State: Ohio execution protocols followed

State: Ohio execution protocols followed

LUCASVILLE

A spokeswoman for Ohio’s prison system says the state followed proper security protocols when a lawyer witnessing an execution tried to leave the witness room.

JoEllen Smith, of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, says once attorney Carol Wright’s intention and identity were confirmed she was allowed to leave.

Smith said Wednesday’s execution of condemned killer Gary Otte was carried out in accordance with prison policy and without complication.

Wright tried unsuccessfully to leave the witness room to alert a federal judge there appeared to be problems. Wright says she believes the rising and falling of Otte’s chest indicated he was suffering a phenomenon known as air hunger.

Wright says she believes mistakes were made.

Couple: Thief stole 15-pound pet mini pig named Spam

CLEVELAND

Cleveland police are investigating a reported break-in after a couple said someone entered their home and stole their 15-pound pet pig named Spam, jewelry, TVs and a camera.

The owners say they suspect the thief is planning to sell the miniature pig, which they say could be valued at as much as $1,000.

Valerie Couch posted about the missing pig on Facebook and says she hopes her public plea will lead the thief to return Spam.

Dems say they have deal with Trump on young immigrants

WASHINGTON

The top House and Senate Democrats said Wednesday they had reached an agreement with President Donald Trump to protect thousands of younger immigrants from deportation and fund some border-security enhancements – not including Trump’s long-sought border wall.

The deal announced by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi would enshrine protections for the nearly 800,000 immigrants brought illegally to this country as kids who had benefited from former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The program provided temporary work permits and protection from deportation.

Trump ended the program earlier this month and had given Congress six months to come up with a legislative fix.

“We agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security, excluding the wall, that’s acceptable to both sides,” Pelosi and Schumer said.

Study finds link between flu vaccine and miscarriage

NEW YORK

A puzzling study of U.S. pregnancies found that women who had miscarriages between 2010 and 2012 were more likely to have had back-to-back annual flu shots that included protection against swine flu.

Vaccine experts think the results may reflect the older age and other miscarriage risks for the women and not the flu shots. Health officials say there is no reason to change the government recommendation that all pregnant women be vaccinated against the flu. They say the flu itself is a much greater danger to women and their fetuses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reached out to a doctor’s group, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, to warn them the study is coming out and help them prepare for a potential wave of worry from expectant moms, CDC officials said.

Associated Press