Arkansas

One inmate executed; second wins appeal

A mentally ill man whose lawyers had argued the state couldn’t legally execute him was put to death Tuesday night for the 1979 murder of a grocer who befriended him.

Charles Singleton, 44, was pronounced dead after receiving an injection of drugs in what was scheduled to be a back-to-back, double execution until a federal judge ruled that a second Arkansas inmate could appeal.

The second inmate, Karl Roberts, who was convicted of the rape and murder of his 12-year-old niece in 1999, entered an appeal in the final hours, and a federal judge stayed his execution.

The Arkansas attorney general’s immediate appeals of the stay to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and then to the U.S. Supreme Court were denied.

Connecticut

Governor subpoenaed, refuses to resign

Gov. John G. Rowland, beset by corruption allegations within his administration, received a federal subpoena Tuesday for all documents relating to improvements at his summer cottage, personal investments, tax returns and all gifts, The Associated Press learned.

However, Rowland was not subpoenaed to testify before the federal grand jury investigating alleged bribery and bid-rigging within his administration.

The subpoena marked the first time that any of Rowland’s personal records have been sought by federal investigators, and came hours after the GOP governor told the state Legislature’s top four Democrats and two leading Republicans he had no intention of resigning.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office wants copies of all records of work done on the cottage in Litchfield, and all gifts Rowland has received from state employees, anyone doing business with the state or seeking to do business with the state.

Pennsylvania

Four die in wreck during snowstorm

A blinding snowstorm caused three separate chain-reaction crashes Tuesday on Interstate 80 in central Pennsylvania, one of them involving about 50 vehicles and at least four deaths, police said.

Police said that they had not been able to examine all the vehicles because many caught fire and continued to burn.

The first pileup, in both the eastbound and westbound lanes between Bellefonte and Milesburg, occurred about 11:15 a.m. It involved about 30 tractor-trailers and 20 passenger vehicles and killed at least four people, state police said.

State Trooper David White said 17 people were transported to hospitals and fire crews were brought in from four counties.

A second nearby accident in the highway’s westbound lanes involved three tractor-trailers, one hauling a mobile home. The two pileups, about 65 miles northwest of Harrisburg, closed the interstate for about 20 miles.

Texas

Judges uphold redistricting map

A three-judge federal panel Tuesday upheld a new congressional map for Texas that the Republicans pushed through the Legislature after months of turmoil and two walkouts by the Democrats.

The decision followed a December trial in which Democrats and minority groups argued that the new map would trample the rights of Hispanic and black voters.

But the judges said Democrats failed to prove the plan violated the Constitution or the Voting Rights Act, designed to protect minority voters. The opinion also noted that the judges ruled simply on the legality of the Republican plan — not its “wisdom.”

“We know it is rough and tumble politics, and we are ever mindful that the judiciary must call the fouls without participating in the game,” the judges said.