Jury breaks without verdict in Philadelphia church abuse case

Jury breaks without verdict in Philadelphia church abuse case
U.S. crackdown on child predators nabs 190 in May
Florida bond hearing set for Trayvon Martin killer
Warmest U.S. spring on record: NOAA
Insight: Can Occupy Wall Street survive?
Paternos unaware may be called to testify in Sandusky trial
Police believe father killed Arizona family found burned in car
Crystal Cathedral congregation set for 2013 move
New York "Soccer Mom Madam" challenges $2 million bail
South Carolina flesh-eating victim's condition improves
Correction: Coke, McDonald's slam NYC bid to ban big soda cups
Wife of key government witness in Clemens trial cries on stand
Paternos unaware may be called to testify in Sandusky trial
Girl jabbed in foot by syringe at Washington state hotel
Texas studies 85 mph speed limit, fastest in U.S.
Two dead after gunfire at shooting victim's funeral
New York City official defends "supersize" drink ban
NYC at highest risk of hurricane losses: report
Fighter jets intercept planes in Obama airspace near Los Angeles
Idaho drinkers can lift a glass to Five Wives Vodka
HIV-positive saliva not a "deadly weapon": NY court
Hazing death prompts no confidence vote for Florida A&M president
USDA asks markets when is the best time for data
Southern, western U.S. cities among best for retirees
Indiana refinery workers find dead monkeys in crate
Analysis: In scare for newspapers, digital ad growth stalls
Fighter jets intercept planes in Obama airspace near Los Angeles
Tweaking U.S. tax code could spur green energy: senator
Lawmakers seek to bolster investment share
House panel backs "Magnitsky" sanctions on Russia
Arizona to beef up patrols of polygamist Jeffs' town
U.S. crackdown on child predators nabs 190 in May
Police believe father killed Arizona family found burned in car
Paternos unaware may be called to testify in Sandusky trial
Correction: Coke, McDonald's slam NYC bid to ban big soda cups
Insight: Can Occupy Wall Street survive?
New York "Soccer Mom Madam" challenges $2 million bail
Paternos unaware may be called to testify in Sandusky trial
South Carolina flesh-eating victim's condition improves
Girl jabbed in foot by syringe at Washington state hotel

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:08 PM PDT

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia jury ended its fifth day of deliberations on Thursday without reaching a verdict in the child sex abuse trial of a Roman Catholic monsignor, the highest-ranking U.S. clergyman to stand trial in the church's wide-ranging pedophilia scandal. Monsignor William Lynn, who supervised hundreds of priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese for 12 years as secretary of the clergy, is accused of conspiracy and child endangerment. If convicted on all charges, he faces the possibility of 21 years in prison. The jury in Common Pleas Court before Judge M. ...

U.S. crackdown on child predators nabs 190 in May

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:01 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal agents targeting child predators arrested 190 suspects in an operation during the month of May that reached across the United States and into four foreign countries, government officials said on Thursday. Those arrested possessed, distributed or produced photographs or videos of child pornography. Some of the suspects had sexually assaulted minors or engaged in "illegal sexual enticement," according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which conducted "Operation Orion. ...

Florida bond hearing set for Trayvon Martin killer

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 10:00 AM PDT

MIAMI (Reuters) - The neighborhood watch volunteer charged in the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin will get a new bond hearing later this month after his bail was revoked last week, court officials said on Thursday. Michelle Kennedy, a spokeswoman for the Eighteenth Judicial Court in Sanford, the central Florida town where the 17-year-old Martin was gunned down on February 26, said the bond hearing for George Zimmerman had been set for June 29. Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester will preside over the hearing, Kennedy said in a statement. ...

Warmest U.S. spring on record: NOAA

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:44 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - So far, 2012 has been the warmest year the United States has ever seen, with the warmest spring and the second-warmest May since record-keeping began in 1895, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Thursday. Temperatures for the past 12 months and the year-to-date have been the warmest on record for the contiguous United States, NOAA said. The average temperature for the contiguous 48 states for meteorological spring, which runs from March through May, was 57.1 degrees F (13.9 C), 5.2 degrees (2. ...

Insight: Can Occupy Wall Street survive?

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:39 PM PDT

(Reuters) - More than eight months after Occupy Wall Street burst onto the global stage, decrying income inequality and coining the phrase "We are the 99 percent," the movement's survival and continued relevance is far from assured. Donations to the flagship New York chapter have slowed to a trickle. Polls show that public support is rapidly waning. Media attention has dropped precipitously. Bursts of violence, threats of municipal chaos and two alleged domestic terror plots have put Occupy on a recurring collision course with law enforcement. ...

Paternos unaware may be called to testify in Sandusky trial

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:38 PM PDT

(Reuters) - The widow and the son of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said on Thursday they were not aware they might be called as witnesses in the child sexual abuse trial of Paterno's long-time assistant, Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky's defense lawyer Joe Amendola listed the late coach's widow, Sue, and son Jay as potential witnesses for the defense during the jury selection process, which concluded on Wednesday. The trial is being held in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. ...

Police believe father killed Arizona family found burned in car

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Five corpses found charred beyond recognition in a burned-out automobile abandoned in the Arizona desert are now believed to be the bodies of a family of five killed in a murder-suicide committed by the father, authorities said on Thursday. Authorities originally thought the five corpses might have been the remains of victims of drug-trafficking violence. The white Ford Explorer had been ditched in a remote area between Phoenix and the U.S.-Mexico border known as a frequent corridor for smugglers of illegal drugs and immigrants. ...

Crystal Cathedral congregation set for 2013 move

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:46 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The congregation of Crystal Cathedral, a mega-church once famous for its "Hour of Power" broadcasts, will move to a new location next year under a deal with the Roman Catholic diocese buying its glass-walled house of worship, officials said on Thursday. The Southern California congregation's move was expected, under the terms of an agreement that saw ownership of the Crystal Cathedral property transferred in a $57.5 million bankruptcy sale the two sides entered into late in 2011. The Protestant congregation's move one mile away to the building now occupied by St. ...

New York "Soccer Mom Madam" challenges $2 million bail

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:01 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The lawyer for accused Manhattan madam Anna Gristina asked a state appeals court on Thursday to reduce her $2 million bond, arguing that her clean criminal record and a single felony count do not justify such a massive bail amount. If the seemingly sympathetic reaction from a five-judge panel was any indication, Gristina could finally be released from Rikers Island jail, where she has been held since February while her family has tried to raise funds. Several previous efforts by her lawyers to lower her bail have been unsuccessful. ...

South Carolina flesh-eating victim's condition improves

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:49 PM PDT

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - A South Carolina mother, suffering from a "flesh-eating" bacterial infection, has been upgraded to fair condition and held her month-old twins for the first time since her treatment began, hospital officials said on Thursday. Lana Kuykendall, 36, was admitted to Greenville Memorial Hospital on May 11, just days after giving birth. She noticed a painful spot on her leg that ultimately was diagnosed as necrotizing fasciitis, a serious infection of the skin and soft tissues. ...

Correction: Coke, McDonald's slam NYC bid to ban big soda cups

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:43 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co and McDonald's Corp slammed a proposed limit on soft drink sales in New York City that would turn a small McDonald's drink into the new large and could trigger a wave of similar restrictions aimed at curbing obesity. "New Yorkers expect and deserve better than this. They can make their own choices about the beverages they purchase," Coca-Cola said in a statement on Thursday. Coke dominates the U.S. fountain drink market, and would likely be the most hurt. ...

Wife of key government witness in Clemens trial cries on stand

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:54 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The estranged wife of the main prosecution witness in Roger Clemens' perjury trial teared up on Thursday while defending her testimony contradicting her husband's explanation for saving medical waste later presented as proof the retired pitching ace used drugs.

Paternos unaware may be called to testify in Sandusky trial

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:55 PM PDT

Girl jabbed in foot by syringe at Washington state hotel

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:43 PM PDT

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A 9-year-old girl will need to undergo periodic testing for exposure to HIV and hepatitis after being accidentally jabbed in the foot with a used hypodermic needle left in her bed in a Washington state hotel room, her mother said on Thursday. Police in Aberdeen, a city about 100 miles southwest of Seattle, said they are treating the incident at the Guest House Inn and Suite in that town as a medical case, not a criminal investigation, because it would be impossible to determine to whom the disposable syringe belonged. ...

Texas studies 85 mph speed limit, fastest in U.S.

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:21 PM PDT

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A stretch of highway under construction in Texas could be the first U.S. road to have a posted 85 mile per hour speed limit, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Texas State Highway 130 will run between San Antonio and Austin with the aim of taking traffic loads off of Interstate 35. The major north-south highway was named the fourth most congested road in the state by the Texas Department of Transportation last year. Most of Highway 130 is built - and speed limits are posted at 80 mph - with the remaining section set to open before the end of this year. ...

Two dead after gunfire at shooting victim's funeral

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:51 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A shooting in a church parking lot after a funeral on Thursday left two people dead and at least two injured in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, officials said. Gunfire rang out immediately after the service for Ryan Devon Guider, 19, who also had been the victim of a shooting, according to William Miller, public safety director for DeKalb County. Witnesses said they saw the man suspected of killing Guider in the parking lot following the funeral and an altercation broke out, Miller said. One person died at the church and another died on the way to the hospital, Miller said. ...

New York City official defends "supersize" drink ban

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:17 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York City's top health official on Thursday shot back at critics who have blasted the city's plan to limit the sale of oversized sugary drinks such as soda, calling beverage industry opposition ridiculous. The proposed ban, which caps most sugar-sweetened beverages at 16 ounces and carries a $200 fine for vendors that do not comply, met immediate backlash from beverage companies and others who argue it is government overreach, but was lauded by public health experts. "It's not saying 'no' to people. ...

NYC at highest risk of hurricane losses: report

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:03 AM PDT

(Reuters) - When people think of hurricane damage they usually think of Miami or New Orleans, but a new report suggests the greatest financial risk of all may be much farther north: the greater New York City area. Data analysis firm CoreLogic said in a new report released on Thursday that the U.S. metropolitan area at greatest risk, both in the number of properties affected and the potential value of damage, was New York City. For the firm's purposes, the area also includes Long Island and northern New Jersey. ...

Fighter jets intercept planes in Obama airspace near Los Angeles

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:18 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Fighter jets were scrambled on Thursday to intercept two small planes that strayed into airspace over the Los Angeles area restricted for President Barack Obama, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said. The F-16 fighters responded after two single-engine planes, identified as a Cessna 206 and Cherokee PA 28, entered into the restricted airspace at mid-morning in separate incidents, NORAD said. Both planes were escorted by the fighter jets until they left the area and were directed to contact the Federal Aviation Administration, NORAD said. ...

Idaho drinkers can lift a glass to Five Wives Vodka

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:58 PM PDT

SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) - Under the threat of a lawsuit, Idaho's liquor division partially lifted a ban on Five Wives Vodka imposed after the state deemed the drink's allusion to polygamy was an affront to Mormons, officials said on Thursday. Idaho this year denied permission to Utah-based Ogden's Own Distillery to stock Five Wives at state-operated stores, and also denied the distiller the opportunity to sell the vodka to residents who might ask a bar or store to special order it. ...

HIV-positive saliva not a "deadly weapon": NY court

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:29 PM PDT

ALBANY, New York (Reuters) - An HIV-positive man who admitted to biting a police officer attempting to arrest him had his aggravated assault conviction overturned on Thursday by New York's top court, which ruled the man's saliva did not qualify as a deadly weapon. The Court of Appeals, in throwing out the conviction of David Plunkett, ruled that body parts, saliva or anything that "comes with" a person cannot be considered deadly weapons under state law. In New York, aggravated assault requires the use of a "deadly weapon or dangerous instrument. ...

Hazing death prompts no confidence vote for Florida A&M president

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:12 PM PDT

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - The president of Florida A&M University received a no-confidence vote on Thursday from the school's board of trustees over the death of a marching band member in a hazing ritual last year. There was no immediate indication whether the vote would lead to the resignation of President James Ammons. In a 8-4 vote, the board of the historically black university said it had lost confidence in Ammons' ability to lead the school after the November 2011 death of drum major Robert Champion. ...

USDA asks markets when is the best time for data

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 08:35 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government asked farmers, traders and futures exchanges on Thursday for ideas on when it should release potentially market-moving agricultural reports, such as crop forecasts, now that commodity markets are open nearly all day. It could result in the first change in the Department of Agriculture reports in nearly two decades and lead to the release of USDA data while futures trading was at full volume. ...

Southern, western U.S. cities among best for retirees

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:32 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A combination of balmy weather, low taxes and healthy lifestyle helped many southern and western cities in the United States dominate an annual Forbes list of the best places to retire in 2012. Asheville in North Carolina, Florida's Cape Coral and Austin, Texas, were among the 25 cities on the list compiled by Forbes.com, along with Albuquerque in New Mexico and Phoenix, Arizona. "There is a bias to warm weather," said Janet Novack, Forbes Washington bureau chief and executive editor. ...

Indiana refinery workers find dead monkeys in crate

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:23 AM PDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Indiana refinery workers got a surprise when they opened a crate of valves from India and found the remains of two small monkeys, which had been there for at least a year. "Sadly in this age of global transport of goods and materials, sometimes wildlife finds its way into overseas shipments," BP Plc spokesman Scott Dean said on Thursday. "We believe this is just a sad case of the animals becoming trapped in a large shipping container." Workers at BP's 405,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Whiting, Indiana, refinery found the remains on Wednesday in a large crate of valves, Dean ...

Analysis: In scare for newspapers, digital ad growth stalls

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 09:12 PM PDT

(Reuters) - As more newspapers cut back on print to reduce costs and focus on their websites, a troubling trend has emerged: online advertising sales are stalling. In the first quarter, digital advertising revenue at newspapers rose just 1 percent from a year ago, the fifth consecutive quarter that growth has declined, according to the Newspaper Association of America, a trade organization. A flood of excess advertising space, the rise of electronic advertising exchanges that sell ads at cut-rate prices, and the weak U.S. ...

Fighter jets intercept planes in Obama airspace near Los Angeles

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 11:16 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two small planes that entered airspace restricted for President Barack Obama over the Los Angeles area were intercepted by F-16 fighters, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said on Thursday. The planes, a Cessna 206 and Cherokee PA 28, were intercepted at mid-morning and escorted out of the area, NORAD said in a written statement on its website. Obama is in Southern California for a series of fundraisers ahead of the November presidential election. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb)

Tweaking U.S. tax code could spur green energy: senator

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:27 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A freshman U.S. Democratic senator thinks he may have found a way to encourage investment in wind, solar and biofuel projects without sapping too many taxpayer dollars or injecting new venom into a bitter partisan battle over energy incentives. Chris Coons introduced legislation on Thursday that would allow a broad range of renewable power generation and transmission projects to qualify for a tax structure used widely by pipeline and other energy-related companies. ...

Lawmakers seek to bolster investment share

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 07:01 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Thursday are calling for action to boost the U.S. share of global foreign investment, which has fallen 50 percent over the past decade as companies pour money into faster-growing economies. "We think it's critical to evaluate what we need to do and how we can actually attract more capital here" because of the role foreign companies can play in creating U.S. jobs, Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Reuters. ...

House panel backs "Magnitsky" sanctions on Russia

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 09:40 AM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A congressional committee unanimously approved on Thursday a measure to penalize Russian officials for human rights abuses, adding to tensions with Moscow and complicating White House efforts to pass Russian trade legislation in the coming months. The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved on a voice vote the "Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act," named for a 37-year-old anti-corruption lawyer who worked for the equity fund Hermitage Capital. ...

Arizona to beef up patrols of polygamist Jeffs' town

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:12 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Arizona will funnel more than $400,000 to a sheriff's office on the Utah-Arizona border to beef up police patrols of a town that is home to followers of imprisoned polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, the state's Attorney General said on Thursday. The money will aid Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan in providing police services in Colorado City, one of two communities dominated by members of Jeffs' Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ...

U.S. crackdown on child predators nabs 190 in May

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:01 PM PDT

Police believe father killed Arizona family found burned in car

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 06:00 PM PDT

Paternos unaware may be called to testify in Sandusky trial

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 05:38 PM PDT

Correction: Coke, McDonald's slam NYC bid to ban big soda cups

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:43 PM PDT

Insight: Can Occupy Wall Street survive?

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:39 PM PDT

New York "Soccer Mom Madam" challenges $2 million bail

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 04:01 PM PDT