A Maryland appeals court postponed the trial of a police van driver charged with second-degree murder in the death of Freddie Gray, saying it needs to address whether another Baltimore officer should be compelled to testify against Caesar Goodson. Jury selection for Goodson’s trial was supposed to start Monday. Prosecutors… Read More
Naked violinist: Cops owe me a million dollars
A federal judge has dismissed a nude protester’s claim that police violated his rights by arresting him while he played violin stark-naked outside the federal courthouse in Portland. Matthew T. Mglej of Hillsboro, Oregon, sued the Portland police and the county last January, seeking $1.1 million in damages. The 26-year-old… Read More
Under Obama, Freedom of Information Act “broken” says Congress
The House moved forward on legislation that would make it easier to obtain government records, as a new congressional report concluded that the freedom of information process under the Obama administration is broken and in need of serious change. The bill, expected to win bipartisan approval Monday evening, would require… Read More
PETA radicals rejoice – Ringling Bros to stop using circus elephants
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its elephant acts a year and a half early, and will retire all of its touring elephants in May. The move comes amid increasing scrutiny of circus elephant acts with local governments passing “anti-circus” and “anti-elephant” ordinances in response to… Read More
Lock and load! Vet honored at funeral… with a bang
A Vietnam War veteran literally went out with a bang on Saturday, the St. George Spectrum newspaper reports. The son of Walter “Jim” Hosey of LaVerkin, Utah, loaded a total of 50 shotgun shells with his father’s ashes and fired them off at the Southern Utah Shooting Sports Park in… Read More
Couple struggles to sell “Silence of the Lambs” house
A Pennsylvania couple is struggling to sell a house used as the home of psychotic killer Buffalo Bill in the 1991 film “The Silence of the Lambs.” Scott and Barbara Lloyd listed the house last summer, but they’ve dropped the asking price from $300,000 to $250,000. The three-story Victorian in… Read More
Clemson-Alabama title game ends in epic fashion [highlights]
Welcome to the epic national championship club, Alabama and Clemson. Your game is a unanimous choice to join the short list of some of the most dramatic, exciting, fantastic finishes to a college football season. With one big play after another — by both teams — Alabama beat Clemson 45-40… Read More
“Tears of joy” when aid reaches starving, besieged city
Tears of joy met the United Nations aid convoy, which arrived at the besieged Syrian towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya on Monday after receiving credible reports of people dying of starvation at the hands of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces. The aid is reported to supply citizens with enough food… Read More
Invisible threat drives away community’s residents
Laura Gideon and her family endured the sickening stench from an out-of-control natural gas leak for about a month before they could no longer tolerate the nausea, headaches and nosebleeds. After she went to the emergency room in November vomiting and with a severe migraine, Gideon, her husband and their… Read More
Gunmen attack mall, kill 18 and wound 50
Gunmen stormed into a Baghdad mall on Monday after setting off a car bomb and launching a suicide attack at its entrance, killing at least 18 people and wounding 50 in the city’s mainly Shiite east, Iraqi officials said. The officials initially described the attack as a hostage situation, estimating… Read More