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Critics Denounce ‘foreign Laws’ Bill

DETROIT, Aug. 17 (UPI) — Opponents criticized as discriminatory a measure that would forbid Michigan courts to consider “foreign laws,” including Shariah, or Muslim law. “This plan goes against our country’s core values of accepting people from all races and walks of life,” state Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, a Muslim, said as he joined other […]

Socialite's Husband Charged In Her Death

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) — The husband of a 91-year-old Washington socialite — first believed to have died of natural causes — has been charged in her killing, officials said. Albrecht Gero Muth, 47, was arrested Tuesday night and charged in the death of his wife, Viola Drath, The Washington Post reported. Medical examiners determined […]

Socialite’s Husband Charged In Her Death

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) — The husband of a 91-year-old Washington socialite — first believed to have died of natural causes — has been charged in her killing, officials said. Albrecht Gero Muth, 47, was arrested Tuesday night and charged in the death of his wife, Viola Drath, The Washington Post reported. Medical examiners determined […]

Indian Activist Refuses To Leave Jail

NEW DELHI, Aug. 17 (UPI) — An imprisoned anti-corruption activist, Anna Hazare, has refused to leave jail, despite concessions from the Indian government, officials said. Hazare, 74, wants the right to fast indefinitely in support of a strong lokpal, or anti-corruption ombudsman, the Press Trust of India reported. Police at first offered to let him […]

School Opens In Tornado-hit Joplin, Mo.

JOPLIN, Mo., Aug. 17 (UPI) — Just three months after a powerful tornado leveled one-third of the city, Wednesday was the first day of public school in Joplin, Mo. Teachers warmly welcomed hundreds of students back to classes at Stapleton Elementary and South Middle School, the Joplin Globe reported. Although neither building was damaged by […]

Bachmann Promises $2/gal Gas As President

GREENVILLE, S.C., Aug. 17 (UPI) — Republican U.S. presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann promises voters gas prices would fall to $2 per gallon if she makes it to the White House in 2013. Speaking Tuesday at a town hall meeting in South Carolina, the Tea Party favorite said her energy policies would send gas prices plummeting, […]

Poll: Perry New Republican Frontrunner

ASBURY PARK, N.J., Aug. 17 (UPI) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry is the current frontrunner in the Republican race for U.S. president, a poll indicates. Rasmussen Reports surveyed likely Republican primary voters Monday night, two days after Perry formally entered the race for the GOP nomination and after U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s first-place finish in […]

Drug Dealer Responsible For ODs Gets Life

KANSAS CITY, Kan., Aug. 17 (UPI) — A Kansas drug trafficker has been sentenced to life plus 10 years in prison for selling heroin so pure it caused many users to overdose, killing some of them. Verdale Handy, who operated out of Kansas City, Kansas, appeared before a federal judge Tuesday, The Kansas City (Mo.) […]

Fortune-teller Family Charged In Huge Scam

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 17 (UPI) — A family of fortune tellers in Florida and New York has been charged with swindling $40 million from customers during the last 20 years, officials said. For two decades, ABC News reported, the family allegedly has been telling customers seeking cures for illnesses that “money is the root […]

Study: U.S. Students Vary In Proficiency

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 17 (UPI) — Massachusetts students have the same level of mathematics proficiency as South Korea while California is down with Greece, a study released Wednesday said. Researchers at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard analyzed data from the National Assessment for Educational Progress for the class of 2011. They found the […]