Alabama’s governor made a last-minute decision to save a 75-year-old death row inmate from execution.
Charles ‘Sonny’ Burton was scheduled to be executed with nitrogen gas on Thursday, but Kay Ivey ruled two days earlier that, because he had not pulled the trigger in a murder case more than three decades earlier, he could not in “good conscience” be given the death penalty.
Burton has served 33 years on death row for the murder of Doug Battle, whose father was shot and killed in a 1991 robbery at an AutoZone store in Talladega. Burton did not pull the trigger, and five other suspects were involved, but anyone who takes part in a robbery that ends in death can still be convicted of murder in the state of Alabama.
The man who pulled the trigger, Derrick DeBruce, was convicted of murder, but in 2014 his death sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole. He died in 2020.
Kay Ivey said, “I cannot in good conscience proceed with Mr Burton’s execution under such extreme circumstances. I believe it would be unjust to execute any participant in this crime while the actual shooter remains unexecuted.
Recently, campaigners have rallied outside Burton’s mansion to have him removed from death row. His victim’s daughter, Tori Battle, also opposed the execution. He wrote a letter to Montgomery Consultants explaining why it should not proceed.
It states: “Like any child who suffered sudden, senseless violence, I asked a question to which there was no answer: Why did you have to kill him? More than three decades later, I’m asking that question again. This time, the question is directed towards the state of Alabama.
She further said, “I am a family member of a victim. My voice should matter. My love for my father does not require another death, especially one that defies logic.”
Priscilla Townsend, who served on the jury during Burton’s conviction, also questioned his execution.
He said, “Mr Burton was not inside the AutoZone at the time of the murder. He was not the shooter, and yet the state sought and secured the death penalty against him. ” Death Penalty Information Center.
After it was confirmed that Burton had been saved from execution, an Instagram account dedicated to commuting his sentence thanked the governor.
“This decision ensures that final and irreversible punishment will not be carried out… Today is a reminder that mercy is an essential part of justice,” the ‘life4sonnyb’ page said.
Burton previously wrote a letter to the Battle family apologising. He also claimed that he never thought the robbery would end in murder and that he was “terrified” when he learned that it did.
Salla, Finland — Traditional reindeer racing that has been delighting spectators in Finland for decades brought hundreds of fans to the Salla Reindeer Cup in the cold town of Salla last weekend.
Despite extremely cold temperatures and a remote++
The competition attracted about 1,000 people to a location near the Russian border, approximately 264 kilometres (164 mi) northeast of the city of Oulu.
They watched and rejoiced as deer galloped down snow-covered tracks, dragging their handlers behind them on skis. Whoever is fastest will win the race.
The spectators came not only from Finland but also from other countries, including Italy, Norway, Germany, and France.
Reindeer herding has been an important part of Scandinavian culture for many decades, especially for the Sami indigenous people in the far north of the country. 3……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
“Salla has a long history in reindeer racing – it has been running here since the 1950s,” said Lasse Atsinki, head of the Salla Reindeer Cup. “At that time, people spent the winter in the forest; there were no snowmobiles. At the end of winter, the reindeer were in excellent shape, so they started racing them.”
These days, reindeer racing is an organised, regulated competition with trained male reindeer.
The premiere event was the so-called Hot Series, in which reindeer qualified if they raced around a kilometre-long (just over half a mile) track in 1 minute, 19 seconds or less. Only the fastest reindeer get a chance to participate in this race.
“It’s a science. A lot depends on the reindeer’s character – he has to endure a lot: spectators, other reindeer, noise, and movement,” Atsinki said. “Everyone has his own tricks – and they’re usually kept under a fur hat. Every boss has his own way.”
During the race, the crowd encouraged their favourites by chanting “Hyiva, hyiva” and “Mene, “mene”—which are Finnish for “good, good” and “go, “go”—as the reindeer ran down the final stretch.
In between races, people kept themselves warm with reindeer soup and kampanisu, Salla’s traditional local pastry speciality.
The competition concluded with a final round on Sunday and a reindeer named Pompom won the final race.
Hannu Kruppula, owner of the winning animal, said, “Pompom is exceptionally fast and smart, and you rarely find one like that.”
He added, “If there’s a weakness, it’s that it’s not very good-looking – which can be misleading.”
“When you look at that deer, you might immediately think it’s poorly fed or something. But it eats well. That’s a rare one.”
And so after the race, Pompom and all the other reindeer got their reward – lichen, their favourite treat.
Oil prices have risen above $100 per barrel amid the consequences of the war between the United States and Israel over Iran.
International benchmark Brent crude rose more than 20 per cent on Sunday, reaching $114 a barrel at one point, as fears grew of prolonged disruption to global energy supplies, particularly due to potential sanctions and military actions affecting oil exports from the region.
Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel for the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump, who campaigned heavily on cost-of-living concerns in his 2024 election, ignored the price hike.
“Short-term oil prices, which will fall sharply if Iran’s nuclear threat is annihilated, are a very small price to pay for the security and peace of the United States and the world,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright also played down the possibility of energy price increases on CBS News’ Face the Nation program on Sunday, saying any increase in prices at the gasoline pump would be “temporary.”
Crude oil prices have increased by nearly 50 per cent since the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28.
Iran has responded by effectively blocking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, putting about a fifth of the global oil supply at risk.
Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s three biggest producers, have cut output as a backlog of barrels accumulates due to the waterway effectively being closed.
Attacks on energy production facilities in the region have further endangered supplies.
Iran has been blamed for several attacks on energy facilities across the Gulf, including in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
On Saturday, Israel carried out airstrikes targeting Iran’s oil infrastructure for the first time since the war began.
According to Iranian state media, the attacks hit four oil storage facilities and an oil production transfer center in Tehran and Alborz provinces.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to target energy facilities across the region in retaliation on Sunday, warning that oil prices could rise to $200 a barrel if the US and Israel “continue this game.”
A TV cameraman films a screen showing the KOSPI and foreign exchange rates between the US dollar and the South Korean won at Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, on March 9, 2026. [Lee Jin-man/AP]
Shares in Asia fell sharply on Monday morning as investors braced for the impact of rising energy prices.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 7 per cent in early trading, while South Korea’s KOSPI fell more than 8 per cent.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell nearly 3 percent.
Significant losses also occurred in US stock futures, which trade outside regular market hours.
Futures tied to Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 fell 1.7 per cent, while futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.90 per cent.
While Trump administration officials have insisted the war will be over in a matter of weeks, the prospect of prolonged disruptions to global energy supplies has sparked fears of higher inflation and slower economic growth.
The International Monetary Fund has estimated that a sustained 10 per cent increase in oil prices leads to a 0.4 per cent increase in inflation and a 0.15 per cent reduction in global economic growth.
“If the shock proves short-lived, the global economy could recover quickly,” Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, told Al Jazeera.
“If oil remains at these levels for several weeks, it would be a major global headwind. So far, markets have underestimated the risks related to the conflict in Iran.”
In an interview published by The Financial Times on Friday, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi warned that all producers in the region could soon be forced to halt production and prices could reach $150 a barrel.
“Whoever did not invoke force majeure, we expect to do so in the next few days so that this can continue,” al-Kaabi told the newspaper.
Max Verstappen, a four-time Formula 1 world champion, will fulfil a long-held ambition by participating in the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race.
The 28-year-old Red Bull F1 driver will drive a Mercedes-AMG GT car in the event in May, in which showroom-style cars race on the famous 15.8-mile circuit in Germany’s Eifel mountains.
The Dutchman, who finished sixth in Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, said, “The Nürburgring Nordschleife is a special place. There’s no other track like it. The Nürburgring 24 Hours is a race that’s been on my bucket list for a long time, so I’m really thrilled that we can do it now.”
It is very rare for an F1 driver to compete in a lower-level motorsport event, especially one of Verstappen’s level, but he has long enjoyed driving on motorsport simulator games and has a particular fascination with sportscar racing.
It is widely believed that Verstappen can do it. The Le Mans 24 Hours, an external phenomenon that has exploded in popularity in recent years due to the introduction of new ‘hypercar’ regulations, has seen sports cars from the likes of Ferrari, Peugeot, Aston Martin, and Ford return to the top tier.
The revered 24 Hours of Nürburgring is one level below races like Le Mans.
which is part of the World Endurance Championship. The World Endurance Championship announced last week that it would postpone the season-opening 1812 km race in Qatar due to the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran.
Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull until 2028 but was previously linked to the Mercedes F1 program.
Rodri said after the game, “I know we won a lot and people don’t want us to win, but the referee has to remain neutral.”
“It’s not fair because we work so hard. When it all comes to an end, you get disappointed.”
The FA’s Regulatory Commission said Rodri sent two letters as part of his evidence.
In the first letter, he said his words were “misunderstood and misinterpreted by some media organisations,” but in the second, he admitted they were “inappropriate” and below the expected standard.
“I want to clarify that it was not my intention to show bias or to question the integrity of the match officials,” Rodri wrote in a second letter.
“I have and will always have immense respect for referees and the difficult job they do in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment.
“My comments were made in a moment of frustration after a disappointing result.
“Upon reflection, I realise that the words I used were poorly chosen and capable of being interpreted in a way that I did not intend.”
The bloody Middle East war is spreading across a wider region toward Europe as Iran begins ballistic bombings of Turkey and the death toll rises, with nearly 10,000 injured.
Multiple targets have been hit – including an attack on a Tehran oil depot (Image: AP)
Middle East warThe death toll has risen as it spread towards Europe, while Tehran has named Motzaba Khamenei, the son of the slain ayatollah, as its new leader.
NATO security forces were forced for the second time to intercept an Iranian ballistic missile heading towards Turkey – a popular holiday destination for Britons.
This comes as 1,255 are reported dead in Iran, at least 13 in Israel, eight US soldiers lost their lives in Iranian attacks and now 14 more have been killed in the Gulf states.
Nearly 500 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 10,000 injured across the war-torn region – as a NATO country also comes under fire.
Iranian attacks on Israel have injured 1,929 people since last week, including 157 in the last 24 hours. At the same time, Iranian missiles have several times targeted the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in the Jafair area of Bahrain.
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read more: : Foreign Office issues major update on flights for Britons stranded in the Middle East. Read more:Petrol prices rise in UK amid Iran war, fears of fuel hike – find the cheapest near you
The Iran war has spread throughout the Middle East region – and Beirut has been attacked by Israel (Image: AP)
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ruled out a US strike on the ground in Iran as the joint mission with Israel against Iran enters its second week.
On CBS News, Hegseth confirmed that US troops were not on the ground in Iran and added, “But we reserve the right. We would be completely remiss if we did not reserve the right to take a particular option, whether it involves boots on the ground or without boots on the ground.
Motzaba, a 56-year-old middle-ranking cleric, is an insider close to Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and his appointment has dashed hopes for a quick end to the war.
He is believed to be even more radical than his father; he lost his wife, a son, and both parents in the war that began on February 28.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is part of the US armada (Image: AP)
As the war entered its tenth day, the US-Israeli strike hit 140 Tehran regime targets with nearly 900 missiles, and the war shows no signs of slowing down.
Three more US Air Force B-52 bombers have landed at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, joining a huge fleet of US warplanes preparing to attack Iran.
These included three American B-1 stealth bombers, which arrived after Britain allowed the US to use British bases at Fairford and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
Israeli forces on Sunday killed the late Ayatollah’s emergency command chief, Abu al-Qassim Babaian, in Tehran, who had been in the post for only two years.
Israel also targeted Iranian fuel storage facilities in Tehran over the weekend – the first known attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure since the beginning of the war.
US-Israeli strikes hit multiple targets – including this oil depot in Tehran (Image: Sobhan Farajvan/Pacific Press/Shutterstock)
The Israeli Defence Forces stated that the fuel was used to support their missile programme and their military and was therefore a legitimate target.
Iran continued to bomb Israel, and throughout the night, air raid sirens sounded in the centre, south, and coastal regions of the country.
Some weapons were intercepted and the rest fell in deserted areas. Israeli bombs rained down on the Iranian city of Isfahan, targeting the command centres of the Revolutionary Guard and its Basij security forces.
They also attacked a facility for producing rocket engines and missile launch sites. Intelligence analysis confirms fears that Iran would provoke conflict by decentralising the IRGC, along with its 250,000 radicals and Tehran’s half-million security police, the Basij.
US Air Force B-52s have landed at RAF Fairford, Britain (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
European warships have massed around Cyprus to stop Iran’s war from spreading and to protect the island, including Greece, France, Italy, Spain and Germany – but there are still no UK ships in the area.
The Type 45 frigate HMS Dragon is expected to leave this week to reach Cyprus or the eastern Mediterranean as soon as next week.
But Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched attacks on at least 27 targets in the Middle East where US troops are stationed, as well as Israeli military facilities in Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel.
So far, Iran has launched attacks in ten countries in the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
An Iranian drone also struck the runway of a British military base in Cyprus. Top clerics of Iran’s Assembly of Experts reportedly finalised their decision on Sunday – eight days after Ali Khamenei, who ruled for 37 years, was killed in an Israeli strike on Tehran. State media shared a statement from the assembly confirming Mojtaba Khamenei’s election through a “decisive vote”.
The clerical body urged citizens across the country—”especially the elite and intellectuals in seminaries and universities”—to pledge allegiance to the new leadership.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) welcomed Khamenei’s appointment in a statement carried by state media. It claimed the Iran–Iraq War veteran was a “distinguished jurist, a young thinker and one of the most knowledgeable on political and social issues.”
Smoke seen rising in southern Lebanon after airstrike (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The IRGC also declared its “respect, devotion and obedience” to Khamenei and said that its members are “ready for complete obedience and self-sacrifice in carrying out the divine orders of the Guardian Jurist”.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s next supreme leader was “not going to last long” if Tehran did not first seek his approval. The Israeli military said in a post in Farsi on Twitter that it would continue to pursue every successor to Ali Khamenei and target anyone involved in his appointment.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that no foreign actors would have a role in the selection of the new supreme leader. Speaking to NBC News on Sunday, Araghchi said Iran “allows[s] no one to interfere in our domestic affairs.”
He further said, “It is up to the Iranian people to choose their new leader. They have already elected the Assembly of Experts and the Assembly will do its job. This is the job of the Iranian people only and no one else.”
An American B-1B bomber is seen at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (Image: AP)
Mojtaba Khamenei has maintained a low profile, never holding elected office or formally holding a senior position within the government of Iran.
He has never given a public speech and few of his photographs are available online. But the billionaire property tycoon has strong ties to the IRGC and was sanctioned by the US in 2019 for working “closely” with the IRGC’s Quds Force and the commander of the Basij Resistance Force.
Ali Khamenei and his predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, were both critical of hereditary succession, particularly in the context of the Pahlavi monarchy, which was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
President Trump on Monday reflected on the plight of the Iran women’s national soccer team, who were caught up in the geopolitical effects of the US-Israeli war on their home country while participating in the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia and were offered asylum in the US.
There were calls for Australia to grant asylum to the women after Iranian television branded them “traitors” over the weekend, following Australia’s decision not to sing or salute during the Iranian national anthem before their first match at the tournament. Before subsequent games he sang and saluted, leading to speculation that his team leaders were coercing him.
President Trump said in a statement, “Australia is making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the Iranian national women’s soccer team to be forcibly deported back to Iran, where they will very likely die. Don’t do it, Mr. Prime Minister; grant asylum. A social media post adds, “America will take them if you don’t.”
He posted his message as a prominent Iranian opposition figure in exile and stated in an Australian newspaper that five of the team’s players had escaped from their hotel on the Gold Coast, were being assisted by Australian police, and were expected to apply for asylum.
“Most of them have families at home, some of them have children at home, and even if they are given the right to live in Australia, if they feel unsafe, many of them may not take up that opportunity,” Craig Foster, former Australian men’s soccer team captain and human rights lawyer, told CBS News partner network. BBC News First. “The most important thing is that that offer has been made.”
Australia’s government did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for confirmation that either woman had applied for asylum.
