| Boehner vows to avoid government shutdown with help from Democrats Posted: 04 Dec 2014 12:16 PM PST  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Overriding objections from some conservative Republicans, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner vowed on Thursday to plow ahead with a spending bill that averts a government shutdown while keeping some budget "leverage" over President Barack Obama's immigration order. Boehner said he expected the bill, which provides full funding for all government agencies except the Department of Homeland Security through September 2015, to pass next week with some votes from Democrats, just ahead of a Dec. 11 deadline. ...
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| House rebukes Obama on immigration Posted: 04 Dec 2014 11:59 AM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have passed a bill denouncing President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration and declaring them "null and void."
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| Justice Department finds Cleveland Police use excessive force Posted: 04 Dec 2014 10:52 AM PST By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An investigation by the U.S. Justice Department has found the Cleveland Police Department systematically engages in excessive use of force against civilians, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday. The investigation began in March 2013 and carries added weight after an incident last month when a Cleveland police officer shot dead a 12-year-old boy who was carrying what turned out to be a toy gun on a playground. The findings will prompt federally mandated reforms, which have yet to be determined, but carry no criminal charges. ... |
| U.S. Attorney General to announce findings of Cleveland police probe Posted: 04 Dec 2014 10:04 AM PST  By Julia Edwards WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder will announce on Thursday the findings of a Justice Department investigation of police in Cleveland over possible civil rights violations such as excessive use of force. The investigation began in March 2013, before a Cleveland police officer, Timothy Loehmann, last month shot dead a 12-year-old boy, Tamir Rice, who was carrying what turned out to be a toy gun on a playground. ...
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| Texan charged with shooting prosecutors called 'killing machine' in court Posted: 04 Dec 2014 09:47 AM PST  By Lisa Maria Garza ROCKWALL, Texas (Reuters) - Prosecutors in closing arguments on Thursday in the trial of a former justice of the peace accused of shooting dead two Texas prosecutors called him "a ruthless killing machine" who had carefully plotted out his crimes. Lawyers for Eric Williams, 47, said the prosecution did not have enough evidence and proof of a reasonable motive that points to their client as the culprit. Williams is charged with murdering District Attorney Mike McLelland, his wife, Cynthia, and Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse in early 2013. ...
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| Live updates: Grand jury decision in Eric Garner case sparks more protests Posted: 04 Dec 2014 09:14 AM PST  Protests continue over the New York grand jury's decision.
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| Washington pays final respects to ex-Mayor Marion Barry Posted: 04 Dec 2014 08:26 AM PST  By Ian Simpson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington, D.C., on Thursday began its three-day final farewell to the late Marion Barry, the former mayor who remained a hero to many in the city despite a crack cocaine conviction. Barry, known as the District of Columbia's "mayor for life" after four terms in office, died on Nov. 23 at 78 due to heart problems. He was a city councilman when he died, representing impoverished Ward 8. ...
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| Republicans seem poised to expand Senate majority Posted: 04 Dec 2014 07:02 AM PST  Rep. Bill Cassidy's race against Sen. Mary Landrieu could complete the 2014 GOP onslaught.
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| Ford recalls about 20,000 cargo vans due to loose plastic panel Posted: 04 Dec 2014 06:28 AM PST  DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it is recalling almost 20,000 Transit Connect cargo vans in the United States and its territories because of a potential loose plastic panel. The No. 2 U.S. automaker is recalling 19,825 vans from model year 2014 because an exterior plastic panel on the sliding doors may not stick properly, resulting in noise, water leaks, a loose panel, or a separation while the vehicle is in motion. That could increase the risk of an accident or injury. ...
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| Minimum wage fight hits the streets of 160 U.S. cities Thursday Posted: 04 Dec 2014 05:37 AM PST  By Mark Guarino (Reuters) - Workers in the fast-food, home care and airline industries are staging protests and strikes throughout the United States on Thursday to advocate for a $15 minimum wage and other labor rights. The protests are under a banner organization called "Fight for 15" and organizers say they expect Thursday's actions will represent the most expansive to date, increasing to a planned 160 cities from 150 in a similar nationwide protest in early September. There is also a greater diversity of labor groups participating. ...
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| Woman arrested on suspicion of killing U.S. teacher: UAE police Posted: 04 Dec 2014 05:04 AM PST ABU DHABI (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates (UAE) police have arrested a woman suspected of killing of an American teacher found stabbed to death in a ladies' toilet at an Abu Dhabi shopping mall, police said on Thursday. (Reporting by Matt Smith and Noah Browning, Writing by William Maclean) |
| Launch of new Orion spacecraft stalled again Posted: 04 Dec 2014 04:32 AM PST  NASA's new Orion spacecraft will have to wait a little longer to fly.
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| Matt Bai: Jeb Bush is right about 2016 Posted: 04 Dec 2014 03:26 AM PST  The smart play for 2016, if you're a Republican like Jeb Bush or Chris Christie or Marco Rubio, may be to let the other guys fight it out for Survivalist of the Year and set your sights on the party's other, broader constituencies: the right-leaning independents and mainline conservatives who fear that a Republican nominee too easily caricatured as extreme will lead the country straight into the embrace of Hillary Clinton. If you can unify that voting bloc, more or less, and end up going one-on-one with a candidate like Rand Paul or Scott Walker on Super Tuesday, then you've got a very real path to the nomination.
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| Gun battle breaks out in Chechen capital, 9 dead Posted: 04 Dec 2014 02:04 AM PST  GROZNY, Russia (AP) — A gun battle broke out early Thursday in the capital of Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, leaving at least three traffic police officers and six gunmen dead, authorities said. The fighting punctured the patina of stability ensured by years of heavy-handed rule by a Kremlin-appointed leader.
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| NYC simmers after chokehold decision Posted: 04 Dec 2014 12:09 AM PST  The city reacts after a grand jury fails to indict a cop in the death of Eric Garner.
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| FSU quarterback tells rape hearing accuser 'is lying' Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:39 PM PST  By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Florida State University star quarterback Jameis Winston told a student conduct hearing that a woman who accused him of raping her two years ago was "lying" about their encounter, according to media reports on Wednesday. The 20-year-old sophomore, the top U.S. college football player last year after winning the Heisman Trophy, gave his version in a statement to a former Florida Supreme Court justice retained by the university to hear testimony. ...
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| NYC simmers after Garner decision Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:23 PM PST  The city responds following the decision to not indict a cop who used a fatal chokehold on an unarmed man.
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| NECC trustee files compensation plan for 2012 meningitis outbreak victims Posted: 03 Dec 2014 09:07 PM PST  (Reuters) - The trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of a Massachusetts pharmacy linked to a 2012 meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people, filed a plan that would set aside at least $135 million to compensate victims and their families. The plan was filed after a federal bankruptcy court in July approved a deal to settle scores of lawsuits against New England Compounding Center (NECC). NECC shut down in October 2012 after authorities linked it to the worst outbreak of fungal meningitis in U.S. history due to drugs it shipped to health providers across the country. ...
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| Alabama anti-discrimination bill to be named after Apple's Tim Cook Posted: 03 Dec 2014 07:17 PM PST  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Reuters) - An anti-discrimination bill championed by Alabama's only openly gay lawmaker will bear the name of Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook, a native of the state who came out as gay in October. Democratic state Representative Patricia Todd said on Wednesday the technology giant was initially hesitant about having Cook's name on her bill but later embraced the idea. Cook came out days after accepting an Alabama Academy of Honor award with a speech critical of the socially conservative state's lack of progress on rights for gay people. ...
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| U.S. military sex assault reports up 8 percent: officials Posted: 03 Dec 2014 06:14 PM PST  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sexual assaults reported by U.S. military troops rose 8 percent in 2014 amid signs that victims are increasingly confident about reporting the attacks, defense officials said on Wednesday ahead of the formal release of the annual figures. Defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said military personnel reported 5,983 sexual assaults in the 2014 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, compared with 5,518 the previous year. ...
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| Sharpton calls for Washington march after Garner ruling Posted: 03 Dec 2014 05:59 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Civil rights activist Al Sharpton on Wednesday called for a protest march in Washington following a New York grand jury decision not to indict a white policeman in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man. "We have no confidence in local state prosecutions because state prosecutors work hand in hand with the local police," the veteran civil rights activist told a news conference in Harlem to announce the Dec. 13 march. ...
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| NY policeman not indicted in chokehold death; U.S. Justice sets probe Posted: 03 Dec 2014 05:09 PM PST  By Barbara Goldberg and Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City grand jury decision not to charge a white police officer who killed an unarmed black man with a chokehold sparked outrage and protests on Wednesday, and the U.S. Justice Department said it would investigate the incident. Eric Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, was accused of illegally selling cigarettes on July 17 when police officers tackled him and put him in a chokehold. Police said he had been resisting arrest. The city's medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. ...
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| Obama's pick to head Pentagon not always on same page as president Posted: 03 Dec 2014 04:38 PM PST  By Andrea Shalal and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ashton Carter, a veteran Washington insider President Barack Obama is expected to name as his new defense secretary, built a reputation as a behind-the-scenes team player during many years in senior Pentagon posts. But scrutiny of the 60-year-old former physicist's views on issues ranging from North Korea to Iraq to defense spending also show an independent thinker whose opinions have not always aligned fully with those of the president. ...
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| Live updates: No charges for NYPD officer in chokehold death of Eric Garner Posted: 03 Dec 2014 04:03 PM PST  The city responds following the decision to not indict a cop who used a fatal chokehold on an unarmed man.
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| Would-be California militant is schizophrenic, lawyer says Posted: 03 Dec 2014 03:11 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A California man accused of trying to cross into Canada to eventually join the Islamic State militant group has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, his lawyer said Wednesday. Nicholas Teausant, 21, was arrested in March as he allegedly headed to the border in hopes of joining Islamic State, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria and has claimed responsibility for beheading Western hostages. ... |
