Ala. high court halts same-sex marriage

Ala. high court halts same-sex marriage

The Alabama Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state’s probate judges to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, saying a previous federal ruling that gay-marriage bans violate the U.S. Constitution does not preclude them from following state law, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The all-Republican court sided with the argument offered by two conservative organizations when they appealed a decision last month by U.S. District Judge Callie Granade of Mobile, who ruled that both Alabama’s constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional.

Bad news on drought for Calif.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

California received a double dose of bad drought news Tuesday, with state officials saying the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is far below normal and that residents again aren’t coming close to meeting Gov. Jerry Brown’s call for a 20 percent cut in water use.

Snow supplies about a third of the state’s water, and a higher winter snowpack translates to more water in California reservoirs to meet demand in summer and fall. Last weekend’s Sierra snowfall pleased skiers and snowboarders but wasn’t nearly enough to offset weeks of dry weather. The latest survey makes it likely California’s drought will run through a fourth year.

Indonesia prepares to execute foreigners

JAKARTA, Indonesia

Indonesia transferred two Australians early today in preparation for the execution by firing squad of nine foreigners and an Indonesian condemned for drug smuggling, as diplomatic squabbles persist over the executions.

The preparations at the execution site have been completed, and four foreign convicts will be transferred to Nusakambangan Island’s maximum-security prison facilities this week, said Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo.

Marshals: Man killed in LA was wanted

LOS ANGELES

A homeless man who was killed by Los Angeles police on Skid Row was living under an assumed name and was wanted for violating probation terms for a bank robbery conviction, French and U.S. officials said Tuesday.

A law-enforcement official identified Charley Saturmin Robinet, 39, as the man police shot Sunday. But Axel Cruau, the consul general for France in Los Angeles, said the man stole the identity of a French citizen and was living in the U.S. under an assumed name.

Mines, bombs slow advance on Tikrit

BAGHDAD

Iraqi troops and Shiite militias battled the Islamic State group Tuesday on the outskirts of militant-held Tikrit, unable to advance further on Saddam Hussein’s hometown as roadside mines and suicide attacks slowed their progress.

Soldiers found some 100 mines and bombs scattered along a 5-mile stretch of road on the way to this strategic city on the Tigris River, Salahuddin deputy governor Ammar Hikmat said.

Agents target ‘maternity tourism’

IRVINE, Calif.

Federal agents searched three dozen homes Tuesday in California during a crackdown on so-called maternity-tourism operators who arrange for pregnant Chinese women to give birth in the U.S., where their babies automatically become American citizens.

The investigation of three purported birth-tourism rings may be the biggest yet by federal homeland-security agents who say that, although pregnant women may travel to the U.S. and deliver their babies here, they cannot lie about the purpose of their trip when applying for a visa.

Associated Press