ALPACA WITH ATTITUDE

Alpaca with attitude
Jack, an alpaca, gets a close look at a photographer's camera in Laramie, Wyo. Jack was one of five alpacas brought to the Albany County Public Library in Laramie by the Windy Ridge Ranch earlier in the week. Ranch owner Windy Perkins presented an educational program about alpacas as part of the 'Paws, Claws, Tales and Scales" summer reading program.
Massachusetts puts off vote on gay marriage ban
BOSTON -- Massachusetts lawmakers ended debate on proposed constitutional amendments Wednesday before dealing with the most volatile issue on their agenda: a proposal to outlaw gay marriage in the only state where it is legal. The move to recess until Nov. 9 put off the decision on the politically charged issue until after the general election. Senate President Robert Travaglini had said he intended to bring all 20 proposed amendments to a vote, but had warned lawmakers might not be able to get to every proposed amendment Wednesday. The goal of the gay marriage amendment, which supporters hope to put on the 2008 ballot, would be to block future gay marriages in Massachusetts. More than 8,000 same-sex couples have taken vows since gay marriages began in May 2004.
Chicago subway trainderails; everyone survives
CHICAGO -- Everyone got out alive, the train operator did as he was trained and the passengers did as they were told. Still, that a small fire on a major commuter line could leave passengers gasping for air and send 152 of them to the hospital highlights just how vulnerable transit systems are to disaster. The derailment and fire inside a Chicago subway line Tuesday came the same day massive explosions on trains in India killed 200 people -- a frightening reminder that there's no easy way to protect passengers on commuter trains, particularly those that run underground. Officials and others say that after the last car of an eight-car train derailed, things went about as well as possible. They praised the train's operator for getting passengers off quickly and noted the orderly way the hundreds of passengers made their way through a darkened and smoky tunnel to an emergency exit.
Kennedy cousin appealingdeath penalty conviction
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Attorneys for Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel filed a petition Wednesday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his murder conviction, saying his due process rights were violated because a statute of limitations had expired. Skakel, 45, is serving 20 years to life for his 2002 conviction in the 1975 beating death of his Greenwich neighbor, Martha Moxley, when the two were teenagers. Skakel appealed his conviction to the Connecticut Supreme Court last year, arguing that a five-year statute of limitations, in place in Connecticut at the time Moxley died, had expired when he was charged in 2000. The court unanimously rejected that appeal in January. The Legislature eliminated Connecticut's statute of limitations for murder in 1976, but the state high court ruled that because the Moxley murder occurred within a five-year window of that legislation, the change applied to his crime.
Lehigh student accusedof robbing a bank
ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- A former university class president accused of robbing a bank to pay his online poker debts pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony robbery. Greg Hogan, 20, the son of a preacher and former president of Lehigh University's class of 2008, was accused of holding up a Wachovia bank Dec. 9 by handing a teller a note demanding money and saying he had a gun. He got away with $2,871, then drove off with two of his fraternity brothers, according to police. Both said they knew nothing of Hogan's plans, and neither was charged. Hogan was arrested during orchestra practice the night of the robbery.
Associated Press