ROME (AP) — Italy's transport minister said Tuesday an investigation is underway into the latest rescue of migrants off Libya, in which an Italian ship tending to an oil rig picked up some 60 would-be refugees.

Minister Danilo Toninelli vowed to "punish the troublemakers" and praised the Italian coast guard for taking on the migrants from the tug Vos Thalassa. Toninelli tweeted Tuesday that the migrants were "putting at risk the lives of the crew" of the Thalassa.

Citing interior ministry officials, news agency ANSA said the Thalassa intervened in the rescue in Libya's search and rescue zone late Monday, even though the Libyan coast guard had been alerted to the distress call. Under Italy's new hard-line, anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini, Italy is seeking to have Libya's coast guard rescue migrants and take them back, rather than letting them come to Italy.

Salvini has already barred humanitarian organizations that rescue migrants from docking in Italy, and is seeking to renegotiate the mandate of European Union missions in the Mediterranean to prevent their ships from disembarking migrants in Italy as well.

Matteo Salvini challenged the "do-gooders" who want to open Italy's ports to migrants to visit the San Ferdinando slum in Reggio Calabria, where he heard of shameless farmers exploiting migrant workers and women being forced into prostitution to get by. Last month, a migrant was killed in San Ferdinando by his former boss.

Salvini said: "Civility and legality must return as the order of the day."

momadance wrote:

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A pharmaceutical company urged a judge to block the use of one of its drugs to execute a two-time killer Wednesday night, saying the state of Nevada obtained the product through "subterfuge" for unapproved purposes.

Alvogen's objections — aired at a hearing that unfolded less than 11 hours before Scott Raymond Dozier was to be put to death with a three-drug injection never before tried in the U.S. — threatened to put the execution on hold.

Todd Bice, an attorney with New Jersey-based Alvogen, accused the state of deceptively obtaining the company's drug by having it shipped to a pharmacy in Las Vegas rather than the state prison in Ely. Alvogen sent a letter to state officials in April telling them it opposes the use of its products in executions, particularly the sedative midazolam, Bice said.

A second pharmaceutical company, Sandoz, also raised objections Wednesday to the use of one of its drugs — the muscle-paralyzing substance cisatracurium — in the execution. But the company did not immediately ask to formally join Alvogen's lawsuit.

A third company, Pfizer, last year demanded Nevada return the third drug intended for use in the execution, the powerful opioid fentanyl. But the state has refused. Fentanyl, which has been blamed for deadly overdoses across the country, has not been used before in an execution.

Midazolam has been used with inconsistent results in states including Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida and Ohio. In 2014, an inmate in Ohio and another one in Arizona were left gasping and snorting before they died in what death penalty foes called botched executions.

Nevada's last execution was in 2006.

Donald Trump wrote:What good is NATO if Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars for gas and energy? Why are there only 5 out of 29 countries that have met their commitment? The U.S. is paying for Europe’s protection, then loses billions on Trade. Must pay 2% of GDP IMMEDIATELY, not by 2025.

slugsrbad wrote:When Trump said that in the meeting John Kelly looked away obviously annoyed at what Trump was saying. SHS says that he really was just upset at the food choices at the meeting (cheese and pastries) because he wanted a full breakfast. These people.

Monkeyboy wrote:looks like the SCOTUS pick may have lied under oath about the Bush detention practices, according to Durbin

traderdave wrote:

Monkeyboy wrote:looks like the SCOTUS pick may have lied under oath about the Bush detention practices, according to Durbin

https://twitter.com/SenatorDurbin/statu ... 8304705537