In brief: Gas pipeline fireball closes California highway
FRESNO, Calif. – A large gas pipeline exploded into a tower of fire Friday in Central California, closing both directions of a major highway in the region and injuring at least 11 people, three of them critically, authorities said.
It was not clear what caused the explosion at the Fresno County sheriff’s gun range that brought traffic in the area to a halt. But authorities said it occurred while a county equipment operator was working with a jail inmate crew to expand a road on the range alongside heavily traveled state Highway 99.
The flames shot well over 100 feet into the air, witnesses said.
Traffic heading north and south on the highway was halted by the explosion about 2:30 p.m. as flames towered over the roadway, the California Highway Patrol reported. The highway was reopened three hours later, the CHP said.
Nitrogen gas approved as alternate for execution
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma became the first U.S. state to approve nitrogen gas for executions under a measure Gov. Mary Fallin signed into law Friday that provides an alternative death penalty method if lethal injections aren’t possible, either because of a court ruling or a drug shortage.
Executions are on hold in Oklahoma while the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether the state’s current three-drug method of lethal injection is constitutional.
Supporters of the new law maintain nitrogen-induced hypoxia – or a lack of oxygen in the blood – is a humane and painless method of execution that requires no medical expertise to perform.
There are no reports of nitrogen gas ever being used to execute humans, and critics say one concern is that the method is untested so there’s no way to know whether the it is painless and effective. Some states even ban its use to put animals to sleep.