Delay in R. Kelly trial

Delay in R. Kelly trial

CHICAGO — R. Kelly’s child pornography trial abruptly adjourned Wednesday after a lawyer for the R B singer said he received a call from a mystery man who claimed to have information that could help the defense.

Judge Vincent Gaughan said attorneys needed time to depose the man, who could impeach someone else’s testimony, but he didn’t elaborate. Kelly attorney Sam Adam Sr. said the man was flying to Chicago on Wednesday night from another state.

The unexpected delay came after two witnesses testified earlier Wednesday that they could identify a female who appears on a sex tape at the center of case, bolstering prosecution arguments that she was under age at the time.

Mars lander working again

TUCSON, Ariz. — Scientists began releasing the robotic arm on NASA’s new Mars spacecraft Wednesday, one day late because of a radio problem.

The Phoenix lander, which arrived on Mars on Sunday, is in excellent shape, said project manager Barry Goldstein. He said the communications glitch was only a blip in the robot’s three-month exploration of the planet’s northern arctic region.

The outage occurred Tuesday in one of two NASA satellites circling Mars when a radio shut off before it could relay commands to the lander to get the 8-foot arm moving, Goldstein said.

Ohio schools chief resigns

COLUMBUS — Ohio schools Superintendent Susan Tave Zelman announced Wednesday she will resign, the result of the governor’s threatening to strip her authority to gain more control over schools.

But Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland’s plan to replace Zelman with an education chief accountable to him instead of the state board of education is no closer to fruition than it was when he first made his surprise proposal in February’s State of the State address. The Republican-controlled Legislature has not moved to authorize Strickland’s plan.

Zelman has led primary and secondary education in the state for nine years, overseeing a system with about 1.8 million students. She said she will resign whenever a new superintendent starts and will work in an advisory role until December.

Speaker chosen in Iran

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s lawmakers overwhelmingly picked conservative Ali Larijani as parliament speaker Wednesday, sending another strong message of discontent with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s leadership by boosting one of his likely challengers in elections next year.

Larijani, the country’s former top nuclear negotiator, has said he wants a less confrontational approach to the West and brings wide international experience to the influential speaker’s post.

His selection was the latest sign of dissatisfaction with the president’s handling of Iran’s economy — flush with oil revenue but still stumbling — and worries about the diplomatic impasse over Iran’s program to develop nuclear technology.

2 commuter-train crashes

NEWTON, Mass. — Two commuter trains collided and derailed during the evening rush hour outside Boston on Wednesday, hurting several passengers and trapping the seriously injured operator of one train, authorities said.

The crash came just hours after an elevated train derailed in Chicago, sending several people to hospitals in a wreck that officials quickly blamed on operator error.

The Boston wreck injured about 10 passengers in an above-ground accident on the city’s “T” system near a station in suburban Newton.

In Chicago, authorities said a train operator apparently made two key errors in quick succession to cause a derailment that left passengers perched more than 20 feet above the ground and sent several to hospitals.

Gay marriages on horizon

SAN FRANCISCO — Barring a stay of a historic California Supreme Court ruling, same-sex couples will be able to wed in the state beginning June 17, according to a state directive issued Wednesday.

The state said it chose June 17 because the state Supreme Court has until the day before to decide whether to grant a stay of its May 15 ruling legalizing gay marriage.

The guidelines from Janet McKee, chief of California’s office of vital records, to the state’s 58 county clerks also contained copies of new marriage forms that include lines for “Party A” and “Party B” instead of bride and groom.

Associated Press