Last active-duty Army Vietnam-era draftee retires

Last active-duty Army Vietnam-era draftee retires

AUBURN, N.Y.

The U.S. military says a central New York native has retired as the Army’s last Vietnam-era draftee.

The 2nd Infantry Division’s public-affairs office at Camp Red Cloud in South Korea says Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ralph Rigby’s retirement ceremony took place Oct. 28, his 62nd birthday.

A native of Auburn in Cayuga County, Rigby was drafted in 1972. He’s believed to be the Army’s last continuously serving active- duty draftee.

U.S. military conscriptions ended in 1973.

Obama seeks $6.2B for Ebola fight

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama on Wednesday asked Congress for $6.2 billion in emergency funds to confront Ebola at its source in West Africa and to secure the United States against any possible spread.

Of the total, $2 billion would be apportioned to the United States Agency for International Development and $2.4 billion would go to the Department of Health and Human Services, the White House said. More than $1.5 billion would be for a contingency fund to deal with any unanticipated developments such as a flare-up in West Africa or a need to vaccinate U.S. health-care workers.

Woman abducted in Philly found safe

PHILADELPHIA

A woman seen on surveillance video putting up a fight while being abducted off a Philadelphia street was found safe outside Baltimore on Wednesday, and the man who snatched her was arrested, police said.

Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was spotted in Jessup, Md., with the man in a car with a broken-out back window and was rescued soon after, police said. The man was nabbed after he stepped out of the car, police said.

Freeland-Gaither, 22, had some injuries but generally was doing OK, police said. There was no indication she and the man, who used to live in Philadelphia, knew each other, authorities said.

Mo. gay-marriage ban overturned

ST. LOUIS

A state judge overturned Missouri’s constitutional ban on gay marriage Wednesday in a ruling that immediately set off a rush among some same-sex couples to apply for marriage licenses.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison said in a written ruling that Missouri’s measure recognizing marriage only between a man and woman violates the due-process and equal-protection rights of the U.S. Constitution.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster immediately appealed the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

Associated Press