Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Cavs apologize for 'insensitive' domestic violence video

The National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers apologized on Thursday for airing a video during a playoff game that depicted an incident of domestic violence. The video, which ran during Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls, was intended to be a humorous spoof on a popular commercial centered on the popular song and dance routine from the 1987 movie "Dirty Dancing", the team said.

FBI warned local police gunman had interest in Texas cartoon event

The FBI warned police in Garland, Texas, about three hours before a shooting at a weekend exhibit of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad that one of the gunmen who launched the failed attack was interested in the event, FBI Director James Comey said on Thursday. The FBI issued a bulletin to the police department saying Elton Simpson had an interest in the Sunday event held in the Dallas suburb but gave no indication that he planned an attack, Comey told reporters in Washington, according to an FBI spokesman.

White House fence getting sharper spikes in security upgrade

The black iron fence surrounding the White House will be topped with a row of "sharp metal points" in July, the U.S. Secret Service said on Thursday, part of a series of security upgrades for the famous mansion where the president and his family live. The planned changes were sparked by an intrusion last September when an Iraq war veteran carrying a knife scaled the fence, ran across the North Lawn and entered the residence, running through a large ballroom before being tackled by a Secret Service officer.

NSA's phone spying program ruled illegal by appeals court

A U.S. spying program that systematically collects millions of Americans' phone records is illegal, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday, putting pressure on Congress to quickly decide whether to replace or end the controversial anti-terrorism surveillance. Ruling on a program revealed by former government security contractor Edward Snowden, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the Patriot Act did not authorize the National Security Agency to collect Americans' calling records in bulk.

Man found guilty of murder in 1995 kidnapping and stabbing in California

A Southern California man was convicted of murder on Thursday in a 1995 kidnapping and stabbing that gained international attention when his accomplice, who had become a professor in Europe, was arrested three years ago. The case stems from the killing in Orange County of 24-year-old Gonzalo Ramirez, who was hacked to death with a meat cleaver.

U.S. to launch federal probe into Baltimore police practices: Washington Post

Attorney General Loretta Lynch will launch a federal probe into whether Baltimore's police department has engaged in a "pattern or practice" of excessive force, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. The Post, citing two law enforcement officials, said Lynch's announcement of the investigation could come as soon as Friday.

Jury to return for 18th day of deliberations in NYC missing boy murder case

Jurors finished a 17th day of marathon deliberations on Thursday without reaching a verdict in the murder trial of a man who confessed to strangling Etan Patz more than three decades ago. The 6-year-old boy disappeared in 1979 as he walked alone for the first time to his school bus stop in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood.

Colorado movie massacre jurors handle guns, gear used by Holmes

Jurors in Colorado's movie massacre trial handled firearms, a helmet and piles of protective anti-ballistic clothing on Thursday that gunman James Holmes used when he killed 12 people at a midnight premiere of a Batman film in July 2012. Holmes, 27, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to multiple counts of first degree murder and attempted murder for opening fire on moviegoers at a multiplex in the Denver suburb of Aurora, also wounding 70 victims.

Brooklyn cabbie gets life in U.S. prison over Pakistan 'honor killings'

A Brooklyn cab driver was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for arranging the "honor killings" of two family members of a man who helped his daughter flee from Pakistan to the United States to escape an arranged marriage. Mohammad Ajmal Choudhry, 62, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Kuntz in Brooklyn, New York, following his conviction last year on charges including conspiring to commit murder in a foreign country.

More storms headed for Great Plains after tornadoes kill one, injure 12 in Oklahoma

Thunderstorm and flash flood warnings were issued for several Great Plains states on Thursday, a day after a series of tornadoes touched down in Oklahoma, causing one death, injuring 12 and flattening buildings. One woman who sought safety in her home's storm shelter died when it flooded in Wednesday night's storms, Oklahoma police said.