Obamacare enters new phase over the weekend with little fanfare By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's plan to extend private health coverage to the uninsured entered a new uncertain phase on Saturday as U.S. government-backed online insurance marketplaces opened their 2015 plans to millions of potential enrollees. The HealthCare. ... Reuters47 mins ago Ferguson protesters decry report officer Wilson may return to work By Scott Malone FERGUSON Mo. (Reuters) - Activists protesting the fatal shooting in August of an unarmed black teen by a white policeman expressed anger on Saturday after the city's police chief told local media the officer could return to work if a grand jury does not to charge him criminally. The… Reuters Parents of slain Missouri teen return home after U.N. testimony By Scott Malone ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - The parents of the unarmed black teenager shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, said on Friday they hoped their meeting with a United Nations committee would help to improve the tone of race relations in the United States. Michael Brown Sr.… Reuters A world away from Ferguson protests in quiet St. Louis suburb By Scott Malone FLORISSANT Mo. (Reuters) - In this quiet city just north of Ferguson, Missouri, the neat streets of small homes and shops show no signs of the racial tension that has gripped the adjacent St. Louis suburb since the fatal police shooting in August of an unarmed black teen. In… Reuters Georgia police arrest father, daughter accused of starving infant (Reuters) - Police in Georgia have arrested a man and his young adult daughter after they allegedly starved to death his 15-month-old infant child and left three other children and a young adult woman emaciated in a hotel room, authorities said on Friday. The 44-year-old man and his 23-year-old… Reuters Hagel reassures troops of U.S. commitment to nuclear arms mission By David Alexander MINOT AIR FORCE BASE N.D. (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced a multi-billion dollar revamp of U.S. nuclear forces on Friday and later reassured troops responsible for atomic bombers and missiles that he was committed to revitalizing their service after years of… Reuters Pennsylvania police spent $11 million on ambush suspect manhunt: report (Reuters) - Pennsylvania State Police spent roughly $11 million on the weeks-long manhunt in the Pocono Mountains to capture a survivalist charged with shooting two state troopers and murdering one, local media reported on Friday. The funds went mostly toward paying overtime and benefits for… Reuters Atlantic City Taj Mahal casino set to close within four weeks By Alex Dobuzinskis (Reuters) - The planned closure of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City will occur within four weeks, as it joins four other gambling establishments that have shut their doors this year in the faltering New Jersey resort city, according to court papers filed on Friday.… Reuters California newspaper asks reporters to help with deliveries By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) - One of California's largest newspapers has asked reporters and other employees to help deliver papers on Sundays, according to a memo obtained by Reuters, the latest sign of the toll that financial woes are taking on print journalism. The Santa… Reuters Colorado police officer charged with murder, held on $1 million bond By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado police officer is being held on a $1 million bond after he was arrested on Friday and charged with murder in the shooting death of a man last month, authorities said. James Ashby, an officer in the small town of Rocky Ford, is charged with… Reuters L.A. school district claimed girl consented to sex with teacher By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Los Angeles Unified School District has come under fire from legal experts for asserting in court that a 14-year-old girl had consented to sex with her teacher and for introducing her sexual history in response to a lawsuit brought by the student. A… Reuters Deal to spur better 911 call locating for U.S. cellphone users By Alina Selyukh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Emergency responders will be able to better locate callers who dial 911 on their cellphones from indoors as the U.S. wireless industry improves caller-location for the majority of such calls over the next six years. Historically, satellite and other… Reuters Judge in Colorado cinema massacre case rejects defense bid to remove himself By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A judge overseeing the Colorado theater massacre case on Friday rejected a bid by lawyers defending accused gunman James Holmes to remove himself from presiding over the forthcoming murder trial, court documents show. Public defenders filed a motion this week… Reuters First Muslim prayers at National Cathedral interrupted by protester By John Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The first Muslim prayer service ever hosted at the National Cathedral, a landmark Christian church in the U.S. capital, was briefly interrupted on Friday by a lone anti-Islamic protester but the religious gathering continued with a theme of tolerance. The… Reuters Muni bond champion James Lebenthal dies: family NEW YORK (Reuters) - James Lebenthal, the U.S. municipal bond market's biggest champion and most eloquent spokesman, died following a heart attack at age 86, his daughter said on Friday. Lebenthal became a force in the New York municipal bond market in the late 1970s, selling to retail investors… Reuters Portland prosecutors drop pot cases after Oregon legalization vote By Shelby Sebens PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - Oregon's biggest county will no longer prosecute most marijuana cases after state voters voted this month to legalize the drug even as other prosecutors across the state take a more cautious approach, authorities said on Friday. The Multnomah County… Reuters Thousands of high school students skip Colorado state tests By Daniel Wallis DENVER (Reuters) - Thousands of Denver-area high school students skipped state-mandated science and social studies tests this week and some staged street protests in the latest dispute to hit Colorado education since a flare-up over history curricula. Nearly 1,900 high school… Reuters Ohio inmates spent months making ladder used in prison escape By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An inmate convicted of killing three teenagers in an Ohio high school shooting spent months with two other prisoners fashioning a 13-1/2-foot long ladder they used in a prison escape in September, a state prison report released on Friday said. T.J. Lane, serving… Reuters Man who tried to help at Tennessee traffic wreck dies after fall By Tim Ghianni NASHVILLE Tenn. (Reuters) - A Good Samaritan who stopped to help at the scene of a car crash on Friday died after stepping over a bridge railing and plummeting into a river far below, Nashville police said. Mark A. Ferguson, 27, of Omaha, Nebraska, probably believed there was land on… Reuters Noted muni bond investor James Lebenthal dies: family NEW YORK (Reuters) - James Lebenthal, the U.S. municipal bond market's biggest champion, has died following a heart attack at age 86, his daughter said on Friday. Lebenthal became a force in the New York municipal bond market in the 1970s, selling to retail investors for decades via radio and TV… Reuters Awaiting Ferguson grand jury, activists drill protest tactics By Scott Malone ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - In a former union hall in downtown St. Louis, about 100 activists formed a rough circle and, at the instruction of organizer Michael McPhearson, crossed the room wading through a crowd of people going the opposite way. "How hard was that? How much harder will… Reuters Florida equals state record with 19 panthers killed on roads By Barbara Liston ORLANDO Fla. (Reuters) - A Florida panther killed by a car this week became the 19th road fatality this year for the endangered big cat species - matching the most on record in the state - although officials said the toll reflects an uptick in the predator's population. State… Reuters Same-sex couples plan mass wedding in Kansas on Monday By Alice Mannette WICHITA Kan. (Reuters) - More than a dozen same-sex couples plan to be married in a mass wedding ceremony outside a courthouse in Wichita on Monday now that such marriages are legal in Kansas, a minister said on Friday. "This is a way to help bring everyone together," said… Reuters Idaho teacher apologizes for killing, skinning rabbit in class By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) - An Idaho high school teacher under fire for killing and skinning a rabbit in front of his students to demonstrate how animals are processed for food has apologized to children disturbed by the incident, a school official said on Friday. The part-time teacher is a… Reuters West Virginia University student found at fraternity dies (Reuters) - A West Virginia University student found without a pulse at a fraternity house that had lost its charter died on Friday, the school said, a day after it suspended activities by fraternities and sororities. Police said the student, Nolan Burch, 18, of Williamsville, New York, was not… Reuters Georgia men get 10 years in ricin plot By David Beasley ATLANTA (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday sentenced two Georgia militia group members to 10 years each in prison for conspiring to produce ricin, with prosecutors saying they plotted to release it from an airplane over Washington. Samuel Crump, 71, and Ray Adams, 58, were… Reuters Ohio man receives wife's ashes that were lost in mail By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio widower received the cremated remains of his wife on Friday, a week after the ashes were lost by the U.S. Postal Service while in transit to their home in Columbus. "She is right in front of me on the table," said Norman Kirkendall, 83, referring to the… Reuters Pennsylvania man convicted of murder, state seeks death penalty By Joe McDonald STROUDSBURG Pa. (Reuters) - A jury on Friday convicted a Pennsylvania man of first-degree murder in the dismemberment of a woman whose body parts were found stuffed in garbage bags strewn along two highways, and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty next week. After two… Reuters 'Don't think, just play': MIT engineers football success By Steve Ginsburg (Reuters) - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's reputation of academic superiority is well chronicled. But the private research university is now excelling in a sector of society once deemed unthinkable for a bastion of brainpower: football. MIT is undefeated going into… Reuters St. Louis-area schools will get notice of grand jury decision: letter By Scott Malone FERGUSON Mo. (Reuters) - A suburban St. Louis school district told parents that it expects to receive at least three hours' notice from prosecutors when a grand jury decides whether to charge a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.… Reuters Author Michael Lewis prevails in 'Big Short' libel appeal By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - The author Michael Lewis did not libel a money manager in his 2010 best-seller "The Big Short," a divided federal appeals court ruled on Friday. By a 2-1 vote, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York rejected an appeal by Wing Chau and his firm… Reuters Jane Byrne, Chicago's only female mayor, dies By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - Jane Byrne, Chicago's only female mayor, known as an outsider who took on the city's powerful political establishment, died on Friday at age 81. The cause of her death was not immediately known, but her daughter told the Chicago Tribune that she had been in… Reuters Parents of Sandy Hook massacre victims say they get scant help from state By Richard Weizel NEWTOWN Connecticut (Reuters) - Parents of two children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut said on Friday that state officials had failed to provide them adequate mental health care in the wake of one of America's worst mass shootings. "We… Reuters Man found engulfed in flames outside Arizona fast-food restaurant By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - A man was in critical condition in an Arizona hospital on Friday with burns to about 90 percent of his body after being found engulfed in flames outside a Phoenix fast-food restaurant, authorities said. The man was rushed to a local hospital on Thursday evening… Reuters Reforms bring 'Fair Food' label to Florida-grown tomatoes By Letitia Stein TAMPA Fla. (Reuters) - A new "Fair Food" label to help shoppers identify tomatoes grown under ethical working conditions is expected to debut as soon as this weekend at Whole Foods Market, a result of efforts to ensure Florida farmworkers' rights to water, shade and fair wages. The… Reuters Strippers win $10.9 million judgment for unpaid wages from New York club By Mica Rosenberg NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exotic dancers at a midtown Manhattan strip club were awarded nearly $10.9 million by a U.S. judge who found they were employees unfairly classified by the club as independent contractors. The damages cover unpaid wages and withheld gratuities dancers employed… Reuters Sniper shot Pennsylvania troopers to 'wake people up': police By Joe McDonald EAST STROUDSBURG Pa. (Reuters) - A survivalist charged with shooting two Pennsylvania state troopers, one of them fatally, who then eluded a 48-day manhunt by hiding in the woods told police after his capture that he ambushed the men because he "wanted to make a change" in… Reuters Window washers describe 'panic' of dangling 69 floors above New York By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two window washers who dangled from a broken scaffold 69 floors above the ground at One World Trade Center said on Friday their emotions ranged from terror to resolved calm while they awaited rescue and the rest of New York held its breath. Two days after the… Reuters U.S. seeks to ease influx of Central American child migrants By Anna Yukhananov and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington will allow some children in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to apply for refugee status from their home countries, Vice President Joe Biden announced on Friday, in a bid to stem an exodus of undocumented migrants to the… Reuters Farmers would pay more for water from proposed California tunnel By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO Calif. (Reuters) - California farmers would pay more to irrigate their crops under a proposal to build tunnels under the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta to funnel water to the state's agricultural breadbasket, officials said on Friday. The analysis released by… Reuters Gay marriage supporters ask U.S. Supreme Court to take new cases By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gay marriage advocates on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule once and for all on the question of whether states can ban same-sex nuptials. Lawyers for plaintiffs in separate cases arising from Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee said they have, or will by… Reuters Former N.Y. lawmaker faces sex harassment suits By Daniel Wiessner ALBANY N.Y.(Reuters) - Six women who worked for a former New York state lawmaker are suing him and the state for millions of dollars, claiming they were victims of pervasive sexual harassment, the latest in a spate of such claims against legislators. The women filed their suits… Reuters Jailed American in Cuba loses appeal in case vs. U.S. government By David Adams and Daniel Trotta (Reuters) - A federal appeals court in Washington on Friday rejected a lawsuit filed against the U.S. government by an American contractor imprisoned in Cuba who says he was not warned about the risks of working on the communist-controlled island. Alan Gross and his… Reuters U.S. court rejects religious objection to Obamacare contraception deal By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a win for the Obama administration on insurance coverage for contraception under Obamacare, a U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled that Catholic non-profit groups' religious rights were not violated by a compromise already achieved on the volatile issue.… Reuters Wal-Mart workers to protest on Black Friday: group (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc workers plan to protest on Black Friday at about 1,600 stores in the United States to demand better wages and benefits, pressure group OUR Walmart said. The group, pushing for better wages at Wal-Mart, said workers will be on the street on Black Friday if demands for… Reuters U.S. Postmaster General Donahoe to retire; Megan Brennan to succeed By Elvina Nawaguna WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United States Postmaster General, Patrick Donahoe, who has led the financially troubled U.S. Postal Service for four years, will retire in February, paving the way for the service's first female postmaster general. Megan Brennan, a 28-year veteran who is… Reuters Police arrest Los Angeles Walmart workers during protests (Reuters) - Police have arrested 23 people outside a Los Angeles-area Walmart protesting what they say are the company's low wages and its retaliation against employees who pushed for better working conditions, organizers and a police spokesman said on Friday. The arrests on Thursday evening were… Reuters Suspect in Virginia kidnapping pleads not guilty to 2005 rape By John Clarke FAIRFAX Va. (Reuters) - The man charged with abducting a University of Virginia student who later turned up dead pleaded not guilty on Friday in a separate rape case. Jesse Matthew, 32, of Charlottesville, Virginia, faces three felony charges in a 2005 case in which police say he… Reuters Fired California Bar official files whistle-blower suit against group (Reuters) - The fired executive director of the State Bar of California filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the organization on Thursday the same day that his termination was announced, according to a court document. Joseph Dunn, a former State Senator who represented Orange County, alleged in… Reuters Fugitive ex-policeman targeted Los Angeles police chief's father (Reuters) - A former Los Angeles police officer who eluded authorities for days after a grudge-driven killing spree last year had targeted the city police chief's father, police said on Thursday. Christopher Dorner, the 33-year-old former Los Angeles Police Department officer who took his own life… Reuters Two hurt as man pulls knife at Connecticut Navy base (Reuters) - Two U.S. Navy civilian police officers were injured on Thursday outside a submarine base in Connecticut after a belligerent man pulled a knife near an entrance, military officials said. The suspect got into a scuffle with an officer and pulled the knife outside the New London naval… Reuters West Virginia University halts fraternity, sorority events over medical emergency (Reuters) - West Virginia University has suspended all activities by campus fraternities and sororities hours after a student was found at a fraternity house without a pulse, police and school officials said on Thursday. Nolan Burch, 18, was not breathing when he was found at the Kappa Sigma… Reuters Boston Scientific ordered to pay $26.7 million over mesh devices By Zachary Fagenson and Jessica Dye MIAMI/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boston Scientific Corp was ordered Thursday to pay four women a total of $26.7 million after it was found liable for selling faulty transvaginal mesh devices, following one of the first federal trials resulting from thousands of… Reuters Florida man executed for killing stepdaughter in 1992 By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE Fla. (Reuters) - A man convicted of fatally shooting his sleeping wife, then raping and murdering her 10-year-old daughter, was executed by lethal injection Thursday evening at Florida State Prison after spending almost half his life on death row, according to the… Reuters New Jersey state Assembly approves assisted suicide bill By Sebastien Malo (Reuters) - The New Jersey state Assembly on Thursday passed a measure that would allow doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients, modeled after the Oregon law that allowed a 29-year-old woman suffering from brain cancer to end her life. The legislation… Reuters U.S. internal review cites Secret Service failures in White House intrusion WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An intruder was able to scale the White House fence and enter the executive mansion in September because of major Secret Service failures including an agent who was distracted by a personal cellphone call, according to an internal review released on Thursday. Iraq war veteran… Reuters Grand jury testimony in black Missouri teen's slaying nearly done: attorney By Scott Malone CLAYTON Mo. (Reuters) - The grand jury decision on whether to indict a white Missouri police officer for fatally shooting an unarmed black teenager is nearing, a lawyer for the family said on Thursday, calling for calm in a situation that has put police and residents on edge. A… Reuters Prosecutors say vampire-fanged Utah trucker had more victims By Daniel Wallis (Reuters) - A Utah truck driver who wore vampire-fang dentures and is charged with sexually abusing and beating two women who he held captive in his vehicle as he traveled the country had four more victims, federal prosecutors have said. Timothy Jay Vafeades, 54, was arrested in… Reuters College football player in Oregon charged with murder By Shelby Sebens (Reuters) - A Willamette University football player from California has been charged with murder after a 66-year-old man was found dead near an intersection in Salem, Oregon, prosecutors said on Thursday. Authorities said Beau W. Smith, a 22-year-old senior at Willamette, a private… Reuters Two New York men are paid $9 million in wrongful conviction case By Sascha Brodsky NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two men who spent 16 years in prison for a New York City double murder they did not commit accepted a $9 million settlement on Thursday for their wrongful convictions. Danny Colon, 50, and Anthony Ortiz, 44, were arrested in 1990 and charged with a drive-by… Reuters U.S. charges 12 family members with defrauding banks of $20 million By Sam N. Adams NEW YORK N.Y. (Reuters) - A dozen members of a Brooklyn family were among 15 people charged in New York federal court Thursday with being part of a conspiracy to inflate their incomes to obtain $20 million in real estate loans and understate it to the government for welfare… Reuters Massey ex-CEO indicted over fatal 2010 West Virginia mine blast By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - Donald Blankenship, a former chief executive of Massey Energy Co, was indicted on Thursday on charges he violated federal mine safety laws prior to the April 2010 explosion that killed 29 miners at the company's Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia. The U.S.… Reuters Halliburton worker killed in Colorado fracking accident DENVER (Reuters) - An accident at a fracking site in Colorado killed one Halliburton Co worker and seriously injured two on Thursday as they tried to thaw a high-pressure water line that had frozen in record-breaking cold conditions, the company said. The local fire department said one person was… Reuters Controversial Idaho wolf hunt approved, angering conservationists By Laura Zuckerman SALMON Idaho (Reuters) - U.S. land managers approved a recreation permit on Thursday allowing a controversial hunting contest open to children to take place on public lands in Idaho, where contestants will seek to kill the most wolves and other wildlife for cash and prizes. The… Reuters Ohio woman's ashes lost in transit, U.S. Postal Service says By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio woman's cremated remains have been lost in transit to her husband of 61 years, and a six-day search by the U.S. Postal Service has failed to find them, a spokesman said on Thursday. Barbara Kirkendall, 80, died earlier in November in Cleveland and her… Reuters Conservation groups ask Obama administration to protect Yellowstone bison By Laura Zuckerman (Reuters) - Two conservation groups asked the Obama administration on Thursday to provide Endangered Species Act protections for about 4,900 bison at Yellowstone National Park, where managers intend to cull the herd by 900 this winter. Buffalo Field Campaign and Western… Reuters No charges to be filed against family of Oregon high school shooter By Shelby Sebens PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - Prosecutors have decided not to press charges against the father and older brother of an Oregon teenager who killed a classmate and wounded a teacher at his high school in June with a rifle taken from home, authorities said on Thursday. Jared Padgett, 15,… Reuters Exclusive: Ex-wife of US oil baron to appeal $1 billion divorce award By Joshua Schneyer (Reuters) - Sue Ann Hamm, the ex-wife of Oklahoma oil magnate Harold Hamm who was awarded cash and assets worth more than $1 billion in the couple's divorce this week, plans to appeal the judgment on grounds that it grossly undervalues the marital wealth she is entitled to. ... Reuters Buddhists can't sue over shuttered NYC temple, court says By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) - A New York appeals court has refused to wade into a dispute between a Buddhist master and more than 500 congregants he expelled before shuttering their Manhattan temple. The court on Thursday said involving itself in claims that Master Mew Fung Chen broke the law in… Reuters Kansas counties issue same-sex marriage license after court ruling By Kevin Murphy KANSAS CITY Kan. (Reuters) - Kansas counties began issuing marriage licenses on Thursday to same-sex couples a day after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to delay a federal judge's order that lifted the state's ban. Judge Daniel Crabtree said on Nov. 4 the Kansas ban on same-sex… Reuters Violent New York drug gang busted in shooting that paralyzed girl By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dozens of accused members and associates of a violent gang that pistol-whipped and used hammers to attack rivals of their drug operation were indicted for crimes including a shooting that paralyzed a girl in Brooklyn, authorities said on Thursday. A crackdown… Reuters Famous Las Vegas gambler gets probation in card-marking case By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A Las Vegas gambler who once famously turned $50 into $40 million and then lost it all has been sentenced to three years' probation for a card-marking scheme that got him arrested at a California casino, a San Diego prosecutor said on Thursday. Anargyros… Reuters Two people injured in shooting at Chicago-area shopping mall By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - A man and a woman were shot and wounded on Thursday afternoon in a shooting at a popular shopping mall just outside the Chicago city limits, police said. The shooter at the Harlem Irving Plaza mall in Norridge, just northwest of the city, is in custody after… Reuters Father of boys found in squalid Denver home pleads guilty to abuse By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A father of four malnourished boys found living amid cat feces in a squalid Denver home and unable to speak except by grunts pleaded guilty on Thursday to felony child abuse, prosecutors said. Wayne Sperling, 66, was arrested last year along with his common-law… Reuters Hunt on for California driver who killed teen while fleeing police By Alex Dobuzinskis (Reuters) - Police in Northern California have recovered a car they believe struck and killed a 14-year-old boy at a crosswalk during a police chase this week, but were still searching for the driver, authorities said on Thursday. Teenager Ivan Cruz had been holding a scooter… Reuters Son of U.S. senator pleads not guilty to animal cruelty charges By David Schwartz PHOENIX (Reuters) - The son of U.S. Senator Jeff Flake and his wife pleaded not guilty on Thursday to multiple animal cruelty charges after 21 dogs died while the couple were caretakers at a boarding kennel that overheated in suburban Phoenix, court officials said. Austin Flake is… Reuters University of North Carolina to face accrediting inquiry for academic fraud By Colleen Jenkins WINSTON-SALEM N.C. (Reuters) - An accrediting agency sent a letter to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Thursday, asking the school to prove its compliance with the group's standards after a probe found that more than 3,000 students received credit for fake… Reuters Chicago college student missing since Friday By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO (Reuters) - A college student last seen entering the Chicago Board of Trade building in the city's downtown business district has been missing for nearly a week, police and school officials said on Thursday. Chan Williams, 20, last seen on Friday evening entering the… Reuters Maine's largest city cuts spending in dispute over immigrant aid By Dave Sherwood PORTLAND Maine (Reuters) - Maine's largest city has begun clamping down on spending as newly re-elected Republican Governor Paul LePage makes good on a campaign promise to cut funding to cities and towns that give aid to undocumented immigrants. In an internal memo released on… Reuters Obama plans to shield up to 5 million immigrants from deportation: NY Times WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama plans to announce an overhaul of U.S. immigration policy through executive action that would shield up to 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation, the New York Times reported on Thursday. Such a move will set up a showdown with Republicans,… Reuters McCain, other US lawmakers, vow to save A-10 'Warthog' aircraft By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An influential group of U.S. lawmakers, including John McCain, in line to become the head of the Senate's powerful Armed Services Committee, on Thursday pledged to thwart the Pentagon's plans to retire the U.S. fleet of A-10 "Warthog" aircraft. The… Reuters Letter from North Dakota: The Oil Party Rocks On By Ernest Scheyder WILLISTON N.D. (Reuters) - Falling oil prices have spooked Wall Street and even parts of Texas. But in North Dakota's booming oil patch, the crude-fueled party carries on. Since June, the price of crude oil has fallen 30 percent to about $75 a barrel, raising fears that oil… Reuters U.S. Capitol workers, others strike for higher pay, union By John Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hundreds of striking federal contract workers, including for the first time some from the U.S. Capitol, rallied on Thursday to urge President Barack Obama to boost pay and spur unionization. About 800 striking workers and supporters, including members of… Reuters Pentagon Number two urges end to U.S. defense cut 'madness' By David Alexander WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work on Wednesday appealed to lawmakers to "stop the madness" of across-the-board Pentagon spending cuts, saying they threaten U.S. military readiness and technological dominance at a time of rising global challenges.… Reuters Arkansas Governor to pardon son's drug conviction: report (Reuters) - Outgoing Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said on Wednesday that he will pardon his son for a felony drug conviction, local media reported. Beebe, who is set to leave office in January due to term limits, said he would pardon his son Kyle, now 34, for his 2003 felony conviction of marijuana… Reuters Plains farmland values mostly steady, loan demand up: KC Fed CHICAGO (Reuters) - Farmland values in the central U.S. Plains held mostly steady in the July-September quarter compared to a year ago, with land prices and loan demand generally tracking commodity price trends, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said on Thursday. “Non-irrigated and irrigated… Reuters Senate Republicans select McConnell for majority leader WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans on Thursday unanimously chose current Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as their majority leader for the next congressional session, according to a senior Republican aide. The session begins in January, when Republicans gain political control of… Reuters 911 tapes of Washington state school shooting rampage released (Reuters) - Authorities on Wednesday released emergency-911 calls of the shooting rampage at a Washington state high school last month, providing details on the scene of carnage and confusion. Five teens, including 15-year-old shooter Jaylen Fryberg, were killed as a result of the Oct. 24 shooting… Reuters New Orleans detectives faulted for ignoring sex crimes (Reuters) - Hundreds of sex crime complaints to the New Orleans Police Department over a three-year period went virtually uninvestigated, city watchdog and police officials said on Wednesday. Roughly 1,300 sexual assault calls were assigned to five detectives between 2011 and 2013, and in 65… Reuters Exclusive: Controversial U.S. energy loan program has wiped out losses Reuters New York ex-cop acquitted on cannibalism plot gets supervised release By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Four months after the reversal of his conviction for plotting to kidnap and cannibalize women, a former New York City policeman on Wednesday walked out of a federal courthouse, sentenced to time already served and supervised release for a lesser offense. Judge… Reuters FedEx workers at New Jersey facility vote against unionization CHICAGO (Reuters) - Workers at a Newark, New Jersey, FedEx Freight facility voted against joining a union on Wednesday, in a blow to a concerted drive by the Teamsters to unionize FedEx Corp. "We are proud of our employees for doing their homework on the union and making an informed decision… Reuters Colorado man's wife, dead in fall from cliff, insured for millions By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado man accused of killing his wife by pushing her off a cliff two years ago stood to reap millions of dollars from life insurance benefits, prosecutors said on Wednesday, as homicide investigators delved separately into the 1995 death of his first spouse.… Reuters Mormon church admits founder Joseph Smith had about 40 wives (Reuters) - The Mormon church has said that founder Joseph Smith married about 40 women including a 14-year-old and others who were already the wives of his followers, having publicly portrayed him over the years as lovingly committed to one woman. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints… Reuters Gay marriage advocates get victories in Kansas, South Carolina By Harriet McLeod and Lawrence Hurley CHARLESTON S.C./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gay marriage advocates won another two victories on Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Kansas to become the 33rd U.S. state where same-sex couples can wed and a federal judge struck down South Carolina's ban. The… Reuters Rescue under way for New York City window washers dangling at World Trade Center NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City fire fighters were trying to rescue at least one window washer on Wednesday thought to be trapped on broken scaffolding that was dangling outside the 69th floor of One World Trade Center, local officials said. The scaffolding was dangling at a 45-degree angle… Reuters U.S. nurses hold strikes, protests over Ebola measures By Curtis Skinner and Kia Johnson SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of nurses across the United States staged protest rallies and strikes on Wednesday over what they say is insufficient protection for health workers dealing with patients possibly stricken with the deadly Ebola… Reuters California man pleads not guilty to killing family of four By Dana Feldman VICTORVILLE Calif. (Reuters) - An ex-convict pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to four counts of murder in the slayings of a couple and their two young sons whose skeletal remains were found buried last year in the California desert. The suspect, Charles "Chase" Merritt, 57, has been… Reuters Connecticut father arraigned on homicide charge in son's hot car death By Richard Weizel MILFORD Conn. (Reuters) - A Connecticut man was arraigned on Wednesday on a charge of criminally negligent homicide in the death of his 15-month-old son who was left alone in a car for hours on a hot July afternoon while his father was at work. Kyle Seitz, 36, was released… Reuters