Condemned Spirko gets delay of execution

Condemned Spirkogets delay of execution
COLUMBUS -- Gov. Bob Taft delayed Monday the execution of a condemned killer who says he's innocent, the second time in two months Taft ordered a delay in a case nagged by questions over evidence. Taft granted John Spirko a 60-day reprieve at the request of Attorney General Jim Petro, who says he needs that long to test several items that Spirko's attorneys want reviewed. Petro informed Taft and Spirko's attorneys in letters Monday about his willingness to conduct the testing and his request for the 60-day reprieve. Petro, a Republican running for governor next year, said he does not believe the testing will be able to prove either Spirko's innocence or his guilt. Spirko was scheduled to die by injection Nov. 15 for the 1982 killing of Betty Jane Mottinger, 48, the postmistress in Elgin in northwest Ohio. She was abducted and repeatedly stabbed, then wrapped in a tarp and dumped in a field. Her body was found three weeks later.
France plans to imposecurfews to halt rioting
PARIS -- France will impose curfews under a state-of-emergency law and call up police reservists to stop rioting that has spread out of Paris' suburbs and into nearly 300 cities and towns across the country, the prime minister said Monday, calling a return to order "our No. 1 responsibility." The tough new measures came as France's worst civil unrest in decades entered a 12th night, with rioters in the southern city of Toulouse setting fire to a bus after sundown and pelting police with gasoline bombs and rocks. Outside the capital in Sevran, a junior high school was set ablaze, while in another Paris suburb, Vitry-sur-Seine, youths threw gasoline bombs at a hospital, police said. No one was injured.
Medical records plansirk activists on privacy
WASHINGTON -- Privacy advocates are battling moves in Congress to create an electronic network so physicians can obtain the medical histories of patients no matter where they are in the country. The Department of Health and Human Services says that almost $87 billion could be saved each year if physicians were able to retrieve medical records easily. Proponents of such networks say that giving doctors the ability to retrieve standardized records electronically would avoid duplicative medical tests, reduce errors in prescribing medicine and give physicians a complete history of patients who fall sick while on vacation or on business trips. But opponents say the plan will result in wider distribution of the most sensitive and personal records ever compiled on Americans, without adequate privacy protections and without giving patients the right to refuse to have records included in the system.
Wal-Mart executivesimplicated in affidavit
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A pair of senior Wal-Mart executives knew cleaning contractors were hiring illegal immigrants, many of whom were housed in crowded conditions and sometimes slept in the backs of stores, according to a federal agency's affidavit. The affidavit, unsealed last week, was part of an investigation of Wal-Mart by federal immigration officials that led to the 2003 raid on 60 Wal-Mart stores in 21 states, and the arrests of 245 illegal workers. The retailer agreed to pay $11 million in March to settle the case. It has maintained that top executives neither knew of nor encouraged the practice, but that is contradicted by the newly released documents.
Prince and duchessturn out to be a hit
SAN FRANCISCO -- It may not be a fairy-tale romance, but most people seem to agree that the prince is charming. As Prince Charles and his new wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall wrapped up their first U.S. tour together, the weeklong diplomatic mission and charm offensive seemed to have paid off. Among many Americans, the eco-friendly prince and the down-to-earth duchess were a hit. "It's so nice to see a public figure speaking out for something good," said Ann Leonard, 41, waiting for the couple Monday outside a school in Berkeley, Calif., where they were inspecting an organic vegetable garden. "It's a breath of fresh air," said Leonard, who had brought her 6-year-old daughter Dewi and a handmade sign declaring "Make gardens, not war."
Associated Press