All USA Update
Exonerations climb in US, as prosecutors, police probe wrongful convictionsExonerations rose in the US last year and, despite the message from TV crime shows, it's not due just to DNA evidence. Police and prosecutors are more willing to reopen cases, a new report finds.
Evidence-tampering suspected at crime lab; Florida reviews drug casesFlorida police are reviewing thousands of drug cases handled by one crime-lab chemist, out of concern he might have tampered with evidence. Hundreds of drug convictions in Florida hang in the balance, state police say.
Philip Seymour Hoffman: intense actor, unlikely star, tragic endRenowned actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Greenwich Village apartment Sunday of an apparent heroin overdose. His performances, whether in a lead or a supporting role, touched audiences.
Super Bowl ads: Why advertisers can't pass up the pregame showSuper Bowl ads, or trailers designed to tease them, are running more and more in the weeks-long advertising pregame show, a way for companies to advertise they will be advertising during the Big Game.
Who is Cory Remsburg? And what does he mean to Obama?President Obama rounded out his State of the Union speech with the story of Cory Remsburg, the gravely wounded soldier who has made an astounding comeback.
Food stamps: how House, Senate negotiators agreed to cut $800 million a yearThe agreed-upon cuts to food stamps are significantly less than what the House had requested, but double what the Senate had proposed. The compromise could be introduced on the House floor Wednesday.
Trey Radel resigns from Congress in wake of cocaine scandalRep. Trey Radel of Florida, a once-rising star in the tea party movement, said in his resignation letter Monday that he can no longer 'fully and effectively serve,' after a conviction for buying cocaine.
Who gets food stamps? More are college grads; half are working age.Working-age people are now the majority recipients of food stamps, replacing children and seniors as the traditional primary beneficiaries, a new analysis shows. Federal spending on food stamps has doubled since 2008.
Mall in Columbia: Shooter ID’d as teenager Darion Marcus AguilarPolice say the shooter at the Mall in Columbia, Md., was 19 year-old Darion Marcus Aguilar, who killed two mall employees before taking his own life. But authorities so far know little about motive.
Mall in Columbia: Shooter had 'crude' explosive devicesPolice have yet to identify the shooter at the Mall in Columbia, Maryland, who was armed with a shotgun, ammunition, and explosives made of fireworks. Three people were killed, including the shooter who took his own life.
- How Hunter Moore, revenge porn kingpin, got away with it – until now
Hunter Moore, the founder of a revenge porn empire, was indicted on charges of working with a conspirator to hack into e-mail accounts and steal explicit photos for his now defunct porn site.
'Polar vortex' costs billions. Open next fuel bill with care.January's frigid 'polar vortex' may have cost the US economy as much as $5 billion. Meanwhile, consumers are cranking up furnaces and bracing for their February utility bills.
Alleged NYC mobster charged in 1978 'Goodfellas' heistFive alleged New York mobsters were indicted Thursday on a range of charges, including one accused of taking part in the 1978 theft of cash and valuables worth $6 million from JFK airport.
South Carolina court mulls retrial of 14-year-old in Jim Crow-era murder caseLawyers for the family of George Stinney, a black teenager executed in 1944 after a trial widely criticized as mired in racist politics, are requesting a new trial for the long-dead 14-year-old.
Global warming trend continues, so why are we all shivering?There's a difference between climate events, such as this week's frigid cold wave, and climate trends. The global warming trend just marked its 37th year, government climatologists say.
Almost half of US black men arrested before age 23, report findsThe report has put a spotlight on high rates of arrests for young people, as well as on the complex interplay of gender and race in arrests.
Another arctic blast is coming! Here's your extreme cold survival guide.As a winter storm churns eastward, much of the country is bracing for the month's second arctic blast. What cold-weather-hardened Midwesterners and other experts teach us about surviving the cold.
Ohio executes convict with untried drug cocktailAn Ohio inmate was put to death on Thursday using the untested drug cocktail that the state adopted after running out of its usual execution drug. Witnesses said the inmate appeared to struggle to breathe.
Boston Marathon bombing: Trial date set for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's friendsThe summer trial date is significantly earlier than the 2015 date that two of the defendants’ attorneys had wanted. Obstruction of justice is among the charges.
Kelly Thomas case: why police were acquitted in killing of homeless manTwo former California police officers who beat a mentally ill homeless man unconscious were acquitted Monday. The case had sparked public outrage.
