Career diplomat named Russian ambassador
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is filling a critical diplomatic post by tapping a career diplomat experienced in eastern Europe to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia.
Obama’s announcement Thursday follows a period of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Obama says he’s recalling John Francis Tefft to service to fill the high-profile slot in Moscow. The post has been vacant since late February.
Tefft was the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine in Obama’s first term. Before that, Tefft was the U.S. ambassador to Georgia during the administration of George W. Bush, in addition to multiple other postings across Europe.
Florida executes man who raped young girl
STARKE, Fla. – Florida has executed a man for the 1994 rape and slaying of an 11-year-old girl.
Eddie Wayne Davis was executed by lethal injection Thursday at 6:43 p.m. It was the state’s sixth execution this year, and 13th in the past two.
The 45-year-old Davis was convicted in 1995 of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery in the slaying of Kimberly Waters, the daughter of a woman Davis had dated briefly.
According to court documents, Davis broke into his ex-girlfriend’s trailer seeking money for beer, found Waters sleeping and raped her. Prosecutors say he then took her to a nearby Moose Lodge, where he beat her and suffocated her with a piece of plastic.
Asbestos accident closes part of Capitol
WASHINGTON – An accident involving asbestos work forced a temporary closure of the House side of the Capitol on Thursday and prompted House leaders to delay the day’s session for two hours.
A hazardous materials response team was in the building after an incident that occurred at around 2:30 a.m. or 3 a.m., Capitol Police said. There were no initial reports of any injuries.
By midmorning, most of the building was reopened and Capitol tours on the House side resumed. The Senate, at the other end of the 751-foot-long building, seemed unaffected by the incident.
The East Grand Staircase, which runs from the first floor to the third floor inside the House side of the building, was blocked off and more than a dozen workers and officials spent much of the day examining the area. Also closed was the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Room.
Associated Press
