State – Florida executes man by lethal injection
Oba Chandler, 65, was executed by lethal injection in Florida Nov. 15 for the murders of Joan Rogers, 36, and her two teenage daughters in 1989.
Chandler raped and murdered the three victims after luring them onto his boat in Tampa Bay, Fla. At trial, prosecutors said Chandler tied cement blocks around the victims’ necks and dumped them into the bay. Chandler, the 41st person the U.S. has put to death in 2011, was convicted and sentenced to three counts of first-degree murder in 1994.
Amy Graham, spokesperson for Florida Gov. Rick Scott, said Chandler was pronounced dead at 4:25 p.m. at Florida State Prison.
Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/15/us-usa-executions-idUSTRE7AE2LH20111115
Nation – Zuccotti Park reopens after Occupy protesters leave
New York City reopened Zuccotti Park, the epicenter of the nearly two month long Occupy Wall Street movement, hours after police ousted the camping protesters in the early morning of November 15.
New York Police Department officers secretly raided the camping site of the Occupy protesters at 1 a.m. The officers removed the protesters along with their tents and belongings.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the raid and said “health and safety conditions became intolerable” in the park.
Justice Michael D. Stallman ruled the protesters could go back to Zuccotti Park but could not take their tents and sleeping bags.
Source: The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/nyregion/police-begin-clearing-zuccotti-park-of-protesters.html
World – Philippines and China dispute territory in the South China Sea
China has claimed a group of islands less than 50 miles off the coast of a Philippine province, causing tension between the two nations. The Philippines dismissed the claim Nov. 14.
One of the areas, the Spratly islands, is potentially abundant with natural resources. This is the closest territory to the Philippines that China has claimed so far.
The two countries have been disputing for new land since July. The issue is expected to be discussed Nov. 16 with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Source: Associated Press
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57324083/philippines-rejects-new-chinese-territorial-claim/
NEWS IN BRIEF
SG senator resigns, citing time constraints
Senator Louisa Velten resigned from her position Nov. 10, citing time constraints as the reason for her resignation.
“I don’t have the time,” Velten said. “I did not know there is so much time involved.”
Velten said she has to travel a lot because she is an international student. Her next departure is in May 2012, several months before her tenure as senator would have ended in August 2012.
Senate President Carlo Fassi said Velten decided to resign because she is an international student. The program she is in would prefer she stay out of Student Government.
Velten was absent during the Nov. 7 senate meeting, where 18 other senators were officially sworn-in to the senate.
The final Distinguished Voices lecture of the Fall semester will feature election analyst Norman J. Ornstein, who will speak 7 p.m. Nov. 29 at the University Center.
Ornstein is the co-director of the AEI-Brookins Election Reform Project, which aimed to reform the U.S. electoral system. Ornstein is also a weekly columnist for Roll Call and has authored numerous books about Congress and politics.
The title of his lecture is “Looking Ahead to the 2012 Elections.” Tickets are available at unf.edu/lectures. The lecture is open to the general public.
