Jury ends eighth day of talks in Edwards campaign finance trial

Jury ends eighth day of talks in Edwards campaign finance trial
Sister of Etan Patz' accused killer says reported confession
Two dead, three wounded in Indianapolis shooting, police say
Florida woman jailed for firing 'warning shot' at husband to appeal
Scout challenges anti-gay policy of Boy Scouts of America
California inmate used cord to hang himself in death row cell
New Mexico wildfire now biggest in state history
Suspect in Seattle gun rampage shoots himself
National Spelling Bee field dwindles to 50
Harrisburg mayor: will fight for bankruptcy right
Three killed, two wounded in shooting at Seattle cafe
Gay couples in Illinois sue for right to marry
Clarence Thomas reconciles with Yale after bitter years
Caterpillar workers reject contract; strike goes on
Text, don't call when natural disaster strikes
Judge in Cleveland bridge bombing case delays bond ruling
Legal pact permits NYC transit workers to don religious head wear
Attorneys want some Sandusky sex-abuse charges dropped
Romney clinches Republican 2012 nomination in Texas
Six-year-old girl competes in National Spelling Bee
OSHA whistleblower's retaliation claim revived
In Alabama, strict immigration law sows discord
Obama calls Romney, wishes him well for campaign
Wisconsin's Walker widens lead in recall election: poll
Beryl to become post-tropical cyclone Wed: NHC
Drug LSD may be behind Miami face-eating attack, police say
Veterans lose confidence in finding jobs: survey
French academic found in NY hotel died of natural causes
To always be prepared, Boy Scouts start welding
Fed to consider Basel III rules next week
Suspect in Seattle gun rampage shoots himself
Florida woman jailed for firing 'warning shot' at husband to appeal
California inmate used cord to hang himself in death row cell
New Mexico wildfire now biggest in state history
California inmate used cord to hang himself in death row cell
National Spelling Bee field dwindles to 50
Two dead, three wounded in Indianapolis shooting, police say
Scout challenges anti-gay policy of Boy Scouts of America
Clarence Thomas reconciles with Yale after bitter years
Three killed, two wounded in shooting at Seattle cafe

Posted: 30 May 2012 03:50 PM PDT

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - The alternate jurors in former U.S. Senator John Edwards' federal trial learned on Wednesday they could to return to their normal lives as deliberations dragged on about whether the ex-White House hopeful broke the law trying to hide an affair. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles did not officially dismiss the alternates from duty but said they no longer had to report to the courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina, each day. ...

Sister of Etan Patz' accused killer says reported confession

Posted: 30 May 2012 03:28 PM PDT

CAMDEN, New Jersey (Reuters) - The sister of a man accused of strangling a New York City boy who has been missing for 33 years said on Wednesday she "did the right thing" by reporting his confession to Camden, New Jersey police who she says never followed up on her tip. Norma Hernandez, the sister of Pedro Hernandez, said she gave information connecting her brother to the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz to a police officer who wrote it down in a little notebook but that was the last she heard of it. Pedro Hernandez, 51, was charged with second-degree murder on Friday. ...

Two dead, three wounded in Indianapolis shooting, police say

Posted: 30 May 2012 04:22 PM PDT

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - A gunman killed one person and wounded three others at an apartment complex in Indianapolis on Wednesday, before turning the gun on himself, police said. The shooter was hospitalized in critical condition but later died, according to interim Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Rick Hite. Police did not identify the victims or the gunman and said they could not comment on possible motives. No other details were immediately available. (Reporting by Susan Guyett; Editing by James B. Kelleher and Greg McCune)

Florida woman jailed for firing 'warning shot' at husband to appeal

Posted: 30 May 2012 05:56 PM PDT

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Reuters) - A New York attorney well-known for representing battered women in homicide cases is now legal counsel for a Jacksonville woman serving a 20-year sentence for firing a gun in the direction of her husband. Marissa Alexander, 31, said she fired a "warning shot" into a wall after being threatened by her husband in an incident in 2010, but prosecutors believe the bullet endangered him and his two children. Michael Dowd, a lawyer who has been representing domestic violence victims since the 1970s, told Reuters he plans to appeal Alexander's conviction. ...

Scout challenges anti-gay policy of Boy Scouts of America

Posted: 30 May 2012 04:20 PM PDT

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - An Eagle Scout known for his defense of same-sex civil unions delivered on Wednesday a petition signed by 275,000 people to the Boy Scouts of America demanding an end to the group's exclusion of gays. Zach Wahls, a 20-year-old engineering student at the University of Iowa who attained the organization's highest rank of Eagle Scout, has two lesbian mothers. He became an Internet sensation in January 2011 when his address to the Iowa House of Representatives supporting gay civil unions logged more than 2.5 million views on YouTube. ...

California inmate used cord to hang himself in death row cell

Posted: 30 May 2012 05:31 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A convicted killer who hanged himself on California's death row did so using an extension cord for an appliance in his cell and had not previously been considered a suicide risk, a prison spokesman said on Wednesday. James Lee Crummel, 68, was found hanging in his one-man cell at San Quentin State Prison near San Francisco on Sunday, five months before Californians are due to vote in November on a ballot measure aimed at repealing the state's death penalty. Crummel had been sentenced to die for the 1979 murder of a teenage boy. ...

New Mexico wildfire now biggest in state history

Posted: 30 May 2012 05:30 PM PDT

SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - A wildfire burning out of control in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico is now the biggest in the state's history, officials said on Wednesday. The Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire has burned more than 170,000 acres, fire information officer Gerry Perry said, surpassing the 156,593 acres burned in last year's Las Conchas fire, which threatened the town of Los Alamos and its national nuclear laboratory. "It's certainly a dubious distinction that we weren't looking forward to," Perry said. ...

Suspect in Seattle gun rampage shoots himself

Posted: 30 May 2012 05:56 PM PDT

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A gunman shot three people to death at a popular Seattle cafe on Wednesday then fled to a downtown parking lot where he killed another woman and stole her car before shooting himself in the head as police closed in, authorities said. The man, who was not immediately identified, was being treated at Harborview Medical Center following the late-morning spree, which police initially treated as separate incidents. ...

National Spelling Bee field dwindles to 50

Posted: 30 May 2012 04:36 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two finalists from last year's Scripps National Spelling Bee and the sister of a past champion were among 50 contestants admitted to the semi-final round after a tense day of competition on Wednesday. A field of 278 young spellers aged 6 to 15 was winnowed down to 50 after they spelled words on stage at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, just south of Washington, D.C. ...

Harrisburg mayor: will fight for bankruptcy right

Posted: 30 May 2012 01:08 PM PDT

(Reuters) - The mayor of Pennsylvania's debt-laden capital city said on Wednesday she will fight for the city's ability to declare bankruptcy after June 30. A state law that bars small Pennsylvania cities from filing for municipal bankruptcy is to expire at the end of June. That law led a bankruptcy judge in November to reject a filing by Harrisburg, the capital city. Municipal officials are following a state receiver's fiscal recovery plan in an effort to deal with at least $320 million of debt stemming from repairs to its trash incinerator. ...

Three killed, two wounded in shooting at Seattle cafe

Posted: 30 May 2012 03:39 PM PDT

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire in a popular Seattle cafe on Wednesday, killing two men and a woman and seriously wounding two other people before fleeing on foot, authorities said. The late-morning shooting and subsequent disappearance of the suspect prompted a security alert at several nearby Seattle public schools and city-run community centers, as police combed the neighborhood in search of the gunman. Residents were advised to stay behind closed doors while the gunman remained at large. ...

Gay couples in Illinois sue for right to marry

Posted: 30 May 2012 12:27 PM PDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Twenty-five Illinois gay and lesbian couples sued the state for the right to marry on Wednesday, a year after same-sex couples in Illinois were granted the right to enter into civil unions. Six states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex couples to marry. The couples suing in Illinois say the civil union status sends the message that the state regards their relationships as inferior. One case filed by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union is led by Tanya Lazaro and Elizabeth Matos, who have two children and rejected registering as a civil union. ...

Clarence Thomas reconciles with Yale after bitter years

Posted: 30 May 2012 04:04 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who bitterly wrote of affixing a 15-cent price sticker to his 1974 Yale Law School diploma and storing it in the basement, appears to be reconciling with his alma mater. After spurning overtures by the law school since his 1991 high-court appointment, Thomas has agreed to be the keynote speaker at a Yale Law School alumni dinner at the National Press Club in Washington on June 28. ...

Caterpillar workers reject contract; strike goes on

Posted: 30 May 2012 02:24 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Striking workers at a Caterpillar Inc plant in Joliet, Illinois, on Wednesday rejected the company's latest contract offer, an official with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said. Of roughly 800 workers at the plant, 620 voted, and 81 percent of them rejected the proposed contract. Union official Steve Jones said they did so because proposed pay raises were too small and it included higher health-care costs. The factory makes hydraulic components and other systems for Caterpillar loaders and mining trucks. ...

Text, don't call when natural disaster strikes

Posted: 30 May 2012 02:11 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It is better to send text messages than to call when natural disasters strike and networks get congested, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, also urging people to add battery-powered cell phone chargers to their storm emergency kits. Craig Fugate, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, told reporters that forecasts for a "normal" Atlantic hurricane season should not keep those in potentially affected areas from getting ready for storms that could make landfall. "There is no forecast yet that says where they are going to hit or not hit. ...

Judge in Cleveland bridge bombing case delays bond ruling

Posted: 30 May 2012 03:24 PM PDT

AKRON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday delayed ruling on a bond request for five self-described anarchists charged with plotting to blow up a bridge south of Cleveland. U.S. District Judge David Dowd said he wanted to review transcripts of more than 50 hours of secretly recorded conversations between the defendants and an FBI informant before ruling on the bond request. ...

Legal pact permits NYC transit workers to don religious head wear

Posted: 30 May 2012 12:39 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City's transit system has agreed to allow Sikh and Muslim employees to wear religious head coverings in public, such as while operating buses and subways, as part of a legal settlement filed on Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court. The settlement brings an end to what Sikh and Muslim plaintiffs dubbed a "brand or segregate" policy enforced by the New York City Transit Authority following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. ...

Attorneys want some Sandusky sex-abuse charges dropped

Posted: 30 May 2012 01:21 PM PDT

BELLEFONTE, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Attorneys for former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, charged with sexually abusing 10 boys, urged a judge on Wednesday to toss out the charges for three of the alleged victims. Defense attorney Joe Amendola told Judge Joseph Cleland the charges involving Victims 2, 6 and 8 should not be tried because evidence was hearsay and not allowed. But prosecutors in the high-profile case argued the circumstantial evidence was strong and should be presented to the jury when it convenes next month. ...

Romney clinches Republican 2012 nomination in Texas

Posted: 29 May 2012 10:59 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney clinched the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday with a resounding victory in Texas and now faces a five-month sprint to convince voters to trust him over Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. Although the race has been essentially over for weeks, Romney finally cleared the benchmark of 1,144 delegates needed to become the Republicans' presidential candidate after a long, bitter primary battle with a host of conservative rivals. He will be formally nominated at the Republicans' convention in Florida in late August. ...

Six-year-old girl competes in National Spelling Bee

Posted: 30 May 2012 11:02 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 6-year-old girl became the youngest participant ever to compete in the preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Wednesday, getting off to a successful start by spelling "dirigible." Lori Anne Madison, 6, of Woodbridge, Virginia, is the youngest contestant to qualify for the spelling bee, according to the Scripps website. She is among 278 competitors, including three finalists from last year. Madison was given the word "dirigible" to spell and, after lowering the microphone to meet her height, asked for a definition. ...

OSHA whistleblower's retaliation claim revived

Posted: 30 May 2012 11:12 AM PDT

(Reuters) - A federal appeals court has revived a claim by a former senior Department of Labor official who says he was fired because he publicly criticized his agency for letting companies underreport workplace injuries. Saying a 1989 federal law reflects Congress' desire to protect whistleblowers, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday said Robert Whitmore, a former head of the recordkeeping group in the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration arm, deserves a new chance to show his 2009 firing was the result of retaliation. ...

In Alabama, strict immigration law sows discord

Posted: 30 May 2012 10:03 AM PDT

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) - Alabama tomato farmer Darryl Copeland looked out over his seedlings and fretted about this year's harvest. He was afraid his seasonal migrant workforce might not return for the summer picking season, opting to stay away rather than risk running afoul of Alabama's stringent immigration law. The crew he awaits is picking the Florida harvest. "I had to cut back my planting not knowing if the labor is going to be available," said Copeland, 47, who planted just two-thirds of his 30 acres on the far side of Straight Mountain in northeastern Blount County. ...

Obama calls Romney, wishes him well for campaign

Posted: 30 May 2012 09:47 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on Wednesday to congratulate him for wrapping up the Republican U.S. presidential nomination and wish him well in their battle for the White House, Obama's campaign said. "President Obama said that he looked forward to an important and healthy debate about America's future, and wished Governor Romney and his family well throughout the upcoming campaign," the Obama campaign said in a statement. ...

Wisconsin's Walker widens lead in recall election: poll

Posted: 30 May 2012 11:27 AM PDT

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker widened his lead over Democrat Tom Barrett to 7 percentage points in a new poll released on Wednesday, less than a week before a recall election prompted by Walker's drive to curb labor union power. Walker had the support of 52 percent of those polled by Marquette University Law School, while 45 percent supported Milwaukee Mayor Barrett. The gap is up from 6 points in the same poll two weeks ago. The survey of 600 likely Wisconsin voters was taken May 23 to 26 and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points. ...

Beryl to become post-tropical cyclone Wed: NHC

Posted: 30 May 2012 07:49 AM PDT

(Reuters) - Tropical Depression Beryl is expected to become a post-tropical cyclone later Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest report. The storm is currently located about 5 miles west of Wilmington, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour (55 kmph), the NHC said. "A continued east-northeast motion with an additional increase in forward speed is expected during the next day or so," the NHC added. There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect, the NHC said. (Reporting by Soma Das in Bangalore; edited by John Wallace)

Drug LSD may be behind Miami face-eating attack, police say

Posted: 30 May 2012 09:57 AM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - A Miami man fatally shot by police after he refused to stop gnawing on another man's face may have been under the influence of a new form of the 1960s hallucinatory drug LSD, a top police officer said on Wednesday. Police are investigating the ghoulish weekend incident involving 31-year-old Rudy Eugene, who was found naked and chewing on the face and neck of his victim on the off-ramp of a bridge in downtown Miami. Police shot and killed Eugene when he failed to respond to orders to stop and back away. ...

Veterans lose confidence in finding jobs: survey

Posted: 30 May 2012 10:24 AM PDT

(Reuters) - More U.S. military veterans expect to look for work in coming months as they return to civilian life, many after being stationed in Afghanistan, but they are less confident about finding work that suits them, according to a new survey. The twice-yearly survey, by Monster Worldwide Inc, found fewer than half of veterans consider themselves ready to move into civilian jobs. The number who say they are confident about finding suitable work fell to 29 percent from 44 percent six months ago. Besides entering a tough U.S. ...

French academic found in NY hotel died of natural causes

Posted: 30 May 2012 09:55 AM PDT

(Reuters) - Prominent French academic Richard Descoings, whose naked body was found in his New York City hotel room in early April, died of natural causes related to hypertension, the New York City Medical Examiner's Office said on Wednesday. Descoings had suffered from high blood pressure and heart disease, said Ellen Borakove, a spokesman for the medical examiner. His body was discovered on April 3 at the Michelangelo Hotel in a room initially described by police sources as "in disarray. ...

To always be prepared, Boy Scouts start welding

Posted: 29 May 2012 10:01 PM PDT

SOMERSWORTH, New Hampshire (Reuters) - It's not quite fly fishing or hiking, but welding is the latest merit badge Boy Scouts can earn - part of a full-court press to attract fresh talent to the critical occupation. More than 140,000 new welders will be needed by 2019 to replace retirees and meet rising demand from natural gas drillers, steel producers, automakers and more, according to the American Welding Society (AWS). ...

Fed to consider Basel III rules next week

Posted: 30 May 2012 11:10 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is scheduled to vote next week on a highly anticipated proposal for implementing an international agreement on higher capital standards for banks, known as Basel III. The Fed announced the June 7 meeting, which will be open to the public, on its website on Wednesday. The U.S. central bank is expected to put the proposal out for public comment. The agreement is the cornerstone of efforts by international regulators following the 2007-09 financial crisis to make sure the global banking system is more resilient. ...

Suspect in Seattle gun rampage shoots himself

Posted: 30 May 2012 05:56 PM PDT

Florida woman jailed for firing 'warning shot' at husband to appeal

Posted: 30 May 2012 05:56 PM PDT

California inmate used cord to hang himself in death row cell

Posted: 30 May 2012 05:31 PM PDT

New Mexico wildfire now biggest in state history

Posted: 30 May 2012 05:30 PM PDT

California inmate used cord to hang himself in death row cell

Posted: 30 May 2012 04:48 PM PDT

National Spelling Bee field dwindles to 50

Posted: 30 May 2012 04:36 PM PDT