national news

A selection of lunch meals offered to detainees are displayed in a food preparation area at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo BayBy Jane Sutton GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein urged the Pentagon on Wednesday to stop force-feeding hunger-striking prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and called the practice "out of step" with medical ethics and international norms. Feinstein, a California Democrat who chairs the Senate intelligence committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, saying the Guantanamo force-feeding policy was also out of synch with policies in the civilian federal prisons. ...


2013-06-19 18:07:32 -0500

Robert Mueller gestures at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee at an oversight hearing about the FBI on Capitol Hill in WashingtonBy David Ingram WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States uses drones for surveillance in some limited law enforcement situations, FBI Director Robert Mueller said on Wednesday, sparking additional debate about President Barack Obama's use of domestic surveillance. The acknowledgement came in response to questions from U.S. senators who said they wanted to know more about the federal government's increasing use of unmanned aircraft. "Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on U.S. soil?" Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa asked during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. ...


2013-06-19 17:19:45 -0500

One of two men arrested for a string of fatal shootings appears in court in PhoenixPHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona death row inmate who wrote to the state Supreme Court asking for a speedy execution died on Wednesday after being found unresponsive in his cell, authorities said. Dale Hausner, dubbed the "Serial Shooter," was sentenced to die by lethal injection four years ago for gunning down four men and two women during a 14-month shooting spree. He and an accomplice were arrested in August 2006. ...


2013-06-19 18:51:26 -0500

People shout out against the Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act in the hall outside the House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 18, 2013. The committee in the Republican-led House is preparing to cast its first votes on immigration this year, on a tough enforcement-focused measure that Democrats and immigrant groups are protesting loudly. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)WASHINGTON (AP) — After secretive talks, key senators expressed optimism Wednesday night that they were closing in on a bipartisan agreement to toughen the border security requirements in immigration legislation that also offers a path to citizenship to millions living in the country illegally.


2013-06-19 19:51:19 -0500