California’s governor has signed a moratorium halting the use of the death penalty, saying he would be unable to sleep at night if he sent just one innocent person to their death. Gavin Newsom, who was sworn in as the state’s 40th governor in January, said statistics suggested at least one of the 737 inmates on California’s death row – more than any other state – ought not to be there. Citing a National Academy of Sciences report that estimated 1 out of every 25 people on death row was innocent, the governor said he was not prepared to go along with such a system.

New York (AFP) - The British pound recovered strongly Wednesday as traders were increasingly confident Britain's exit from the EU will be pushed beyond the current March 29 deadline.

The result means Parliament will vote Thursday to decide whether to postpone the U.K.’s exit from the EU in just over two weeks. The development came after Parliament a day earlier rejected a revised version of the withdrawal agreement that Prime Minister Theresa May has spent the past two years negotiating with the EU. May is planning to ask the EU for an extension to the March 29 Brexit deadline lasting about two months, according to people familiar with the matter.