| Texas attorney general aims to void marriage license for same-sex couple Posted: 20 Feb 2015 01:21 PM PST By Jon Herskovitz AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The Texas attorney general asked the state's Supreme Court on Friday to revoke a marriage license issued a day earlier to two women, arguing the move violated a decade-old state ban against gay marriage and could cause legal chaos. Travis County, where the capital Austin is located, issued a marriage license to Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, who have been together for about 30 years and have two daughters. |
| Amid controversy, oil trains quietly rerouted through Virginia towns Posted: 20 Feb 2015 01:04 PM PST  Hundreds of communities across the United States have become accustomed to the sight of mile-long oil trains rumbling by in recent years. Pembroke, Virginia, was not one of them, until now. CSX Corp is temporarily rerouting up to five oil trains through this small riverside town to bypass the site of an explosive oil train derailment that occurred 90 miles north in Mount Carbon, West Virginia, on Monday. In line with a federal protocol established last year following a string of fiery derailments across North America, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management on Tuesday informed 16 counties and cities that oil trains could be coming through their towns, local officials and fire departments said, one day after the Mount Carbon derailment.
|
| Ex-Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell sentenced Posted: 20 Feb 2015 11:27 AM PST  McDonnell receives her punishment for a role in a bribery scheme that destroyed her husband's career.
|
| Accused in U.S. sniper's murder faked schizophrenia: psychologist Posted: 20 Feb 2015 09:52 AM PST  A psychologist testified in court on Friday that the man charged with murdering U.S. Navy sniper Chris Kyle and another man on a Texas shooting range two years ago has been faking schizophrenia and knew what he did was wrong, media reports said. Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is accused of shooting Kyle, whose best-selling autobiography was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper, and Kyle's friend Chad Littlefield at the range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth. Defense attorneys, who have not disputed that Routh repeatedly shot the two men in February 2013, are seeking to have Routh declared innocent by reason of insanity. On Friday, psychologist Randall Price testified for the prosecution in a rural court in Stephenville, a day after a forensic psychiatrist for the defense told the jury that he found Routh had paranoid schizophrenia and showed signs of psychosis that could not be faked.
|
| N.Y. Governor Cuomo sets date for special congressional election Posted: 20 Feb 2015 09:36 AM PST  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday ordered a special election to be held in May to fill the seat vacated by a Staten Island congressman who pleaded guilty to felony tax evasion, hours before a deadline set by a federal judge. The election to replace former Rep. Michael Grimm is scheduled for May 5, according to an order issued by Cuomo's office. New York's 11th Congressional District includes the New York City borough of Staten Island and parts of the borough of Brooklyn. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn ordered Cuomo to set an election date by noon Friday in a lawsuit filed by district residents who said they had been disenfranchised by the vacancy.
|
| Rand Paul: Presidential announcement likely in March, April Posted: 20 Feb 2015 09:01 AM PST  The senator from Kentucky dropped a big hint about his 2016 ambitions.
|
| Illinois governor makes case to rating agencies on fiscal fix Posted: 20 Feb 2015 08:44 AM PST  By Karen Pierog CHICAGO (Reuters) - Governor Bruce Rauner is seeking to persuade credit rating agencies from further downgrading Illinois' weak ratings, shortly after presenting his turnaround budget to the state General Assembly. The Republican governor spoke with the three major credit rating agencies about his spending plan and agenda, his office said late on Thursday. Rauner, who took office in January, delivered his first Illinois budget address on Wednesday. Illinois' credit ratings at A3 and A-minus are the lowest among the 50 states and due to negative outlooks are tipping toward triple-B, a low investment-grade rating level rarely assigned to states.
|
| New Yorkers grimace through East Coast's bitter cold snap Posted: 20 Feb 2015 07:37 AM PST  By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Millions of people awoke to painfully cold weather in the eastern United States on Friday, with temperatures frigid enough in New York City to break a 65-year-old record low for Feb. 20. At his small grocery store in Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood, Mohammad Islam, 30, anticipated selling a lot of hot coffee as the temperature outside hovered around 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 15 degrees Celsius), beating the record low of 7 degrees set in 1950 according to National Weather Service records. "I've never seen cold like this," he said, noting he had moved to New York from Bangladesh in 2003. "I love every kind of weather here, all I got to do is dress warm," Ludlow Chamberlain, a 76-year-old custodian at the concert hall across the street, said before counting his layers.
|
| Parents of Michigan boy found in basement charged with torture Posted: 20 Feb 2015 07:04 AM PST (Reuters) - The parents of a then 12-year-old Detroit boy who disappeared for 11 days in June 2014 and was very thin when found by police in his family's basement have been charged with torture and child abuse, prosecutors said on Friday. Charles Bothuell IV, 46, and his wife, Monique Dillard-Bothuell, 37, have been charged with torture, which carries up to a life sentence, and second-degree child abuse, which calls for up to four years in prison, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. |
| Lawyer: Teen infected by 'superbug' struggling to survive Posted: 20 Feb 2015 06:33 AM PST  LOS ANGELES (AP) — An 18-year-old student is struggling to survive after he was infected by a "superbug" outbreak tied to contaminated medical instruments at a Los Angeles hospital, his attorney said.
|
| Refugees in Niger live under shadow of Boko Haram Posted: 20 Feb 2015 04:54 AM PST  Aboubacar, usually a worker for a non-governmental organisation, has now taken on another, more ominous role: watching out for suicide bombers. "We watch everyone," he said in Niger's second-largest city of Zinder. His fears reflect the shifting threat of Islamist extremist group Boko Haram, which has in recent weeks carried out attacks across the border from its base in northeastern Nigeria as regional forces pursue them. In the southern city of Zinder, the hot, dusty streets have seen a trail of refugees from Niger's Diffa, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) to the east.
|
| Warnings after blizzards sweep across Middle East Posted: 20 Feb 2015 04:04 AM PST  Snow blanketed much of Israel, Jordan and Lebanon early on Friday, with many residents urged to stay in their homes because of blocked or icy roads. People in Jerusalem woke up to around 25 centimetres of snow after the second major blizzard of winter swept across the hilltop Holy City. The two main highways into Jerusalem, which climb to around 795 metres (2,600 feet) above sea level, were closed in both directions for several hours but reopened at around midday, police said. "There's heavy snow falling in Jerusalem, about 25 centimetres (10 inches) so far and it will continue to fall throughout the day," Israel Meteorological Service forecaster Rinat Rehamim told public radio.
|
| Virginia ex-first lady to be sentenced for corruption Posted: 20 Feb 2015 03:31 AM PST  McDonnell was convicted in September along with her estranged husband, former Governor Robert McDonnell, for accepting $177,000 in sweetheart loans and lavish gifts from entrepreneur Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting his company's main product, an anti-inflammatory. The five-week trial in U.S. District Court laid bare rifts in the couple's marriage and tarnished Virginia's reputation for clean government. In court documents, prosecutors said Maureen McDonnell was unlikely ever again to have influence over an elected official but that an 18-month prison term would serve as a deterrent.
|
| Police: Victim knew suspect in Vegas road-rage killing Posted: 20 Feb 2015 01:00 AM PST  Police arrest a 19-year-old who lived a block away from the victim and her family.
|
| Food companies aim to reinvent diet foods to stay relevant Posted: 19 Feb 2015 11:26 PM PST By Anjali Athavaley NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumers are shifting away from weight-management foods, forcing companies ranging from Kellogg Co to Nestle SA to change ingredients and focus their marketing on different health benefits as sales slip. Food companies are grappling with how to market brands such as Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and Special K, and come out with new products tailored to changing tastes. Nestle will shift its Lean Cuisine frozen dinners from a diet brand to one built around "healthy eating and healthy lifestyles," said Jeff Hamilton, president of the prepared food division, in an interview on Thursday. The company, whose 2014 sales fell below its long-term goals, said that its performance in North America was hurt by its frozen foods business. |
| For Obamacare challengers, a Supreme Court case built for speed Posted: 19 Feb 2015 10:21 PM PST  By Joan Biskupic WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court case that could shatter President Barack Obama's healthcare law this year was launched as a backup plan by a libertarian group and a powerful Washington lawyer frustrated by the slow progress of their original lawsuit. Most states had declined to set up exchanges and the federal government stepped in to facilitate insurance-cost comparisons and enrollment.
|
| Destruction as massive cyclones hit Australia Posted: 19 Feb 2015 08:26 PM PST  Two powerful cyclones roared ashore in Australia Friday leaving a trail of destruction with buildings severely damaged, trees uprooted and power lines downed, cutting electricity to thousands of people. Tropical Cyclone Marcia, a category five tempest, slammed into the Queensland coast just after 2200 GMT Thursday with its landfall coming just hours after a second big storm -- Cyclone Lam -- hit further north. The category four Lam caused extensive damage to remote Aboriginal communities near Elcho Island, some 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of Northern Territory capital Darwin, including Milingimbi, Ramingining, and Gapuwiyak.
|
| California health officials say may not find source of measles outbreak Posted: 19 Feb 2015 06:32 PM PST  By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A senior California health official said on Thursday the source of a measles outbreak that has sickened 119 people in the state may never be identified, despite a finding that the same strain of virus had led to a wave of illness in the Philippines. More than 150 people across the United States have been diagnosed with measles, many linked to an outbreak that authorities believe began when an infected international traveler visited Disneyland in late December. California Department of Public Health researchers who genotyped specimens from 30 of the state's measles patients found all were of the same strain that caused an outbreak in the Philippines. "It is unlikely that the source of this outbreak will be identified, and although identifying the source would be of interest, our immediate goal is to stop the outbreak and it is not necessary to know the source to do this," Dr. Gil Chavez, deputy director of the California Department of Health, told Reuters.
 |
| Los Angeles hospital warns 179 patients possibly exposed to 'superbug' Posted: 19 Feb 2015 06:15 PM PST  By Steve Gorman and Deena Beasley LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A large Los Angeles teaching hospital has told scores of patients they may have been exposed to a drug-resistant bacterial "superbug" during endoscopy procedures that infected seven patients and contributed to two deaths. More than 170 patients who may have been infected by the carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, are being offered home testing kits that would be analyzed by the University of California at Los Angeles hospital system, UCLA officials said. The possible exposures occurred at the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center between Oct. 3 and Jan. 28 during procedures in which a specialized endoscope is inserted down the throat to diagnose and treat pancreatic and bile duct diseases. The UCLA hospital system said an internal investigation determined in late January that CRE may have been transmitted to patients by two of seven scopes being used by the center, all made by Olympus Medical Systems Group.
|
| Man charged with killing 'American Sniper' was schizophrenic: psychiatrist Posted: 19 Feb 2015 05:26 PM PST  A psychiatrist told a Texas court on Thursday that the man accused of murdering U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle had paranoid schizophrenia and showed signs of psychosis that could not be faked, media reports said. Eddie Ray Routh, 27, has been charged with killing Kyle, whose autobiography was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper," and Kyle's friend Chad Littlefield at a gun range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth in February 2013. Dr. Mitchell Dunn, a forensic psychiatrist who spent more than six hours interviewing Routh and was called by the defense, testified Routh believed that Kyle and Littlefield were going to kill him, the Dallas Morning News reported from the court in Stephenville.
|
| FBI agent testifies in case of New Jersey rabbis accused of kidnapping Posted: 19 Feb 2015 05:10 PM PST By Daniel Kelley TRENTON, N.J. (Reuters) - An undercover FBI agent testified on Thursday in a case involving three Orthodox Jewish rabbis in New Jersey accused of kidnapping and beating husbands to force them to grant divorces under Jewish law to their wives. Special Agent Jessica Weisman, who went by the name Rachel Marconi during the operation, said she weaved a complicated back story designed to provide a plausible excuse to the rabbis to explain why she knew no one from the close-knit Orthodox community in Lakewood, New Jersey. She told them of a husband in Argentina and provided them with fake wedding photos and counterfeit marriage contracts. The three rabbis - Mendel Epstein, Binyamin Stimler and Jay Goldstein - and Epstein's son David are accused of kidnapping or trying to kidnap men and torturing them with beatings and stun guns until they agreed to divorce their wives. |
| California mass shooter had penchant for Nazis, investigators say Posted: 19 Feb 2015 04:38 PM PST  By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 22-year-old California man who killed six college students last year before taking his own life in a rampage near Santa Barbara had an interest in Nazis and conducted a Web search for torture devices, a report released on Thursday showed. Elliot Rodger stabbed three men to death in his apartment in the community of Isla Vista last May before fatally shooting three more people and wounding 14 others near the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara. Rodger had a history of mental health issues and in an Internet manifesto before the rampage, expressed frustration about his lack of success with women. The report by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office detailing the outcome of its probe into the killings said investigators still could not determine what motivated Rodger to commit the slayings.
|
| Accused aide to Osama bin Laden opposed calls for violence, jury told Posted: 19 Feb 2015 02:44 PM PST  By Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for a Saudi man accused by U.S. prosecutors of acting as Osama bin Laden's lieutenant argued at the close of his trial on Thursday that he was a peaceful dissident who found the al Qaeda leader's violent ideology abhorrent. Khalid al-Fawwaz is charged with participating in several al Qaeda conspiracies, including one that resulted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, but he is not accused of planning the attacks. Instead, the government has said he provided crucial groundwork that facilitated the plot, such as sending equipment to al Qaeda members and functioning as bin Laden's "man in London." Defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim told jurors in federal court in Manhattan that the government was trying to make al-Fawwaz guilty by association. "This case seemed like it was the United States against Osama bin Laden," she said in closing arguments at the month-long trial.
|
| Police make arrest in road-rage killing of Vegas mom Posted: 19 Feb 2015 01:55 PM PST  A suspect was arrested Thursday in the killing of a Las Vegas mother of four who was gunned down a week ago in a road-rage shootout after giving her daughter a driving lesson, police said.
|
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire