NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
Ohio executions: Ohio moved a step closer to resuming executions as a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in the state’s favor in a case over its lethal injection process. In an 8-6 vote, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati reversed a judge’s order that delayed three executions after he declared Ohio’s lethal injection process unconstitutional. The three-drug method includes midazolam, a sedative involved in problematic executions in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Ohio and Oklahoma. At issue was whether midazolam is powerful enough to put inmates into a deep state of unconsciousness before two subsequent drugs paralyze them and stop their hearts. Ohio hopes to execute condemned child killer Ronald Phillips on July 26.
Mistaken severance: The Michigan appeals court said in a ruling released Wednesday that a man who was mistakenly told that he would receive a $2.7 million severance can’t collect the windfall. Francois El-Hayek was laid off from Trico Products in suburban Detroit in 2014. He was told that he would receive about $81,000 a week for 34 weeks. But it was a mistake. Trico says the document should have said El-Hayek would get a total of roughly $81,000. El-Hayek said $81,000 a week for 34 weeks seemed fair, based on his 28 years of service.
“Pink slime” case: ABC and a South Dakota meat producer announced a settlement Wednesday in a $1.9 billion lawsuit against the network over its reports on a lean, finely textured beef product that critics dubbed “pink slime.” The terms of the settlement are confidential. Dakota Dunes-based Beef Products Inc. sued ABC in 2012, saying ABC’s coverage misled consumers into believing the product is unsafe, is not beef and isn’t nutritious. ABC spokeswoman Julie Townsend said in a statement that the network throughout the case has maintained that its reports accurately presented the facts and views of knowledgeable people about the product. Subway accident: A New York City subway train derailment that injured nearly three dozen people and sparked major delays is being blamed on human error, not a track defect. A preliminary investigation indicates the derailment Tuesday morning in Harlem was caused by “an improperly secured piece of replacement rail that was stored on the tracks,” transportation officials said. The derailment tossed people to the floor and forced hundreds of passengers to evacuate through darkened tunnels. _5 Ten Commandments statue: Little Rock police arrested a man after Arkansas’ new Ten Commandments monument was smashed to pieces when someone rammed a vehicle into it early Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the 6-foot granite statue was placed on state Capitol grounds. The driver was identified as Michael Tate Reed of Van Buren, Ark. A 2015 law required the state to allow the display near the Capitol, and a state panel last month gave final approval to its design and location.