feds to seek death sentence for bomber
The Justice Department will seek to reinstate a death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man who was convicted of carrying out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, Attorney General William Barr said Thursday. Barr said the Justice Department would appeal the court’s ruling last month that tossed Tsarnaev’s death sentence and ordered a trial to determine whether he should be executed for the attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others. Barr said the Justice Department would take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court. “We will do whatever’s necessary,” Barr said. “We will take it up to the Supreme Court, and we will continue to pursue the death penalty.” Under Barr, the Justice Department has again begun carrying out federal executions, putting three men to death so far and scheduling at least three others next week and in September, despite waning public support for the death penalty. Barr has said it is the Justice Department’s duty to carry out the sentences imposed by the courts — including the death penalty.
New York will allow voters to cast mail-in ballots.
The state will allow most voters to cast their ballots by mail in the November general election, joining a growing list of states that have expanded mail-in voting to address the potential spread of the coronavirus at polling places. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a thirdterm Democrat, signed a bill Thursday allowing voters to request an absentee ballot if they cannot show up at a polling location because of the risk of contracting or spreading an illness, effectively permitting the state’s more than 12 million registered voters to vote by mail. But with only 10 weeks until Election Day, the challenges of administering an election predominantly by mail will be especially pronounced in New York, after the state’s uneven handling of its primary two months ago.
“Tiger King” zoo closes after animal treatment investigation.
»The Oklahoma zoo featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King” documentary has closed after federal authorities investigated it for alleged maltreatment of animals and suspended its license. The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park closed to the public after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday suspended the exhibitor license for owner Jeff Lowe for 21 days. The zoo previously was run by Joseph Maldonado-Passage — also known as Joe Exotic. The Garvin County Sheriff’s Office and USDA investigated the zoo after receiving a formal report that documented photos showing a lion with its ears covered in flies and another with the tips of its ears covered in blood.
Governor says $600 million water deal a step toward making amends.
»A $600 million deal between the state of Michigan and Flint residents who were harmed by leadtainted water is a step toward making amends for a disaster that upended life in the poor, majority-Black city, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday. State officials and lawyers for Flint residents announced the settlement, which Attorney General Dana Nessel said likely would be the largest in Michigan history, with tens of thousands of potential claimants. It’s designed primarily to benefit children, who were most vulnerable to the debilitating effects of lead that fouled drinking water after Flint switched its source to save money in 2014 while under supervision of a state financial manager. City workers followed state environmental officials’ advice not to use anti-corrosive additives. Without those treatments, water from the Flint River scraped lead from aging pipes and fixtures, contaminating tap water. The disaster made Flint a nationwide symbol of governmental mismanagement.