U.S. high court appears to back Arizona on immigration

U.S. high court appears to back Arizona on immigration
Ex-altar boy testifies about sexual abuse by Philadelphia priests
Navy airman ambushed victims in California slayings, police say
Financial crises caused by "stupidity and greed": Geithner
Dad wires autistic son, exposes teachers' verbal abuse
College students protest debt on "Trillion Dollar Day"
George Zimmerman: Prelude to a shooting
Los Angeles airport screeners arrested on drug, corruption charges
Parents of missing Arizona girl tearfully plead for her return
First Hispanic Supreme Court justice takes prominent role
Plaintiffs seek $17.4 million in NYC vs China, Baidu lawsuit
Former Morgan Stanley star in China pleads guilty
CORRECTED-First Hispanic Supreme Court justice takes prominent role
New York judge refuses to dismiss Brazilian kickback case
Referendum ruling clouds Detroit's financial fix
Arizona Senate passes bill demanding return of federal lands
Navy airman ambushed victims in California slayings, police say
John Edwards' defense attacks aide's credibility
Remains are those of starved boy in Texas: official
Arizona executes killer who showed no remorse
First Hispanic Supreme Court justice takes prominent role
Wyoming neighbors of Chesapeake well leak evacuate
U.S. may lose chance to pass national drug trace plan
Marines discharging sergeant who criticized Obama on Facebook
Los Angeles airport screeners arrested on drug, corruption charges
Connecticut abolishes death penalty
HIV-positive man fights charge that saliva was deadly
Military to review course teaching "U.S. at war with Islam"
Four charged in $400 million Ponzi fraud
Los Angeles airport screeners arrested on drug, corruption charges
Hundreds march in Phoenix against Arizona immigration law
Financial crises caused by "stupidity and greed": Geithner
First Hispanic Supreme Court justice takes prominent role
Dad wires autistic son, exposes teachers' verbal abuse
Los Angeles airport screeners arrested on drug, corruption charges
Parents of missing Arizona girl tearfully plead for her return
Plaintiffs seek $17.4 million in NYC vs China, Baidu lawsuit
Navy airman ambushed victims in California slayings, police say
Referendum ruling clouds Detroit's financial fix
CORRECTED-First Hispanic Supreme Court justice takes prominent role

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservative justices who hold a majority on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to endorse Arizona's immigration crackdown on Wednesday, rejecting the Obama administration stance that the federal government has sole power over those who illegally enter the United States. During 80 minutes of oral arguments, the justices suggested by their questions and comments that states have significant latitude to adopt laws that discourage illegal immigrants from moving to and staying in the country. ...

Ex-altar boy testifies about sexual abuse by Philadelphia priests

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PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A 23-year-old man testified on Wednesday in the child sex abuse case against the Philadelphia Catholic Archdiocese that he was molested by two priests, one of whom prosecutors said had been known to church officials as a sex abuser years earlier. The testimony came at the trial of Monsignor William Lynn, former secretary of the clergy, who is charged with child endangerment and conspiracy over accusations he covered up abuse allegations against priests, many of whom were simply transferred to unsuspecting parishes. ...

Navy airman ambushed victims in California slayings, police say

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SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A Navy airman behind a January murder-suicide in California came home from a New Year's celebration and lay in wait for a man and a woman he had partied with, shooting them before killing a fellow Navy lieutenant and them himself, authorities said on Wednesday. The motive for the killings by Navy Lieutenant John Reeves, 25, remained unclear, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a statement as they concluded their investigation. Police said they had learned within days of the New Year's Day slayings that Reeves was responsible for killing the three people. ...

Financial crises caused by "stupidity and greed": Geithner

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PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner sought on Wednesday to reassure Americans that the Obama administration was doing what it could to rout out the bad actors from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. "The wheels of justice are turning now," Geithner said at an event in Portland after touring a factory there. "They are not turning as fast as people would like, but we have the best system in the world for making sure we can enforce the laws of the land," he said. ...

Dad wires autistic son, exposes teachers' verbal abuse

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New Jersey school district has fired at least two educators for verbally abusing autistic children after a father sent his 10-year-old autistic son to school wearing a hidden microphone upon suspecting he was being mistreated by staff. The audio recordings, made public in a 17-minute video later posted on YouTube, capture educators speaking in harsh tones to the autistic children, including one in which a woman tells the young boy what sounds like "You are a bastard. ...

College students protest debt on "Trillion Dollar Day"

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - College students held demonstrations in several U.S. cities on Wednesday to mark the day total U.S. student loan debt was expected to reach $1 trillion, with some burning student loan documents and others demanding a right to "debt-free degrees." The demonstrations for "One Trillion Dollar Day" come as President Barack Obama was visiting colleges to push Congress to extend the low interest rates on college loans to more than 7.4 million students. If lawmakers fail to act, rates on the loans will double on July 1 to 6.8 percent. ...

George Zimmerman: Prelude to a shooting

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SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - A pit bull named Big Boi began menacing George and Shellie Zimmerman in the fall of 2009. The first time the dog ran free and cornered Shellie in their gated community in Sanford, Florida, George called the owner to complain. The second time, Big Boi frightened his mother-in-law's dog. Zimmerman called Seminole County Animal Services and bought pepper spray. The third time he saw the dog on the loose, he called again. An officer came to the house, county records show. "Don't use pepper spray," he told the Zimmermans, according to a friend. ...

Los Angeles airport screeners arrested on drug, corruption charges

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two security screeners at Los Angeles International Airport have been arrested on drug trafficking and corruption charges, accused of taking bribes to allow large narcotic shipments through the airport, authorities said on Wednesday. The pair were arrested along with two former airport screeners. Authorities said the screeners allowed drugs to pass through x-ray machine checkpoints in five incidents in exchange for payments of as much as $2,400. ...

Parents of missing Arizona girl tearfully plead for her return

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TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - The anguished parents of a missing 6-year-old Arizona girl who authorities say may have been snatched from her bed made a tearful public appeal on Wednesday for her safe return, pleading to presumed abductors to "tell us what you want." Wearing T-shirts bearing their daughter's picture, Sergio and Becky Celis appeared before reporters for the first time since the Tucson girl was reported missing on Saturday, speaking briefly in a parking lot in 90-degree heat. ...

First Hispanic Supreme Court justice takes prominent role

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court was deep into arguments over Arizona's new immigration law on Wednesday when the high court's first Hispanic justice focused on how difficult it could be for police officers to determine whether someone they stop is in the United States legally. "What information does your (federal) system have?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli as she methodically extracted a core element of the Obama administration's case against the state of Arizona. ...

Plaintiffs seek $17.4 million in NYC vs China, Baidu lawsuit

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(Reuters) - Eight New York residents who accused the Chinese government and Baidu.com Inc of censoring their pro-democracy writings on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge for a $17.44 million default judgment. The plaintiffs had contended in a lawsuit filed last May that China and Baidu, that country's biggest Internet search company, conspired to suppress their speech in violation of the U.S. Constitution and various civil and human rights laws. Legal experts at the time called the case a stretch, noting China's defense that a U.S. ...

Former Morgan Stanley star in China pleads guilty

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Morgan Stanley executive pleaded guilty to conspiring to evade internal controls required by a U.S. anti-bribery law, in a case that underlines the fall of a once high-flying dealmaker for the firm in China. Garth Peterson, who was a managing director in Morgan Stanley's real estate investment and fund advisory business, also settled on Wednesday related charges with securities regulators, and agreed to roughly $3.7 million in sanctions and a permanent bar from the industry. ...

CORRECTED-First Hispanic Supreme Court justice takes prominent role

Posted:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court was deep into arguments over Arizona's new immigration law on Wednesday when the high court's first Hispanic justice focused on how difficult it could be for police officers to determine whether someone they stop is in the United States legally. "What information does your (federal) system have?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli as she methodically extracted a core element of the Obama administration's case against the state of Arizona. ...

New York judge refuses to dismiss Brazilian kickback case

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brazilian congressman Paulo Maluf lost a bid to dismiss charges filed against him in New York in 2007 for allegedly stealing $11.6 million from a Brazilian public works project when he was mayor of Sao Paulo. Maluf and his businessman son, Flavio, who also was charged, sought a court order to toss the indictment accusing them of participating in a kickback scheme in which money was run through a New York bank account and then transferred offshore. The Malufs also wanted the judge to lift Interpol "red notices" requesting they be arrested if they traveled outside Brazil. ...

Referendum ruling clouds Detroit's financial fix

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(Reuters) - Part of Detroit's recent deal to mend its shattered finances could be threatened if Michigan officials on Thursday rule that a referendum to repeal the state's controversial emergency manager law should be allowed on the November ballot. A decision by election officials to allow the referendum to be put before voters on November 6 would result in a suspension of the law, pending an actual vote on the measure. Opponents of the law object to the power it grants to essentially replace local elected officials with an emergency manager during a financial crisis. ...

Arizona Senate passes bill demanding return of federal lands

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PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona is poised to join next-door neighbor Utah in demanding the U.S. government transfer title to millions of acres of federal property to the state, fanning a renewed "sagebrush revolt" over control of public lands in the West. The Arizona state Senate, on a 19-9 vote, gave final legislative approval on Wednesday to a measure calling for federal agencies to relinquish roughly 48,000 square miles (124,000 sq km) of acreage they own in the Grand Canyon state by 2015. The Republican-backed bill was approved by the state House of Representatives on Monday. ...

Navy airman ambushed victims in California slayings, police say

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(Reuters) - A Navy airman behind a January murder-suicide in California came home from a New Year's celebration and lay in wait for a man and a woman he had partied with, shooting them before killing a fellow Navy lieutenant, police said on Wednesday. The motive for the killings by Navy Lieutenant John Reeves, 25, remained unclear, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a statement as they concluded their investigation. Police had found within days of the New Year's Day slayings that Reeves was responsible for killing the three people. ...

John Edwards' defense attacks aide's credibility

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GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator John Edwards' defense on Wednesday accused an ex-aide of lying about critical facts in the federal campaign finance prosecution stemming from Edwards' failed 2008 presidential bid. Andrew Young, who wrote a tell-all book about efforts to hide Edwards' pregnant mistress during the campaign, is now the government's key witness. He denied being untruthful, but admitted having described his former boss as "despicable." "You really hate him, don't you?" defense attorney Abbe Lowell asked. ...

Remains are those of starved boy in Texas: official

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DALLAS (Reuters) - Human remains discovered in a creek in a wooded area south of Dallas are those of a missing 10-year-old boy who police say apparently was starved to death by his parents, a local official said on Wednesday. Ellis County Justice of the Peace Bill Woody said a report from the Dallas County medical examiner's office indicates that the remains are those of Johnathan Ramsey. Police began searching for the boy in March after arresting his father and stepmother in connection with the boy's disappearance. ...

Arizona executes killer who showed no remorse

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PHOENIX (Reuters) - A defiant killer who asked for no mercy, shunned a clemency hearing and railed against immigrants at his sentencing was put to death by lethal injection in Arizona on Wednesday for kidnapping and killing a Hispanic college student in 1992, officials said. Thomas Kemp, 63, was pronounced dead at 10:08 a.m. local time at the state prison in Florence, about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix, a state official said. His last words were: "I regret nothing. ...

First Hispanic Supreme Court justice takes prominent role

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Wyoming neighbors of Chesapeake well leak evacuate

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 60 residents were evacuated from their homes near a Chesapeake Energy-operated well that leaked natural gas and drilling mud in Wyoming, the company said on Wednesday. Chesapeake lost control of the well late on Tuesday while installing a casing, which triggered the leak, the company said in a statement. It wasn't clear how much gas or fluid escaped the well. Local TV reports said the sound of natural gas rushing from the ground could be heard miles away. ...

U.S. may lose chance to pass national drug trace plan

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A proposed law calling for healthcare companies to build a U.S. system for tracking medications to minimize the threat of fake drugs is in jeopardy, thanks to arguments over cost and a looming deadline. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this year that counterfeit vials of cancer drug Avastin were sold to dozens of medical practices across the country, sparking new fears about the safety of the drug supply. ...

Marines discharging sergeant who criticized Obama on Facebook

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Add to cart Add to lightbox (My favourites) Download layout Edit The Facebook logo is shown at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto" align="left" title="<="" a="" border="0"> Add to cart Add to lightbox (My favourites) Download layout Edit The Facebook logo is shown at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto" border="0" />LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine sergeant who wrote on Facebook that he would not follow orders from President Barack Obama will be discharged from the military on "other than honorable" terms, a Marine spokesman said on Wednesday. California-based Sergeant Gary Stein, a 26-year-old Iraq war veteran, was advised of the decision after a commanding general upheld the recommendation by a review board, Major Michael Armistead said. "He was formally informed of that today, of the separating authority's decision. ...

Los Angeles airport screeners arrested on drug, corruption charges

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two security screeners at Los Angeles International Airport have been arrested on drug trafficking and corruption charges, accused of taking bribes to allow large narcotic shipments through the airport, authorities said on Wednesday. The pair were arrested along with two former airport security workers linked to five incidents in which authorities said they took payments of up to $2,400 to facilitate the passage of suitcases filled with drugs through X-ray machine checkpoints. ...

Connecticut abolishes death penalty

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HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - The governor of Connecticut on Wednesday signed into law a repeal of the death penalty, making it the fifth state in recent years to abandon capital punishment. Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy signed the legislation without fanfare behind closed doors, saying in a statement it was "a moment for sober reflection, not celebration." With the law, which replaces the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole, Connecticut joins 16 other states and the District of Columbia that do not allow capital punishment. ...

HIV-positive man fights charge that saliva was deadly

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ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - A gay-rights group is urging New York state's high court to overturn the conviction of an HIV-positive man whose saliva was found to be a "dangerous instrument" in a biting case. David Plunkett was sentenced in 2007 to 10 years in prison for aggravated assault, a felony that requires the use of a "dangerous instrument." Plunkett argued unsuccessfully the charge could not be sustained because HIV cannot be transmitted through saliva. The Court of Appeals, New York's top court, will hear Plunkett's case on Thursday. ...

Military to review course teaching "U.S. at war with Islam"

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top military officer ordered a review of training material after a course for officers was found to espouse the view that the United States is at war with Islam, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, sent a letter on Tuesday to leaders of the Army and other services, along with regional commanders and officials heading the National Guard, ordering a review of relevant training and education material across the military. ...

Four charged in $400 million Ponzi fraud

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Four former employees of a Long Island-based investment firm were charged Wednesday with running a Ponzi fraud that cost more than 4,000 investors $179 million in losses, federal prosecutors said. Jason Keryc, Anthony Massaro, Anthony Ciccone and Diane Kaylor, misled investors at Agape World Inc and Agape Merchant Advance, by using other investors' money to pay returns, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in a federal court in Central Islip, New York. It was a classic Ponzi scheme that ran for about five years and pulled in $400 million, the complaint said. ...

Los Angeles airport screeners arrested on drug, corruption charges

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(Reuters) - Two former and two current security screeners at Los Angeles International Airport have been arrested on drug trafficking and corruption charges, accused of taking payments to allow passage of large drug shipments, authorities said on Wednesday. One drug courier was in state custody in the case and another courier was expected to surrender on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney based in Los Angeles said in a statement. (Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Hundreds march in Phoenix against Arizona immigration law

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PHOENIX (Reuters) - A few hundred protesters, some toting placards reading "no to racial profiling," marched through downtown Phoenix on Wednesday to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to block Arizona's two-year-old crackdown on illegal immigrants. "My message to the Supreme Court is 'don't single out the Hispanic race,'" said Melanie Renteria, 38, who was among 200-300 mostly Hispanic protesters rallying in a park ahead of the march. "I hope they overturn SB 1070. ...