SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island education officials
have approved allowing the state's public higher education
institutions to arm campus police.
GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) — The Boy Scouts of America threw open
its ranks Thursday to gay Scouts but not gay Scout leaders — a
fiercely contested compromise that some warned could fracture the
organization and lead to mass defections of members and donors.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The state's highest court on Thursday
dismissed Ralph Nader's lawsuit against Democrats he had accused of
trying to keep him off ballots in Maine and other states during his
failed presidential run in 2004.
By M.B. Pell (Reuters) - A dispute between government
agencies over the investigation into the deadly explosion at a
Texas fertilizer plant intensified on Thursday when the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives hit back after being
criticized by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB). The board's
allegations that its investigation into the causes of the April 17
tragedy was hindered by the ATF or the Texas State Fire Marshal's
Office is a misrepresentation of what actually occurred, the ATF
said. ...
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — St. Paul authorities shut down a popular
fossil-hunting area in a riverside park Thursday, one day after two
children were killed and two others injured by a landslide.
PHOENIX (AP) — The Jodi Arias murder trial has drawn
international attention for its graphic tales of sex and lies. The
following is a timeline of some of the key events in the case:
PHOENIX (AP) — The jury in Jodi Arias' murder trial has failed
to reach a verdict against the woman they convicted of murdering
Travis Alexander. The next steps:
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — International terrorist Moktar Belmoktar,
whose group led the January attack on the Ain Amenas gas plant in
Algeria, has announced that his fighters took part in Thursday's
attack on a French-operated uranium mine in Niger.
By Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - Among those tuning in to
President Barack Obama's national security speech on Thursday were
some prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, who rely on
television broadcasts and newspapers for hints about their fate.
"Detainees follow all coverage of Guantanamo closely, including
today's speech, and the post-speech commentary, analysis and
editorials," said Navy Captain Robert Durand, a spokesman for the
Guantanamo detention operation. "There is interest and discussion,
but no discernible reaction," he said. ...
The Boy Scouts of America voted Thursday to approve the
admission of openly gay youth members but left in place a ban on
homosexual adult scout leaders, raising the prospect of gay scouts
having to leave the group when they become adults.
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — A once-prominent swimming coach who
trained thousands of children was sentenced to seven years in
prison Thursday for sexually abusing one of the girls he
instructed.
PHOENIX (AP) — The jury in Jodi Arias' trial was dismissed
Thursday after failing to reach a unanimous decision on whether the
woman they convicted of murdering her one-time boyfriend should be
sentenced to life or death in a case that has captured headlines
worldwide with its sex, lies, violence.
By Tim Gaynor PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona jury weighing
whether Jodi Arias should be put to death for the brutal murder of
her ex-boyfriend deadlocked on Thursday and the judge ordered a
retrial of the penalty phase of the case. Arias, a former waitress
from California, was found guilty this month in the murder of
Travis Alexander, whose body was found slumped in the shower of his
Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He was stabbed 27 times, had his
throat slashed and was shot in the face. ...
By Ann Saphir SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The clearinghouse for
all stock options said Thursday it will adopt a policy aimed at
abolishing a dividend-linked trading strategy that critics say
could destabilize markets if left unchecked. The change at
Chicago-based OCC is likely to hurt market share at Nasdaq OMX
Group Inc's biggest options venue, where nearly all of U.S.
dividend-linked options trading takes place. "The new policy will
likely result in a significant reduction in dividend plays," OCC
said in a statement. ...
PHOENIX (AP) — A Republican member of the Arizona House who
supports GOP Gov. Jan Brewer's push to expand Medicaid received an
obscene and threatening voicemail at her office, a sign that the
rancorous debate over embracing a signature component of President
Barack Obama's health care overhaul in the state is far from
over.
Bipartisan immigration reformers in the House haven’t yet
managed to clinch a deal, missing their self-imposed deadline, but
neither has the group called it quits.
[Updated at 6:55 p.m. CT] DALLAS – The Boy Scouts of America,
one of the country’s largest and oldest youth organizations,
decided on Thursday to break 103 years of tradition by allowing
openly gay members into its ranks. The controversial move was
approved by more than 60 percent of the approximate 1,400 votes
cast by [...]
YORBA LINDA, Calif. (AP) — U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Doug Burns
was on a night reconnaissance mission searching for enemy trucks
when he was shot down by anti-aircraft fire and taken prisoner
during the Vietnam War.
By Susan Cornwell and Jane Sutton WASHINGTON/MIAMI (Reuters) -
President Barack Obama's pledge on Thursday to lift a ban on
transfers of detainees to Yemen from the prison at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, addresses one of the core obstacles to clearing out the
detention camp. Of the 86 detainees who have been cleared for
transfer or release, 56 are from Yemen, where al Qaeda has a
dangerous presence. There are 80 more prisoners who are not cleared
and an unknown number of those are Yemeni as well. Most of the
Yemeni prisoners were captured more than a decade ago. ...
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Data released Thursday by the defense
from slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin's cellphone includes
texts with a friend about fighting, smoking pot and being forced to
move out of his mother's house because of trouble at school, as
well as photos of a gun and what looks to be a potted marijuana
plant.
By Noel Randewich (Reuters) - Salesforce.com Inc's quarterly
earnings and outlook disappointed investors as costs rise following
a spree of acquisitions, sending its shares lower. Under Marc
Benioff, Salesforce's CEO and founder, the company's fast revenue
growth has made it a favorite with investors eager to own part of
the growing trend among businesses to outsource their information
technology needs - from servers to software, a phenomenon known as
cloud computing. But Salesforce has struggled to earn consistent
profits. ...
NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Weiner set out to reintroduce himself
to voters Thursday as he embarked on a mayoral bid after leaving
Congress in a sexting scandal. He found a much more supportive
reception in his first campaign stop than he did from the state's
top Democrat, who bluntly criticized his candidacy a day
earlier.
NEW YORK (AP) — Anthony Weiner set out to reintroduce himself
to voters Thursday as he embarked on a mayoral bid after leaving
Congress in a sexting scandal. He found a much more supportive
reception in his first campaign stop than he did from the state's
top Democrat, who bluntly criticized his candidacy a day
earlier.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — An eastern Pennsylvania woman who
fatally stabbed her fiance on their wedding day — and then
apparently could not comprehend that he had died — was convicted of
first-degree murder on Thursday.
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — An 11-year study of the incidence of
brain cancer at jet engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney in the
state ended Thursday with university researchers saying they found
no statistically significant elevations in the rate of cancer among
workers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Procter & Gamble is bringing back former
CEO A.G. Lafley, a 33-year industry veteran, to its top post in a
surprise move as the world's largest consumer goods maker tries to
improve its results globally.
PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona jury tasked with determining
whether convicted killer Jodi Arias should be put to death for the
brutal murder of an ex-boyfriend failed to reach a unanimous
verdict on Thursday, and a judge ordered a retrial in the penalty
phase. Arias, 32, was found guilty earlier this month in the murder
of Travis Alexander, whose body was found slumped in the shower of
his Phoenix-area home in June 2008. He was stabbed 27 times, had
his throat slashed and was shot in the face. (Reporting by Tim
Gaynor; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
PHOENIX (AP) — The judge in the Jodi Arias murder trial
declared a mistrial in the penalty phase Thursday after the jury
reported for a second time that it was deadlocked on whether to
sentence her to life in prison or death for killing her boyfriend
in 2008.
By Siddharth Cavale (Reuters) - U.S. retailer Sears Holdings
cast bigger doubts on the progress of its turnaround after
reporting a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss, hurt by cooler
spring weather. Shares of the company, which also said it was
considering selling its service contracts business, fell 12 percent
to $51.41 in heavy trading after the bell. The disappointing
results came just months after Chairman and controlling shareholder
Eddie Lampert took over as chief executive from Louis D'Ambrosio,
who stepped down due to a family member's health issue. ...
By Marice Richter GRAPEVINE, Texas (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts
of America voted on Thursday to lift a ban on openly gay scouts
that had been in place throughout the organization's 103-year
history, capping weeks of intense lobbying on both sides, the group
said in a statement. More than 60 percent of the group's National
Council, composed of some 1,400 delegates, voted to end the ban
effective January 1, 2014. A prohibition on openly gay adult
leaders remains in place. ...
DENVER (AP) — In the most prominent challenge of its kind,
Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. asked a federal appeals court Thursday for
an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires
it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the
morning-after pill.
DENVER (AP) — In the most prominent challenge of its kind,
Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. asked a federal appeals court Thursday for
an exemption from part of the federal health care law that requires
it to offer employees health coverage that includes access to the
morning-after pill.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge has refused to let the
city of New Orleans out of a potentially expensive agreement to
reform its troubled police department.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama sought Thursday to
advance the U.S. beyond the unrelenting war effort of the past
dozen years, defining a narrower terror threat from smaller
networks and homegrown extremists rather than the grandiose plots
of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama sought Thursday to
advance the U.S. beyond the unrelenting war effort of the past
dozen years, defining a narrower terror threat from smaller
networks and homegrown extremists rather than the grandiose plots
of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida.