The Supreme Court split 4-4 Tuesday on a challenge brought by public school teachers who objected to paying union dues, delivering a big win for the unions – in the first major case where the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s vote would have proved decisive.
The California teachers in the case had challenged a state law requiring non-union workers to pay “fair share” fees into the public-employee unions to cover collective bargaining costs.
Supreme Court split over teachers' dues delivers win for unions
Drug company hikes price for end-of-life drug Seconal
The 80-year-old drug Seconal, a once widely used sleeping pill now often prescribed as an end-of-life treatment, has doubled in price as laws go into effect in several states this year permitting terminally ill patients to take their own lives.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which is among companies being investigated by Congress for price gouging, doubled the price of Seconal last year from $1,500 to $3,000 after acquiring the rights to it.
Millions at risk from man-made earthquakes; fracking primary cause
California isn't the USA's only earthquake hot-zone anymore.
7 million people in the central and eastern U.S. live where damaging man-made earthquakes are likely to occur, according to a first-of-its-kind report released Monday by federal scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico and Arkansas are the most at-risk states from man-made quakes, according to the report.
Georgia's Gov. Deal to veto 'religious liberties' bill
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said Monday he would veto a controversial bill allowing faith-based organizations to deny services to gay people.
The Republican governor, who until 1995 was a Democrat, said HB 757 or the so-called "religious freedom" bill, opposed by gay rights advocates and businesses, "doesn't reflect the character of our state or the character of its people."
Detained child's disease 'went untreated for weeks' at US immigration center
Five-year-old Briany nibbled her nails as she peeked from behind her mother. Her eyes rimmed with dark circles, she continued to ask if she could go out to play. Her mother, Gladis, shook her head.
Briany is being treated for Shigellosis, a diarrheal disease caused by the Shigella group of bacteria, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is behind about 500,000 cases of diarrhea each year in the US. Briany lives with her mother as a detainee at the Berks County Residential Center in Leesport, Pennsylvania.
Legends of the Fall author and screenwriter Jim Harrison dies at 78
Jim Harrison, considered one of the great writers in contemporary American fiction, has died at age 78 at his home in Patagonia, Arizona.
Harrison, author of the novella Legends of the Fall, made a prolific career with his descriptions of outdoor life – often through the lens of history – and was unconcerned by the limits of genre. The outdoorsman and bon vivant published more than 30 books over 50 years – and penned poetry, essays, interviews, screenplays, criticism, and reviews in addition to his fiction.
'Maverick' assistant police chief in Alabama sentenced to 41 months in prison
A former Alabama assistant police chief was sentenced to 41 months in prison for beating a suspect and selling marijuana from the evidence room.
Chris Miles, 41, served in Tallassee, Ala. before pleading guilty on Nov. 17 to one count of deprivation of civil rights, two counts of false statements and one count of possession with intent to distribute.
Pentagon chief used personal email account until December 20
Newly released documents show Defense Secretary Ash Carter used his personal email account for government business for nearly a year, until December 2015, when news reports revealed the practice.
The Pentagon late Friday released 1,336 pages of the emails in response to Freedom of Information Act requests by The Associated Press and other news organizations.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook says in a statement to the AP that the release shows that none of the emails contained classified information.
UCal Vote: Anti-Zionism Does Not Equal Religious Bigotry
The University of California’s regents declared on Wednesday they would not tolerate anti-Semitism on campus but rejected a proposal to equate anti-Zionism with religious bigotry, as they tried to defuse tensions between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian students.
The statement of principles, approved unanimously by the university’s governing board, stems from concerns among Jewish students and faculty about a rise in anti-Semitism on several UC campuses in response to recent student activism in support of Israel.
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