| Rolling Stone apologizes for 'discrepancies' in UVA rape story Posted: 05 Dec 2014 11:36 AM PST  An article about an alleged gang rape has led to an apology from the magazine.
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| Rolling Stone apologizes for University of Virginia rape story Posted: 05 Dec 2014 11:19 AM PST (Reuters) - Rolling Stone magazine on Friday apologized for its November story about an alleged 2012 gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity. Rolling Stone Managing Editor Will Dana said there were "discrepancies" in the account given by a woman identified as "Jackie" of an assault by seven men at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house. "In the face of new information, there now appear to be discrepancies in Jackie's account, and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced," Dana said in a note to readers. ... |
| FBI probes pedestrian death in Missouri as possible hate crime Posted: 05 Dec 2014 10:14 AM PST By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - The FBI is investigating the hit-and-run death of a 15-year-old boy struck while leaving the Somali Center of Kansas City as a possible hate crime, local authorities said on Friday. An SUV crashed into the teenager, who is of Somali descent, on Thursday evening as he was leaving the center, possibly intentionally, and the driver was arrested after he fled the scene on foot, Kansas City Police Sergeant Kari Thompson said. The teenager was taken to a hospital, where he died, Thompson said. ... |
| March seeks justice for black Missouri teen killed by police Posted: 05 Dec 2014 09:42 AM PST By Carey Gillam (Reuters) - Activists protesting police treatment of black Americans neared the end of a 120-mile (190-km) march from Ferguson to the Missouri governor's mansion on Friday, concluding a "journey for justice" tied to the police killing of an unarmed black teenager. A cold rain fell on about 120 marchers, a group that included children and adults from a mixture of racial backgrounds, as they neared the state capital in Jefferson City. The march, which began Nov. ... |
| Ex-wife of oil magnate Harold Hamm appeals $1 billion divorce ruling Posted: 05 Dec 2014 09:27 AM PST  (Reuters) - Sue Ann Arnall, the ex-wife of Continental Resources Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Harold Hamm, has appealed a divorce judgment that awarded her around $1 billion from the Hamm marital estate, her lawyers said on Friday. The appeal by Ms. Arnall, who has gone back to using her maiden name, comes after Oklahoma County Court Judge Howard Haralson ruled last month that Hamm would have to pay her around $1 billion, including cash and assets, over a period of years as a result of the couple's divorce. ...
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| Angry families of MH17 crash victims seek U.N. investigation Posted: 05 Dec 2014 09:11 AM PST  By Anthony Deutsch AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Relatives of MH17 crash victims, angered by what they see as Dutch mishandling of inquiries into the disaster, want a special U.N. envoy to launch an international investigation. A letter sent to Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, said Dutch officials had failed to build a case. They asked that inquiries by the Safety Board and prosecution service be handed over to the United Nations. Rutte should "request the U.N. to appoint a special envoy to take over," said the letter written by Van der Goen Attorneys. ...
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| Maryland high school evacuated after bomb threat, package found Posted: 05 Dec 2014 07:17 AM PST (Reuters) - A Maryland high school was evacuated on Friday when a suspicious device was discovered outside the building after a bomb threat, a Baltimore County Police Department spokesman said. Kenwood High School in Essex, a Baltimore suburb, closed early on Friday "due to a threat and an abundance of caution," the school said in a statement. The package was discovered early on Friday. The bomb threat was emailed Thursday, but was not read until Friday, the spokesman said. Tactical teams are at the school. (Reporting by John Clarke and Ian Simpson; Editing by Susan Heavey) |
| Ferguson marchers to arrive at Missouri Capitol Posted: 05 Dec 2014 06:27 AM PST  JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — About 50 people protesting the police shooting of Michael Brown are expected to arrive at the Missouri Capitol after a 130-mile march from the shooting site in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.
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| U.N. rights experts seek review of U.S. police practices Posted: 05 Dec 2014 06:10 AM PST By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - United Nations human rights experts on Friday called for a halt to racial profiling by U.S. law enforcement officers and a review of laws allowing police to use lethal force. The independent experts regretted that grand juries in the United States had failed to indict police officers for killing two unarmed black men in separate incidents that have led to mass protests. ... |
| Why the White House torpedoed Harry Reid's tax deal: The competing claims Posted: 05 Dec 2014 05:53 AM PST  President Obama blew up a tax deal between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and House Republicans. Both sides have explanations as to why. But in the end, it might just be an instance of a bitterly personal grudge match.
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| German man punished for joining Islamic State Posted: 05 Dec 2014 05:36 AM PST By Maria Sheahan FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A 20-year-old German man was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on Friday after he admitted joining Islamic State militants in Syria, in the first trial in Germany of a home-grown jihadi accused of membership of the insurgent group. Judges decided to treat the man, known as Kreshnik B., who was born in Germany to Kosovan parents and spent six months in Syria last year, as a juvenile because of his lack of maturity. They said there was no evidence he had fought directly. ... |
| NASA tries again to launch new Orion spacecraft Posted: 05 Dec 2014 04:12 AM PST  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA took another shot at launching its new Orion spacecraft Friday, a day after gusty wind and sticky valves held up the critical test flight.
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| Obama to nominate Ashton Carter as defense secretary Posted: 05 Dec 2014 03:24 AM PST  President Barack Obama will nominate former senior Pentagon official Ashton Carter on Friday to replace Chuck Hagel as defense secretary, the White House said. Carter is expected to win Senate confirmation easily in 2015.
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| Phoenix police shooting is latest to ignite outcry Posted: 05 Dec 2014 02:52 AM PST PHOENIX (AP) — The deadly shooting of a black, unarmed drug suspect by a white Phoenix police officer who mistook a pill bottle for a gun demonstrates the challenges law enforcement agencies face at a time of unrest over police tactics. |
| Report: No evidence Christie involved in bridge plot Posted: 05 Dec 2014 02:06 AM PST  TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey lawmakers probing politically motivated traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge last year have found no evidence that Gov. Chris Christie was involved in the scheme.
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| New Jersey panel finds no evidence governor involved in lane closures Posted: 05 Dec 2014 01:33 AM PST (Reuters) - A New Jersey panel investigating lane closures to the George Washington Bridge last year, which sparked a political firestorm, said in an interim report it had found no evidence that Governor Chris Christie was involved, local media reported. Christie, a potential Republican candidate for president in 2016, suffered a setback from the "Bridgegate" scandal. Critics said the closures were an act of political retribution. ... |
| Phoenix police officer shoots dead unarmed black man during scuffle Posted: 04 Dec 2014 10:58 PM PST By Daniel Wallis (Reuters) - A Phoenix police officer shot to death an unarmed black man during a struggle and authorities said the officer believed the individual had a gun, in the latest fatal incident amid national turmoil over the policing of black communities. On Thursday night, some 200 demonstrators protested against the killing of 34-year-old Rumain Brisbon, marching to Phoenix police headquarters and blocking streets, broadcaster CBS5 reported. ... |
| NASA's deep space capsule poised for 2nd launch bid Posted: 04 Dec 2014 10:42 PM PST  NASA counted down Friday to its second try at test-launching the deep space Orion capsule on its first journey into orbit, after wind gusts and rocket problems delayed Thursday's attempt. The unmanned four-hour flight aims to test crucial systems like the heat shield and parachute splashdown on a spacecraft that could one day transport humans to an asteroid, the Moon or Mars. The window for liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida opens at 7:05 am (1205 GMT) and lasts for two hours, 44 minutes. The weather forecast for Friday was 60 percent favorable, but winds were expected to be in a slightly better pattern than they were Thursday, when some gusts led to delays that were followed by a scrub due to technical problems with the rocket, NASA said.
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| U.S. couple released by Qatar in child death return to Los Angeles Posted: 04 Dec 2014 07:00 PM PST  By Dan Whitcomb LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - An American couple convicted and later cleared of wrongdoing in the death of their adopted African-born daughter in Qatar returned to Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon, a family spokesman said on Twitter. Matthew and Grace Huang left the tiny Gulf Arab state on Wednesday after a ban on their travel issued by that government was lifted, ending a nearly two-year ordeal. "Mission accomplished. Matt and Grace are in Los Angeles. They have not stopped smiling," spokesman Eric Volz said in a tweet posted about 3 p.m. PST. ...
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| Illinois asks high court for pension law hearing as soon as January Posted: 04 Dec 2014 06:11 PM PST CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois' top attorney asked the state supreme court on Thursday to put constitutional challenges to a pension reform law on the fast track by scheduling oral arguments as soon as Jan. 22 and no later than March 10. Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion to accelerate the state's appeal of a Nov. 21 Sangamon County Circuit Court judge's ruling that the law aimed at easing Illinois' huge pension burden violated protections in the state constitution for public worker retirement benefits. ... |
| Top U.S. justice official promises probe after NYC police chokehold death Posted: 04 Dec 2014 05:04 PM PST  By Sebastien Malo, Barbara Goldberg and Joseph Ax NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday promised a full investigation into the choking death of an unarmed black man by a white New York police officer as protests flared for a second day over a grand jury's decision declining to bring criminal charges in the case. ...
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| L.A. police chief finds fault with shooting of unarmed man after chase Posted: 04 Dec 2014 04:49 PM PST By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Three Los Angeles police officers who killed an unarmed man after a car chase last year, in a shooting caught on live television, acted in violation of the department's use of force policy, the police chief said in a report released on Thursday. The three officers have said they thought 51-year-old Brian Beaird was reaching for a gun or shooting at them when they fired on him 21 times last December in an incident in downtown Los Angeles that raised questions about police use of force. ... |
| Hagel dismisses reports he resigned over differences with Obama Posted: 04 Dec 2014 03:28 PM PST  By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Thursday his resignation last week was not prompted by "major differences" with President Barack Obama, pushing back against statements that he had been fired or quit due to White House micromanagement. Hagel, speaking publicly for the first time about his Nov. 24 resignation, said he decided to step down after several conversations with the president led him to conclude that now was the best timing for a Pentagon leadership change. ...
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| U.S.: Cleveland police poorly trained, reckless Posted: 04 Dec 2014 01:37 PM PST  CLEVELAND (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and Cleveland reached an agreement Thursday to overhaul the city's police department after federal investigators concluded that officers use excessive and unnecessary force far too often and have endangered the public and their fellow officers with their recklessness.
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