NY Police Officer Killed in Shootout:  A New York City police officer was shot and killed Tuesday night during a shootout with a suspect with numerous prior convictions for drug-related offenses and wanted for a September shooting.  Fox News reports that 33-year-old Randolph Holder, a five-year veteran of the force, responded to a report of shots fired and an armed robbery in the city's East Harlem section, which led to a foot chase and an exchange of gunfire with the shooter, 30-year-old Tyrone Howard.  Holder was shot in the forehead and died in the hospital, and Howard suffered a leg wound but was released from the hospital into police custody Wednesday.  Three other men were also taken into custody and questioned.  Holder is the fourth NYPD officer to be killed in the line of duty in 11 months.

AR High Court Leaves Executions on Hold:  The Arkansas Supreme Court, following a ruling that a lower-court judge overstepped his jurisdiction by halting the executions of eight death row inmates, granted its own stay of execution Tuesday for the inmates who are challenging a new state law.  Claudia Lauer of the AP reports that executions will remain on hold to give the death row inmates time to challenge the constitutionality of the state's new secrecy law, which bans the state from disclosing its lethal injection drug supplier.  They argue that where and how the execution drugs are made is necessary to determine if it will lead to cruel and unusual punishment.  The inmates are also challenging the state's three-drug execution protocol, focusing on midazolam, a sedative under scrutiny after being used in executions in Oklahoma, Ohio and Arizona.  Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said, "While the Supreme Court's decision is not about the merits of the case, it is unfortunate that this further delays justice for the victims."

Convicted Cop Killer Sentenced to Death:  A jury condemned a man convicted of the 2011 ambush-style killing of a Texas Sheriff's deputy to death late Tuesday.  Paul Venema, Robert Taylor and Jessica Soto of KSAT report that 45-year-old Mark Anthony Gonzalez was found guilty last week of murdering Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Kenneth Vann when he pulled up alongside Vann's patrol car in May 2011 and unloaded 46 shots from an assault rifle into the vehicle, killing him.  Gonzalez's request for a competency evaluation was granted by Judge Mary Roman, so he will not be formally sentenced until the evaluation is complete.  According to the prosecuting attorney, the results of the evaluation will not affect the death penalty punishment decided by the jury.