16 Dec 2014 05:13 PM PST The U.S. Olympic Committee has decided to bid for the 2024 Olympics, hoping to bring the Summer Games back to America after a 28-year absence.

L.A. mayor plans to equip city's police officers with body cameras Posted: 16 Dec 2014 04:40 PM PST By Michael Fleeman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles Mayor Gil Garcetti on Tuesday announced a plan to equip 7,000 of the city's police officers on the streets with body cameras, an ambitious initiative that comes amid nationwide protests over police killings of unarmed black men. The proposal would expand a privately funded, $1.5 million pilot project launched in January to provide officers on foot patrol in downtown Los Angeles with cameras to test. ...

Cosby won't be charged in 1974 sex claim Posted: 16 Dec 2014 03:18 PM PST LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian Bill Cosby, who has been the subject of dozens of sex abuse allegations over the past two months, will not be charged in connection with a 1974 sexual molestation claim, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said on Tuesday. The claim, which was recently brought by a California woman Judy Huth, was deemed to have been too old and surpassed the state's statute of limitations. Huth alleges Cosby molested her as a 15-year-old at the Playboy mansion. (Reporting by Eric Kelsey)

No credible sign of plot against theaters showing Sony movie: U.S. official Posted: 16 Dec 2014 01:53 PM PST BOSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is investigating a threat against theaters planning to show Sony Corp's controversial movie about an assassination of the leader of North Korea, and so far it has seen no credible sign of an active plot, an agency official said. A hacking group published what appear to be more internal emails on Tuesday and promised "bitter fate" for those who went to see the movie, "The Interview" following a devastating attack that severely damaged movie studio's network. (Reporting By Jim Finkle; writing by Peter Henderson)

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