In brief: Execution set for killer of three

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A man convicted of killing an Ohio mother and her two teenage daughters in the Tampa Bay area as they traveled home from a Disney World vacation in June 1989 is set to receive a lethal injection on Nov. 15.

Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant Monday for Oba Chandler.

Chandler was convicted in 1994 of murdering 36-year-old Joan Rogers and her daughters, Christe and Michelle, after the Wilshire, Ohio, woman asked him for directions to a Tampa motel.

Walker recall effort starts soon

MADISON, Wis. – An effort to recall Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker over his contentious union rights law will begin Nov. 15, Democrats announced Monday, meaning an election could be held as early as next spring.

Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate said on the party’s website that recall petitions will be circulated starting Nov. 15, giving supporters of the effort until Jan. 13 to collect 540,208 signatures.

Walker has become a national hero to many Republicans and conservatives and is a hot ticket on the fundraising and speaking circuit.

Under Wisconsin law, a recall can’t be started until a year after the officeholder was inaugurated. Walker was inaugurated on Jan. 3, which made Nov. 4 the soonest the recall effort could begin.

‘Joe the Plumber’ running for office

TOLEDO, Ohio – “Joe the Plumber” is plunging into politics.

The Ohio man who man who became a household name after questioning Barack Obama about his economic policies during the 2008 presidential campaign has filed paperwork to run for Congress.

Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher’s statement of candidacy filed with the Federal Elections Commission says he plans to run as a Republican in Ohio’s 9th U.S. House district.

Wurzelbacher rose out of obscurity in 2008 after questioning then-candidate Obama , and later campaigned with McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.