Protesters asking a federal judge to regulate St. Louis police conduct have described being beaten and pepper-sprayed during recent demonstrations, but police defended their efforts to disperse sometimes unruly crowds. At issue is a lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties ...
Read More »Lawsuit: Prison did nothing as fungus ruined inmate’s brain
An inmate at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility died in April after a brain fungus gave him a form of meningitis that left him weak and so disoriented that he drank his own urine while prison health care staff ignored his ...
Read More »GOP leaders decry North Carolina governor’s LGBT rights deal
North Carolina’s Republican leaders said Thursday that a federal court should reject a deal by the Democratic governor that would affirm the rights of transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to their gender identity. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate ...
Read More »Should you add a loan to your shopping cart?
“Will that be cash, credit card or personal loan?” The next time you shop online, you may be offered a new way to pay — a personal loan with fixed monthly payments. Instead of using cash or plastic at checkout, ...
Read More »US home sales ticked up in September as Houston recovers
U.S. home sales rose slightly last month as the Houston housing market quickly recovered from Hurricane Harvey. Still, a shortage of available homes is thwarting many would-be buyers and limiting sales. The National Association of Realtors said Friday existing home ...
Read More »Prominent chefs oppose baker in major gay rights case
Prominent chefs, bakers and restaurant owners want the Supreme Court to rule against a Colorado baker who wouldn’t make a cake for a same-sex couple’s wedding. The food makers say that once they open their doors for business, they don’t ...
Read More »40 years later, answers in cold case — and more questions
For nearly half her life, Ruby Williams has prayed for her daughter, Brenda: “Lord, let her be alive.” She’s repeated this prayer tens of thousands of times, starting in the mid-1970s, when she lived in a four-bedroom apartment with her ...
Read More »New North Carolina district maps get hearing from judges
North Carolina’s redrawn legislative districts were debated Thursday before a panel of three federal judges who had struck down previous district maps for racial bias. The judges must decide whether to force another redrawing of the boundaries approved by Republicans ...
Read More »McCaskill raises $3M for tough re-election campaign in 2018
Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill far outpaced Republican rivals in fundraising with nearly $3 million raised in the three months to the end of September for what’s likely to be an expensive and gritty fight for her Missouri seat, her ...
Read More »AP-NORC Poll: Americans blame wild weather on global warming
After hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria blitzed the nation, most Americans think weather disasters are getting more severe and see global warming’s fingerprints. A new poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 68 percent of ...
Read More »Calling it a beginning, Trump signs health care order
President Donald Trump directed his administration Thursday to rewrite federal rules so consumers can have wider access to health insurance plans featuring lower premiums. He called his new executive order a “beginning” and promised more actions to come. Frustrated by ...
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