QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The apparent cruelty involved in these recent executions simply reinforces the argument that authorities across the United States should impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty and work for abolition of this cruel and inhuman practice.”

Rupert Colville, of the United Nations human-rights office, who said the prolonged execution of an Oklahoma inmate this week and a similar case in Ohio in January could violate international law Article, this page

Stick to college, first lady urges pupils

SAN ANTONIO - First lady Michelle Obama on Friday kicked off a new “Reach Higher” initiative to encourage American students to commit to education beyond high school.

Michelle Obama told about 2,100 San Antonio high school students at the South Texas city’s “College Signing Day” that the U.S. once had the highest percentage of college graduates in the world but has dropped to 12th globally.

In her remarks, she had the students stand, raise their right hands and led them in reciting a pledge where they committed to enroll, persevere and graduate.

“So seniors, now comes the hard part,” she said as the college-bound students cheered. “You have got to make that pledge a reality.”

The signing day, involving 38 high schools from area, is part of Mayor Julian Castro’s long-term initiative to improve high school graduation rates and increase the number of residents with college degrees.

MERS case confirmed in Indiana patient

NEW YORK - Health officials on Friday confirmed the first case of an American infected with a mysterious Middle East virus. The man fell ill after arriving in the U.S.

last week from Saudi Arabia, where he was a health-care worker.

The man is hospitalized in stable condition in northwest Indiana with Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is investigating the case along with Indiana health officials.

The virus is not highly contagious and this case “represents a very low risk to the broader, general public,” Dr.

Anne Schuchat told reporters during a CDC briefing.

The federal agency plans to track down passengers he may have been in close contact with during his travels; it was not clear how many people may have been exposed to the virus.

Overall, at least 400 people have had the respiratory illness, and more than 100 people have died. All had ties to the Middle East or to people who traveled there.

Teen stabbing suspect appears in court

MILFORD, Conn. - A 16-year-old charged in the fatal stabbing of a high school student on the day of the prom is showing signs of an active psychosis, his attorney said Friday.

Christopher Plaskon, who made his first court appearance Friday, is charged with murder in the slaying of Maren Sanchez, who was stabbed to death last week in a hallway at Jonathan Law High School in Milford.

Plaskon showed no visible emotion during the brief hearing. He had handcuffs, leg shackles and no shoes as he stood next to his attorneys and his uncle Paul Healy, who was appointed his guardian.

Plaskon was ordered transferred to the state’s Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire, where he will be placed in a hospital under suicide watch. He will not enter a plea until after a probable cause hearing, which is scheduled for June 4.

His attorney, Richard Meehan, did not provide details of Plaskon’s condition, but he did say the boy understands he’s charged with murder and that Meehan is his attorney.

NYC psychologist’s schizo killer gets life

NEW YORK - David Tarloff, a schizophrenic man convicted of murdering a psychologist on the Upper East Side six years ago, was sentenced to life without parole Friday.

Before sentencing, Tarloff apologized to the family of the victim, Kathryn Faughey, whom he bludgeoned and stabbed to death while trying to rob her office colleague, Kent Shinbach. Shinbach was maimed with a meat cleaver but survived the attack.

Tarloff asked Justice Edwin McLaughlin of state Supreme Court for mercy, saying that he had lived with delusions and hallucinations about God for two decades, a condition he described as “a battle in my head.”

But McLaughlin imposed the life sentence requested by the prosecutor, Evan Krutoy, and by three of Faughey’s brothers.

Front Section, Pages 3 on 05/03/2014