Latest USA News
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Federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional
![Federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional](http://l2.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/_BQtH3nNWykPkXliD6fgWQ--/YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b247aD04Njt3PTEzMDs-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2018-12-15T015535Z_1_LYNXMPEEBE016_RTROPTP_2_USA-HEALTHCARE.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="Federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional)
A federal judge in Texas on Friday ruled the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, was unconstitutional based on its mandate requiring that people buy health insurance, a decision in a case that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth agreed with a coalition of 20 states that a change in tax law last year eliminating a penalty for not having health insurance invalidated the entire Obamacare law. The coalition of states challenging the law was led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, both Republicans. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 22:53:50 -0500
Police search ranch belonging to missing Colorado woman's fiance
Police looking for a Colorado mother who was reported missing from her small mountain town nearly two weeks ago searched her fiance's ranch on Friday but stopped short of calling him a suspect in the case. The police chief of Woodland Park, Colorado, also publicly called on Patrick Frazee, 32, to submit to a formal interview with detectives, saying he was the last person believed to have seen or heard from his fiance, 29-year-old Kelsey Berreth. "We are asking him to sit down with our investigators since he was the last person to talk with Kelsey," Woodland Park Police Chief Miles DeYoung told reporters at an afternoon press conference. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 19:27:39 -0500
Challenging judges' orders, Trump aims to enlist Supreme Court![Challenging judges' orders, Trump aims to enlist Supreme Court](http://l1.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/BXl_uQ8a7sWsDP35I8iGyQ--/YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b247aD04Njt3PTEzMDs-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2018-12-15T000144Z_1_LYNXMPEEBE000_RTROPTP_2_USA-CONGRESS.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="Challenging judges' orders, Trump aims to enlist Supreme Court)
The Supreme Court traditionally has been viewed as the court of last resort in the United States, but Trump's Justice Department increasingly has tried to enlist it in paring back or halting unfavorable rulings by lower courts on signature Trump policies, often at early stages of litigation. In another tactic, the administration has asked the justices to review disputes even before lower appeals courts have acted. Trump has appointed conservatives Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch to lifetime jobs on the Supreme Court since taking office last year, cementing its 5-4 conservative majority. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 19:01:44 -0500
U.S. government watchdog to probe child's death after border arrest
WASHINGTON/TAOS, New Mexico (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog will investigate the death of a 7-year-old Guatemalan migrant which occurred after she was detained by U.S. border agents, officials said on Friday. The Trump administration defended the treatment of the child, identified as Jakelin Caal by a Guatemalan official, and said there was no indication that she had any medical problems until several hours after she and her father were taken into U.S. custody on Dec. 6. The Guatemalan government had earlier identified the girl as Jackeline Caal. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 17:18:24 -0500
Police probe hoax bitcoin bomb threats across U.S., Canada![Police probe hoax bitcoin bomb threats across U.S., Canada](http://l1.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/6V5PqcZ8WXVjgL._6fheAQ--/YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b247aD04Njt3PTEzMDs-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2018-12-14T132442Z_3_LYNXMPEEBD0YO_RTROPTP_2_USA-BOMB-THREATS.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="Police probe hoax bitcoin bomb threats across U.S., Canada)
U.S. law enforcement officials on Friday were investigating a wave of hoax emailed bomb threats demanding bitcoin payment that caused worry but no damage in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The threats led to scattered evacuations of schools and transit stations before the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies dismissed them as lacking credibility. Hoax threats were received in cities including Washington, New York, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Grand Rapids, Iowa, Denver, Ottawa and Calgary, Alberta. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 16:57:05 -0500
Saudi man pleads guilty in Oklahoma to lying about al Qaeda training
Naif Abdulaziz M. Alfallaj, 35, who was arrested in February, faces up to 18 years in prison, the department said in a statement. Alfallaj's fingerprints turned up on documents found by the U.S. military at an al Qaeda safe house in Afghanistan, the statement said. The documents included an application to an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, it said. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 16:24:10 -0500
Big Washington clean-up bill leads House Democrats' list![Big Washington clean-up bill leads House Democrats' list](http://l1.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/UN9JBMqoYGJQyoyWg3C6Zg--/YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b247aD04Njt3PTEzMDs-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2018-12-14T200546Z_1_LYNXMPEEBD1NV_RTROPTP_2_USA-CONGRESS-HOUSE.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="Big Washington clean-up bill leads House Democrats' list)
When the Democrats take over the U.S. House of Representatives in three weeks, their first order of business is expected to be a wide-ranging bill about political corruption, voter disenfranchisement and cleaning up campaign finance. Aimed at sending a message, the legislation is unlikely to become law with Republicans still in control of the Senate and the White House. An outline of the bill, titled H.R. 1, shows it would require presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns, which Trump has refused to do despite decades of precedent. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 15:05:46 -0500
California to phase in electric, fuel-cell transit buses: regulators![California to phase in electric, fuel-cell transit buses: regulators](http://l1.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/zthF5YDQT0d1UH896d8A4w--/YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b247aD04Njt3PTEzMDs-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2018-12-14T194827Z_1_LYNXMPEEBD1NL_RTROPTP_2_CHILE-ENVIRONMENT-ELECTRICVEHICLES.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="California to phase in electric, fuel-cell transit buses: regulators)
California air quality regulators voted on Friday to require that transit buses have zero emissions beginning in 2029, another step by the liberal-leaning state that sets it apart from the environmental policies of the Trump administration. The California Air Resources Board voted unanimously on the proposal to ramp up the use of battery electric or fuel-cell buses until 2029, at which point all new transit buses will have to be zero-emission vehicles. The move away from diesel buses will be a boon to companies such as Chinese automaker BYD , backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc and Silicon Valley startup Proterra Inc, which have bet that zero-emissions buses will eventually catch on. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 14:43:44 -0500
ICE arrests of immigrants in U.S. illegally highest since 2014: agency![ICE arrests of immigrants in U.S. illegally highest since 2014: agency](http://l2.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/Vx9.YAgMFAMBje1EX_tJTg--/YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b247aD04Njt3PTEzMDs-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2018-12-14T173014Z_1_LYNXMPEEBD1FU_RTROPTP_2_USA-IMMIGRATION-ROUTE.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="ICE arrests of immigrants in U.S. illegally highest since 2014: agency)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested more immigrants who were in the United States illegally in the fiscal year through Sept. 30, 2018, than in any year since 2014, the agency said on Friday. The 158,851 people arrested in the 2018 fiscal year by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations division, the branch that carries out immigration arrests and deportations, represented an 11 percent increase over 2017, according to agency data. ICE arrests of immigrants with no criminal history but who are in the country illegally increased by nearly one-third compared to 2017, to reach 20,464. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 12:30:14 -0500
Connecticut school evacuated for bomb threat on sixth anniversary of massacre![Connecticut school evacuated for bomb threat on sixth anniversary of massacre](http://l1.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/sB3TNnUbXOzQEXNt8B9ERA--/YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b247aD04Njt3PTEzMDs-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2018-12-14T172625Z_1_LYNXMPEEBD1FK_RTROPTP_2_CONNECTICUT-SECURITY.JPG" width="130" height="86" alt="Connecticut school evacuated for bomb threat on sixth anniversary of massacre)
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, where 26 children and educators were killed in 2012, received a threatening phone call around 9 a.m. EST, said police Lieutenant Aaron Bahamonde. "It was a bomb threat over the phone," Bahamonde said. Bahamonde said the threat was unrelated to a Thursday incident in which hundreds of schools, businesses and buildings across the United States and Canada receive email bomb threats demanding payment in cryptocurrency. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 12:07:41 -0500