Hatch: Gay marriage will be law of land

Hatch: Gay marriage will be law of land

SALT LAKE CITy

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch says it’s obvious that gay marriage will become legal across the country sooner or later.

Hatch said people who can’t see what’s happening aren’t living in the real world. He made the remarks Wednesday on KSL-Radio’s Doug Wright Show.

Hatch said he doesn’t agree with the rulings, but defended two Utah judges who recently made pro-gay-marriage decisions.

Ukraine sees Russia as source of threat

DONETSK, Ukraine

As separatists conceded that militants from Russia’s province of Chechnya had joined the rebellion, a Ukrainian government official cautioned Wednesday that its borders had become a “front line” in the crisis.

Chechnya’s Moscow-backed strongman brushed away allegations he had dispatched paramilitary forces under his command to Ukraine, saying he was powerless to stop fellow Chechens from joining the fight.

Chicken still linked to salmonella cases

WASHINGTON

An outbreak of antibiotic-resistant salmonella linked to a California chicken producer continues to sicken people more than a year after it started.

Despite the illnesses, producer Foster Farms has not initiated a recall, and the government has no apparent plans to shut it down.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there were 50 new reported illnesses in the past two months, bringing to 574 the total number of cases in the outbreak. Most of the illnesses are in California.

Class chooses boy for prom queen

DANBURY, Conn.

A 17-year-old boy has been named prom queen at his high school and says he’s making a point about gender labeling and discrimination.

Nasir Fleming won the title last week at Danbury High School, where he’s a popular senior. He was nominated as prom king and as prom queen but decided to be considered only for queen.

Fleming told the News Times newspaper for a story Tuesday that he’s been openly gay since sixth grade and has struggled with bullying. He said he isn’t sure whether the students who submitted his name were making fun of his sexuality but decided it was a good opportunity to make a point about the importance of being who you are.

Study: 2B worldwide overweight or obese

LONDON

Almost a third of the world is now fat, and no country has been able to curb obesity rates in the past three decades, according to a new global analysis.

Researchers found more than 2 billion people worldwide are now overweight or obese. The highest rates were in the Middle East and North Africa, where nearly 60 percent of men and 65 percent of women are heavy. The U.S. has about 13 percent of the world’s overweight population, a greater percentage than any other country. China and India combined have about 15 percent.

The new report was paid for by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and published online today in the journal Lancet.

Craft, 3-man crew reach space station

MOSCOW

A Russian spacecraft carrying a three-man crew docked successfully at the International Space Station today after a flawless launch.

The Soyuz craft, carrying NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Russian cosmonaut Max Surayev and German Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency arrived at the station at 5:44 a.m. They lifted off just less than six hours earlier from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Associated Press