Arkansas inmates scheduled for execution ask court to review

Arkansas inmates who had been set for execution in a series of double executions this month said Sunday that a federal appeals court should take up their claim that the compressed timetable would violate "evolving standards of decency." U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker granted the inmates stays of execution on Saturday, but she rejected their arguments that too little time between executions violated their constitutional rights.

Abe approves US stance on North Korea, mulls preparation for refugees

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told parliament on Monday he approved the US stance on dealing with North Korea, while the government considers required actions if there is a flow of refugees from the Korean peninsula in case of an escalated conflict. FILE PHOTO - The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson transits the Pacific Ocean January 30, 2017.

John Kelly says even ‘single DUI’ can start deportation process

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Sunday said under the Trump administration's tougher immigration rules, even a "single DUI" can start the deportation process. "It is fair to say that the definition of criminal has not changed, but where on the spectrum of criminality we operate has changed," Kelly said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Arkansas fights to put convicted killer Bruce Ward back on April execution list

All eight executions in Arkansas were on hold as of Sunday, but if they resume this week as originally planned, state officials want convicted murderer Bruce Earl Ward back on the list. Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed an appeal late Saturday asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to vacate its Friday order granting a stay of execution for Ward, who had been slated to die Monday.

National security adviser in Kabul for talks days after U.S. dropped massive bomb on ISIS forces

U.S. national security adviser H.R. McMaster was in Kabul on Sunday for what is the first visit by a Trump administration official to Afghanistan, officials here said, coming just days after U.S. forces dropped a 22,000-pound bomb during combat and revived debate over the war. President Trump has so far said little about the conflict, where more than 8,000 U.S. troops are helping battle the Taliban, raising concerns among Afghan officials about the administration's commitment to the fight.

Arkansasa multiple execution plan appearing to unravel

Arkansas' already compromised plan to execute eight men by the end of the month appeared to unravel Friday, with a judge blocking the use of a lethal injection drug and the state's highest court granting a stay to one of the first inmates who had been scheduled to die. This undated file photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Correction shows Bruce Earl Ward, who has been scheduled for execution April 17, 2017.

AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

The U.S. commander in Afghanistan who ordered use of the "mother of all bombs" to attack an Islamic State stronghold near the Pakistani border didn't need and didn't request President Donald Trump's approval, Pentagon officials said Friday. The officials said that even before Trump took office in January, Gen.

Russian Federation challenges U.S. to prove chemical attack in Syria

The presidents of both countries personally waded into the day's diplomatic efforts in an apparent bid to move past some of the divisions, with Putin meeting with Tillerson for about two hours. Beyond the expanding ledger of disagreements, Trump has limited ability to offer Moscow concessions at a time USA investigators are examining if Russian agents and Trump campaign associates colluded to help the billionaire businessman win last year's presidential election.

The 7 inmates scheduled to die in Arkansas this month

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Arkansas intends to execute seven death row inmates between Monday and April 27, a pace never seen since the U.S. Supreme Court reauthorized the death penalty in 1976.Gov. Asa Hutchinson initially set four double-executions so the state could use a key execution drug before its April 30 expiration date, but a federal judge ... (more)

U.S. sanctions Iranian military chief’s brother over prison abuses

The United States on Thursday added the brother of Iran's most high-profile military chief, Qassem Soleimani, to its sanctions list, accusing him of overseeing torture and other abuses at Tehran's Evin Prison. Soleimani is the younger brother of Major General Qassem Soleimani, who runs the foreign operations arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and who has been photographed visiting Iranian-led fighting forces in Syria and Iraq.

Doctor charged with female genital mutilation of Minnesota girls…

Authorities have charged a Detroit doctor with performing genital mutilation on 7-year-old girls in what is believed to be the first case brought under a law prohibiting the procedure. Jumana Nagarwala, an emergency room physician at a Detroit hospital who performed the procedures at an unnamed medical clinic in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, was scheduled to appear in federal court on Thursday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mexico to extradite gunman wanted over ‘Fast and Furious’ slaying

Mexico's government said on Thursday it planned to extradite the man accused of pulling the trigger in the 2010 killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a case tied to the U.S. government's ill-fated "Fast and Furious" gun-running sting. MEXICO CITY: Mexico's government said on Thursday it planned to extradite the man accused of pulling the trigger in the 2010 killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in a case tied to the U.S. government's ill-fated "Fast and Furious" gun-running sting.

Tough Texas ‘sanctuary cities’ bill moves closer to approval

A tough Texas anti-"sanctuary cities" bill that threatens to throw county sheriffs and small-town constables in jail if they refuse to help enforce federal immigration law looks to be on the fast-track toward passage in the state's Republican-controlled Legislature. The proposal cleared a House committee 7-5 without debate Wednesday, setting up a floor vote soon.