Tag Archives: Arkansas

Doctor tells U.S. court drug not suitable for Arkansas executions

Inmates Bruce Ward(top row L to R), Don Davis, Ledell Lee, Stacy Johnson, Jack Jones (bottom row L to R), Marcel Williams, Kenneth Williams and Jason Mcgehee are shown in these booking photo provided March 21, 2017

By Steve Barnes

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) – A surgeon told a federal court in Arkansas on Wednesday that a sedative the state plans to use in its lethal injection mix is not suitable for surgery and should be prohibited when Arkansas holds an unprecedented series of executions later this month.

Arkansas plans to kill eight prisoners in dual executions over 11 days from April 17, although a federal judge has halted one execution. Death penalty opponents have said the rushed schedule is reckless and increases the chance of errors.

The European Union on Wednesday called on Arkansas to commute the death sentences.

The convicted murderers scheduled to die have asked U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker in Little Rock to halt their executions, saying the state’s rush to the death chamber was unconstitutional. Baker set a Thursday deadline for evidence.

Lawyers for Arkansas, which has not had an execution in 12 years, have told the court that the drug in question, midazolam, has been used in executions in other states and its lethal injection protocols pass constitutional muster.

Jonathan Groner, a professor at Ohio State University’s medical school and a specialist in pediatrics and trauma, testified that he has never used midazolam as the primary anesthetic in thousands of operations he has performed.

“It would be malpractice for me to do an appendectomy using midazolam as an anesthetic,” he said. He was a witness for the inmates and on cross examination said he was a death penalty opponent.

When the number of executions was rising in the late 1990s, several states held double and even triple executions on the same day, including Arkansas.

At that time, a powerful sedative was part of the mix but since then, major pharmaceutical companies have banned sales to states for executions. This caused a scramble for new mixes, including combinations with midazolam, which has been used in flawed executions in states including Oklahoma and Arizona where witnesses said inmates writhed in pain on death chamber gurneys.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, set the schedule, saying the state’s midazolam supply expires at the end of April and it was in the interest of justice to hold as many executions as possible while Arkansas has the difficult-to-obtain drug.

Separately, Ohio has asked the entire U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to re-consider a decision last week from a three-judge panel from that court blocking the state’s lethal injection process, the attorney general’s office said.

(Additional reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek in Brussels and Kim Palkmer in Cleveland; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Toni Reinhold)

Caterpillar shuts plant in Aurora, Illinois, that employs 800

A Caterpillar corporate logo is pictured on a building in Peoria, Illinois, U.S. March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

By Gayathree Ganesan and Akankshita Mukhopadhyay

(Reuters) – Caterpillar Inc <CAT.N> said on Friday it will shut its Aurora, Illinois, plant, costing about 800 employees their jobs as the world’s largest construction and mining equipment maker shifts production to other U.S. facilities.

Caterpillar was among companies that met with President Donald Trump in February to talk about job creation, at a time when about 2,300 U.S. workers at five major manufacturing companies stand to lose their jobs within the next two years as a result of offshoring.

The company said it will transition its large wheel loaders and compactors to its plant in Decatur, Illinois, and medium wheel loaders to North Little Rock, Arkansas.

“Out of about 800 production positions, about 500 positions would likely be added to Decatur and about 150 positions would be added in North Little Rock,” Caterpillar spokeswoman Lisa Miller told Reuters.

The company has already slashed its workforce by more than 16,000 to cope with a slumping economy and had said it would take another $500 million in restructuring costs in 2017.

Caterpillar said, in January, that it was considering closing two major production facilities, including the one in Aurora, Illinois, where it makes large-wheel loaders and compactors.

The plant closure is expected to be completed by the end of 2018, Caterpillar said in a statement.

The company in January forecast 2017 profit sharply below analysts’ estimates, hurt by sluggish demand in the construction and energy industries.

Caterpillar had about 95,400 full-time employees of whom 54,500 persons were located outside the United States as of Dec. 31, according to a regulatory filing.

(Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan and Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Arkansas legislature approves measure to expand concealed gun carry

Governor Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young

By Steve Barnes

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) – Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Arkansas legislature sent a measure to the governor on Wednesday that expands the number of places where permit holders can carry concealed weapons in the state, including the Capitol building.

Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson has said he will sign the bill that has been backed by national gun-rights groups.

The measure authorizes anyone with a state-issued gun permit who obtains a few hours of additional firearms training to carry a concealed handgun on commercial premises, sporting events and in government buildings, where the weapons were previously banned.

Courtrooms and prisons are exempt, as are public schools. Churches and bars can choose to prohibit guns, but must post a notice to that effect on their doors.

The bill started out in the legislature as a measure that would have allowed the carrying of handguns onto state college campuses under certain conditions, with backers saying armed and trained civilians could help prevent a mass shooting on campus.

The bill was met with near unanimous opposition by college administrators and campus police departments, who said it endangered student safety.

The bill was altered and became the bill sent to the governor.

Eight other states allow concealed weapons on campus, and a ninth, Tennessee, permits licensed faculty to do so, according to the National Rifle Association.

The minimum age to obtain a concealed weapons permit in Arkansas is 21 unless the applicant is a member of the armed services. Almost 220,000 of Arkansas’s approximately 3 million residents have active concealed carry permits.

(Reporting by Steve Barnes; Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Bill Rigby)

Arkansas governor signs abortion law banning common procedure

By Steve Barnes

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Reuters) – Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law on Thursday a bill banning the most common abortion procedure employed in the second trimester of a pregnancy, among the most restrictive abortion legislation in the United States.

The law, which takes effect later this year, prohibits dilation and evacuation, a practice that pro-choice advocates say is the safest method of ending a pregnancy but which supporters of the legislation call “barbaric,” requiring the “dismemberment” of the fetus.

Anti-abortion activists said the bill was their paramount objective in the current legislative session. With conservative Republicans controlling both chambers of the General Assembly, the bill faced little opposition.

Near identical laws have been adopted in Mississippi and Louisiana. Similar bans in Kansas, Oklahoma and Alabama have faced legal challenges and have yet to be implemented, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks abortion legislation.

Opponents of the Arkansas law vowed to fight it in the courts and predicted it would fail.

“The law puts an undue burden on a woman’s constitutional right to obtain a second-trimester abortion, and I think the legislature knows it and doesn’t care,” said Rita Sklar, an attorney for the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Hutchinson, a Republican, had said he believed the U.S. Supreme Court could uphold the law if given the opportunity. He said evolving medical standards of fetal viability could alter the traditional definition of trimester.

The Arkansas health department has said that dilation and extraction was used in 683 of the 3,771 abortions performed in Arkansas in 2015, the most recent year for which it has records.

(Editing by Brendan O’Brien and Hugh Lawson)

Southern U.S. flooding causes closure of major highway

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) – Flooding caused by days of heavy rain forced the closure on Tuesday of a section of a major east-west U.S. highway on the Louisiana-Texas border along the rising Sabine River, officials in both states said.

At least five people have been killed in storms in Southern U.S. states over the past several days that have caused flooding in places including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas, forcing thousands of people to flee homes caught in floodwaters.

The closure of the section of Interstate 10 was forcing drivers to take lengthy detours of up to hundreds of miles to traverse the flood-soaked region.

Flooding along the Sabine River that separates Texas and Louisiana has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from their homes. Texas Governor Greg Abbott late on Monday issued a disaster declaration for 17 eastern and southeastern Texas counties.

In Louisiana, state officials said more than 6,000 structures had been damaged by flooding across the state, and new problems were being reported in some areas as rivers continued to rise.

Since last Wednesday, the Louisiana National Guard has rescued more than 4,200 people while the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has rescued another 700 people.

The hardest-hit parts of Texas have been in the southeastern part of the state, where “dozens if not hundreds” of high water rescues have taken place, according to Emergency Management Coordinator Billy Smith.

“It will probably be several days before it crests,” Smith said of the floodwaters, adding that the Sabine River is expected to crest at a level higher that the previous record set in 1882.

In eastern Harrison County in Texas, sheriff’s office Lieutenant Jay Webb said the high waters have raised worries about alligators.

“The nature of alligators is they don’t want to stay in water,” Webb said. “They want to be on higher ground with access to water. With flood levels porch-high, those alligators may be on somebody’s back porch.”

Authorities described the flooding as some of the worst in the region apart from that spawned by hurricanes. President Barack Obama on Sunday declared the flooding in Louisiana a major disaster, activating federal aid.

(Reporting by Jim Forsyth; Additional reporting by Colleen Jenkins in North Carolina; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Will Dunham)

Five dead in storms in U.S. South as floods continue

SHREVEPORT, La. (Reuters) – The death toll from storms in Southern U.S. states rose to five as storm-weary residents of Louisiana and Mississippi watched for more flooding on Monday from drenching rains that inundated homes, washed out roads and prompted thousands of rescues.

Flood waters across Louisiana were blamed for four deaths and damage to at least 5,000 homes, and one person drowned in a flooded area in Oklahoma last week. Flood warnings were in effect as rivers, bayous and creeks stayed high after storms dumped more than 20 inches of rain in some places.

In Louisiana, Harold Worsham, 78, drowned in Saline Bayou when his boat capsized as he tried to remove items from a home as waters rose on Saturday night, according to the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Many rivers and lakes in northern Louisiana have risen to historic levels and homes there face the threat of yet more flooding, said Matt Hemingway, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Shreveport.

“It’s going to take some time for them to fall back down below flood stage,” he said. “Some folks may be in this situation not just days but weeks.”

Authorities and meteorologists described the flooding as some of the worst seen in the region apart from that spawned by hurricanes. President Barack Obama declared flooding in Louisiana a major disaster on Sunday, activating federal aid.

The Louisiana National Guard said it had rescued more than 3,000 people and 300 pets.

Weldon Thomas, who lives in the Lake Bistineau area, said the flood was devastating for many of his neighbors.

“This is the worst flood that these people have ever seen, and some of them have been there 60 or 70 years,” he said. “It’s a tragic situation for everybody.”

In Bossier Parish, several feet of water covered low parts of normally busy Highway 71 and water rose to the top of road signs. Stranded livestock huddled on patches of dry land.

Emergency officials in Mississippi said flooding threatened to close interstates 59 and 10, which they warned could result in major traffic congestion.

As of Sunday afternoon, 185 homes were destroyed or significantly damaged in Mississippi and about 650 more sustained minor damage, according to the state.

Mandatory evacuation orders issued by authorities in the Texas county of Newton, which borders Louisiana, remained in effect for people living near the Sabine River over flood dangers.

(Additional reporting and writing by Colleen Jenkins and Curtis Skinner; Editing by Dan Grebler and James Dalgleish)

Flooding continues across South, more rain on the way

Heavy rains continued to pummel the South on Thursday morning, spurring concerns about more flash flooding in states that have already received more than nine inches of rain this week.

The National Weather Service had issued new flash flood warnings for portions of Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, the four states hit the hardest by this week’s storms.

It also issued numerous other flood warnings and flash flood watches in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys as the storms threatened to bring multiple inches of rain today and tomorrow.

National Weather Service storm reports indicate that Northern Louisiana has seen the heaviest rains since Monday, with more than 17 inches falling at Monroe Regional Airport as of 9 a.m. Thursday. More than 14 inches fell in Bossier City, and Shreveport received more than 10.

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in 16 parishes affected by the severe weather. One of them was Bossier Parish, where the local sheriff’s office reported that a mandatory evacuation was ordered for at least 1,000 homes as the Red Chute Bayou rose.

The National Weather Service’s office in Shreveport said that evacuations also occurred in Haughton and Minden, and the floods led to “numerous” road closures and high-water rescues.

Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas also had at least one community where nine or more inches fell, and those states were all experiencing some degree of flooding on Thursday.

The National Weather Service website showed dozens of river gauges in those states were at flood stage, adding that “major flooding” in at least six locations in Texas and Louisiana. Dozens more were near flood stage, and the additional rainfall threatened to push water levels higher.

The heaviest rains are expected along the southern banks of the Mississippi River, and the service said parts of Mississippi and Louisiana could receive five or more additional inches.

Heavy rains spur flash flooding in South, more rain on the way

Portions of three states were under flash flood warnings on Wednesday afternoon as a slow-moving storm brought more heavy rain and damage to the already-waterlogged South.

The National Weather Service issued the warnings for select counties in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, indicating that flash flooding was already occurring in those regions.

The service also issued flash flood watches for other counties in those three states and portions of six others — Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Mississippi — cautioning that the inches of additional rain in the forecast could spur rapidly rising waters later this week.

The National Weather Service said Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas are still expected to see the worst of the storms, and could receive more than eight inches of additional rain by week’s end.

The service said each of those three states had at least one community where more than five inches of rain fell between Monday and Wednesday morning. That included more than one foot near Minden, Louisiana, which is located about 35 miles east of Bossier City in Webster Parish.

The Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office shared numerous photographs of flooding on its Facebook page, including a stretch of Interstate 20 that had been completely submerged. Another photo showed a stretch of Methodist Camp Road, which runs through Minden, had been washed out.

In Bossier Parish, authorities were calling for a voluntary evacuation in some flood-prone areas as waters of the Red Chute Bayou and Flat River continued to rise, according to a news release.

The severe weather prompted government offices in Webster, Bossier and four other Northern Louisiana parishes to close early on Wednesday, the state’s commissioner of administration said in a news release. Grambling State University and Louisiana Tech also cancelled classes.

The other areas in the flash flood watches were expected to see less rainfall, but multiple inches were possible. Residents of all of the affected states should monitor their local forecasts.

Flash flood watches issued in four Southern states ahead of thunderstorms

Portions of four Southern states are bracing for the possibility of flash flooding later this week.

The National Weather Service on Monday issued flash flood watches for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana ahead of a series of thunderstorms that is expected to bring anywhere between three and 10 inches of rain to those regions between Tuesday and Thursday.

The flash flood watch states the heaviest rains are expected in eastern Texas, western Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas, increasing the risk of flash flooding in those communities.

The storms are expected to bring lighter precipitation totals across the Great Plains, South and Midwest over the next three days, and National Weather Service forecasts indicate that some parts of Missouri, Illinois and Mississippi could all receive three or more inches of rain.

Residents of all of the affected states are encouraged to monitor their local forecasts.

The service also said there is a slight chance of severe thunderstorms across the Southern Plains tonight, but had yet to issue any watches or warnings for those storms as of 1 p.m. Central time.

The flash flood watches come after California was hit with heavy rains over the weekend.

The National Weather Service’s unofficial totals show more than 10 inches of rain fell in parts of Monterey, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties between Friday morning and Monday morning.

The weekend storms also brought more than two feet of snow and wind gusts that topped 60 mph to some mountainous areas, the service said, including an 88-mph gust near Mount Diablo.

Those topped trees and power lines, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses.

Utility company PG&E said reported more than 265,000 of its customers in the Bay Area lost power during the storm, though all but 8,700 had their service restored as of Sunday morning.

Radar showed some California communities were receiving additional rain and snow Monday, and the National Weather Service warned that some areas could see another 10 inches of snow.

Satanic Statue Unveiled in Detroit

In what is being called the “largest public satanic ceremony in history”, a 8 1/2 foot tall satanic monument has been displayed in Detroit, Michigan.

The statue of Baphomet was unveiled at a ticketed special event before midnight on July 25th.  The crowd cheered at the unveiling chanting “hail satan.”  The statue features two children, one boy and one girl, looking up adoringly at the satanic creature.

About 100 protesters showed up to challenge the placement of the statue saying it was disrespectful to religions.

“Baphomet contains binary elements symbolizing a reconciliation of opposites, emblematic of the willingness to embrace, and even celebrate differences,” Jex Blackmore, who organized the unveiling, told TIME.  Blackmore admits his name is a pseudonym for “safety reasons.”

The statue was originally part of the Satanic Temple’s plan to place a satanic statue on the grounds of the Oklahoma State House grounds where a Ten Commandments monument was placed.  The group now plans to take the statue to Arkansas after the governor approved a Ten Commandments monument for that state’s Capitol grounds.