General news

• Texas obtains new supply of pentobarbital for execution use

  14-05-2015 23:57 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has purchased a new supply of drugs that will allow the prison agency to at least carry out two executions scheduled for June, officials said Thursday.
  
  Read more

• Top-seeded Warriors, Hawks try to close out series, advance

  14-05-2015 23:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks have regained control of their respective series, doing their best to restore order in the NBA playoffs.
  
  Read more

• Holders Sevilla, unheralded Dnipro, into Europa League final

  14-05-2015 23:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Holders Sevilla, who crushed Fiorentina, face unheralded Ukrainians Dnipro in the Europa League final in Warsaw on May 27. Sevilla, seeking a record fourth success in the competition, were firmly in the driving seat after last week's 3-0 first leg success, and finished off Fiorentina with first half goals from Carlos Bacca and Daniel Carrico. Dnipro, a former rocket factory side, on the other hand secured their first ever European final by grittily edging Rafa Benitez's Napoli 1-0 in K
  
  Read more

• Forest swallows the Beatles' Indian retreat

  14-05-2015 23:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An Indian spiritual retreat where the Beatles meditated and wrote songs in 1968 has become a place of pilgrimage for fans from all over the world.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Obama vows to 'stand by' Gulf allies amid concern over Iran threat

  14-05-2015 23:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton CAMP DAVID, Md. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama vowed on Thursday to back Gulf allies against any "external attack," seeking to reassure them of Washington commitment to their security amid Arab anxiety over U.S.-led efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. Obama, hosting the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council for a rare summit at the Camp David presidential retreat, pledged that the United States would cooperate with them to address what he call
  
  Read more

• Iranian shooting at clear violation of international law -Saudi minister

  14-05-2015 23:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Iranian navy's shooting at a Singapore-flagged tanker in the Gulf on Thursday is a clear violation of international law, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters after Gulf nations' Camp David summit with U.S. President Barack Obama that the behavior must stop. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Eric Beech)
  
  Read more

• U.S., Gulf nations agree Iran nuclear deal is in their security interests

  14-05-2015 23:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CAMP DAVID, Md. (Reuters) - The United States and its Gulf nation allies agree that a nuclear deal with Iran is in their security interests, U.S. President Barack Obama and officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council member states said in a joint statement on Thursday. The countries will work together to counter Iran's "destabilizing activities" in the region, they said in the statement, which was released after a summit at the presidential retreat Camp David. (Reporting by Emily Stephenson; Edi
  
  Read more

• Reddit enacts anti-harassment policy after user complaints

  14-05-2015 23:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Reddit, the online discussion forum known for its free-wheeling ethos, is enacting an anti-harassment policy while still trying to keep its roots as a place for free expression.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The Karachi bus survivors who drove to hospital

  14-05-2015 23:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How Karachi massacre survivors drove to hospital
  
  Read more

• Amtrak to operate system that might have prevented crash

  14-05-2015 23:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The deadly Amtrak derailment near Philadelphia appears to be yet another accident that didn't have to happen.
  
  Read more

• Reddit cracks down on harassment

  14-05-2015 23:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Reddit on Thursday said it is cracking down on abusive behavior that is keeping people from expressing opinions at the news-focused social network. "We are changing our practices to prohibit attacks and harassment of individuals through reddit with the goal of preventing them," read an online message from interim chief executive Ellen Pao and her team. Pao made headlines early this year for her failed gender discrimination suit against prominent venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Cau
  
  Read more

• Dnipro & Sevilla reach Europa final

  14-05-2015 23:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dnipro and Sevilla reach the Europa League final after victories over Napoli and Fiorentina respectively.
  
  Read more

• Streb races to early lead at Wells Fargo Championship

  14-05-2015 23:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Robert Streb opened with a 7-under 65 for the early lead at the Wells Fargo Championship. Phil Mickelson faded after a fast start.
  
  Read more

• Obama says told Gulf leaders U.S. would stand with them against attacks

  14-05-2015 23:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday he assured leaders of Gulf nations that the United States would stand by them against outside attacks, and he said they had "candid" talks about Iran, Islamic State militants and other issues. "I was very explicit that the United States will stand by our (Gulf Cooperation Council) partners against external attacks," said Obama, who hosted the leaders at the Camp David presidential retreat.
  
  Read more

• In Instagram age, Chili's pays for buns with photo appeal

  14-05-2015 23:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Chili's says it's spending about $750,000 a year for an egg wash that gives its burger buns a photogenic glaze. It's part of an effort by the chain to get you to take pictures of its food and post them online.
  
  Read more

• Amtrak crash: Current signal system could have been modified to automatically reduce train speed

  14-05-2015 23:24
  
  The current signal system installed on the stretch of track where an Amtrak train crashed this week – killing eight people – could have been modified to automatically reduce the train’s speed, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
  
  Read more

• Kerry off to China, SKorea with security, trade agenda

  14-05-2015 23:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State John Kerry is heading to China and South Korea for a weekend of meetings that will focus on security concerns and trade.
  
  Read more

• Police probe: Toddler left in hot vehicle

  14-05-2015 23:24 via edition.cnn.com
  
  A 16-month-old girl died after her father forgot to take her to day care and left her in a vehicle in the northern Florida sun, according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, citing what family members told authorities.
  
  Read more

• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unwittingly opens old wounds between India and Pakistan over Kashmir with Internet.Org post

  14-05-2015 23:22
  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has unwittingly reopened old wounds between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, with a post on his Timeline.
  
  Read more

• Man to be sentenced for smuggling oil from Germany to Hawaii

  14-05-2015 23:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — A German citizen who lives in Hawaii is facing sentencing for smuggling a type of oil that's commonly used to make ecstasy.
  
  Read more

• Boston bombing death penalty deliberation goes to third day

  14-05-2015 23:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A jury will debate for a third day Friday whether to sentence Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death or to life imprisonment for perpetrating one of the bloodiest assaults in America since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The 12-strong panel, who last month convicted the 21-year-old of Chechen descent on all charges relating to the April 15, 2013 bombings, must reach a unanimous verdict if they are to sentence him to death. After eight hours of deliberations spread across Wednesday and Thursday
  
  Read more

• Seattle, like it or not, becomes Shell's Arctic base

  14-05-2015 23:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SEATTLE (AP) — The arrival in Seattle Thursday of an oil rig Royal Dutch Shell is outfitting for oil exploration in the remote Arctic Ocean marks a pivotal moment for an environmental movement increasingly mobilized around climate change.
  
  Read more

• Obama pledges unity with Gulf nations against Iran

  14-05-2015 23:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — President Barack Obama is pledging unity with Persian Gulf allies in dealing with concerns about Iran.
  
  Read more

• Reddit enacts anti-harassment policy

  14-05-2015 23:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Free-wheeling online discussion forum Reddit is enacting an anti-harassment policy in response to user complaints.
  
  Read more

• Obama, at Camp David, pledges US will stand by Persian Gulf allies amid tensions with Iran

  14-05-2015 23:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CAMP DAVID, Md. (AP) — Obama, at Camp David, pledges US will stand by Persian Gulf allies amid tensions with Iran.
  
  Read more

• Huge Arctic oil rig arrives in Seattle waters amid protests

  14-05-2015 23:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SEATTLE (AP) — A 400-foot-long Arctic oil drilling rig pulled by tugs has arrived in Seattle waters despite environmentalists' protests and the city's opposition to letting it dock there.
  
  Read more

• In hindsight, Jeb Bush says, he wouldn't have invaded Iraq

  14-05-2015 23:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — After days of refusing to say whether, with the benefit of hindsight, he would have ordered an invasion of Iraq in 2003, Jeb Bush relented Thursday and said he would not have done so.
  
  Read more

• Shell's massive Arctic oil rig arrives in Seattle waters despite protests, city opposition

  14-05-2015 23:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SEATTLE (AP) — Shell's massive Arctic oil rig arrives in Seattle waters despite protests, city opposition.
  
  Read more

• Weak dollar, tame U.S. inflation boost stocks; gold up

  14-05-2015 23:10 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - Increasing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold off raising interest rates until September at the earliest helped push the S&P 500 to a record high close on Thursday and drove the dollar to near its lowest level since January. U.S. data showed recent dollar strength and lower oil prices suppressed producer price inflation in April, supporting the view the Fed will probably not raise rates until later this year. "People are pretty
  
  Read more

• Trade supporters breathe easier as U.S. trade bill clears Senate hurdle

  14-05-2015 23:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Richard Cowan and Krista Hughes WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 12-nation Pacific trade agreement cleared a crucial test in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, giving a resounding thumbs-up to legislation that holds the key to President Barack Obama's diplomatic pivot to Asia. Just two days after Democrats defied Obama to block debate on a bill to "fast-track" trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal through Congress, the Senate voted 65 to 33 to move ahead with con
  
  Read more

• Boston bombing jury finishes 1st full day of deliberations

  14-05-2015 23:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BOSTON (AP) — Jurors in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have finished their first full day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.
  
  Read more

• Taliban attack underscores difficulties facing Afghan leader

  14-05-2015 23:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An audacious Taliban attack on a Kabul guesthouse that left 14 people dead, including nine foreigners, underscores the difficulties President Ashraf Ghani faces in providing even basic security following the withdrawal of international combat troops from Afghanistan.
  
  Read more

• IS releases 'al-Baghdadi message'

  14-05-2015 23:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Islamic State releases an audio message it says is from its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which would be the first in months.
  
  Read more

• Blue Bell to now inform states of positive listeria tests

  14-05-2015 23:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  HOUSTON (AP) — Blue Bell Creameries signed agreements with health officials in Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday requiring the company to inform the states whenever there is a positive test result for listeria in its products or ingredients.
  
  Read more

• 97 years later, Jewish WWI vet to receive Medal of Honor

  14-05-2015 23:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Nearly a century after Sgt. William Shemin pulled wounded comrades to safety on a World War I battlefield, his heroism has finally earned him the nation's highest service medal.
  
  Read more

• Hillary Clinton woos donors visiting campaign headquarters

  14-05-2015 23:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton is wooing an early group of major donors to her presidential campaign and visiting her Brooklyn campaign headquarters for the first time since getting into the White House race.
  
  Read more

• U.S. lawmaker wants hearing on train safety controls

  14-05-2015 23:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. lawmakers should consider forcing the rail industry to quickly adopt train safety controls that experts say could have prevented this week's deadly derailment in Philadelphia, a Republican senator said on Thursday. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire asked the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee to schedule a hearing to discuss the merits of 'positive train control' (PTC) - a technology that can automatically stop a runaway train and otherwise prevent accidents. Robert Sumwalt, a member of
  
  Read more

• Man apprehended after flying drone near White House

  14-05-2015 23:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service apprehended a man who was flying a small drone Thursday afternoon in a park outside the White House, a violation of federal aviation rules.
  
  Read more

• Why US economic growth has disappointed this year

  14-05-2015 22:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Like an underachieving student, the U.S. economy isn't living up to the high hopes it began the year with.
  
  Read more

• Amtrak engineer was obsessed with trains as a teen

  14-05-2015 22:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Brandon Bostian was obsessed with trains while growing up, talked about them constantly and wanted to be an engineer or a conductor.
  
  Read more

• Pardoned man: No resentment for victim who identified him

  14-05-2015 22:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — After 29 years of having little control over what he would do on any given day, newly pardoned ex-prisoner Michael McAlister is taking his time deciding how to spend it now that he is free.
  
  Read more

• US stock indexes end higher, breaking three-day slump

  14-05-2015 22:54 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks rebounded Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak for the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
  
  Read more

• Senate panel would require Congress OK to close Guantanamo

  14-05-2015 22:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate committee has approved legislation requiring congressional approval of any plan submitted by President Barack Obama before the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba could be closed.
  
  Read more

• 'Daughter of Smoke & Bone' author Taylor has new 3-book deal

  14-05-2015 22:46 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The author of the best-selling "Daughter of Smoke & Bone" fantasy trilogy has a new three-book deal.
  
  Read more

• Woman, 2 young children found dead inside car, police say

  14-05-2015 22:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A woman fatally shot two young children and then killed herself with a gunshot to the head inside an SUV parked in a desolate industrial zone of New Orleans on Thursday, police said.
  
  Read more

• RAF jets escort Russian aircraft

  14-05-2015 22:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  RAF jets are scrambled after two Russian military aircraft are seen flying north of Scotland towards UK airspace.
  
  Read more

• Judge says he won't toss FedEx drug indictment

  14-05-2015 22:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A judge on Thursday rejected FedEx's attempt to toss out a federal drug indictment that accuses the company of knowingly shipping illegal prescription drugs.
  
  Read more

• US Senate advances trade negotiating authority for Obama

  14-05-2015 22:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Following days of obstruction from lawmakers in President Barack Obama's own Democratic party, the Senate advanced a bill Thursday allowing him to finalize swiftly a landmark Pacific trade pact. The 65 to 33 vote marked a victory for the White House and free-trade Republicans who had united in an effort to press ahead with Obama's biggest domestic legislative priority in the remaining 20 months of his presidency. Thursday's vote merely opened debate on so-called trade promotion au
  
  Read more

• Boston bombing jury to contend with complicated verdict form

  14-05-2015 22:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  BOSTON (AP) — Jurors in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev must make one of the most difficult decisions a jury can be faced with: Should they sentence him to death or spare his life?
  
  Read more

• Man accused in Jewish site shootings fires his attorneys

  14-05-2015 22:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A white supremacist accused of killing three people outside two Kansas Jewish sites fired his attorneys on Thursday, telling the judge that he thought representing himself was the only way he'd be allowed to speak at the capital murder trial.
  
  Read more

Follow @newslock_news on Twitter!