Sandusky

New school year, new security at site of Florida massacre

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has doubled its campus security detail to 18, including three uniformed sheriff's deputies, and the school's 3,200 students must wear identification badges as they funnel through three entrances when they arrive at the sprawling campus. On Feb. 14, in the third deadliest shooting by a single gunman at an American school, Nikolas Cruz, 19, who had once been expelled from the school, allegedly opened fire with an assault-style weapon. Cruz is awaiting trial on 17 counts of first-degree murder.

Lightning storms mass over California, Oregon as wildfires blaze

The clouds carried little rain and offered little chance of a break from the bone-dry conditions plaguing the region, the National Weather Service said. Elsewhere, crews made slow but steady progress against wildfires including one, called the Mendocino Complex, which has become largest in California's history and killed one firefighter from Utah on Monday. Emergency crews had managed to set up containment lines around almost two thirds the fire which has raged through the southern end of the Mendocino National Forest, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

Turkish court rejects U.S. pastor's appeal, upper court yet to rule: lawyer

One Turkish court has rejected an American Christian pastor's appeal to be released from house arrest and for his travel ban to be lifted, but an upper court is yet to rule on the appeal, his lawyer told Reuters on Wednesday. Evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson is standing trial in Turkey over terrorism charges.

Mayor of Washington D.C. joins El Salvador town to celebrate migration milestone

Far from U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, the people of a small coastal town in El Salvador on Tuesday celebrated half a century of their links to Washington D.C. - joined by the capital's mayor. Sigfredo Chavez and Elba Salinas, along with their two sons, were the first migrants from Intipuca to make the long journey to the United States in 1967, ending up in Washington D.C. and paving the way for thousands of people from their town who would follow, local officials said.

New Mexico judge gets death threats after granting bail to Muslim compound members

A New Mexico judge received death threats and Islamophobic abuse on Tuesday a day after she granted bail to five Muslims charged with child abuse and accused of training children at their compound to carry out attacks, court officials said. Police raided the compound in Taos County on Aug. 3 following a tip-off that children held there were starving. In an order published on Tuesday, district Judge Sarah Backus said prosecutors had produced evidence that was "troubling and unusual" but failed to show the defendants abused the children and were a threat to society if released on bail.

Midwest battleground states tap candidates for midterm elections

Wisconsin Republicans tapped state senator Leah Vukmir to battle incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, according to an Associated Press projection, after a bruising primary that could hamper her chances in November. Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to win Wisconsin in 32 years and he narrowly lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton in Minnesota.

In first, transgender woman wins Democratic nomination for Vermont governor

"I think Vermont is a beacon of hope for the rest of the country," Hallquist said during an interview with Reuters. "This is what I call expanding our moral compass and that is what I think it represents." The contest comes at a time of uncertainty for transgender rights, which expanded under the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama. Transgender candidates are hoping to build on the breakthrough year of 2017, when at least 10 won office across the country at levels ranging from state legislator to zoning (town planning) board - the most ever recorded.

Ford to invest $740 million in Detroit train station, city development project

Ford aims to turn the building into a campus of offices for up to 5,000 tech workers and software engineers focused on self-driving vehicles and ancillary technologies and services. The second largest U.S. automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, about 10 miles from Detroit, announced the project in June, but had not previously disclosed costs until a community meeting on Tuesday. The company said Tuesday in a statement it is "working with federal, state and local economic development groups and officials, seeking at least $250 million in tax or other incentives to support the development of the five Corktown sites Ford has purchased." Ford said total investment in the development of the train station and developing 45 acres of vacant land will cost approximately $740 million over the next four years.

U.S. lawsuit over photos at U.S.-Mexico border crossings is revived

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California, ruled 3-0 that a lower court judge acted too hastily in dismissing Ray Askins' and Christian Ramirez's First Amendment claims against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection officials. It faulted the judge for deciding in a "conclusory fashion" that the case should be dismissed because of the government's "extremely compelling interest" in border security and general interest in protecting U.S. territorial sovereignty. While reasonable restrictions on speech might be justified, "it is the government's burden to prove that these specific restrictions are the least restrictive means available to further its compelling interest," Circuit Judge Jay Bybee wrote for the appeals court.

Nine hurt as gas explosion levels Denver building

DENVER (Reuters) - Nine people were injured, one critically, on Tuesday when a natural gas explosion leveled a Denver apartment building, a fire department spokesman said.

Pennsylvania report details decades of sexual abuse by priests

An 884-page report made public by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro after a two-year investigation contained graphic examples of children being groomed and sexually abused by clergymen. It was largely based on documents from secret archives kept by the dioceses, including handwritten confessions by priests, he said.

Yosemite reopens its valley, as flames and smoke linger

The reopening of Yosemite Valley, by far the most heavily touristed area of the park, came as firefighters continued to make slow, steady progress containing the last hot spots of the Ferguson Fire, which erupted July 13 at the edge of Yosemite. The blaze, one of the largest of dozens that have burned across California this summer, has charred nearly 97,000 acres around the park's northwestern corner, but fire crews have carved containment lines around 86 percent of its perimeter. The road into Yosemite Valley was reopened on Tuesday for the first time since July 25, along with two highways into the park.

Puerto Rico utility completes restoration 10 months after Maria

In a message on twitter, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) said it had restored power to the last customer that was still offline, a family in Ponce, on the island's southern side. Hurricane Maria devastated the island last September and the bankrupt utility struggled to restore service to its customers.

Boy, 11, hacks into replica U.S. vote website in minutes at convention

(Reuters) - An 11-year-old boy managed to hack into a replica of Florida's election results website in 10 minutes and change names and tallies during a hackers convention, organizers said, stoking concerns about security ahead of nationwide votes. The boy was the quickest of 35 children, ages 6 to 17, who all eventually hacked into copies of the websites of six swing states during the three-day Def Con security convention over the weekend, the event said on Twitter on Tuesday. The National Association of Secretaries of State - who are responsible for tallying votes - said it welcomed the convention's efforts.

Evacuations, rescues as 'historic' floods hit northeastern U.S.

(Reuters) - New Jersey declared a partial state of emergency on Tuesday as forecasts for further heavy rainfall posed new danger in parts of that state, New York and Pennsylvania, where rescuers hauled people from waterways, flooded cars and homes. Following several days of torrential rain throughout the northeastern United States, the National Weather Service issued new warnings for flooding in areas around Binghamton, New York, near the Pennsylvania border, and in New Jersey.

Nebraska carries out its first execution since 1997

Carey Moore, 60, was put to death at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln, a state official told local media at the site. The execution also marked the first time Nebraska has used a lethal injection to kill an inmate since the death penalty was reinstated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976.

Southwest to allow only dogs, cats as emotional support animals

(Reuters) - Southwest Airlines Co would limit emotional support animals to only dogs and cats on its flights and will allow one per passenger, the U.S. airline said on Tuesday as it updated its service animal policies. The emotional support animal must remain in a carrier or be on a leash at all times, Southwest said, adding that customers traveling with pets will need to present a complete letter from a medical doctor or licensed mental health professional on the day of the departure. Airlines have started to tighten policies to fly animals on growing concerns about passengers bringing aboard exotic pets that could pose a safety risk.

China angered at new U.S. defense act, to assess content

China's complaints about the act come as the world's two biggest economies engage in an increasingly bitter fight over trade, levying tariffs on each others' products. U.S. President Donald Trump signed a $716-billion defense policy act on Monday that authorizes military spending and waters down controls on U.S. government contracts with China's ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd . The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, strengthens the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews proposals to determine if they threaten national security.

New Mexico family believed dead boy's spirit would lead attacks: prosecutors

A 3-year-old boy found buried at a New Mexico desert compound died in a ritual to "cast out demonic spirits," but his extended family believed he would "return as Jesus" to identify "corrupt" targets for them to attack, prosecutors said in court on Monday. Prosecutors' account of an exorcism-like ritual, allegations of weapons training for children and references to martyrdom and conspiracy were aimed at persuading a judge to deny bond for the five adults charged with child abuse in the case. Defense attorneys said prosecutors sought to criminalize their clients for being African-Americans of Muslim faith.

Trump signs defense policy bill with watered-down China measures

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a $716 billion defense policy bill on Monday that authorizes military spending and includes watered-down controls on U.S. government contracts with China's ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. Trump signed the law at the U.S. Army's Fort Drum base in upstate New York on his way back to Washington after a 12-day working vacation at his golf club in New Jersey. The bill was named for one of Trump's political critics, the ailing U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, but he did not mention McCain's name.

Boy at New Mexico compound died in ritual ceremony, prosecutors say

Authorities found the remains at a ramshackle compound north of Taos where 11 other children were found alive but malnourished in a raid on the site 10 days ago. The prosecutor said during a court hearing for five adults arrested on charges of abusing the 11 children that they had been trained to use weapons and defend the compound in the event of an FBI raid. The adults, including three women who police said were the mothers of the 11 children, were charged with 11 counts of felony child abuse.

Florida man charged in 'stand your ground' shooting

The suspect, Michael Drejka of Clearwater, was taken into custody on Monday, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. “We did our own investigation," said Bernie McCabe, the state attorney for Pinellas and Pasco Counties who filed the charges in explaining his decision to prosecute. The law, which removes legal responsibility to retreat from a dangerous situation, was cited as a factor in the fatal 2012 shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin by a volunteer neighborhood watch captain who was eventually acquitted.

Firefighters gain on major California blazes as heat wave breaks

A break in the sizzling heat wave that has baked California for much of the summer gave firefighters a chance to attack a string of major wildfires burning across the state that have killed eight people and destroyed thousands of homes. The cooler temperatures came during a two-day tour of devastated neighborhoods by U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Zinke told local KRCR-TV during the visit that the intensity of this year's fire season showed the need for clearing underbrush and removing dead trees.

Washington white nationalist rally sputters in sea of counterprotesters

A large police presence kept the two sides separated in Lafayette Square, in front of the White House. After two hours and a few speeches, the "Unite the Right 2" rally ended early when it began to rain and two police vans took the demonstrators back to Virginia. Sunday's events, while tense at times, were a far cry from the street brawls that broke out in downtown Charlottesville a year ago, when a local woman was killed by a man who drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters.

Washington white nationalist rally sputters in sea of counterprotesters

A large police presence kept the two sides separated in Lafayette Square, in front of the White House. After two hours and a few speeches, the "Unite the Right 2" rally ended early when it began to rain and two police vans took the demonstrators back to Virginia. Sunday's events, while tense at times, were a far cry from the street brawls that broke out in downtown Charlottesville a year ago, when a local woman was killed by a man who drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters.

Smoke gets in your eyes: wildfires sting California park tourism

For the past two weeks, a wildfire has forced much of Yosemite National Park in California to close, with smoke blanketing its famous rock formations and clouding the summer travel season for one of the largest tourism economies tied to a U.S. park. Steven Anker, 53, has seen business decrease by 80 percent at his Priest Station Café in nearby Groveland."People come to Yosemite to see the outdoors. Wildfires burning in the U.S. West have scorched 5.6 million acres (2.3 million hectares) this year, including parts of other national forests, the National Interagency Fire Center said on its website.

NASA launches probe to go deep into Sun's scorching atmosphere

The craft will endure extreme heat while zooming through the solar corona to study the Sun's outer atmosphere that gives rise to the solar winds. It is set to fly into the Sun's corona within 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) of the solar surface, seven times closer than any other spacecraft. The corona gives rise to the solar wind, a continuous flow of charged particles that permeates the solar system and can cause havoc with communications technology on Earth.

More than 100 large wildfires in U.S. as new blazes erupt

(Reuters) - Six large new wildfires erupted in the United States, pushing the number of major active blazes nationwide to over 100, with more expected to break out sparked by lightning strikes on bone-dry terrain, authorities said on Saturday. More than 30,000 personnel, including firefighters from across the United States and nearly 140 from Australia and New Zealand, were battling the blazes that have consumed more than 1.6 million acres (648,000 hectares), according to the National Interagency Coordination Center. "We are expecting that there will be more fire-starts today," Jeremy Grams, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma, said in an interview on Saturday.

FBI seeks motive after U.S. airline worker stole plane and crashed it

A Horizon Air ground service agent got into a Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft on Friday night in a maintenance area at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and took off, Horizon sister carrier Alaska Airlines said. "There were some maneuvers that were done that were incredible maneuvers with the aircraft," Beck said. In partial recordings of the employee's conversations with air traffic controllers that were published online by Broadcastify.com, the man said he was sorry to disappoint people who cared about him and described himself as a "broken guy." "Got a few screws loose, I guess," he is heard saying in the recording.

Fifth body found in crashed Alaska plane; no body recovery planned

A fifth body was found on Friday in the wreckage of an Alaska sightseeing plane that crashed near North America's tallest peak, leaving no doubt the pilot perished with his four Polish passengers on the steep mountainside, authorities said. The impact left the plane in two pieces, lodged in the crevasse of a hanging glacier nearly 11,000 feet high on a steep, avalanche-prone slope from which unstable ice blocks are protruding, Park Service officials said. “The tail and fuselage of the aircraft are just hanging on by a piece of metal,” Park Service spokeswoman Katherine Belcher said.

Monsanto ordered to pay $289 million in world's first Roundup cancer trial

The case of school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson was the first lawsuit to go to trial alleging glyphosate causes cancer. Monsanto, a unit of Bayer AG following a $62.5 billion acquisition by the German conglomerate, faces more than 5,000 similar lawsuits across the United States. The jury at San Francisco's Superior Court of California deliberated for three days before finding that Monsanto had failed to warn Johnson and other consumers of the cancer risks posed by its weed killers.

Mother of slain youth, Michael Brown, running for Ferguson City Council

Lezley McSpadden announced her candidacy at an emotionally charged rally surrounded by supporters, a day after the fourth anniversary of her son's death, which thrust the St. Louis suburb into the global spotlight as an emblem of troubled U.S. race relations. McSpadden, a onetime grocery store worker who founded and runs a charitable foundation in her son's name dedicated to various social causes, had previously hinted at her intention to seek a City Council seat at an event in April. "I learned to walk again, and this is one of my first steps, running for Ferguson City Council of 2019." McSpadden, who earned her high school diploma last year at age 37, said her three main focuses would be community policing, economic equality and healthcare access, especially for children.

Judge encouraged by U.S. plan to reunite separated immigrant families

The reunification plan set forth in a Thursday night court filing described several processes to locate parents who had been removed from the country, determine their intentions for their children, and ensure that children remain safe. "There's no question the government has put in a great deal of thought into this," U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego said at a hearing. The plan provided that the government would resolve concerns about the children's safety and parentage.

Monsanto ordered to pay $289 million in world's first Roundup cancer trial

The case of school groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson was the first lawsuit to go to trial alleging glyphosate causes cancer. Monsanto, a unit of Bayer AG following a $62.5 billion acquisition by the German conglomerate, faces more than 5,000 similar lawsuits across the United States. The jury at San Francisco's Superior Court of California deliberated for three days before finding that Monsanto had failed to warn Johnson and other consumers of the cancer risks posed by its weed killers.

Manafort witness says bank CEO coveted Cabinet job, pushed to approve loans

Dennis Raico, a former Federal Savings Bank executive testifying under immunity, said the bank's chief executive, Stephen Calk, expressed interest in such posts as Treasury secretary or Housing and Urban Development secretary. Manafort later asked the incoming administration to consider tapping Calk for secretary of the Army, according to testimony earlier in the week. Calk, a retired Army officer and helicopter pilot, did not get the job.

Group asks Trump to unblock 41 Twitter users after court ruling

A U.S. free speech group on Friday asked President Donald Trump to unblock 41 Twitter users after a federal judge in May ordered him to restore access to a group of individuals who filed suit. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald in Manhattan ruled on May 23 that comments on the president's account, and those of other government officials, were public forums and that blocking Twitter Inc users for their views violated their right to free speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University on Friday sent the Justice Department a list of 41 accounts that remain blocked from Trump's @RealDonaldTrump account.

California wildfire said set by arsonist threatens community

A Southern California wildfire - which authorities say was set by an arsonist with a grudge against a neighbor - doubled in size overnight into Friday as crews built fire lines and fought to protect thousands of homes in a lakefront community. The Holy Fire, which broke out on Monday in Holy Jim Canyon in Orange County southeast of Los Angeles, has already destroyed 12 structures and was only 5 percent contained as of Friday. Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, who owns a cabin in Holy Jim Canyon, was arrested earlier this week after a standoff with police and charged with arson, making criminal threats and resisting arrest.