The Washington Times

S.C. Senate panel advances inmate sex surgery bill

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A bill that would prohibit state money from being used for sex change surgeries for prison inmates is one step closer to becoming law.

The Senate Corrections and Penology Committee on Thursday approved the bill that now goes to the Senate.

Under current policy, the South ...

Disney retooling obesity exhibit after complaints

ORLANDO, Fla. — Walt Disney World is retooling an Epcot exhibit on childhood obesity after critics complained it was insensitive to obese kids and reinforced stereotypes.

The interactive exhibit, Habit Heroes, featured animated fitness superheros Will Power and Callie Stenics and super-sized villains Snacker and Lead Bottom, who eat junk ...

Police: Philly woman gave illegal butt injections

PHILADELPHIA — A woman arrested in connection with an illegal buttocks-enhancement injection that left a patient sickened last month is considered a "person of interest" in the death of a tourist who underwent a similar procedure last year, police said Thursday.

Padge Victoria Windslowe, 42, was arrested Wednesday night as ...

Ariz. Sheriff Joe Arpaio probes Obama's birth certificate

PHOENIX (AP) — America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff finds himself entangled these days in his own thorny legal troubles: a federal grand jury probe over alleged abuse of power, Justice Department accusations of racial profiling, and revelations that his department didn't adequately investigate hundreds of Arizona sex-crime cases.

Rather than seek ...

Civil rights groups call for investigation of NYPD

TRENTON, N.J. — Civil rights organizations are calling for investigations into the New York Police Department's surveillance of Muslims in the U.S. Northeast.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut said Thursday it is among 10 groups that asked for investigations in letters to state police, cities and the presidents ...

U.S. woman gets life for killing mother, taking baby

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A U.S. woman was sentenced to life in prison without parole Thursday for killing a pregnant acquaintance and cutting her baby boy alive from her womb.

Kathy Coy agreed to the sentence in a deal last month in which she avoided a possible death penalty by ...

Man found guilty in Grand Canyon child-abuse case

PHOENIX (AP) — A grandfather who forced his grandsons on two grueling hikes in the Grand Canyon in searing August heat was found guilty of child abuse after a trial in which the three boys described going without food and water and being choked and kicked during the long treks.

Investigators ...

Teen charged as juvenile in Ohio school shooting

CHARDON, Ohio — A teenager was charged Thursday with killing three students in a school shooting, the first step in proceedings that could see him charged as an adult and facing the possibility of life without parole if convicted.

The charges filed in Geauga County juvenile court accuse T.J. Lane, ...

Conservative activist Andrew Breitbart dies at 43

Pioneering conservative author, blogger and polemicist Andrew Breitbart died suddenly of natural causes at the age of 43, his website Big Journalism confirmed in a posting this morning.

The Los Angeles coroner's office confirmed that Mr. Breitbart died shortly after midnight at UCLA Medical Center, ABC News Radio reported Thursday ...

Tales of chaos after deadly pre-dawn storms

HARRISBURG, Ill. — Jeff Rann had ample warning that terrible weather was approaching before dawn. A frantic call to his wife from his mother-in-law alerted them to reports that a tornado was barreling down, and Mr. Rann heard the deafening wail of storm sirens.

He was among those who survived ...

Government eyes popular malt liquor Four Loko

WASHINGTON — A carbonated brew guzzled on college campuses is the focus of an intense write-in campaign urging federal regulators to take some buzz out of a sweet alcoholic drink sometimes referred to as "blackout in a can."

The Federal Trade Commission is looking at a wave of complaints about ...

American Scene: Appeals judges back lawyer's decade jail term

NEW YORK — Federal appeals judges in New York appear supportive of a judge's decision to quadruple the prison sentence of a lawyer convicted of aiding a terrorist organization after she said she could serve the time "standing on my head."

Judges of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ...

CEO exit leaves LightSquared in the dark

The ambitious plans of Reston-based tech firm LightSquared, Inc. to build a $14 billion new nationwide mobile data and phone network are in limbo after the abrupt resignation this week of the company's boss on the heels of a major regulatory setback.

CEO Sanjiv Ahuja quit Tuesday, after regulators at ...

Lawmaker's son target of federal search

Federal agents armed with search warrants took documents Wednesday from the home of the son of Rep. Chaka Fattah and the law offices of one of the son's associates who owns a private school that does millions of dollars in business with the Philadelphia School District.

Agents from the FBI ...

Scientists protest cost of research journals

Call it the white-coat revolution.

But instead of a Tunisian man burning himself about his vegetable cart, it's research scientists protesting the high cost of the Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation journal.

In an unprecedented global backlash, nearly 7,700 academics — ranging from renowned professors to graduate students, ...

Mosques spread across country despite hostility since Sept. 11

NEW YORK — The number of American mosques has increased dramatically in the last decade despite protests aimed at Muslim houses of worship in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to a new study.

Researchers conducting the national count found a total of 2,106 Islamic centers, compared ...

Taking one giant leap for Feb. 29

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — People jumped off - or rather leaped off -tall buildings all around the country Wednesday, parachuting down to the ground in honor of Feb. 29.

It was all part of a leap year promotion for an energy drink.

In Atlantic City, two parachutists jumped off the ...

Ind. Senate approves diluted smoking ban

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Senate on Wednesday passed a diluted version of a statewide ban on smoking in public places in hopes that lawmakers can forge a stronger ban in a conference committee with House lawmakers, who have passed a more restrictive version of the bill.

The Senate voted ...

Portuguese judge: U.S. fugitive won't be extradited

LISBON (AP) — Portugal won't extradite American fugitive George Wright to the United States for crimes he committed there four decades ago, after the U.S. ran out of possibilities to appeal the decision to let him stay, a Portuguese court official said Wednesday.

Portuguese police captured the 68-year-old Wright near ...

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