Yahoo! National News
NY judge rules man who confessed to Etan Patz murder to stand trial
By Atossa Araxia Abrahamian NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New Jersey man who confessed to the 1979 killing of Etan Patz should stand trial for murder and kidnapping in the 6-year-old boy's disappearance, a judge ruled on Wednesday. An attorney for Pedro Hernandez, 51, of Maple Shade, New Jersey, had asked the judge to throw out the indictment, arguing that the confession alone was not legally sufficient to support the charges. ...
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Boston fire chief criticized over bomb response has mayor's support
BOSTON (Reuters) - A group of top Boston fire officials has criticized their chief's response to the deadly Boston Marathon bombing last month, but the mayor on Wednesday stood by him. Thirteen of the city's 14 deputy fire chiefs in a letter to Mayor Thomas Menino expressed no confidence in city Fire Chief Steve Abraira, the Boston Globe reported on Wednesday. Abraira, who had previously served in Dallas, in 2011 was named Boston fire chief, the first time an outsider was picked for that job. ...
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Ex-EMT in Texas to plead not guilty to charges
WACO, Texas (AP) — A first responder who helped evacuate people ahead of a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant will plead not guilty to a charge he possessed bomb-making materials.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Jurors in Arias case weigh death penalty option
PHOENIX (AP) — Prosecutors on Wednesday tried to convince jurors that Jodi Arias should be eligible for the death penalty, saying Travis Alexander suffered tremendous pain as he fought for his life while Arias stabbed and slashed him nearly 30 times.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Survivor of 1987 Mich. plane crash breaks silence
DETROIT (AP) — Cecelia Crocker's body provides her with a constant reminder of the most traumatic event of her life — one that she doesn't otherwise remember.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Big Mercedes-Benz GL-Class SUV is in demand
The high mark for sales of big sport utility vehicles came years ago, but don't tell that to Mercedes-Benz customers.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Polar bear cub orphaned in Alaska lands at NY zoo
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — It may have been the most anticipated package ever delivered to the Buffalo Zoo: an orphaned polar bear cub that arrived Wednesday from Alaska and will spend the summer with another cub born six months ago.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
LA apartment evacuated, bomb squad finds devices
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A police bomb squad combed through an apartment Wednesday afternoon after finding explosive material in a man's car and potentially explosive devices in his apartment.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Longer US white majority if immigration slows
WASHINGTON (AP) — Without increased immigration, whites would lose their U.S. majority in 2046, three years beyond official projections, and the nation's population would not reach 400 million until after 2060, a decade or more later than forecast, according to census estimates Wednesday.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Texas paramedic to plead not guilty to pipe bomb charge
By Lisa Maria Garza WACO, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas paramedic who responded to a fertilizer plant explosion last month will plead not guilty to possessing pipe bomb components, after agreeing on Wednesday to defer his detention hearing, federal prosecutors said. A hearing for Bryce Reed that was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Waco has been canceled, Daryl Fields, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Texas, said in a statement. Reed, 31, faces one count of unlawfully possessing an unregistered destructive device. ...
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Enbridge may shut Bakken oil rail terminal in sulfide gas dispute
By Jeanine Prezioso NEW YORK (Reuters) - Enbridge Energy Partners said it may be forced to shut down an 80,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) oil-loading rail terminal in North Dakota unless the amount of potentially deadly hydrogen sulfide in crude oil delivered to the facility can be reduced. Last week, Enbridge asked for a ruling in one day from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to restrict the amount of hydrogen sulfide in the delivered crude. That request came after a very large concentration of the gas was discovered in a tank at Berthold, North Dakota, on May 5. ...
Categories: Yahoo! National News
House panel set to OK cut in food stamp program
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee rebuffed Democratic efforts Wednesday to keep the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program whole, as debate on the farm bill turned into a theological discourse on helping the poor.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Seattle man posted video before dying on highway
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A final video of a man who was killed while attempting to dribble a soccer ball from Seattle to Brazil shows him smiling and happy on an Oregon beach on his planned 10,000-mile walk.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Pa. abortion doctor gets third life sentence
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia abortion doctor was sentenced Wednesday to a third life term for killing an aborted baby he described as so big it could "walk to the bus."
Categories: Yahoo! National News
New York judge dismisses indictment of officer who shot unarmed teen
By Atossa Araxia Abrahamian NEW YORK (Reuters) - A judge on Wednesday threw out an indictment against a New York City police officer charged with manslaughter over the shooting of an unarmed teenager, but prosecutors can present the case again or appeal the decision, lawyers involved in the case said. Officer Richard Haste was indicted last year in the death of Ramarley Graham, 18, whom Haste said he shot on suspicion that he was armed. The indictment was thrown out because the judge, siding with the defense, said prosecutors gave the grand jury improper instructions. ...
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Regulators: Minor tritium leak at SC nuclear plant
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Water with traces of a radioactive hydrogen isotope leaked at a nuclear power plant in South Carolina, but the level of tritium in the water is well below limits that would make it dangerous to drink, federal regulators said.
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Poll: 61% say parents of children with mental health problems should not have gun in home
In the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings, gun control advocates called for more background checks. Gun rights advocates called for more school security. And mental health advocates called for more dialog about mental health. While the first two calls have gone largely unanswered, it appears the third is beginning to be addressed, at [...]
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Shrinks, critics face off over psychiatric manual
CHICAGO (AP) — In the new psychiatric manual of mental disorders, grief soon after a loved one's death can be considered major depression. Extreme childhood temper tantrums get a fancy name. And certain "senior moments" are called "mild neurocognitive disorder."
Categories: Yahoo! National News
California boy, 12, faces hearing over younger sister's slaying
By Ronnie Cohen SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A 12-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing his 8-year-old sister in their northern California home while their parents were away was due to appear in juvenile court on Wednesday to face murder charges. Police arrested the boy on Saturday, two weeks after his sister, Leila Fowler, was slain in their Valley Springs home in a crime that sent a wave of fear through the Sierra foothills town about 60 miles southeast of Sacramento. ...
Categories: Yahoo! National News
Arias back in court as prosecutor outlines killing
PHOENIX (AP) — Prosecutors on Wednesday tried to convince jurors that Jodi Arias should be eligible for the death penalty, saying Travis Alexander suffered tremendous pain as he fought for his life while Arias stabbed and slashed him nearly 30 times.
Categories: Yahoo! National News