Reuters: U.S.

Tornado on the ground in Oklahoma City area

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:36:31 GMT

(Reuters) - A tornado was on the ground in the Oklahoma City metropolitan are on Monday, live television showed, and the National Weather Service warned of tornadoes in two counties of central Oklahoma.

Jodi Arias denied mistrial in death penalty hearing

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:28:31 GMT

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona judge on Monday denied a defense attorney's request for a mistrial in the death penalty phase of Jodi Arias' capital murder trial, after a long-time friend declined to testify as a character witness, citing threats.

Florida governor signs budget, but vetoes college tuition hike

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:24:13 GMT

TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott signed the largest budget in his state's history on Monday while vetoing a college tuition increase and axing $368 million in projects he said did not meet his Republican criteria of job creation, education improvement and holding down the cost of government.

Powerful tornadoes strike in four central U.S. states

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:16:20 GMT

(Reuters) - A massive storm front swept north through the central United States on Sunday, hammering the region with fist-sized hail, blinding rain and tornadoes, including a half-mile wide twister that struck near Oklahoma City. News reports said at least one person had died.

U.S. charges three NYU researchers in Chinese bribery case

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:13:26 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. authorities brought criminal charges against three New York University researchers on Monday, alleging they conspired to take bribes from Chinese medical and research outfits for details about NYU research into magnetic resonance imaging technology.

Omaha police exploring possible link in two double homicides

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:03:26 GMT

OMAHA (Reuters) - Investigators in Omaha are looking at whether the murders discovered last week of a doctor and his wife are connected to the unsolved 2008 murders of a young boy and his family's housekeeper, police said on Monday.

Five killed, six injured from church group in Illinois van crash

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:22:39 GMT

ST. LOUIS, Mo (Reuters) - Five people were killed and six were injured Monday morning when a van carrying them home from a religious gathering in California rolled over off of Interstate 70 near Vandalia in southern Illinois, police said.

Vermont passes law allowing doctor-assisted suicide

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:14:55 GMT

(Reuters) - Vermont on Monday became the fourth U.S. state to end legal penalties for doctors who prescribe medication to terminally ill patients seeking to end their own lives.

U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear town meeting prayer case

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:23:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Delving into the controversial relationship between government and religion, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether a town in New York could allow members of the public, who in practice were nearly all Christian clergy, to open meetings with a prayer.

Portion of Houston Channel shut for search: Coast Guard

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:49:53 GMT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Crude oil tanker ships were temporarily unable to reach the five Houston-area refineries on Monday after a seven-mile section of the Houston Ship Channel was shut by the U.S. Coast Guard for the search for a person who jumped or fell from a bridge over the waterway.

More poor people now live in U.S. suburbs than cities - study

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:55:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of people living in poverty in U.S. suburbs surpassed the number of poor in cities over the past decade, driven by strong growth in overall suburban populations, according to an analysis released on Monday.

Connecticut governor tells commuters to work from home this week while crash repaired

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:42:54 GMT

MILFORD, Conn./NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thousands of Connecticut commuters faced delays and crowded trains on Monday as Metro-North workers scrambled to repair damage on the United States' busiest rail line, caused by the collision of two trains.

Insight: The road to a greener America is littered with road-kill

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:09:07 GMT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In October 2004, then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger rolled up to a pioneering fueling station at Los Angeles International Airport in a hydrogen-powered metallic blue Hummer loaned to him by General Motors Corp.

Supreme Court agrees to hear Fidelity whistleblower case

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:24:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a case involving whistleblowers at Fidelity Investments, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether mutual fund employees are subject to the same whistleblower protections as workers at publicly traded companies.

Severe Kansas tornado prompts stark National Weather Service warning

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:13:33 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A dangerous, half mile-wide tornado struck near Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon, part of an extreme weather system moving through the central U.S. and stretching from north Texas to Minnesota.

Supreme Court declines to hear Alaska climate change case

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:11:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an Alaskan village's claim that it should be able to sue oil companies and utilities for damages attributed to climate change.

Monster machines fan out on U.S. farms facing slow sow

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:05:09 GMT

SHERIDAN, Illinois (Reuters) - With the U.S. spring planting season off to a historically slow start, an increasing number of farmers are counting on powerful tools to catch up: Monster machines that sow 36 rows of corn at once and feature high-tech innovations like computer-guided directional equipment.

Insight: The fight for North Dakota's fracking-water market

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:48:39 GMT

WATFORD CITY, North Dakota (Reuters) - In towns across North Dakota, the wellhead of the North American energy boom, the locals have taken to quoting the adage: "Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting."

Analysis: At margins of shale oil boom, a tempered euphoria

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:09:43 GMT

HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - For the past three years, the boom in the U.S. shale oil industry has outstripped all expectations. Production surged far faster than any forecasts; drillers raced to secure space in new pipelines to get their crude to market.

Officials warn of commuter chaos from Connecticut derailment

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:08:22 GMT

BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut (Reuters) - Thousands of Connecticut commuters should brace for travel chaos on Monday as Metro-North workers repair damage on the United States' busiest rail line caused by the collision of two trains, officials warned on Sunday.

For Detroit in crisis, next six weeks determine bankruptcy fate

Mon, 20 May 2013 00:08:03 GMT

DETROIT (Reuters) - Bond restructurings, negotiated settlements with bondholders and bond insurers, and tough talk with unionized workers are on the agenda as Detroit's emergency financial manager tries to meet a self-imposed, six-week deadline to decide whether the city can get through its financial crisis without a bankruptcy filing.

Officials warn of commuter chaos from Connecticut derailment

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:52:45 GMT

Severe Kansas tornado prompts stark National Weather Service warning

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:49:10 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A dangerous, half mile-wide hurricane struck near Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon, part of an extreme weather system moving through the central U.S. and stretching from north Texas to Minnesota.

Shooting death of gay man rocks New York's cradle of gay rights

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:07:31 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Greenwich Village, the birthplace of the U.S. gay rights movement, remained in shock on Sunday over the shooting death of a gay man by a gunman who police said uttered anti-gay slurs before targeting the victim.

For Detroit in crisis, next six weeks determine bankruptcy fate

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:52:59 GMT