Reuters US Domestic

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. Senate committee harshly criticized rail operator Norfolk Southern and pressed it to back safety reforms on Thursday after a devastating Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, of a freight train carrying hazardous materials. Since the Ohio derailment that caused cars carrying toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous …

Norfolk Southern faces harsh US Senate criticism after Ohio derailment Read More »

By Steve Gorman and Bill Trott LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Robert Blake, a child actor from the Depression-era “Our Gang” comedies who won adult stardom playing an undercover cop on the 1970s television series “Baretta” before fame was eclipsed by his murder trial in the 2001 killing of his wife, has died at age 89. Blake, …

Actor Robert Blake, star of ‘Baretta’ and ‘In Cold Blood,’ dead at age 89 Read More »

(Reuters) – Kansas’ Republican-led legislature on Thursday passed a bill that would ban transgender athletes from playing girls or women’s school sports if they were born male. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, is expected to veto the bill, as she vetoed two similar measures in the previous two years. But this year the bill …

Kansas legislature passes bill to ban transgender athletes from girls’ sports Read More »

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Manhattan prosecutors have signaled to former President Donald Trump that he could face criminal charges relating to his alleged role in hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing four unnamed sources. The former president was told he could appear before a Manhattan grand …

Manhattan prosecutors signal charges likely for Trump in Stormy Daniels case – NYT Read More »

By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Thursday ordered a psychiatric evaluation to determine if a man was mentally competent to face trial after prosecutors said he tried to open an emergency exit door on a recent Boston-bound United Airlines flight and then attacked a flight attendant. U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith Dein in …

Judge orders psych evaluation for man on chaotic Boston-bound flight Read More »

(Reuters) – Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer convicted last week of murdering his wife and son, appealed his conviction and life sentence on Thursday, according to court records. Murdaugh, 54, a member of a powerful South Carolina family, was found guilty on March 2 on two counts of shooting his wife Maggie, 52, …

South Carolina attorney Murdaugh appeals conviction of murdering wife, son Read More »

By Richard Cowan and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, one of the most powerful figures in Washington, is being treated for a concussion and will remain hospitalized for a few days after tripping and falling, his spokesperson said on Thursday. McConnell, who is 81 and was first elected to represent …

Top US Senate Republican McConnell treated for concussion after fall Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The CEO of Norfolk Southern Corp will appear before the Senate Commerce Committee on March 22 at a rail safety hearing, according to a spokesperson for the committee. CEO Alan Shaw appeared before the Senate Environment and Public Works committee on Thursday. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy will also appear …

Norfolk Southern CEO to appear before another Senate panel Read More »

By Andrew Chung (Reuters) -West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said on Thursday the state will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a law banning transgender athletes from female sports teams, one of numerous Republican-backed measures across the country targeting LGBT rights. Morrisey, a Republican, told reporters that West Virginia will file …

West Virginia to ask US Supreme Court to allow transgender athlete ban Read More »

By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – A panel of conservative U.S. appeals court judges on Thursday appeared poised to revive a lawsuit challenging a Maryland school district’s policy of not disclosing students’ transgender identity to their parents. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel during a hearing in Richmond, Virginia, appeared to agree with a …

US court looks set to revive challenge to school district’s gender identity policy Read More »