HOUSTON (AP) — Prosecutors said Friday they won't seek hate-crimes charges against two white teens accused of savagely beating a 17-year-old Hispanic boy, although civil rights groups claimed there was no other reason for the attack.
Authorities said the suspects acknowledged they beat the boy but say it was because he kissed a 12-year-old girl. The teens claimed they were offended at the age difference between the victim and the girl, who also is Hispanic.
Prosecutor Mike Trent said that adding hate-crime charges to the aggravated sexual assault faced by David Henry Tuck, 18, and Keith Robert Turner, 17, would have no legal effect.
The victim remained in critical condition Friday.
1st private supply ship
Astronauts floated into the Dragon, a day after its heralded arrival as the world's first commercial supply ship.
Michigan fire
A wildfire in Michigan's Upper Peninsula grew by 17 percent to more than 21,000 acres Saturday.
Hunger in Africa
Each day is now a struggle for the women of this parched village in north Senegal to keep hungry children at bay.
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