Mich. waits to recognize nuptials

Mich. waits to recognize nuptials

DETROIT

Michigan state agencies won’t immediately recognize hundreds of same-sex marriages that were performed in the hours before an appeals court put on hold a judge’s ruling that tossed out a state ban on gay marriage, the governor’s office said Sunday.

About 300 couples wed Saturday in four Michigan counties before a federal appeals court placed a stay on a Detroit federal judge’s decision overturning the state’s 2004 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

The decision blocks Michigan’s county clerks from issuing new same-sex marriage licenses until the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether to extend the stay. That’s expected no sooner than Wednesday.

Girl struck by train in critical condition

MARYSVILLE, Calif.

A Northern California teenager remained in critical condition Sunday after she was struck by a freight train while walking to a school dance with her boyfriend, who was killed in the accident.

Gary Zavoral, a spokesman for Sutter Roseville Medical Center, confirmed 16-year-old Mickayla Friend’s condition.

The accident Friday evening occurred near Marysville’s only high school and a little-league park where a game was being played.

Investigators told KCRA-TV that the teens were walking south on the tracks — the same direction as the Union Pacific train. They were scheduled to attend a Sadie Hawkins Day dance.

The boy died at the scene, and Mickayla was airlifted to the hospital.

Marysville Police Chief David Baker says investigators are looking into whether the pair got distracted by headphones or something else when the accident occurred.

US average gas price up 5 cents per gallon

LOS ANGELES

The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. rose 5 cents, to $3.56, during the past two weeks.

That’s according to a survey released Sunday.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said the price has risen 26 cents per gallon over the past six weeks.

The average prices of a gallon of midgrade and premium gas were $3.74 and $3.89, respectively. Diesel averaged $4.02 per gallon.

Of the cities surveyed in the Lower 48 states, Billings, Mont., has the lowest average price at $3.18 a gallon and Los Angeles has the highest average price at $4.

Cocaine addressed to Vatican seized

BERLIN

The drug haul was unremarkable, but the destination raised eyebrows.

German customs officials intercepted a shipment of cocaine destined for the Vatican in January, weekly Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday.

Officers at Leipzig airport found 12 ounces of the drug packed into 14 condoms inside a shipment of cushions coming from South America, the paper, reported citing a German customs report. It said the package was addressed simply to the Vatican postal office, meaning any of the Catholic mini-state’s 800 residents could have picked it up.

The paper reported that a subsequent sting operation arranged with Vatican police failed to nab the intended recipient. No one claimed the package, indicating that he or she was tipped off about the plan. The drugs would have a street value of tens of thousands of euros.

A spokesman for the German Finance Ministry, which oversees the customs office, confirmed the report. Prosecutors in Leipzig planned to issue a statement today providing further details, Martin Chaudhuri told The Associated Press.

Associated Press