News In Brief
Reuters, Tallahassee
A former carnival worker convicted of killing three women in Florida was executed on Thursday after multiple overturned convictions and retrials, the first U.S. execution of 2016.
Oscar Ray Bolin Jr., 53, was pronounced dead from lethal injection at 10:16 p.m. EST at the Florida State Prison in Starke, 11 minutes after the procedure began, Department of Corrections spokesman McKinley Lewis said.
Protesters interrupt Trump Vermont rally
AP, Burlington
A rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Vermont on Thursday evening was disrupted repeatedly by protesters despite attempts by Trump’s staff to screen the crowd.
Thousands of people stood in line for hours waiting to get into the Burlington event after the campaign distributed 20,000 free tickets to the Flynn Center for the Performing Art, which has just 1,400 seats.
US to sale 5,000 missiles to Iraq
Reuters, Washington
The US State Department has approved the sale of 5,000 Hellfire missiles to Iraq worth $800 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
Lawmakers have 30 days to block the sale, although such action is rare. The prime contractor on the deal would be Lockheed Martin Corp.
The Defence Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, told lawmakers the government of Iraq had asked to buy 5,000 of the air-to-ground missiles and 10 training missiles.
