Obama’s Kenyan-born uncle gets green card despite DUI, resisting deportation
WASHINGTON - A U.S. immigration judge ruled on Tuesday that President Barack Obama's Kenyan-born uncle can stay in the United States as a lawful resident, despite his decades dodging deportation and a 2011 drunk-driving arrest.Judge Leonard Shapiro said his decision was based on a federal law granting green cards to foreigners who...Driver in fatal New York train crash says he ‘zoned out’
New York City —The driver of a New York commuter train that derailed on Sunday, December 1, killing four people, told federal investigators he "zoned out" shortly before the crash, the driver's labor union leader said.The seven-car train was traveling at 82 miles per hour (132 km per hour), nearly threeDriver in fatal New York train...U.S. hospital worker sentenced to 39 years for spreading hepatitis to 45 people
New Hampshire - A former New Hampshire hospital technician who caused dozens of people to become infected with hepatitis C when he injected himself with syringes of pain killers that were then used on patients was sentenced to 39 years in prison on Monday, December 2.David Kwiatkowski, 34, admitted in August to stealing the drugs and...
The American Studies Association National Council has called for an academic boycott of Israel
December 6th, 20130 Washington D.C. — The American Studies Association (ASA) National Council made a unanimous decision for an academic boycott of Israel, after a heavily debated meeting on Wednesday, December 4.The ASA is the nation’s oldest and largest association devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history. Chartered in...Investigators release chilling details about Sandy Hook Elementary Massacre
NEW YORK — It's been almost one year since a gunman massacred 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. This week, investigators have released chilling details about the case, which include disturbing findings on Adam Lanza, the man responsible for the murder spree.Lanza was apparently obsessed with...Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan says he spied for Israel
HOLLYWOOD - A Hollywood producer behind hit films such as Pretty Woman and Fight Club has said he spied for Israel in support of its nuclear program.Arnon Milchan, who was born in what is now Israel, gave an account to Israeli investigative program Uvda.Milchan said he performed dozens of clandestine missions on behalf of Israel after he...Woman accused of mailing ricin laced letters to Obama gets plea deal
New Boston, Texas — A Texas actress accused of mailing ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors, according to federal court documents.Shannon Guess Richardson, 36, whose acting career included minor television roles, had attempted to blame her...New York Arab shop owners charged for duping customer out of $1 million lottery ticket
Long Island, New York — A Long Island convenience store owner and his son, accused of duping a customer who spoke limited English out of a $1 million winning lottery ticket, were charged on Saturday, November 23, with grand larceny. The 34-year-old Hispanic man bought a $10 "Unwrap The Cash" scratch-off game at the Peninsula...Dying Chicago lesbian gets judge’s OK to wed ahead of new law
REUTERS — A Chicago woman who is dying of cancer could wed her lesbian partner as early as this week after a federal judge ordered local officials to issue them a marriage license six months before an Illinois law recognizing gay unions takes effect.The cancer patient, Vernita Gray, 64, and her partner, Patricia Ewert, 65, had argued...Katy Perry under scrutiny from Asian groups for “racist performance”
Los Angeles — Pop star Katy Perry landed in hot water at last week's American Music Awards. The singer stirred controversy with her opening act, after she dressed a la geisha in a cleavage-baring kimono, while singing her latest hit single "Unconditionally." The "Teenage Dream" singer was called out for being insensitive. A Wall...First book printed in America sells for record $14.2 million
NEW YORK — The Bay Psalm Book, one of 11 surviving copies of the first book printed in America, sold for $14.2 million on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at Sotheby's in New York, setting a new world auction record for any printed book.Although it had been estimated to fetch up to $30 million, it easily surpassed the previous mark of $11.5 million,...Obama’s Middle East grand strategy
President Obama is on a diplomatic offensive on several fronts in the Middle East. The six-month interim agreement between the major world powers, five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the European Union, and Iran to restrain its nuclear program is being described as the most important development in their relations since...NSA leaks: Radicals call for jihad by day and watch porn by night
WASHINGTON - The National Security Agency planned to discredit Islamist "radicals" by spying on their online pornography habits, The Huffington Post reported Wednesday, Nov. 25, citing a document leaked by ex-intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.The eavesdropping agency focused on how propagandists for the violent extremists could be...Massachusetts mall Santa charged with groping coworker
BOSTON — A man who worked as a Santa Claus in a Massachusetts shopping mall has been ordered not to put the red suit back on until a court resolves a charge that he groped an adult coworker over the weekend.The man, Herbert Jones, 62, was arrested on Saturday, November 23, and charged with one count of indecent assault and battery on a...JFK’s civil rights legacy: 50 Years of myth and fact
There’s been as much myth as fact regarding John F. Kennedy’s civil rights legacy in the more than fifty years before, during and especially after his assassination on November 22, 1963. In the days before he delivered his now famed presidential inaugural address on Friday, January 20, 1961, two of his principal advisors Louis Martin......
Florida congressman gets probation on cocaine charge
WASHINGTON — Florida Congressman Henry "Trey" Radel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of cocaine in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday, Nov. 20, and was sentenced to one year of probation.Radel, 37, a Republican who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives last year with the backing of the conservative Tea...Albuquerque hotel settles religious discrimination suit with EEOC
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — MCM Elegante Hotel in Albuquerque has agreed to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for $100,000 and other relief, the agency announced today.The settlement resolves an EEOC lawsuit filed on Sept. 21, 2011 for alleged religious discrimination......
Changes weighed for California high school’s Arab mascot
School officials are weighing possible changes to a California high school's decades-old Arab mascot that the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has called offensive, the local school superintendent stated.But Coachella Valley Unified School District Superintendent Darryl Adams provided few details on alterations to be...U.S. foster parent charged after child found with dead chicken around neck
North Carolina — A social worker has been charged after her 11-year-old foster child was found chained to the porch of her home with a dead chicken hanging around his neck, a sheriff's official said on Saturday.Wanda Sue Larson, 57, was arrested and charged with child abuse and false imprisonment on Friday after a deputy found...Virginia state senator stabbed, son dead by suicide
Charlottesville, Va. — Virginia State Sen. Creigh Deeds was grievously stabbed by his son, who then shot himself on the morning of Tuesday Nov. 19.Austin "Gus" Deeds, 24, stabbed and critically wounded his father around 7 a.m. at their home in Millboro, Bath County, Virginia State Police said in a statement. At a press conference...Boston man drags motel manager to death with pickup truck after bill dispute
BOSTON — A Massachusetts man was charged on Tuesday, in the death of a woman dragged under his pickup truck for three miles along a highway south of Boston, after a dispute about a motel bill.Moses Acloque, 22, pleaded not guilty to charges including motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and leaving the scene of an......
Illinois governor signs law legalizing gay marriage
Illinois - Governor Pat Quinn signed same-sex marriage into law on Wednesday, Nov. 20, which makes President Barack Obama's home state the 16th to allow such unions.Illinois state senators voted to legalize gay marriage last February, and the state House followed suit by a slim margin earlier this month. The illinois law is due to take...Obama, Clintons honor President Kennedy 50 years after assassinatio
ARLINGTON, Va. — President Obama paid respects to President John F. Kennedy Wednesday, Nov. 19, in a graveside ceremony, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his assassination in Dallas.Attending the ceremony at Kennedy's grave with its eternal flame were first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and former first lady......
Burqa Bandit’ says she needed money to support special needs son
SAN DIEGO — A woman in San Diego, known as the "Burqa Bandit," could spend years in prison, but says she would do it all again, if it would help her son. Surveillance photos allegedly show Elysia Roiz, in a maroon Burqa, attempting to rob a bank in National City, California last summer. The FBI says she passed a note to the teller,...First World Trade Center tower makes debut 12 years after 9/11
New York City — The first office tower at Ground Zero, since the September 11, 2001 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center will open on Wednesday, marking a comeback for the Lower Manhattan site. Sheathed in glass, 4 World Trade Center is the smallest of the four main towers on the site where 2,700 people died when......