| Baltimore riot shows 'crisis' in community policing: Obama Posted: 28 Apr 2015 10:09 AM PDT  President Obama condemned rioting in Baltimore, saying there was "no excuse" for the violence, but acknowledged a "slow-rolling crisis" in community policing, especially in treatment of African Americans. "We have seen too many instances of what appears to be police officers interacting with individuals -- primarily African American, often poor -- in ways that raise troubling questions," Obama told reporters at the White House. "I think there are police departments that have to do some soul-searching. Obama was reacting to the violence that erupted in Baltimore after the funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American man who died after suffering a spine injury while in police custody.
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| Supreme Court hearing historic same-sex marriage arguments Posted: 28 Apr 2015 09:27 AM PDT  The debate over gay marriage in America is underway in the Supreme Court, and the cases could make same-sex marriage the law of the land.
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| Iran diverts Marshall Islands cargo ship in Strait of Hormuz Posted: 28 Apr 2015 10:03 AM PDT  Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps ships intercepted a Marshall Islands-flagged commercial cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, forcing it "further into Iranian waters," the Pentagon said. Multiple U.S. government sources said there were no Americans aboard the Maersk Tigris.
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| Baltimore mayor criticized for police response to rioting Posted: 28 Apr 2015 10:25 AM PDT  By Ian Simpson and Warren Strobel BALTIMORE (Reuters) - The day after rioters tore through Baltimore, the city's mayor was criticized on Tuesday for a slow police response to some of the worst U.S. urban unrest in years after the funeral of a 25-year-old black man who died in police custody. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said he had called Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake repeatedly Monday but that she held off calling in the National Guard until three hours after violence first erupted. "The mayor of Baltimore had the city of Baltimore police on the ground. The death of Freddie Gray gave new energy to the public outcry that flared last year after police killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, New York City and elsewhere.
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| Boston bomber's lawyers focus on brother's obsession with Islam Posted: 28 Apr 2015 08:13 AM PDT  By Richard Valdmanis BOSTON (Reuters) - The older brother of convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was transformed from a heavy drinker and drugs user into someone obsessed with Islam after returning from a trip to Russia in 2012, witnesses said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old ethnic Chechen was convicted this month of killing three people and injuring 264 in the bombing, and shooting dead a police officer three days later alongside the older brother, Tamerlan. Rogerio Franca, who lived near the Tsarnaev family in Cambridge, Massachusetts, told jurors Tamerlan was a partier before his trip to Russia but transformed into someone more closely resembling a devout Muslim when he returned. "Most of the time he was drunk, most of the time he was high," Franca said of Tamerlan before his trip.
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| Judge sets ex-NY Assembly Speaker Silver's corruption trial for Nov. 2 Posted: 28 Apr 2015 08:59 AM PDT  By Tom Brown NEW YORK (Reuters) - Embattled former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, accused by prosecutors of taking millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks, will go to trial on Nov. 2 on a sweeping series of corruption charges. A federal judge in Manhattan set the trial date on Tuesday during a hearing in which Silver's lawyers said he pleaded not guilty to all charges in a revised indictment unveiled last week. After the hearing, one of Silver's lawyers, Steven Molo, accused the government of "withholding" evidence that could help his client, who was one of the most powerful politicians in New York until he was accused of taking bribes in January. The new indictment issued on Thursday by a Manhattan federal grand jury added four new counts to three earlier ones facing the Democratic politician.
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| Choppers ferry injured in Nepal; new mudslide hits village Posted: 28 Apr 2015 10:52 AM PDT  GORKHA, Nepal (AP) — Helicopters crisscrossed the mountains above a remote district Tuesday near the epicenter of the weekend earthquake in Nepal that killed more than 4,600 people, ferrying the injured and delivering emergency supplies. Officials said 250 villagers were feared missing in a new mudslide.
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| Gay marriage: Where the 2016 candidates stand Posted: |
| The speech that put Chuck Robb ahead of history on gay marriage Posted:  The moderate Virginia Democrat was an unlikely — and unsung — trailblazer for gay equality.
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| Sen. Lindsey Graham: Send U.S. troops to topple Assad Posted: |
| World 'closer than ever' to Iran nuclear deal, Kerry says Posted: 27 Apr 2015 04:50 PM PDT  UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The world is "closer than ever" to reaching a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran but the work is far from over, with key issues unresolved, Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday told a global gathering on nuclear disarmament, where he and Iran's foreign minister met on the sidelines.
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| Police targeted, stores looted in Baltimore riots Posted: 27 Apr 2015 04:50 PM PDT  Rioters looted stores and pelted police with rocks in Baltimore on Monday after the funeral of an African American man whose death in custody has reignited outrage over US police conduct towards blacks. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency in the port city of 620,000 and activated the National Guard as rioters prowled in small groups, ransacking shops and trashing police vehicles. NBC affiliate WBAL reported there had been at least one arrest, and the Baltimore Orioles baseball team postponed its evening game against the Chicago White Sox. Fear of unrest prompted the University of Maryland's downtown campus, corporate offices and the city's famous Lexington Market to shut down early.
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| Gay businessmen apologize for co-hosting Ted Cruz event Posted: 27 Apr 2015 12:05 PM PDT  Two gay hotel owners who co-hosted an event for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz have apologized after many in the LGBT community joined a call to boycott their properties for catering to a conservative politician who is staunchly opposed to same-sex marriage.
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