SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers are attempting to stay ahead of science fiction-style technology as increasingly nimble unmanned aircraft are considered for use in tracking fleeing suspects and monitoring crowded public spaces.
The growing interest in pilotless aircraft has raised concerns about ensuring privacy and protecting civil rights. The devices make it faster and cheaper to gather information, but some lawmakers say the increased access could be exploited without proper regulations.
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WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Sunday that the FBI is investigating in the United States and overseas to determine whether the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing received training that helped them carry out the attack.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is charged with joining with his older brother, Tamerlan, who's now dead, in setting off the shrapnel-packed pressure-cooker bombs. The bombs were triggered by a remote detonator of the kind used in remote-control toys, U.S. officials have said.
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CINCINNATI — Fans of the Ohio native credited with developing the Richter (RIK'-tur) scale for rating earthquake magnitude don't want his name and legacy forgotten.
They are determined to keep Charles Richter from fading from public memory as other magnitude measurements have been developed and references to the Richter scale are used less in reports about earthquakes.
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PHOENIX — Ticket scalping is nothing new in the sports and music world, but for a murder trial?
Dozens of people flock to court each day for a chance to score one of a handful of seats open to the public in Jodi Arias' ongoing murder trial in Arizona. The seats are provided on a first-come, first-serve basis, and nearly four months into the trial, the crowds are growing.
This week, one trial regular sold her spot to another person for $200 — and both got reprimands from the court on Tuesday.
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BOSTON — The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings acknowledged to the FBI his role in the attacks but did so before he was advised of his constitutional rights to keep quiet and seek a lawyer, officials said Wednesday.
It is unclear whether those statements before the Miranda rights warning would be admissible in a criminal trial and, if not, whether prosecutors even need them to win a conviction. Officials said physical evidence, including a 9 mm handgun and pieces of a remote-control device commonly used in toys, was recovered from the scene.
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island is on a path to becoming the 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry after a landmark vote in the state's Senate on Wednesday.
The Senate passed gay marriage legislation by a comfortable 26-12 margin, following a House vote of approval in January. The bill must now return to the House for a largely procedural vote, likely next week, but the celebration began Wednesday.Hundreds of people filled the Statehouse with cheers following the vote.
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Jimmy Durante revered his oversize “schnozzola,” and insisted “the nose knows.” But what does it really know?
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Q: My company now requires an annual health checkup to assess our weight, height, body fat and blood pressure, or we end up paying $50 more a month for health insurance. They say they won’t penalize us for “bad” results, as long as we get the checkup. What do you think? — Mike P., Ocala, Fla.
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WASHINGTON — Sweeping immigration legislation would improve U.S. security by helping authorities to know who is in the country, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday, as supporters of an immigration overhaul marshaled arguments against opponents trying to slow it down in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings.
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NEW YORK — Apple is opening the doors to its bank vault, saying it will distribute $100 billion in cash to its shareholders by the end of 2015. At the same time, the company said revenue for the current quarter could fall from the year before, which would be the first decline in many years.Apple CEO Tim Cook also suggested that the company won't release any new products until the fall, contrary to expectations that there would be a new iPhone and iPads out this summer.
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