US breeds a Chinese-style inmate labor scheme on its own soil. Both state and some of the biggest private companies are now enjoying the fruits of a cheap and readily available work force, with tens of millions of dollars spent by private prisons to keep their jails full.

Bank lobbyists have a direct influence on financial legislation drafted in Congress, and are in some cases even writing the measures themselves. Citigroup this month drafted a regulation bill that has already passed through a House committee.

To soften financial regulations, bank lobbyists frequently 'assist' lawmakers in writing draft legislation that serves to benefit them at the expense of American taxpayers, according to a New York Times investigation.

Lobbyists working for Citigroup Inc., a multinational financial services corporation, wrote 80 percent of a regulation bill that was approved by the House Financial Services Committee this month. Citigroup wrote 70 lines of 85-line bill, which exempts "broad swathes of trades" from new regulation, the Times reported based on e-mails it obtained.

Two paragraphs of the bill were copied "nearly word for word" from what Citigroup drafted. The only difference between the versions were two words, which lawmakers changed to make plural.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2010, inflicted heavy financial regulatory reform following the most recent recession. The bill was pushed into law by Democrats, but now, both Democrats in the House and Senate are siding with bank lobbyists to roll back parts of the regulation overhaul.

Whenever one of our cities gets a star turn as host of some super-sparkly event, such as a national political gathering or the Super Bowl, its first move is to tidy up - by having the police sweep homeless people into jail, out of town, or under some rug.

But Houston's tidy-uppers aren't waiting for a world-class event to rationalize going after homeless down-and-outers. They've preemptively outlawed the "crime" of dumpster diving in the Texan city.

"I was just basically looking for something to eat," he told the Houston Chronicle. But, unbeknownst to both this indigent tourist and the great majority of Houston's generally generous citizens, an ordinance dating way back to 1942 says that "molesting garbage containers" is illegal. In March, James Kelly, a 44-year-old Navy veteran, was passing through Houston on his way to connect with family in California. Homeless, destitute, and hungry, he chose to check out the dining delicacies in a trash bin near City Hall. Spotted by police, Kelly was promptly charged with "disturbing the contents of a garbage can in the [central] business district." Seriously.

The son of a former aide to President George W. Bush has been charged with murdering a man with a hatchet at his home.

Claude Alexander Allen III, 20, was arrested on Friday by police after they found the body of Michael Phillip Harvey, 25, in the woods near the Allen family home in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Records show that the home is owned by Allen's father, Claude A. Allen, a former Bush domestic policy adviser who pleaded guilty to theft in 2006.

A man called 911 around midnight and told police that he killed an intruder after he tried to break in. But authorities determined it wasn't a break-in and that the younger Allen knew Harvey.

Harvey's body was found around 75 yards behind the house but police told the Washington Post that they believe an altercation occurred and the attack started in a two-car garage.

Montgomery County Police Capt. Jim Daly told the Post it was not clear if the argument moved to the woods or if the man's body was dragged there after he died.

When police arrived at the large white-brick home, Allen was waiting for them but that his parents were not home at the time of the attack.

Police in Stockholm called in reinforcements on Friday after youths set cars and a school ablaze in a fifth night of rioting, the worst to hit Sweden for years.

Pupils at a primary school in Kista - an IT hub that is home to the likes of telecoms equipment maker Ericsson and the Swedish office of Microsoft - arrived to find the inside of the small red wooden building had been completely burnt out.

While Thursday was slightly calmer than the four nights before, about 30 cars were torched and eight people, mostly in their early 20s, were detained, police said.

In a country with a reputation for openness, tolerance and a model welfare state, the rioting has exposed a fault-line between a well-off majority and a minority - often young people with immigrant backgrounds - who are poorly educated, cannot find work and feel pushed to the edge of society.

A British Airways jet made an emergency landing at London's Heathrow Airport Friday after developing a technical problem after takeoff. TV footage showed smoke streaming from one of the engines.

Airport officials briefly closed both runways at Europe's busiest airport, causing delays. They later resumed operation, but passengers were advised to check their flight status.

British Airways said it was canceling short-haul flights in and out of Heathrow until 4 p.m. (11 a.m. EDT) so that it could "stabilize our schedule."

The Skagit River Bridge on the I-5 in Washington State has collapsed, sending vehicles into the water below, according to police.

Washington State Patrol District 7 spokesman Trooper Mark Francis tweeted around 7:20 p.m. on Thursday that people and cars have been spotted in the water.

The Skagit River Bridge is located between Burlington and Mt. Vernon, about 100 kilometres north of Seattle and 128 kilometres south of Vancouver.

• EDL supporters wearing balaclavas waved flags and chanted
• Riot police with shields stood guard before dispersing group
• 'Knife-carrying' man arrested over suspected arson at Braintree mosque
• Man held over suspected criminal damage 'revenge' attack at Kent mosque

More than 100 members of far-right group the English Defence League gathered near the scene of the suspected terrorist attack last night.

Many were draped in St George's flags and wore black balaclavas with the EDL logo on.

Riot police holding shields formed a cordon around the area as the EDL members waved flags and chanted 'no surrender to the Muslim scum', 'Rule Britannia' and 'England'.

EDL leader Stephen Lennon - who goes by the name Tommy Robinson - addressed the crowd, saying: 'We have got weak leadership. They have allowed this to happen. People are scared to say the word Muslim. They are scared to offend them.

Sacramento - A man who called 911 more than 100 times in one month says he's not going to stop until his concerns are heard by the federal government.

Jimmy Shao keeps a log book of every 911 call he's made. So many that he boasts he's probably set a world record.

He doesn't believe he's wasting the time of emergency responders because he has an emergency of his own: Shao believes he's being watched by shadowy government authorities.

He claims to believe his body is controlled by satellites.

"My brain, I can feel it starting. I'm blasted by the signals, every couple of minutes," he said. "I yell and I scream, 'Stop it, I don't need this,' but they never listen."

When Emma Way hit a cyclist and drove off, she might have gotten away with it if she had not tweeted about it soon afterward.

In the tweet, from her account which is now deleted, she said, "Definitely knocked a cyclist off his bike earlier - I have right of way he doesn't even pay road tax! #bloodycyclists"

Way, from Norwich, England, had a small circle of 100 followers on Twitter. But the tweet soon spread, and got the attention of Norwich Police.

Norwich Police tweeted back, "@emmaway20 we have had tweets ref an RTC with a bike. We suggest you report it at a police station ASAP if not done already & then dm us"

And soon after that, more people saw the tweet, eventually locating the injured person.

James Lucas tweeted that he knew the man who was hit, saying, "Police are on the case. They had already located her and were just waiting for the victim to come forward. He has contacted them ..."

The cyclist was Toby Hockley, who was interviewed later by BBC.