In the news

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Walter Mondale, 86, the former vice president under Jimmy Carter and the Democratic presidential nominee in 1984, underwent heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., just days after his wife of 58 years, Joan, died at age 83 after a long illness.

Steven Massof, 51, an unlicensed Pittsburgh doctor who admitted he took part in and witnessed hundreds of illegal late-term abortions at the West Philadelphia clinic of Kermit Gosnell, who is serving a life term, was sentenced to six to 12 years in prison.

Seth Meyers, the longtime Saturday Night Live cast member who is set to take over hosting duties at NBC’s Late Night, scored Vice President Joe Biden as his first guest for the Feb. 24 premiere.

Kevin Faulconer, 47, a Republican city councilman, handily won the special election to become San Diego’s mayor and will serve out the term started by Bob Filner, a Democrat who resigned over sexual-harassment accusations.

Julie Corey, 39, who was accused of killing her pregnant 23-year-old friend, Darlene Haynes, in 2009, was convicted in Worcester, Mass., of beating and strangling Haynes, then cutting the baby from her womb and passing the child off as her daughter.

Karol Mason, assistant U.S. attorney general for the Office of Justice Programs, wrote in a letter to the nation’s governors that their states may lose some federal funding if they don’t take steps to detect and reduce sexual assaults of inmates in prisons and jails.

Terence Kern, a U.S. district judge, agreed to temporarily block an Oklahoma compounding pharmacy from providing an execution drug to the Missouri Department of Corrections for use in the lethal injection of Michael Taylor, 47, who was convicted in a 1989 abduction, rape and killing and is scheduled to die this month.

Eric Holder, the U.S. attorney general, and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky met for lunch at the Justice Department and discussed changes in criminal sentencing and restoring voting rights to ex-felons.

Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, pledged to work quickly to reduce the impact of U.S. forces on Okinawa, an island that hosts three-quarters of the U.S.’ military facilities in Japan and where doctors once saved her father’s life after he fell ill on a trip to Asia as a congressman.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 02/13/2014