Pennsylvania governor makes big death penalty change

Pennsylvania governor makes big death penalty change
Details emerge about driver in Bob Simon's accident
Sierra Leone quarantines 700 homes after Ebola case
Family of German exchange student sues shooter, girlfriend
Boko Haram attacks village in Chad as revolt spreads
Ukraine battles persist before cease-fire deadline; 25 dead
New York Times media columnist David Carr dies at 58
Obama to headline cybersecurity summit
Fighting rages in run-up to Ukraine ceasefire
U.N. chief praises three young Muslims killed in North Carolina
Majority of Alabama counties issuing marriage licenses to gay couples
Connecticut panel approves school safety report after Sandy Hook
Thousands join funeral for slain Muslims in North Carolina
Report: Rise in ‘lone wolf’ domestic terrorists remains ‘substantial threat’
Uptick in NYC chokehold complaints illuminates need for better-defined rule
Gay couples wed in once-reluctant Alabama county
Top Democrats call on Oregon governor to resign
Federal judge in Alabama orders county to wed gay couples
Carter approved as new defense secretary

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 10:13 AM PST

Newly elected Gov. Tom Wolf has made a major policy shift in the controversial punishment.

Details emerge about driver in Bob Simon's accident

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 09:48 AM PST

The livery cab driver who survived the fatal crash that killed journalist Bob Simon had a reportedly checkered driving record and previously attempted suicide.

Sierra Leone quarantines 700 homes after Ebola case

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 10:56 AM PST

This news comes less than a month after the nation had lifted all travel restrictions.

Family of German exchange student sues shooter, girlfriend

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 10:17 AM PST

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The family of a 17-year-old German exchange student who was shot to death last spring in Montana has filed a lawsuit against the shooter and his girlfriend.

Boko Haram attacks village in Chad as revolt spreads

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 05:32 AM PST

This is the first known lethal attack in Chad by the Nigerian militant group.

Ukraine battles persist before cease-fire deadline; 25 dead

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 08:16 AM PST

ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Fierce fighting surged Friday in eastern Ukraine as Russian-backed separatists mounted a major, sustained offensive to capture a strategic railway hub ahead of a weekend cease-fire deadline. At least 25 people were killed across the region, officials reported.

New York Times media columnist David Carr dies at 58

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 08:34 PM PST

Media columnist David Carr, who wrote the Media Equation column for The New York Times and penned a memoir about his fight with drug addiction, collapsed at his office and died on Thursday. He was 58.

Obama to headline cybersecurity summit

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 06:04 PM PST

The president wants companies to share more cyber threat data with the government.

Fighting rages in run-up to Ukraine ceasefire

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 04:44 AM PST

By Anton Zverev DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels fought fiercely across the east of the country on Friday despite a new peace deal brokered by Germany and France. Kiev said pro-Russian rebels had built up their forces across separatist-held zones since the deal and both sides accused each other of killing civilians. Two people were killed and six wounded when a shell hit a cafe in the Kiev-controlled town of Shchastya near rebel-held Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, a local official said, adding that other shells had struck elsewhere in the town. The rebels accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the separatist stronghold of Donetsk and the town of Horlivka, where they said on their website that three children had been killed.

U.N. chief praises three young Muslims killed in North Carolina

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:10 AM PST

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday praised three young Muslims killed in North Carolina as representing the best values of global citizenship and said he was deeply moved by scenes of thousands of people mourning their deaths. Deah Barakat, 23, a University of North Carolina dental student, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19, a student at North Carolina State University, were gunned down on Tuesday in Chapel Hill.

Majority of Alabama counties issuing marriage licenses to gay couples

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 11:16 AM PST

Officials in 16 Alabama counties began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday, gay rights advocates said, a day after a U.S. judge ordered one local official to issue licenses to gay couples in accordance with an earlier ruling. The shift means that a majority of Alabama counties are now granting licenses to same-sex couples. It also indicates that defiance to a federal ruling striking down the state's gay marriage ban is weakening, as fewer local judges follow a contravening order from the chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court. "These numbers represent a seismic shift in favor of equality and justice," said Fred Sainz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, in a statement.

Connecticut panel approves school safety report after Sandy Hook

Posted: 13 Feb 2015 10:19 AM PST

By Richard Weizel HARTFORD, Conn. (Reuters) - The Connecticut panel charged with finding ways to reduce school violence after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre on Friday approved a final package of recommendations including calls for tougher gun laws and improved school designs. The 16-member commission appointed by Governor Dannel Malloy voted unanimously to approve a 256-page report that also recommended that schools have doors that lock from the inside and calls for trigger locks to be provided for any firearm when it is sold or transferred in ownership. The commission was established after Adam Lanza, 20, killed 26 children and educators at the elementary school in one of the most horrific school shootings in U.S. history.

Thousands join funeral for slain Muslims in North Carolina

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:33 PM PST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The fathers of three young Muslims allegedly slain by a neighbor who was angry over parking spots stood before their caskets Thursday and urged a crowd of thousands to protect others by demanding justice.

Report: Rise in ‘lone wolf’ domestic terrorists remains ‘substantial threat’

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 04:29 PM PST

A watchdog group implores the federal government not to overlook terror threats at home.

Uptick in NYC chokehold complaints illuminates need for better-defined rule

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 05:37 PM PST

Police watchdogs in New York City saw a significant increase in verified complaints of police officers using a banned chokehold maneuver in 2014.

Gay couples wed in once-reluctant Alabama county

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 07:26 PM PST

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The federal judge who overturned Alabama's gay-marriage ban ordered a reluctant county to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, signaling to probate judges across the state that they should do the same.

Top Democrats call on Oregon governor to resign

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 09:18 PM PST

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's top Democrats urged Gov. John Kitzhaber to resign Thursday, saying he cannot lead the state effectively amid a growing ethics scandal involving his fiancee, a green-energy consultant suspected of using their relationship to land contracts for her business.

Federal judge in Alabama orders county to wed gay couples

Posted: 12 Feb 2015 01:56 PM PST

A federal judge has ordered Mobile County to start issuing gay marriage licenses.