Storks sit in their nest as the moon sets on Tuesday in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany. The Associated Press

NATION

ANGOLA, La. — A lawyer for a condemned man says Louisiana has used nitrogen gas to put the inmate to death, marking the first time the state has used that execution method. Tuesday’s execution of Jessie Hoffman Jr. was the state’s first execution in 15 years and the nation’s fifth using nitrogen gas.

The man’s lawyer, Cecelia Kappel, issued a statement saying her client had been put to death in what she called a “senseless execution.” Hoffman was convicted of the 1996 murder of a 28-year-old advertising executive, Mary “Molly” Elliott. Kappel said that the execution was carried out shortly after the Supreme Court declined to intervene.

District of Columbia

Transgender ban in military blocked

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has blocked enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military. Judge Ana Reyes in Washington, D.C., ruled that Trump’s order likely violates their constitutional rights.

She delayed her order until Friday to give the administration time to appeal.

Dust storms cause highway closures

SANTA FE, N.M. — Dust storms are raging across much of New Mexico. The National Weather Service pushed emergency alerts to cellphones that warned of zero-visibility road conditions and adverse health consequences for infants and the elderly.

The blowing dust snarled highway traffic as some motorists pulled over into the desert scrub to avoid pileup crashes.

WORLD

Anti-LGBTQ+ law sparks protests

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary has passed a new anti-LGBTQ+ law that bans Pride events and allows authorities to use facial recognition software to identify those attending the festivities. The law’s approval on Tuesday led to a large demonstration on the streets of Budapest.

The demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans and blockaded Margaret Bridge over the Danube, disregarding police orders to leave the area.

Curfew set after communal clashes

NEW DELHI — Authorities have imposed an indefinite curfew in parts of a western Indian city a day after communal clashes that were sparked by protests demanding removal of a tomb.

Clashes between Hindus and Muslims broke out during an agitation led by Hindu nationalist groups demanding the dismantling of the tomb of Aurangzeb, a Muslim Mughal ruler and a loathed figure among India’s Hindu nationalists, who accuse him of persecution during his rule in the 17th century.

FBI applauds handover of gang figure

MEXICO CITY — FBI Director Kash Patel applauded Mexican authorities Tuesday for the arrest and handover of one of the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” suspects, Francisco Javier Román Bardales, an alleged gang leader from El Salvador.

The Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, was one of eight Latin American criminal organizations declared foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government last month.