Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Transformer fire causes shut-down of nuclear reactor north of New York City

A nuclear power reactor 40 miles (65 km) north of New York City was shut down on Saturday after a transformer fire, but officials said the Indian Point plant was stable and there was no threat to residents nearby. People in the area reported an explosion and smoke coming from the plant at Buchanan in New York state. But the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the fire had been quickly extinguished.

At Christian University, Jeb Bush seeks support from evangelicals

Republican Jeb Bush sought to bolster his support among evangelical Christians on Saturday in remarks at a Christian university, accusing liberals of trying to undermine religious freedom. The potential presidential candidate in the November 2016 election gave the commencement speech to 34,000 people in the football stadium at Liberty University, a school founded by evangelical leader Jerry Falwell.

Tropical Storm Ana threatens Carolinas with rough surf, rain

Winds from Tropical Storm Ana, the first named storm of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, picked up onshore in the Carolinas on Saturday and beachgoers were warned of expected dangerous rip currents and heavy rain. Ana was moving slightly faster toward the U.S. Southeast coast with maximum sustained winds of 60 miles per hour after it transitioned overnight into a tropical storm, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

'Re-homing' couple exposed by Reuters is indicted on kidnap charges

An Arizona couple who used an underground online market for acquiring children has been charged with kidnapping two minors and transporting one across state lines with intent to engage in sexual activity. The suspects, Nicole and Calvin Eason, came to authorities' attention as a result of "The Child Exchange," a Reuters series in 2013 that exposed how Americans were using Yahoo message boards, Facebook groups and other online sites to "re-home" unwanted children.

Two police officers shot, killed in Mississippi

Two police officers conducting a traffic stop were shot and killed on Saturday in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and at least one suspect fled in a police vehicle which was later found abandoned, authorities said. Police were conducting a manhunt in the area for two male suspects, about 80 miles (129 km) southeast of Jackson. Officials advised residents to remain indoors.

Detroit airport terminal evacuated for 2 hours, man detained

A terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport was evacuated for nearly two hours and a man was taken into custody after he made comments to airline employees that raised concerns, an airport spokesman said on Saturday. Airport police were called to the North Terminal just before 3 p.m. after the man left a laptop at an airline ticket counter and made suspicious comments to a ticket agent, said Brian Lassaline, a spokesman for the airport, the world's sixth-largest air transportation hub.

Nebraska police search for missing boy after mother found slain

Police in Omaha, Nebraska, were using dive teams and helicopters on Saturday to comb a river for a missing 5-year-old boy whose mother was killed this week, a crime his older brother confessed to carrying out, authorities said. Josue Ramirez-Marinero has been missing since Wednesday, the day his mother, Jesus "Ismenia" Marinero, 45, was found dead in a residential area of Omaha, the city's police department said in a news release.

Tornado kills one in north Texas, several twisters touch down in Colorado

A tornado killed one person in a rural part of north Texas on Saturday and destroyed at least two houses, a local emergency official said, just days after a series of twisters tore through several Great Plains states. The twister touched down about 5 miles (8 km) south of the town of Cisco, an area of farms and small ranches, where it traveled in a straight line and tore through several houses in its path, said Eastland County Judge Rex Fields, the local emergency management coordinator.

Exclusive: Why a company chairman supported a Prophet Mohammad cartoon event

Robert Shillman heads a publicly traded American technology company called Cognex Corp with a market value of $4 billion. He also says he is a big supporter of last Sunday's Prophet Mohammad cartoon contest in Texas that was attacked by two gunmen who opened fire before being shot dead by police. In a telephone interview with Reuters from his home near San Diego, California, Shillman said America's free speech is under threat. He added that violent attacks on such events are making people fearful and prone to self censorship. Many Muslims regard depictions of the prophet - such as the caricatures displayed at the event - as offensive and against the religion's teachings.

Falling cemetery headstone kills toddler in Texas

A 4-year-old boy died when he was visiting the a Texas cemetery with his family and a nearly 100-year-old headstone fell over and struck him in the head, authorities said. The child, whose named was not released, was brought to the Odessa Regional Medical Center on Friday where he was pronounced dead, Corporal Steve LeSueur, a spokesman for the Odessa, Texas, Police Department said on Saturday.