Saturday, May 30, 2015
Chafee to enter race
PROVIDENCE R.I.
Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, once a Republican, then an independent, then a Democrat, plans to announce his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination next week.
Chafee will do so Wednesday during a speech at George Mason University in Arlington, Va., spokeswoman Debbie Rich said.
Chafee surprised many when he formed an exploratory committee in April. He has never won elected office as a Democrat and had discussed his plans only with a few family members and supporters. But after that, he said he was likely to announce his candidacy in June.
Texas poised to allow open carry
AUSTIN, Texas
Texas lawmakers Friday approved carrying handguns openly on the streets of the nation’s second most-populous state, sending the bill to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who immediately promised to sign it and reverse a ban dating to the post-Civil War era.
Gun owners still would have to get a license to carry a handgun in a visible holster.
The state known for its wild west, cowboy history and some the nation’s most relaxed gun laws, has allowed concealed handguns for 20 years. Concealed handgun license holders are even allowed to skip the metal detectors at the state Capitol, as state troopers providing security assume they’re armed.
Ruling on hanging
JACKSON, Miss.
Investigators have found no evidence that the hanging death of a black man in Mississippi was a homicide, and the civil-rights probe into the death has been closed, the Justice Department said Friday.
The agency said in a news release Friday that it had met with the family of Otis Byrd about its decision. The release suggested that Byrd’s death was a suicide, though it did not specifically say he killed himself. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the release.
Family members previously insisted Byrd would not kill himself. Florene Hodge, the sister of Otis Byrd, said she believes all those involved did “what they have to do, and they found it was probably suicide.”
Nigerian leader vows to fight Boko Haram
ABUJA, Nigeria
Nigeria’s new president was sworn in Friday and pledged to tackle Boko Haram “head on,” asserting the fight against the Islamic extremists wouldn’t be won until hundreds of schoolgirls abducted last year and other kidnapping victims were brought home alive.
Muhammadu Buhari’s new administration won a signal of support from the United States, which indicated it was prepared to increase military aid.
The inauguration turned into a nationwide celebration by Nigerians welcoming their country’s newly reinforced democracy after Buhari became the first candidate to defeat a sitting president at the polls since the end of military rule in 1999.
19 killed in bus hijacking in Pakistan
QUETTA, Pakistan
About 20 armed men hijacked two buses in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, killed 19 passengers and took at least 25 with them into the mountains as hostages Friday, a Pakistani official said.
Baluchistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said the gunmen let about 50 passengers go. Security forces surrounded and battled the gunmen and were able to recover six passengers, one of whom was wounded.
Associated Press