| Supreme Court to review Okla. execution procedure Posted: 23 Jan 2015 03:57 PM PST  By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to review Oklahoma's controversial method of execution by lethal injection, taking up a case brought by three death row inmates who accuse the state of violating the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The high court just last week allowed the execution of a convicted killer in Oklahoma over the objection of its four liberal members. The three-drug process used by Oklahoma prison officials has been under scrutiny since the April 2014 botched execution of convicted murderer Clayton Lockett. The inmates challenging the state's procedures argue the sedative used by Oklahoma, midazolam, cannot achieve the level of unconsciousness required for surgery, making it unsuitable for executions.
|
| Romney senior advisers meet in Boston to discuss 2016 Posted: 23 Jan 2015 09:45 AM PST  The 2012 GOP presidential nominee is considering a third run for the White House.
|
| Gov't reverses on health care privacy problem Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:34 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — Bowing to privacy concerns, the Obama administration reversed itself Friday, scaling back the release of consumers' personal information from the government's health insurance website to private companies with a commercial interest in the data.
|
| Marco Rubio preparing for 2016 run Posted: 23 Jan 2015 05:39 AM PST  "He has told us to proceed as if he is running for president," a senior Rubio adviser said.
|
| Deadline for Islamic State ransom passes Posted:  Deadline for Islamic State ransom passes
|
| U.S., Iraq preparing for big assault Posted: 22 Jan 2015 06:25 PM PST  The United States and Iraq have started preparing for an offensive by summer to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul, which was taken by Islamic State militants last June, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Preparations include selecting and training military units for the planned assault and cutting supply lines to Islamic State fighters, General Lloyd Austin, head of the U.S. military's Central Command, told the Journal. Mosul is the largest city in a self-declared Islamic State caliphate straddling the border between northern Iraq and eastern Syria. A senior Iraqi official told Reuters in November that Mosul was the focus of government efforts to defeat Islamic State, because of the city's size and symbolic status.
|
| Middle East roiled by Yemen chaos and Saudi succession Posted: 23 Jan 2015 01:32 AM PST  A security expert tells Yahoo News' Michael Isikoff what the turmoil means for the U.S.
|
| Russians will 'eat less' for Putin Posted: 23 Jan 2015 05:18 AM PST  DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, on Friday warned the West against trying to topple President Vladimir Putin and said that Russians are ready to sacrifice their wealth in Putin's support.
|
| A mother pleads as Japan hostage deadline passes Posted: 23 Jan 2015 03:09 AM PST  The deadline set by Islamist militants threatening to kill two Japanese men unless they were given $200 million passed Friday, after one captive's mother made a desperate plea to save her son's life. Japan had heard nothing from the extremists holding Kenji Goto, a freelance journalist, or Haruna Yukawa, the self-employed contractor who he had gone to rescue, the chief government spokesman said. "There has been no message" from the Islamic State group since the 72-hour deadline expired at 2:50 pm (0550 GMT) Friday, Yoshihide Suga told reporters. Reporters waiting for any announcement on the two men's fate said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looked tired and drawn as he rushed from one commitment to the next.
|
| 1st significant winter storm heads toward Northeast corridor Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:14 PM PST  HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A fast-moving coastal storm is forecast to blast several major cities in the Northeast with a mix of snow, sleet and rain on Saturday in the season's first real taste of winter along the busy Interstate 95 corridor.
|
| Exclusive: USDA Secretary orders update of animal welfare research strategy Posted: 23 Jan 2015 04:54 PM PST  By P.J. Huffstutter CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has directed agency staff to create and deliver an updated Animal Welfare Strategy plan within 60 days, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters. The emailed memo from Chavonda Jacobs-Young, head of the agency's Agricultural Research Service, was sent to all Animal Research Service employees on Friday afternoon in response to recent media reports over controversial animal welfare conditions at its U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Nebraska. The new strategy will include updated training for government employees and others who work with animals in the service's research labs, according to the email. In addition, an independent panel will be convened to review the group's animal handling protocols, policies and research practices.
|
| Winter's first big snow expected in U.S. Northeast this weekend Posted: 23 Jan 2015 09:59 AM PST  By Barbara Goldberg NEW YORK (Reuters) - Up to 8 inches of snow is expected to fall over parts of the Northeast this weekend, and a wintry mix could make for a messy Monday morning commute in New York, Boston and other cities, the National Weather Service said on Friday. Rhode Island, parts of Connecticut and central Massachusetts were expected to be hit the hardest from twin snowstorms, beginning Friday evening and followed by a second storm late Sunday. "Bring it on!" said Tom Meyers, spokesman for Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Princeton, Massachusetts, about 50 miles west of Boston. The weather service said the same system that brought heavy snow to the southern Plains would bring a wintry mix to the mid-Atlantic and New England at the start of the weekend.
|
