Gun-control vote in Senate set Thursday

Gun-control vote in Senate set Thursday

WASHINGTON

The Senate’s top Democrat is setting Congress’ first showdown vote for Thursday on President Barack Obama’s gun-control drive as a small but mounting number of Republicans appear willing to buck a conservative effort to prevent debate from even beginning.

Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada announced his decision Tuesday as the White House, congressional Democrats and relatives of the victims of December’s mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., amped up pressure on GOP lawmakers to allow debate and votes on gun- control proposals. Twenty first-graders and six educators were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School, turning gun control into a top-tier national issue.

Judge undecided on sale of life story

TAMPA, Fla.

A judge said Tuesday that he will take 30 days before deciding whether the trustee in Casey Anthony’s bankruptcy case can sell the commercial rights to her life story as a means to clear some of her outstanding debts.

Federal Judge K. Rodney May said that though he is worried about the effect of imposing long-term restrictions on Anthony, he will review the motion submitted by bankruptcy trustee Stephen Meininger.

Anthony did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.

Meininger’s lawyer said that he has received offers of $10,000 and $12,000 from people who want to purchase the rights to the story.

Now 26, Anthony was acquitted of murder in 2011 in the death her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. In court filings, she lists about $792,000 owed to multiple creditors.

Bill aims to punish Scouts for gay ban

SAN FRANCISCO

California lawmakers are considering taking some tax exemptions away from youth groups that do not accept gay, transgender or atheist members — a move intended to pressure the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban on gay Scouts and troop leaders.

Some cities have withdrawn free rent and other subsidies from the Boy Scouts over the years, but legislation introduced by state Sen. Ricardo Lara would make California the first state to target the Scouts for its anti-gay policy.

Queen to attend Thatcher funeral

LONDON

Queen Elizabeth II will be among the mourners at the funeral of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher next Wednesday, officials announced Tuesday.

Buckingham Palace said the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, would attend the ceremony at St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is expected to draw dignitaries from around the globe.

The only other prime minister whose funeral the monarch has attended was that of Britain’s World War II leader, Winston Churchill, in 1965.

30 killed in quake, Iran TV reports

TEHRAN, Iran

A magnitude-6.1 earthquake killed at least 30 and injured 650 people in a sparsely populated area in southern Iran, state TV reported Tuesday. Authorities said it did not damage a nuclear plant in the region.

The report said the earthquake struck the town of Kaki some 60 miles southeast of Bushehr, a town on the Persian Gulf that is home of Iran’s first nuclear- power plant, built with Russian help.

Some 650 people were taken to hospitals, mostly with slight injuries, and water and electricity were cut to many residents, said Ebrahim Darvishi, governor of the worst-hit district Shonbeh.

Associated Press