Friday, July 6, 2012

Trayvon Martin's killer leaves Florida jail on bond

Trayvon Martin's killer leaves Florida jail on bond


Trayvon Martin's killer leaves Florida jail on bond

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 03:41 PM PDT

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, was released on Friday from a Florida jail on $1 million bail, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. Zimmerman walked out of the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Florida, at 2:49 p.m. EDT (1849 GMT), fitted with an electronic monitoring device, the Seminole County Sheriff's spokeswoman said. ...

Metro train derails in Washington D.C. suburb; no injuries

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:30 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Several cars in a Metro train derailed in a Washington, D.C, suburb on Friday but none of the 55 passengers on board were injured, and investigators will look into whether heat was a factor in the accident, a transit spokesman said. The three cars that derailed in a tunnel in Hyattsville, Maryland, stayed upright, said Philip Stewart, a spokesman for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. A pregnant woman was taken to a hospital as a precaution, Stewart said, and other passengers were put on a bus. ...

California gives green light to high-speed rail plan

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 06:48 PM PDT

An artist's rendition courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows a high speed train in a station in the Bay AreaSACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California lawmakers gave a nod of approval to a high-speed rail plan on Friday in a make-or-break vote for $8 billion in funding to start construction on a 130-mile section of track through the state's central agricultural heartland. The 21-16 vote in the state Senate was a substantial win for Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, who says a bullet train network will boost job creation and provide an alternative to car and plane travel in the country's most populous state. ...


Presbyterian Church rejects gay marriage proposal

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 05:06 PM PDT

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The U.S. Presbyterian Church on Friday narrowly rejected a proposal by same-sex marriage proponents for a constitutional change that would redefine marriage as a union between "two people," rather than between a woman and a man. The 338-308 vote followed nearly four hours of heated debate at the Church's General Assembly in Pittsburgh, a biennial gathering to review policy. The Church, with around 2 million members, currently allows ministers to bless gay unions but prohibits them from solemnizing homosexual civil marriages. ...

New York court dismisses gay marriage challenge

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 03:09 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A New York appeals courts on Friday threw out the first legal challenge to the state's same-sex marriage law, dismissing a Christian group's claim the behind-the-scenes lobbying that preceded the law's passage had been improper. New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, an evangelical Christian group, claimed the state Senate's Republican majority violated the state Open Meetings Law in June 2011 when it met with Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg behind closed doors to discuss marriage legislation. The group said its senior lobbyist, Rev. ...

Ahead of Florida hazing death, official proposed action: newspaper

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 06:45 PM PDT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Days before the 2011 death of a Florida A & M marching band member in a ritual hazing, a school official urged the university to suspend the band because of concerns about hazing, according to a news report. Drum major Robert Champion, 26, was beaten to death aboard a charter bus carrying the university's celebrated "Marching 100" band to a football game and band competition in November 2011 in Orlando. Eleven band members face felony hazing charges in connection with this death. ...

City workers wages slashed in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 05:44 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Firefighters, police and other public workers in a Pennsylvania city saw their wages slashed to minimum wage rates on Friday, in a move by the cash-strapped city to balance its budget, city officials said. Scranton's public workers would be paid $7.25 an hour "indefinitely" starting with Friday's paychecks as part of a plan initiated by the mayor, Chris Doherty. Scranton, a city of about 76,000 in the northeast of the state, is the latest Pennsylvania city in serious financial trouble. The Scranton Times-Tribune recently reported the city faces a $16. ...

Owner of restaurant where Obama ate breakfast dies

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 02:54 PM PDT

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The elderly owner of an Ohio restaurant where President Barack Obama ate breakfast on Friday died of natural causes just hours after meeting him. Josephine "Ann" Harris, 70, owner of Ann's Place where Obama was served eggs, bacon, toast and grits, died at a hospital in Akron, Ohio. The president called her daughter from Air Force One to express his condolences. A hospital spokesman said Harris had complained of fatigue and a tingling feeling. ...

Convicted wife-killer Peterson says denied fair trial, appeals

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:13 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Scott Peterson, convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son and sentenced to death following a sensational 2004 trial, has filed an appeal to the California Supreme Court, saying he was denied a fair trial in part because of publicity surrounding the case. The 39-year-old former fertilizer salesman, who has been held on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison since 2005, also challenged his death sentence on several grounds and said California's death penalty is unconstitutional. ...

Oregon likely to put pot legalization to voters, proponents say

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 03:10 PM PDT

SALEM, Oregon (Reuters) - Oregon will soon qualify as the third U.S. state to ask voters in November to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a move that could put the state on a collision course with the federal government, proponents said on Friday. Backers of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act said they have collected 165,000 signatures on petitions seeking to put the measure on the ballot, nearly double the 87,000 they were required to submit by Friday's deadline to qualify. ...

Two Philadelphia priests barred from ministry after abuse probe

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:38 PM PDT

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia has barred two priests from ministry, meaning they will not be allowed to perform duties such as saying Mass, after its latest review of suspected child sex abuse cases in the church. The announcement on Friday by Archbishop Charles Chaput was the latest development in a broader investigation into sexual abuse that was prompted by a 2011 grand jury probe. The review examined six cases of priests, all of whom had been placed on administrative leave, and cleared four of them. ...

City workers wages slashed in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 03:48 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Firefighters, police and other public workers in a Pennsylvania city saw their wages slashed to minimum wage rates on Friday, in a move by the cash-strapped city to balance its budget, city officials said. Scranton's public workers would be paid $7.25 an hour "indefinitely" starting with Friday's paychecks as part of a plan initiated by the mayor, Chris Doherty. Scranton, a city of about 76,000 in the northeast of the state, is the latest Pennsylvania city in serious financial trouble. The Scranton Times-Tribune recently reported the city faces a $16. ...

California Senate gives green light to high speed rail plan

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:27 PM PDT

An artist's rendition courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows a high speed train passing through Mission BeachSACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - The California state Senate gave a nod of approval to the state's high speed rail plan on Friday in a make-or-break vote that would provide funding to start construction on a project whose overall cost has been pegged at $68 billion. The project, expected to take decades to complete, was championed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, who says a bullet train network will boost job creation and provide an alternative to car and plane travel in the country's most populous state. ...


Alaska man missing after July 4 mountain footrace

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 02:08 PM PDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Rescuers scrambled across rough Alaska terrain on Friday looking for a man who vanished while competing in a grueling Independence Day mountain footrace in which he was last seen about 200 yards from the race's 3,022-foot summit. Michael LeMaitre of Anchorage was reported missing after he failed to finish Wednesday's Mount Marathon Race in Seward, an Alaska July 4 tradition that is billed by local officials as the nation's second-oldest footrace, Alaska State Troopers said. ...

California high speed rail plan faces make-or-break vote

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 12:00 PM PDT

An artist's rendition courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows a high speed train passing through TechachapiSACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California's high speed rail project faces a fiercely contested financing vote in the state Senate on Friday that could determine its fate following years of controversy over the high cost of the plan, now pegged at $68 billion, and concerns about its management. The project, expected to take decades to complete, has the backing of Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, who says a bullet train network will boost job creation and provide an alternative to car and plane travel in the country's most populous state. ...


Bodleian Library's medieval manuscripts come to NY

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 02:07 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 60 Hebrew, Arabic and Latin medieval manuscripts from England's Bodleian Library in Oxford will be displayed, most for the first time in the United States, in a new exhibition at the Jewish Museum this fall. The show, "Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries," includes the Kennicott Bible, which was created in Spain in 1476 and is thought to be one of the most extensively illustrated medieval manuscripts in existence. ...

Proclaimed Virgin Mary visions draw people to Alabama

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 02:00 PM PDT

STERRETT, Alabama (Reuters) - A visit from a Croatian woman who says she sees the Virgin Mary on a daily basis drew thousands of people to a small Alabama town this week, many of them traveling long distances to be near the self-proclaimed visionary. Despite skepticism of prominent Catholics, the faithful said they trekked to Sterrett, about 30 minutes south of Birmingham, with hopes of hearing a message from the mother of Jesus, witnessing miracles and receiving direction about how to follow their faith. "I am here to get our Lady's graces," said Steve Schoenecker, 56, who came from ...

Biggest U.S. electricity system says ready for heat wave

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 11:29 AM PDT

(Reuters) - The biggest electricity system in the nation said it does not expect supply problems on Friday or over the weekend despite a continuing brutal heat wave. PJM, which operates the power grid in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest United States, said in a news release on Friday that it will keep a hot weather alert in effect for Friday and Saturday. A hot weather alert means that transmission and generation operators should defer maintenance on generators or power lines and be prepared for above-average demand for electricity. ...

New York man guilty of illegal entry of Sean Combs' home

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 09:34 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York man has admitted to a break-in this spring at Sean "Diddy" Combs' Long Island estate, where he helped himself to some of the hip hop mogul's liquor to wash down a meal he had brought along with him, officials said Friday. Quamine T. Taylor, 30, pleaded guilty late Thursday to criminal trespass in the second degree for entering Combs' house in East Hampton on April 1, according to court records. He spent nearly 24 hours there before he was caught. Taylor was sentenced to 120 days in jail. ...

Con Edison, union resume talks Friday as NYC broils

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 11:45 AM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Contract talks between Consolidated Edison Inc and locked-out union workers resumed Friday morning while replacement crews struggled to end brownouts in Brooklyn and the Bronx as New York City sweltered in a prolonged heat wave. The company and the union negotiated for about 10 hours on Thursday without reaching a deal. They started again at about 9 a.m. Eastern Time Friday and were currently taking a lunch break, a union spokesman said. ...

Bodleian Library's medieval manuscripts come to NY

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 01:22 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 60 Hebrew, Arabic and Latin medieval manuscripts from England's Bodleian Library in Oxford will be displayed, most for the first time in the United States, in a new exhibition at the Jewish Museum this fall. The show, "Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries," includes the Kennicott Bible, which was created in Spain in 1476 and is thought to be one of the most extensively illustrated medieval manuscripts in existence. ...

Yacht capsizes off New York's Long Island, three drown

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:28 AM PDT

A towboat worker speaks with Nassau County Marine Enforcement officers in a bay near where a yacht capsized on Wednesday, in Oyster BayNEW YORK (Reuters) - A private yacht ferrying 27 friends and family to watch Fourth of July fireworks capsized off New York's Long Island and three children drowned, Nassau County police said on Thursday. The children's bodies were found in the cabin of the submerged boat in the waters off the town of Oyster Bay after a 911 call was placed at about 10:10 p.m. on Wednesday (0210 GMT Thursday), police said. "These individuals were out observing a fireworks show. ...


Proclaimed Virgin Mary visions draw people to south Alabama

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 12:58 PM PDT

STERRETT, Alabama (Reuters) - A visit from a Croatian woman who says she sees the Virgin Mary on a daily basis drew thousands of people to a small Alabama town this week, many of them traveling long distances to be near the self-proclaimed visionary. Despite skepticism of prominent Catholics, the faithful said they trekked to Sterrett, about 30 minutes south of Birmingham, with hopes of hearing a message from the mother of Jesus, witnessing miracles and receiving direction about how to follow their faith. "I am here to get our Lady's graces," said Steve Schoenecker, 56, who came from ...

NY deli wins ruling to keep 'heart attack' alive

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 12:55 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In the battle of the "latke" versus the cheeseburger, a federal judge has let it be known that the two cannot be confused. A famed New York City kosher deli beat back a challenge from the Heart Attack Grill of Las Vegas over its naming of cardiac-themed concoctions. A federal judge in Manhattan ruled on Thursday that the 2nd Avenue Deli may keep selling its "Instant Heart Attack" sandwich and launch a "Triple Bypass" version, noting clear differences between the deli and the Heart Attack Grill. ...

California Senate passes "anti-Arizona" immigration bill

Posted: 05 Jul 2012 10:07 PM PDT

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - The California Senate passed a bill on Thursday that seeks to shield illegal immigrants from status checks by local police and challenges Republican-backed immigration crackdowns in Arizona and other U.S. states. The Democrat-led state Senate voted 21 to 13 to approve the California Trust Act, dubbed by supporters as the "anti-Arizona" bill. It blocks local police from referring a detainee to immigration officials for deportation unless that person has been convicted of a violent or serious felony. ...

U.S. online job demand rises in June

Posted: 05 Jul 2012 09:11 PM PDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A monthly gauge of online labor demand in the United States rose in June, led by jobs available in the transportation and warehousing sector, while retail positions regained momentum, the operator of a job search website said on Friday. Monster Worldwide Inc, an online careers and recruiting firm, said its employment index rose 4.1 percent to 153 points from 147 in May. The index was up 4.8 percent from 146 a year ago. The index saw annual growth in 14 of the 20 industries and 19 of the 23 occupations monitored last month. ...

Countrywide used VIP program to sway Congress: report

Posted: 05 Jul 2012 08:09 PM PDT

A Countrywide branch location is seen in BurlingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A VIP mortgage program run by now-defunct Countrywide Financial Corp was used to influence lawmakers with the aim of killing legislation that could hurt the company's profits, a congressional report released on Thursday said. The report from the House of Representatives' Oversight and Government Reform Committee provided new details about the program, which offered discount loans to "VIPs," and it named dozens of congressional staffers that benefited. The company, which was once the biggest U.S. ...


Former Oakland Raiders defensive end charged in four slayings

Posted: 05 Jul 2012 08:49 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Oakland Raiders defensive end Anthony Wayne Smith, whose murder trial stemming from a 2008 shooting death ended in a hung jury, was charged this week with three more Los Angeles County slayings from several years earlier. The new criminal complaint, filed on Monday, charges Smith, 43, with a total of four counts of first-degree murder, incorporating the original case against him and the kidnap-killings of three other men - one in 1999 and two in 2001. Special allegations listed in the complaint say the three earlier victims were tortured before being killed. ...

California gives green light to high-speed rail plan

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 06:48 PM PDT

An artist's rendition courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows a high speed train in a station in the Bay AreaSACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - California lawmakers gave a nod of approval to a high-speed rail plan on Friday in a make-or-break vote for $8 billion in funding to start construction on a 130-mile section of track through the state's central agricultural heartland. The 21-16 vote in the state Senate was a substantial win for Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, who says a bullet train network will boost job creation and provide an alternative to car and plane travel in the country's most populous state. ...


Ahead of Florida hazing death, official proposed action: newspaper

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 06:45 PM PDT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla (Reuters) - Days before the 2011 death of a Florida A & M marching band member in a ritual hazing, a school official urged the university to suspend the band because of concerns about hazing, according to a news report. Drum major Robert Champion, 26, was beaten to death aboard a charter bus carrying the university's celebrated "Marching 100" band to a football game and band competition in November 2011 in Orlando. Eleven band members face felony hazing charges in connection with this death. ...

City workers wages slashed in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 05:44 PM PDT

(Reuters) - Firefighters, police and other public workers in a Pennsylvania city saw their wages slashed to minimum wage rates on Friday, in a move by the cash-strapped city to balance its budget, city officials said. Scranton's public workers would be paid $7.25 an hour "indefinitely" starting with Friday's paychecks as part of a plan initiated by the mayor, Chris Doherty. Scranton, a city of about 76,000 in the northeast of the state, is the latest Pennsylvania city in serious financial trouble. The Scranton Times-Tribune recently reported the city faces a $16. ...

Presbyterian Church rejects gay marriage proposal

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 05:06 PM PDT

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - The U.S. Presbyterian Church on Friday narrowly rejected a proposal by same-sex marriage proponents for a constitutional change that would redefine marriage as a union between "two people," rather than between a woman and a man. The 338-308 vote followed nearly four hours of heated debate at the Church's General Assembly in Pittsburgh, a biennial gathering to review policy. The Church, with around 2 million members, currently allows ministers to bless gay unions but prohibits them from solemnizing homosexual civil marriages. ...

Two Philadelphia priests barred from ministry after abuse probe

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:38 PM PDT

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia has barred two priests from ministry, meaning they will not be allowed to perform duties such as saying Mass, after its latest review of suspected child sex abuse cases in the church. The announcement on Friday by Archbishop Charles Chaput was the latest development in a broader investigation into sexual abuse that was prompted by a 2011 grand jury probe. The review examined six cases of priests, all of whom had been placed on administrative leave, and cleared four of them. ...

California Senate gives green light to high speed rail plan

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:27 PM PDT

An artist's rendition courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority shows a high speed train passing through Mission BeachSACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - The California state Senate gave a nod of approval to the state's high speed rail plan on Friday in a make-or-break vote that would provide funding to start construction on a project whose overall cost has been pegged at $68 billion. The project, expected to take decades to complete, was championed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, who says a bullet train network will boost job creation and provide an alternative to car and plane travel in the country's most populous state. ...


Convicted wife-killer Peterson says denied fair trial, appeals

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 04:13 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Scott Peterson, convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son and sentenced to death following a sensational 2004 trial, has filed an appeal to the California Supreme Court, saying he was denied a fair trial in part because of publicity surrounding the case. The 39-year-old former fertilizer salesman, who has been held on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison since 2005, also challenged his death sentence on several grounds and said California's death penalty is unconstitutional. ...

Trayvon Martin's killer leaves Florida jail on bond

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 03:41 PM PDT

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who is charged with second-degree murder in the killing of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, was released on Friday from a Florida jail on $1 million bail, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. Zimmerman walked out of the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Florida, at 2:49 p.m. EDT (1849 GMT), fitted with an electronic monitoring device, the Seminole County Sheriff's spokeswoman said. ...

Oregon likely to put pot legalization to voters, proponents say

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 03:10 PM PDT

SALEM, Oregon (Reuters) - Oregon will soon qualify as the third U.S. state to ask voters in November to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a move that could put the state on a collision course with the federal government, proponents said on Friday. Backers of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act said they have collected 165,000 signatures on petitions seeking to put the measure on the ballot, nearly double the 87,000 they were required to submit by Friday's deadline to qualify. ...

New York court dismisses gay marriage challenge

Posted: 06 Jul 2012 03:09 PM PDT

(Reuters) - A New York appeals courts on Friday threw out the first legal challenge to the state's same-sex marriage law, dismissing a Christian group's claim the behind-the-scenes lobbying that preceded the law's passage had been improper. New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, an evangelical Christian group, claimed the state Senate's Republican majority violated the state Open Meetings Law in June 2011 when it met with Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg behind closed doors to discuss marriage legislation. The group said its senior lobbyist, Rev. ...

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