Nation briefly
Published 10:07 pm Friday, February 1, 2008
Oregon: Gay couples win in court
In a huge victory for Oregon’s gay rights movement, a federal judge on Friday swept aside his earlier order and allowed same-sex couples throughout the state to register as domestic partners. With the ruling from U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman, Oregon becomes the ninth state to approve spousal rights in some form for gay couples, joining Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maine, California, Washington and Hawaii. Massachusetts is the only state that allows gay couples to marry. Gay couples who register as domestic partners will be able to file joint state tax returns, inherit each other’s property and make medical choices on each other’s behalf.
Wisconsion: Nun sentenced
A 79-year-old nun was sentenced Friday to one year in a county jail for sexually abusing two teens when she was their principal four decades ago. Sister Norma Giannini avoided a trial by pleading no-contest in November to two felony counts of indecent behavior with a child. One of Giannini’s accusers, James St. Patrick, 55, asked the judge to impose a longer sentence. “When are we going to start dealing with female rapists and give them the same sentence as male rapists?” he asked.
D.C.: FAA mum on 757 smoke
The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to implement recommendations stemming from several instances in which smoke was reported in the cockpit of a Boeing 757 aircraft, the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday. In response, the FAA said that Boeing has already notified carriers of the problem and how to fix it. The most recent incident took place Wednesday when an American Airlines 757-200 flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia made an emergency landing in West Palm Beach, Fla. Several of those aboard were treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation, the NTSB said.
Hawaii: F-15 plunges into ocean
A fighter jet among a troubled fleet of F-15s that recently returned to the skies plunged into the ocean Friday, but the pilot ejected in time and was rescued shortly afterward. A Coast Guard helicopter plucked the Hawaii National Guard pilot from the ocean.
N. Carolina: Plane crash kills 6
A twin-engine plane crashed Friday as it tried to land amid low fog at a small airport in northwest North Carolina, killing all six people onboard, officials said. The King Air C90A split in half after falling between two homes about 11:30 a.m., the Surry County Sheriff’s Office said.
Massachusetts: Boy, 6, raped
A convicted sex offender who was released from prison over prosecutors’ objections has been charged with raping a 6-year-old at a New Bedford public library while the boy’s mother used a computer nearby. Corey Saunders was arrested outside a homeless shelter Wednesday evening shortly after a librarian saw them together, became suspicious and notified the mother, authorities said. Authorities allege Saunders lured the boy into a secluded corner of the library and raped him.
Associated Press
