The Washington Times

American Scene: Court says HIV-infected saliva not legally a weapon

ALBANY — New York's top court said Thursday that the saliva of an HIV-infected man who bit a police officer doesn't constitute a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument under state law.

In dismissing the aggravated-assault conviction of David Plunkett, the Court of Appeals is sending the case back to a ...

Schilling's 38 Studios files for bankruptcy

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's troubled video-gaming company, lured to Rhode Island with a $75 million state loan guarantee two years ago, filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday, and federal authorities have begun an investigation into the firm.

The filing by Providence-based 38 Studios, which laid ...

LGBT teens find fitting in difficult

A first-of-its-kind survey of 10,000 American youth who say they are a sexual minority finds that most feel accepted by their families, but they often struggle with community acceptance and even believe they will have to leave their hometowns to be happy someday.

This survey is "a stark wake-up call ...

Teens often texting while driving

ATLANTA | More than half of high school seniors admit they text or email while driving - the first federal statistics on how common the dangerous habit is among teens.

An anonymous national survey conducted last year found that 58 percent of high school seniors said they had texted or ...

Bear enjoying Cape Cod vacation

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — The biggest sensation on Cape Cod right now isn't the lobster, the historic lighthouses or its rolling sand dunes. It's not even a Kennedy.

It's a bear.

A bruin believed to have swum about 500 feet across the Cape Cod Canal from the mainland during Memorial Day ...

Accusers to be unmasked at Penn State trial

The young men who accuse former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of molesting them have been allowed to remain anonymous through months of intense news coverage and water-cooler conversation about the scandal.

That's about to change.

When they take the witness stand in a packed Pennsylvania courtroom as ...

California voters deal twin blows to unions

An election night that began with Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker winning his recall election grew progressively worse for public-sector unions as California voters approved steep pension-cutting measures in two major cities.

Voters in San Diego and San Jose overwhelmingly passed ballot initiatives Tuesday to reduce retirement benefits for city ...

American Scene: Ample petitions secured for Washington marriage measure

WASHINGTON

Leaders of a traditional-marriage group turned in more than 200,000 signatures Wednesday to allow voters a say on the gay-marriage law passed by lawmakers earlier this year.

Preserve Marriage Washington needed 120,577 signatures to get their Referendum 74 on the November ballot. If their efforts are approved, as expected, ...

Bees create buzz at posh NYC hotels

NEW YORK — An iconic hotel in the heart of midtown Manhattan is buzzing with thousands of tiny new visitors. But watch out: They'll sting if you get too close.

Honeybees have taken up residence at the Waldorf-Astoria New York, one of New York City's most famous institutions and a ...

Space shuttle Enterprise sails to Manhattan

NEW YORK — New Yorkers lined the West Side waterfront to welcome the space shuttle Enterprise as it sailed up the Hudson River on Wednesday to its new home aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

The prototype space shuttle rode a barge from Jersey City, N.J. to the ...

Opponents block Washington state gay marriage

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington's gay marriage law was blocked from taking effect Wednesday as opponents filed more than 200,000 signatures seeking a public vote on the issue in November.

Preserve Marriage Washington submitted the signatures just a day before the state was to begin allowing same-sex marriages. State officials will ...

Post offices, Ellis Island join endangered list

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of historic U.S. post offices nationwide face uncertain futures as the U.S. Postal Service downsizes, so preservationists on Wednesday added these American institutions to the list of the country's most endangered historic places.

Post offices will join the list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places as ...

Police: Newly found body parts sent from Montreal

TORONTO — Body parts mailed to two Vancouver schools were mailed from Montreal and are thought to be linked to the killing and dismemberment of a Chinese student, police said Wednesday, as the Canadian porn actor suspected in the case awaited extradition after his arrest in Germany.

Montreal Police Cmdr. ...

N.J. Muslims file federal suit to stop NYPD spying

WASHINGTON — Eight Muslims filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in New Jersey to force the New York Police Department to end its surveillance and other intelligence-gathering practices targeting Muslims in the years after the 2001 terrorist attacks. The lawsuit alleged that the police activities were unconstitutional because they focused on ...

Guard rescued at S.C. prison; officers control unit

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A guard held hostage at a South Carolina high security prison was rescued early Wednesday after a standoff of more than six hours in the prison's most secure unit, a corrections department spokesman said.

The officer was rescued and prison officials regained control of the building around ...

EPA's Armendariz of 'crucify' pledge a hearing no-show

House Republicans will have to wait for their chance to question former top Environmental Protection Agency official Al Armendariz, who became notorious for his pledge to "crucify" oil and gas companies in order to set a regulatory example.

Mr. Armendariz, who resigned in late April as head of the agency's ...

12-person jury, alternate chosen in Sandusky case

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — A jury was selected Wednesday in the child molestation scandal that brought down Joe Paterno, and the makeup of the panel left no doubt that this is Penn State country.

The seven women and five men who will hear opening statements on Monday in the case ...

Papers show Justice was told about tactics in gunrunning

Court-sealed wiretap applications obtained by a House committee show that senior Justice Department officials in Washington, contrary to previous denials, were given specific information about the "reckless tactics" in the botched Fast and Furious gunrunning investigation, the panel's chairman said Tuesday.

In a letter, Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican ...

Schools across nation turn their noses up at 'pink slime'

NEW YORK — The nation's school districts are turning up their noses at "pink slime," the beef product that caused a public uproar earlier this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the vast majority of states participating in its National School Lunch Program have opted to order ground beef ...

Prop 8 may go before high court

Supporters of traditional marriage announced Tuesday they will petition to bring California's Proposition 8 before the Supreme Court after a lower federal court refused to hear an appeal in the case.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied Tuesday a request for ...

Syndicate content