Obama to try to build new ties with India
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama arrives in India this weekend anxious to take another step in moving the world’s two largest democracies beyond the deep tensions that have beset their relationship in recent years.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last fall appeared to ease some of the strain, with officials in both countries praising the easy chemistry between Modi and Obama. Yet the White House says it still was caught off guard when Modi invited Obama to be the first American president to attend India’s annual Republic Day festivities, which mark the day in 1950 that the country’s constitution came into force.
After some internal deliberations, the White House accepted Modi’s offer. The president and first lady Michelle Obama arrive in New Delhi early Sunday for a three-day visit that also includes a fresh round of bilateral meetings with Modi, an economic summit with U.S. and Indian business leaders and a visit to India’s famed Taj Mahal.
Attorney general pick gets good review
WASHINGTON – Justice Department evaluators gave mostly high ratings to the management skills of Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama’s nominee for attorney general, in a report made public five days before she faces a Senate confirmation hearing.
The evaluation depicts Lynch, currently the United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York, as a hands-on manager who personally reviews all indictments, meets regularly with top staff and helps make decisions on major cases. The report found no significant morale problems within the office and called her “exceptionally well-qualified” for the position she holds.
“She is bright, articulate and charismatic and is truly an exemplar of efficient stewardship and managerial excellence,” states the evaluation, which was conducted in 2012 and made public Friday. It was written by the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, an arm of the Justice Department whose responsibilities include peer reviews of prosecutors’ offices.
But the review also identified areas for improvement, including the office’s responsiveness to public records requests made under the federal Freedom of Information Act.
HIgh court to review execution drug’s use
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court is stepping into the issue of lethal injection executions for the first time since 2008 in an appeal filed by death row inmates in Oklahoma.
The justices agreed Friday to review whether the sedative midazolam can be used in executions because of concerns that it does not produce a deep, comalike unconsciousness and ensure that a prisoner does not experience intense and needless pain when other drugs are injected to kill him. The order came eight days after the court refused to halt the execution of an Oklahoma man that employed the same combination of drugs.
Oklahoma, as well as Florida, uses midazolam as one of three drugs in lethal injection executions. The second drug serves to paralyze the inmate and the third one is used to stop his heart.
The case will be argued in late April, an attorney for the men said Friday. A decision is expected by the end of June.
The appeal was brought to the court by four Oklahoma inmates with execution dates ranging from January to March.
Associated Press
