Robert Foley is considered the most prolific killer on Kentucky's death row after being convicted of six murders. Now, he needs a hip replacement, leading to heated debate among prison officials, hospitals, and surgeons about how to balance the needs of inmate care with the need for security and $56,000 price tag on the procedure.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. A condemned killer's fight to receive surgery for agonizing hip pain pushed Kentucky officials into an uncomfortable debate over security, politics and even the possibility of inviting scorn from Fox News pundits.

Emails and memos obtained by The Associated Press show corrections officials struggling for a year to reconcile their duty to provide medical care with the political ramifications of spending tens of thousands of dollars for surgery on a man they plan to execute. A key problem would turn out to be security issues that led several hospitals to balk at treating inmate Robert Foley, who still hasn't had the surgery.

"Hip replacement for an inmate who has exhausted all appeals and will soon be executed?" Kentucky State Penitentiary warden Phil Parker wrote in an email on Nov. 22, 2010. "I can see this making Fox News on a slow news day, maybe even on a busy news day. In fact, I bet (Fox News host Bill O'Reilly) would love to put this in his `Pinheads' commentary. Just a thought to consider before it goes too much further."

Prison officials also made contingency plans to call off the surgery if Gov. Steve Beshear set an execution date, and they considered whether to consult with him about the procedure.

"I think it is that important and all this may have political consequences," Parker wrote a year before Beshear's re-election. Ultimately, Beshear's spokeswoman said he wasn't contacted about it.

Foley, 55, was convicted of killing six people in eastern Kentucky in 1989 and 1991, making him the most prolific killer on the state's death row. His status as an extremely dangerous prisoner was a key factor in the state's difficulty finding a surgeon and hospital, according to the documents obtained through a public records request and a lawsuit filed by Foley.

Foley still hasn't had the surgery, with Parker lamenting in an email they had no options after an exhaustive search.

State officials deny that politics played a role, and there's no evidence in the documents that political considerations prevented the surgery.

A spokeswoman for the Kentucky Justice Cabinet which oversees corrections and law enforcement declined to comment because of the pending lawsuit.

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Robert Foley's Death Row Hip Replacement Debated Among Kentucky Prison Officials

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Toilet and Cabinet Locks

Units: About 183,000 toilet locks and 685,000 cabinet locks

Importer: Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) Inc., of Columbus, Ind.

Hazard: Young children can unexpectedly disengage the toilet locks and gain access to water in the toilet, posing the risk of drowning. The cabinet locks are being recalled because young children can disengage the lock, posing the risk of injury from dangerous or unsafe items stored in the cabinet.

Incidents/Injuries: DJG has received 110 reports of toilet locks that did not adequately secure the lid, including eight reports of children, under the age of two, who were able to disengage or break the lock. In addition, DJG has received 278 reports of cabinet locks that did not adequately secure the cabinet, including 71 reports of children between the ages of eight months and five years old who were able to disengage the cabinet locks. In one of the reported incidents, a 13-month-old boy swallowed small, toxic beads from a craft kit. The child was admitted to the hospital, observed overnight and released the next day.

Description: This recall involves Safety 1st Sure Fit toilet locks with model numbers 48003 and 48103. The toilet lock is attached to the tank behind the lid and is intended to prevent a childs access to the toilet bowl. This recall also involves Safety 1st cabinet slide locks with model numbers 12013 and 12014. The cabinet slide lock is attached to cabinet knobs or handles to prevent access to the contents of the cabinet. Model numbers can be found on the back of the locks.

Sold at: Bed, Bath and Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, Great Beginnings, Home Depot, Target and Walmart from January 2005 through April 2010 for between $8 and $20 for the toilet locks, and from January 2000 through March 2009 for between $2 and $11 for the cabinet locks. Amazon.com sold both locks through April 2012.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately remove the recalled locks and contact DJG for a free replacement lock of a different model. When removing the recalled locks, consumers are urged to immediately store dangerous items out of reach of children and to prevent unsupervised access to bathrooms.

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Safety 1st Toilet and Cabinet Locks Recalled Due to Lock Failure; Children Can Gain Unintended Access to Water and ...

More than 800,000 Safety 1st cabinet locks and toilet locks that are intended to keep children from danger are being recalled after hundreds of parents reported that they don't work, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced.

This comes just two months after the same company recalled 900,000 Safety 1st Push N Snap cabinet locks, also due to lock failure.

Dorel Juvenile Group, the parent company of Safety 1st, says it received 278 reports that cabinet locks either didn't properly secure cabinets and another 110 reports that the toilet locks didn't work right. Among those were reports of dozens of small children who were able to open the supposedly childproof locks.

Generally, companies are required by federal law to immediately report product failures with the potential to lead to serious injury. Consumers can report potential product defects on the government's SaferProducts.gov site.

The products being recalled are:

The recalled products were made in China and sold at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Burlington Coat Factory, Great Beginnings, Home Depot, Target and Walmart. The toilet locks were sold from January 2005 through April 2010 for between $8 and $20 and the cabinet locks were sold between January 2000 through March 2009 for between $2 and $11. The CPSC said Amazon.com sold both locks through April 2012.

If you have any of the recalled products, you are asked to remove them - and any dangerous contents from the cabinets - and contact Dorel to get replacement locks.

For more information, call Dorel at (877) 416-8105 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time or go to their website.

Link:
Safety 1st cabinet locks and toilet locks recalled after hundreds fail

Objectors gather at the site for new homes at Happisburgh. PHOTO: ANTONY KELLY

Lucy Clapham Sunday, May 13, 2012 6:29 PM

Angry residents have launched a campaign against the planned site for nine new homes that will replace Happisburghs threatened clifftop properties.

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The Beach Road homes are being demolished before they fall victim to the North Sea and as demolition work continues, proposals have now been lodged to reinstate the string of properties further inland.

But a group of residents are objecting to the replacement site off North Walsham Road, behind the village primary school, as they say the mix of three- and four-bedroom detached and semi-detached homes would be a blight to the picturesque entrance to Happisburgh.

They have also said the development will stifle any opportunity for the school to expand and cause traffic and parking problems.

Originally posted here:
Residents split over site for Happisburgh’s replacement Beach Road homes

MARSHALL-TRIGG COUNTY LINE, KY (KFVS) -

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet officials say there's been a bit of a delay in repairs to the partially collapsed Eggners Ferry Bridge.

One crane was loaded Saturday night. They are working to load the second crane Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the transportation cabinet.

The cranes and replacement span are not likely to move on Sunday, according to the spokesman. He says the best estimate is that they would like be transported sometime Monday.

By the time the second crane can be loaded today there would not be sufficient daylight to make the trip by water to the bridge site.

The bridge closed in January after a cargo ship slammed into it and knocked a single 322 ft. span into Kentucky Lake.

Engineers said Saturday morning it may now be late Saturday or Sunday before they can load the replacement span and the equipment required to lift it onto a barge for a 30-mile river trip from Eddyville to Eggner's Ferry Bridge.

The trip is delayed because crews were having trouble building a ramp from shore to get two huge cranes on board.

Once the steel truss arrives, weather will determine how quickly it can be lifted into place. Deck construction could take as long as ten days to two weeks.

KTC officials say the concrete will need to cure for several more days before traffic will be allowed to cross the bridge

Read more:
Work delayed on Eggners Ferry Bridge repair

Jared Nelson, TL

Posted: Sunday, May 13, 2012 4:44 pm

Bridge span ships out

U.S. Rep Ed Whitfield (second from left) and area officials listen to comments from Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 Chief Engineer Jim LeFevre concerning the ongoing reconstruction of a replacement Eggners Ferry Bridge span at the Eddyville Riverport Friday. The replacement span has been loaded onto a barge and will be joined by two massive cranes before making the trip to its destination near Aurora this weekend. Those on hand Friday included (from left) Lyon County Judge/Executive Wade White, Trigg County Judge/Executive Stan Humphries, Marshall County Commissioner Misti Drew (hidden) and Eddyville Mayor Nancy Slaton.

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Posted in Local, News on Sunday, May 13, 2012 4:44 pm. | Tags: Bridge, Span, Transportation, Eddyville, Riverport, Aurora

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Bridge span ships out

The rumour making the rounds of an impending cabinet reshuffle by President Goodluck Jonathan is the machination of a powerful political force within the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) working for the removal of some key ministers in the government, the Presidency alleged yesterday.

The political bloc, comprising members of the PDP, working in tandem with some opposition elements were said to have targeted ministers considered as key players and who are responsible for the successes recorded in the economic structure of the Jonathan administration.

The ministers are those of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed; Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke; Niger-Delta, Elder Godsday Peter Orubebe; Information, Labaran Maku; Labour, Emeka Wogu; Interior, Abba Moro; as well as the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike and his Agriculture counterpart, Akinwunmi Adesina.

A highly placed Presidency source told LEADERSHIP on anonymity, that the political group were particular about Mohammed and Allison-Madueke "who they see as major threats to their 2015 political ambition and are mobilising public anger against them with a view to discrediting an emerging political base of President Jonathan, who pessimists had thought lacked the ability to survive the ongoing political warfare against him."

The source said, "Beside being seen as the most loyal crop of cabinet members in the Jonathan government, the opposition group, which has some converts within the ruling party also believe that the ministers are partly responsible for the visible progress and successes so far recorded by President Jonathan.

"The prime target of this group of powerful opposition is the FCT minister. Given that he hails from the north, these political enemies are worried that despite entreaties not to return to the Jonathan's government, Bala has remained loyal and committed to the political ideals of his principal, the president.

"Since moving that historic doctrine of necessity, they have not forgiving him. If you know what they have done to his image because of his continued closeness to Mr. President, you will weep for him. Our people believed that having served as FCT minister, the second most important ministry in Nigeria, next to petroleum, for two years, he should have resigned and returned to his political roots, which brought him to the senate in the first place, before he joined the PDP and the Jonathan government".

He added that some people are specifically afraid that Bala's stabilisation and growing influence in the North, if not checked, could turn out to be another strong weapon in the hands of the president to actualise his second term ambition if he eventually makes up his mind to run in 215.

The game plan of labelling the FCT minister as being "anti-north," according to the source, "was adopted by those who wanted him out of the Jonathan government. Hence, they choose to use various means to tag the petroleum minister and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mr Austin Oniwon as being corrupt.

"This was their (opposition) game plans, but one of them who also works for us revealed their secret. And in order not to create an environment of disloyalty and a possible feeling of dissent among the ministers, Oga (President) decided to come out clear that embarking on a cabinet reshuffle was not his immediate priority.

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Nigeria: Disgruntled PDP Elements Behind Cabinet Shake-Up Rumour - Presidency

Troopers: Too many people in SUV crash that killed 3 Troopers: Too many people in SUV crash that killed 3

Updated: Monday, May 14 2012 6:30 PM EDT2012-05-14 22:30:21 GMT

Authorities say three people have now died after an SUV with 10 people rolled over several times Sunday afternoon near Hayti.

Authorities say three people have now died after an SUV with 10 people rolled over several times Sunday afternoon near Hayti. Troopers say too many people were in the vehicle and no one was wearing a seatbelt.

Updated: Sunday, May 13 2012 2:43 PM EDT2012-05-13 18:43:38 GMT

A northwest Missouri sprint car racer has died after crashing into a pole at a suburban Kansas City dirt track during a race.

A northwest Missouri sprint car racer has died after crashing into a pole at a suburban Kansas City dirt track during a race.

Updated: Sunday, May 13 2012 8:22 PM EDT2012-05-14 00:22:39 GMT

People in Cape Girardeau say it's encouraging to hear about so many new jobs.

People in Cape Girardeau say it's encouraging to hear about so many new jobs.

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Replacement span moved to bridge site

Vanguard

President Goodluck Jonathan considers his new Cabinet.

The Presidency yesterday said there was no immediate plan to reshuffle the Federal cabinet, contrary to media reports that said about 10 ministers may be fired by the end of the month.

Reports suggest that President Goodluck Jonathan sent several names to the security agencies for clearance for ministerial appointments. At least 10 ministers were named to be among those likely to lose their positions in an impending cabinet shakeup.

"Contrary to recent speculations in the media about a so-called impending cabinet reshuffle, the Presidency wishes to state emphatically that there is no truth whatsoever in the said reports," Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati yesterday said in a statement yesterday.

He said Jonathan was satisfied with the performance of his ministers and so has no intension of sacking any of them.

"President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has implicit confidence in the ability of the current crop of ministers to deliver and has no plan to undertake any replacement at the moment.

"There is also no truth in the alleged tension among ministers as a result of the rumoured imminent cabinet change. This is a calculated attempt to cause disaffection within the cabinet and divert the attention of members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) from their unwavering commitment to the implementation of the Transformation Agenda of the Jonathan Administration.

"The speculation about cabinet change is the handiwork of mischief makers who seem bent on frustrating the good intentions of the Federal Government to deliver on the campaign promises of President Jonathan.

"We advise the public to ignore the antics of these mischief makers."

Originally posted here:
Nigeria: No Plan to Fire Ministers, Jonathan Says

Abuja The Presidency, Wednesday, reacted to reports making the rounds in the country that some of the present ministers are to be dropped to give way for new ones in a cabinet reshuffle being considered by President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a statement in Abuja, Special Adviser to the President on Communications, Dr Reuben Abati, said there is no truth in the reports and Nigerians should ignore same.

The statement read: "Contrary to recent speculations in the media about a so-called impending cabinet reshuffle, the Presidency wishes to state emphatically that there is no truth whatsoever in the said reports.

"President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has implicit confidence in the ability of the current crop of ministers to deliver and has no plan to undertake any replacement at the moment. There is also no truth in the alleged tension among ministers as a result of the rumoured imminent cabinet change.

"This is a calculated attempt to cause disaffection within the cabinet and divert the attention of members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) from their unwavering commitment to the implementation of the Transformation Agenda of the Jonathan Administration.

"The speculation about cabinet change is the handiwork of mischief makers who seem bent on frustrating the good intentions of the Federal Government to deliver on the campaign promises of President Jonathan. We advise the public to ignore the antics of these mischief makers."

Copyright 2012 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

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Nigeria: No Plan to Sack Ministers - Presidency