• COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The botched execution of an Oklahoma inmate is certain to fire up the debate over what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment -- the phrase written into the U.S. Constitution and defined by the courts, piece by piece, over two centuries.
• Convicted killer Clayton Lockett, 38, began writhing, clenching his teeth and straining to lift his head off the pillow Tuesday evening after he was supposedly rendered unconscious by the first of three drugs in the state's new lethal injection combination.
• The execution was halted, and Lockett died of a heart attack about a half-hour later, authorities said.
• While officials later blamed a ruptured vein -- not the drugs themselves -- the case is raising questions about the ability of states to administer lethal injections that meet the Eighth Amendment requirement that punishments be neither cruel nor unusual.
• Death penalty opponents such as the American Civil Liberties Union called for moratorium on capital punishment. And the White House said the procedure fell short of the humane standards required when the death penalty is carried out.
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• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Reports of sexual assaults by members of the military rose 50 percent after the Pentagon began a vigorous campaign to get more victims to come forward, prompting defense officials to order a greater focus on prevention programs, including plans to review alcohol sales and policies.
• But officials are still unhappy with the low number of male victims who reported sexual assault, and they say there will be a greater emphasis in the months ahead on getting men to come forward and seek help. Final data obtained by The Associated Press show that about 14 percent of the reports filed last year involved male

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