Waning Isaac heads north but eyes turn to stricken dam

Waning Isaac heads north but eyes turn to stricken dam
Colorado shooting suspect may have called university before rampage
Exclusive: Pentagon threatens legal action over bin Laden book
Texas man sentenced to 99 years over gang rape of 11-year-old
New York priest says child often seducer in sex abuse cases
No charges for deaths of terrorism suspects: Justice Department
"Uncharacteristic" Isaac lacked punch but not size
Federal court blocks Texas voter ID law
New judge named in case against Trayvon Martin shooter
Ex-lacrosse player gets 23 years in U.S. prison for murder
PG&E settles with San Bruno victim for $2.5 million: report
Ecuadorean journalist granted asylum in Miami
New York priest says child often seducer in sex abuse cases
Colorado shooting suspect may have called university before rampage
Harvard investigates allegations of widespread cheating on exam
Oil companies recover from Isaac, one refinery flooded
University of Iowa rejected accused Colorado gunman: records
Testimony wraps up in U.S. murder trial of ex-policeman Peterson
Battle over pension debt looms in San Bernardino bankruptcy
Ex-UVa lacrosse player gets 23 years in prison for murder
Austal's first high-speed ship completes U.S. Navy acceptance trials
PG&E settles with San Bruno victim for $2.5 million: report
Cod, haddock may be hard to find as New England quotas likely cut
American Air pilots' union: no strike unless it is legal
Hurricane Kirk strengthening over open Atlantic: NHC
Arkansas rice farmers race against Isaac to harvest crop
Michigan judge upholds Detroit police wage cut
Canada orders deportation of female U.S. soldier
U.S. guard pleads guilty to trying to pass secrets to China
Chicago teachers vote to strike on September 10 if no deal
Exclusive: Pentagon threatens legal action over bin Laden book
Texas man sentenced to 99 years over gang rape of 11-year-old
New York priest says child often seducer in sex abuse cases
Waning Isaac heads north but eyes turn to stricken dam
Colorado shooting suspect may have called university before rampage
"Uncharacteristic" Isaac lacked punch but not size
Federal court blocks Texas voter ID law
No charges for deaths of terrorism suspects: Justice Department
PG&E settles with San Bruno victim for $2.5 million: report

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:22 PM PDT

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Torrential rain dumped by Hurricane Isaac threatened to burst a dam in Mississippi on Thursday, triggering the mass evacuation of local residents, while large areas of the region were still flooded and without power but getting ready to mop up. Isaac, which was downgraded to a tropical depression on Thursday, did little damage to New Orleans, where stronger barriers were installed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Only one fatality linked to the storm has been confirmed so far. But it produced a soggy mess across widespread areas of the U.S. ...

Colorado shooting suspect may have called university before rampage

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:20 PM PDT

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) - Accused Colorado gunman James Holmes may have phoned a University of Colorado operator just nine minutes before the shooting at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" that killed 12 people, a defense attorney said on Thursday. Holmes' attorney, Tamara Brady, raised the possibility of such a call during a pretrial hearing in the case while questioning Dr. Lynne Fenton, a University of Colorado psychiatrist who had treated Holmes before the July movie house massacre. ...

Exclusive: Pentagon threatens legal action over bin Laden book

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:41 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon warned on Thursday that it was considering legal action against a former U.S. Navy SEAL for material breach of non-disclosure agreements with his first-hand account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. In a letter obtained by Reuters, and subsequently released by the Pentagon, the Pentagon's top attorney also warned that it was also considering legal options against anyone "acting in concert" with the author. ...

Texas man sentenced to 99 years over gang rape of 11-year-old

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:16 PM PDT

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A Texas man accused of taking part in the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl in an abandoned trailer along with 19 other men and boys was convicted on Thursday of aggravated sexual assault in a case that shocked a small Texas town, court officials said. The man, 20-year-old Eric McGowen, was sentenced to 99 years in prison, Liberty County Court officials said. He had been free on bond pending the outcome of the trial but disappeared after the victim testified against him on Wednesday. A warrant was issued for his arrest. ...

New York priest says child often seducer in sex abuse cases

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:14 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic priest in New York expressed sympathy this week for some clergy who sexually abuse children, saying that it is often the "youngster" who is the seducer, then later apologized for his remarks. Comments by the Rev. Benedict Groeschel, 79, co-founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Westchester County outside New York City, in which he expressed sympathy for convicted child rapist Jerry Sandusky, drew strong criticism from the Archdiocese of New York and the support group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. ...

No charges for deaths of terrorism suspects: Justice Department

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:53 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An investigation launched in 2008 into the CIA's program of detaining and interrogating captured militants was closed on Thursday with no criminal charges, the Justice Department said. The interrogators used techniques like "waterboarding," or simulated drowning, which President Barack Obama and human rights advocates say is torture. ...

"Uncharacteristic" Isaac lacked punch but not size

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:10 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - Meteorologists tracking Hurricane Isaac this week struggled to pin down the vexing storm's next move, variously referring to it as "disorganized" and "uncharacteristic." For George Dubaz, a New Orleans tour guide, Isaac was simply a "pain in the ass." After two days of lost business he'd had enough of the lumbering Isaac. "Most of them blow through and are over with. This one is just hanging around too long," Dubaz said, comparing it to "somebody that comes for Mardi Gras and they stay two weeks afterwards. ...

Federal court blocks Texas voter ID law

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:59 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal court on Thursday blocked a Texas law that would require voters to show photo identification before casting ballots, saying the measure would likely curtail the ability of minorities to vote in the November 6 presidential election. Evidence showed the law did the most harm to African Americans and Hispanics, who are more likely to live in poverty, Circuit Judge David Tatel wrote for a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Washington. Those without the underlying documents to obtain ID would have to purchase them, discouraging poor voters, he wrote. ...

New judge named in case against Trayvon Martin shooter

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:12 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A new judge has been assigned to hear the murder case against former Florida neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who shot and killed black teenager Trayvon Martin in February. Debra Nelson is the third judge to be assigned to the case since Zimmerman's April arrest on one count of second-degree murder in the death of the 17-year-old Martin. On Wednesday, a three-judge appellate panel ordered the case's previous judge, Kenneth Lester, to step aside. ...

Ex-lacrosse player gets 23 years in U.S. prison for murder

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:24 PM PDT

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (Reuters) - A former University of Virginia lacrosse player was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Thursday for the 2010 murder of his ex-girlfriend, who was beaten to death shortly before she was due to graduate. A jury found George Huguely, 24, guilty in February of second-degree murder and grand larceny in the death of 22-year-old Yeardley Love, who prosecutors said died of blunt force trauma after Huguely slammed her head against a wall in a drunken rage. ...

PG&E settles with San Bruno victim for $2.5 million: report

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:41 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Court-sealed documents accidentally posted online by a California court revealed that PG&E Corp settled with a teenage victim of the 2010 San Bruno pipeline blast for nearly $2.5 million, according to a newspaper report. The link to the "San Bruno Pipeline Coordinated Case" on the San Mateo County Superior Court website had been taken down as of Thursday. Tim Benton, director of information technology for the court, said it would be available again in the near future, and that the accidental document posting had been corrected. ...

Ecuadorean journalist granted asylum in Miami

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:06 PM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - A newspaper columnist who fled Ecuador after he was sentenced to jail and ordered to pay millions of dollars in a libel case pushed by President Rafael Correa has been granted asylum in the United States, his lawyer said on Thursday. Emilio Palacio, a columnist at El Universo, one of Ecuador's leading newspapers, has been living in Miami since last year. He applied for asylum claiming he was a victim of political persecution. "It's been a long road for him and his family," said Palacio's lawyer, Sandra Grossman. ...

New York priest says child often seducer in sex abuse cases

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:58 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Roman Catholic priest in New York expressed sympathy this week for some clergy who sexually abuse children, as well as for convicted child rapist Jerry Sandusky, saying that it is often the "youngster" who is the seducer. The remarks by the Rev. Benedict Groeschel, 79, co-founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in Westchester County outside New York City, drew strong criticism from the Archdiocese of New York and the support group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. ...

Colorado shooting suspect may have called university before rampage

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:35 PM PDT

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) - Accused Colorado gunman James Holmes may have phoned a University of Colorado operator just nine minutes before the shooting at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," a defense attorney said on Thursday. Holmes attorney Tamara Brady raised the possibility of such a phone call during a pretrial hearing in the sensational case while questioning Dr. Lynne Fenton, a psychiatrist who had treated Holmes before the July movie house massacre. ...

Harvard investigates allegations of widespread cheating on exam

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:31 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Harvard University is investigating allegations that approximately 125 undergraduate students cheated on a spring take-home final exam, school officials said on Thursday, disclosing what would be the largest cheating scandal in its recent history. "These allegations, if proven, represent totally unacceptable behavior that betrays the trust upon which intellectual inquiry at Harvard depends," Harvard University President Drew Faust said in a statement. The allegations came to light in the spring when an instructor noticed similarities between tests. ...

Oil companies recover from Isaac, one refinery flooded

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:24 PM PDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Most oil and gas companies in the U.S. Gulf Coast region on Thursday prepared to gradually restart installations there following Hurricane Isaac, while one refinery reported flooding and scrambled to prevent further damage. Isaac, now a much weaker tropical depression moving north, posed no further threat to most energy infrastructure. Phillips 66 said its 247,000 barrel per day (bpd) Alliance refinery in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, had been partially flooded. ...

University of Iowa rejected accused Colorado gunman: records

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:29 PM PDT

DENVER (Reuters) - The University of Iowa denied accused Colorado gunman James Holmes admission into a neuroscience graduate program despite stellar test results, with a key faculty member writing, "do NOT offer admission under any circumstances," documents showed on Thursday. That decision, made in early 2011, stands in stark contrast to decisions by the University of Illinois and the University of Colorado to offer Holmes large scholarships at similar programs at those schools. ...

Testimony wraps up in U.S. murder trial of ex-policeman Peterson

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:08 PM PDT

JOLIET, Illinois (Reuters) - A pathologist testified at the murder trial of former Chicago-area police sergeant Drew Peterson Thursday that injuries on the body of Peterson's estranged wife appeared to be the result of a struggle, not an accident. Peterson is accused of killing Kathleen Savio, his third wife, in 2004 while they were engaged in a contentious divorce and then staging her death to look like an accidental drowning. Testimony in the month-long trial in Joliet, Illinois concluded Thursday, and closing arguments are set to begin next Tuesday. ...

Battle over pension debt looms in San Bernardino bankruptcy

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:46 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A high-stakes showdown pitting California's public employee pension fund against Wall Street bond firms in bankrupt San Bernardino, California, could be further complicated by wildly disparate estimates of how much the city owes for its retirees. San Bernardino, a city of about 210,000 near Los Angeles that filed for bankruptcy on August 1, has listed the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) as its largest creditor, with unfunded pension obligations totaling $143.3 million. But Calpers, in response to an inquiry from Reuters, pegged the debt at $319.5 million. ...

Ex-UVa lacrosse player gets 23 years in prison for murder

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:54 PM PDT

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (Reuters) - A former University of Virginia lacrosse player was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Thursday for the 2010 murder of his ex-girlfriend, who was beaten to death shortly before she was due to graduate. A jury in February found George Huguely V, 24, guilty of second-degree murder and grand larceny in the death of 22-year-old Yeardley Love, who prosecutors said died of blunt force trauma after her head was slammed against a wall. The jury had recommended a total sentence of up to 26 years. ...

Austal's first high-speed ship completes U.S. Navy acceptance trials

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:43 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy's first Joint High Speed Vessel, a catamaran transport ship built by Australia's Austal, has passed a comprehensive set of Navy performance and equipment tests, the U.S. unit of the company said on Thursday. Austal said completion of the Navy acceptance trials marked the last significant milestone for the ship, USNS Spearhead. The company did not say when it would be delivered to the Navy. The second ship in the new class is due to be christened on September 15 at Austal's facility in Mobile, Alabama, where two other ships are under construction. ...

PG&E settles with San Bruno victim for $2.5 million: report

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:50 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Documents accidentally posted online by a California court revealed that PG&E Corp settled with a victim of the 2010 San Bruno pipeline blast for nearly $2.5 million, according to a newspaper report. The link to the "San Bruno Pipeline Coordinated Case" on the San Mateo County Superior Court website had been taken down as of Thursday. Tim Benton, director of information technology for the court, said it would be made available again "sometime in the near future." He declined to comment further. ...

Cod, haddock may be hard to find as New England quotas likely cut

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:34 PM PDT

LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - New England fishing quotas for cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder may be cut by 70 percent next year due to their depleted populations, a U.S. government official said on Thursday. Fishermen scrambled to come up with an economic plan to protect themselves from any drastic quota reduction, which could make the fish harder to find on restaurant menus and in supermarkets. ...

American Air pilots' union: no strike unless it is legal

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:47 AM PDT

(Reuters) - Pilots at American Airlines will not go on strike unless it is legal to do so, the president of the pilots' union said on Thursday. The Allied Pilots Association had said last week it was making preparations to call a strike vote should American implement harsh new work terms on pilots. The carrier has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since late last year. ...

Hurricane Kirk strengthening over open Atlantic: NHC

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 01:46 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Hurricane Kirk, the fifth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic season was strengthening rapidly over the open Atlantic, the NHC said in its latest bulletin on Thursday. The hurricane was located about 1,065 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands, packing maximum winds of 90 miles per hour (150 km per hour), and was moving west, the NHC said. (Reporting by Naveen Arul in Bangalore; Editing by Gary Hill)

Arkansas rice farmers race against Isaac to harvest crop

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 10:43 AM PDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Farmers in the top rice-producing state of Arkansas were harvesting their crop at breakneck speed, industry sources said Thursday, in a bid to limit damage from Hurricane Isaac, which had weakened and made landfall as a tropical storm. The potential threat to the rice crop from Isaac comes on the heels of the worst drought in half a century, which devastated corn and soybean crops in the Midwest farm belt, but had been beneficial to rice plantings. "I'm real nervous right now with the storm coming in. ...

Michigan judge upholds Detroit police wage cut

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:25 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A Michigan judge on Thursday upheld Detroit's move to impose a pay cut and other measures on its police force, a lawyer for the police union said. Donato Iorio, attorney for the Detroit Police Officers Association, said Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Macdonald's denial of a permanent injunction against the city will be appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals. ...

Canada orders deportation of female U.S. soldier

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:20 PM PDT

TORONTO (Reuters) - The first female U.S. soldier to seek refuge in Canada rather than return to duty in Iraq is facing deportation, a group that advocates for her said on Thursday. Kimberly Rivera, a 30-year-old private who served three months in Iraq and came to Canada while on leave in 2007, has been ordered out of the country, said Michelle Robidoux, spokeswoman with the War Resisters Support Campaign. "She developed an opposition to what was going on in Iraq based on her experience in Iraq," Robidoux said. ...

U.S. guard pleads guilty to trying to pass secrets to China

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 02:17 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former security guard at a U.S. consulate in China pleaded guilty on Thursday to trying to pass details on the new building's security systems to a Chinese spy agency, prosecutors said. Bryan Underwood, 32, planned to sell information about the consulate being built in Guangzhou to China's Ministry of State Security for $3 million to $5 million, along with access to the site, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. Underwood, a former contract civilian guard, pleaded guilty in U.S. ...

Chicago teachers vote to strike on September 10 if no deal

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:48 PM PDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Chicago Teachers Union voted on Thursday to allow its first strike in 25 years starting on September 10 in the nation's third-largest school district if negotiators cannot reach a contract with city officials. The strike would start during the second week of classes for most of the system's more than 400,000 students. The last Chicago teachers' strike lasted four weeks in 1987. ...

Exclusive: Pentagon threatens legal action over bin Laden book

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:41 PM PDT

Texas man sentenced to 99 years over gang rape of 11-year-old

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:16 PM PDT

New York priest says child often seducer in sex abuse cases

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:14 PM PDT

Waning Isaac heads north but eyes turn to stricken dam

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:22 PM PDT

Colorado shooting suspect may have called university before rampage

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:20 PM PDT

"Uncharacteristic" Isaac lacked punch but not size

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:10 PM PDT