Scheduled Florida execution would be 26th in U.S. this year, surpassing total for all of 2024
CBSN
Starke, Fla. — A man who fatally shot a man and woman outside a Florida bar as part of an attempted revenge killing is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday. It would be the 26th execution in the U.S. this year. There were 25 nationwide in all of 2024.
Michael Bernard Bell, 54, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, barring a last-day reprieve. He was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to death for the murders of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith.
Bell would be the eighth person put to death in Florida this year, with a ninth scheduled for later this month. The state executed six people in 2023, but carried out only one execution last year.

Washington — Amid Trump administration demands for Tehran to keep the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials have told CBS News that there are at least a dozen underwater mines through the vital passageway, according to current American intelligence assessments. Arden Farhi, Kathryn Watson, Caroline Linton, Aimee Picchi and Layla Ferris contributed to this report.

Washington — President Trump said early Monday that he is postponing airstrikes on Iran's power plants after "very good and productive conversations" over the last two days about reopening the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran's foreign ministry denied any such talks. Claire Day contributed to this report. In:











