An Arizona prisoner convicted of killing another man by throwing gasoline at him and lighting a match has been put to the death in the first of three executions planned this week around the U.S. Corrections officials say 63-year-old Leroy McGill received a lethal injection Wednesday for the 2002 killing of Charles Perez.

Repealing statewide mask mandates and criticizing the Biden administrations unemployment-based formula for distributing billions in federal aid has put Republican governors and their approach to handling the coronavirus pandemic back in the spotlight. Despite their differing approaches, California and Florida have experienced almost identical outcomes in COVID-19 case rates. Ned Lamont, a Democrat, imposed numerous statewide restrictions over the past year after an early surge in deaths, while South Dakota Gov. “From the earliest days of this pandemic, California trusted in science and data, and we met the moment,” Newsom said. Like Florida, Missouri had no statewide mask mandate, ended business restrictions last June and has a cumulative COVID-19 death rate similar to California's.