Court upholds laws against gay marriage

Court upholds laws against gay marriage

CINCINNATI

The march toward gay marriage across the U.S. hit a roadblock Thursday when a federal appeals court upheld laws against the practice in four states, creating a split in the legal system that increases the chances the Supreme Court will step in to decide the issue once and for all.

The cases decided were from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Breaking ranks with other federal courts around the country, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that states have the right to set rules for marriage and that changing a definition that dates to “the earliest days of human history” is better done through the political process, not the courts.

Blasts target Fatah officials in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip

A series of coordinated explosions targeted the homes of several leaders of President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party in the Gaza Strip early today, a party official said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the explosions occurred at a time of rising tensions with the rival Hamas movement.

Fayez Abu Eitta, a Fatah leader in Gaza’s Jebaliya refugee camp, said no one was hurt in the near-simultaneous attacks. He said his car was destroyed, and the homes and cars of two other Fatah officials in Gaza City were also damaged.

Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah in 2007. The rival parties have pledged to reconcile, but there still are deep differences.

VA chief: Wait times at clinics down 18%

WASHINGTON

Wait times for veterans’ care at VA hospitals and clinics have been reduced by 18 percent since May, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald said Thursday.

Average wait times for new primary-care patients decreased from 51 days in May to 42 days as of Oct. 1, said McDonald, who took office in July. McDonald took the top spot at the agency after a scandal that broke last spring over whistleblower reports of veterans dying while on appointment schedules at VA hospitals and falsified records to cover up the long wait times.

Prosecutors drop charge against AC/DC’s drummer

WELLINGTON, New Zealand

New Zealand prosecutors have done an about-face and dropped a murder-for-hire charge against AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd.

A spokeswoman for Crown Solicitor Greg Hollister-Jones told The Associated Press today that the charge has been dropped due to issues with the sufficiency of the evidence against Rudd.

Rudd, 60, was charged one day earlier in the Tauranga District Court with attempting to procure murder, which comes with a maximum 10-year prison sentence. He was accused of trying to arrange two killings.

Three lesser charges against Rudd remain. Those include threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana.

Driver convicted of speedy lap of NYC

NEW YORK

A driver who whizzed across 26 miles of New York City in 24 minutes was convicted Thursday of reckless endangerment for a stunt trumpeted in dashboard-camera video posted online.

But Adam Tang wasn’t in court to hear the verdict, and it wasn’t clear where he was instead: The Canadian citizen was deemed a fugitive after failing to show up for court Wednesday.

Prosecutors portrayed Tang, 31, as a dangerous daredevil who put lives at risk by circling Manhattan in a BMW Z4 convertible at an average of 69 mph, sometimes hitting nearly 100 mph, and flaunted it in a YouTube video that has drawn more than 875,000 views.

Associated Press