“They can put it out a week ahead of time because he’s not gonna challenge it,” said Jen Moreno, a staff attorney for the University of California Berkeley’s Death Penalty Clinic who specializes in lethal injection challenges. “They’re getting away with things that they probably wouldn’t get away with if he wasn’t a volunteer.”

 Normally, such a protocol could trigger a years-long court battle. But since Dozier has “volunteered” to give up his appeals and face the execution chamber, in death penalty parlance, the fight over Dozier’s future is almost at an end.

 Not only has fentanyl never been used in a U.S. execution, but Nevada also hasn’t executed an inmate in a dozen years. On Tuesday, just one week and a day before Dozier’s planned execution, Nevada unveiled its new, three-drug execution regimen. That protocol will include doses of midazolam, a controversial sedative deployed in several botched executions, fentanyl, and the paralytic drug cisatracurium.

 Here’s what is: The inmate, convicted murderer Scott Dozier, wants to die. And if that wasn’t bizarre enough, the state of Nevada wants to execute Dozier on Wednesday using fentanyl — the synthetic opioid best known for helping to push the nationwide opioid epidemic out of control.

 A death penalty state is slugging it out with civil rights lawyers over the planned execution of a death row inmate. That’s not so unusual.

 Read more

 A death penalty state is slugging it out with civil rights lawyers over the planned execution of a death row inmate. That’s not so unusual.

 Here’s what is: The inmate, convicted murderer Scott Dozier, wants to die. And if that wasn’t bizarre enough, the state of Nevada wants to execute Dozier on Wednesday using fentanyl — the synthetic opioid best known for helping to push the nationwide opioid epidemic out of control.

 Not only has fentanyl never been used in a U.S. execution, but Nevada also hasn’t executed an inmate in a dozen years. On Tuesday, just one week and a day before Dozier’s planned execution, Nevada unveiled its new, three-drug execution regimen. That protocol will include doses of midazolam, a controversial sedative deployed in several botched executions, fentanyl, and the paralytic drug cisatracurium.

 Normally, such a protocol could trigger a years-long court battle. But since Dozier has “volunteered” to give up his appeals and face the execution chamber, in death penalty parlance, the fight over Dozier’s future is almost at an end.

 “They can put it out a week ahead of time because he’s not gonna challenge it,” said Jen Moreno, a staff attorney for the University of California Berkeley’s Death Penalty Clinic who specializes in lethal injection challenges. “They’re getting away with things that they probably wouldn’t get away with if he wasn’t a volunteer.”

 Read more: Death penalty states are looking for new ways to execute people

 So far, the Nevada Department of Corrections has released a one-page press release and an execution manual with several redacted sections. Brooke Santina, a Nevada Department of Corrections spokesperson, told VICE News that agency protocol only requires them to release that information seven days prior to an execution.

 “We are following our protocol exactly,” she said.

 The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada has already launched into litigation over the new execution plan. In papers filed Tuesday, the organization asked the state to turn over records explaining how and why it acquired the new execution drugs, and more details about how, exactly, Dozier’s execution will play out.

 “Without this information being public, there’s no oversight as to how the execution will occur,” Lauren Kaufman, a staff attorney with the ACLU of Nevada, said Wednesday, shortly after a judge ordered the Nevada Department of Corrections to hand over some of those records. “Who is taking charge of this really most consequential action?”

 Read more: Some of the most important details of Arkansas' execution spree will remain secret

 Nevada opted to use fentanyl in Dozier’s execution amid a national shortage of lethal injection drugs. Because drug manufacturers and distributors are increasingly reluctant to let their wares be used in lethal injections, states have been forced to rewrite decades-old protocols, rely on untested drugs, and fight courtroom battles over their new execution plans. In March, Oklahoma announced that its lack of lethal injection drugs left it with no choice but to change its preferred method of execution to “nitrogen hypoxia,” which involves depriving prisoners of oxygen and has never been used in any state- or nation-sanctioned execution.

 As Fordham University professor Deborah Denno wrote in a 2014 article, “Reliance on drugs may end up accomplishing what countless legal challenges could not: drug shortages have devastated this country’s execution process to an unparalleled degree.”

 Originally, Nevada also planned to put Dozier to death in November, using diazepam — a drug better known by its brand name Valium — in place of the midazolam. But Clark County District Judge Jennifer Togliatti halted Dozier’s execution and ordered Nevada to drop cisatracurium from its execution protocol, ruling that the regimen could unconstitutionally mask signs of Dozier’s suffering if the diazepam and fentanyl were poorly administered.

 Dozier was convicted of second-degree murder in 2005 and of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon in 2007, after authorities found two dismembered bodies. He has said that he hates life in prison. “I’ve got a surplus of time on my hands and a catastrophic dearth of intelligence, hilarity, and awesomeness,” Dozier told a VICE music editor in a fan letter in 2013.

 Still, Dozier’s willingness to drop his appeals doesn’t mean that lawyers won’t go to court over his case.

 “It doesn’t relieve the lawyer or the judicial system of their obligation to examine the legal issues in the case,” explained Sean O’Brien, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law who’s argued several capital punishment cases. “Just because he wants to be executed, doesn’t mean the state gets to execute him in a cruel and unusual manner. No one is allowed to pick that.”

 By the time the Nevada Supreme Court overturned Togliatti’s order in May, over procedural issues, Nevada’s supply of diazepam had expired. Midazolam, the state’s replacement, was first used in an execution in Florida in 2013. Its popularity in lethal injections has only grown over recent years, despite being used in botched executions in Alabama, Arizona, Ohio, and Oklahoma.

 “We’ve kind of moved into the realm of human experimentation with executions,” O’Brien said.

 The ACLU of Nevada isn’t seeking to delay Dozier’s execution. “At this point, Mr. Dozier is really the only person who is going to be able to halt his own execution,” Kaufman explained. “So if he were to change his mind, then absolutely he would be able to stop it.”

 If the execution goes on as planned, Dozier will become the first person to die in Nevada’s new execution chamber. It cost about $860,000 to construct.

 Tune in to VICE News Tonight on HBO on July 10 to hear an exclusive interview with Scott Dozier as he faces execution by an experimental drug cocktail including fentanyl.

 Cover image: Nevada death row inmate Scott Dozier appears in a Las Vegas court via video on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. (Michael Quine/Las Vegas Review-Journal) ||||| Questions raised about whether the state’s department of corrections broke the law to obtain the drug, which is at the heart of the US opioid epidemic

 Nevada plans to carry out the first execution using fentanyl, a drug at the heart of the US opioid epidemic, on Wednesday.

 The state intends to use a synthetic opioid – involved in more than 20,000 overdose deaths in 2016 alone – to kill Scott Dozier, a double murderer, after finding it difficult to obtain other drugs for Nevada’s first execution in 12 years because of opposition from pharmaceutical manufacturers.

 But questions have been raised about whether Nevada’s department of corrections broke the law to obtain the fentanyl, and whether the multibillion dollar distribution company that provided the drug ignored evidence it was to be used in an execution.

 Pills that kill: why are thousands dying from fentanyl abuse? Read more

 Fentanyl has moved to the centre of the opioid epidemic as a powerful and dangerous illicit powder, one hundred times more potent than morphine and frequently mixed with heroin or pressed into fake prescription pills. But it is also sold as a prescription painkiller, including a version for injection which can kill in higher dosages.

 “Using fentanyl in an execution is particularly strange and confusing because of its place in the opioid epidemic,” said the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Nevada, Amy Rose. “But on top of that it’s never been used in an execution before. It’s extremely experimental. There is a very real risk of a botched execution.”

 Dozier will be injected with fentanyl and two other drugs. One of them is a sedative, midazolam, involved in a number of executions where the condemned man has been seen convulsing, gasping and in evident pain before death.

 “It has been at the centre of executions that have gone visibly wrong in every single state in which it has been used,” said Maya Foa, the director of the anti-death penalty group Reprieve. “Now it’s being used with fentanyl. This is an entirely novel protocol across the United States.”

 Foa said that states are usually obliged by the appeals process to subject the planned method of execution to legal scrutiny, particularly when a new drug protocol is being used. But Dozier has waved appeals and said he wants to die so the combination of medicines to be used to kill him has not been examined in court.

 Death penalty states have been forced to find different cocktails of drugs for executions in the face of opposition from manufacturers to having their medicines used in lethal injections . That has led states to try whatever mix of drugs they can buy, often in secrecy.

 The Nevada authorities refused to make public how they obtained the fentanyl and other drugs, but last week the ACLU won a court ruling forcing the department of corrections to hand over invoices. They show that it placed multiple small orders over a number of months, sometimes just one day after the previous order. It is not clear if this was an attempt to avoid drawing the attention a single large order of fentanyl would bring.

 Opioid crisis: lawmakers accuse drug executives of fueling epidemic Read more

 The drugs were ordered from one of the US’s largest pharmaceutical distribution companies, Cardinal Health, which is among wholesalers facing a barrage of lawsuits accusing them of profiteering from the opioid epidemic by delivering vast quantities of prescription painkillers to small pharmacies and ignoring evidence they were being used by people addicted to the drugs.

 Rose said the rights group is examining why the distributor delivered the drug to the Nevada prison authorities even after it was publicly known they intended to use fentanyl to kill Dozier.

 “It’s concerning that Cardinal Health would sell it to the department of corrections if it knew the drugs would be used in executions,” she said.

 Rose said the ACLU is seeking more documentation to see if the Nevada authorities “lied to Cardinal in any way”.

 Last year, Cardinal Health paid a $44m fine for failing to adhere to regulations intended to prevent opioids falling into the hands of those addicted to the drugs. The company was not immediately available for comment.

 The ACLU has also raised questions about the legality of the state’s actions in buying the drugs. The law allows only those doctors and medical institutions with a Drug Enforcement Administration-issued licence to obtain and administer scheduled medicines. Rose said it appears that the fentanyl was bought by one arm of the prison authorities with the necessary licence but then passed on to the execution site where there is no such authority to handle what is supposed to be a tightly controlled drug.

 “The DEA licence they used to obtain these drugs is the regular department of corrections hospital clinic in Las Vegas. But the department of corrections doesn’t have a licence to administer the drugs at the execution,” she said. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Critics are warning about the "very real risk of a botched execution" in what is to be the first US case of capital punishment using fentanyl. With manufacturers unwilling to sell any drugs to be used in executions, Nevada's Department of Corrections quietly purchased small doses of fentanyl from Cardinal Health over several months and plans to use the prescription painkiller in combination with paralytic drug cisatracurium and sedative midazolam in the state's first execution in 12 years, scheduled for Wednesday, per the Guardian and Vice. Critics, however, are putting up a fuss, and not only due to the secretive way officials went about acquiring the drug. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid well known for its role in the opioid epidemic, has "never been used in an execution before. It's extremely experimental," as Amy Rose of the American Civil Liberties Union puts it. Especially concerning is the fact that the fentanyl will be mixed with midazolam, which "has been at the center of executions that have gone visibly wrong in every single state in which it has been used," says Maya Foa of anti-death penalty group Reprieve. She tells the Guardian execution strategies are normally reviewed by courts through inmate appeals. Not so in this case, as double murderer Scott Dozier—convicted of second-degree murder in 2005 and first-degree murder in 2007—accepts his fate and says he wants to die. It's unclear if there's enough opposition to stave off the execution, though the ACLU is looking into the legality of how Nevada obtained the fentanyl. But if it goes ahead, Gov. Brian Sandoval "is in danger of creating the very black market he is trying to eliminate," pharmaceutical expert Donald Downing argues at the Reno Gazette Journal.


Write a summary based on this article:

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 Our general interest e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.

 Symptoms By Mayo Clinic Staff

 Diabetic ketoacidosis signs and symptoms often develop quickly, sometimes within 24 hours. For some, these signs and symptoms may be the first indication of having diabetes. You may notice:

 Excessive thirst

 Frequent urination

 Nausea and vomiting

 Abdominal pain

 Weakness or fatigue

 Shortness of breath

 Fruity-scented breath

 Confusion

 More-specific signs of diabetic ketoacidosis — which can be detected through home blood and urine testing kits — include:

 High blood sugar level (hyperglycemia)

 High ketone levels in your urine

 When to see a doctor

 If you feel ill or stressed or you've had a recent illness or injury, check your blood sugar level often. You might also try an over-the-counter urine ketones testing kit.

 Contact your doctor immediately if:

 You're vomiting and unable to tolerate food or liquid

 Your blood sugar level is higher than your target range and doesn't respond to home treatment

 Your urine ketone level is moderate or high

 Seek emergency care if:

 Your blood sugar level is consistently higher than 300 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 16.7 millimoles per liter (mmol/L)

 You have ketones in your urine and can't reach your doctor for advice

 You have multiple signs and symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis — excessive thirst, frequent urination, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, fruity-scented breath, confusion

 Remember, untreated diabetic ketoacidosis can be fatal.

  ||||| Two Sydney parents have been charged with the manslaughter of their diabetic six-year-old son, who died after attending a "self-healing" course where he was allegedly deprived of insulin and food.

 Emergency services found the Year 1 student unconscious and not breathing at the Ritz Hotel in Hurstville on April 30, 2015, after the boy had left the workshop held at a nearby clinic. He died at the scene.

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 Link Hongchi Xiao, the "healer" who treated the six-year-old boy.

 Police on Tuesday arrested the boy's father, 56, and mother, 41, at their home in Prospect in Sydney's west and took them into custody, alleging their "gross negligence" caused the boy's death. Authorities believe the parents were complicit in the deliberate denial of food and medicine.

 But the man who ran the $1800 week-long course continues to elude police in Australia as well as Britain, where he was recently detained on suspicion of manslaughter over another death.

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 Link Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died during a weekend retreat run by Hongchi Xiao. Photo: Supplied

 Hongchi Xiao, a Chinese born self-described "healer" who left Australia in the days after the death, practises his own form of therapy called "paidalajin", which combines fasting, stretching and slapping the skin to the point of bruising.

 "You have to be hard a little bit, cruel a little bit, but not too much," Mr Xiao said when describing paidalajin in a video last year.

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 He was treating Danielle Carr-Gomm, a 71-year-old diabetic, when she died suddenly in October during a retreat he ran in south-west England. Police then released him on bail.

 Mr Xiao, who has promoted himself in Australia with the help of his Queensland convert Ben James, compared his treatment to yoga and taichi.

 "In each of my books and seminars, I have emphasised that I am not a doctor," Mr Xiao said in a message posted to Facebook that rejected responsibility for the boy's death.

 The same post linked to what he called a "strictly controlled" Indian study of 25 people that recommended paidalajin for diabetes while referring to "healing crises".

 "[Type 1 diabetes patients] recorded improvements in their clinical condition," the report said.

 "However, during the Healing crisis and fasting when their blood sugars went up [they] needed medical support in the form of calories, fluids and rapid action insulin to prevent ketoacidosis."

 Ketoacidosis is a medical emergency caused by a lack of insulin, according to Diabetes Australia.

 The Tasly Healthpac Centre in Hurstville where the boy attended the workshop has previously said that Mr Xiao "rented a room from our centre to conduct what was described to us as a series of health seminars". The clinic has said the boy was not a patient of the clinic.

 The parents, granted conditional bail, were both due to appear before local courts this week. They each face a maximum of 25 years' jail if convicted. |||||

– In 2015, Australian 6-year-old Aidan Fenton attended a controversial week-long "self-healing" workshop meant to treat his diabetes. After attending a course and returning to a nearby hotel, the boy collapsed in his family's room; his parents' screams got the attention of staff, who called police, but Aidan died at the scene, the Washington Post reports. Now, nearly two years later, his parents, ages 56 and 41, have been arrested and charged with their son's manslaughter. Police say Aidan was denied food and insulin, and they say his parents were complicit in that denial; their "gross negligence" caused his death, police say, per the Sydney Morning Herald. If convicted, they face 25 years in jail. The workshop was run by Hongchi Xiao, a Chinese man who describes himself as a "healer" and practices what he calls "paidalajin" therapy. It involves fasting, stretching, and slapping the skin until it bruises in order to release "poisoned blood." He has not been charged in Aidan's death, and in a Facebook post shortly after the incident he denied responsibility. But he was arrested in November in the UK on suspicion of manslaughter after a 71-year-old woman with diabetes died during one of his retreats. He's currently out on bail. Xiao insists that a study shows his paidalajin therapy can "cure" diabetes, though he notes that during a "healing crisis" while undergoing the therapy, patients needed treatment including "rapid action insulin to prevent ketoacidosis," a medical emergency that can lead to death. (A family faces charges in the death of a teen after a 68-day fast.)


– France today became the first country to recognize the Libyan National Council as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people, following a meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and two representatives from the upstart government, the New York Times reports. France says it will soon engage ambassadors with the rebel group, which has set up camp in Benghazi. The move puts France ahead of its allies—including the United States, which, the Washington Post observes, has been unusually passive in the Libyan crisis, with President Obama seemingly content to let allies take the lead. France’s statement comes amidst a NATO meeting to decide whether to enforce a No-Fly Zone over Libya. Moammar Gadhafi’s forces have relentlessly exploited their air power against the rebels; today, planes and naval artillery bombarded Ras Lanuf, a major oil port controlled by opposition forces, CNN reports. Loyalist forces also claimed the central square of a rebel-held city just west of Tripoli, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gadhafi has held together the military better than originally appeared likely, and the outgunned rebels appear to have lost their momentum in their push toward the capital.

Expand this summary.

President Obama is content to let other nations publicly lead the search for solutions to the Libyan conflict, his advisers say, a stance that reflects the more humble tone he has sought to bring to U.S. foreign policy but one that also opens him to criticism that he is a weak leader.

 The tactic is anathema to many conservatives and worries some liberal interventionists, who believe that only overt American authority can assemble an effective opposition to brutal authoritarian governments such as that of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.

 Although Obama sees advantages in keeping Washington in the background, especially in a region where the United States is held in such low regard, he has exposed himself to Republican charges that he is absent at a time of crisis. Conservatives say his one-of-the-team approach could also signal a decline in American fortitude after nearly a decade of war.

 Since the uprising began, Obama has devoted just one set of public remarks solely to the situation in Libya, where fighting has reached a harsh stalemate. European nations have taken the lead in drafting a no-fly zone resolution, and Obama has yet to say whether he favors one. He followed France in calling for Gaddafi's ouster.

 At a Wednesday meeting of Obama's senior national security officials, little support emerged for the immediate imposition of a no-fly zone, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.

 Jamming Libyan government communications and deploying U.S. naval assets to help deliver humanitarian aid were among the most favored near-term options, the official said, adding that "at any time facts on the ground could change, but the intelligence assessment now dispels the idea that a no-fly zone is the key here."

 Obama's caution has been dictated in part by the challenge in dealing with one of the world's most hermetic countries and the fluid situation on the ground. The administration knows little about Libya's well-armed rebels, cannot predict the political system that might replace Gaddafi's bizarre rule, and faces an array of military options to stop the fighting.

 Obama's advisers say his low public profile masks the administration's active private diplomacy, which has helped produce strong financial sanctions against Gaddafi's inner circle, and the central U.S. role in military planning underway at NATO, whose defense ministers meet Thursday to consider next steps.

 "This is the Obama conception of the U.S. role in the world - to work through multilateral organizations and bilateral relationships to make sure that the steps we are taking are amplified," said Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. "Maybe this is a different conception of U.S. leadership. But we believe leadership should galvanize an international response, not rely on a unilateral U.S. response."

 For decades, U.S. presidents have been pressed to choose between intervening in foreign crises or ignoring them. Both paths have led to political risks for recent presidents, whose records are influencing Obama's response to the violence in Libya.

 Anthony H. Cordesman, who holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that "there's always going to be a demand for the United States to take immediate action, but it is not always the right thing to do."

 "Unfortunately, as president, ultimately your reasons don't matter," he said. "It's whether you succeed or fail that does." ||||| PARIS — Moving ahead of its allies, France on Thursday became the first country to recognize Libya ’s rebel leadership in the eastern city of Benghazi and said it would soon exchange ambassadors with the insurgents.

 The move was a victory for the Libyan National Council in its quest for recognition and a setback for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi who has been seeking whatever international support he can as NATO members in Brussels began a debate about the possible imposition of a no-flight zone over Libya.

 The French announcement came as loyalist forces in Libya claimed new successes against the rebels west of the capital in the town of Zawiyah, while, to the east, loyalist forces renewed ferocious assaults on the key oil town of Ras Lanuf.

 President Nicolas Sarkozy met in Paris on Thursday with Mahmoud Jibril and Ali Al-Esawi, representatives of the Libyan National Council that was set up after the uprising in Libya erupted in February. He was the first head of state to meet with insurgent leaders.

 Soon afterward, a French announcement said France recognized the council as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people. News reports said that, in response, Libya would break diplomatic relations with France.

 The move puts France ahead of other European powers that have been seeking ways of supporting the rebels in their goal of toppling Colonel Qaddafi. Normally, European Union countries say they recognize states, not governments, but the European Parliament has advocated recognition of the rebel leadership in Benghazi.

 France has also set itself apart from some other nations, including the United States, by insisting that any military support for the rebels be authorized by the United Nations Security Council, but not carried out by NATO, since the alliance has an aggressive image in the Arab world. Washington favors using NATO. While he was out of government, Alain Juppé, the new French foreign minister, opposed France resuming full membership in NATO.

 France’s aggressive diplomatic stance is seen as a way of showing commitment to the popular uprisings and democratic changes in the Middle East and North Africa, after Mr. Sarkozy admitted that Paris was slow to recognize the strength of the revolutionary movements in Tunisia, a former French protectorate, and Egypt.

 The British and German governments both indicated on Thursday that their practice was to recognize only states, but British authorities called the rebels “valid interlocutors with whom we wish to work closely.”

 In a highly embarrassing incident last weekend, Britain sent a small contingent of diplomats and special forces to try to make contact with the rebels in Benghazi, but they were arrested and later withdrew aboard a British warship sent to pick them up.

 For its part, Germany on Thursday ordered the freezing of Libyan assets, which the finance ministry in Berlin said were worth “billions.” Rainer Brüderle, the German finance minister, said the decision would affect about 193 accounts held at 14 financial institutions in Germany.

 In Brussels, NATO officials said on Thursday that the alliance has started 24-hour surveillance of Libyan airspace where Colonel Qaddafi has deployed warplanes against rebels trying to advance westward toward loyalist strongholds along the shores of the Gulf of Sirte.

 But it was unclear what further steps NATO would end up taking, if any. The alliance’s secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, told reporters that NATO was considering a “range of options,” including humanitarian help, but that any move would be governed by three principles: that there was “demonstrable need,” a “clear legal basis” and “firm regional support.”

 The Libyan National Council has been pressing for foreign aid amid divisions over the extent of external intervention in a revolt that rebel leaders want to preserve as a home-grown phenomenon. The insurgents have acknowledged being overwhelmed by the myriad tasks and challenges facing them.

 “We’ve found ourselves in a vacuum,” Mustafa Gheriani, an acting spokesman for the provisional leadership, said Tuesday in Benghazi. “Instead of worrying about establishing a transitional government, all we worry about are the needs — security, what people require, where the uprising is going. Things are moving too fast.”

 In the evolving diplomacy surrounding the conflict, Colonel Qaddafi has sent envoys across Europe and, according to some reports, Latin America and Africa, in many cases to argue against international intervention.

 On Wednesday, emissaries were reported to have visited Egypt, Greece, Portugal, Malta and Brussels, where European Union foreign ministers were meeting Thursday to discuss Libya.

 Greece confirmed that the colonel himself had spoken with Prime Minister George A. Papandreou and a government statement in South Africa said that he had spoken by telephone with President Jacob Zuma.

 South Africa’s international relations minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, said on Thursday that Mr. Zuma told Colonel Qaddafi that South Africa “abhors the heinous human rights violations against his own people.”

 “We took advantage through our president to tell him this has to stop with immediate effect,” the South African Press Association news agency reported. ||||| Read a day-by-day account of the battle for control of key areas of Libya and for the latest on what's next for Libya, the opposition and Moammar Gadhafi, tune in to "AC360º" at 10 p.m. ET Thursday on CNN.

 Ras Lanuf, Libya (CNN) -- Libya's ragtag rebels in Zawiya succumbed Thursday to better armed and organized government soldiers after enduring a week of attacks that left the coastal city strewn with the debris of war.

 The city's main Martyrs' Square was littered with the bombed-out, scorched carcasses of army tanks and other military vehicles.

 Workers were sweeping up the evidence as supporters of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi chanted slogans and waved green flags.

 "Today Zawiya, tomorrow Benghazi," ITV News' Bill Neely said a Gadhafi supporteer told him in a reference to Libya's main rebel-held city in the east.

 Neely said he was the first reporter to reach the city center Thursday after the government wrested its control from the rebels. He said doctors had told him that scores of civilians had been wounded or killed in the siege; they called the onslaught a massacre, a war crime. He counted more than 20 freshly dug graves.

 The city itself was quiet; shops were closed and houses appeared empty. The mosque's minaret was demolished, and spent bullets and other munitions lay on the ground with bloodied mlitary clothing.

 State-run television broadcast video of weapons and ammunition reportedly left behind by the rebels, whom the reporter referred to as "terrorists, dogs and traitors," Neely said.

 Government retaliation against the residents appears to have begun, said one man, who told ITV that government forces were carrying out house-to-house searches in Zawiya. "They start to arrest people, normal people," he said. "Some of them I know personally; they have nothing to do with what's happening."

 Battles also raged in and around the eastern city of Ras Lanuf and many other cities, with the regime using planes and heavy artillery in its effort to reclaim areas that had been taken by the opposition.

 Libya's state TV reported that "Ras Lanuf has been cleansed from the armed gangs connected to al Qaeda." A doctor who worked in Ras Lanuf said at least three people were killed and 30 wounded in fighting before the main hospital had to be evacuated. Doctors at a hospital in the city of al-Brega reported two deaths and more than 20 people wounded in fighting in Ras Lanuf.

 Opposition forces could be seen retreating from the city. Some fighters said they had pulled back to a checkpoint five miles east of the city, but it was not clear who was in control of the city.

 CNN's Ben Wedeman said the rebel forces appeared in disarray. "It's been a very chaotic effort on the part of the opposition fighters from the beginning," he said, adding that they had no command-and-control structure and little discipline.

 He credited them for their enthusiasm and spirit, but added, "Once the going gets tough, the ranks start to fall apart and it descends into anarchy, chaos."

 Saif Gadhafi, a son of Moammar Gadhafi and a prominent spokesman for the regime, vowed to retake eastern Libya as well and insisted his father still commanded support. "I receive hundreds of calls from the east daily and they are saying, 'Save us.' They are begging us and pleading for us to save them and my answer is two words. Listen to me and I want those armed groups to listen to me real well, and I want our people in the east to hear this as well: We're coming."

 He bristled at the possibility of military intervention. "The Libyan people they will never welcome NATO or Americans," he said. "Libya is not a piece of cake; we are not a Mickey Mouse."

 Though the Libyan government forces appeared to advance on the ground, the opposition gained momentum internationally.

 The French government recognized the newly created Libyan opposition movement as the sole representative of the country and the British foreign secretary spoke to an opposition representative over the phone.

 In response, Libyan state TV said the Gadhafi government would consider ending its relationship with France.

 In the United States, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced plans to meet with opposition leaders. She said the United States was suspending relations with the Libyan Embassy in Washington, and an administration official added the embassy "must shut down."

 But an official told CNN that "ending the operations of the Libyan Embassy does not mean we're cutting off diplomatic ties with Libya."

 Protests against the 68-year-old Gadhafi began February 15 as anti-government demonstrators sought his ouster after nearly 42 years of rule, and the discontent devolved into a fierce and bloody civil war.

 America's top U.S. intelligence official, James Clapper, took note of Libya's military prowess at a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting Thursday. He said Gadhafi is in the fight for the long haul, with military far superior to that of the opposition.

 Clapper described the Libyan air defense as "substantial," saying it is the region's second-largest, after Egypt, but he did not address how fighting would fare against Libya if a no-fly zone or other military strategies were imposed.

 He said Gadhafi has a lot of aircraft, although many are not operational. To "some extent," he said, the aircraft have been used for attacks, but they have caused more structural damage than injury.

 In Brussels, Belgium, NATO defense ministers discussed the option of a no-fly zone over the North African country. Its secretary-general said any move to impose one would require a clear mandate from the United Nations.

 NATO also decided to bolster its presence in the Mediterranean Sea and perform detailed planning on humanitarian assistance.

 International military officials say the imposition of a no-fly zone could be complicated, but some opposition figures -- such as Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, a former justice minister who quit last month in protest and now heads the interim government in eastern Libya -- are advocating for the move.

 Gadhafi has said that imposing such a zone would simply unite Libyans behind him.

 Saying NATO is "united," "vigilant," and "ready to act," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the group's secretary-general, said the body has begun round-the-clock airborne surveillance of Libya's airspace.

 "Time is of the essence," he said, adding that the crisis requires "close international coordination" among organizations such as NATO, the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union, and the Arab League.

 U.S. authorities have frozen $32 billion in assets tied to the Libyan regime, White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

 British Foreign Secretary William Hague spoke by telephone with Mahmoud Jabril, the National Transitional Council's special envoy.

 He said European foreign ministers on Thursday talked about how the EU should react "to the continuing appalling and unacceptable actions" of the regime.

 Hague "made clear that planning was under way on a full range of responses, including the possible establishment of a no-fly zone," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "It would need international support, a clear trigger and a legal basis. He also said that another diplomatic mission would be sent to Benghazi shortly."

 At the NATO meeting, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said a no-fly zone option was still being considered, but was only in the planning stages. Gates added that any military response to Libya would need the United Nations to sanction it.

 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed an executive order banning the sale to Libya of arms, ammunition and military equipment, according to the Kremlin's website.

 The Council of the European Union Thursday announced it will extend restrictions against Libyan entities.

 As for Gadhafi's government, it has sought to influence international sentiment, announcing that its secretary of state for international relations will travel to Portugal, Greece and Malta on an exploratory, fact-finding mission that may include other destinations.

 The country has also invited British, French, Dutch and German fact-finding teams to examine reports of aerial bombardment and massacres. None has taken up Gadhafi on the offer.

 Death toll estimates have ranged from more than 1,000 to as many as 2,000.

 As of Thursday morning, the war had forced out nearly 250,000 people, many of them poor migrant workers who have been stranded at both the Tunisian and Egyptian borders, the U.N. refugee agency said.

 The United States will soon send disaster relief teams into eastern Libya, White House National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon said. He said the teams' activities should not be viewed as military operations.

 U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday condemned the detention and possible torture by Libyan authorities of a BBC news team working to cover the conflict in Zawiya. The journalists, released from detention in Libya Wednesday, told of beatings and mock executions.

 The Guardian, a British daily newspaper, reported that one of its correspondents, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, was missing.

 He was traveling with Andrei Netto of the Brazilian newspaper Estado, who was detained by authorities while reporting from Libya, the Guardian said. Netto was released Thursday and was to leave the country Friday.

 CNN's Ben Wedeman, Pam Benson, Jill Dougherty, Whitney Hurst, Jonathan Wald and Journalist Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report |||||


Write an article based on this summary:

– The only people more villainous than clown-faced maniacs are the people who make movie trailers about them, apparently. Comicbook.com reports a Scottish Reddit user named BlackPanther2016 claims he or she is suing Warner Bros. and DC over what he claims were misleading Suicide Squad trailers that heavily featured Jared Leto's Joker. As the Huffington Post points out, despite a prominent presence in the advertising campaign for Suicide Squad, the Joker only appears in the film for about 15 minutes. "I drove 300 miles to London to go watch these specific scenes they had explicitly advertised in their TV ads," BlackPanther2016 writes on Reddit. "They didn't show them to me.” BlackPanther2016 says his brother is a lawyer and their court case for false advertising starts Thursday. He compares film trailers to restaurant menus, and says he definitely didn't get what he ordered when he went to Suicide Squad. “I'm now taking this to court," BlackPanther2016 writes. "I want my refund, the trauma of being embarrassed as I was being kicked out and people laughing at me for wanting my refund." HuffPo doesn't think the disappointed Joker fan has a legal leg to stand on. And Complex can't figure out whether or not the whole thing is a joke.

Movie Trailers are like food menus, they give you a preview of what your gonna get. If you look at a McDonald’s menu and you choose to get your favourite burger, presented/showcased in a nice picture with pickles, chicken, mild cheese (you’re favourite, in-fact...that’s the only reason you’re getting this burger...because you love mild cheese). So you use your hard worked money to pay for this burger, you get the burger, but only to find out that...this isn’t the burger you ordered. Yes it has pickles and chicken...but...it doesn’t have mild cheese...it has regular cheese.

 “Suicide Squad” trailers showcased several SPECIFIC Joker scenes that I had to pay for the whole movie just so that I can go watch those SPECIFIC SCENES that WB/DC had advertised in their trailers and TV spots. These scenes are: When Joker banged his head on his car window, when Joker says, ‘’let me show you my toys’’, when Joker punchs the roof of his car, when Joker drops a bomb with his face all messed up and says, ‘’BYE BYE!’’. Non of these scenes were in the movie. I drove 300 miles to London to go watch these specific scenes they had explicitly advertised in their TV ads...and they didn’t show them to me. Adding to this, they were also 2 specific Katana scenes they advertised that were also the reason I wanted to go watch the movie. These scenes were: Katana’s eyes going black, and a slow motion shot of her and her sword taking souls...in a smokey kind of style. These scenes were advertised several times in the 1st trailer and many TV ads...but they didn’t show it to me in the movie. I wasted alot of money paying and travelling to go watch this movie because of these specific scenes they had advertised to me and all of us saying, ‘’hey, check out our preview! this will all be in our movie, come watch it on the 5th!!’’. All lies. I told the theatre about this unjust act and said I didn’t get what I came here to see...can I have my money back. They laughed at me and kicked me out. So I’m now taking this to court. I want my refund, the trauma of being embarrassed as I was being kicked out and people laughing at me for wanting my refund, and also the 160 pounds of fuel money I used to drive to London from Scotland.

 If you advertise something...give me what you have advertised. Period. This is becoming a habbit with movie studios, showing epic scenes in trailers...but their never shown in the movies. It’s unjust.

 I just want to say, join me if you feel the same way. Let’s stop this nonsense of false bullshitery...and don’t let them bribe you with their ‘’deluxe premium special directors gold extended edition supreme cut’’ nonsense. You should get what they advertised as their first theatre showing and what you have paid for based on what they have showed you in their advertisements.

 Our court process will begin on 11/08/16 this week. ||||| Oh, I’m not going to kill you. I’m just going to...sue you? Wait, that’s not how the line goes. Well, that is, unless you’re Reddit user BlackPanther2016. Disgruntled by Suicide Squad's so-called false advertising, the moviegoer is sharing his plans to sue Warner Bros. & DC Entertainment for wrongly showing some of The Joker’s scenes in its preview trailers.

 Posting to r/movies, the user had lots to say about how fed up he is with Suicide Squad and Hollywood’s tendency to delete scenes shown in trailers. He writes, “Suicide Squad trailers showcased several SPECIFIC Joker scenes that I had to pay for the whole movie just so that I can go watch those SPECIFIC SCENES that WB/DC had advertised in their trailers and TV spots...Non [sic] of these scenes were in the movie. I drove 300 miles to London to go watch these specific scenes they had explicitly advertised in their TV ads...and they didn't show them to me.”

 Of course, many fans are aware of the decision Warner Bros. made to cut many of The Joker’s scenes. Actor Jared Leto even told Telestar, “There are a lot of scenes that didn’t make it to the final film. Hopefully they will see the light of day. Who knows.” But, for one Reddit user, the studio’s choice is totally unacceptable. “I wasted alot of money paying and travelling to go watch this movie because of these specific scenes they had advertised to me and all of us saying, “hey, check out our preview! this will all be in our movie, come watch it on the 5th!!”. All lies,” he explained before continuing. “I'm now taking this to court. I want my refund, the trauma of being embarrassed as I was being kicked out and people laughing at me for wanting my refund, and also the 160 pounds of fuel money I used to drive to London from Scotland.”

 If you happen to feel the same way as BlackPanther2016, then you now have a champion for this cause. The user’s post finishes with them calling out to similarly disappointed fans, urging others to stand up against Hollywood’s “unjust” advertising schemes. “Let's stop this nonsense of false bullsh**ery...and don't let them bribe you with their “deluxe premium special directors gold extended edition supreme cut” nonsense,” the user pleads. “You should get what they advertised as their first theatre showing and what you have paid for based on what they have showed you in their advertisements.” ||||| For anyone who hasn't had the chance to peep Suicide Squad just yet, the following slice of info might qualify as a spoiler. Despite a year's worth of trailers, teasers, and declarations of method acting prowess, Jared Leto doesn't really get a ton of screen time in the film. That's not only a bummer for Leto, but it's also quite the bummer for Joker and/or Leto fans. Just ask the guy who's apparently threatening to sue because Suicide Squad's distinct lack of Joker left him so damn befuddled. Also, um, mad. Dude seems really mad.

 A Reddit user by the digital name of BlackPanther2016, as first reported by Screen Rant, considers movie trailers to be similar to food menus. "They give you a preview of what your [sic] gonna get," the post reads. Fair enough. But what's the main beef here? The Reddit user and his brother, apparently an attorney, are beyond bummed that they drove "300 miles to London" to specifically peep scenes they had seen in the trailer only to later be met with profound disappointment:

 "Suicide Squad trailers showcased several SPECIFIC Joker scenes that I had to pay for the whole movie just so that I can go watch those SPECIFIC SCENES that WB/DC had advertised in their trailers and TV spots. These scenes are: When Joker banged his head on his car window, when Joker says, 'let me show you my toys', when Joker punchs [sic] the roof of his car, when Joker drops a bomb with his face all messed up and says, 'BYE BYE!'. Non [sic] of these scenes were in the movie."

 Whether this is all a semi-elaborate joke or not remains to be seen, but BlackPanther2016 claims to be kicking off his "court process" on Thursday. This perpetually bummed Suicide Squad viewer wants a full refund, gas, and some sort of additional compensation for the "trauma of being embarrassed" as the theater staff kicked him out as he proceeded to complain to them about false advertising.

 Anyway, peep this fan-made Joker and Harley Quinn movie and imagine all that could have been with the gift of an R rating. |||||


Summarize this article:

For years, scores of teenage boys across the Midwest couldn't put a face or a name to the source of their torment: a man who distributed their nude images across the internet and even goaded some into sexual activity.

 But on Tuesday, two of the young men sat in a federal courtroom in St. Paul as Anton Martynenko was sentenced to 38 years in prison for running a massive sextortion scheme described as the largest child porn production case ever prosecuted in Minnesota.

 "We all can now be given freedom from this," said one victim, identified in court only as Grant, after the sentence came down.

 Martynenko, 32, of Eagan, pleaded guilty in January for his role in a scheme prosecutors said victimized more than 155 boys — mostly high school athletes between 14 and 16 — by using fake social media profiles, often posing as young women, to persuade them to send him nude photos and videos, which he later would post online.

 In passing sentence, U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle gave Martynenko two years' credit for his assistance to investigators on the Jacob Wetterling case. Martynenko shared information he picked up from suspect Danny Heinrich while the two were jail cellmates.

 Martynenko scoured high school sports websites for the names of teenage boys, then tricked them into swapping sexually explicit photos and videos.

 Some victims believed they were exchanging flirtatious messages with attractive young women, who actually were invented by Martynenko on one of the several "decoy" social media accounts he created. Other times, he hid behind social media profiles meant to look like a local high school hockey player and offered to pay victims to allow him to perform oral sex on them.

 Once Martynenko obtained the images, he threatened to post them online — and often did — and shared them with dozens of classmates as a way of pressuring and embarrassing his victims.

 Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol Kayser called Martynenko a "tenacious predator" who persisted in his four-year scheme even after interacting with local and federal law enforcement agencies.

 Prosecutors said Martynenko lured at least three boys into performing sex acts on him, and that two of his victims later committed suicide.

 "We don't know what role his scheme had [in their deaths] but you can certainly imagine the depression and stress this added to their lives," Kayser said.

 Other victims like Roy, now 21 years old, spoke in court Tuesday. They said they also considered suicide as a result of "crippling anxiety" from having nude images posted across social media for friends, family and employers to see.

 "My life has become a living hell," said Roy, who was 17 when Martynenko first messaged him.

 Target lists

 Grant was 15 when Martynenko reached out to him in 2012 purporting to be Cortney Jansgen, an attractive young manager of a modeling agency who pitched Grant on a $1,000 modeling gig. But first, Grant said, he had to share nude photos for a sample portfolio. Those images later circulated online after Grant turned down a request from another Martynenko account offering $300 for oral sex.

 The images "spread like wildfire," Grant said, and he later spent sleepless nights trying to keep up with the latest social media alerts notifying that he had been tagged in another photo. Martynenko, Grant said, "was a terrible human being who spent years of his life making hundreds of teen boys miserable."

 "It's an honor to be able to be here to speak for them," Grant later said of the many other victims who couldn't attend Tuesday's hearing. "I'm now going to enjoy my time without any fear of another attack. It's good to know that he's going to be unable to do that to us anymore."

 Investigators from suburban police departments that also worked the case attended Tuesday's hearing, which spanned several hours.

 The investigation began with a call from a Rosemount teenager to local police and eventually expanded to include the FBI. Martynenko was arrested in November 2015, minutes after sending his final Twitter message to a Minneapolis officer who was granted permission to operate a teen victim's account undercover.

 Authorities eventually unspooled detailed "target lists" of teenage boys that Martynenko sought to contact. In court Tuesday, Kayser showed the judge one list and a screenshot of some of the meticulous folders of boys' photos that Martynenko organized by name, age, school and occasionally penis size.

 In an interview after Martynenko's sentencing, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger underscored the importance of using the internet safely.

 "One of the things that keeps me up at night are the actions of a man like Anton Martynenko," Luger said. "This case highlighted how deeply disturbing the criminal obsession of a man like Martynenko can be. How not only does he steal the innocence of teenage boys but through extortion, threats and physical acts he inflicted unspeakable psychological damage to his victims."

 A forensic psychologist who examined Martynenko testified Tuesday that he appeared amenable to intensive psychosexual treatment for addiction to pornography and other mental health problems. But he voiced concern at nearly 200 pages of chat logs between Martynenko and victims in which he expressed delight at "exposing" victims' nude photos.

 His mother, Natalie Martynenko, who also addressed the judge during the hearing, embraced emotional relatives and supporters after hearing her son's sentence. She acknowledged that her son's crimes were serious, and said she had hoped for a sentence heavier on treatment than it was on incarceration.

 "He's my only child," she said in the courthouse lobby.

 A tearful Martynenko meanwhile apologized to victims in court, calling his own actions "disgusting," but arguing that he is "not an evil person trying to ruin lives."

 He described his online activities as a "getaway" from anxiety and depression but "I literally couldn't have handled myself any worse than I did."

 "I have to pay for what I've done," Martynenko said. "I'll do anything the rest of my life to make it up."

 Kayser argued that Martynenko still failed to take full responsibility for his actions, including denying sexual activity with a third victim and maintaining he did not post some of the messages.

 Marsh Halberg, an attorney for Martynenko, sought the mandatory minimum of 15 years for the three child pornography charges to which his client pleaded guilty. He argued that 40 years was essentially a life sentence.

 "This will always follow him no matter what he does," Halberg said.

 Twitter: @smontemayor ||||| Anton Martynenko | Anoka County Jail

 - A 32-year-old man from Eagan, Minnesota was sentenced to 38 years in prison Tuesday for using social media to obtain child pornography from more than 155 high school boys in multiple states. Prosecutors sought a 40-year prison sentence for Anton Martynenko, but two years were shaved off his sentence for giving federal investigators notes on jail conversations he had with Danny Heinrich, the man who killed Jacob Wetterling.

 Sextortion case

 According to court documents, Martynenko “regularly scoured internet sites devoted to high school athletes to locate his targets.” In many cases, he posed as a teenage girl to solicit nude photos from the boys, which he then posted on social media.

 Prosecutors say Martynenko collected child pornography, but also “delighted in the humiliation, embarrassment, and potential negative consequences his actions caused his victims.”

 Prosecutors are aware of three boys who engaged in sexual activity with Martynenko, which he claims were consensual encounters. At least two of Martynenko’s victims committed suicide, but it is not known what role, if any, his scheme had in their deaths.

 Martynenko pleaded guilty in January. Prosecutors said this is the single largest child pornography production case in Minnesota history.

 “We feel like we’ve been given freedom today,” one of Martynenko’s victims said at Tuesday’s sentencing. “It’s very satisfying to see this man sit in prison for the rest of his life.”

 Wetterling case connection

 According to a pre-sentencing filing, Martynenko informed his attorneys of conversations he had with Danny Heinrich, during his time at the Sherburne County Jail. Martynenko “felt it was his moral duty to convey the information he had obtained from Mr. Heinrich relating to both Jacob Wetterling’s murder as well as the sexual assault of Jared Scheierl.”

 Martynenko met with the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Aug. 17 and provided 40 pages of notes on the conversations he had with Danny Heinrich. Six days later, Martynenko met with his attorney and said Heinrich had returned from a meeting with his own lawyers and was bragging to everyone that he was “going to be very famous in the coming weeks and to be sure to watch for him on television.”

 Heinrich later told Martynenko, “in great detail,” how he abducted, sexually assaulted and killed Jacob Wetterling.

 “Did he help solve the Heinrich-Wetterling case? He did not,” said assistant U.S. attorney Carol Kayser. “He wanted to be painted as a hero. And he is not.” |||||

– What's said to have been the biggest child-pornography production case in Minnesota history ended Tuesday in a St. Paul courtroom, and two of the victims faced down their tormenter there. "We all can now be given freedom from this," one of the unnamed victims, now a young man, said after Anton Martynenko, 32, was sentenced to 38 years in prison for what the Minneapolis Star Tribune calls a "massive sextortion scheme." How that scheme worked: Martynenko would set up fake online profiles (often as teen girls) to lure teen boys into sending him nude pics, which he'd then post online. All told, he tricked more than 155 boys, mainly between 14 and 16, in multiple states, KMSP reports. Martynenko, who pleaded guilty in January, "delighted in the humiliation, embarrassment, and potential negative consequences his actions caused his victims," prosecutors said, per court docs. Once Martynenko had the boys' photos, he'd threaten to post the pics online, and he'd often follow through. He also managed to persuade three boys into committing sexual acts on him, and two of his victims ended up killing themselves. One of the victims who appeared in court, now 21, said "my life has become a living hell" from the experience, while the other, who's around 19, noted Martynenko was "a terrible human being who spent years of his life making hundreds of teen boys miserable." Side note: Martynenko had two years lopped off his sentence for helping investigators on the Jacob Wetterling case. He'd shared a jail cell with Danny Heinrich, Jacob's killer, at one point and had apparently procured information. (The break in the Wetterling case came in September after 27 years.)


Mariner Energy has been involved in at least a dozen offshore accidents or pollution spills in Gulf waters that were investigated by federal regulators. Possible violations were reported in at least six, and the company was fined three times. The incidents included one minor blowout and four fires.

 Here are summaries based on reports from the Minerals Management Service, now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement:

 May 25, 2006: A leaking storage tank prompted a pollution violation at a platform damaged by Hurricane Katrina at a site 10 miles from shore in 35 feet of water. Inspectors found the bottom of a tank was corroded, and a damaged safety system and tank sump pump were unable to contain the overflow. A violation was recorded by New Orleans-based inspectors.

 May 29, 2006: An employee was injured when he fell about 11 feet to a lower deck while working on a production platform. Inspectors based in Lafayette, La., found a possible violation: The injured man was not wearing required fall protection equipment. Mariner later paid a related $30,000 civil penalty.

 October 28, 2006: A welding accident resulted in a fire on a production platform in 45 feet of water and 26 miles offshore. Two possible violations were identified by Lake Jackson, Texas-based inspectors.

 June 23, 2007: A flash fire and explosion was reported on a production platform being decommissioned 74 miles offshore in 198 feet of water. A tank exploded, and a worker was burned. Operator Mariner Energy failed to comply with its own welding and burning safety procedures plan, reports show.

 March 1, 2008: A derrick barge under tow struck a Mariner Energy's Eugene Island well, resulting in minor damage estimated at about $2,000. Mariner Energy personnel discovered the accident. No violations.

 May 6, 2008: Workers were required to evacuate when a blowout was reported on a Pride Offshore drilling rig in 287 feet of water and about 90 miles from shore. The blowout apparently occurred when the driller hit a previously unknown shallow gas zone. No violations.

 May 26, 2008: A crew member suffered an eye injury after a drilling accident involving a Pride Offshore rig. The hook and hoist chain became stuck under the rig floor and after dislodging, the chain struck one of the crew members. Lake Charles, Texas-based inspectors found possible violations based on "unsafe workmanlike operations" that led to the injury.

 June 2, 2008: A fire occurred on a production platform in 62 feet of water and 21 miles offshore during a cleaning operation. During a shutdown, liquid hydrocarbons migrated into a fuel gas scrubber, triggering the fire and causing $40,435 in damage. No violations.

 December 3, 2008: A pollution incident reported at a Rowan drilling rig was apparently caused by a leaking valve. No violations.

 February 27, 2009: A contract employee fell through a hole in loose grating while performing minor repairs caused by Hurricane Ike at Mariner's High Island platform. No violations were found by Lake Jackson Texas-based inspectors.

 June 15, 2009: One worker was hurt in an explosion on a production platform in 75 feet of water and about 45 miles offshore. His legs and back were burned when a methanol tank exploded during welding. Lafayette, La.-based inspectors cited four possible safety violations.

 June 22, 2009: An injury accident occurred when a crane was decommissioned during plug-and-abandon operations at a South Marsh production platform in 223 feet of water and 89 miles from shore. Inspectors found that workers failed to follow and adhere to safe practices while disassembling a portable crane.

 lise.olsen@chron.com ||||| Times-Picayune /Landov Crew boats pump water Thursday onto the oil-and-gas production platform Vermilion 380-A, after an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast, 93 nautical miles south of Vermilion Bay.

 HOUMA, La.—The fire that engulfed an oil and gas platform Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico heightened pressure on the energy industry, which is battling greater regulation and a deep-water drilling ban.

 The accident on Mariner Energy Inc.'s shallow-water platform sent 13 workers tumbling into the ocean, but there were no casualties and little or no oil appears to have been spilled.

 But the towering column of smoke in the Gulf, 245 miles from where the Deepwater Horizon exploded April 20, provoked an outcry from environmental groups and politicians in Washington already skeptical of offshore drilling.

 And it complicated the energy industry's effort to portray BP PLC's massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill as a fluke that shouldn't have provoked a drilling moratorium, some energy experts said.

 Kevin Book, managing director of research at ClearView Energy Partners LLC, a consulting firm with many energy clients, said that another accident in the Gulf, albeit minor compared with the April blowout, could prompt the Democratic Congress to push for greater changes.

 Certain lawmakers' perceptions "that oil and gas production is safe is not affirmed by this disaster," he said. "And worse, the idea that regulation is adequate is definitely not affirmed."

 The platform in Thursday's incident wasn't covered by the moratorium, because it didn't involve drilling and wasn't in deep water.

 But the accident comes as the oil industry is trying to persuade the Obama administration to relax its drilling moratorium, on the grounds that offshore companies have taken sufficient steps to prevent another accident like the one aboard the Deepwater Horizon. That accident killed 11 workers and unleashed the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

 The administration has said it could lift or scale back the moratorium prior to its scheduled expiration on Nov. 30 if it determines that certain categories of rigs "present fewer risks than others."

 The industry remains hopeful that will happen. "It's dispiriting, but it shouldn't be an impediment to progress," Lee Hunt, president of the International Association of Drilling Contractors, said of Thursday's accident. Mr. Hunt noted that the Mariner facility was a production platform, not a drilling rig, and was pumping mostly natural gas.

 "What you have is an industrial-style accident that could have happened onshore," he added.

 Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican who has been leading the fight against the drilling ban, said the incident shouldn't be used as political ammunition in support of a federal moratorium on offshore drilling. Speaking at the hospital here where the platform's crew were being examined, he said, "Energy exploration can and should be done safely."

 Mr. Jindal said he welcomed increased federal safety oversight of drilling, but not a ban on drilling. "It's important for the federal government to do their job, so thousands of Louisianans don't lose their jobs."

 The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group that has mounted an aggressive push to overturn the drilling moratorium, said it was too soon to comment on the impact of the accident. "We don't know at this point what impact this will have," said spokesman Bill Bush.

 But critics of offshore drilling said the fire showed the danger of offshore drilling, in both deep and shallow water.

 "The half-measures and happy talk need to end," said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat. The latest accident, he said, "is the starkest possible reminder that oil rigs in this country are not safe, have not been safe for years and are not currently being inspected for safety."

 Senior Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has been investigating the Deepwater Horizon disaster, fired off a letter to Mariner requesting a briefing on the incident by Sept. 10.

 View Slideshow AFP/Getty Images Thirteen workers waited for rescue after they jumped into the sea.

 The cause of the fire, which began a little after 9 a.m. CDT, and was extinguished by midafternoon, remained under investigation Thursday. One worker on the platform, who wasn't on board when the fire broke out, said a paint crew had joined the usual four-man crew on Wednesday.

 None of the 13 workers aboard was seriously injured, Gov. Jindal said, though only 12 were able to grab life vests; they held their colleague afloat in the Gulf until rescuers arrived.

 Edwin Stanton, commander of the Coast Guard's operations in New Orleans, said six commercial offshore supply boats were on the scene, continuing to spray cooling water onto the platform. He said the sheen of oil seen around the rig probably amounted to about 10 gallons.

 An oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico explodes sending 13 people on board into the water below. Video courtesy of Fox News.

 Fires aren't uncommon offshore, especially at older platforms like Mariner's, said Ray Kizer, an analyst at energy consultancy IHS. Mariner took over the platform, known as Vermilion 380-A, several years ago, but it has been operating for three decades.

 The platform has a history of maintenance and repair issues, according to federal records. Government inspectors found an unusually high number of serious problems aboard the platform in both 2004 and 2005, and the facility was later damaged by Hurricane Ike.

 Mariner is the sole owner of the platform, which it said recently produced an average of 9.2 million cubic feet of natural gas a day, equivalent to 1,533 barrels of oil, and about 1,400 barrels a day of oil and other liquids.

 Apache Corp. said in April it would buy Mariner for $2.7 billion, acquiring a foothold in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, which in recent years has become a major growth area for big oil companies.

 The Deepwater Horizon incident, which is costing U.K. oil giant BP billions of dollars, also has cast doubt on whether smaller oil companies would be able to handle the high costs of responding to offshore accidents.

 Bruce Bullock, director of Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University, noted that a majority of the public didn't appear to support the moratorium. "But that didn't stop the administration from imposing it," he said, "so I don't think this is going to do anything to help convince the administration to lift it."

 —Russell Gold and Jennifer S. Forsyth contributed to this article.

 Write to Leslie Eaton at leslie.eaton@wsj.com, Russell Gold at russell.gold@wsj.com and Stephen Power at stephen.power@wsj.com |||||

Write a summary.

– The latest fire on an oil and gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico yesterday may not have spilled more oil into the Gulf, but it has further polluted the industry's image. The accident is going to make it harder for the industry to argue that the Deepwater Horizon disaster was a fluke as it fights tighter regulation and a moratorium on deep-water drilling, energy experts tell the Wall Street Journal. The platform engulfed by fire yesterday was in shallow water and it wasn't drilling when the accident occurred, but analysts say the fire adds to perceptions among some lawmakers that the industry is unsafe and under-regulated. The platform has a history of maintenance and repair issues and its owner, Mariner Energy, has been involved in at least a dozen offshore accidents since 2006, including four fires and a minor blowout, the Houston Chronicle reports.