| Supreme Court declines to review insanity defense appeal Nov 26th 2012, 20:39 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal over whether criminal defendants have a constitutional right to assert an insanity defense, leaving in place a paranoid schizophrenic's guilty plea over two murders. With three of its nine justices dissenting, the court without explanation declined to take up the case of John Joseph Delling, who had been sentenced to life in prison in Idaho over the 2007 shooting deaths of David Boss, a childhood friend, and Brad Morse, whom he had met playing online video games. ... |  | Skinned carcasses of 11 puppies found in bag in Pennsylvania Nov 26th 2012, 20:37 PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Animal welfare investigators on Monday sought clues in the skinning of 11 puppies whose bodies were found stuffed in a bag left in a ditch in eastern Pennsylvania. The gruesome discovery was made on Friday in Lower Macungie, about 20 miles from Lynn Township, where days earlier another animal carcass was found skinned and cooked, with its feet cut off, said Bruce Fritch, board president of the Lehigh County Humane Society, which is investigating the slayings. "It's just heinous," Fritch said. ... | | Autopsy finds winner of roach-eating contest in Florida choked to death Nov 26th 2012, 20:32 (Reuters) - A Florida man choked to death after eating dozens of roaches and worms last month to win a contest featuring a python as the top prize, according to autopsy results released on Monday. The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that 32-year-old Edward Archbold's October 6 death to be accidental and said he died after being deprived of oxygen "due to choking and aspiration of gastric contents." Lab tests were negative for lethal intoxicating substances and a severe allergic reaction, the medical examiner said. ... | | White House: balanced approach to fiscal woes includes tax rates Nov 26th 2012, 20:25 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Monday threw cold water on the proposal of solving the problem of the so-called "fiscal cliff" by limiting tax deductions and loopholes, instead of allowing taxes to rise for the highest earners in the United States. "The reality is closing loopholes and ending deductions as an alternative to raising rates on the top earners, the top 2 percent ... sounds good, but you have to look at the context of the actual proposals," White House Spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at a briefing. ... | | With fiscal cliff deadline nearing, parties still at odds Nov 26th 2012, 20:19  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. Congress on Monday called on President Barack Obama to detail long-term spending cuts to help solve the country's fiscal crisis, while holding firm against the income tax rate increases for the wealthy that Democrats seek. The White House has been equally firm in its position, threatening to veto any bill that does not include the tax rate increases opposed by Republicans. ...
| | Supreme Court struggles over workplace harassment standard Nov 26th 2012, 20:10  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fourteen years after deciding that employers can be liable for workplace harassment by supervisors they employ, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared to struggle with an issue left unanswered: who qualifies as a supervisor. A decision in the case against Ball State University, brought by a black catering assistant named Maetta Vance, could clarify how readily harassment victims may hold deeper-pocketed employers accountable under federal law. ...
| | Campaign for Los Angeles pension measure suspended Nov 26th 2012, 20:04 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan suspended on Monday his campaign to put a measure before voters to overhaul the second-largest U.S. city's pension system. Riordan concluded the campaign could not meet the deadline for gathering signatures to qualify the plan for the May 2013 ballot, spokesman John Schwada said. Schwada said Riordan is reviewing options for the measure, including a potential effort to put it on the June 2014 city ballot. "Rest assured that Mayor Riordan is actively looking at all the options available to him," the spokesman said. ... | | Obama spoke with House Speaker Boehner, others on "fiscal cliff" Nov 26th 2012, 19:51  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama spoke with House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner over the weekend on efforts to avert the looming "fiscal cliff" of budget cuts and tax rises that threatens to tip the U.S. economy back into recession. A White House official said on Monday that Obama also spoke with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a fellow Democrat, and said discussions among staff members continued. ...
| | Georgia teen accused of killing stepfather with sword Nov 26th 2012, 19:45 ATLANTA (Reuters) - A 16-year-old boy accused of killing his stepfather with a Samurai-style sword was scheduled to make his first court appearance on a murder charge on Monday. The fatal stabbing occurred late Friday following an argument between the teen and his 36-year-old stepfather, said Pickens County Sheriff Donnie Craig. Police told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the teen used a Samurai-style sword that was part of a collection of replica items in the home, but Craig would not comment on the type of sword on Monday. ... | | Chicago proposes moratorium on school closings after 2013 Nov 26th 2012, 19:41 CHICAGO (Reuters) - The Chicago public school district, which is expected to close dozens of schools next year, will impose a five-year moratorium on shuttering public schools after the fall of 2013, the new head of the district said on Monday. The nation's third-largest school district, which weathered a nasty strike of public school teachers in September, is facing a financial crisis after granting pay rises to teachers in order to settle the strike. It is widely expected to try to balance its budget by closing public schools because of falling enrollment. ... | | Man behind anti-Islam film that stoked riots has no regrets: New York Times Nov 26th 2012, 18:58 (Reuters) - The Egyptian-born Coptic Christian who made the anti-Islam film that sparked protests across the Muslim world has no regrets about his insulting portrayal of the Prophet Mohammad, according to an interview with the New York Times. In his first public comments since the 14-minute trailer for his film, "Innocence of Muslims," gained notoriety in September, Mark Basseley Youssef told the newspaper he wanted to reveal what he called "the actual truth" about Mohammad and raise awareness of the violence committed "under the sign of Allah. ... | | NYC mayor to ask Congress for $9.8 billion for Sandy costs Nov 26th 2012, 18:27  (Reuters) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday he will ask Congress for $9.8 billion to pay for superstorm Sandy costs not covered by insurance or other federal funds. In a letter to New York's congressional delegation, Bloomberg said public, private and indirect losses to the city from the devastating late-October storm totaled an estimated $19 billion. Of that, private insurance is expected to cover $3.8 billion, with Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursements to cover at least an additional $5.4 billion, Bloomberg said in a statement. ...
| | Wisconsin, Illinois far apart on public pension funding: report Nov 26th 2012, 17:04 (Reuters) - Wisconsin and Illinois share the shoreline of Lake Michigan but when it comes to the health of their state public pension funds, they are polar opposites - one sits at the top and the other at the bottom in a new ranking of U.S. states released on Monday. The rankings, compiled by investment research firm Morningstar Inc, looked at the liabilities of taxpayers on a per-capita basis for the pension funds administered by 50 states, as well as the more traditional measure of how well or poorly the programs are funded. ... | |
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