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Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin is hailing what he calls good news on the corrections front: Vermont has seen a reduction in its prison population, while its crime rates also are down.  WAMC’s Pat Bradley reports…

Numbers released on Wednesday show Vermont's inmate population has dropped by more than 140 since 2008, to 2,059 people behind bars. It had been projected to grow by 26 percent between 2008 and 2018.

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Connecticut's governor has signed a new law that abolishes the state's death penalty for future crimes. WAMC’s Lucas Willard reports…

A spokeswoman says Democratic Governor Dannel P. Malloy signed the bill Wednesday afternoon at a private ceremony with lawmakers, clergy and family members of victims.

Malloy issued a statement calling it "an historic moment" as Connecticut joins 16 other states that have abolished capital punishment. He said it was a moment "for sober reflection, not celebration."

Listen to Paul Caiano's WAMC Regional forecast.  Paul Caiano is a meteorologist at WNYT Newschannel 13. He graduated from SUNY Albany in May of 1993 with a B.S. in the field of Atmospheric Science/Meteorology.

Well the defending Stanley Cup champions can no longer defend their title…

On the ice last night in Boston, Joel Ward stuffed a rebound past Tim Thomas at 2:57 of overtime, as the Capitals eliminated the Bruins, winning Game 7 2-1.  Sound courtesy of the NHL.  Washington won’t know its second round matchup until the conclusion of tonight’s games.  Two more Game 7s in the Eastern Conference:  The Rangers will host the Senators in New York, and the Devils will skate against the Panthers in Florida.    

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Pakistan faces even more political uncertainty. The country's supreme court today found the prime minister guilty of contempt of court. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had resisted demands by the court that he press authorities in Switzerland to pursue money laundering charges there against his boss, the president of Pakistan. NPR's Julie McCarthy has been following this story. She was at the court in Islamabad.

Hi, Julie.

JULIE MCCARTHY, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.

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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

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And I'm Renee Montagne.

For the president, next week is being billed as the official launch of his re-election campaign. Mr. Obama will be holding rallies in the swing states of Ohio and Virginia. But it would be hard to tell a difference from this week, when Mr. Obama made a tour of college campuses in three other battleground states.

A special tribunal in The Hague has found former Liberian President Charles Taylor guilty of aiding war crimes. Taylor armed fighters in neighboring Sierra Leone in return for "blood diamonds."