Virginia execution

Virginia execution

RICHMOND, Va.

A Virginia man who killed a hospital security guard and a sheriff’s deputy after escaping from custody in 2006 was executed Thursday after an unsuccessful campaign to spare the inmate’s life over concerns about his mental health.

William Morva, 35, was pronounced dead at 9:15 p.m. after a lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt. It was the first execution carried out in Virginia under a new protocol that makes more of the lethal injection procedure secret.

In denying a clemency petition, Gov. Terry McAuliffe concluded Morva received a fair trial. The Democratic governor noted that experts who evaluated the man at the time found he didn’t suffer from any illness that would have prevented him from understanding the consequences of his crimes and that prison staff who monitored Morva for the past nine years never reported any evidence of a severe mental illness or delusional disorder.

Morva is the third inmate to be executed since McAuliffe took office in 2014. In April, he granted clemency to Ivan Teleguz, saying jurors in the murder-for-hire case were given false information that may have swayed sentencing.

Fox suspends anchor

LOS ANGELES

The Fox Business Network on Thursday said it has suspended “Making Money” anchor Charles Payne pending an investigation, but didn’t provide any details.

The Los Angeles Times, citing two anonymous sources, reported Payne had been accused of harassment by a female political analyst who appeared on Fox Business.

In a statement, the network said it has a “zero tolerance policy” for any professional misconduct. It said steps are being taken to resolve the matter in a timely fashion.

An attorney for Payne didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday night on the investigation by parent company 21st Century Fox.

Illinois House passes budget, ends impasse

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.

The Illinois House voted Thursday to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s vetoes of a budget package, giving the state its first spending blueprint in more than two years and ending the nation’s longest fiscal stalemate since at least the Great Depression.

The action eases some financial woes, but it’s fueled by a permanent 32 percent increase in the income tax rate, raising $5 billion more annually, and it reduces spending by more than $2 billion.

Illinois is staring down a $6.2 billion annual deficit and $14.7 billion in past-due bills.

Lawmakers, culminating two straight weeks of a special session that began ahead of the July 1 start of the fiscal year, approved the bill to raise taxes by a 71-42 vote. A plan to spend $36 billion in the fiscal year that began July 1 was OK’d 74-37. An override requires 71 votes.

Passenger removed

ATLANTA

A disruptive passenger was removed from an Atlanta-to-Chicago flight after she was caught on video yelling at a flight attendant while letting her dog run through the cabin.

Passenger Michael Nash posted video of the altercation that took place before takeoff Wednesday on the American Airlines flight. Nash said the woman had reclined her seat while the plane was taxiing and yelled profanities after being asked to stop. The video shows passengers yelling at her to sit down as she follows a flight attendant to the back of the plane with her dog by her side. The plane returned to the gate, and another video shows a man escorting her off the flight.

An Atlanta airport representative told Chicago’s WBBM-TV that the woman wasn’t arrested and was rebooked on another flight. The plane arrived in Chicago four hours late.=

Associated Press